"How did you find this world?" The General questioned in a grave tone of voice.
"First of all, let me clarify that I don't seek out this world specifically," Zachary said. His playfulness was gone with the wind, but a smile still hung on his lips.
"Mere words alone won't buy my trust." The general said, and Zachary was fast to reply, as to his ears, the statement sounds too arrogant.
"Your trust is worth nothing to me, worthless mortal." Zachary snorted, looking at the General with his nostrils.
The general's face darkened.
"A two-hundred-year-young bastard like you, near-talentless, dares to try pulling your weight around, in front of me? Heh! Ignorance and blindness have afflicted you." Zachary sneered.
"So what? You're not the only immortal in this world." The General said.
"And you think I'm not aware of them? Even if they all come, this semi-immortal body of mine would be more than enough to handle those foot-soldiers." Zachary cackled.
"Hah… Arguing with an ignorant fool was never good." Zachary sighed, rocking his chair.
"Enlighten me, then." The General muttered.
"Why should I?" Zachary raised an eyebrow.
"This conversation will go nowhere, if otherwise." The General added.
"Well. You got a point. Ignorant as you are, a fool that you are, at least you're brave." Zachary smirked.
"Very well. I'll indulge." He added. Zachary stopped rocking his chair and said, "Ask away."
"What are your reasons or purposes in this world?" General Nuthus asked after much deliberation.
"Literally sightseeing. Or exploration. The fact that I land on the battlefield is an unplanned coincidence. Nothing more." Zachary clarified.
"And the allegation made against you? Do you use Soul Energy?" The General asked.
"Soul Energy is one of the most versatile types of innate power across realities. If every Soul Path practitioner is what you call the Archivistas, then even this world would have been overrun by something inevitable." Zachary mused.
"They, the Archivistas, are mere fools who went down the most foolish path for short-term dominance." He added.
"Are you saying the Thaum Path is inherently superior?" The General asked.
"No Path is superior or inferior to others. However, mastering your innate power, the soul, is the prerequisite to achieving higher power." Zachary said.
"Why do you think those 'immortals' you mentioned never eradicated the Archivistas, if they're so problematic?" Zachary inquired.
His question resonates with the General. He had been wondering about it too for so long. He perked up his hearing, waiting for Zachary to explain, but the words never came.
"What do the other worlds look like?" The general asked, curiosity and longing evident in his voice.
Zachary looked at the man in silence for a while. Then he laughed.
"Unwilling to spend the rest of your life here, I see." He said.
Zachary raised his right hand, pointing upward. A mote of light appeared, hovering on his fingertip, before the light shot forward, into the General's temple. General Nuthus lose control over his body immediately, and his face slammed the table hard.
Internally, the General was experiencing the memories of Zachary, watching worlds changing from one to the next. He saw many wondrous sights, myriads of living beings he had never seen before, and awe-inducing phenomenons.
The realm is indeed vast. Way beyond his imagination.
In real-time, Zachary waits for the man to snap back to reality patiently. It was a long few moments of waiting before General Nuthus woke up, feeling a sweltering headache assaulting his mind.
His head was throbbing with pain, but it subsided as quickly as it appeared. After all, Zachary only shared a fraction of his memories, and that, too, was filtered.
General Nuthus massaged his temple in an effort to ease the pain as his focus slowly settled on the 'young man' seated across the table once again.
That was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of experience. But General Nuthus doesn't want it to remain that way. This person sitting in front of him is a chance. A chance to realize his dream of seeing the wider reality.
"Master!" The General abruptly stood up from his seat.
"Nope. Not gonna happen." Zachary said, almost like he knew what the man wanted to say.
"Your excellency! Please reconsider. I'll do anything!" General Nuthus shouted. He's aware of his own limit, and considering the sheer effort he had put in just to reach his current strength, General Nuthus wasn't even confident in reaching the level where he could travel to other worlds with his own strength.
His heart for exploration, which he had shelved for so long, began to beat again, and he wasn't willing to let this chance go.
"Assuming I need you to do something is quite bold, isn't it?" Zachary mused.
"…." General Nuthus fell silent. He needed to think of something fast, or he had a feeling that he'd regret it until his death if he didn't.
While Zachary appears entirely uninterested. He's actually brainstorming on what he should use the General for.
'The people of this world are quite stupid for not even discovering the importance of their own souls.'
'Or… this might be a deliberate plan, they put down. Painting the Thaum Path as 'evil' also works in their favor.'
'I have a feeling that the Archivistas isn't what they're painted to be.'
Zachary mused internally.
Zachary thinks that the latter reasoning had more significance and more coherence. An elaborate propaganda to control the people and keep the power limited to their circle.
Typical method. But effective in any world that has near-absent, or strictly controlled contact with other worlds.
After a long silence, General Nuthus finally spoke, "I won't be speculating anymore. Your Excellency, tell me what needs to be done, and it shall be."
"The wanted notice. Take it down." Zachary said. As if he had foreseen the thoughts of General Nuthus.
Hearing that, General Nuthus was caught off guard. The reply came so fast that his brain was buffering.
"Ah…. That is…" The General scratched his nose.
"What? Can't do it?" Zachary raised an eyebrow.
