Chapter 3: The Past

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After watching the man silently for a moment, a slow, dangerous smile spread across Yexi’s face. “My deepest thanks to this brave and righteous… barbarian lord,” she said, her voice a silken threat. “And don’t worry, I won’t mind a trivial thing like being splattered with a beast’s filthy blood because of someone’s crude and messy technique.”

The man felt a genuine chill run down his spine. “You clearly mind! You mind a lot!”

“Not at all,” she purred, her golden eyes glinting. “I absolutely did not have the immediate and overwhelming urge to gut a certain someone like a fish.”

“You already wanted to gut me! How can you say you don’t mind?!”

“I said I don’t mind. You’re so annoying. Honestly, maybe killing you would bring some peace and quiet after all!” Yexi twirled the dagger in her hand, the movement a mesmerizing, deadly dance as her eyes scanned the man’s vital points.

“Xi, are you okay? Huff, huff. You scared me to death! I saw you and—”

Just as the man was contemplating the wisdom of turning and running for his life, Elienla came rushing over. Ignoring the gore covering Yexi, she threw her arms around her, her voice trembling with worry as tears welled in her eyes.

Instantly, Yexi’s tense expression softened, the cold fury vanishing as if it had never been. The sudden transformation left the man staring in utter bewilderment.

She gently patted Elienla’s head, her voice now warm and reassuring. “I’m fine. This blood is all from the bear. A certain… unknown lord… saved… me… just… in… the nick… of… time!” Yexi enunciated the last sentence with deliberate, icy precision, her gaze locked on the “unknown lord.”

The man could only offer a strained, awkward laugh.

Elienla patted Yexi down, her hands checking for injuries. The touch made Yexi uncomfortable, but she stood perfectly still to calm her friend’s frantic nerves. After confirming Yexi was unharmed, Elienla let out a shuddering sigh of relief. She stepped away and bowed deeply to the man. “Thank you for saving Yexi. I am truly, deeply grateful. Yexi, you should thank him properly. Don’t be so impolite.”

“Oh,” Yexi responded, her voice utterly lifeless as she gave a perfunctory bow. “Yes, thank you so very much.”

“Yexi!” Even someone as sweet-natured as Elienla could hear the biting sarcasm. “You can’t be like that.”

Seeing the murderous glint returning to Yexi’s eyes, the man quickly intervened, holding up his hands. “It’s fine, it’s fine! Please, stand up. Haha, it was nothing, really, just the work of a moment.”

Yexi straightened up and turned to Elienla. “Use a cleaning spell on us. You got some blood on you too. We’ll cause a major incident if we go back looking like this.”

Elienla nodded and began chanting. A moment later, a pale blue magical circle shimmered into existence above them and swept down, clearing away the worst of the bloodstains. A proper wash was still needed, but it was a great relief to Yexi. Even as a former assassin, she detested the sticky, disgusting feeling of a forced bloodbath.

“Good, the herbs are safe,” Yexi said, looking thankfully at the basket she had protected. “My mission is complete. What about you?”

“I’m done as well,” Elienla replied, before turning back to the man with a warm smile. “Sir, may I… oh, how rude of me, I haven’t even asked your name. Might you tell us who you are?” Her genuine courtesy was like a healing balm to his frayed nerves. This was the true charm of a maid!

The man’s tense posture relaxed, and he gave a sunny, charming smile. “My name is Tex Ard, an adventurer. I came to these lands for a commission and… some personal reasons.”

“Lord Ard, my name is Elienla, and this is Yexi. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

……

Deep within a ruin, ages old, a crystal shimmering with the light of seven captive rainbows captivated the greedy gazes of all who beheld it.

“Is that the crystal the Goddess wishes us to retrieve?” a handsome, golden-haired youth murmured, his voice low. “I hear it has the power to warp reality itself. A dangerous artifact indeed.”

“I don’t think it will be that easy to get our hands on it, Isaac,” said a young witch standing beside him, her brow furrowed as she eyed the other teams of treasure hunters who had gathered in the chamber.

“Perhaps not, but I have all of you with me!” Isaac, the youth granted the title of Hero by the Goddess, responded with a radiant smile that seemed to light up the ancient stones. Behind him stood his companions: an elven archer, a fierce beast-kin warrior, and Ard, who stood with his head bowed, a quiet shadow in inconspicuous linen clothes.

There was no passion in his eyes then, only a quiet, heavy reticence. As a temporarily hired scout, the others didn’t know him well. Thus, no one saw the flicker of desperate, burning light in Ard’s eyes as his gaze swept over the Reality Crystal.

