In the Throne room.

" Sir we have spotted the army of the Kingdom of Scaoze. They have come prepared sir. We don't know the exact numbers yet but they have battle mages, warriors, rangers, priests and also non-class based infantry. They mean war, Sir."

" How can this happen. WHO spread the word about our Kingdom being weak at this moment? "

" Sir the intelligence department says they have been camping there for a week now."

" They must have been waiting for the day of the veil and when they saw the light in the sky they knew the s.m.a (1) had been used and with that our capital would be weakened. To make matters worse is that we used it twice... Not attacking us in this position would be a massive blunder on their part." Daruin Ashbinder thought.

" Let it be known we are now going code B (2)."

The Knight that reported the news sucked in a large breath of air when he heard code B.

After the news was delivered, horns began blowing and drums began beating. The horns and the drums went off five times.

.....

" Do you hear that? Something is going on outside?" Lucas said.

" Do you think that is because of us?" Layla Palmer said.

" No, when we escaped the Capital was code D. This is the drums and horns of code B. Our threat level is far below that. The only logical option is that the capital is preparing for war." Lucas said.

" This is perfect. They no longer have any manpower to search for us. We can't escape yet as the gates are now completely shut. No one is leaving or entering. But we are safe."

Layla Palmer was very happy to hear this. Lucas said, " We just need to wait in here until the right moment. Then we can make our escape."

.....

Outside of the capital.

" Sir, they have now issued a full lockdown on the capital. They have activated all the defence systems too."

" It doesn't matter. Let them do what they have to. Resistance is futile." The General said and shooed the soldier away.

The Army of Scaoze was now outside of the of the gate.

" Begin the bombardment I want this barrier broken."

All the battle mages began casting their spells and bombarded it with all types of offensive magic. There was however one squadron that was chanting spells in unison and releasing stronger offensive magic. They continued to bombard the barrier. Magic of all types, shapes and sizes were exploding on the barrier. It looked very similar to fireworks from Lucas's world.

...

" Reporting, The Army of Scaoze have begun their assault on our barrier. The intelligence department says that it will be destroyed by nightfall. By then we only have our defence systems to rely on but even that won't buy us enough time before they break through the gates."

Daruin Ashbinder was under a lot of stress. He could not let the capital fall lest he wanted his head to fall too. " I have that option. But I could never show my face with pride if I use that option." he thought.

" Have the Army prepped tell them that they will be fighting tonight. I will come later to make a speech to boost morale."

With that Daruin Ashbinder shooed the Knight away.

.....

Hours later... It was now nightfall. The barrier had just been broken. There was absolute silence throughout the entire capital. It was the calm before the storm.

"ATTACK!" The Scaoze general commanded. The battle mages and squadron began their bombardment of the gates and the defence systems. While the defence systems were shooting at the Scaozen troops.

Bodies were dropping like flies while the durability of the gate kept plummeting. Inside the capital the civilians were scared. Mothers were hiding their children in cupboards and Fathers took up arms. The nobles and the very rich hid in underground bunkers with their servants. The army was just waiting until the gate fell and then they would charge out. Currently the moral of the Pantelan army was good. Daruin Ashbinder had delivered a mighty speech.

Boom, boom, boom the sounds rang out across the entire Capital. But much deeper below growling and rumbling could be heard.

Not sure of what to do Layla Palmer put her hand over her face as she blushed. Her stomach gave her up. It was now clear to Lucas that she was hungry. Which isn't surprising as they have been in the sewer for the whole day. Lucas wasn't hungry though, this was thanks to the apple of longevity. Lucas had more of them but feeding it to her now would lead to instant death. How could he complete his quest then?

" I'm so sorry. I do not have any food on me at all, otherwise, I would gladly share with you. Just hang on a little while longer. I can hear them banging on the gates. We will sneak out as soon as it is safer. To the north of the Capital is the forest of Talem. This is a massive forest with all sorts of creatures. I'll kill one of them and cook it up for us to eat. I'm not sure if you will like the way people of Earth cook but it's something..." Lucas said.

