Chapter 21: Friend(2)

Luke saw Klein looking at him with wide eyes. Luke just stared blankly at him.

'As expected, he took the bait.'

As Luke was thinking of that, Klein then suddenly grabbed his collar and asked him with a face that was both teary and mad.

He's probably mad because he might think that Luke was scamming him. I mean, just look at that poker face, it definitely is a look of a scammer.

But he needed to ask to make sure.

"Where?! Where are they?! Tell me!"

•Hey, hey! What does he think he's doing?!

Luke just blankly stared at Klein for a moment before pushing Klein back down to his chair. Hearing Nash's angry voice is an alarm for him to calm Klein down.

Luke then calmly fixed his collar that was messed by Klein's grip and talked slowly and peacefully.

"I will tell you, I will even go with you. But after everything was over."

Klein bit his lip then slowly spoke in a shaky voice.

"Is it about the war?"

Luke stopped moving and looked at Klein with wide eyes.

'He... How did he know? Wait, could it be...?'

"Did the other kingdoms already reached out to you?"

Silence fell in the room for a moment. But that silence gave Luke the answer.

'Oh fuck.'

"...Yes, but. I-I don't like what they are offering me."

Klein really didn't want the other kingdoms offer, it's not what he wanted.

Luke didn't know, it was not written in detail but it looks like that the three kingdoms of the south forced him to take their offer in the novel if Klein himself said that he didn't like the offer. Luke then asked Klein.

"Will you... Accept their offer?"

Klein looked at Luke with complicated eyes. He seems hesitating. I mean, who wouldn't?

Three kingdoms who will guarantee him fame and money if they won the war... Or this suspicious person who said he knows where your wife and daughter that you've been looking for so long is.

Luke noticed this and said another thing that will hopefully make Klein trust him more.

"When you met your wife and kids, I'll also help you buy the land of your choice, so you can live happily. About the building, The Royal and Viscellete Ducal family will provide the materials you needed, we just need your miracle hands to do their job. I'll also pay you a lot of money so that you husband and wife won't have to worry about money anymore."

Luke could see Klein's eyes starting to shake. Luke threw the final bait.

"Your wife and daughter... I can't exactly tell you the details of where they are but they are currently living in the Eastern Continent."

Klein was speechless for a moment before speaking in a shaky voice.

"How can I trust you?"

"Don't worry, I'm not scamming you. I'll even come with you to meet them."

Klein looked straight into Luke's deep eyes. He doesn't know what to feel. But after seeing those firm and deep purple eyes, he felt that this young man in front of him was truly serious.

"C-can you really do that?"

"Of course. I never make promises I couldn't keep. And also because..."

Luke's expression suddenly became dead serious. Klein started to get nervous and paid attention to his next words.

"We will definitely win the war. Definitely."

Klein's eyes widened as he saw the seriousness in Luke's eyes.

'This guy... He is serious.'

Klein then rubbed his eyes to wipe the forming tears in his eyes away and offered his hand to Luke. He looks so firm and confident.

He doesn't know why but only one thing came in on his mind right now.

'Trust him... And I'll get what I want.'

Klein wasn't fully sure about it yet but that is what he felt while looking at this serious and confident young lad in front of him.

"I accept. I will ignore the other kingdom's contract and temporarily sign myself under you."

Luke accepted his hand with a smile and gripped it firmly.

"Good, I'm looking forward to working with you. We will go to the Viscellete estate in a month. So I'll pick you up before that."

"Okay, I'll go and prepare my stuff. I'll see you again in a month."

"Great. Then I should get going now."

Luke walked then stood up and walked out of the workshop with Klein to set him off. Once Luke was completely gone out of sight, Klein clenched his fist and formed a determined expression.

"Miya and my baby... I'll meet you soon."

Klein returned to his workshop to get things ready while wearing a determined and hopeful expression that he hasn't worn for years.

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It is currently night time and the group is inside the inn in Luke's room, laughing and drinking. Happy voices and glass clinking could be heard inside his room.

