Human Empire, Eastern Area, Outskirts.
At the east of the human empire, a large desert is located. It's a massive barren area, where only a few goblin and ogre tribes live.
Most of the place is empty and no plants grow there.
In various historical records of the human race, it is said that this place used to be a beautiful rainforest before the thousand-year demon extinction war.
Later, the demon army's endless march thoroughly destroyed the ecosystem and the contamination caused by 'corruption' and 'miasma' left the area unsuitable for living beings.
And since then, the whole place has become a desert.
...
A small flying bike arrived at a dilapidated small building.
This place is just a few kilometers away from the eastern border of the human empire.
If you want, you can easily cross the border from here and go to the desert in the eastern area without any problems.
A man wearing casual clothes got down from the bike and walked over to the small building with steady footsteps.
The man seemed to be in his late forties and half of his hair seemed to have already turned white due to age.
A calm expression hung over his face.
*Knock*
He knocked on the door, but no one replied.
"The desert looks happy today!" (???)
*click*
When he said the secret code, the gate opened automatically. Without hesitating too much, he stepped inside.
"Welcome to the Novo Tavern!" (Mechanical doll)
A mechanical doll sat behind the counter and greeted him when he stepped inside.
But it seemed that the man was already used to seeing this and he was totally unfazed.
He swiped his card and said:
"Open the main course for me..." (???)
The mechanical doll nodded its head and it activated some mechanisms using its own mana.
The floor behind the counter opened up and a staircase appeared.
Without hesitation, the man walked downstairs. When his figure disappeared, the hidden mechanisms got triggered again and the staircase disappeared once again.
...
Novo, The Underground Tavern.
After walking downstairs for at least five minutes straight, the man arrived at the real tavern.
When the man arrived in the large hall, he noticed that there were hundreds of small tables laid down all across the hall.
At least a hundred people were sitting beside these tables and drinking alcohol to their heart's content.
There were hundreds of people but no one cared about the sudden appearance of another person.
They were all busy in their own fantasies.
Some were sitting alone and had a look of sadness and depression, while others were sitting with friends and were having happy conversations.
The man ignored all this chaos and directly walked over to the bartender.
He sat down on the chair in front of the bar and stared at the old bartender who was sleeping with a smile on his face.
"One of my usual... Irvin" (???)
When the old bartender heard his voice, he slowly opened his eyes and got up.
He looked at the man for a few seconds and then his eyes opened widely in sheer surprise.
"Tamonte! Is that you!?" (Irvin Terrell)
Hearing the surprised voice of Irvin, Tamonte nodded his head and smiled slightly at him.
"It's been a while..." (Tamonte)
"Been a while you say!? Idiot! It's been seventeen years since I last saw you!?" (Irvin)
Tamonte scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment as he had no words to express his reasons to this old man.
"Uh, well, I found a woman and ended up marrying her, now I have three children... I have been busy taking care of them, so I had no time to come to this tavern..." (Tamonte)
The old man was even more surprised at his words.
"oho! The guy who was so infamous with ladies ended up marrying!?" (Irvin)
"Cough! That was two decades ago! I am not that awkward anymore..." (Tamonte)
Irvin nodded his head and stroked his long white beard as he looked at Tamonte with a happy look on his old face.
"It's such a surprise to see you appearing today, I thought you would never come back to meet me..." (Irvin)
"Have you met anyone else from our old group over the years?" (Irvin)
Tamonte shook his head and said in a calm tone.
"No, it's been seventeen years and I have yet to meet anyone from our old group... they all seem to have changed identities by now..." (Tamonte)
Irvin also nodded his head.
"Yeah, about thirty of them stayed with me for a few years but now all of them have left, I had already stopped thinking that any of the members will return to visit me..." (Irvin)
"But here you are! I am happy that at least you came to visit me, I think I have only one more decade left now… it won't be long before I die from my old age…" (Irvin)
Tamonte looked a bit confused by Irvin's words and thus he asked in a doubtful tone.
