"Brother?"
It's been eight years since I last saw my brother, Elias Rynd. Back in my childhood days, when I was around ten at that time, my brother left the household to join the luminous knights in Caria City, he possess extraordinary talent, as well as his human skills, as I recalled it correctly, he is the bearer of dark magic.
He looked very different from the Elias that I remembered. Not just his appearance, but even his demeanor felt different
The Elias I knew was an annoying, typical immature individual who always seemed to be in the spotlight everytime chaos anew, from my perspective he is a walking clown at this point…
That made it certain. Even if his appearance and the way he carried himself had changed, the boy standing in front of me was none other than my brother, Elias Rynd.
And more than anything… he had called me Weird Eyes.
"Brother, it's really you, isn't it? You're alive, You're still alive…" I said happily
It was a miraculous reunion with the brother I'd thought long dead. Tears sprung through my eyes. "What were you doing all this time? What happened to you? I'm so glad you're alright" There were a mountain of things that I wanted to say, but I couldn't get the words out. And yet, all Elias replied with was a curt dismissal
"Uh no, you must have mistaken me for someone else. Bye."
"Huh? Wait!"
I let out a confused matter. Even my tears seemed to retreat back into my ducts. But when Elias started walking toward the inn's exit, I suddenly returned to my senses and chased after him. I grabbed him by the sleeve and tried talking to him.
"Wait just one minute! It's definitely you, isn't it, Brother? You called me Weird Eyes just now! There's no way you could be anyone else." I cried
"No really, you do have weird eyes, look at yourself in the mirror, green and red."
"Excuse me, I know my eyes very well, I'll have you know that's very rude! That's the worst excuse I've ever heard. Why did you try to trick me? And your personality… what exactly happened to you? What have you been doing until now? And why didn't you come back to us? Answer me Brother! You can't fool your sister!"
My shouts echoed through the inn, it was catastrophic.
Most of the other diners were watching curiosity, wondering what their vice-leader was doing with this guy.
The rest of the members from the guild files out of their little alcove as well.
As all hope seems lost, Plasma came with a shallowy voice.
"Roxy, Though your brother seemed to be reacting to all this calmly, he was panicking internally. Even in his wildest dreams, he hadn't expected to run into his younger sister while out on a quest"
"It is what it is, Huh? Plasma?"
"His shock was what led him to accidentally let slip that first "Weird Eyes" all but sealing his fate"
"Huh? How did you know this?"
"It's just basic psychology, Roxy, you didn't knew that I am a super smart AI assistant, you should be fascinated about it."
"Shut up, Plasma"
Fortunately, his partner came to the rescue. The girl walked up to me, wrapped her arm around Elias, and forcibly pulled my arm off.
"Get off, you're bothering Elias." the girl said through me
"Wh-Who are you? I'm in the middle of a very important discussion with my brother…"
"Then calm down first."
Though it was rude to blurt out rude words from my brother, I stepped back, retreating behind Elias. Trying to maintain some semblance of dignity, I straightened my back and squared her shoulders, but the effect was less impressive
"Sorry, you're right. I let myself get a bit worked up. Anyway, it really was you right, Brother?"
I spoke quietly, but with an add of conviction, all thanks to Plasma's advice flowing through my head. My gaze was focused solely on Elias.
Seeing my expression, Elias realized she'd chase after him no matter what he said, so he just scratched his head, sighed and told her the truth.
"Yeah, it's me. Long time no see, Eirene."
"It's really, really you… you were alive."
Elias shrugged his shoulders
"Yeah. Some stuff happened, but I made it out alive!"
"Thank god I met you once again!"
I sat beside Elias, on the other side of the table were two girls, the one on the left was wearing a standard typical adventurer uniform while the right side wears a dress with a witch hat, as Elias had formed a party.
"Eirene, I came here to eat dinner, so let's order our food. I was looking forward to trying the food here. They have pork stew, beef stew and a lot of options, it's supposed to be really spicy. I hope it tastes like I think it will"
Instead of attention through me, my stubborn brother keeps eye-to-eye contact on one of the girls in the table, ignoring me while he was busy chatting with his party.
