Ambrose walked out of the sewers into the bright sunlight.
As he looked around, he noticed that he was alone; Bella and the rest were gone.
‘They must’ve left Yatagarasu by now; that is the smartest idea.’ He thought to himself and walked up a small bank, entering a desolate street with somewhat intact-looking buildings.
He sat down on a white chair in front of one of the cafes and observed the eerie silence that surrounded him.
‘This place must still have goblins lurking around, but I do not plan to hunt them all.’
He then opened all the notifications he had received during his fight against the Goblin Elder and his army.
There were tons.
At first, he skipped all the kill and level-up notifications.
Soon, he reached the section that interested him most.
“Hoh.” Ambrose rubbed his chin with a smile.
[Slash of the Six Worlds – Rank: Epic]
‘My first Epic-ranked skill. It also seems that this attack increases my strength by six times. I wonder how my other skills would be if they evolved.’
After enjoying the sight of that, he moved onto the quest rewards.
[Secret Quest successfully completed!]
[243x Goblins killed]
[1x Mutated Orc killed]
[1x Goblin Elder killed]
[Reward: Title of Revenger]
‘Only that?’ He frowned, feeling incredibly disappointed, but then he checked the description.
[Revenger: Increases the player’s power by 10% against all evil creatures]
‘By 10%? Hmm.’ Ambrose caressed his chin. ‘That is quite a lot, but I am still somewhat disappointed if this is the only reward I get.’
He scratched his head, stood up, and began stepping down the street, heading towards the exit of Yatagarasu.
At that moment, he heard a ding.
He quickly checked the notification and saw that he had received a message from Bella.
In the message, she said that they had already left for a town that was near Yatagarasu after hearing from a traveling merchant that there were other refugees.
‘I wonder if that is the town where Emma is.’ He thought and decided to go there.
He didn’t know where it was, but with soul tracking, he could find it rather easily.
After leaving the particular street, he took a detour to Whispering Pages, where he picked up the heavy bag which carried stuff he received from Honorable Dojo Temple.
Then, he walked over to the gates of Yatagarasu, he walked by without taking a second look at the destroyed city.
At the wall that surrounded the Yatagarasu, which was also called the Wall of Champions, there were dozens of writings and pictures of heroic figures who had defended the city in its prime.
Now, on this bright day, another picture appeared out of nowhere.
In the picture, a lonely person, wielding two mighty swords, faced the might of the goblin army and their sinister leader.
On this day, a legend of Ambrose, the Revenger, started spreading across the land, inspiring hope in the hearts of citizens of Yatagarasu who had lost their homes.
In the centuries to come, Ambrose’s story would be told and retold, becoming a symbol of bravery and resilience for generations.
He, however, was completely oblivious to the scribbling on the wall as he was already on his way to the town, where Bella was headed.
…
At Hightown, a solemn atmosphere filled the air as rugged-looking people tried to find their loved ones.
The townspeople of Hightown looked at them with pity. They couldn’t imagine the terror of losing everything they knew in the span of one day.
At the entrance of the town, passing by the welcoming sign, Bella and others looked around the chaotic sight with heavy hearts.
“I think I have seen him once.” The tired-looking woman looked at a man, wearing old pajamas and a worn-out expression, sitting on a broken bench at the edge of the road. “He was a lord of some sort. He was a very wealthy man, but I suppose he also lost everything…”
“…” Bella looked at him with pity, her heart heavy with sympathy. “We should move to the town center. I heard some whispers that we can register ourselves there…”
“Mm.” The tired-looking woman nodded.
At the back of the pack, a young man shivered while rubbing his arms.
“Are you alright?” A fellow prisoner looked at him, shaking.
“Yeah…” The young man sighed. “I had already resigned myself to death. I thought I would’ve been eaten already, but now that I am alive and well, I am lost as to what to do.”
“I feel you…” The fellow prisoner sighed. “He saved us… I wonder if he managed to escape safely.”
