Eden lay on his bed as he kept on staring at the ceiling of his room.
His mind remained blank as he ran through the memories of the original Eden.
Most of these memories were of the recent times and how he lived his life.
Eden, like Abel said, lived like a living corpse.
He was lethargic and had little to no interest in anything except his own family.
'…And Lira.'
Anyway, Eden was stuck with one thing.
…How did the original Eden die?
Did he really pass away from fever or was he killed by the Goddesses just like him?
'…I really can't trust them, can I?'
Eden sighed as he sat back up, stretching his body.
Now that he had some time, he wanted to think about his main goal.
….To find Lunive and get the Goddesses off his back.
Eden had always been a practical guy with a rational mind.
He had already accepted that he couldn't fight the higher power yet.
The best course of action right now was to find Lunive.
'….And I want to know why she killed herself.'
"Hey, Sana." Eden called out his so-called assistant.
[Yes!]
"How can I help the spiritual daughters of those Goddesses?" Eden asked, rubbing his chin. "Is there any specific—."
[Right now, you can't do anything.]
Sana rudely interrupted him.
[You may not like it, but they all are far stronger than you right now.]
Eden nodded his head slightly as he was well aware of his condition.
"So, I need to get stronger first?" Eden asked.
[Yes.]
"Can I at least get information about them?" Eden asked, staring at the glowing screen.
[You will get that once you reach Adept rank.]
Eden rubbed his face as he mumbled. "Explain the rankings again."
[Sure, there are five Mortal Ranks: Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Grandmaster, and Sage.]
Sana took a moment for him to understand her words.
[To make it easy for you, every rank corresponds to twenty levels.]
"So, level one to twenty is Apprentice rank." Eden mumbled softly. "And from twenty-one to forty is Adept rank?"
[Yes!]
"How do I rank up then?" Eden asked, looking at the screen.
[By doing Quests and gathering Echos.]
"How do humans in this world do it?" Eden asked, hoping for an alternative.
[They gather mana through the environment using Mana Arts.]
Eden nodded as he remembered what Mana Arts were.
They were basically like a breathing technique.
'…I remember it's banned to teach children Mana Arts till they awaken their class.'
They say it's so that everyone has the same starting point.
But Eden knew it's all bullshit.
They do it, and still, the Dukes and Royal children learn them at a young age.
'Urgh, whatever.'
Right now, the best way to rank up quickly was to do Quests.
'…Let's get started.'
Eden began stretching his body as he drew in deep breaths.
"By the way," he spoke softly. "How do we rank up with Echos?"
[You eat them.]
"…Really?"
[Echos are clusters of mana. You can understand the rest yourself.]
Eden nodded as he stood straight, extending his hand he whispered. "Gate."
A grey door slowly appeared in front of him.
Eden stared at the door as he thought. 'If I paint it pink, won't it look like the blue cat's door?'
He shook away those useless thoughts as he opened the door and walked in.
"Did you find anything!!"
"No, sir!!"
Eden immediately became alert as he heard the shouting of humans.
He immediately moved to hide behind a broken stone pillar.
It was the same place from before where Seraph was hiding, but now humans had flocked it completely.
≤….Eden?≥
A voice echoed in his head, making him flinch a little.
'Seraph?'
≤What are you doing in this place?≥
'…Nothing much,' Eden thought as he peeked out. 'Just trying to learn more about your world.'
≤You could have asked me.≥
Eden didn't respond as he looked at the soldier coming towards him.
'Seraph, you have treasures with you like other dragons, right?'
He asked as he took off his shirt and rubbed dust all over his body.
≤Yes, I keep it with me.≥
'Hey, can you turn into human form?'
He asked, thinking of a plan in his mind.
≤Yes.≥
Eden drew in a deep breath as the soldier was already upon him.
'Does your kin keep slaves?'
≤….Yes, but I don't.≥
'Alright!'
Eden slowly walked out of the hideout, making the soldier scream in fright.
"Halt!" he barked, pointing his spear at him. "Identify yourself!"
Eden quickly pretended to be scared, hunching to make himself seem weak.
"Please don't hurt me," he said, making sure to keep his voice pleading. "I'm not a threat."
"Identify yourself!" The soldier barked, and his words garnered the attention of more soldiers.
"My name is Abel," Eden replied, raising his hand. "I..I was the slave of the dragon living here."
Another man walked up, and the soldiers saluted him.
"We have no information about a slave," he spoke, narrowing his eyes.
"I..I was her sex slave," Eden replied awkwardly. "She kept me hidden from everyone."
≤Eden!≥
He ignored her embarrassing scream as he kept on looking at the man.
The man's brows furrowed, clearly unsure whether to laugh or be disgusted.
"…A dragon kept you as a slave?" he asked, looking Eden up and down. "You expect me to believe that?"
Eden lowered his head, letting his shoulders tremble slightly.
"I swear it's true… she kept me trapped here. I—I only escaped when she left."
"He might be telling the truth, Captain Steven," a soldier chimed in. "I heard about cases like this before."
The man who was supposedly the captain observed Eden thoroughly.
"…He does have a handsome face," he mumbled.
After a few seconds of silence, Steven finally sighed. "Come with us."
Eden nodded as the soldiers turned, and he followed them from behind.
≤Eden!≥
'Don't shout, Jezz.'
≤You humiliated me in front of humans!≥
'It's not like they have any respect for you.'
≤...≥
Seraph quieted down as Eden slowly approached the closest soldier.
"Excuse me," he spoke gently. "Which place are we in?"
The soldier looked at him before he responded. "Lerofey Kingdom."
"…I see." Eden nodded slightly. "Have you ever heard of Astoria Kingdom?"
The soldier frowned. "No, never heard of such a place."
Eden looked at the other soldiers who were listening to their conversation.
"Nope."
"First time hearing it."
"It might be some unknown place."
'Looks like none of them know where this place is, huh?'
Eden kept walking silently, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
Unlike in his hometown, it was nighttime in this place.
'Maybe I am on the opposite side of the world right now.'
The soldiers led him out of the cave-like place to the ruins of what once was a small stone fortress.
From the looks of it, the place had been attacked recently.
'Some of Seraph's friends perhaps?'
The soldiers eventually stopped near a row of tents pitched outside the ruins.
"Do you know anything about how our kingdom works?" Steven asked as he turned to look at him.
Eden shook his head. "I have no idea."
Steven nodded. "I figured."
He then looked at the soldiers and ordered. "You all are dismissed."
They saluted him before they all scattered.
Steven then turned towards Eden as he drew in a deep breath.
"I will bring you to the in-charge of this place," he spoke, turning around. "I am sure he can help you."
He began to walk once again, and Eden followed after him.
"And who is the one in charge?" Eden asked softly.
"The Duke of Lerofey Kingdom," he spoke with pride. "Be grateful, you are meeting him."
Eden nodded blankly as his gaze shifted to the bluish screen flickering in front of him.
[A quest has been generated!]
[Earn the Trust of Duke Aher.
Quest Rank: E-Rank
Time Limit: 1 hour
Reward: 5 Echos.]