My Hermes System

"I am talking about our very own King…

...King Uther Pendragon."

"..."

"..."

"...Why are you saying it with such suspense like it should mean something to me?"

"Seriously, you don't even know who he is!?"

"Oi!"

The excitement and shock coming out of Arthur were reflected by the clanging of the iron bars that reached almost to the end of the dungeon, causing the prisoners who were asleep to have no choice but to be woken up by the violent pealing sound.

The complaints of the prisoners rippled, once again garnering the attention of the guard that was guarding the dungeon.

"F'ckin hell, mates! This is my last warning! I'm gonna feed you some of my arsefire you got it!?"

And with the guard's words echoing through the end of the hall and seeping through each of the iron bars, the prisoners within them quickly shut their mouths and once again returned to whatever it was they were doing.

Arthur, on the other hand, seemed to be keen on testing how loud his whispers could be before the guard noticed them again,

"Seriously, you don't even know who he is?" He once again muttered, but this time more calmly.

"...No."

"Just how far are you? I reckoned the King should be famous even outside Britain, especially for mages like you," Arthur whispered, almost squishing his head as he planted it between the iron bars to get a better look at Van.

"I told you, I am not a mage."

"Right, right," Arthur let out a tiny breath as he squinted his eyes, "But seriously? King Uther is extremely famous, or should I say infamous for killing any wielders of magic he encounters, earning him the title of Mana Slayer."

"..."

"And bloody hell; the man might be evil as shit, but you can't deny his strength. Did you know he was able to defeat 3 wizards on his own at once? And without even a scratch on him."

"So… he is strong?" Van then furrowed his eyebrows as he slightly turned his head towards the murky floor of the dungeon. He doesn't know how strong these so-called wizards are yet, but if they were anywhere near what Angela could do; and this King Uther was able to defeat all of them on his own, then he would probably be the best person to tell about the existence of the World Eaters.

His authority was just an added bonus. The only problem now is how to make him listen-- he seemed to already hate beings of magic, and Van's abilities seemed to be similar to that.

"Strong is an understatement, lad," Arthur then stepped away from the cell door as he let out a long and deep sigh, "He's a one-man army. If he isn't busy doing whatever it is he is doing in his ominous castle, then he was out taking the lives of wizards, druids, witches, and any other beings that dared breathe out even a speck of dust of magic out of their nose."

"And his brother is going to be here tomorrow to watch the execution?"

"Yup, the sick fuck," Arthur then let out another long and deep sigh, "At least the King, evil as he is, has a legit reason to abhor mages. But Aurelius? The chad's just a little bit loose in the head."

"I… see."

"Anyway," Arthur then disappeared into the darkness of his cell, his sighs almost piercing Van's ears, "I probably shouldn't keep you up, this is your last night; I shall let you say your prayers in peace, lad."

"Hm," Van then hummed as he too, stepped away from his door cell, "Thank you for all the info, Mister Arthur."

"Mister? That's new," Arthur's chuckles whispered through the darkness, "A shame you're going to die tomorrow, lad. Do know that I will be praying for your soul to reach heaven."

"...Thanks?"

***

"Wake up, you lazy sods!"

Van woke up with the sound of his head ringing; his vision, almost spinning. It even almost seemed like his back hurt quite a bit-- perhaps he got a little too used to sleeping in space. He let out a tiny grunt as he sat himself up, his bones almost cracking.

"..." It didn't help that his extremely long hair was filled with all the muck and grime from the floor, causing it to stick to his skin in a very nauseous texture. It wasn't an inconvenience at all when he was in space, but now that gravity was waving hello, Van could not help but feel a little irritated by it.

"Oi! What are you still doing with your butt on the ground! Get up, you little twat!"-- and with those words, another flavor was added to Van's cell as one of the guards once again spat on his cell. Van didn't even seem to mind, however. This cell he was in? It was almost comparable to a fancy room compared to his life in the Relic Graveyard.

