Chapter 46: To Join The Vorath

"This... this is not the work of a few years. It would have taken many, many years," Arlo said, both awed and confused.

"I had all the time in the world."

"I was born in an illegal underground lab facility and managed to evade death after catching the attention of a tech expert there."

"From that moment on, I was taught everything about Gadgetry creation, and that is where I happened to spend the first eighteen years of my life," he recalled.

"I wonder how your relationship with Captain Ennessa came to be, then," Arlo asked, feeling even more curious.

"Well, a strange syndrome struck the lab one day, leaving me as its only survivor."

"I spent another two years underground, alone, with no idea how to escape, so I simply kept building all of this with the resources in the lab until someone finally came for me."

"That person was the Boss."

"Since then, I have worked with her, offering my skills in exchange for freedom and a safe place I could call home," Alvaro said, his expression barely changing as his eyes swept across the hundreds of gadgets in the room.

They represented more than twenty years of his entire existence.

"Take this. It can store all the gadgets, and you only need to will them out. I will not be needing it much anyway," he said, removing a small ring from his hand and holding it out to Arlo, who looked at it for a moment but did not immediately reach out to take it.

"Why offer something so valuable? I do not recall having done anything to deserve it," Arlo asked.

Alvaro smiled, stepped closer, caught Arlo’s hand, and placed the ring in his palm.

"And now you have proven yourself more worthy than anyone. Everyone loves the gadgets, but few appreciate the one who makes them," he said.

Arlo felt the cold metal resting in his grasp. Alvaro released his hand and turned to walk out of the room.

[That is a sad one, is he not?] the system’s voice rang in Arlo’s head as he pocketed the ring and quickly ran after Alvaro.

"Store your gadgets in the ring. You do not want to be walking around showing everyone a sword and a pair of metallic shoes."

"But I do not know how."

"Let me tell you. You simply need to..."

________________

"We await your triumphant return, Boss!"

The various roars of the crew rang out as they looked at Captain Ennessa and the four others behind her, including Arlo.

"It could be, in the worst case, just a week. And do not any of you dare cause damage in the house, or you will be paying with your heads," Captain Ennessa told them with an "my eyes are on you" smile before heading toward one of the large white buses parked within the compound.

They all quickly boarded.

"To the front, Arlo," Captain Ennessa ordered.

Arlo, who had been about to join the crew in the back seats, immediately stopped and moved to the seat beside the driver’s.

Captain Ennessa took the driver’s seat.

Soon, she started the engine, and the bus zoomed out of the mansion under the watchful eyes of the remaining crew, whose playful smirks had already disappeared.

They knew well that every mission involving the Voraths meant brushing shoulders with death itself.

It was never a cause for celebration. All they could do was pray in their hearts for the Boss to return alongside the crew members who had followed her.

"Did Alvaro give you the gadgets I asked him for?" Captain Ennessa asked.

Arlo nodded and pointed to the ring on his hand.

"What the? He gave you the ring?" Captain Ennessa asked in shock.

Arlo furrowed his eyebrows.

"Is it really that special? He simply told me it would help me store my gadgets, making it less strange to carry everything around in my hands," Arlo replied.

Captain Ennessa looked at him for quite some time before turning her attention back to the road.

"It is a special ring to Alvaro himself. One I never thought he would give away," she replied, which only unsettled Arlo further.

If the ring was so valuable, why had Alvaro passed it to him over something as simple as a compliment?

"So, what do you think of the crew members as a whole?" Captain Ennessa asked curiously, her masculine, commanding demeanor disappearing once more.

"I want to say they are all decent, but then I heard the rankings in the house are based on Vorath kill counts, so I am not entirely sure what to think."

"That’s almost psychopathic."

"But I do like them. They treated me like a brother and were fun to be around," Arlo replied.

"Well, good for you that you see them that way. You will soon become one of them, you know," she said.

Arlo smiled faintly.

"Maybe."

[Deciphering Complete!]

The notification suddenly flashed before his eyes, immediately drawing his attention.

[The contents of the perfume have been accessed and noted to contain a chemical that irritates the lungs of those with the Vorath Genome!]

Arlo’s expression froze.

What... what is this?

[Tsk, I knew something was suspicious with her. Turns out the so-called perfume was a Vorath detector. She was using it to test whether you were a Vorath or not!]