"Ladies, what would you like then?"
"I want beef stew, it reminds me of our first hunting party in Caria"
"Me too, then, beef stew"
Elias had only for her party, I was nothing to him, he straight up ignored me like a decoration stand. Even worse, it is his little sister.
"Elias, should you be ignoring her? She is your little sister, aren't you suppose to talk for a moment?" one of the girls noticed my absence
"I will be worrying about your health, she is just my little sister."
The nonchalance with which Elias had struck me dumb for a moment, Of course I wasn't done yet, but once I returned to my senses, I briskly stood up to Elias's table and angrily slammed my hands down
"Brother Elias, I'm not done speaking with you. Don't ignore me! And who are these two girls, anyway?" I said angrily
My words echoed the sentiments of everyone present. The customers, and my guildmates, who is peeping through the alcove of the inn.
Elias furrowed his brow in annoyance. Knowing his furious little sister, I wouldn't give up until he gave me an answer. He wanted to be able to eat in peace, so reluctantly looked back up at my face.
"We accepted a request to come here from Caria City. We've been traveling non-stop, so at least let us eat before I tell you what happened. Oh, and these two girls are…"
Elias glanced at the two girls at the opposite side of the table, who introduced them before they could
"I'm Catherine Rogue, silver-ranked adventurer"
"I'm Patricia Barbon, gold-ranked adventurer"
Huh? It seems that Elias party consists of top-ranked adventurers in Caria, especially one of his members were gold-ranked, telling me that she is higher than mine,
As easily to spot on, Patricia Barbon wore an adventurer attire more than fashion, she was positioned to the left side of the table. Where Elias easily admired on, as from what she's wielding, she had a scabbard from which she placed her rapier. Similar to White's
While, Catherine Rogue wore of a witch attire, famous for its all black outfit, long length dress and it's cherry-on-top witch hat that Catherine wore, in her back, there was a staff, possibly belonged that she was a mage,
Thanks to my outburst, the other customers started staring too, so Elias and the others moved to the privacy of one of the cornered tables.
I asked some of my questions I prepared through my life, this is now my opportunity to meet my long lost brother for good, But…
"I'm trying to eat here, you know. Can't you be a bit more polite?"
I puffed out my cheeks and yelled angrily. Through I didn't look intimidating in the slightest
"Hey, answer properly!"
As always, this is only our sibling bond, but seeing that this is serious matter, I went on anyways. While Elias just took it all in stride. He didn't even meet his sister's gaze, and instead continued tearing through the beef stew, something commenting on this or that in Catherine and Patricia. He looked extremely satisfied
Unable to take his offhanded treatment any longer. The members started yelling at Elias too. The power of love was quite something. One of the members, Carin, he slammed his fist down on the table for added effect.
"Hey brat! Roxy's asking a question! Answer her properly!" Elias glanced over at Carin, then breathed another sigh
"I'm trying to eat here, you know. Can't you be a bit more polite?"
Carin reddened with anger. Not only was he a stone-ranked member, he was one skilled enough to be tasked with the mission of guarding me. And yet, Elias had brushed him off without even a second thought
"Wait, did I heard that name correctly? Roxy? Wait, she is your vice-leader of you guild?... Hahaha, what kind of pyramid scheme is this, we abandoned that name of yours, Eirene"
Realizing that Elias wasn't willing to humor him in the slightest, Carin changed his angle of attack.
The withering intensity of her gaze caused Carin to flinch back for a moment, but the fact he'd cowered before a little girl, even if only for an instant, only made Carin angrier.
Carin wasn't normally someone who'd snap this easily. Earlier in the manor, he once sparred Leonhard because of its envious of his physique, but my reproachful gaze made him touchier than usual
"How dare you look at me like that! You're just an asshole Carin, what right do you have to blame your vice-leader!"
"What a pathetic man." Every word dripped with scorn. Patricia couldn't believe someone could be so intolerant about something as irrelevant as being Elias party members.
"You damn, heretic. You don't belong to the luminous knights. I'll send you to hell along with that son of a bitch that you love so much." He put a hand over his mace
Barry and Ned reached for their own weapons, while I and Natalie tried to calm Carin down with words.
