Lying on the bed and staring at the screens hovering in-front of him, Lazarus read through the text he copied from the library. Mostly, trying to understand the world better. The bolded title Adventurers was being displayed on the screen directly in-front of him.

Apparently, most of Valeria was still unexplored. And it was the adventurer’s job to explore the unknown and make maps and discover all there is to know about it. Most of the time, they end up encountering monsters. Basically a high-risk high-paying job.

Right now, only three continents have been discovered, namely Assail, Kratos and Ventus. The one where he was on currently was in Assail and while a good section of it has been explored, there were still a lot of places that weren't. There’s only a small effort to explore more of it. Unfortunately, most of the different races and Kingdoms were investing their adventuring more in Kratos since that continent had more unclaimed land and resources.

Ventus, however, was a different story. It was branded as a forbidden continent. A century ago, when adventurers first set foot on that continent they discovered what they initially thought was a dungeon. However, it wasn’t a dungeon. It was instead a sealing ground where a creature known as a mythical beast was sealed.

Surprise, surprise, they unleashed a red bird that swallowed up the sky. Its feathers were a bright orange blaze. A phoenix. It obliterated everything on site and flew to the skies, only to emerge in the skies of Assail. It burned down several Elven forests, Human Kingdom and Beastmen settlements. It was estimated to have more than 50,000 thousand deaths. It was only stopped with the joint effort of all the artifact wielders. Namely, the human King Lionel III who wielded Excalibur, The Elven priestess Syrawi who held the twin blades Sol and Lun, The archangel Gabriel with the lance called Caladbolg and the Beast King who used the legendary armor Orvar.

“Interesting…” Lazarus muttered. With a waive of his hand, the screens all disappeared. He also read-up on the legendary artifacts and apparently, they enhanced the physical capabilities of their wielders and supplied them with a lot of mana. Each weapon had unique features and because of these, it somehow balanced out the power of each race.

Lazarus wondered. How would these artifacts fare against the latest generation of the nanosuits? The 4th Gen nanosuits were particularly dangerous considering humans entered hypersonic speed levels. They could lift several tons of weight with ease and their forcefield could tank shelling from tanks for weeks. Compared to that, could artifact wielders accomplish the same feat? Lazarus wasn’t sure how strong these artifact wielders were, but he was relatively sure they might be comparable to the 2nd or 3rd Gen nanosuits, but definitely not the 4th.

Only 3 were manufactured and it caused the great interstellar war. Though, Lazarus wasn’t quite sure how the war ended as there wasn’t any information he could find out about it, all that he knew was that the developer of the 4th gen nanosuit was no one else than his only family, Dr. Rex Hargreave.

Lazarus sighed and looked at his hands. With just these two hands, he could make incredible things which the likes of this world has never seen before. Unfortunately, with what he had now, he couldn’t make anything.

Maybe setting small goals first was better.

The easiest to make would be 20th century guns. He probably needed to manually make each one through smithing the parts himself. That’ll be a nightmare to do, but it should be doable with FS's help as a substitute to precision tools.

In any case, it was time to sleep and head out tomorrow, buy a map and leave asap. Who knew if that crazy noble girl would find a search party for him. Or maybe he could head-out at night? After all, he only needed sleep after a couple of days with his nanite enhanced body.

“Nah, probably a bad idea.” Lazarus muttered and shut his eyes and ordered,

-’FS, take over’-

-=”Manual override commencing. Good night, Master”=- Echoed a deep robotic voice.

Lazarus felt his consciousness fade and all of his senses leaving his body. With this mode, if anyone would try to do something to him, FS would know and immediately wake him. Not only that, FS could move the body and run or fight depending on the circumstances.

And just like that, his world darkened.

—-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Lazarus walked around looking for more odd jobs to do. As much as he’d like to leave as soon as possible to avoid any encounters with the nobles, he simply opted to find more jobs in less populated areas. Returning to his shabby inn and then reading through some materials.

