《Kudo's Magic Touch》


 1 - Risking my life… for a stick?!

    ¡°Where is that damn thief?!¡±


    Loud voices and heavy footsteps echoed throughout the corridor in the crypts, hundreds of feet beneath the Pyramids of Giza. Outside the Pyramids were hundreds of soldiers surrounding the area. Helicopters circled around the skies, making sure that no one leaves the premises.


    An archaeologist recently discovered a map that led to a treasure room, which was hidden deep underneath the pyramids. The entrance to the maze was hidden well behind one of the walls in the crypts, as stated in the map.


    As the map was about to be handed over to the government, it was stolen. The officers were knocked out by sleeping gas. When they woke up, the map was gone, and all that was left was a post-it note that said:


    ¡°The Great Thief Kudo¡±


    And now, that great thief was being chased around in an unexplored corridor by the military.


    ¡°I¡¯m not quite sure if this is going to work, but I sure hope it does.¡±


    Kudo finished installing the last tripwire he had. While following the map, he left behind dozens of trap, all of them non-lethal of course. Despite being a criminal, Kudo had principles, and one of them was to never commit murder.


    Just as Kudo stood up to wipe the sweat of his forehead, a soldier appeared at the end of the corridor.


    ¡°Over here!¡±, the soldier called out to his comrades and started shooting his gun towards Kudo.


    ¡°Crap!¡±, Kudo let out a small yelp while rolling towards another pathway to avoid the bullets. He looked at the map and ran towards the room as fast as he could. The soldiers have already infiltrated deep within the maze, and it wasn¡¯t long before they fully explore the area.


    As Kudo ran, he heard a loud click from behind him.


    ¡°Oh crap! Already?!¡±


    He pulled out a gas mask from the backpack he was carrying and wore it. A loud pop came from the area where the click was heard, and smoke quickly filled the corridor.


    ¡°Sleeping gas! Everyone, be careful!¡±, a loud shout could be heard echoing around the corridor.


    ¡°Idiots! Those aren¡¯t the only thing I installed!¡±, Kudo shouted back towards them. The location of where his voice came from was masked by the echo.


    Well¡­ he was lying. All of the traps he installed only let out sleeping gas when activated. He didn¡¯t have enough time to gather materials before looking for the treasure since the government was quick to follow his trail.


    ¡°It should be around here somewhere.¡±, Kudo looked at the map and tried to remember the path he took. If he wasn¡¯t wrong, he was really close to the treasure room. He ran as fast as he could, but he had a horrible gut feeling that he made a wrong turn somewhere along the way.


    It turns out¡­ his horrible gut feeling was right. According to the map, he was supposed to be right in front of the treasure room at the end of the corridor. All that was in front of him were three other corridors.


    ¡°Well¡­ crap.¡±, Kudo couldn¡¯t help but curse himself for having a bad memory.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I called myself a ¡®Great Thief¡¯, yet I can¡¯t even follow a map¡­¡±, he sighed.


    He tried to assess the situation. He was being chased by the military, and he was lost¡­ wait¡­


    The area was eerily quiet. The sound of footsteps and the voices that echoed around the area were no longer there.


    ¡°Did I lose them or something?¡±, he muttered to himself. Well, whatever. After all, he now had a bit of a breathing room. Getting chased by the military was no joke.


    He put down his backpack and took out a few biscuits and a water bottle. He sat down and started eating. He felt that he had to replenish all of the energy he lost doing all that running and dodging.


    As he was munching on his snacks, the eerie silence was broken by a growl. First, it was just one growl, but as time went on, more and more growls came from everywhere around him.


    ¡°What is it now¡­¡±, he quickly packed up and got ready for whatever was coming. Behind him, a pair of eyes started glowing, then it became two pairs. The two corridors on his sides also had growling coming from them. The only safe place to run to seemed to be the corridor in front of him.


    He pointed his flashlight behind him and saw a pack of wolves, looking at him as if he was a delicious snack.


    ¡°Wolves? Here?¡±, Kudo became confused, but he had no time to think about why this was happening. He had to get out of this sticky situation, and the wolves seemed to be ready to attack him at any moment.


    He slowly reached towards his pocket, where he hid a grenade that contained sleeping gas.


    *BARK*


    The wolves moved quickly towards him. Kudo unpinned he grenade and ran towards the safe corridor. He dropped the grenade as he ran. Smoke from the grenade quickly filled up the space behind him.


    As he continued running, he took a glance behind him to check if the wolves were still following him.


    To his surprise, he couldn¡¯t see anything following him anymore. He stopped and took a moment to catch his breath, but just as he let his guard down, the wolves leaped past the smoke and ran towards him.


    ¡°Damn it!¡±, he started running once again. He had equipment that could deal with humans, but who the hell expects wolves to be in a crypt hundreds of feet underground?!


    As he continued running, he could see light coming from a room in front of him.


    ¡°The treasure room?¡±, Kudo muttered under his breath as he continued running. He ran as fast as he could, but he could see that the wolves were closing the gap. Hopefully, there was something in the treasure room that could fend off the wolves.


    As he entered the room, the only thing was a stick that was on top of a pedestal. The area was lit by torches placed around the wall. He took one of the torches and pointed it towards the wolves, which made them stop and keep a distance.


    Kudo waved the torch in front of him, trying to scare off the wolves. He looked at the only thing in the room while trying to fend off the wolves. This wasn¡¯t a treasure room at all.


    The pedestal looked incredible. It seemed to be made out of gold and was adorned with hundreds of gems around it. You¡¯d think that the pedestal would be holding something incredible, but the only thing that was on top of it was a stick. A plain, old, wooden stick. It looked like it was a branch snapped off a dead tree.


    Kudo slowly approached it while trying to scare away the wolves. The wolves simply kept a distance from him, as if they were biding their time, waiting for the right moment to strike.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    As Kudo approached the stick that was on top of the pedestal, he hoped that it was something valuable that couldn¡¯t be noticed if examined from afar. Now that he was close, he examined it and noticed that¡­


    ¡°It really is just a stick¡­¡±, he muttered to himself as he picked it up. The moment he lifted up the stick, a draft of wind came from the corridor he was from, extinguishing the flame from the torch he was holding.


    ¡°Shit.¡±


    The wolves immediately jumped at him. He kicked the first wolf that lunged at him. The corridor where he came from was the only way out of the room, and It was filled with wolves that looked incredibly hungry.


    ¡°I should¡¯ve brought a weapon or something damn it!¡±, he cursed himself for not bringing any deadly weapons. He really didn¡¯t want to accidentally murder someone else, but animals that were trying to kill him should be okay to eliminate.


    He had to quickly think of a way to get out, or else he would be a delicious snack for all of the wolves. He had no weapons. The only thing he had was the stick, which looked like it could break if he tried to hit anything with it.


    It wasn¡¯t long before he was cornered. He was slowly retreating while fending off the attacking wolves, and the room wasn¡¯t that big.


    The wolves growled as they knew that they had their prey cornered. The wolf in front didn¡¯t have the patience to wait and jumped towards Kudo, who instinctively swung his stick and hit the wolf as strong as he could.


    Surprisingly, the stick didn¡¯t break from the impact, which was quite strong, but that wasn¡¯t the most surprising part.


    As soon as he hit the wolf, a bright blue window popped up in front of him. Kudo was surprised by the sudden pop-up. The wolves seemed surprised as well since they jumped back as soon as the window appeared.


    [Activated: Meteor Storm]


    At that moment, the ground beneath him started shaking violently. The wolves started to whimper, and so did Kudo. An earthquake while underground seemed like certain death to him.


    Suddenly, a bunch of large flaming rocks fell from above them, crashing straight to the ground in front of him. Kudo hugged the corner of the room, hoping that none of them would hit him. The wolves retreated as fast as they could back towards the corridor as the room was being assaulted by rocks.


    All that Kudo could do was close his eyes and hope that none of it hits him. The ground continued shaking for a while, but after a minute, it stopped.


    Kudo opened his eyes. The room was littered with large rocks. It seemed to be over, and thankfully, he didn¡¯t get flattened by one of them. The room was now bright as the sun shined over him¡­ wait¡­ the sun?


