Chapter 552: Too

As the sound of rushed footsteps approached from behind the door, Arthur looked at Ellen"s grateful and concerned expression. He did not know what to answer her, as a feeling of self-hate swelled in his heart. Then, the footsteps stopped, and someone rushed through the door.

"Ellen," called Oriole as he breathed out. "I didn"t know you were coming," he said before turning toward Arthur, looking at him with concern. "I need Alexie for something. Give us a moment."

"...alright," Ellen stared at him and nodded before standing. "I will drop off the materials downstairs. Let"s go for a meal afterward."

Arthur watched her leave through the door as if he was staring at a ghost. Ori allowed Ellen to walk past him and closed the door behind her before turning toward the silent Arthur.

"I did not intend for the two of you to meet just yet," said Oriole with a sigh before he walked over. "I know it"s hard to accept the changes. After all, both of us suffered a lot because of what happened."

"It was not her fault. I know that much," said Arthur as he felt tired. "Ellen changed so much in this timeline, and it made me realize that maybe I am the outsider to my own life, too."

"Too," repeated Oriole before he pulled a chair to sit. "I didn"t think you would lose all of the memories, too," he sat down in front of Arthur. "I always hoped that when you do remember what happened, you would realize that your life is better than it used to be."

"That was the plan," smiled Arthur as he covered his eyes. "I wanted to open a new path, but I fell into a prison of my own making. The moment someone talks to me, I feel like they are talking to someone I don"t know."

"These people are the same that you knew from before," explained Oriole. "Treat it the same as Rae, when she lost her memories in a different timeline. There was nothing left for her to do other than forge new memories, and in the end, she became the same person that we know."

"An annoying person," laughed Arthur before he lowered his arm. "I invited her to our guild, by the way."

"...I kind of saw it coming, but this will bring us a headache," Oriole shook his head. "Are we doing this?"

"I will leave after the exploration," replied Arthur before rising. "Let"s leave this place to create our guild. Are you coming along, Ori?"

"It is about time that we do this," laughed the runemaster as he jumped to grab Arthur"s arm. "Let us stop humans from killing themselves."

Arthur smiled as the two shook hands. After that, a knock came on the door, and it was Ellen. It seemed that she gave up on getting the two runemasters out and chose to bring food into the workshop.

Then, the three relived the memory of eating together when they exchanged bracelets. Ellen teased Ori about seeing him with another runemaster, and Arthur enjoyed seeing the previous-grandmaster fl.u.s.tered.

The night drew its curtains over the flying island, but these two days will live forever in the minds of those present.

***

"This is absurd," Rae stared at the charts with shock as her ring kept buzzing to announce the notification from every social platform.

At first, Rae heard about the fight between Alexie Linan and Arlo tomorrow. It was the greatest chance for her to see if Alexie Linan was nothing more than a conman. However, her reaction changed when she saw a recording of his attack.

It was footage by a bystander, as he recorded Alexie saving his clerk and then Arlo being hurled in the air like a cannonball. That was the same move he defeated her with, and even with the recording, she could not understand what had happened.

Then, Rae commanded her troops to make sure the footage reached no one else because she knew she had found a gemstone. It would be a waste if the others got wind of his powers.

However, Rae could not understand the reasons behind his sudden revelations. She has known Alexie Linan for a year now, and their fights were endless, but she always knew that he was holding back.

It did not make sense to her why he would reveal everything now. Was he unafraid of the seven families, or did he think he would slip unnoticed?

Her Shon Theocracy was the only case of commoners rising against heaven"s chosen, and it did not happen through courage and determination. The blood of her brothers and sisters still soaks the lands of Shon.

Then, as she wondered if she should save this madman from humiliating himself or endanger it, the news started arriving. A batch of new artificial artifacts appeared on the Hidden Gems virtual store.

The name always made her feel uncomfortable, as she felt a sense of familiarity from the first time she heard it. However, now was not the time, as the sudden influx of artifacts into the markets was unprecedented in Jerano.

Hidden Gems was the third-ranking store in Jerano, right after the Yalen Families "Heaven Sent" and the potions store of Janea "Garden."

Those two were the giants of Jerano, as their artifacts and potions were the leading suppliers of the flying island. However, Hidden Gems was not backed by any family or nation but simply the work of two students from the Runes Research Department.

And in a single day, the ranking rose from third to second. It has overtaken the Heaven Sent and was right behind Garden.

The news spread like wildfire in the college and the world. These stores might be local, but Garden and Heaven Sent had branches in every city. It was the same as watching a mouse fighting a dragon, and somehow, the mouse was winning.

Rae hurried to place orders on the artifacts, but her ranking made her face some taxes. She hated Alexie for his policy, but it made his review all end up being higher than average because of the commoners.

The store"s overall ranking kept rising as more and more artifacts got sold. The store sold artifacts more than Heaven Sent in a single day and for lower prices. Furthermore, everyone knew that the quality was superb.

Everyone in Jerano got on the edge of their seat as their notifications buzzed. Hidden Gems became a national sensation after being talked about by every famous character and royalty.

These people were the students with the world"s most potential, and their every profile was watched by many. It was not an exaggeration to say that most students had fan clubs worldwide.

A few minutes before midnight, when the last order was processed, the ranking changed again. At that moment, everyone watched the words with shock.

[First Rank: Hidden Gems.]

"In a single day," she breathed out with shock. "He sold artifacts enough to build a guild. Alexie Linan... what a reckless man."

That was her only estimation of him. All this time, the store sold a few artifacts every day and prevented the others from allying against it. Finally, however, he s.n.a.t.c.hed the first rank from everyone in a single day.

"The fight is tomorrow, and once the guilds hear that the owner is partic.i.p.ating, they would lose their minds."

Guilds were a furnace that burned artifacts. All members needed artifacts, and the artifacts" quality determined the overall strength of the guild. Some guilds rose because a grandmaster was backing them.

Rae knew that his future would be unchanged even if he lost tomorrow because every guild wanted him. Shon needed runemasters who could topple the scales like this, but he was not a monster that she could tame.

However, this monster just so happened to invite her to join him. Rae knew that if she played her cards right, then she might be able to pull him to serve her Shon Theocracy.

At that time, she will become His favorite daughter. And only then would she be safe from being discarded. Her fist clenched as she mulled over the matter, but she knew that the deciding factor would be his strength tomorrow.

***

Dawn broke from behind the horizon, blessing the flying island of Jerano with a new day. The words were flying around the kitchen tables, the bars, and the city"s beds. The coliseum started to fill with the audience when it opened, all eager to witness the antic.i.p.ated fight.

Arlo was a top ranker ever since he joined Jerano, and any fight of his was expected to end with victory. Of course, everyone enjoyed a good fight, but it was not the only reason they wanted to watch it today.

Hidden Gems was still the top-ranking store in Jerano, and the owner happened to be a student. That student, who remained a low profile so far, decided to reveal his powers this time.

Despite the common expectations that Arlo would emerge victoriously, the guilds sent representatives for this fight.. However, even if he was a runemaster, Alexie Linan needed to prove himself worthy.