Layla Palmer took her hand off her face and said," Don't worry about me. Yes, I am hungry but I can bare this much. I can't fight biology, so yes my stomach will growl from time to time."

Lucas smiled at her. For he was glad his walking Exp was okay with her current circumstances. He did, however, admire her strength. She hadn't shown any sign of weakness or breaking down, despite everything she had been through.

Suddenly the sounds of the magic hitting the gates stopped and the sound of human roars and metal clanking against each other could be heard across the capital.

" Kill every last one of them!" The Scoazan general commanded while pointing his hand forward. With that command, the Rangers started chanting their spells. All of a sudden their bows in their hands caught fire. The fire was there but it was not burning the bow. One by one they loaded their bows with an arrow and they fired it at the buildings. The sky was raining flaming arrows. Only destruction was left as the rain of arrows come pouring down. The entire outer district was up in flames. After that, he stopped them and had the long-range magic squadron start attacking the outer-inner district.

People ran around the alleys scared for their lives. Others rolled on the ground trying to extinguish the flames. It was complete and utter chaos.

Watching from a lacrima (3), Daruin Ashbinder gritted his teeth as this development unfolded. His army was being wiped clean. The enemy had a diverse set up of classed soldiers. More importantly, they had a squadron of D rank mages where they had only had a few here and there. They were also outnumbered by the number of classless infantry they had. It was an outright bloodbath.

" I guess I got to use that now..." Daruin Ashbinder thought. He then took out a silver flute from his spacial ring and slowly blew the D note. Moments after the ground began shaking like an earthquake was going to happen. Because the ground was shaking Daruin Ashbinder could not see properly, his vision was blurry. He looked forward and he saw a figure of a man appear before him.

" Took you long enough to summon me. "

" How did you get here so fast?"

" Master knew you would fail, so he had me surveil you only to jump in before the situation gets irreversible. Judging by the state of this Capital, I would have jumped in whether you summoned me or not."

" You never were one to mince your words..."

....

" You can hear the war going on above us. That means the gate must have been destroyed by now. We need to escape amidst all the chaos before the chaos becomes normal." Lucas said.

Layla Palmer nodded her head. Lucas began prepping his mana. He then shouted " support spell of invisibility". A white magic circle appeared under Layla Palmer and flashed. When the flash was over she was now invisible. Lucas could see her though because it's his spell. Lucas told her to climb up the manhole and wait on top. Afterwards, Lucas climbed up too. He then activated his ring of invisibility. She was startled because she could no longer see him. But Lucas held her hand to guide her.

It was only when they began walking that they realized the whole district was up in flames. The district wasn't exactly livable, to begin with, but this was an absolute disaster.

While they were walking they saw all the dead bodies on the ground. The children were crying because their parents were either dying in front of them or were already dead. Lucas felt some resistance while he was walking with Layla Palmer, it was clear she wanted to do something about it and was reluctant to leave. Lucas held her hand tighter and pulled her along with him until she started walking at his pace. It was not that Lucas was heartless but he had no means to save them and himself.

It took about 10 minutes to walk from the sewer to the main road. They had walked past a lot of dying people on the way. They both had to steel their hearts for they were in no position to help anyone. Just getting out themselves depended on luck.

In the road, the two armies clashed. The one side was overwhelmingly dominant. You could see it in the hearts of the losing side, they were losing morale. Lucas kept walking to the gate that was busted wide open. It was only 100 meters away. Lucas was happy he was thinking he could do this. He was invisible, as long as he didn't bump into anyone they wouldn't know Layla and himself existed.

Lucas was 75 meters in when he got the feeling someone was looking at him. His heart was thumping loudly. He thought, " I must be paranoid, how can someone see me". But when he looked at the direction the stimulus came from. He saw that the Scaozen general was looking directly at him!

" System, I am invisible how can this guy see me?"

[ When you reach C rank you are capable of using the skill spiritual sense. Which means you send your mana around you. The dispersed mana reacts with the mana of all living things which in turn gives its location away. It also tells the person the general strength of those within reach. He can't see you but he feels you. Spiritual sense can be blocked though. Unfortunately, you cannot yet.]