    He looked up and saw the bright blue sky. The weather seemed great, but Kudo was pretty sure that he was really, REALLY deep underground.


    ¡°What happened?¡±, a voice came from above him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ meteors suddenly started raining from the skies. Did a mage cast meteor storm or something?¡±, another voice responded. Their voices slowly started getting closer.


    He looked up and saw the silhouette of a man of a woman.


    ¡°Hey! There¡¯s someone down there!¡±, the woman exclaimed as she jumped down towards the room and made her way towards Kudo.


    The woman was extremely beautiful. She had long, silky black hair. Her eyes were jade green.


    ¡°Hey! Are you okay?¡±, the woman asked.


    Kudo was still stunned by her beauty. He continued staring at her face, until suddenly¡­


    *SLAP*


    ¡°Ow!¡±, Kudo felt the left side of his face throb as the woman slapped him. The strength of the slap was no joke, as his vision started becoming blurry.


    ¡°Oh¡­ he¡¯s fine.¡±, the woman sighed out of relief. Kudo felt dizzy from the strong slap, his vision doubled. He felt that he was about to pass out.


    ¡°Why did you slap me¡­ beautiful¡­ woman¡­¡±, Kudo managed to mutter those words before his vision turned black. He was still conscious, but he could feel himself slowly passing out.


    ¡°I was just checking to see-¡°, the woman was about to respond to Kudo, but she saw Kudo suddenly fall down to the ground.


    ¡°Wait¡­ Brylle! Quick! He¡¯s not okay! Not okay!¡±


    Those were the last words that the Great Thief Kudo heard before completely losing consciousness.


    ------------------------------------------


    ¡°Do you think he¡¯s an adventurer?¡±


    ¡°No¡­ he doesn¡¯t have a license or any kind of identification at all¡­¡±


    The sound of a man and woman conversing filled the ears of Kudo, who had just regained consciousness. He quickly sat up. He was just in a dangerous situation, and after getting knocked out by a slap, he felt that he wasn¡¯t in a good position, and he had to escape quickly, but as soon as he got up, his head started to hurt and he felt dizzy once again.


    ¡°Woah! Don¡¯t move so much!¡±, a man who was sitting beside the bed he was laying on quickly stood up and ran towards Kudo to prevent him from falling.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a concussion¡­ because of that woman over there¡­¡±, the man glared at the woman with whom he was conversing with.


    ¡°Erm¡­ sorry about that¡­¡±, the woman awkwardly apologized.


    As Kudo¡¯s dizziness slowly faded away, he looked at his surroundings. Outside the window was the view of a bustling city, but it was different from what he was used to.


    There were no cars. The streets were filled with people walking around, and there were a few horse-drawn carriages here and there. This definitely wasn¡¯t somewhere he¡¯s been before.


    ¡°Where am I?¡±, Kudo asked the two people.


    ¡°Wait¡­ before that¡­ who are you, people?¡±, Kudo realized that he was in a room with two strangers, and one of them literally knocked him out. He could still feel his left cheek throbbing. He had to be wary of the two.


    ¡°We¡¯re adventurers from the north. We¡¯re really sorry about what happened earlier¡­ my sister doesn¡¯t know how to control her strength.¡±, the man bowed his head at Kudo. His sincerity made Kudo feel a bit awkward, but Kudo continued to ask questions. He had to make sure that he wasn¡¯t in any sort of danger.


    ¡°Adventurers, huh¡­? Which country sent you? Are you from the C.I.A.? Or the Egyptian Armed Forces?¡±, Kudo pressed on. From an outsider¡¯s perspective, the situation looked ridiculous. The injured man was interrogating the two able-bodied people.


    The man looked at the woman behind him with a confused look on his face. The woman shrugged as if to tell him that she didn¡¯t understand what Kudo was talking about.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ we¡¯re from Pran¡­ a small town far north from here.¡±, that was all that the man could respond.


    ¡°Pran? I¡¯ve never heard of that place before. Is that in the Middle East or something?¡±, Kudo asked.


    ¡°No¡­ it¡¯s well... um¡­ north.¡±, the man felt lost while conversing with Kudo. He started to think that his sister hit Kudo too hard and made him crazy.


    Kudo sighed.


    ¡°This conversation isn¡¯t going anywhere¡­¡±, he muttered.


    ¡°Well¡­ where are we?¡±, he asked the couple.


    ¡°We¡¯re in Norbury.¡±, the man responded. The injured man finally asked him a question that he fully understood.


    ¡°Norbury? Is that in Egypt?¡±, Kudo asked.


    ¡°Egypt? I¡¯ve never heard of that place before. Norbury, as in the one in Garthram.¡±, the man responded.


    Kudo looked even more confused than before. Did the two of them live under a rock or something? How could they not have heard of Egypt before?


    ¡°Where the hell is Garthram? Is it somewhere in Africa or Asia?¡±, Kudo asked once again, but the man in front of him looked at him weirdly.


    The man had never heard of all of those places before. The man he was conversing with spouted words that he did not understand. C.I.A.? Egypt? Asia? Africa? The man in front of him is most likely crazy.


    The man stood up and sighed.


    ¡°I think you hit him too hard. He¡¯s become stupid.¡±, the man talked to the woman behind him. The woman nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Wait, what?! No, I¡¯m not crazy!¡±, Kudo reacted immediately.


    ¡°Look¡­ we¡¯re adventurers from the north. You can call us the Sutton siblings. I¡¯m Brylle, and she¡¯s Margaret.¡±, the man gestured towards the woman behind her.


    ¡°We¡¯re incredibly sorry for what happened earlier. We¡¯ll pay for the room for compensation. If you need anything, you can find us at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild in front of the inn.¡±, Brylle stood up and bowed towards me. Margaret did the same and they both left the room.


    ¡°Is he crazy or something?¡±, Brylle¡¯s voice could still be heard. The walls seemed to be thin enough to hear the voices outside.


    ¡°Probably¡­ I hope I didn¡¯t cause it.¡±, Margaret responded. Their voices slowly became inaudible as they got further away.


    Kudo shook his head and tried to piece everything together. He looked around and saw his backpack on the floor. It looked untouched, other than the dust that was sprinkled on it from the falling rocks while he was fighting the wolves.


    He looked outside once more and saw that there were people carrying around various weapons such as swords, staves, and bows, but none of them were carrying any modern weapon such as guns.


    The town looked somewhat like a town from the medieval ages. It didn¡¯t look like he was in modern society. The siblings earlier talked about places he has never heard before, and they seem to have never heard about any of the places he mentioned earlier.


    ¡°Am I¡­ in another world?¡±


    Kudo stood up. He¡¯s read a few novels about the protagonist going to another world, and they always had some kind of power.


    He thrust his palm forward. He felt energy surge throughout his body.


    ¡°HA!¡±


    As his palm faced towards the window, the most amazing thing happened... well¡­ nothing actually happened.


    ¡°Do I have to cultivate or something? HA!¡±, once again, he tried to force out whatever power he had.


    The door behind him suddenly opened.


    ¡°Sorry... we left something here¡­¡±, As Brylle entered the room, he saw Kudo, who was stuck in an awkward pose.


    ¡°S-sorry for disturbing¡­¡±, he slowly closed the door.


    ¡°He really was crazy!¡±, Brylle¡¯s voice could be heard from behind the door.


    Kudo felt extremely embarrassed.


    ¡°Can you two come in? I¡¯m not crazy¡­¡±, he asked the two people outside. The door slowly creaked open.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not crazy?¡±, this time, it was Margaret who peeked through the small gap.


    Kudo sat down and nodded.


    The two of them slowly went back into the room. They still seemed suspicious of Kudo being a lunatic.


    Kudo cleared his throat.


    ¡°Actually¡­ I¡¯m from another world-¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±, Brylle quickly cut him off and left the room. Margaret hurriedly followed after him.


    ¡°Wait! I swear I¡¯m not crazy! WAIT!¡±

 2 - The not-so-great escape

    ¡°So let me get this straight.¡±, Brylle was in a serious conversation with Kudo.


    ¡°You¡¯re a great thief that snuck into a crypt and stole an ancient relic.¡±, he continued. Kudo nodded his head in response.


    ¡°And that relic turned out to be that stick over there that looks like it¡¯s been snapped off from some dead tree.¡±, he pointed towards the stick that was laying on the table. Kudo nodded his head once again.