BAADUMP!

BAADUMP!

BAADUMP!

Arlo’s heart hammered violently against his chest as the realization dawned on him.

So that was why she had given him the perfume.

She had been testing him to see whether he was a Vorath or not.

He slowly leaned back in his seat and forced his breathing to calm, doing everything he could to prevent even the slightest change from appearing on his face.

[She’s starting to suspect you’re a Vorath, Arlo. You can only keep hiding this for so long.]

"The Vorath kill count, while truly used for hierarchy in the house, does not mean much at the base. It is mostly used for small skirmishes and maintaining order," she tried explaining, but Arlo merely gave a simple nod as he looked out the window.

"Hey, what’s wrong?" Captain Ennessa suddenly asked, and Arlo turned toward her with a raised eyebrow.

"What?"

"I don’t know. You are not like your normal self. You look... sober."

Arlo forced a shrug.

"The real weirdo is the one who smiles and plays all the time, you know."

Captain Ennessa nodded.

"Fair point."

The streets and buildings shuffled past rapidly, though they remained perfectly clear to his eyes.

He could see humans going about their daily business, and there did not seem to be much fear on their faces despite the fact that their race was at war with another.

Eventually, Arlo got himself under control, observing Captain Ennessa through the glass mirror by the side.

I think it’s time I join the Voraths.

He came to the decision quietly.

With all he had seen back in Captain Ennessa’s house, the crew, the Vorath kill counts, and now hearing that she had been suspecting him and had even made a move on him, the longer he remained, the more he put himself at risk of death.

[Good. Then your mission is simple.]

[All you have to do is find a Vorath, show him that you are one of them, and try to infiltrate their base. That will be easy once you show them your Vorath transformation.]

[Once you infiltrate their base, you will definitely find a way to reach their real settlement. And if things go south, you can always become human again and look for another chance.]

[All you must be careful about is letting your identity become known to either of the two races, or you will be hunted by both.]

The system gravely warned him as Arlo nodded before turning to look outside through the glass panes, his eyes scanning everyone they passed.

I wonder why this planet? Arlo suddenly thought.

He did not know why he had been brought here. It could have been anywhere, yet somehow, it had been this place.

The portal that dragged me here, System. Are you the one who created it? Arlo could not help but ask.

[Yes and no,] the system replied.

[Yes, because my powers, which were once whole, were divided into four. Three of them transformed your entire world and granted the inhabitants special Arcana abilities.]

[My Infinity Joker was sealed at the bottom of the ocean, and its energy must have eventually torn open a hole in spacetime that led back to this place.]

[So yes, it could be said to have been caused by me, but no, it was not through any conscious effort of mine.]

Arlo nodded slowly.

When I reach the peak of my Black Sun bloodline, do you think I will be able to rip open a spacetime portal back to my world?

He asked, the question forming in his mind after listening to the system.

[It would be difficult, but not impossible. Simply filling all your Gates with different forms of magic does not necessarily make you powerful. What truly matters is your comprehension and mastery of the magic you possess.]

[Even if you only mastered Dark magic, if you practiced it to a sufficiently high level, you could potentially rip open a hole in spacetime and return.]

[But as I said, reaching such a level would be very difficult.]

Then my choice to go to the Vorath sector and learn more about Vorath magic only makes even more sense. I will try my very best to return home, Arlo promised himself as images of his people appeared in his mind.

The elders who had nurtured him.

The family butlers, his father’s generals, and his mother.

He missed all of them dearly, and he did not know how they were faring now. The more time he wasted, the more uncertain the future became.

He was not even sure whether there would be any difference in the flow of time between the two worlds.

Maybe when he finally returned, the incident from just a few years ago would have already become a distant memory to a new generation of Umbrasol.

All in all, so many things could go wrong the longer he delayed.

"I need to grow stronger, and quickly too," Arlo said to himself, clenching his hands tighter into fists.

I’ll return to Umbrasol and avenge you, Father... I promise.

________________________

Ten hours later...

"Finally, here," an excited voice rang out from behind as Arlo opened his eyes and turned to look outside.

His eyes were immediately greeted by the sight of an even greater number of humans and cars.

"So many people," Arlo murmured.