Lucas kept walking but he was scared as to what the Scaozen general would do. Would he let two people escape? Lucas wasn't too optimistic about that. The General looked like the bloodthirsty type.

But what could he do but continue walking? He could not take a C class whatever he was. The guy was a general too, meaning he had loads of battle experience. Lucas himself wasn't a beginner when it came to fighting but he was in this world. Where magic is used. This is a whole different way of fighting.

While Lucas continued to walk he noticed that the General had stopped looking at him. Lucas wondered why the General had left them. Maybe it was karma because Lucas was magnanimous to the goblins. So fate made the General do the same. Lucas quickly dispelled this thought because there is no proof that was the case. He then looked at the General to see what took his attention away from him. Lucas looked in the direction the General was looking. Lucas stopped walking and looked behind him to see a human flying towards the army.

The General looked quite spooked by the incoming human. It was clear the General could tell that this human was strong. Lucas now understood why the General had left him alone. Lucas was a rat in his eyes but a dragon was on its way. It does not take a genius to see what would garner more attention.

Of course, Lucas did not care at all that he was looked down upon. " Hooray, bonzai (4) for being weak!" Lucas rejoiced in his mind. Lucas started walking away. He wanted to leave before the General changed his mind. He was still holding Layla Palmer's hand. They walked at a steady speed until they reached the gate that was busted wide open. They walked right out unperturbed. Lucas didn't play any games when he was outside the walls. He immediately cast his teleportation spell and with a white light, they were gone.

[ Quest: complete

Rewards:

2000 Exp

SP:15

AP: 20]

1. S.m.a - Soul migration array

2.-Code D. Any potential threat that poses a danger to an unknown degree.

Code C. Any threat to a large number of people.

Code B. Any threat to a Kingdom.

Code A. Threat capable of destroying the world.

3. Lacrima - A crystal used for long-range surveillance. It projects in real time whatever the drone ( It's not really a drone but think of it as something similar) is looking at.

4. Bonzai- A Japanese phrase which means "10000 years!". This can be used in any celebratory way. The English equivalent would be Hooray.

The girl noticed Lucas looking at her. But it wasn't with the same eyes that she had felt in the castle. This made her relax a bit. Well as much as it could. It didn't take away the fact that she was still in this position.

" I can see that you are very scared. You have every right to be. What almost happened to you shouldn't happen to anyone. I'm sorry to ask this of you."

When Lucas said this her body tensed up again. " What is he going to ask of me, is it another one of those crazy requests...?" She thought.

Lucas saw her tense up, however, he continued to speak, "... I am going to need you to brave up a bit. We are currently running from some dangerous people. I would love to explain but we do not have the time. Please follow me."

The girl was sceptical but it was true that this guy in front of her had saved her from something that could scar her for life. He also just had that something about him that made him look trustworthy. So she took a bet and decided to follow Lucas. Worst case scenario she gets raped which would happen anyways.

Pantelan is a big place. This is where Lucas and the girl were situated. They were currently in the outer most district also known as the Pauper district. This is the poorest of places of the capital. As you move to the centre you get the outer-inner district, where the servants live. The inner-outer-outer district where the middle class stay. Then the inner-outer district where the rich stay. The inner district is reserved for the nobles. The centre is where the Palace is situated.

Lucas knew all this because he read all the books on the structure of the city. He knew by now that teleportation out of the city had been stopped. Now that the soul migration array isn't going to be used anymore. He also knew that the exits out of the city would all be locked and you can only enter or leave after going through a check. So he could not just run out. Tactically speaking the guards would most probably do a net sweep of the entire city. Starting from the outer district and continue inwards until they find who they looking for.

Luckily for Lucas, they did not know who took the girl. But it wouldn't be long until Daruin Ashbinder goes into the royal library. Looking for Lucas only to find the King's Knights still stationed outside and him not inside. Putting two and two together is child's play.

...

In a camp not far from the Capital.

" Sir, I saw it. The white light appeared twice not once. We have to attack now! If His Majesty finds out you let such an opportune moment slip by. He will have your head." A soldier said.