“There were hundreds of them… he must’ve sacrificed himself for us.” The young man stabbed his nails into his skin. “Are we worthy of his sacrifice? What are we supposed to do?”
“We’ve got a second chance in life.” The fellow prisoner said. “I’ll make it count. I won’t let what happened today be forgotten.”
“What do you mean?” The young man turned to him, confused.
“I will, of course, share his story.” The fellow prisoner said. “I will spread it around about how he saved us from those evil goblins. He deserves to be remembered.”
“That is very noble.” The young man said in admiration.
“I might not be able to do it alone.” He said and turned to the young man. “Are you willing to help me?” 𝑶𝑽xt.𝒸𝑀
“H-help you?” The young man asked in shock.
“Yes.” He nodded. “This might be a way for us to earn that sacrifice.”
“I…” The young man looked at the shining sun and then looked back at the person. “I’ll help you. We will make sure his story will be remembered for eons to come!”
“Good!” He nodded with a laugh. “First, we have to know his name.”
“How in the world will we find that out?” The young man asked.
“She must know.” He pointed at the black-haired Bella. “They seemed close. I heard something about him being the brother of someone important to her.”
“Did he perhaps rescue her because he didn’t want his sister to be sad?” The young man sighed heavily. “What a noble man.”
“Mm, we can add that to our story.” The person rubbed his chin with an excited expression. “Let’s find out his name from her.”
“Alright!”
As Bella and the tired-looking woman arrived at the town center, they couldn’t even move forward without bumping shoulders with someone.
It was absolutely packed, with voices getting overlapped and drowned out by the loud noises.
“How can we find anything in here?” The tired-looking woman asked.
“I am not sure…” Bella sighed.
“B-Bella?”
Then she heard a familiar, innocent voice that immediately brightened her face.
Bella turned, and to her joy, an innocent-looking young girl was sitting on a bench, her eyes moist.
Emma dropped the ice cream in shock and rushed to Bella before slamming into her embrace.
“You are back!”
“Ah.” Bella smiled and patted her head. “How come you are here?”
“I-I just returned from school and wanted to come here to see if my brother had come here, t-t-then I saw you!” Emma smiled through tears. “Where have you been?!”
“I missed you so much!”
Bella smiled gently and crouched to be at the same eye level as Emma.
“I’ve been searching for you everywhere, dummy…” Emma said and wiped her tears with a sleeve.
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so she did both.
Her emotions were a tangled mess, but she couldn’t help but feel relieved that Bella was safe.
Bella sadly smiled and hugged her fragile body while listening to her cries.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Bella whispered, her voice filled with happiness knowing that the little girl wasn’t foolish enough to go find her in Yatagarasu.
It was her greatest worry.
“I-is brother with you?” Emma asked after managing to wipe off most of her tears. “H-he must’ve found you, right?”
“He… did.” Bella smiled bashfully. “I was in a little trouble, but he saved me.”
“I see!” Emma proudly nodded. “Did he also come here? Where is he?”
“He… will be coming soon.” Bella said with a reassuring smile. “I told him that I would be going here, so I am sure he will be here soon!”
“Then let’s go wait for him at the entrance!” Emma smiled innocently and held Bella’s hand.
Bella nodded and was about to follow the little girl, but then remembered the woman, who had become a friend of hers.
She turned around, hoping to find her, and soon she did.
However, the tired-looking woman was hugging three children, who were crying their hearts out.
‘I am glad…’ Bella thought and smiled before leaving with Emma.
The young man and his new friend looked at each other as the two girls left with heavy looks.
“How sad…” The young man sighed. “She didn’t tell the truth to her friend to spare her the pain of losing a brother.
“Indeed…” His friend sighed and clenched his fist. “I’ll do everything in my power to ensure that our story will reach every ear in this land. Then, I will share half of the profits with his little sister!”
“Very admirable, bro!” The young man clapped his hands.
“We can ask for his name later, after we’ve finished discussing our plans for promoting our story.”
“Let’s do it!”