    ¡°And when you hit the wolves chasing you, meteors suddenly fell from the skies, and that¡¯s when you found us¡­ AND you were transported to another world?¡±, he added.


    ¡°You finally understand!¡±, Kudo nodded enthusiastically, seeing as how he finally understood everything.


    ¡°So you¡¯re not just a lunatic¡­ you¡¯re also a criminal, huh?¡±, Brylle said.


    ¡°Margaret, let¡¯s turn this guy over to the authorities.¡±, Brylle stood up and slowly approached Kudo to apprehend him. Kudo immediately jumped back.


    ¡°Wait! I swear I¡¯m telling the truth! Look at the things in my backpack. There are things that don¡¯t exist in this world.¡±, Kudo said as he opened his backpack and took out some random things, one of which intrigued Brylle.


    ¡°What is that?¡±, Brylle pointed towards a cylindrical can which had some sort of ring above it, which looked like it was meant to be pulled.


    While rummaging through his backpack, Kudo heard a click from Brylle¡¯s direction. In Brylle¡¯s hands was one of his smoke grenades that contained sleeping gas.


    ¡°Quick! Throw that thing away!¡±, Kudo had an extremely panicked look on his face.


    Brylle, seeing the panic from Kudo¡¯s face, became panicked as well. The same happened to Margaret. The panic was extremely contagious. When Kudo started to scream, the other two did as well. Brylle threw the grenade out the window. When it landed, smoke billowed from the canister. The people on the streets that were unfortunate enough to be in its vicinity all started to fall down one by one.


    ¡°A-are they all dead?!¡±, Brylle asked Kudo, panic clearly shown on his face. He might have accidentally murdered a dozen people.


    ¡°No¡­ they¡¯re just asleep¡­ the smoke makes people sleepy.¡±, Kudo responded. Brylle let out a sigh of relief.


    Suddenly, loud footsteps came from below the inn.


    ¡°The attack came from upstairs!¡±, a loud shout could be heard from outside. The three of them looked outside and saw a few soldiers going in the inn.


    ¡°We need to run!¡±, Kudo immediately gathered all of his belongings and put everything in his backpack. He was considering leaving the stick behind, after all, it was just a stick, but he decided to bring it along in the end.


    He climbed out of the window and went up to the roof. Brylle and Margaret followed him. The soldiers were already outside their door. As soon as the three of them were on the roof, a loud bang could be heard from their room. Their door was probably kicked open.


    ¡°They climbed up the roof!¡±, the soldiers outside the inn that spotted us immediately called out our position.


    Kudo had plenty of experience in being chased, so he was in a comfortable spot. He examined his opponents and saw that they had no firearms or any long-ranged weapons at all, so everything was considerably easier.


    ¡°B-brother! Are we criminals now?!¡±, Margaret asked Brylle, who also had a panicked look on his face.


    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know!¡±, Brylle responded.


    ¡°Both of you, just follow me. We¡¯ll get out.¡±, Kudo confidently told them. The soldiers were now climbing up to the roof.


    Kudo immediately jumped towards the roof of the building beside them. The Sutton siblings followed him as fast as they could.


    The three of them continued moving from building to building, trying to chase off the soldiers that were chasing them.


    When Kudo saw that the number of soldiers behind them was considerably lower, he dropped down towards a small, dark alley, along with his two new companions.


    ¡°Look, since we¡¯re all fugitives now, we need to shake them off so we don¡¯t get punished, okay?¡±, Kudo told them. The siblings nodded. After all the running, they knew that if they were caught, they wouldn¡¯t be let off easy.


    Kudo started rummaging through his backpack, trying to look for something. He considered using another sleeping gas grenade, but the siblings behind him would also be victims. He finally brought out a clear plastic bottle and thought of an idea.


    ¡°Margaret! When I give you the signal, I need you to knock them out.¡±, Kudo told Margaret.


    Margaret reluctantly nodded and pulled out the sword that was hanging from her waist.


    ¡°N-no! I meant ''knock them out'' as in make them unconscious! Don¡¯t kill them! Just slap them like what you did to me.¡±, Kudo added. Margaret nodded once again and put the sword back in its sheath.


    ¡°Brylle, you tie up the people that Margaret knocks out.¡±, Kudo instructed Brylle while handing him a few rolls of rope.


    The soldiers were close. The three of them could hear them coming.


    ¡°Get ready!¡±


    Kudo opened the bottle and spilled its contents on the ground in front of them. The liquid coated the entire alleyway with a shiny thin coat, but it was hardly visible due to the darkness of the alley.


    ¡°They¡¯re over here!¡±, the soldiers rushed towards them with swords and spears in their hands.


    As soon as they stepped into the alleyway, the soldiers started slipping and falling down. It didn¡¯t take long before the small number of soldiers that were chasing them were lying on the ground. They were in pain from the impact of hitting the ground with their heavy armor.


    ¡°Margaret! Now!¡±, Kudo gave the signal.


    Margaret rushed towards the soldiers with Brylle behind him. Kudo¡¯s plan was flawless. Throughout his life, he has planned plenty of robberies and escape routes. One could call him a peerless strategist¡­ but he forgot one thing.


    As soon as Margaret approached the closest soldier, she also slipped and fell. Brylle also did the same.


    Kudo was in a state of absolute disbelief.


    ¡°Are you two idiots?!¡±, he shouted at them, but the two were on the ground, groaning from the pain of suddenly falling.


    ¡°Ugh¡­ do I have to do everything¡­¡±, Kudo mumbled angrily while trying to look for an object to knock the soldiers out. He took out the stick that he found in the crypt. He recalled that the stick was sturdy enough to knock out one of the wolves without breaking, so I guess it was good enough.


    He slowly approached the soldiers, being extremely careful as to not slip. He hit the soldier on his head with the stick, but the soldier simply groaned in pain. He didn¡¯t get knocked out yet.


    Kudo delivered another swift blow, but this time, something weird happened again.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The bright blue window that appeared in the crypt appeared before Kudo once again.


    [Activated: Petrify]


    The soldier that Kudo just hit suddenly turned into stone. Kudo couldn¡¯t help but be shocked as to what just happened.


    ¡°D-did I do that?! Did I just kill him?!¡±, Kudo panicked.


    ¡°N-no¡­ he¡¯s just petrified¡­ he can be cured.¡±, Brylle, who was watching the entire thing, responded to Kudo. The two siblings slowly got up. Compared to the soldiers, their fall wasn¡¯t as painful, since they weren¡¯t wearing any heavy armor.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were a mage.¡±, Brylle told Kudo while tying up the unconscious soldiers.


    ¡°I¡¯m not. I don¡¯t know what just happened either.¡±, Kudo hit two other soldiers, but the window didn¡¯t pop up again. Margaret easily knocked out the other soldiers.


    ¡°This guy¡¯s the last one.¡±, Kudo told the siblings while sitting beside the soldier who was still on the ground, groaning from the pain.


    As Kudo delivered the blow, the bright blue window appeared once again.


    [Activated: Thunder Bolt]


    Suddenly, a dark cloud formed above the soldier. The weather was very nice moments ago, but just above the alleyway, the clouds became dark. The sky rumbled, and after a few moments, a streak of lightning fell from the skies and hit the soldier on the ground.


    The soldier yelped out of pain and let out a few sobbing cries before getting knocked out.


    ¡°W-what?!¡±, Kudo jumped back when the lightning struck the soldier. When the clouds cleared up, he approached the man on the ground and checked if he was still alive. Thankfully, he was still breathing.


    ¡°Are you really sure you¡¯re not a mage?¡±, Brylle asked again.


    He looked at the stick in his hand. Could this stick be the source of everything? Did he really get powers after being transported to another world?


    Kudo¡¯s childish side was intrigued. Fantasy! Magic! This was really just like all of those novels he read! And he was already able to conjure such strong spells without training!


    ¡°Kudo¡­ we should get out of here.¡±, Margaret warned him. The sounds of the soldiers¡¯ footsteps could be heard coming from a mile away.


    The three of them climbed up the wall in the alley and ran straight through wherever the path led.


    It didn¡¯t take long before they arrived in a street filled with people again. The three of them looked at each other.


