Path to Transcendence

Reinera POV

She had no idea where Julius had run off to. She spent several minutes knocking on the door to his room, but there was no response, which likely meant that he was out.

She had wanted to take the time to have a sit-down and real talk with Julius now that everything had calmed down.

There wasn't exactly a lot of time, nor it was the right place to have a heart-to-heart in a labyrinth. But now that they had reached a town, it was different.

Where could he have gone? Did he go out and get some more food? She thought to herself wonderingly.

She would be the first one to admit it, but she loved food more than most people would find healthy. However, Julius might have been an even larger fanatic when it came to food.

Although they had been stuck in a Tier 3 rift, Julius had no end of delicious and delectable treats. It was like the boy had his very own personal buffet stored in his storage ring. It wasn't like she was complaining though. It had made the frightening experience much more bearable. It was amazing what a few good meals could do for the soul and morale.

Thinking about it for a moment, she decided to go and look for him. While she was at it, she could observe the town for herself.

As a princess who was always guarded by Amelia or others, she rarely had the opportunity to explore on her own. However, now that she did have that chance, she wanted to take it.

It was this same feeling of freedom that prevented her from letting her family's retainers from knowing where she was.

She hadn't told Julius, but she had an item that would activate as a distress beacon. The moment it was activated, a team led by a space mage would appear in a matter of minutes.

However, she hadn't activated it after they left the rift and she still wasn't activating it now. For one, it still needed some time to recalibrate. The spatial transportation must have effected it somehow and it wasn't able to be activated quite yet. It would take some time before it was ready.

But that wasn't real issue. Even if it was working she wasn't that willing to actually use it. She knew it was selfish and Julius might have been angry if he found out, but she wanted to experience this just for a little. Her entire life she had been caged up and coddled, and she just wanted to see how it felt to be someone normal.

Someone who wasn't burdened with royal responsibilities.

As she left the noisy inn, she started to walk down the street aimlessly. She had no direction and really didn't have the intention of finding Julius. It was just a pretense for her to leave her room and explore.

The sun was falling over the horizon and she noticed how quiet the town seemed.

It was so different than what she was used to. Heston and the Capital were always busy, it didn't matter what time of day it was. It could be two in the morning and there would be many people out and about.

Stonewall was different. There was this distinct sense of peace as she walked down the streets. There was the occasional laughter and noises coming from homes and restaurants, but it was peaceful and she was enjoying it.

The crisp night air felt great against her skin.

It felt so great that she found a bench near a fountain and sat there for a while, just taking it all in. She didn't know the next time she would be able to do something like this. She didn't know the next time she would be completely alone. So she savored every second of it.

It was just too bad she wasn't allowed to.

She felt the impact before she sensed the mana. Something cracked the back of her head with a surprising amount of force.

The blow completely caught her off guard and she instinctively threw out a bunch of mana at random.

She had been so focused on enjoying the moment that she let her guard down. It was so stupid of her, she had been reminded of not doing it so many times, yet here she was.

Still, whoever was attacking her wouldn't get an easy fight. She tried to steel her hazy mind, still disorientated from the ambush, and sent a barrage of smaller spears of light at the attackers.

There were half a dozen masked attackers and all Tier 3s, but her quick response had surprised them. They probably weren't expecting such a violent reaction from a Tier 2 girl.

It took one of them by so much surprise that he allowed himself to get pummeled by the spears of light. One of them, stabbing quite deep in his stomach.

However, to their credit, they didn't take it lying down. The rest of them threw out blasts of mana and those who didn't have a ranged attack rushed her down.

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She tried her best, she really did. She used everything, including her improved physical enhancement skill, but half a dozen Tier 3s were too much for her. The attacks smashed through her defenses and there were too many of them for her to deal any damage.

She clawed and scratched her way, making sure that she didn't give up. That was one thing she learned from Julius. It was to not accept defeat so easily. However, she didn't have his overpowered skills to back her up.

Regardless, she gave it her all. Every ounce of mana was spent fighting back. Even when she was tossed off of her feet and clobbered in the face, she didn't let up.

Unfortunately, she wasn't like Julius, who could beat down an entire group of Tier 3s with ease and eventually fell under the barrage.