He did encounter a few suspicious looking people trying to sell him something but he always ignored them and continued on his way.

Lazarus also went to some stores and finally found one where they were selling a map. He looked at the prices and frowned.

“30 Silver for a map?” Lazarus asked, turning to look at the guy with a monocle.

“Pretty cheap compared to other stores, yeah?” The store owner proudly puffed up his chest and smiled. “Ye see, I always hated those folks who sold maps for more than a 100 silver coins for the coverage of Assail so I thought, maybe I draw them myself and sell it for half the price! You get me? Well color me surprised when people came flocking in!”

Lazarus’ lips thinned. He was asking about its ridiculous price. But, like the man said, they were hand drawn and the map's price might’ve varied with its coverage and accuracy. With that in mind, he asked,

“What’s the most expensive map you have?”

“Oh? You want that? Well I don’t think you can afford it but whatever,” The store owner smiled, “I’m proud of it anyways, might as well show it to ya! Wait here.”

The man then disappeared behind the door. Lazarus was feeling a bit hesitant as he only planned to look at the map and store it in his memory. He knew it was unfair for the man, but then again, there weren’t any piracy laws and he couldn’t afford it. He sighed.

-’What he doesn’t know won't hurt him’- Lazarus thought to himself.

After a while, the man emerged and came back with a big scroll. He laid it out on the table and grinned,

“See for yourself! This is my life’s work! It’s not complete since I haven’t covered the new known areas of Kratos but it’s the best I got!”

Lazarus looked at the map and he was surprised. Compared to the other maps, this one had coloring, albeit a little faded but was even more detailed than the others. He looked at the other one on display and noticed a couple of routes that were on the big map, but not on the generic map this guy was selling.

Thinking about it now, since hidden routes and paths weren’t common knowledge and communication in Valeria wasn’t centralized then it was understandable that every map would differ from one another and the amount of information they stored would also be different since they were hand-drawn by different people.

“This is quite the details on the map you have there.” Lazarus commented, followed by the sound of a camera shutter going off. He felt bad but he also needed it a lot. Lazarus looked at the store owner and asked. “So, how much is it?” planning to pay the man in the future when he had enough money.

The man smiled, “300 gold!”

Lazarus’ brows twitched for a moment. That was too much!

“I-i see… guess I really can’t afford it then…haha.”

“Don’t worry about it! It’s really because of the colors and details.” The store owner then pointed to the thin line on the map. “You see, this? That’s a route that not many know about and only a handful of maps have it.”

“I see…” Lazarus zoomed in his vision and then looked at the other maps. The store owner was right, they didn’t have that route listed on them.

The store owner then continued to slide his finger over the map and pointed to the edges. “And this, not much spillage right? That’s very hard to do. So it cost extra. I could give ya a discount if you’d like!””

“No, thanks. I don’t think I can afford it even with some discount.” Lazarus said as he glanced at the other maps on the wall. It was clearly hand-written with the way the ink thickened and thinned in some parts of the outline and some zig-zags for the same route weren’t even the same which could confuse people depending on the scope of the map.

“Hmm.. a shame. But did you know–” The man continued to talk.

After a little bit of small talk here and there, Lazarus left.

As he suspected, all of them were hand drawn and cost a fortune. He requested a couple of maps and recorded them in his neural chip and kept complimenting the store owner who was all smiles and grins.

Lazarus also pieced a lot of them together with the help of FS and had a very detailed map in mind. He sighed.

“Yeah…this is kind of stealing, isn’t it? I mean, the guy did work hard to produce them…”

-=”I do not understand the issue. The man is unaware of what you have done.”=-

“He might not know, but I damn well do.”

Lazarus let out another sigh and began walking back to that run down inn. Thinking about it now, what if he made a printer? If he did, he could make a lot of money and kill the cartography business since he could mass produce maps on a whim and it’ll have so much accuracy compared to other maps since it would essentially be a collated version of all the known maps.