Luke just observed his group's happy eyes and drank the alcohol from a large glass of beer in his hand. His group is currently dancing and littering around his room that made Luke want to drink and get drunk so that he could ignore it.

He then stopped when he felt the children, including Nash, looking at the alcohol in his hand with interest. Luke frowned at them.

"Don't even think about it, you're all underage."

The children pouted and drank their orange juices. Luke just sighed and heard Selena and Lina's loud voice.

They're both drunk.

"Woohoo! Worship the legendary beasts! Hallelujah!"

"Hak! Hak! Hak! Hey! Tell me how to convert to your religion! I'll leave this crybaby of a Light God!"

Selena and Lina danced shoulder to shoulder while holding a bottle of wine in their hands. Luke decided to ignore it and then looked at Spencer who is.... Knock out, completely.

'He was so confident when Selena challenged him earlier but he was the first one to be knocked out...'

Only Luke and the kids are the only ones who were not drunk. They all looked at the drunk trio with blank faces. The two dancing drunk women noticed this and frowned at them.

"H-hey! Why are y'all looking at me like that? That is ruuuudde-"

Bam!

Aaand, Selena completely passed out.

Luke sighed and signaled the kids. They then all put down their beverages and stood up.

The kids walked forward and supported Spencer and Lina. They are both passed out.

Luke sighed and carried Selena like a sack of potatoes and entered her bedroom. Luke then placed Selena on the bed and covered her body with a blanket.

After leaving the room, he then saw the children coming out from Lina and Spencer's room, looks like they are also done with placing them in their rooms.

The children were about to go to their rooms but Luke made a fake cough to gather their attention.

"Ehem, my room."

The children turned around and sighed, they then cleaned the mess inside Luke's room with the help of Luke and Nash and finally went to their rooms.

After everyone is out of the room, except for Nash, Luke opened the window of his room and asked Nash who was looking at him with curiosity.

"Nash, flight magic. Let's go."

"We're going treasure hunting again?"

"I guess?"

'Well, at least for me it is treasure hunting.'

Without knowing what's on Luke's mind, Nash excitedly exclaimed.

"All right!"

Nash then excitedly jumped to Luke's shoulder and cast flight magic on Luke. Luke then started to fly towards the ocean. The salty ocean breeze hits Luke's hair and makes his hair and black coat flutter wildly but Luke ignored it and continued to fly under the starry sky.

Luke then flew further on the ocean and stopped at the middle of the ocean, far away from the shore, and looked down at the deep and cold water below him. Nash then asked with worry.

"What are we going to do here?"

Instead of answering, Luke said something else.

"Nash, cast water breathing spell on me."

Nash looked shocked.

"Are you going to dive there on your own?! No way! I'll come with you!"

"No, you wait for me here. No buts."

"But why?!"

"I need to do this on my own."

Nash stopped hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Fine! But if I sensed anything wrong, I'll dive right away!"

Luke nodded.

"That's reassuring."

Nash the casted water breathing spell on Luke. A bubble then surrounded his whole head. Luke smiled and signaled Nash. Nash frowned but carefully put Luke down in the water.

"Be careful."

Luke nodded at Nash's warning and dived down towards the deep ocean. He continued to go down, and down, and down... And finally, he reached the sea bed and looked around the ocean floor.

All sorts of fish and sea plants are around him but Luke ignored this and started to walk forward while looking around.

Thanks to Nash's water-breathing magic, he doesn't need to worry about running out of oxygen unlike in his past world.

'Magic is truly convenient.'

While praising the power of fantasy novels and magic, Luke continued to look around and stopped when he saw an altar with a white stone on top of it on the edge of a deep and large trench.

Luke gulped at how ominous the atmosphere was and slowly walked towards the altar but stopped when strong water currents suddenly came rushing out from the trench.

Luke almost flew off but thankfully, he managed to grab the edge of a heavy boulder beside him and prevented himself from flying off. Luke kept on holding on to the boulder with a confused and frowning expression. He doesn't know what's going on.