"It can be done! However, Your Excellency. I need some time…." The General answered hastily before running the probabilities in his head.
"Shifting allegiance so fast. I'm feeling sorry for my back already." Zachary chuckled. His tone was light, but the General naturally understood what he was getting at and immediately said, "My Lord! I swear that I will never betray you!"
"Alright. Since you're so eager, do a good job. Oh, and don't forget to present extensive intelligence of every force in this world." Zachary said.
"Will do, my Lord! But… How can I find you later?" The General stood straight as he said his piece.
"Don't fret over it. I will come find you when the time comes." Zachary said, and split second later, he vanished, and the chair he had been rocking earlier fell to the floor.
Zachary wasn't even uncertain about taking the general as his underling for two reasons.
First, he had made sure to inspect the entirety of General Nuthus' Life Code and found his actions and desires to be genuine. And secondly, the man wasn't as talentless as he said.
Zachary reappeared on the other side of the Capital City merely moments later, appearing right in front of a woman. A familiar one.
Tonight, Zachary wants to do one thing that he has not yet done after his rebirth.
~~~~~
Clint stood tall and unwounded amidst the dozens of men strewn across the ground. As a way to show his appreciation for the Aslan noble family, the one who had treated him back to health, Clint had decided to instruct the elite guards of the family in combat arts.
His days for the last few months had been peaceful, and Clint appreciated not having to always watch his back or having to run every once in a while.
At this point, Clint had begun to work his way up again after confirming that he had indeed regressed. The Laws of the Reality were very different than anything he remembered. Thanks to his knowledge of Existence Code, which was taught to him by his former master, Clint found it easier to rebuild what he had lost.
Everything was developing in a great sequence.
"Clint! I've brought lunch! Come and eat with me!" Alice shouted from the edge of the training ground. Her voice was filled with warmth and joy.
The sprawling elite guards on the ground, who were all exhausted beyond measure after the hellish training, had their limbs twitching as they shakily got back to their feet.
The voice of their angel, Alice Aslan, had given them a round of adrenaline and a surge of resentment aimed specifically toward their 'instructor,' Clint.
Who among them doesn't dream of getting in the good grace of such a beauty and gaining her affection?
Which is why they're glaring daggers at Clint, who appears entirely oblivious to the young miss's clear interest in him.
They wish they could strangle this emotionless bastard, but they lack the strength or power to do so.
"We shall resume training after a one-hour rest," Clint said as he walked off the training ground heading toward the young miss of the Aslan Noble family.
"Let's go!" Miss Alice grabbed Clint's hand and dragged him away, holding the lunchbox in her other hand.
As they both walked away, the elite guards slumped to the ground again, defeated.
"Come on, guys. Don't be so sad. Let's go get something to eat. We're gonna need the energy after this one-hour grace." A guy, the most optimistic among them, said. Though he's clearly shivering at the thought of what would happen after the hour ends, and that demonic bastard came back to resume training.
As elite guards, they had been the cream of the crop among their peers. They learned fast and grew at an impressive rate. Many among them had gone through wars, but nothing was as dreadful as training under Clint.
Despite their potential and pride, they felt exhausted from trying to keep up with Clint's pace for weeks.
While they could clearly feel the supercharged rate of their own improvement, Clint always had a method to keep them humble and reconsider their life choices.
Alice brought Clint to the garden located to the south of the training ground. Built between the noble house and the barracks where the noble family's private soldiers trained.
Alice eagerly set down the mat below the shade of a tree and opened the tiered lunchbox one by one, setting them on the unfurled mat.
Clint helped her prepare exactly as she said, and this had been routine for both of them.
After setting everything into place, they both sat on the mat and ate lunch while conversing. Alice had a warm smile on her face, clearly enjoying spending time with this tight-faced man.
"How was the food?" Alice asked.
"Good," Clint answered as he drank some water. Seeing the chance, Alice smiled mischievously and said,
"Then you should hurry and wife me up." Her comment caught Clint off guard, and he sprayed the water in his mouth everywhere. Alice laughed freely, seeing the result of her teasing.
Clint sighed and calmly used a handkerchief to clean his mouth and clothes.
"…"
"I will leave in a few days," Clint said as he gazed at the beautiful scenery of the garden.
Alice stiffened when she heard his words.
"Can you take me with you?" She asked.
"No." His answer came fast and without hesitation.
"Tsk!" Alice clicked her tongue, and that caught Clint off guard.
"At least show some hesitation, will you?!" Alice pouted, clearly having a sour mood.
"Take this." Clint handed her a small ornament knife.
"If your life was threatened, unsheathe it," Clint said after Alice took the knife, inspecting it on her palm.
"Clint…. Can't you give me something better? A ring, or a necklace perhaps?! A knife? Tsk! You really don't understand a woman's aesthetics." That's what she said, but she's holding the knife tighter than necessary.
Clint smiled faintly before standing up. "You can throw it away if it's not to your liking." He said before walking away.
Alice saw the faint curl on Clint's lips and couldn't help feeling warmth spreading in her heart.
Outwardly, however, she was pouting.
Stupid Clint. Like I'd throw away your first gift.