"What are you saying… you look fine to me though…" (Tamonte)
Irvin smiled at those words and shook his head.
"I already had hidden injuries before the organization disbanded, and after these seventeen years, all my past injuries have resurfaced, moreover I have been in constant battles all my life…" (Irvin)
"My body was still fine when I was working, but after sitting still for nearly two decades… all problems came flooding down on me…" (Irvin)
At Irvin's words, Tamonte frowned deeply and said in a confused tone:
"But with your connections… it would be easy to find an S- rank healer to heal you to full health, no? Why are you not looking for a healer then?" (Tamonte)
Irvin laughed a little bit after hearing Tamonte's words and replied in a tired tone:
"I can indeed ask an S-ranker to heal me… that way I may be able to live for another two or three decades… but… I am tired Tamonte…" (Irvin)
"I have seen a lot and I am simply too exhausted from this world now… I don't really have a reason left to stay so long in this world… I am tired and I want to reunite with my dear wife in the afterlife…" (Irvin)
The two went silent for a while after Irvin said those words.
"Sigh… it seems there is no going back… well I have also retired from that kind of work… now I have a small café of my own and I raise my family with it in peace…" (Tamonte)
Irvin also nodded his head at Tamonte's words and said:
"Indeed, being able to spend time peacefully for those in our field of work is very rare… most of the comrades that were staying here with me went over to other organizations for more work…" (Irvin)
"Only a few have retired… but I don't know about the whereabouts of any of them… they all have cut contacts with each other…" (Irvin)
"I also don't have any contacts left with other members, I only know that you are staying in this place…" (Tamonte)
Irvin proudly nodded his head.
"Of course, I am staying here, this used to be the headquarters of our organization! I will guard this place till my last breath!" (Irvin)
"Haha, you haven't changed one bit, Irvin…" (Tamonte)
"But you have indeed changed a lot, Tamonte… perhaps becoming a father has influenced you…" (Irvin)
"Yeah… perhaps…" (Tamonte)
The two continued to chat for a while and after a long talk that lasted for two long hours, the two of them finally went silent.
...
Irvin's eyes suddenly narrowed and he stared at Tamonte with a look of doubt.
"Okay, we have already talked enough about the past times, now tell me the real reason why you are here… there's no way a shrewd guy like you will appear here for no reason…" (Irvin)
The atmosphere around them both suddenly went from happy to serious and grim.
A wide grin appeared on Tamonte's face as he heard Irvin's words.
"Of course, there is indeed a very important news that I have brought along with myself… hehe…" (Tamonte)
Tamonte used his mana and brought out a document from his space ring. He handed over that file to Irvin as he waited with a wide grin on his face.
Irvin frowned a bit at this, but he still grabbed the file and opened it to look at all the contents.
The photo of a young boy with black hair and black pupils was on the very first page of that document file.
His face looked ordinary and expressionless, he wore the uniform of the great Freya academy as he stood near a small tree.
Under that photo were a few words written.
[Background check results]
[Target Name: Rio Flash]
[Age: 17 Years Old.]
Seeing that name and photo, Irvin's eyes widened in sheer shock.
"Th-this!? What the!?" (Irvin)
Irvin stared at Tamonte's face as if he wanted him to answer his questions.
Tamonte did not betray the expectations and nodded his head at Irvin's questioning gaze.
"I didn't expect this either, after all, he was such a secretive guy, but it turns out there is some legacy he still left in this world..." (Tamonte)
Tamonte stared into Irvin's old eyes and said in a solemn tone.
"Yes, I have found 'his' son…" (Tamonte)
…
…
Author's Notes.
Yo! It's your beloved author here! It seems there are still people looking for a bygone past, who knows what trouble this will bring in the future…
Question of the day.
Which class will you choose if given the choice?
1. Warrior
2. Archer
3. Swordsman
4. Assassin
By the way, don't forget to use those power stones and also leave a review if you like the story. Comment your opinion about the chapter. Your support is my motivation.