There was a banquet at the palace, and all the players, including Zach, Aurora, and Aria, were enjoying the food.
“When are we leaving for the other kingdoms?” Aurora asked as she took a large bite from the dish.
“After we have filled our stomachs,” Zach replied with a scoff.
“There is no need to hurry,” Aria said without making eye contact with Zach and continued, “The tasks the other kings will give will probably be hard, and Zach is the strongest player.”
“But not everything can be done by strength and power,” Aurora remarked. “What if the tasks are something like a puzzle where we need to use our minds?”
Zach raised his brows at Aurora and asked, “Are you saying that I am stupid to solve the puzzles?”
Aurora smirked and said, “No, but you get impatient very quickly.”
“You are not wrong about that,” Zach replied with a grin on his face.
After seeing Zach and Aurora talking and laughing, Aria bit her lips. She felt bad and sad because her suggestion was laughed off.
‘He is not even feeling sorry or trying to apologize even though he kissed me without my consent!’ Aria uttered to herself.
Zach noticed Aria glaring at him and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Aria averted her face in anger and didn’t say anything.
“…” Zach raised his brows in confusion and thought, ‘What’s with her? I am already feeling awkward because we kissed. What’s more, she is my aunt!’
‘I didn’t apologize to her because I thought she would get angry for mentioning it, but I guess she is a little upset.’ Zach sighed softly. ‘I will talk to her when we are alone.’
“You know… I think you two should stay here,” Zach asserted with a serious look on his face.
“What?!” Aurora exclaimed.
“Why?!” Aria exclaimed.
“There is no need for you two to come. I can go and return in one day,” Zach responded with a shrug.
Aurora frowned her face and said, “Are you saying that we are a burden to you?”
“What? Of course not.” Zach groaned, “I mean, this place is safe. And who knows what tasks the other two kings give us? Like, what if they give a task to duel with other players? I don’t want to fight you two even in my dreams.”
“Don’t worry…” Aquitius approached them and quipped, “We don’t do such inhumane acts.”
“Although we are not humans! Hah!” Aquitius laughed out loud.
“…” Zach
“…” Aurora
“…” Aria.
“Get it?! Inhumane… human… Come on, bro! That was funny!” Aquitius groaned with a sigh.
Zach glanced at Aria and Aurora, and they nodded at him in response before leaving Zach alone with Aquitius.
“How’s the food?” Aquitius asked with a curious look on his face.
“It’s good. Although I would have preferred some fish too,” Zach sneered.
Mentioning fish or any sea creatures in front of the sea king was, without a doubt, a bad idea. But not for Zach.
Aquitius pointed his gaze at the meat dish on Zach’s plate and asked, “How’s the meat?”
“Good,” Zach responded while eating without caring for his manners.
“It’s made from the dead bodies of the players who died,” Aquitius asserted.
Zach choked on his bite and looked at Aquitius in disgust.
Aquitius grabbed a glass of water and gave it to Zach after saying, “Don’t worry. It was a joke.”
Zach drank the water and placed the glass on the table with a loud thud that caused the glass to break.
Aquitius shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s how we feel when humans mention eating fish in front of sea creatures.”
Zach glared into Aquitius’s eyes but didn’t say anything.
Aquitius did the same and said, “No one has ever dared to look me in the eyes, let alone glare at me. But you are the second person to do that.”
“I don’t like being the second, but okay.”
“Hah!” Aquitius laughed out loud and patted Zach’s shoulder, and said, “You are a funny kid, boy!”
Zach stared at Aquitius in disbelief and thought, ‘Is he really a king? He surely doesn’t act like a king. And what’s with his crazy vocabulary? He calls me boy, kid, and bro. And why is he suddenly acting all friendly?’
Suddenly, Aquitius’ face turned serious as he continued speaking: “Listen, kid, the tasks won’t be easy. You have to do what it takes to win, or you will meet despair…”
Zach shrugged Aquitius’ hand from his shoulders and walked past him. Then, he stopped and looked at Aquitius from the corners of his eyes without turning back and said, “I know what despair feels like, and that’s why I am ready to go all out.”
Zach walked away after saying, “I have got someone to protect, after all.”
Aquitius watched Zach leave and then scoffed slightly as he muttered, “Spoken like a man.”
Aquitius turned around to leave, but his face suddenly turned pale for some reason.
