In a dark dungeon, Travis found himself in the same place again—standing in front of the book.
'I'm back here, huh?' he thought as he looked around. The sword in his hand was glowing, but this time the light was much brighter.
He unsummoned the sword and slowly reached for the book, opening it to the first page. Words were written in bold, elegant font—glowing softly.
'Why does everything glow here?'
The title read: The Archive of Veyrith.
"Who is Veyrith?"
As those words left his mouth, Travis suddenly jolted awake in bed.
'I really am getting tired of that,' he thought as his eyes adjusted to the dim room. Beside him, his mother slept peacefully in a chair. 'How long was I out?'
He gently shook her awake. Her eyes fluttered open and widened the moment she saw him.
"You're awake!" she gasped, immediately wrapping him in a hug.
"Yeah… How long was I out?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head.
"Not long, but you need to eat. Let me go get you some food. Wait here."
She left the room and returned shortly with a tray of food. Travis wasted no time eating, while she sat beside him, watching.
"So… what happened?" he asked between bites.
"I should be asking you. Mr. Hendrick said you passed out during training. Doctor Lori said you used up most of your mana. What really happened, Travis?" she asked, clearly worried.
"That's all Mr. Hendrick said? Wow, talk about pride," Travis muttered with a smirk. "Well, I kinda deflected one of his wind attacks. Using the sword."
"What?! Why would he use something that dangerous? I saw the damage—Travis, that could've killed you!" she shouted, anger rising.
"Well… I kinda beat him up during our spar and he got mad. So yeah, he tried to kill me. Which I don't blame him for, honestly. I probably would've done the same in his position," he said with a casual chuckle.
Elyzhaeth and Gloria exchanged glances, disturbed by how lightly he was taking the fact that he nearly died.
"Did you hit your head, son?" Elyzhaeth asked cautiously.
"No, I don't think so," he replied with a half-smile.
After a while, Travis finished eating. Gloria took the tray and left, while Elyzhaeth stayed, quietly sitting beside him on the bed.
"Tell me, Travis. Do you still want to be an Overlord?" she asked curiously.
"Oh that? I'm not sure," he replied in a low tone.
"Why? Are you not confident?" she asked again.
"It's not that, I just... don't know how to explain it," he responded.
Elyzhaeth nodded. "Well, whatever it is you plan on doing in the future, just give it your all. No use doing something if you won't put any effort into it," she said with a gentle smile.
Travis chuckled. "I need to learn that ability of yours," he said.
"Which ability?" she asked.
"You always know what to say, and when to say it. Kinda cool," he said.
"Well, if you learned that, then you'd be a playboy, and I wouldn't want my son to break women's hearts," she said as she brushed his hair.
Travis laughed, "Come on, mom. You know I won't do that," he said.
Elyzhaeth kissed Travis on the forehead. "I love you, son. Okay?"
"Yeah, I love you too, mom."
"Good. Now get some rest. Tomorrow I need you to help me run some errands, okay?" she said.
"Alright. Goodnight, mom," he said as he watched her leave. He got off his bed and stood in front of his mirror, taking off his shirt, revealing his toned body.
'Even after working for 10 years straight, I could never develop a six-pack.' he thought as he smiled.
Travis summoned his sword as he looked at it more closely.
"Veyrith," he muttered lowly.
The blade pulsed in light, making him chuckle.
"I guess that's your name. Veyrith. Well, nice to meet you. I hope we can become great friends," he said.
.....
The following morning, before the sun even rose.
Travis was in his room, working out—trying to see how far he could push his body. He did calisthenics and everything. After a few hours, he finally collapsed onto the carpeted floor.
'Yeah, I guess that'll do it,' he thought, breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath.
His muscles ached like hell. Every single one of them. He had done every kind of exercise he could think of, just to see how far his body could go. And now, he was being rewarded with pain.
A knock came on the door. Gloria stepped in, spotting Travis lying sprawled on the floor. She gave him a long look, then ignored him entirely as she began fixing his bed.
"Breakfast is ready, Young Master," she said without a care, then left the room.
Travis lay there, utterly embarrassed that she had found him in such a state. Groaning, he got up slowly and shuffled into the bathroom. He opened the tap and filled the tub with hot water. Once it was full, he sank into it, his entire body throbbing in response.
'Yep, that's the stuff,' he thought, easing back.
As he soaked, he couldn't help but rack his mind over what the sword had given him. There was something odd about it. Every time he did something—even something basic—his mind wrapped around it, as if he was unlocking its secrets. Understanding it.
It was almost as if he was... adapting to it.
'It's like I'm adapting to things faster... in some way or form,' he thought. He didn't fully understand it yet, but he figured, in due time, he would. So he didn't worry about it much.
Once he was done bathing, he got out, dried off, and dressed. After combing his hair neatly, he walked out of his room and made his way down the hallway.
But just as he reached the staircase, he ran into Raikzen—who smirked the second he saw him.
"Big Brother Travis! How nice it is to see you on this fine morning," he said with a mocking smile.
Travis frowned. "It was nice… until I saw your face," he replied, sharp as ever.
Raikzen's forehead twitched in irritation. As Travis was about to walk past him, Raikzen suddenly grabbed his arm.
"Now listen here, you anomaly. Hendrick will be teaching me from now on. So go ahead and take a hike—I'm the one being trained by one of the greatest mages in Norcrest," he snapped.
Travis didn't even flinch. No anger, no bitterness. He simply chuckled.
"Have fun," he said, pulling his arm free and walking past.
Raikzen watched him go. Then, just as Travis descended the first step, he called out again.
"Oh, by the way—Big Brother Ignarok is home. So be sure to greet him."
Travis's heart skipped a beat as soon as he heard that name… but he didn't stop walking.
'He just had to come back,' he thought as he made his way down the stairs.
TO BE CONTINUED