    ¡°We have to be discreet. Let¡¯s look for a way to leave this place.¡±, Kudo whispered to the other two.


    ¡°I have an idea, but Margaret and I have to get our stuff first. We left them behind at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.¡±, Brylle whispered.


    ¡°Well, I have to come with you since I have no idea how this world works!¡±, Kudo told them.


    ¡°Oh, right¡­ you¡¯re from another world.¡±, Brylle finally seemed to believe Kudo. After all the gimmicks he had seen Kudo pull out, it seemed plausible.


    ¡°But don¡¯t you think they¡¯d recognize us?¡±, Margaret asked the two, which seemed to have forgotten that they were now wanted criminals.


    ¡°Leave that to me.¡±, Kudo got up and walked back towards the dark alley and signaled the two of them to follow him.


    The siblings looked at each other and shrugged. They had no other idea so they might as well follow Kudo.


    As they stepped into the dark alley, Kudo pulled out things that they did not recognize.


    ¡°Brylle, sit down and close your eyes.¡±, Kudo said while pointing to the empty space in front of him.


    Brylle obediently complied. Kudo seemed to be doing something to his face, but he didn¡¯t know what it was.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll tell you when it¡¯s done.¡±, Kudo added.


    Moments after Kudo was working on him, he suddenly heard his sister burst into laughter. Kudo also let out a small laugh after hearing Margaret laugh, which made Brylle even more curious.


    ¡°Okay! It¡¯s done!¡±


    Brylle opened his eyes. In the corner of the alley, his sister Margaret was on the floor trying to stifle her laughter, tears seemed to be In her eyes out of laughing too much. Kudo didn¡¯t look at him at all. He also seemed to be stifling his laughter.


    ¡°W-what is it?¡±, Brylle asked. Kudo pulled out a mirror and showed Brylle.


    Brylle was surprised. He isn¡¯t a braggart or anything, but he knew his face was above average. Back in his hometown, plenty of women sought after him. While on adventures, there were women from towns that asked him to stay, but since his heart is set on adventuring, he refused all of them.


    Now, he could no longer recognize his face. His perfectly shaped nose was now flat. His large eyes were now droopy. His smooth skin was not riddled with wrinkles. He also seemed to have facial hair, which he¡¯s never had before. He looked absolutely ridiculous.


    Brylle shook his head and sighed in disbelief. His sister was still laughing.


    ¡°Kudo, you have to disguise her as well.¡±, Brylle glared at Margaret, who immediately stopped laughing at the thought of her face being changed just like Brylle¡¯s.


    ¡°N-no, it¡¯s fine! I¡¯ll just wear a hood or something.¡±, Margaret got up and slowly backed off.


    Brylle quickly subdued her before she could get too far.


    ¡°Kudo! Quick!¡±, Brylle shouted at Kudo, who nodded and rushed towards them with his tools at hand.


    Brylle couldn¡¯t see anything since he was holding her from behind, but seeing Kudo stifling his laughter, her face was bound to be funny as well.


    Moments after, Kudo put back his tools and pulled out the mirror once again.


    ¡°It¡¯s done¡­ pfft¡­¡±, Kudo let out a laugh. Brylle looked at his sister and also fell down out of laughter.


    Margaret opened her eyes and looked at the mirror.


    Her large eyes were now thin and slanted. Unlike her brother¡¯s, her nose didn¡¯t become flat¡­ it became larger¡­ much too large for her face. She also had wrinkles and a large mole beside her mouth.


    Even Margaret herself couldn¡¯t help but laugh at her own appearance.


    ¡°After we leave this place you have to change us back¡­ this is too much¡­¡±, Margaret managed to form a few words while laughing.


    ¡°What are you talking about? I can¡¯t change you back.¡±, Kudo¡¯s tone became serious. The laughter suddenly ceased.


    ¡°W-what?¡±, the two siblings asked together.


    ¡°The change is permanent.¡±, Kudo added.


    The two siblings fell down knees first. They were both fond of their appearance, and so they felt extremely distraught. Seeing the two of them in that state made Kudo laugh once again.


    ¡°I¡¯m just kidding! Of course I¡¯ll change you back.¡±, Kudo told them. The two siblings sighed out of relief.


    Then, the two of them had a realization.


    ¡°What about you? Aren¡¯t you going to disguise yourself?¡±, Brylle asked him.


    ¡°Y-yeah! We should do it for you!¡±, Margaret added, but her evil intentions were clearly shown on her face.


    Kudo pulled something out of his backpack, which seemed to be a thin layer of what looked like plastic. He put it on his face just like a mask and massaged it to remove the crinkles.


    Unlike Brylle and Margaret¡¯s appearance, Kudo looked like a noble. He looked extremely attractive.


    Brylle and Margaret angrily glared at him. The two of them looked at each other and seemed to understand each other¡¯s intentions. Margaret moved quickly and subdued Kudo while Brylle took his tools. They ripped off the mask on Kudo¡¯s face and started working on it.


    ¡°No! Wait! You don¡¯t even know how to use those- Mmph!¡±, Margaret immediately covered Kudo¡¯s mouth before he could say anything else.


    Brylle tested the tools on his hand to find out what they were for. It didn¡¯t take long before he understood how It worked and used it on Kudo.


    Kudo tried to struggle, but against Margaret¡¯s immense strength, he couldn¡¯t even move. All he could do was resign to his fate.


    Brylle didn¡¯t even try to hide it. The moment he finished and looked at Kudo¡¯s face, he immediately burst into laughter. Margaret took a peek and also burst out into laughter.


    Kudo took his mirror and looked at his own face. His eyes were now extremely droopy. His nostrils got much, MUCH bigger. His upper lip was now protruding, showing his bucktooth.


    ¡°Y-you guys went too far¡­¡±, Kudo told them.


    It took a while before the two of them settled down, but they were finally ready.


    The three of them had a serious look on their faces since they were not very confident that they could slip through without being recognized. People that passed by them and looked at them couldn¡¯t help but to let out a giggle, so the disguise seemed to work to some degree.


    Finally, they were in front of the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    ¡°Okay, guys¡­ just act natural.¡±, Kudo told them. The siblings nodded, and the three of them walked inside the Adventurer¡¯s Guild.


    The place was filled with lots of people, but no one seemed to notice them. Everyone was too busy choosing a request and handing over finished ones.


    The siblings led the way towards a room upstairs. Kudo followed them, hoping for everything to go smoothly.


    The two siblings stopped in front of a room and opened the door with a key. The three of them quickly got in and locked the door. They all let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Did we even need to disguise ourselves? No one seemed to even look at us¡­¡±, Kudo let out his thoughts.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.¡±, Brylle responded.


    ¡°Let¡¯s quickly pack our stuff so we can leave.¡±, he continued. The two siblings packed everything they could.


    It didn¡¯t take very long before they finished, and they signaled to Kudo that they were done.


    Suddenly, a large bang came from downstairs.


    ¡°We¡¯re looking for the Sutton siblings. They caused a scene earlier and harmed the safety of the public, along with another person that seemed to be a mage.¡±, a loud voice exclaimed.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t seen them, but their room is upstairs, you can go check.¡±, somebody responded.


    There were now footsteps on the stairs.


    ¡°Quick!¡±, Kudo opened the door and got out. The siblings quickly followed him and closed the door behind them and walked towards the stairs.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything, okay?¡±, Kudo whispered to the two of them, who nodded in response.


    The three of them were now on the stairs and saw the guards walking up the stairs, along with some adventurers and a staff member of the guild.


    As all of them crossed paths, the guard in front suddenly stopped the three of them.


    ¡°Halt!¡±, the guard exclaimed.


    The staff looked at the three of them, trying to examine their appearances while holding back her laughter.


    She tried to gather her composure and cleared her throat.


    ¡°I don¡¯t seem to recognize the three of you. Why are you in the area meant for A-class adventurers?¡±


    Kudo knew things were going far too well. As he was about to respond, he suddenly heard Margaret¡¯s voice behind him.


    ¡°I¡¯m the A-class adventurer Margar- mmph!¡±, Brylle quickly covered her mouth before she could say anymore, but the guards seemed to have picked up on what she was about to say and pointed their weapons towards them. The adventurers downstairs also seemed to be ready for combat.

