City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

Artin Kalos

Click!

The door opened, and the little rogue stepped inside. He looked tired, having come from some training.

He put his bag away and picked up the glass of water, before starting to drink it, when suddenly his body froze up.

He ever so slowly put his glass down and turned to me with his eyes wide.

“Finally noticed me?” I asked. Smiling at his shocked expression.

Though inside, I am surprised. I thought it would take him longer. I am not using any skill, but I have made my presence null with aura.

That, despite sitting in front of him. He didn’t see me.

People may think that they see with their eyes, and they do, but they instinctively focus on presence more than anything else. It is as if they learn that first, before they even come out of their mother’s womb.

So, when they sense no presence from the living being, the conscience cannot make sense of it, and one becomes invisible to it.

There is another thing he didn’t sense. The aura covers the whole room. It’s a method, actually; it will block communication skills and spells.

I don’t want anyone to disturb me until I finish my chat with this little rogue.

Hun!

I had just thought that when I noticed him doing something. Something that breached the aura method, that is, covering the room.

It shouldn’t be possible—even Lv. 40 wouldn’t have been able to do that, but he did it.

“It seemed like you had methods,” I said. To that, he grinned before the man sat down, and I felt eyes on me.

Absolute Awareness.

There is no one looking at me from hundreds of meters away, but I can discern the eyes on me.

“You should remove the aura. They can’t talk to you with it covering the room,” he said to my surprise.

I am not liking this one bit.

I am not weak; there is only one person in this entire region who could go against me. I didn’t expect any surprises in this little city, but ever since he stepped into the room, there were only surprises.

They are not strong, but they are strange. I should have been more careful.

I looked at him, saw him looking at me with a smile. He is quite a good actor. Though not enough to hide that fear from me.

I kept looking at him before finally removing the method.

Immediately, the communication spell touched me. I wanted to break it, but I let it connect to me.

I expected to hear a voice, but there was only silence.

‘Uncle,’ came the voice finally.

The voice, I could never forget. It had matured; the naivety, the youthfulness that used to be present in the voice had disappeared.

Leaving only cold, hard seriousness.

The single word is enough to make all the doubts in my heart disappear. I know it is her; no skill or spell in the world could replicate the emotions I felt from it.

“Mari,” I said with my voice shaking. I shouldn’t have taken her name, but I couldn’t help myself.

‘Come to the legacy uncle,’ she said after a moment of silence, before she cut off the spell.

I remained in my place for a moment before finally getting up from the chair and walking toward the door. The little rogue followed, but a moment later disappeared.

I left him behind as he couldn’t keep up with me.

It would have been wise to walk to the legacy or take the carriage, but here, I am moving through the streets.

I do not have a stealth skill, but people couldn’t see me. I move fast with my speed skill, and in less than a minute, I appeared in front of the Legacy, before taking a step inside.

As I did, I felt the skill touch me.

‘Top floor, uncle,’ her voice rang out in my head. “Mr. Kalos,” said a young woman standing by the elevator.

It surprised me, but I nodded and stepped into the elevator. It moved up, giving me a view of every floor.

It had been a few days since I had come here, but I had never come to the legacy. Now that I’ve looked at it, I have to say, it’s very good.

No wonder people are so impressed with it.

The elevator stopped, and I stepped out, finding another young woman standing by it.

“This way, Mr. Kalos,” she stated and led me. I followed after her, looking around. It’s a beautifully decorated floor, with mist making it even more beautiful.

What impressed me is the power of legacy, which feels greater than all Grade III legacies I have ever been in.

Click!

Soon, the woman stopped in front of the wooden door and opened it. One couldn’t see the other side; there was mist blocking the view, but it wasn’t enough to stop me.

I could see the woman sitting inside the room.

I walked inside, passed through the mist wall, and entered a beautiful room, with my eyes focused on nothing but the woman.

She didn’t look like the woman I had seen from the day she was born.

She didn’t say anything, she kept looking with tears streaming down her face, before she placed her hand on her face. A moment later, a familiar mask appeared in her hand, revealing her real face.

“You look so much like your mother,” I said, remembering the woman I loved.

She has the same angular face and green eyes. In them, she bears the same steel as her mother.

“And you look like, uncle,” she replied. I couldn’t help but laugh, with tears appearing in my eyes, seeing the sharp wit of her mother.

“I am surprised you are here. I thought you would be in merchant state,” I said as I sat down in front of her.

In the last days, when we knew there would be no way out. We have made plans, and one of the plans was for her to stay hidden in a merchant state.

“I was until I came here,” she replied, looking around.

“How do you know Silver? What do you do here?” I asked, and she just looked at me, just as her father used to do when I asked a question.

Though this time. It didn’t irritate me, but it made me feel despair.

“I am not ashamed of it. I did what I had to do to survive,” she said, and I could not see even a hint of regret in her eyes.

“I understand,” I replied finally.

Things were horrible at the end and completely chaotic. Many of those we had trusted had turned on us, making things difficult.

It was a miracle that she survived. Her parents had sacrificed their lives. So, she could escape.

“So, then does Silver know about you?” he asked. “Yes,” she replied, and I looked. Once more, I looked at her in question, to which she smiled and shook her head.

“No, we are not involved.” She replied, and my expression turned serious.

“Don’t worry, uncle. He will not reveal it,” she stated. “The reason your parents died was because they trusted the wrong people, Mari.” I reminded her.

“I know, but in a decade and a half in the cold, hard world, I had learned who to trust and who not to,” she replied, looking at him with the eyes that had seen every truth of the world.

“I will trust your judgement,” I stated finally.

Her parents, born in privilege, could read people like open books. They understood the cruelty of power, knew the heights and hungers it awakened—yet still, they placed their faith too easily, mistaking masks for faces.

This girl, too, was born in privilege, but also experienced the world at its most deplorable.

She would not make the same mistakes her parents had made.

“I have prepared a safe place for you,” I informed, but she shook her head. “I am not leaving, at least not now,” she replied, and I wanted to sigh hearing it.

There is still that stubbornness. It is still present in her.

“The undead are going to capture this place. In front of that horde, Silver and his forces won’t be able to last more than a few minutes.” I said.

It is a truth, with three Lv. 40s and the massive horde, he stands no chance.

“It will be impossible for him to protect you,” I added. He can only guarantee his life. Seeing how angry the undead are, they are going to kill everyone else.

“His condition isn’t as bad as you think, uncle,” she replied with a voice filled with confidence.

“Besides, I do not need him to protect me,” she replied.

A moment later, I felt her aura; it didn’t surprise me. She wouldn’t be her parents’ daughter if she hadn’t awakened it by now.

Although she might need some training.

When a deep shock appeared in my eyes, I saw a lotus appear on her left and an elaborate column to her right.

The aura methods belong to the houses of both her mother and father.

It shocked me beyond belief. These are complicated methods to practice, and this young woman had used not one but two together.

It’s so hard that even her mother wasn’t capable of doing this at her age.

“I want you to contact all our loyalists, General. I want those to pay for what they did to my parents and take back what is rightfully mine,” she commanded with the authority she was born to wield.

I had not come with this intention. My first priority was to take her to safety, but now I understand she is safe and strong. I wish her parents were here to see this; they would have been proud of her.

“Yes, your highness,” I replied, before kneeling in front of her.

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