However, as she did, she got a good look at the people who attacked her and couldn't help but smile when she saw them worn out and bloodied from their fight.

"Grab the girl quickly. We made way too much noise. People are going to come to investigate," a voice called out.

"Can we just kill the bitch?"

"No! She is way more valuable alive. Anyone who is wearing clothes made out of Void Panther materials is definitely the daughter of some rich noble."

Oh, come on! Can't I catch a break just this once? she sighed to herself as the darkness came for her.

***

Julius POV

After he had beaten them up a little bit, he was surprised at how easily they set aside their pride. Even Ibram was being more respectful. Although, Scott, who had been knocked out, wasn't being as cooperative.

He was doing his own thing to the side, as Julius was helping the others. Pouting as his friends gleefully took advice from Julius.

Once, he had taken the time to help every one of them, he left with Elder Han escorting him back.

"What was the true purpose of that?" Julius asked.

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"You still don't think it was to offer some help to some poor orphans?" Elder Han questioned.

"I think there's another reason on top of that," Julius stated confidently.

Elder Han smirked at that. "You know when I spotted you enter Stonewall with that girl I couldn't believe my old weary eyes."

Julius's eyes narrowed. That 'girl'? He thought to himself.

"Oh ho. So you do know who you're traveling with. Hm, I would have expected you were just some ignorant boy."

"What you are trying to say?"

"I'm just saying I am surprised a boy like you with your talents is traveling with a distinguished member of the royal family." Elder Han said, Julius detecting a hint of scorn behind his words.

Julius halted mid-step. He knows that she's the princess? How does he know?

If it wasn't for the fact that he thought Elder Han wasn't a bad guy, he would have attacked immediately at that moment, it didn't matter if he was vastly more powerful. He wouldn't allow a threat to his friend to continue to exist.

"Surprised you huh? I'm glad something finally did." Elder Han chuckled.

"How did you know?"

"How could I not? Silly girl is wearing the same disguise as she did years ago," the old man said but then paused. "Although, you are the one who brought my attention to her. If it wasn't for spotting your brilliant aura, I would have overlooked her. It's the reason why I was paying attention to you and also know you took the money from those guards."

Julius gritted his teeth. He had believed that his control over his aura was pretty good. But it seemed he was wrong. The old man had seen everything and that had led him to recognize the princess.

"What do you plan to do now?" Julius eventually asked.

Elder Han laughed. "Me? Nothing, nothing at all. I am an old man who wants nothing to do with drama involving the royal family. I couldn't care less why the princess is all the way out here. I am more interested in you, a person who has multiple Concepts at Tier 2 is quite the anomaly. How your soul is in one piece, is quite the mystery to me."

Well, you would be surprised to learn that up until recently, it wasn't, he thought to himself.

"And what? This was all some sort of twisted test?"

"I just wanted to see what kind of person you were first. I found that introducing people to rude children tends to bring out a more genuine version of themselves."

"I still don't see the reason for all of this."

Elder Han shrugged his shoulders. "Call it an old man's whim."

Julius didn't bother trying to pry any further. He knew that he wouldn't get anywhere. Instead, he and Elder Han walked quietly back to the front of the orphanage.

However, he was much more guarded against Elder Han. Everything in Julius's instincts said he didn't have to worry about the old man, but he would take some precautions.

Julius still didn't know how he felt about Elder Han now, but he was still hoping that the old coot could help him find an easier way back to Heston. Back to his friends, who were probably worried sick.

Leaving with more questions than answers, he walked away from the orphanage, through the town, and entered the inn. The moment he did, he reached out with [Spatial Perception].

However, to his confusion, he wasn't able to sense Reinera anywhere. She wasn't in her room, nor was she in the dining room. He didn't even bother trying to go up to their rooms, he turned back around and left immediately.

He spent a few minutes looking around the inn, but he still wasn't able to find her.

She probably just went out for some fresh air, he thought to himself, planning to just head back to his room and wait for her.

However, more cynical thoughts arose in his head. Thoughts that stemmed from his interaction with Elder Han. He didn't think the old man would do anything, if anything he sounded like he couldn't care less about the princess.