Soon, patience shattered. The chamber erupted into a chaotic symphony of flashing spells and clashing steel as the impatient treasure hunters turned on each other. Even with a powerhouse like Isaac, blessed by the Goddess, the battle was fierce, and his team was inexorably drawn into the fray.

In an overlooked corner, Ard moved like a ghost, unnoticed. He silently watched the carnage sparked by greed, watched as the deadly traps that had once barred his path were violently dismantled one by one. A cold, grim smile touched the corner of his lips. He had known the crystal was here, but the damnable traps had been impossible for him to overcome alone. So, he had spread the information, orchestrating this very moment.

As a key light-prism laser was destroyed, Ard shot forward like an arrow loosed from the shadows. The attention of the warring factions immediately snapped to him. They had previously dismissed him, but now, a mere ant dared to snatch the prize from the lions!

“Ard,” Isaac said, his expression a mask of complicated emotions. He knew Ard had been hiding something, but he never imagined this.

The enemy fighting Isaac temporarily abandoned him, turning their attacks toward the lone scout. Isaac’s face darkened, but he didn’t move, his mind racing.

“Isaac,” his teammates cried, unsure of what to do.

A storm of attacks rained down on Ard, but it was all within his calculations. He used the remaining traps along his path to block the incoming assaults. It wasn’t perfect; a few attacks broke through, slamming into him with brutal force. But it didn’t matter. Ard gave a self-deprecating smile. He was confident in the sturdiness of this body; it was the only thing he had left.

Just as Ard thought he would make it, a sharp blade stabbed out from the darkness.

“Nice work, kid. You saved me a lot of trouble.”

Ard’s eyes widened in horror. His tough body felt like paper as the blade pierced through him instantly. A dark figure appeared behind him, a reaper cloaked in black, a deadly dagger in his hand.

“You’re—!”

“Goodbye, kid.”

“Damn it!”

Ignoring the searing agony, Ard desperately ran toward the Reality Crystal. But the reaper behind him had no intention of letting him go. He swung his blade again, but this time, it did not fall.

A golden figure blurred past, blocking the fatal blow with a holy sword that blazed with divine light.

Ard stared at the figure in disbelief. “Why… why did you save me?”

“Aren’t we comrades?” Isaac’s smile was as bright and unwavering as the sun, dispelling the shadows. “And it wasn’t just me. Everyone helped.”

Ard’s eyes widened as he saw his teammates holding back other foes, buying Isaac the precious seconds he needed. “Why?” he choked out, his voice thick with confusion and shame. “Why save a traitor like me? I was just a hired guide… an insignificant nobody.”

“Ard, don’t look down on yourself,” Isaac said, his voice ringing with conviction. “If you’re a nobody, then what does that make us, who you saved countless times in this labyrinth? You are our comrade. That was never in doubt.”

Isaac continued to obstruct the reaper, his every move a dance of defiance. “Get out of my way, kid!” the reaper snarled. “Are you going to let that waste get the Reality Crystal?! That’s your goal too, isn’t it?”

“My goal?” Isaac’s voice was firm. “I promised the Goddess I would never let the Reality Crystal fall into the hands of evil. That is my goal. Ard may be quiet, even a bit gloomy, but the kindness in his heart has never faded. We were comrades who faced death together. I don’t know why he needs it, but I know Ard would never use it for evil. I’m willing to believe that. We are friends. I trust my own eyes!”

Ard continued running, tears now streaming freely down his face, Isaac’s words a fire in his soul strengthening his resolve.

“Bastard! How can anyone believe in such meaningless things!” the reaper roared in frustration.

“They are not meaningless!” Isaac shouted back, his voice echoing through the chamber. “The bond between us is the proof that we are alive in this world!”

The reaper was enraged, but he could not break through the hero’s defense. The boy with unwavering conviction was like an immovable great wall.

“Finally… got it.” Blood poured from the wound in Ard’s side, but even with his last breath, he grasped the cold, shimmering Reality Crystal.

Legend said it could grant any wish. It was a faint hope, a last resort for the weak and the greedy. Ard was one of those weaklings. A transmigrator from another world, he had gone from arrogance to despair, crushed by a cruel reality where he was powerless to protect what he cherished. The crystal was his last straw.

He turned to look at Isaac, still locked in battle. He had wanted to be the cool one for once, but he had been saved again.

Reality Crystal, if you truly possess the power of legend, I don’t need unrivaled strength or absolute power. I just want one chance to start over. To go back to the very beginning and take back what I lost with my own two hands.

Clutching the crystal, Ard’s eyes grew heavy. In his blurring vision, he could see the heartbroken expression on the golden-haired boy’s face.

Sorry for betraying your trust. If there’s another chance, I’ll repay this debt… along with all the others.

Finally, Ard slowly closed his eyes.


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