Lazarus cupped his chin, frowning. Now that he thought about it, as long as he had materials to build what he wanted, he could essentially start his own business. Thinking back on it, why didn’t the ship have any sort of printer?

“Oh right.” Lazarus muttered. He recalled that most of the people could just pass on their data with just a few swipes since everyone else had neural chips which made printers obsolete. At one point it was even at a museum and people laughed how much paper the older generation wasted.

What else could he do?

There was so much.

What about launching a satellite in space? That would be very difficult to make. Even more difficult than making the comms tower but if he could do it, he could essentially spy on other Kingdoms and they couldn’t do anything about it.

Lazarus grinned to himself. Advanced technology could be unfair sometimes and he couldn’t help but feel a bit giddy with all the possibilities he had on hand. He only needed the resources.

After walking for a while, Lazarus finally arrived at the old run down inn. He looked around making sure that no one was following him, and no nobles were around the area.

Speaking of which,

“What happened to those guys anyway?”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“We’re here.” Falon said, as he dismounted from his horse and lowered his hood. His purple hair fluttered in the wind as he looked at the entrance to the forest.

“The forest of eternal peace?” Reisha dismounted and looked at Falon inquisitively. The man nodded and explained,

“Yes, it was decided that the young prince would be kept here as it is a place where no one would visit and far enough for Lady Emilia not to find. From time to time, I visited and gave him supplies until he could fend for himself. After that, I stopped.” Said Falon, adjusting his squared frame glasses. “Let’s go.”

Reisha nodded and followed after Falon. She could feel her heart pounding louder and louder. She looked at her hands and they were trembling. She was about to find out the truth to her beloved older brother.

-’How long has it been? Will he still remember me?’-

Reisha put a palm to her chest. She felt butterflies in her stomach. Her heart was beating wildly and it felt like it was about to leap out of her chest. She had never felt this nervous even when she stood in-front of the royalties of other Kingdoms and in-front of thousands of Knights.

-’He has to remember…He has to…’- She kept repeating to herself. Not a day went by when she wouldn’t think of him and the time they spent together. If her beloved big brother would say he forgot about her, she was sure she’d crumble.

Reisha steeled herself and looked in-front. She frowned.

“Why’re you stopping?”

Falon, the usually calm and composed royal secretary, was frozen stiff. “I-it can’t be…”

Reisha’s heart stopped.

“What can’t be??” Reisha asked with a frown, her voice somewhat raised. Falon gulped. He looked to Reisha, then back to the forest.

“The barrier…it’s broken.” Falon muttered in disbelief. Color drained from Reisha’s face and she could feel her heart drop to her knees.

Falon had never expected this. If Lazarus died for some reason, the barrier would have stayed in-tact since he’d still be within the forest. This type of magic was quite unique to demons due to its sheer complexity.

Falon had inspected the place a couple of weeks after leaving Lazarus here and he recalled seeing bloodstains and ripped clothing and cleaned it up. So he assumed Lazarus had died to some predator like he initially wanted.

The barrier he put in place would only activate for the Prince so it wasn’t like he was keeping other people out so they couldn’t interact with it and only Lazarus could. It was impossible to think that Lazarus, who was manaless could even have the strength to break it. It was just impossible.

Falon kept on looking around and then stopped his thoughts when he felt something cold. He looked behind him only to see a frosty mist like air surrounding Reisha.

Falon’s eyes widened as a primal instinct of fight or flight took over his body. He could feel adrenaline shooting through his veins as he took a step back. Reisha took a step forward, a shadow looming over her eyes.

The princess’ mana was surging all over the place. Falon realized that must’ve meant her emotions were running amok.

“What is the meaning of this..?” Reisha asked softly, her voice even and still yet carried so much malice it made Falon shiver. “Does this mean my big brother is…?” Reisha clenched her teeth. She couldn’t say it. She felt that if she said it then it really would become a reality.

Before Falon could open his mouth,

“This is all your fault..” Reisha muttered in a very soft tone, almost a whisper. A numbing sensation engulfing her entire being.

