“Hello, Aria!!!” The man’s voice repeated itself throughout the minds of those around him. That daring radiant smile, even though he was surrounded by hundreds of scientists that wished to cut him open to see what’s inside, was irritating, to say the least. The man was far too calm, a far cry from his earlier dazed expression. However, the most astounding fact of them all...

“Y-You… Can speak our tongue?!” The Association President exclaimed, his roughened arms still holding the man in place. The man raised his brow, perplexed that this greasy, sweaty old man was trying to pin him down. His eyes wandered left and right like a child taking a pause to think. The President felt his heart skip a beat at the gorgeous man’s innocence. It wasn’t from lust, but with a pure curiosity about the man’s true origins.

In the end, the man grimaced before peeling the President’s hands off his shoulders. “Could you get your hands off me? I don’t quite like being swaddled like a baby.”

“Y-you what?”

“My god, are you deaf? I said I don’t like being touched by you! So, get your hands off me, you rancid old man!”

Aria watched the man’s golden eyes sparkle like the solar rays of the transcendent sun as he slapped the elderly man’s hands away. The combination of his golden eyes, creamy brown skin and majestic jet-black hair made the man seem rather exotic to the Archmagus’ eye. He was suave and charming even without trying, a far cry from his previous self. Aria was mystified by the sudden shift in the man’s comprehension abilities, but what truly stunned her was…

‘He… uses the same accent as I do...’

Language was an odd thing. Even though there was normally one fixed set of rules, humans would bend it to different variations to fit their community. Aria had grown up in the magical research community, and her lexicon had been altered accordingly. However, there was also remnants of her hometown’s accent littered within her speech. How Aria spoke was a trait that was utterly unique to herself and yet… The man who had lived for thousands, if not millions of years, had eerily copied her tone.

‘He even imitated my choice of words when I’m annoyed...’

That was the part that really ticked Aria off. That semi-annoyed tone that didn’t care for authority… It was as if Aria was hearing herself speak from a man’s body. A loud throb went off in the Archmagus’ frontal cortex, forcing her to rub the temples ever so slightly.

“Now this is going to be a nuisance,” Aria declared as Minerva moved in to support her.

“Aria! Are you alright?” The White Sorceress asked with a worried tone. Aria had just been hit by the mysterious man with an unknown force. It wouldn’t be surprising if she were wheeled off to the emergency clinic by now. However, the intrigue of breaking new ground was keeping the Archmagus from running straight to the hospital.

“Yeah, don’t worry about me...” The black-haired twenty-three-year-old waved her right hand before stepping up towards the pouting, exotic man. Her sudden appearance to the forefront stunned the President and the man. The man looked up at the beauty, and the two corners of his lips curled upwards. Without saying a word, he could tell what Aria was going to ask. Why?

“Hey, you… You read my memories, didn’t you?” Aria’s question was rhetorical, but it still drew many gasps from the audience. They hadn’t guessed it, possibly due to the rapid turn of events. However, the perceptive Aria could never miss it. It was the only possible conclusion for how the man could suddenly speak Yudonia’s tongue. Also, Aria’s mana was extremely sensitive, perhaps the highest within the entire human race. The Archmagus could roughly guess what had transpired in the few seconds that she was unconscious.

“What if I did?” The man replied with the same charming smile. Aria’s face tensed up, disgusted. The man had even copied the way she smiled.

“Ah, I don’t really care about that. You had just woke up, and I’m sure you’re anxious about the world that surrounds you. It must be all foreign to you after all...” Aria tried to stop her twitching lips as she kept her eyes on the prize. So what if the man before her had read all her memories? As long as the Archmagus could get something in return, it would be worth it. “However, now that you’ve read my memories, I’m sure you understand how cheap I really am. Since you got something from me, I expect that...”

“I tell you everything that I know?” The man’s smile deepened like the refreshing breeze of spring.

“Yes… I want to know everything about you...” Aria furrowed her brows as she carried on. “There are so many questions that I want to ask, and I’m sure you can read through everything in my memories… But let’s start off with something simple…” The Archmagus took one deep breath in, calming her throbbing heart and electrifying nerves.

Yudonia was burning. The whole world was in the midst of a historic change with thousands of natural disasters going off by the hour. People were dying from mana poisoning, and homes were destroyed from the meteoric rise in disasters. Billions, if not trillions, of dollars, were lost and the world was looking for answers. Although Yudonia wasn’t directly responsible for the pandemonium, their conquering of the S-Class Dungeon had triggered the world to heel. However, Aria didn’t care about any of that. Why should she care about the lives that wouldn’t implicate her?

There was only one thing that Aria wanted from the man. It was the same reason why she agreed to participate in the life-threatening dungeon raid, even though the Archmagus had resolved to never make a living off dungeon diving ever again. Aria wanted to unravel the mysteries of the world, the mystery of magic. And to do that, she needed to question everything about the man that lived during the age of the Dragons. But first, there was one question Aria needed to ask.

“Who are you?”

The world’s most powerful S-Class dungeon yet should reap the most valuable rewards. Yet, Yudonia’s prize was a sleeping man who wasn’t even human! Now that the man was capable of speaking directly to Aria and the rest, it should be simple to pry open the mysteries that wreathed his existence.

The man looked straight at Aria’s eyes. The smile that he bolstered quickly faded away and it was replaced with a severe and stern grimace. Oddly enough, Aria could see the wrinkles on his forehead, which made him look even more like a human being. The Archmagus had to force out the wandering thoughts in her head, re-focusing all of her attention on the innocent-looking man. However… The next three words out of his mouth would stun the woman to her absolute core.

“I don’t know!”