However, Carin was beyond words. He had to draw his mace, but before he could…
"Bang!"
His whole body was sent flying from the force, and he crashed into the wall behind him headfirst. The white's on Carin's eyes were visible as he slid to the ground in a crumpled heap. His mace clattered to the floor next to him a second later.
The members were shocked at Elias power, he directly shot Carin over his thick plated armor. The weapon that Elias was holding instantly recognized by it.
Neither the members nor the guards intervened, but the weapon that Elias was holding shouldn't exist in this world. They have no clue what they looking at. As from my information, It was Elias revolver
White smoke rose from the revolver's barrel. Elias had been kind enough to test one of her dark magic on his weapon. Based from Plasma's response, the revolver that Elias was using is an ancient artifact that existed centuries ago, and it is powered by Elias's dark magic itself,
The bullet that flew through Carin was no ordinary ammunition, but Elias' dark magic was used there, I've seen a lot of dark magic usages, but from Elias' skill, it was extraordinary.
"I don't really care about you guys, I have no intention of getting involved in one of your scenes. I only came here because the guild asked me to, and once my job here's done I'm resuming my journey. If you try to fight me like that guy did… I might kill you, I will have no signs of remorse killing you. Be careful"
He turned gaze onto me and my members, I said nothing, nor I attacked. Rather, she couldn't say anything. It wasn't the intimidation. If she agreed to Elias request, my members would die before she even had the chance what have happened to them.
With the pressure gone, Carin shattered his armor because of the bullet's trajectory, Elias paid them in no mind and instead turned to Catherine, who still looked a little down
As he said earlier, he will kill everything he stood in my way, even he felt no remorse. He really did change.
The tense atmosphere that had pervaded the table in seconds ago reason nowhere to be seen, and everyone marveled at how quickly the mood had changed
"Huh, that's strange. I was scared to death by your brother a few seconds ago, but now I sense the urge of murderous intent"
"Don't worry Ned, my brother always like that"
No, my brother's personality changed completely, once an annoying brother turned into an anti hero I've watched in movies. Does the luminous knight always endure such a moody personality, or is it just a side effect from one of his traumas? Even Plasma can't explain through this…
I had been too shaken by the rapid pace with which events had unfolded, and Elias's drastic change to be able to stop him from leaving. I wasn't sure what I could say that would reach for her older brother now.
As the silence continues, Elias and along with the two girls left the inn, they went upstairs to proceed on one of their rooms. The more questions I think about Elias, the more worried I am,
After the chaotic fight inside the pub, I decided to get some rest.
It was midnight, and everyone was so mentally and physically exhausted from the events of the day that they were fast asleep. Only I was still awake.
My room was a small single room. No shared lodgings, only I. It was furnished with a wooden table, a chair, a bed, a small fireplace and a leather sofa. In winter, the fireplace would be crackling merrily, warming it's guest. All of this sums up to ten silver coins, a cheaper inn.
I wore my nightrobe as usual, but right now it was empty. I sat on the sofa, staring into the cold ashes of the fireplace as I thought about the day's events. The inside of my head was a whirling, disorganized mess.
Carin wound was starting to recover, the revolver that was composed of dark magic was not more of Elias mysterious abilities, like does it drain mana? Or the dark magic appears out of nowhere? I let out a long sigh. On the other hand, I remembered how he'd talked to those two girls, and was happy that he'd found partners my older brother could trust.
Suddenly, a voice called out to her, despite the fact that she should have been alone in the room
"You sure make some interesting expressions, Weird Eyes."
"Huh?!"
I jerked my head around. Elias was standing in the doorway. His arms folded across the chest. Shocked, I stammered
"Brother? Wh-what are you… How did you?"
"If you're asking how I got in, it's through the door."
"But it's locked…"
"I'm your big brother, remember? These doors were easy to pick."
For a few seconds I just sat there, dumbstruck. Finally, I managed to calm myself down and glare angrily at Elias.
"H-hey! Its rude to come into a girl's room so late at night, especially without knocking. You even picked a lock… Why?"