“That’s–”

Reisha turned to a blur. Falon’s eyes widened when he saw an arm heading for him. A monstrous vice-like grip surrounded his neck as he was lifted into the air effortlessly.

“W-wait! Prin–ess, p-pleash leb me exp-Huk!” Falon couldn’t speak anymore, his wind pipe was closed shut from the brute strength Reisha was exerting with her petite body. Runes were glowing in her limbs and Falon could only hold on to her hand to try and lift himself lest he die from getting choked.

-’Why..? Why did everything have to go so wrong..?’- Reisha could feel the world around her crumbling. Like nothing mattered anymore. If that’s the case then…

Falon could see the hurt in Reisha’s eyes. Several runic circles started appearing behind her, glowing ominously. He could feel the raw energy coming from each of them and it was being directed at him. If even one went off, he could die.

“T-the prince..!” Falon managed to squeeze, almost a whisper but it took all of his might. He really felt like he was going to die.

Hearing his words, Reisha’s eyes widened and she loosened her grip unconsciously.

Falon coughed a fit and his saliva flew over the place. Yet Reisha wasn’t deterred and kept him in the air. Reisha noticed that he looked confused. Must’ve been because he was a demon that couldn't understand the human heart.

-’Everyday…’- It was everyday that Reisha thought about her big brother. The yearning she felt all these years. A demon…no, no one could understand it. Reisha was sure of it.

Every single day whenever she was in the castle, Reisha recalled that she would open the door to Lazarus’ room with a tiny hope in her heart that he’d be there. However, every time, her heart was broken when all she could see was an empty bed. Sometimes she’d sleep in his room, crying herself to sleep trying to ease the pain from the void that Lazarus left in her heart.

After she grew older, she could go there without crying anymore but the lingering pain was still there.

But…

Everyday Reisha saw Emilia’s face, she’d be filled with white hot rage. It was her very own mother who took the person most precious to her away from her.

She worked herself to death in training and missions, hoping for the day she’d see Lazarus once more. And yet… When Reisha saw Falon’s reaction, it felt like the rug had been pulled under her feet and everything around her was collapsing.

“This is all your fault!” Reisha shouted as the runic circles grew brighter. Her tears, flowing down a scream across her rosy cheeks.

“Wait!” Falon screamed at the top of his lungs as Reisha was about to blast him to pieces. “Princess! He’s alive!” he hurriedly said, having realized the misunderstanding.

“Huh..?” Reisha muttered, confused. “What-...did you say?”

The runic circles pulsed in an unstable manner, clearly conveying the turmoil that the Twilight Princess was experiencing.

“The young prince is alive.” Falon repeated. “The barrier being broken means that he somehow managed to find a way to leave!”

Reisha’s mind blanked for a moment.

A loud thud could be heard as Falon was dropped to the ground. He muttered some intelligible things but Reisha was too overwhelmed as relief washed over her. “A-are you sure?” she asked.

“Yes…it seems like you may have just jumped to some conclusion.” Falon let out a sigh, “And please, wipe your tears.

“Eh..?” Reisha muttered and touched her cheeks. It was wet.

-’W-why am I..? But big brother is alive…I-..’- Reisha clenched her teeth. For some reason, the lump in her throat was getting harder and harder to suppress. The anger, sorrow and the sudden relief was just too much and tears continued to stream down her cheeks. She tried her best and wiped them with the hem of her sleeves but it was just endless.

It took a while but Reisha did manage to calm down enough to become coherent.

After re-composing herself, Reisha looked to Falon and said,

“Please, do explain what you meant.”

Falon, fearing the possibility of the Princess lashing out again, coughed a few times and slowly stood-up. He eyed Reisha carefully and was relieved to see that the runic circles behind her all but vanished.

“The magic I placed is an original magic of mine. I put the forest as a boundary and tagged the young prince as the catalyst for its activation should he be in a close proximity to the outer bounds of it. It used the nature mana on the area so theoretically, it should’ve last forever but–”

“But?”