Maybe, I will just look for her and we can go back to our rooms together, he decided.

Luckily for him, just based on where the inn is situated there was only one real direction where she would go. It wasn't that big compared to a city like Heston, so he would have a decent chance as long as he used his perception skill and his mana senses.

Several minutes into his search, he came across a square that was abandoned. However, the first thing that jumped out to him was the signs of destruction around the area. That wasn't it either, there were lingering signs of mana from many people.

And one of them he was very familiar with. It was Reinera's mana.

What happened here? Did she get attacked?

Unfortunately, he couldn't tell where it went. He used [Kinetic Augmentation] to boost his speed as much as he could and ran around the square as fast as he could, but he wasn't able to tell where she or the other people who were there had gone.

I might have to see that old codger sooner than expected, he grimly thought to himself.

***

"Well, I was hoping to see you soon, but I can't say I expected to see you this soon," Elder Han said while sipping on some tea.

Julius didn't have time to entertain the old man at the moment, so he spoke bluntly. "I think someone kidnapped the princess."

The old man sat up noticeably straighter, setting aside his tea. "You said you think someone kidnapped her?"

"What? You're telling me that you didn't know? I thought that if you could sense me stealing from those guards you would be keeping an eye on her as well."

"Not even I can keep track of everyone I want to at once. It's not exactly my skillset. There are certainly others who might be able to do something like that, but I can't say the same. Tell me what happened."

Julius squinted at the old man and eventually decided that he was being truthful. He then explained everything that happened from the time he left Elder Han to when he found the square.

After he finished, Elder Han ran a wrinkly hand over his chin. "I think I know who took her."

Julius stood up quickly. "Who?"

"The same group that those guards you robbed belonged to," Elder Han said.

"Group?"

***

Apparently, the group has been quite active in the region in recent years. Elder Han explained that the group used coercion, blackmail, kidnapping, and many other morally dubious things to expand their influence.

And kidnapping noble-born children was a normal thing for them. They would kidnap these children and then sell them back to their parents.

That was why Elder Han believed that they were planning to do the same for Reinera. Unfortunately, she wasn't just a simple lord's daughter. She was the Princess of the Empire.

"How can I find them?"

"Oh, I know exactly where they are and where they are probably holding her," the old man stated like it was no big deal, but didn't expand on where that might place was.

Julius tried to stay calm. "And where might that be?"

He got no response in return. Even after a minute of silence, Elder Han didn't seem like he was going to be forthcoming about the information.

When Julius asked two more times, he finally got a reaction.

"Why would I help a person of royal blood?" Elder Han asked bitterly, surprising Julius with how much resentment was in that single sentence.

"I thought you said you knew her?" Julius asked carefully.

"Oh, I do. I know that family quite well. But that doesn't mean I like them. I guess it would be accurate to say that I don't have very kind feelings for the royal family," Elder Han said waspishly, not sounding anything like the kind old man Julius had seen so far.

What occurred between him and the royal family to cause such bad blood? Julius thought to himself.

"Does that mean you won't help me find her?"

"If they wanted her safe, then the royal family should have done a better job protecting her," Elder Han said dismissively.

"She's practically a child, I would think that someone who ran an orphanage would have more sympathy than that," Julius argued in disbelief.

"I don't know how you got caught up with her, but you should just let her go. Trust me, she's not worth it."

"You don't know her."

"No, but I know her family well. That says everything I need to know about her."

Julius gave him a look of pure disappointment. "So you won't help me?"

"No."

"Not even if I use the favor to make you give me the location?" Julius asked.

"You would waste your favor on something like this?"

Julius looked Elder Han directly in his eyes. "I wouldn't be wasting it," he said calmly.

Elder Han stopped the retort that was about to come out of his mouth. Instead, he gave Julius a meaningful stare. "Is she so different?" Elder Han finally asked, a hint of hope appearing in his otherwise dreary tone.

"I don't know," Julius told him honestly. "I haven't met any of the other royalty."

Elder was silent for a while, fiddling with the handle of his teacup. "I hope for your sake, that you are right," he said while looking out of the window with a lost gaze.