The words "night visit" flashed through my mind, but she dismissed it easily
"Sorry, I guess. I didn't want anyone else to know about my visit, especially that guild of yours. There's a few things I need to tell you, Eirene"
"Something you need to tell me? But didn't you say you don't care about us, do you?"
"I just ask a few questions about you, trust me, little sister"
This is the first time Elias called me "little sister" despite mocking me with perfectly crafted aliases that he does in his childhood, now we wanted to have a conversation about me
We sat down at a nearby table with a neatly prepared tea, there, we began our conversation between siblings
"Eirene, answer this thoroughly, why did you become an adventurer?"
"To become free as a bird, why Elias? Is something bothering you?"
As we began our conversation, Elias gaze became serious. He was glaring at me, whether warily, antagonistically or something else altogether I couldn't tell, but he let out a very deliberate sigh.
As proof, I showed one of my adventures token and showed my silver-plated rank
"Eirene, despite having an appraisal skill, you still manage to climb the ranks insanely high, currently at a young age, I never see one silver-ranked adventurer this young, have you allocate hidden powers about your human skill or not"
Elias was arousing my suspicions otherwards,
"Eirene, who sent you to search for Cassius Calico? Is it your guild? Or a request?"
"How did you know that, Brother?"
"I have a keen eye, Eirene. Tell me, who sent you?"
"I was sent by Lord Phillip, the ruler of Town Allure, he was tasked by our guild to retrieve the lost boy. He lend out a surprising reward for our guild"
"That bastard, Does Lord Philip mean to you, your life is on the line, Eirene?"
The truth is that Elias and his party were sent over a dangerous mission in the rural plains of Rebelbub, he was also tasked to save the lost boy who was led by the boy's father. As his personality changed as reckless as possible, Elias showed signs of potential care about me. As his little sister.
"Eirene, listen to me… these monsters one one of the mountains were no joke, it was an overpopulated area ruled with high orcs, you cannot survive there, Eirene"
"High orcs?"
High orcs are mid to high-level beasts and a stronger types of orcs, it's famous thick and red skin truly is a threat to normal adventurers like me, even a silver-ranked adventurer cannot handle that, only a luminous knight like Elias can handle them with ease.
"Wait, Brother, you can't go there alone, there are too many!" I cried
"Dont worry, I will handle the mission myself, these high orcs mean nothing to me. Since you have an appraiser skill, try to view my current stats. See for yourself!"
As Elias suggested, He lend me to use my inspect skill to view his stats, as he said that, I viewed his stats using Inspect
Elias Rynd
Skills: Dark Magic, mana manipulation, Strength Boost (Level 10), Burst Reduction, Marksmanship
Vitality: 12000
Strength: 91000
Defense: 23000
Agility: 47000
Mana:100000
As expected, that is a stat of a luminous knight, Elias possesses five skills, all of them based entirely of support, including his signature skill "Dark Magic" from which he uses to power his magic revolver.
As from his revolver, I used inspect at his main weapon
Death Chant Revolver
Durability 5000/5000
Damage: 100
Rounds: six cartilages
Attributes: Guaranteed Piercing Effect, Fast Reload, Metamorphosis
Guaranteed Piercing effect- leaves bleeding effect that drains life force
Fast Reload- slightly faster reload
Metamorphosis- can change into two forms: Revolver and Sniper
The weapon that Elias possesses was an artifact that feeds on his dark magic, creating magic bullets that was similar to my Blood Bow. The downside is that it feeds on mana every time he creates his magic bullets out of thin air, also similar to Blood Bow. But his mana capacity reached six digits, no need to worry about his mana drainage.
It also has a unique name to his weapon "Death Chant Revolver"
As I viewed my brothers stats correctly, Elias continued
"What you see here, Eirene, is the stats of a luminous knight. No worries about getting out alive, I can handle them easily"
"But, Brother…"
I didn't finish the sentence clearly, he patted my head like a little child and left the room.
Everything I felt in this conversation was no joke. Elias became stronger than I expected, ever since he left Allure Village for good, he didn't forget his care for the family. Not only his stats grew a lot, but his personality changed as well.
"Elias, you're not the brother I knew."