❖❖❖

Darkness. That was the first thing that Viola saw when staring into her wine glass. Seated in her own private condominium, the Chief Intelligence Minister of the Raklius Federation swirled her wine glass lazily. She liked to watch the dark liquid move in the palm of her hands, much like the subordinates under her command. Viola threw her head up, taking in the sweet scent of rosemary from her aromatherapy burner.

Viola was a wrinkled woman nearing her seventies. Her skin was pale white, almost to a sickly degree. Her blonde hair had turned entirely white over the years, but she still retained hints of her previous beautiful self. Viola looked like an average human that was just about to reach her twilight years. However, there was one distinct difference… Well, make that two.

Her eyes were as red as the crimson blood that flowed through her body and two menacing fangs stuck out from her upper jaw.

The world consisted of many intelligent races. Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Giants, Vampires, Beastmen… The list went on. Each one of those races had their own unique qualities that allowed them to stand on the international field.

Humans, the most populace race, was also known as the most versatile. Although they were physically and magically weaker than the rest of the races, their adaptation abilities topped every other race. They could live in almost any environment, while the rest of the races were confined to their own natural habitat. Elves were attuned with nature, and their innate magic-wielding capabilities were top-notch. Many of them turned into powerful mages and shamans, making them a valuable resource for the weaker races to hire.

Dwarves were innovators and highly adept with machinery. The majority of the modern skyline were works that the dwarves created during the Industrial Age. Even today, the dwarves were pioneers of their craft, leading Gaia and all of her residents into the Information Era. On the other side of the spectrum, Giants used their innate bodies to tower over the other races. Their physical and magical strength at birth were second to perhaps, the Dragons themselves. However, being blessed with nature’s love didn’t mean that they were in any metric, slow in their heads. In fact, it was the contrary. Giants were known for their expansive architecture and sophisticated, yet innovative systems.

Beastmen were a unique amalgamation of races. Rumoured to have both Angel’s and Demon’s blood, the beastmen consisted of multiple smaller ethnic groups that all interweaved into a complex hierarchy. Bearkins were physical monstrosities while Rabbitkins were weak but agile. Fishkins dominated the oceans more than any other race and Birdkins took the skies.

Vampires were a potent race as well. Their noble blood that came from Demons made them incomparable when it came to the darkness attribute. During the dark ages, Vampires dominated the world through their impressive assassination abilities and could manipulate governments to do their will. However, in the modern age where killings and interfering with another country’s politics was frowned upon, the Vampires had changed their traits to something more favourable. Their information and spy networks were unparalleled compared to the other races. Countries all wanted to get into the good side of the Vampires and in particular, their Chief Intelligence Minister.

Viola had to turn off her phone from all the mail that foreign governments were sending her. She even rejected calls from the ministers of her country. There was only one of her. There was no way she could take in thousands of distress messages from every single entity in the world.

The Chief Intelligence Minister took one sip of her vintage wine and slowly sauntered away from her bar. She carefully took a seat on her soft, cushioned sofa, not willing to spill a single ounce of her drink. It was only after she had her fill, that Viola started speaking.

“So are you done reading it?” A voice directed at nowhere. There was no one else in the room with her… At least to the untrained eye. A shadow dropped down from the vents in the ceiling and morphed itself into a fully grown man.

Tall, suave and most importantly of all, seductive, the man had it all if he wished to be a casanova. That breathtaking blonde hair and crimson eyes that sparkled like rubies were enough to turn any girl’s head. If he smiled, Viola was certain that a thousand flowers would bloom behind him and the hearts of teenage girls would leap out of their chests. However, the man wasn’t smiling in the slightest. Instead, there was a big, fat frown on his face.

“Yudonia’s main reward for clearing the S-Class Dungeon is an ancient man?” A nectar-filled sound emerged from the handsome vampire’s mouth.

“That’s what our informants told us,” Viola replied without a single flinch in expression. “They told us that they had shown us everything that they had received from the dungeon, including the Dragon corpses, but evidently, they covered up the information of the unknown man.”

“And here I thought that they were being remorseful for bringing the world to chaos.” The blonde vampire scoffed. There was a visible irritation in the vampire’s voice, but it was quickly put into check. Bowing down, the blonde man enquired: “So… What’s my mission?”

Viola chuckled, “I’d always liked that about you, Number Six. After being captured by Yudonia’s officials, every single trace of the mystery man disappeared. I would assume that he’s been moved to a top-secret facility that not even their government knows about. It would be risky to send our regular spies to poke for intel, particularly during these volatile times. So, I’m forced to deploy you, our most successful agent. You know what that means right?”

The Chief Intelligence Minister placed down her wine glass and stared Number Six right in the eyes. The blonde vampire felt a sort of invisible pressure weigh down on his chest as he gulped down a mouthful of saliva.

“Failure is not an option. Even if you fail, you should make them suspect any other country or organisation other than Raklius. If you live, great. If you die, burn all traces of evidence linking to the Vampire Federation, even if it means resurrecting from the dead to clear your tracks. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

“Good…” Viola grabbed the file that was placed out beforehand and slapped it against the blonde vampire’s chest. The seasoned agent quickly flipped through the pages, memorising all the details of his mission.

“Find the location of the ancient man! Take pictures if you can! Find out anything that Yudonia has, even his shitting routine! I want no stone left unturned! And once we have enough information…”

There was no continuation. Viola gave one impish smile before returning to the confines of her wine glass. The blonde vampire gulped before finally bowing for the final time. As he turned into an invisible mist, Viola could hear the agent’s determined voice.

“I will not let you down!”

“Now that’s my boy...” Viola snorted and took one more sip of her favourite wine. Viola looked back down at her glass. Once again, it was pitch black. Just like the thoughts she had.

✵✵✵