‘What is this feeling I am experiencing? It feels like someone is staring deep into my soul…’
Aquitius glanced around to find the source, and his gaze fell on Aria, who was glaring at him like how a hunter glares at its prey.
‘…!’ Aquitius’ face turned even more pale after looking into Aria’s eyes. ‘What is she doing here?! I couldn’t sense her presence before even though she was in front of me. I even talked to her! But her appearance is different, so I couldn’t recognize her! And more importantly…”
Aquitius glanced at Zach, who was talking with Aurora with a smile on his face, and wondered, ‘…Why is she with ‘his’ son?’
“Well…” Aquitius gulped down and walked away before muttering, “That makes three people who glared at me.”
Aurora filled her mouth with juice and nudged Zach.
“What?” Zach asked with a confused look on his face.
Aurora moved her hands to say something, but Zach couldn’t understand a thing.
Aurora sighed and kissed Zach on the lips, releasing the juice into Zach’s mouth. She savored the taste from Zach’s mouth and licked her lips after the kiss.
“How was it?” Aurora asked with a mischievous grin on her face.
“… disgusting…” Zach replied.
After hearing that, Aurora puffed her cheeks and turned her face to the other side.
Zach shook his head and filled his mouth with the juice to do the same thing Aurora did to him.
After the kiss, Zach said with a grin on his face: “Now we both are disgusting.”
Aria shook her head in disbelief and thought, ‘I feel so irritated after seeing them like this. If I knew this would happen, then I would have never advised Aurora to make moves on him.’
After filling their stomach with food, they went to the palace’s lounge and dissed their plans.
“So, which kingdom should we go first?” Zach asked Aria and Aurora. “Xavier or Ribel?”
“I think we should go to Ribel first because it’s the closest to Atlantis,” Aria suggested in a calm voice.
Zach looked at Aurora to see her glancing around the palace without paying attention to what Zach was saying.
Zach raised his brows and pulled Aurora’s ears before saying, “Stop fooling around.”
“I am not.” Aurora puckered her lips and said, “This palace reminds me of my palace. I always sat on the lounge with my maids and enjoyed the evenings.”
Aurora looked sad when she said that, but she didn’t show it on her face because she didn’t want Zach to worry. However, she was terrible at hiding her emotions.
“We can reminisce as much as we want when we are done with this, but for now, let’s focus on what we must do,” Zach asserted.
“Yeah…” Aurora nodded with a smile on her face and hugged Zach’s arms.
“I think we should go to Xavier.” Zach turned to Aria and said, “Because it’s the farthest.”
“Uhh… you are not making any sense…” Aurora and Aria said in unison.
“Basically, most of the players will be thinking the same. So they all will go to RIbel because it’s the closest. So if we go to Xavier first, we can at least get our hands on one task,” Zach asserted with a proud face.
“But what about the other task? We will need to complete both tasks to get the scroll,” Aurora asked with a confused look on her face.
“I don’t know… but there is no guarantee that we won’t be able to do the second task on time. Who knows, maybe the second task can only be completed when the first task has been completed?”
“I mean… sure?” Aria shrugged her shoulders and said, “I think it’s worth taking that risk.”
Zach turned to Aurora to hear her answer, and she said, “As you said, at least we will get our hands on one task.”
“Nice!”
Zach, Aurora, and Aria made their way to the gate of the palace. There they saw a bunch of players getting into the carriages that were being driven by the sea horse.
“….”
‘I guess the carriage has a spell cast on it that won’t allow the water to enter to come near it, and the players will be able to breathe normally.’
“Let’s go.” Zach was about to get into the carriage with Aurora and Aria, but they were stopped by a voice.
“Stop!”
It was Aquitius.
“What? Do we need to pay to use the carriage or what?!” Zach asked from a distance.
Aquitius pointed his finger at a carriage parked on the other side and said, “You shall go in my carriage.”
It was Aquitius’ carriage, and it was different from all the other carriages. It was driven by royal sea horses, and the carriage itself was grand and luxurious looking.
Zach, Aurora, and Aria glanced at each other and said, “What’s with this special treatment?”
They accepted Aquitius’ offer and took his carriage to travel to Xavier.
***
Total players in the game 404004.
0 new players logged in.
125 players died.
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Author’s Note- Merry Christmas to all my readers! Stay happy! Stay safe!
Thanks, @Atrax, for the gift!