After a few more moments of struggle, the water suddenly started to calm down and Luke can finally let go of the boulder. Luke panted from exhaustion and looked at his bleeding fingers from gripping on the boulder for too long.

"Ah great, now I'm injured."

"Kiik!"

Look stopped and stood frozen from his position. Luke's eyes started to shake and his head slowly turned towards the source of the noise.

When Luke turned his head, he couldn't believe his eyes.

A large lifeform emerged from the trench. Luke looked at the large lifeform that is about thirty meters long with shock. He then immediately took out his sword and activated [Aura]. He then bit his lip.

'Shit! It's a fucking kraken!'

Luke stared at the Kraken looking at him with its large eyes. His heart is beating wildly as he looked at those black eyes.

Why?

Because a Kraken is also a motherfucking legendary beast. Even though the Kraken is not so good at mana, its destructiveness is said to be able to destroy a whole kingdom in one day even without getting serious.

Luke gulped and looked at the tentacles of the Kraken with wary and nervous eyes. He doesn't know which one of those large tentacles will hit him. One hit from one of those tentacles will immediately send him to the afterlife. That is how destructive they are. Luke then frowned and thought.

'Should I run? I didn't know a Kraken would appear here. Shit.'

He is about to run away but he then heard the Kraken cries that made him stop.

"Kiiik! Kiiik! Kiiik!"

Luke slowly turned around and then saw the Kraken waving his large tentacles at him like it was trying to calm him down. Luke looked confused and dumbfounded for a moment before frowning and trying to understand what the Kraken is doing.

After seeing the gestures and non-killing intent from the Kraken. Luke finally turned back to his usual stoic self.

"What do you want?"

Luke asked the Kraken and the Kraken scratched its head for a moment before forming hearts with its tentacles. Luke looked at this with a surprised and dumbfounded expression. He felt like he is seeing what he isn't supposed to see.

A Kraken... Destroyer of the seas is forming hearts.... With its tentacles? What?

Luke wanted to rub his eyes but can't because of the bubble around his head. So he just opened his mouth to express his disbelief.

After a while of looking at the Kraken forming hearts with its tentacles. Luke sighed.

He then just frowned and deactivated his aura. He put his sword back to the scabbard and looked at the Kraken, whose eyes were supposedly smiling at him, with disbelief.

"Do you perhaps.... Want to be friends?"

The Kraken immediately nodded while forming a thumbs up with his tentacles. Luke's face becomes incomprehensible while looking at the Kraken. The disbelief and surprise he is feeling right now are immeasurable.

This is not a sight you'll get used to at all. It's like looking at a bird swimming in the sea while fish were flying in the air.

But that is not what Luke came for.

Luke glanced at the white stone shining at the top of the altar. It seems like the Kraken noticed his glance and tried to pick the white stone with his tentacles. But its tentacles were too big so it can't properly pick up the white stone. The Kraken seemed to be annoyed which made Luke be alerted. He then stopped when he saw bubbles started to float up from the Kraken's large body.

Luke looked at this unbelievable sight. All that his vision could see are bubbles but when the bubbles started to disappear, a small octopus could be seen from where the Kraken was. It has black round eyes and red-colored skin with small chubby tentacles.

Luke's eyebrows twitched while looking at the now small Kraken. He then saw it swimming towards the altar and grabbed the white stone with its small tentacles.

The small Kraken then swims towards Luke while carrying the white stone with a happy face. The Kraken arrived in front of him and offered him the white stone.

"Kiiik! Kiiiik! Kiiiik!"

"You're, giving me this?"

The Kraken nodded and stretch out its tentacles which are holding the white stone.

Luke slowly grabbed the white stone from the Kraken. The Kraken moved to the side and started to watch him. It seems like he knows what will happen.

Luke then focused on the white stone on his hand and crushed it. White light flowed up from his fist and flowed directly to his body.

The white light then entered his body. Luke suddenly felt like he will be always protected after that.

Luke was standing still for a moment before looking at his hand that crushed the white stone.

He then decided to try this new power. [Guardian Wings].