Chapter 235 235 - Flashback
"Yes! But my mana can only last so long. That's why I didn't invite you to continue what we were doing, by the way, if you want we can finish it tonight," said Eris.
Ryan nodded in confirmation, "I'll see you tonight, then."
The moment Eris put on her helmet, Ryan felt as if he had woken up from a dream. He was outside the room, next to the imposing Monarch, the character the girl had created to hide from the fame of becoming such a strong person in such a short time.
"I'll be training in simulator nine, find me if you need help," said the girl, her voice now camouflaged as the imposing voice of a great warrior.
It was amazing to Ryan how this girl could wear such a large suit of armor. Eris' body would never be able to fill that armor properly, yet she wore those pieces out of place.
<She uses wind magic to control her fingers...
Ryan activated his Demon Sight and saw the girl leaving, there were two supports that made her tall enough to see in the helmet. Her arms didn't go all the way through the armor, so to control the rest she used wind magic while keeping her arms close to her body.
"That's weird" Ryan said out loud, seconds later he turned around only to see a surprised audience. All the travelers who had been watching the training were staring wide-eyed at him.
Seconds later, surprised whispers began to emerge one after the other. "Did you see? He was talking to the Monarch, by voice," said one of the people.
"The Monarch can speak then... But why does he prefer to write?"
"Maybe his words are too powerful for someone who isn't strong enough"
"My ranking is higher than his, maybe I should try to be friends with the Monarch"
"You're not a prodigy like Ryan"
The comments continued, but walking away he just ignored them. There was still some time before the group would be released. Ryan imagined that there would be some kind of ceremony or better explanation of how the Raid would work. In the time he had left, he preferred just to assess the rest of the travelers.
There were several faces he had met during the portal to the abyss. Although they were people he had fought alongside, he didn't feel the need to approach them or try to strike up a conversation. Aether was training with the rest of his group, the light that one of his teammates' aura made was so intense that it was hard to look at the arena they were in.
"That's not the kind of girl flashing I like," he said, with a smile on his face.
<Ohhh! So you want me to do some flashing? >.
"Shut up you devious little shit" Ryan shouted only mentally.
<Hehehe>.
Aether's group was training relatively close to the arena where Eris was. The four travelers were battling a simulation of giant orders, a copy of what the legendary Eliot battled when the first portal opened.
Eliot's notes were in his office; annoyed, Ryan thought it would be interesting to see the last pages of the book. According to Margaret, that notebook accompanied him until his last days. If this information is correct, it means that the last pages were written during the challenge against the giants' portal, the last battle fought by humanity some twenty years ago.
As Ryan thought about this, a few points began to catch his eye.
'The guild director's surname is Wright... Just like Margareth and Eliot...' For a moment, he pondered the possibility that they were from the same family. However, the name Wright wasn't that unusual.
Making a note in his notebook, he thought he should ask his teacher.
"DAMN THIS DUDE IS SO FUCKING STRONG!" shouted one of the travelers, the maid next to him had both hands to her ear. There was a crowd watching the arena, most of them travelers between 200-400.
Ryan was surprised that there were so many people in that base. But in the end it made sense, there were the best warriors on the entire continent there. Turning to Maid Ninety, he asked, "People are still arriving, that's why you're blocking the exit".
The maid nodded, "I believe the largest number I've seen is five hundred, I can't imagine there being more than that."
"Five hundred people for one raid... That's more than the portal to the abyss," he said.
The two of them then walked towards the crowd that was watching the training, as Ryan got closer he could hear the angry shouts of those who were fighting. It was a berserker, but not only that, it was a berserker Ryan knew very well.
"Damian Smith is so strong," said one of the spectators.
"He's come a long way, I remember the advertisements with his face"
"He's one of Khalazhan's prodigies
Even with the hatred Ryan felt towards Damian, he still had to recognize the warrior's ability. Khalazhan's prodigy was using a greatsword almost twice his size, with which he was slashing attacks launched by a fire elemental.
One after the other, spheres of fire were launched from both of the elemental's arms. That energy flew out at high speed until it exploded on contact with the blade of that gigantic sword, the level of strength and physical conditioning needed to maintain that was truly astonishing.
"He's stronger," Ryan said, his eyes blazing with a gigantic fury.
Normally he always thought that he had no enemies, only disagreements. But there was only one person in the whole world he would rather be dead, and that was Damian Smith. Throughout high school he suffered constant bullying, a pain and humiliation he couldn't forget.
As the explosions flashed in front of his eyes, memories flashed through his mind.
* * *
The school bell rang, announcing that classes had just begun. What should have been the signal for one of Ryan's favorite moments made his whole body tremble with fear.
"You can't let him keep doing that," said the nurse, who was holding a cotton pad. The girl was an elegant night-elf with long white hair.
"I don't want to make trouble... If Damian's group gets angry with me, maybe they'll start bothering Eris and Zack," said young Ryan.
His body was still fragile at that time, being a shy, skinny boy. His arm was as thin as the elf's.
"OHH! It hurts!" he shouted as the elf put absorbent cotton on his wound.
"You need to be strong, I need to clean your wound before I apply the healing magic," she said, as she continued to rub the alcohol into the wound.
"I know... But if you apply water magic and concentrate it with a little wind energy, it's possible to create oxygenated water that kills bacteria and doesn't hurt," he said.
The elf paused for a second, looked deep into his eyes with an annoyed face and then let out a small smile, "Okay okay, you just want to help me. That's sweet Ryan, you'd be a great traveler if it weren't for your lack of magic," she said.
Those words hurt a lot more than the bruises on his arm. But in the end, he knew she was right. If sis, how could he even dream of becoming a traveler? The only option he had was to try his hardest and keep looking for ways to battle monsters.
*Sigh
"I'm sorry Meru, I'm just a boy with no strength," he said.
The elf then shook her head in denial "No, you're one of the strongest people I've ever met. That's why I'm sure you'll be able to graduate and get into Neodrazzil."
Ryan gave a small, shy smile, "Thank you...". The green light was slowly taking over the room, the energy was coming out of the elf's hands and taking shape in his arm, healing all the wounds.
By the time he left the room, the second lesson was over. It was break time, so it wasn't even ten minutes before he was thrown into trouble again. Damian and his group of bullys were waiting for Ryan to leave.
When the boy reached the corridor and walked to the stairs, he was surprised with a shove in the back. Rolling down the stairs, Ryan roared in pain with each step.
The sound of his face hitting the floor caught everyone's attention; the staircase led to the courtyard on the second floor, where all the students were staying. Getting up, he gave a smile as he said, "It's okay".
Eris got up and ran towards Ryan, at the same moment she started applying healing magic while looking around. Her face was furious, looking for whoever had done this.
The rest of the students were laughing, but there was a wicked grin on both of their faces. The smile of a tall, brown-haired, blue-eyed boy with a slightly awkward chin and a chest that was always puffed out. She didn't need a confession, because that said it all: Damian Smith was the one behind it.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