" I know. The number of resources needed just to use it once is enough to hurt a kingdom. However, these greedy people used it twice betting on their future prowess. What's the point of future strength when you die today?" A General harrumphed.

The whole tent was filled with laughter after the General spoke.

" Reporting. The entire city seems to be under lockdown."

" What! Did they notice us?"

" No Sir, I think something inside is causing the lockdown."

" Haha, this is perfect. Prepare the army we moving out."

" Yes, sir."

.....

In the outermost district of the city of Pantelan.

Lucas was running away from his current position because when you teleport the white light flashes. Of course, the guards must have seen it and would immediately converge to their current position.

Lucas had two minutes to reach his next position before the guards found him. Unfortunately, he was sure that him running and with her alongside him, they would never make it. He had to find a faster way... He had a faster way but he was hesitating to use it. Soon the gravity of the situation woke him up again and Lucas decided to go through with the plan.

Lucas stopped running, so the girl stopped running too. Lucas swiftly picked her up and began running down the alley. He was going deeper into the outer district while carrying her like a princess. He would have given her a piggyback ride. But that required her permission and he did not have time for a no. Lucas was using the wind's affection to keep his footprints light. As the ground in this area was just dirt. He did not want them to track his footprints.

Lucas finally reached his destination. He opened the manhole cover and told her to get in. There was a sense of urgency in his voice, so she did not object. She climbed in quickly. Lucas followed her shortly and then closed the manhole with the manhole cover.

About 30 seconds after Lucas and the girl had entered the sewer they heard the footsteps of the guards running around. When Lucas saw that he was safe for now he breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at the girl. He was taken aback because her eyes were full of fear.

" Of course, she's scared. I couldn't have taken her to a less secluded, less rapey place. Aaah! Unfortunately, this is all I could come up with." Lucas thought.

" I'm sorry that you have to deal with this. But I did not know where else to take you without being caught by the guards. I read in a book that this capital has an underground sewer and I figured this would be this best place to hide." Lucas said trying to sound as friendly as possible. The last thing he needed is for her to scream.

There is only one entrance to the sewer and it is in the outer district. Because the residents can't complain about the smell that comes from it. Even if they did, it would fall on deaf ears. This information is available to the public but it isn't widely known. So someone who just got summoned should not know of it. Being that in their eyes, Lucas can't read they would not look underground anytime soon.

The sewer smelt like the sewer. No better way to say it than that. There was a place to walk on the sides and the sewer water flowed in the middle. There were limestone lights that lit up the entire place. It was actually quite nice.

Lucas extended his hand to the girl and said: " Hi, my name is Lucas Lightningstorm and you are?"

The girl saw him trying to be friendly so she took his hand and shook it and said " I am Layla Palmer. Nice to meet you."

She paused for a while and then said, " Now can you explain to me what is going on?"

Lucas smiled and said, " Of course."

"System, activate my passive skill," Lucas thought.

[ Passive skill activated.]

Lucas explained to her that her soul was ripped from her body. He explained to her the rules that govern this world. He told her about magic and the inhabitants of this world. He pretty much told her everything he knew about the world. He also explained to her that he was in a similar situation as her not too long ago. He, of course, kept the system and anything related to it a secret.

Layla Palmer was completely flabbergasted. She first thought Lucas was lying even though she experienced magic twice. So Lucas demonstrated his F Rank fireball spell. Lucas never released it, he only conjured it.

" I take it that where you are from there is no magic, right?"

" No, my people used science to solve everything. The concept of magic was only in books and tv shows."

Lucas got excited to hear this for maybe she is from Earth too. Lucas asked, " What is the name of the planet you are from?"

" I'm from the planet of Bunemia and you?"

The excitement Lucas felt immediately dropped when he heard a different planet. Layla Palmer saw his reaction and guessed they came from different worlds. " I'm from Earth," Lucas said sadly.

" Anyways we just need to hide here for a while until the storm blows away. It will never fully go but it will make travelling easier."

Layla Palmer nodded her head. By now she was feeling a lot more comfortable. When she found out that they were in the same boat she immediately dropped her guard. Not fully but enough to open up. They had a hearty conversation following this.

.....