 3 - Becoming fugitives alongside a stranger

    ¡°M-Margarious! Her name¡¯s Margarious!¡±, Kudo immediately tried covering up her mistake.


    The guards didn¡¯t budge. It seemed like Kudo¡¯s cover-up didn¡¯t work. He slowly reached for his backpack to find something that could help them escape the situation, but then he noticed the guards shaking.


    ¡°M-Margarious?! Then are you perhaps¡­ Avangar the Ripper?!¡±, the guard in front of him was slowly backing off.


    Kudo looked at Brylle and saw him discreetly nodding his head.


    ¡°Y-yes! Yes I am!¡±, Kudo responded confidently. The guard immediately dropped his weapon and knelt on the ground.


    ¡°Please forgive me! Spare this lowly human¡¯s life!¡±, the guard started kowtowing towards Kudo.


    ¡°W-why didn¡¯t you inform us ahead of time that you were coming great adventurer?¡±, the employee from the Adventurer¡¯s Guild was shaking, but he had to come up and do his job.


    Kudo looked at Brylle again, trying to look for help as to what to do. Brylle stepped forward and winked at Kudo as if to tell him that he¡¯s gonna handle everything.


    ¡°You dare ask us questions?!¡±, Brylle shouted at the employee, who passed out as his loud voice reached his ears.


    ¡°We¡¯re very sorry, great ones¡­ Please, continue what you were doing.¡±, the soldier made way for the three to pass through.


    They didn¡¯t let the opportunity pass. They hurriedly moved towards the exit and made their way outside.


    ¡°So that¡¯s how one of the greatest adventurers looked like¡­¡±


    ¡°I expected a really strong party to look¡­ better¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a miracle that we are able to see one of the strongest parties in the entire world! They¡¯re very rarely spotted in towns!¡±


    Rumors of Avangar the Ripper¡¯s party being in the town quickly spread like wildfire. Everyone seemed to be excited, except for one guy¡­


    ¡°Who the hell is Avangar the Ripper?¡±, Kudo asked Brylle.


    The three of them were now in a carriage, about to leave the city.


    ¡°He¡¯s one of the strongest adventurers in the land, known to be extremely violent and ill-tempered.¡±, Brylle said.


    ¡°Yeah! He¡¯s really famous for clearing an entire dungeon with just three people.¡±, Margaret added.


    ¡°If he¡¯s famous, how come the guards didn¡¯t recognize us at first glance? And did I really get the make-up to match all three of us with their faces?¡±, Kudo continued asking while eating a sandwich he bought while they were waiting for a carriage.


    ¡°Well¡­ no one really knows how they look like. They¡¯re always out and about clearing dungeons and killing monsters.¡±, Brylle responded. The siblings were also eating what seemed to be food enough to feed ten people, but Kudo didn¡¯t mind. He thought that they must¡¯ve been famished after all that escaping.


    ¡°Well, whatever. As long as we¡¯re getting out.¡±, Kudo said while feeling relieved. As long as they got out of the town, he could easily hide against anyone chasing him.


    ¡°Yeah, from here on out, it¡¯s smooth sailing. They don¡¯t even do inspections upon exiting the town.¡±, Brylle added, making Kudo feel even more reassured.


    Kudo smiled and nodded out of relief. He felt that the mission was a complete success. He ripped the disguise off his face and cleaned his face with water from a pouch that the siblings brought.


    ¡°You two should clean up your faces as well. Your skin will get irritated if you don¡¯t remove it soon.¡±, Kudo said while handing them the pouch. They immediately doused their faces with water while rubbing off whatever make-up the two of them had on their faces.


    The siblings were back to looking like the Sutton siblings. Margaret looked extremely attractive, but Kudo was no longer stunned by her beauty. Since he was already stunned by it once, his brain must¡¯ve developed an anti-body and resisted her beauty.


    ¡°Wait, that guard said that the rooms were reserved for A-class adventurers, right? So are you two, like, famous?¡±, Kudo asked them.


    They both looked at each other, trying to figure out what to answer his question.


    ¡°Well, there are a lot of A-class adventurers. You only have to present a big achievement to become one. But I guess we are sort of famous?¡±, Brylle responded.


    ¡°¡­well, I guess not me. She¡¯s famous for sure.¡±, Brylle pointed at Margaret, who seemed to be embarrassed about being told that she¡¯s famous. Kudo wasn''t surprised. Her appearance alone should be enough to make her a celebrity.


    As the three of them were enjoying their meal, the carriage suddenly stopped. A knock came from the back of the carriage and the coachman opened the curtain.


    ¡°Well, it seems like there¡¯s gonna be an inspection. Some kids caused a ruckus earlier and the guards are looking for them. You three just sit tight.¡±, the coachman immediately closed the curtain.


    Unlike the coachman, who looked incredibly calm, the three passengers were sweating bullets.


    ¡°K-Kudo¡­ do you have any more of that make-up thing?¡±, Brylle asked Kudo, who simply shook his head in response.


    ¡°No¡­ the ones I used on you guys were the last set I had.¡±, Kudo replied.


    ¡°So¡­ what do we do now?¡±, Margaret asked the question that everyone in the carriage was trying to think of an answer to.


    The three of them were completely silent. They took quite a while trying to think of ways on how to get out of this sticky situation, but none of them could think of any.


    Before they could find a solution, they had already arrived at the checkpoint.


    ¡°The passengers in the carriage, please come out for inspection.¡±, a voice came from outside.


    The three passengers looked at each other and sighed. It seems like they all had no other choice.


    *KNOCK*


    ¡°Please come out¡­ the line is getting longer.¡±, the same voice came from outside the carriage again, but this time, the man sounded a bit impatient.


    ¡°Yes¡­ we¡¯re coming.¡±, Kudo responded and made a signal to the other two, telling them to go first.


    ¡°No, you go first!¡±, Brylle angrily whispered to Kudo, who adamantly held his ground. If they were gonna get arrested, he¡¯d rather be arrested last.


    It didn¡¯t take long before the guard outside the carriage ran out of patience. He opened the curtains behind the carriage, revealing the three passengers, who seemed to be fighting over something.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    The guard looked at the three passengers. They looked oddly familiar as if they were the people that they were looking for. In his hand were sketches of the people that they were looking for. He looked at the sketches, and back at the three passengers, who seemed to have been frozen.


    ¡°Ah! The criminals! They¡¯re here!¡±, the guard exclaimed, which gathered the attention of all the other soldiers in the area. They immediately surrounded the carriage.


    ¡°Stand down! Come with us peacefully, or we¡¯ll resort to force!¡±, one of the soldiers exclaimed. In his eyes, the sheer number of the soldiers that surrounded the carriage should¡¯ve been enough to scare the three criminals.


    ¡°Well, shit¡­¡±, Kudo muttered under his breath.


    ¡°What now?¡±, Margaret asked her two companions.


    Kudo sighed. He pulled out the only weapon he had¡­ the stick.


    ¡°I won¡¯t go down without a fight!¡±, Kudo exclaimed.


    Brylle and Margaret looked at each other and sighed. They really didn¡¯t have any other choice. Brylle opened his large bag and took out a saber. Margaret also took out her fighting gear, a sword, and a shield.


    The three of them looked like valiant adventurers about to challenge an extremely powerful monster, but in reality, they were just three criminals that are fighting because they accidentally did a crime.


    ¡°Apprehend them!¡±, the soldier in front called out his command. The soldiers that surrounded the carriage slowly closed in towards the three of them.


    Kudo knew that if they waited any longer, they wouldn¡¯t have any more space to maneuver. If he wanted them to get out of this situation, he had to take a gamble. He dashed straight towards the soldier who was giving out the commands. While he was dashing, he quickly took out another sleeping gas grenade from his backpack and threw it towards a hurdled group of soldiers that were far enough for them not to be affected by the gas.


    The soldier in front was startled and didn¡¯t have enough time to pull out his sword. Kudo swung his stick as hard as he could. The soldier blocked the blow with his right arm, but he could feel that it really hurt.


    ¡°Geh¡­¡±, the soldier flinched from the sheer force that the blow delivered, but what happened next was going to change the entire flow of the fight.