Falon looked to the side and furrowed his brows, “The other way it could be broken was that if you applied the right amount of force, maybe the strength of an Ursa then it was possible to break it. But seeing as the young prince is manaless, he could never achieve that…”

“Then…how?” Reisha couldn’t help but ask. If that’s really how Falon’s barrier worked then it would’ve been impossible for her big brother. Unless, “Perhaps he managed to overcome the disease and was able to use magic?”

“Unlikely. Someone would have to teach him how to cast magic in the first place. Which means it's something else.” Falon crossed his arms. To have the force equivalent to that of an Ursa was quite the feat and somehow the young prince managed that…quite interesting indeed.

An Ursa was a monster with abominable strength that could throw large boulders with just its arm. But, that wasn’t the main problem. A boy isolated from society all these years with a mana draining disease was walking around the place. A pandemic could happen and Falon was sure the King would have his head.

Falon was already regretting the fact he didn’t just outright kill Lazarus and let him die on his own out of a whim. Even worse, was the Princess’ reaction. The moment she misunderstood that Lazarus had died, despite the warning he gave her at the start of the journey, she was almost ready to kill him, consequences be damned. What else was she willing to do for him? Falon could only shiver at the thought.

“Big brother could still be in the forest.” Reisha muttered, looking anxiously at the forest. Falon wanted to sigh but kept his mouth closed tight and simply nodded to her and said,

“We could try and find him…”

Without waiting for his response. Reisha kicked the ground and shot through the air and hopped into one of the branches on a massive tree. Falon could only clench his fist in frustration. Clearly searching in this massive forest wasn’t remotely possible but if he said anything that Reisha didn’t want to hear, he could die.

“Big brother!” Reisha yelled–..no, it was more of a plea. “Big brother!”

“Haaa-...” Falon let out a massive sigh. He really couldn’t understand it. Why was the Princess so distraught from just a simple misunderstanding? He knew she was fond of him but not to this extent. That was the very first time he saw the princess so unstable. Was this typical of humans? He really wasn’t sure, but he felt like it was very rare even for humans.

Not wanting to seem like he was doing nothing, Falon also called out in a loud voice,

“Young Prince!”

Hours passed by and it was already getting dark. The sky was already displaying a faded orange crimson hue. It was then that Falon stopped and frowned.

“What’s this..?” He looked at a large hole on the ground resembling a footprint of some monster. It was faded and looked to have been eroded throughout the years but no doubt this was made by a massive monster that weighed several tons.

He followed the tracks and ended-up seeing some crushed bones of what seemed to resemble a moon wolf.

“How did this die..?” Falon muttered to himself as he knelt down. It looked like it was crushed by something but that shouldn’t have happened. The moonwolves were the apex predator in the forest of eternal peace. From the skid marks on the trees and finding more bones in this area, he was sure a battle had taken place.

“I wonder what happened here…”

Falon shook his head and continued on his search.

After continuing his search for a while, it had already become dark and he was using the ‘illuminate spell’ to light up the area with his fingertips.

Falon was tired and yet Reisha was still jumping from tree to tree calling for her beloved big brother. Falon had protested after he saw that Reisha had calmed down a bit, unfortunately she merely ordered him saying ‘I don’t care! Find him at all costs!’

Reisha jumped down to where Falon was, making him jolt a bit and asking, “I-is there something wrong princess?”

“Go back to the kingdom or the nearest town. Have an adventurer party–”

It was then that the two stopped as they both sensed a foreign mana signature in the surroundings. They looked behind.

“ Huh? What are you humans doing here? ”A voice echoed and an elven beauty dropped down from the trees. She had long beautiful blue hair and oceanic blue eyes.

Reisha wiped the dried up tears and stepped forward. As she was about to plead the elf for help. The elf spoke first and had a menacing smile,

“Did you happen to come by a man wearing strange clothes?”