Level Up Legacy

After reaching Oren’s house, Selena was ready to take aunty to a shelter. The home seemed to have been fortified with a barrier, as the monsters couldn’t get inside. However, the real shocker was Aunt Sarah using a rifle to snipe monsters from her window.

“Oh, kiddo,” waved her aunty at her when Selena reached the barrier. “Let me deactivate the barrier for a second as you come inside! Where is Oren?”

Selena ran inside as soon as the barrier was deactivated before it was reactivated. Aunty Sarah was still using the rifle to snipe any monster that entered their street, protecting every house in the area.

“Aunty,” huffed Selena after going upstairs, staring at the woman with surprise. “I didn’t know you were a sharpshooter, nor that you smoke….”

“…keep it a secret from my kids,” said Aunty with a smile as she fired again. The rifle spewed out a streak of flames that exploded on impact and burned the monsters alive. “Smoking has always been my stress relief. Being a single mom is not easy, Selena.”

“I… see…” nodded Selena with confusion. Aunty would often mention her ‘kids’ even though Oren’s brother, Arthur, was dead. Oren said it was his mother not accepting reality. “Oren wanted to save what he could.”

“That rascal is just as reckless,” sighed Sarah while lighting up a new cigarette and offering her the pack. “Do you want some?”

“I will have to decline. Aunty, we should go to a shelter,” said Selena while watching Aunt Sarah pocket the cigarettes. “Staying here is unwise.”

Smoking in secret was not unusual for someone who lost her husband and son while being hunted down by the government for damages incurred by Everlasting Stream. However, Selena felt as if she was looking at a different person. A cold and powerful woman replaced the peaceful and heartwarming aunty she had known.

“I don’t trust the army or the Temple, and certainly not the guilds,” said Aunty Sarah as her rifle fired another streak of flames, cutting to the far end of the streets. “This barrier and gun will keep me safe.”

“The barrier here is impressive, but it will keep attracting monsters! They can sense mana from a mile away, aunty. So Oren asked me to save you.”

“That brat thinks I need saving,” said Aunt Sarah before butting out the cigarette on the railing and throwing her rifle over her shoulder. “Let’s go and activate that.”

“Activate… what?”

“I learned that the government, guilds, and everyone else can be unreliable when you need them,” grinned Aunt Sarah. “I didn’t want to make my kids feel worried, so I was training on my own for a long time. It is hard to lead a double life.”

“We never noticed…” said Selena as Aunt Sarah walked past her and down the stairs. “Oren would have been less worried if he knew.”

“I always hated dungeons and fighting, ever since I was a kid,” said Aunty as Selena followed her down the stairs. Her brunet hair, reminding Selena of Oren so much, was tied back in a ponytail. “I am a survivor of dungeon break too, like this one, but my parents didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, but this is not the time to hate guilds and the army…” said Selena with worry, fearing that monsters would invade at any moment. “Please, let me take you elsewhere.”

“You are such a rude brat for interrupting me,” said Aunt Sarah as she turned around and flicked her forehead, making Selena yelp with surprise. “I wanted my kids never to fight after I lost Seref. However, I also realized that I needed to protect them when the time comes.”

“So, you trained in secret?”

“I began hunting in dungeons to get money, and I also worked as a scavenger as Arthur did. However, it seems nothing was enough, as we couldn’t pay the bank for the house. It was then that Arthur awakened, and I had the fear he would disappear too.”

“Then, he…” her sentence trailed because Selena didn’t want to hurt Aunt Sarah.

“It became as I feared. I don’t want to rely on anyone anymore, not even my kids, because that would hurt them. What is a parent who cannot protect their kids?”

“Oren is capable of protecting himself, aunty. But he needs to know that you are safe and sound for him to fight without worry.”

“I would rather he worries about me than fight for my sake,” said Aunt Sarah as she reached a room. After opening it, it looked like a kid’s room, where the sunlight shone through. “This was Arthur’s room and Seref’s favorite place. It also has a hidden runic array that works as an enemy detector.”

“Not even our house is this fortified….”

“We needed to use the money we had for a good cause,” said Aunt Sarah while pulling a lever and a secret door opened. A giant room was revealed behind it, making Selena blink in amazement. “This array can also tell us where Oren and Arthur are.”

Selena didn’t know how to tell her that Arthur could not be found anymore because he was dead. In any case, aunty was not listening to her. So it was best if she could find Oren through this array to convince the aunty.

The runic array lit up as the changed woman tapped a few buttons, and a big screen appeared in front of the desk. It was a map of Kera, and Selena recognized the manufacturer right away.

“This is our latest model for the military,” muttered Selena with surprise. “Oren did ask me for a favor to buy this, but I thought it was for a friend….”

“Your family is the best manufacturer of magic technology,” said Sarah as she sat in the chair. “This should let us know where Arthur and Oren are, as long as they are in Kera.”

“Aunty… Arthur is…”

“I know he will come back because he promised to be here when something happens,” smiled Sarah without worry. Selena wanted to say that wasn’t what she meant, but the woman seemed convinced her son was alive.

The screen changed as Aunt Sarah pressed a few buttons with a cigarette in her mouth. A progress bar appeared before the map started to light up with countless dots of red and blue. There were also two green dots, one big and one small.

“The red dots are monsters, the blue are humans, and the two green are…” muttered Selena as she was familiar with the system this radar worked.

“The two greens are the target whose mana wavelength has been registered. A smaller green dot means the target is farther away from the ground, meaning the sky.”

The big green dot should be Oren, who was closer to the ground. Selena started at it not moving, and her eyes then turned toward the smaller green dot which was racing across the map. It should be in the sky.

“Arthur is here too,” said Aunt Sarah as she inhaled her cigarette deeply, apparent relief on her face.

“I didn’t know… our radar can monitor souls…” muttered Selena with shock. “If he is in the sky, does that mean he is in heaven?” she was confused.

“You are silly girl,” laughed Aunty heartily as she heard her words. “It means Arthur is either on a ship or simply flying.”

“Aunty… Arthur should be dead….” Selena couldn’t hold back telling her because this didn’t make sense to her. She has seen the clips of his death with her own eyes.

“You are a trustworthy person, and I don’t want to waste time lying to you when Arthur appears. However, he is far from dead but had reasons to fake his death.”

“…are you serious?” asked Selena with a blinking face. “There is no way that Oren was hiding this from me all this time. Does that mean he doesn’t trust me?”

“It is not about you, kiddo,” said Sarah with a head shake. “Arthur warned us that some of those who pursue him can read minds. Therefore, he didn’t want us to tell anyone else. It was a way to protect you, too.”

“…I understand,” nodded Selena before she frowned. “Humans are coming toward this area, and Oren is not with them. Who are they?”

“The device should have recorded their earlier route,” said Aunt Sarah as she began pressing a few buttons and selected the five blue dots. Then, their color turned yellow, and an earlier route was established.

“What is that? Their route is not fully shown?” asked Selena with a frown as their route appeared from the city’s center and the giant cloud on the screen. “That should be the location of Avarice….”

“These five humans are coming to us from the portal. They must be the invaders, and for some reason, they are coming our way,” said Aunt Sarah with a grave expression. “We need to prepare or run.”