    [Activated: Earthquake]


    As the blue window floated in the sky, Kudo had a victorious look on his face. This was the gamble that he took. He knew that something would happen if he hits someone with the stick, but he had to gamble whether or not it was going to happen, and if it did happen, it would have been something big enough to grant them an opportunity to run away.


    The ground underneath them started shaking violently. The area it covered wasn¡¯t big enough to cover the entire group of soldiers that surrounded them, but it was big enough so that the soldiers near them would be disrupted.


    The soldiers wore heavy armor. As the ground shook, they all started losing their balance. As they fell to the ground, they struggled to get back up since the shaking did not stop and their bodies felt extremely heavy.


    Kudo looked back at his companions and saw that even if they were struggling to keep their balance, they were still standing. The two of them looked at Kudo dumbfounded. They had no idea what just happened.


    As the shaking stopped, Kudo immediately alerted his two companions.


    ¡°What are you standing around for? Let¡¯s go!¡±, Kudo shouted at them as he ran straight past them, which immediately woke the two siblings. They quickly ran after Kudo, who waltzed past the soldiers who were lying on the ground, trying to catch them as they tried to stand.


    Kudo ran straight towards the city gates. People were flocking the area, trying to figure out what was happening. He forced his way through the crowd, along with his two companions.


    He knew that if they were just going to keep running, they wouldn¡¯t get very far. He spotted a carriage that was just by the gate. It seemed to have been undergoing inspection before they were caught.


    ¡°Get in that carriage!¡±, Kudo shouted at his two companions, who immediately caught wind of his idea.


    The three of them hurriedly went into the carriage. The guards continued to chase them, but the crowd of people made it difficult for them to move.


    As the three of them looked at each other in the carriage, they all realized that they had made a grave miscalculation.


    ¡°Who the hell is going to drive?!¡±, the three of them shouted in unison.


    As they argued over whose fault it was, they suddenly heard a woman¡¯s chuckle.


    ¡°What an interesting bunch.¡±, the woman was standing outside the carriage, looking at the three idiots arguing inside. She then went into the carriage.


    ¡°Charles! Go!¡±, she then shouted.


    ¡°But madam¡­ they are wanted criminals¡­¡±, the voice of an old man responded on the other side of the carriage.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. Just go.¡±, she calmly responded.


    ¡°Yes madam.¡±, the old man caved In, and the carriage immediately started moving.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let them go! Chase after them!¡±, the cries of the soldiers could be heard behind them, but their voices slowly faded as the distance between the carriage and the city increased. Kudo and the Sutton siblings looked at the other woman in the carriage in confusion, trying to figure out what just happened.


    ¡°Hmm? Is something wrong?¡±, the woman asked them.


    ¡°N-no¡­ it¡¯s just¡­ why did you help us?¡±, Brylle asked.


    ¡°Oh... well you seemed to be an interesting bunch, so why not?¡±, the woman responded with a smile.


    The three of them let out a sigh of relief. They all felt blessed after meeting their savior, but suddenly¡­


    ¡°The three of you don¡¯t expect this favor to be free, do you?¡±, the woman¡¯s face then turned serious. After a while, she revealed an evil grin, which made the other three nervous.


    ¡°Ah! But alas¡­ there are three of you, and only one of me¡­ even if I wanted to ask you a favor, you could simply just overpower me and have your way with me¡­¡±, the woman then suddenly turned into a drama queen. She began sobbing, and tears started to form in her eyes.


    Kudo looked at the Sutton siblings, who were also looking at him. Even if they didn¡¯t say anything yet, they felt like they had done something incredibly wrong to the woman who saved their lives.


    ¡°Uhh¡­ what kind of favor do you want us to do?¡±, Kudo asked the woman, who was still sobbing, but as soon as she heard Kudo¡¯s words, the tears in her eyes disappeared and a cheerful expression appeared on her face.


    ¡°Why it¡¯s nothing difficult!¡±, the woman cheerfully responded. It was as if the earlier drama never happened at all.


    ¡°I just need you to let me see something.¡±, the woman added. Her eyes then locked onto Kudo. As the two of them maintained eye contact, he noticed that the woman¡¯s eyes slowly started looking at his lower parts.


    ¡°I-I can¡¯t! I¡¯m too pure for that!¡±, Kudo¡¯s embarrassment showed in his voice. His face was as red as a ripe tomato.


    The woman sighed.


    ¡°Your mind is in the gutter.¡±, the woman shook her head while expressing her displeasure towards Kudo¡¯s interpretation of her words.


    ¡°I¡¯m talking about that.¡±, the woman added while pointing at the stick which was hanging by Kudo¡¯s belt.


    ¡°This stick?¡±, Kudo pulled out the stick and examined it again.


    ¡°What¡¯s so special about this stick?¡±, Kudo asked the woman as he handed it over to her.


    The woman closely examined the stick. The more she examined, the brighter the glow in her eyes looked. It seems like she had an idea as to what it was.


    ¡°You¡¯ve stumbled upon quite a treasure¡­¡±, she told Kudo as she handed the stick back to him.


    ¡°Well¡­ what is it?¡±, Kudo asked her.


    ¡°Have you ever heard about the origins of magic?¡±, she asked him.


    ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m not from this world¡­ so no.¡±, he responded.


    The woman then had a confused look on her face. She looked at the two siblings, who were sitting in silence. Kudo saw that her eyes had the same look as the Sutton siblings when he first introduced himself to them. Kudo let out a sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m not crazy¡­¡±, Kudo told her.


    ¡°It¡¯s true¡­ he really might be from another world.¡±, Margaret tried convincing the woman as well, but she didn¡¯t seem to believe her.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s continue about the stick.¡±, the woman seemed determined to change the topic.


    ¡°That stick is a branch from the Tree of Magic.¡±, she pointed towards the stick.


    Kudo seemed unimpressed, but the two siblings were in shock. It was as if they had just struck the jackpot. They looked at the stick as if it was covered in gold and diamonds.


    ¡°So¡­ it¡¯s a tree branch¡­ is it anything special?¡±, Kudo asked. The three other people in the carriage looked at him as if he was crazy for not knowing what it was.


    ¡°Look¡­ the branches of the trees from where I am don¡¯t do anything special, okay?¡±, Kudo angrily told them.


    ¡°The Tree of Magic is one of the three trees that gave birth to the world.¡±, Margaret explained to Kudo. As she looked at his expressions, she realized that Kudo really had no idea what it was.


    ¡°In the beginning, the world was only a vast body of water. As eons passed, three trees formed after gathering the energy that was scattered all over the world. The Tree of Life, which gave birth to living creatures such as humans, the Tree of Magic, which gave living beings the ability to use magic, and finally, the Tree of Evil, which exists to bring balance to everything, since nothing good can exist without evil.¡±, Margaret continued explaining. Kudo listened attentively; as it was the first bit of information he had about the world he was in.


    ¡°Unlike the Tree of Life and the Tree of Evil, the Tree of Magic is slowly disappearing. Unlike the other two, magic isn¡¯t a renewable resource. The more magic was being used, the more the tree withered, which is why magicians are becoming harder and harder to find.¡±, she continued.


    ¡°And that over there¡­¡±, the woman interrupted Margaret while pointing at the stick in Kudo¡¯s hands.


    ¡°Is a branch from that very tree.¡±, the woman¡¯s serious look made Kudo realize that the stick on his hands was indeed something special.


    After processing the information that he had just received, he then had a question pop up in his head. The stick being a treasure is fine and all, but they all had missed one simple question about everything that just happened.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±, Kudo looked at the unknown woman. A woman that suddenly came and saved them out of nowhere had suddenly appraised the stick that Kudo had.


    The woman smiled at him as if she had already expected the question that Kudo wanted to ask.


    ¡°My name is Asteria Fantasmagoria, the eldest princess of the Fantasmagoria Kingdom.¡±

 4 - A thiefs calling

    Kudo laughed out loud as soon as he heard Asteria¡¯s introduction.


    ¡°You? A princess? That can¡¯t be!¡±, Kudo continued laughing as he looked at the woman in front of him trying to introduce herself as royalty.


    Asteria sighed.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s up to you whether you believe it or not.¡±, she simply shrugged it off, which made Kudo stop laughing.


