Chapter 15: First Power(2)

After hours of running and a couple of rest, the group finally arrived at the Ceb City Gate.

They all plopped down on the ground. Selena catches her breath and spoke in a tired tone.

"L-let's take the carriage next time... Huff, please."

"Great idea... Haa!"

Spencer agreed and breathed heavily, even though he is a highest grade mage, tiredness is inevitable. He then looked at Luke who seemed fine while standing tall and asked in a confused voice.

"How the hell are you fine?"

"...I don't know either."

Selena butted in while holding her chest.

"It's because of the God of Light's blessing..."

"What? How?"

"That blessing instantly heals you if there are even the smallest of abnormalities in your body. It is more effective if you are near me. It seems like it kept restoring your energy and stabilizes your condition... Damn, I'm jealous."

Luke then asked in a curious voice.

"Then why are you not fine?"

Selena stood up and frowned deeply.

"That god gives someone his blessings and support to the person who amuses him or gave him a good laugh... That God is like a child seeking fun after being locked up in his room for weeks."

"... And I gave him fun? What am I? A clown?"

Selena stared at Luke with a blank stare.

"Even I will laugh my ass off if someone was so eager to become a man immediately."

Luke frowned and turned his head away from Selena. He then looked at the children who were beginning to stand up one by one. Luke then gave them drinking water, the children drank the water and stared at the City gate in front of them. Josh then gave his comment.

"So big."

Michael then looked at Luke and asked.

"What are we gonna do here brother?"

Luke looked at the children who are waiting for his answer, he also saw Selena and Spencer looking at him. He then answered the question like it was nothing.

"I'll go climb Mount Ceb."

The whole group went silent. Then a barrage of complaints came pouring in at an instant. Luke feels like his ears will fall off.

"Mount Ceb?! Isn't that a place where monsters live?!"

"You'll get hurt!!"

"I'm coming with you!"

"You can't!! It's dangerous!"

"You might die!"

"You stupid idiot. You're courting death."

• Even though I know I'll come with you, I still think it's dangerous. What are you going to do there anyway?

Luke frowned and then put his palm in front of their faces and they all stopped talking. He then started to dig his ears and then talked in an annoyed voice.

"Hey, don't worry I'll be fine. I'll take Nash with me. I bet that even if those monsters ganged up on Nash, he'll defeat them in an instant."

The group looked at him like they are not convinced, Luke just massaged his temples and then put his hand in his coat's pocket. He then took out the gold remaining in his pocket that he got from the crown prince and pushed it towards Selena.

Selena stared at it for a while and then looked at Luke with confusion. Luke then answered her questioning gaze.

"I'll be gone for a while. Find a decent inn and buy whatever you all need. But don't waste it on useless stuff. At least buy some clothes or something. Don't follow me. I'll be back."

Luke walked past them and started to run with haste magic towards the tall mountain beside the City, leaving his group speechless.

Selena then looked at Luke's back that is getting farther and farther away. She then clenched the pouch of money Luke gave her and talked in an annoyed tone.

"Kids... Let's loot this bastard's money dry."

The kids and Spencer all nodded in unison while looking at where Luke just ran into. If Luke heard them he might even faint while crying about his money, but fortunately, he didn't hear it.

Luke arrived at the foot of the mountain and saw tall fences with warning signs. Luke ignored it and asked Nash.

"Nash, flight magic please."

"Okay."

Luke suddenly starts to float up over the fence. He then landed on the other side of the fence.

Grrrrr!

Luke looked at the monsters that are slowly approaching him. They looked like trolls. He then heard Nash's voice on his shoulder.

"Ha, trying to provoke me? How cute."

Nash removed his invisibility and looked at the trolls. The trolls noticed his presence and started to run away. They looked scared.

Clap, clap, clap.

Luke clapped his hands while looking at the running trolls in amazement.

"As expected of Nash. Truly cool."

"Hmph! This is normal."

Luke then took out his sword. He frowned at the condition of the sword. It has a crack on it from the previous explosion. It looked like it will break with a few more swings. Luke put the blade back to the scabbard with an unhappy expression and then started to walk towards the mountain and started to climb.

The terrain was bumpy and it was covered with tall grasses and trees. There are monsters around them but they can't attack because of Nash. There are some stubborn ones but their heads immediately exploded with Nash's scary magic. Even the high-grade monsters in the mountain immediately retreated.

Thanks to haste magic and Nash's protection, Luke safely arrives at the top of the mountain. On top of the mountain, there is flat and rocky land.

Luke then saw a blue stone shining brightly at the center, he then smiled and approached the stone. He was about to grab the stone but Luke suddenly felt a strong headache and held his head with both hands. Nash asked in a worried tone.

"Hey? What's wrong?! Huh?! Blood! You're bleeding!"