And so, Van only let out a lazy sigh as he stood up, patting all the dirt that stuck to his skin and pulling his hair to the back.

"Wear this, and don't even try anything funny. This thing will produce lightning and strike you down if it detects you using even a snuff of magic, before sealing it."

The guard then threw some sort of shackles towards Van, before proceeding to head deeper into the dungeon.

"..." Van then picked up the manacles, checking it thoroughly to see how it worked. He hasn't really tried yet if all this anti-magic paraphernalia worked against him. The guard said the cell itself seals a mage's power, but he didn't get to test it since he didn't want to catch any eyebrows rising up.

If it didn't work on him… will it work on the Aesir or Olympians?

"Stop dilly-dallying! Wear your cuffs and stand outside your cells! Any mages not seen outside of their cells would be tortured to death here and now!"

"..." Van's thoughts were then interrupted as the loud gnarly voice of one of the guards reverberated throughout the entire dungeon. He should probably do as they say, 'less he wants to attract even more attention and not even reach the execution grounds.

Van wore the manacles around his wrists, before proceeding to head on out to his now opened cell. And as soon as he stepped out, he saw Arthur staring at him straight in the eyes.

Arthur then nodded, before closing his eyes before moving his hand in different directions, starting from his forehead and ending on his right shoulder.

What was that all about? Van thought as he watched as Arthur suddenly started whispering to himself. But before he could go take a closer look, one of the guards suddenly placed something around his neck.

"Move along now!"

"..." Van momentarily glared towards the guard before several sounds of clanking noises trickled in his ears. He then looked back and forth towards where the noises were coming from, only to see that the collar that was attached around his neck was connected by a chain to other prisoners… presumably mages.

"Oi! What's the hold-up!? Why aren't you moving!?"

"I… I can't move, sir!"

"What!?"

"I… I think the chain is stuck on something, sir."

"The cha-- Oi, you! Start moving!"

With the screams of the guards growing louder by the second, Van could not help but turn his head to what all the commotion was about, only to see several guards and a prisoner staring at him.

"Move, you little twat!"

"...Right."

"Guhk!"

"Fucking hell!"

And as soon as Van moved, the prisoner behind him almost choked to death as they all started stumbling one by one like a set of dominoes.

"What are you all doing!? Stop playing around and delaying the inevitable! All of you are dying of brutal deaths today!"

So… these are the so-called mages? Van let out a short but deep sigh as he looked at the limping individuals behind him. If the inhabitants of this world were this weak… then perhaps he was wasting his time on this planet.

No, he shouldn't judge too quickly. Based on what he had been hearing so far, these wizards, witches, and mages were closely similar to the Mage-type System Holders back in his world, clinging closely to the Elementals.

Their bodies weren't necessarily strong, their offensive capabilities, however, were the most destructive of all the System Holder types. Add the fact that the collar around their necks was supposed to seal their powers, then this much should be expected.

And so, with all sorts of thoughts racing in his mind, Van started to walk along with the other prisoners. And as soon as they got out of the dungeon, they were welcomed by the sight of a crowd… no, a mob.

The one leading the chain of prisoners had the worst of it, as he received all the stones, tomatoes, eggs, and perhaps even a fresh batch of feces that the frenzied mob was throwing at them.

"..." It would seem Van had still underestimated how much the mages were hated here. Just what exactly did they do to receive this kind of treatment? Or is it because the hatred of the king, is also the hatred of his citizens?

Whatever the case may be, he truly did not know anything about this world yet. It was best to keep a low profile for now until the King's brother shows himself.

"W… what's that!?"

"What in the heavens is that!?"

"M… monster!?"

And then, all of a sudden, the disdain and projectiles were replaced by gasps of shock.

"B… black magic! It's black magic!"

Curious, Van quickly turned his head to the back, where all of the terrified gazes of the crowd were centered-- and to his surprise… it was only a dark-skinned individual.

"..."

....Just what kind of sensitive shits lives in this world?-- Van thought.