    ¡°Eh¡­ you¡¯re no fun. I expected another reaction¡­¡±, Kudo let his thoughts leak out, which made both Margaret and Brylle smack him.


    ¡°How could you talk to our savior like that?¡±, Margaret scolded Kudo, who yelped in pain as soon as her palm hit his shoulder. Her power really was nothing to be scoffed at.


    ¡°Okay, okay! Sorry!¡±, Kudo immediately apologized as he didn¡¯t want another hand from the Sutton siblings to fly towards him.


    ¡°Please ignore him, he¡¯s just a lunatic.¡±, Brylle told Asteria, who let out a small giggle after hearing his words. Kudo didn¡¯t dare to refute since he feared receiving another smack.


    ¡°Oh, right¡­ mind if we ask where you¡¯re going?¡±, Margaret asked Asteria.


    ¡°Well¡­ I was actually in Norbury for diplomatic reasons¡­ but since I aided in the escape of a few criminals, I have to refrain from returning to Fantasmagoria for a while¡­¡±, Asteria told them with a sad voice. She seemed to be on the verge of tears, which made the three other passengers feel guilty.


    ¡°W-we¡¯ll help you with anything! You can come with us if you want!¡±, Kudo immediately offered.


    ¡°Yeah! Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯re quite capable as adventurers!¡±, Brylle added to Kudo¡¯s words. They really wanted to make it up to Asteria.


    ¡°Oh, really?¡±, Asteria¡¯s face immediately turned into a cheerful one. Any trace of sadness could no longer be found. The tears on her eyes seemed to have disappeared as if her eyes had completely dried up. She really was adept in terms of acting.


    ¡°It just so turns out that I have to visit a certain place which is a bit dangerous¡­ but it should be nothing for such capable adventurers such as you guys!¡±, Asteria added on. It seems like she had everything planned from the start.


    ¡°W-which place is it?¡±, Brylle asked, completely giving up on trying to understand the woman in front of him.


    ¡°The Infernal Caverns!¡±, Asteria looked at the three of them with a bright expression.


    Kudo didn¡¯t know what she was talking about, but as soon as he saw the expression on the two sibling¡¯s faces, he knew that it was nowhere good.


    ¡°I-Infernal Caverns?! That dungeon filled with lava?!¡±, Margaret asked with a face full of surprise. Asteria nodded with a large smile on her face.


    ¡°T-the one where no adventurer has come back alive from? The one that apparently has a dragon as the dungeon¡¯s final boss¡­?¡±, Brylle continued asking questions. Asteria¡¯s smile grew even larger as she continued nodding in response.


    ¡°Can we refuse¡­?¡±, the three of them asked Asteria in unison, who shook her head in response. A large smile was still plastered on her face.


    ¡°This poor woman has become a fugitive in order to save you three, so this much should be fine!¡±, Asteria¡¯s bright smile made the three feel incredibly uncomfortable. They now knew how formidable the woman in front of them was.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s it! Charles! Make haste towards the Infernal Caverns!¡±, Asteria cheerfully commanded her coachman.


    ¡°Yes madam!¡±, the coachman calmly responded. It seemed like the coachman was just as crazy as her master. He was willingly bringing them towards their impending doom, yet they didn¡¯t feel an ounce of fear at all.


    The three of them looked at each other and sighed in disbelief.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think it could get any worse¡­¡±, Brylle mumbled.


    ¡°I know, right?¡±, Margaret responded with a face of a person who has given up. She glared at Kudo. Ever since they met him, it¡¯s been downhill from thereon.


    ¡°W-well¡­ maybe the Infernal Caverns or whatever it is isn¡¯t that bad? After all, she seems to be pretty calm!¡±, Kudo whispered towards the two of them and pointed towards Asteria, who seemed to be internally celebrating successfully tricking them, judging from the smug look on her face.


    ¡°Look, the Infernal Caverns has a 0% survival rate. None of the adventurers who stepped foot in that dungeon ever got back out alive. We know almost nothing about the dungeon except for the fact that a dragon lives there.¡±, Brylle tried to make Kudo realize that the dungeon was extremely dangerous, but as Kudo heard his explanation, Kudo¡¯s eyes started sparkling.


    ¡°So¡­ no one¡¯s ever gotten out alive?¡±, Kudo asked Brylle with an excited look on his face. Brylle thought that he¡¯s wearing the wrong expression, but then, he also thought that Kudo was a lunatic, so he thought nothing of it, so he nodded in response.


    ¡°This powerful stick here is treasure from a dungeon, right?¡±, Kudo asked again as he pointed towards the branch from the Tree of Magic. Brylle nodded in response, but he seemed to have realized where Kudo¡¯s words were headed.


    ¡°So that means that there¡¯s plenty of treasure inside the Infernal Caverns, right?¡±, the sparkles in Kudo¡¯s eyes grew brighter and brighter. After all, he was a great thief, and where there is treasure, there is something to steal.


    Brylle and Margaret let out a sigh of disbelief as they realized how unbelievable Kudo was.


    ¡°Look, if you¡¯re in a hurry to die, don¡¯t drag us along!¡±, Brylle angrily told Kudo.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t want to die, but I do want treasure!¡±, Kudo smiled as he told Brylle his honest intentions.


    ¡°Were you even listening? No one¡¯s survived so far¡­ what makes you confident that you¡¯ll make it out alive?¡±, Brylle responded with even more anger in his voice.


    ¡°Well, she¡¯s the one who suggested it and she seems to be calm.¡±, Kudo calmly responded as he pointed at Asteria.


    ¡°I also feel like she¡¯s someone important. Maybe not a princess, but something similar¡­ am I right?¡±, Kudo¡¯s eyes met Asteria¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Hmm¡­ I really am the princess, though?¡±, Asteria simply smiled in response, but her eyes told Kudo that he was indeed spot on.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s that. If you¡¯re some kind of royalty or a noble, then you should have something up your sleeve.¡±, Kudo concluded. Asteria looked at him and thought that he was incredibly clever despite his looks.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I do have a plan.¡±, Asteria smiled towards the Sutton siblings, who were just watching her and Kudo talk.


    Asteria reached for something under her seat and pulled out a small wooden box.


    ¡°This here is my trump card.¡±, Asteria pulled everyone¡¯s attention with the box. They all stared at the box, curious as to what was inside.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Asteria opened the box, revealing a pair of rings. Each of them had a small glass orb that seemed to have a tiny splinter of wood inside.


    Both Brylle and Margaret was surprised as soon as they saw the rings, but Kudo looked at Asteria straight into her eyes.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be kneeling when you propose?¡±, Kudo couldn¡¯t help but crack a joke since the opportunity presented itself. He also seemed to be the only one that didn¡¯t recognize what the rings were.


    Unlike Brylle and Margaret who looked at him in distaste, Asteria let out a hearty laugh.


    ¡°Well¡­ if you prove yourself to be worthy, I wouldn¡¯t mind proposing to you.¡±, Asteria looked at Kudo with a seductive smile.


    ¡°Eh¡­ I think you should be the one proving yourself to me, though¡­¡±, Kudo playfully retaliated.


    They continued conversing in the same manner for a while, which made Brylle and Margaret vow to themselves that they would never go against Kudo or Asteria in a battle of words. They were both just too crafty with words.


    ¡°Well¡­ that¡¯s enough¡­ what¡¯s with those rings anyway?¡±, Kudo finally felt tired of poking fun at Asteria, who always seemed to have a comeback ready.


    Asteria pulled out one of the rings and showed it to Kudo.


    ¡°See this shard of wood in the glass? It¡¯s from the same tree where your branch came from.¡±, Asteria pointed towards the stick from the Tree of Magic that Kudo held.


    ¡°If two people wear this ring at the same time, they¡¯ll both be given one chance each to escape from danger by teleporting one to the other.¡±, Asteria tried explaining it to Kudo, but the look on his face showed that he didn¡¯t understand anything that she just said.


    Asteria sighed.


    ¡°Let me just give you an example. If both you and I wear this ring, and you go out and fall from a cliff or something like that, you¡¯ll get teleported to me. The same thing will happen if I fall off the cliff. We both get one teleport each. Get it?¡±, Asteria explained it once again to Kudo, who seemed to have finally understood her explanation, but he still had a confused look on his face.