Luke saw drops of blood flowing out from his mouth and nose. He felt extreme pain but the God of Light's blessing repelled the pain. But the problem is, his nose is still bleeding.

'Damn it, what the heck is this? This is not mentioned in the novel!'

"Hey, why are you bleeding?! Are you okay?!"

He heard Nash's cries, he tried to ignore them and close his eyes.

And then, he suddenly heard an unfamiliar voice in his head. It was a deep but clear voice.

• Don't touch that. Everyone below will die.

'What are you talking about? Die? Why?'

And as if the voice heard his thoughts. The voice answered.

• That stone is what keeps the monsters from escaping here.

Luke's eyes opened wide. He then thought.

'I didn't know... It was not mentioned in the novel.'

Actually, the power [Hercules Strength] is just a passing power that the author mentioned. The main characters didn't take the memory of this magic container because it was only something the author, and me, the reader knew about.

When the main characters already accumulated the information they needed, they didn't look for more, and then the extra forgotten powers are mentioned at the end.

It described their names, abilities, and location. Although it was really weird, I thought it was just an excuse for making the chapter longer so I just brushed it aside.

He then heard the voice in his head one more time.

• Are you still going to take it? You're friends and the people in the city might die base on your actions.

Luke bit his lip and frowned. He then slowly opened his eyes and saw Nash's teary face looking at him.

He patted his head and walked past him. He then stood in front of the stone emitting blue light and grabbed it. He then heard the voice once again.

• Are you sure about your decision? Your companions might die and the city below might be destroyed.

Luke stared at the blue stone and started to speak.

"They won't die easily. They're strong. And, if I get this power I could kill those monsters before they could even get into the city."

"What are you talking about?"

Nash asked a question but Luke ignored him. He then started to crush the stone. The stone crushed easily like it was made of wet sand and a blue light started to surround his body.

His body then absorbed the blue light and felt an extreme amount of power stored inside of him.

Luke was then about to leave but felt an enormous amount of pain in his whole body. He fell to the ground and saw Nash shouting something at him but Luke didn't hear it and instead heard the voice in this head.

• This is the first time that you absorbed power from ancient people. Your body might need to adjust... I hope you could make it to the city in time.

Luke gritted his teeth and cursed the owner of the voice in his mind.

'You son of a bitch! You should've told me earlier!'

He then felt his mind shutting down and everything went black.

----------

Selena and Spencer were sitting on the edge of a fountain with the kids while drinking and eating.

They all bought new clothes from an expensive boutique store with Luke's money. Luke's money basically plummeted down and only a few gold coins were left.

They looked around the plaza filled with people and Michael asked in a bored tone.

"It's been several hours since brother Luke disappeared. When will he come back?"

Spencer answered him while eating skewered meat.

"Forget about that bastard, I bet he'll return at the time we least expected in."

Then they heard Lily's sad voice.

"I wonder when brother Nash will come back?"

Jessa followed after her.

"Yeah, we even bought his favorite candy."

Josh then talked in a sad voice with his arms on both cheeks.

"I miss them both."

The children nodded at the same time and Spencer and Selena looked at each other before consoling the kids.

"Don't worry kids they will come back. Nash is with him so I bet that he'll take care of that bastard-"

BAAANG!

"Aaaaaahhh!!"

Selena, Spencer, and the kids turned their heads and saw the people running away. They then heard someone scream.

"Monsters! Monsters are attacking us!"

Selena and the crew all looked shocked and looked at each other with wide eyes. The children then heard someone scream again.

"It's the monsters! Monsters from Mount Ceb!"

"What is happening?! I thought that the monsters are sealed in the mountain?!"

"How did they got out?!"

The children suddenly thought about one person and Jessa exclaimed.

"Brother Luke! Didn't brother Luke just went to Mount Ceb?! What happened to him?!"

Spencer gritted his teeth and looked around.

"Shit! Now is not the time for that! We must evacuate the citizens!"

All the crew members nodded and then started to assist the citizens who couldn't run away like the elderly, and children from the orphanages.

They guided the citizens to the other entrance of the city but they saw people rushing back in.

When the crowd cleared a little, they saw monsters rushing in through the gates. Spencer cursed and shouted with his voice amplified with magic.

"Shit! Everyone! Run gather to the plaza! We'll activate a shield! Hurry!"

The citizens then ran towards the plaza. The children and Selena assisted the people in the plaza, some of the knights in charge of security of the City also helped the citizen rush towards the plaza and once all of them are gathered, the children gathered their mana and created a large shield in a form of a dome covering the whole people in the plaza.

Spencer, Selena, and some knights took a step out from the shield and prepared themselves. Spencer released his mana and Selena created a martial art stance with her hands and feet covered in golden light. The knights looked shocked for a moment but focused when they heard Spencer's shout.

"Here they come!"