    ¡°But then, how do you know if it works?¡±, Kudo asked.


    Asteria had a dumbfounded look on her face.


    ¡°W-well¡­ the scholars back in my kingdom carefully examined it and stuff¡­¡±, Asteria wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to respond.


    ¡°Did they test it themselves?¡±, Kudo continued to push, seeing this as an opportunity to tease Asteria.


    ¡°W-well¡­ no, but¡­¡±, Asteria seemed to be unable to find the words to respond. Somehow, Kudo¡¯s questions seemed to make her question the authenticity of the artifacts in her hands. Although the scholars had never been wrong every time they examined an artifact, she couldn¡¯t be sure that this one really would work.


    Kudo noticed Asteria¡¯s expression turning sour, so he decided to drop it.


    ¡°Forget it. If you have that much faith in it, then I¡¯ll believe you.¡±, Kudo was now the one who had a smug expression on his face. It was then that Asteria noticed that he was just teasing her.


    ¡°Ah¡­ I see¡­¡±, she looked like she was about to explode from anger.


    ¡°In that case, you wouldn¡¯t mind being the one to test it out, right?¡±, Asteria had an evil look on her face. A chill ran down Kudo¡¯s spine as she looked at her eyes. She was out for revenge.


    ¡°I-I was just kidding earlier!¡±, Kudo tried to laugh it off, but Asteria didn¡¯t seem to budge.


    ¡°So, Kudo will go and check out the Infernal Caverns while we wait outside.¡±, Asteria smiled at Kudo and handed him one of the rings.


    ¡°You should wear it at all times, okay? Or else we might never see you again?¡±, Asteria continued tormenting Kudo, who already had a fearful look on his face. It was then that he realized that Asteria was not a woman he should cross.


    ¡°C-can¡¯t we talk about this?¡±, Kudo tried to negotiate, but Asteria had a triumphant look on her face and didn¡¯t seem to be willing to negotiate with him.


    ¡°Charles! Double time towards the Infernal Caverns!¡±, Asteria told her coachman.


    Kudo understood her words differently. As he looked at Asteria¡¯s bright and cheerful face as she commanded the coachman, his mind was translating Asteria¡¯s true intentions.


    ¡°Charles! Double time towards this bastard¡¯s death!¡±


    In his mind, those were Asteria¡¯s words. Her eyes were sharp and she had an evil look on her face as she looked down towards him. It was then that he vowed to never offend Asteria ever again.


    Brylle and Margaret just watched the exchange happen, both relieved that they weren¡¯t picked to be the ones to enter the dungeon first.


    As the carriage made its way towards the dungeon, Kudo felt his impending doom coming. He looked at the ring and prayed to the heavens that it really work as intended.


    <hr>


    ¡°We¡¯re here!¡±, Asteria happily announced as she exited the carriage.


    Brylle and Margaret followed her. As they saw the dungeon entrance, they immediately realize that this dungeon¡¯s level was absurdly high. The entrance to the dungeon was a cave below a volcano, which seemed to be an active one, judging from the smoke billowing from its crater.


    Kudo¡¯s face was extremely pale as he left the carriage. As he looked at the place he was about to enter, his face turned completely white.


    ¡°I-isn¡¯t this going to explode at any moment?¡±, Kudo asked Asteria as he pointed towards the smoke coming from the volcano¡¯s crater.


    ¡°Nope! The smoke¡¯s been bellowing for almost two years now and nothing has happened.¡±, Asteria responded with a smile.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you mean that nothing has happened YET?¡±, Kudo tried to retort, but he felt that all of his energy was drained from the mere sight of the place. He has been to many different places and stole many different treasures, but he has never been to a cave leading to a freaking active volcano!


    ¡°Well, good luck to you guys! I¡¯ll be waiting here in the carriage!¡±, Kudo smiled and tried to play it off, but Asteria immediately grabbed him by his collar.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry! You did say that I have faith in the rings, did you not?¡±, Asteria¡¯s dazzling smile was too bright for Kudo to look at directly.


    ¡°Y-yes, ma¡¯am¡­¡±, Kudo wanted to kick himself for teasing Asteria earlier, but it was too late.


    ¡°So¡­ I just have to go in and if I meet any kind of danger, I¡¯ll be teleported out, right?¡±, Kudo asked in order to make sure that he heard the plan correctly.


    ¡°Yep!¡±, Asteria nodded, along with Brylle and Margaret.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m wearing the other ring!¡±, Asteria added as she showed the ring on her right hand¡¯s ring finger.


    ¡°Yep, we¡¯ll be waiting here so that you¡¯ll be teleported to a safe spot.¡±, Brylle added.


    ¡°Yeah! We¡¯ll make sure to put your gravestone in a good place!¡±, Margaret added the final words of encouragement for Kudo, who only sighed in response.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be on my way then¡­¡±, Kudo had already given up. He held the stick in one hand and gripped the strap of his backpack on the other.


    His three companions all waved him goodbye which they meant in a positive manner, but Kudo looked at them as people who were waving at him as a farewell as they sent him to his funeral.


    The dungeon entrance was massive. The cave was almost the size of a ten-story building.


    As Kudo entered the cave, the walls were littered with glowing gems, which lit the path forward. A few minutes of walking led him to a large metal door, which seemed to be the only thing at the end of the path.


    The temperature in the area was hot. After all, he was underneath a large volcano. He was sweating profusely. He examined the metal door, thinking that there must be some kind of trap on it.


    At first, he thought that the door¡¯s trap was tricking an adventurer to open it and burning his or her hand since it was probably scalding hot due to it being metal, so he tapped the door, and strangely enough, the door felt extremely cold.


    ¡°Strange¡­¡±, he then looked to the sides of the door, where there were small gaps that were leaking some kind of light smoke. When he closely examined it, he noticed that it was water vapor. The hole it came had glowing viscous liquid slowly dripping from it, which seemed to be lava.


    ¡°Lava around the walls, yet it doesn¡¯t seem that hot¡­ and the door¡¯s extremely cold despite being so close to the lava¡­¡±, Kudo mumbled to himself, trying to figure out if there was any trap at all, but so far, he couldn¡¯t find anything.


    ¡°Ah, whatever.¡±, Kudo¡¯s head started to hurt as he couldn¡¯t find anything. He decided to just risk it and pushed the door open. It was an extremely sturdy door, but as Kudo exerted all of his strength, the door creaked open, sending a cool breeze of wind towards him.


    ¡°What the hell¡­?¡±


    Unlike the area before the door, the temperature inside was extremely cold. There were even a few icicles hanging on the ceiling. The room was extremely narrow and dark, unlike the previous room.


    Kudo had a bad feeling about whatever was ahead. The room was completely dark, except for a piece of glowing gem lying on the floor, identical to the ones embedded on the walls in the previous room.


    As Kudo took a step forward to pick up the glowing gem on the floor, the large door behind him immediately closed shut.


    ¡°Wait!¡±, Kudo tried to stop the door from closing, but he was too late. The door was now completely shut. He tried pushing it, but it didn¡¯t seem to budge. It was as if something was blocking it from the outside.


    ¡°Did those guys trap me in here or something?¡±, Kudo felt angry thinking about which one of the three was childish enough to pull this prank, but then he realized that he was in a world with magic. As he looked at the closed door and back towards the darkness down the corridor, he now realized why the dungeon had a 0% survival rate.


    ¡°It¡¯s because there¡¯s no going back, huh?¡±, Kudo couldn¡¯t help but feel his blood boil.


    Such a grand and mysterious place with a history of adventurers never returning from the dungeon made him feel ecstatic. If such a place was still unexplored, then the treasure inside must be something special.


    Kudo couldn¡¯t help but smile out of excitement as he thought about taking the treasure inside with his own two hands.


    With the glowing gem in hand, he moved towards the darkness carefully. He had thoughts about going back or at least try to find a way to leave, but he then asked himself:


    ¡°Why do I have to go through all these dangers just to get my hands on some treasure¡­?¡±


    But as soon as he asked himself that, he sighed, and he couldn¡¯t help but have a wide smile on his face.


    ¡°Well¡­ as the one called the Great Thief Kudo, I can¡¯t let my fans down¡­¡±