"I missed you so much, my cute disciple," said Jumana while rubbing her face into his Ori's chest as he laid there with a pale face. Arthur was sure that there were some fractures in him from the impact, but he waited until she was done before he healed his friend. "You never called me!" she said before biting his arm.

"AAAH!" shouted Ori as he tried to push her face away from his arm, looking like he was fighting a cat. "I tried to reach you, but the reception was always bad!"

"O, thad maketh thenthe," she muttered while still biting her arm before releasing it. "Maybe we had the timing wrong to call each other. I never managed to reach you too."

Jumana stood up from the dead body and wiped away her drool. Oriole laid on the ground while huffing, his arm having bite marks that were almost bleeding. The grandmaster then turned toward Arthur and scrutinized him with her vast and green cat-like eyes.

"I never met this friend of yours, Ori," she said before looking at his face. "You must be the brat who declared he would create the strongest guild."

"I am..." said Arthur before he was sent flying through the air, but he made a backflip through the air and landed on his feet. Jumana was still standing there with her leg outstretched, and Arthur stared at her silently. "Am I not your liking, grandmaster Jumana?"

"You convinced Oriole to leave Jerano to join a crazy dream," she said while lowering her leg and resting on Oriole, who was about to stand. "This disciple is too foolish to decide for himself."

"And the master is too lonely to let go," said Arthur as he dusted his shirt. "You cannot force anyone to do anything, Jumana."

"You dare to call me by my first name?" blinked the grandmaster before turning down to Ori. "This friend of yours might be crazy, but he has the bravery of a celestial king."

"And he has enough to back it up," said Ori with a smile as he tried to stand, but Jumana's foot did not budge, and he fell back. "You are embarrassing both of us, master. I made my decision."

"And decisions can be changed," she said with a smirk. "My disciple thinks you have what it takes to call my name directly. However, I don't believe you know what they call me."

"Little Dragon, Guardian of Runera," replied Arthur as he stood straight as he loosened his shoulder. Grandmasters Venkov and Kiren were heading their way, but Arthur gestured for them to stay out of it. "And what of it, Jumana?"

"I can forget the first offense, but a second one needs punishment," said Jumana while her foot went beneath Ori and kicked him away from her. "Prison Domain!"

As Jumana stomped her feet to the ground, mana wave pulsed in a circular pattern to cover everything. However, as Arthur was readying himself to defend, the domain disappeared. Jumana paused before she looked upward toward the far castle in the distance.

Arthur followed her gaze as he realized that someone defused the mana Jumana was going to use. A figure was standing on top of the castle's tower, and they wore a large cloak and a bony mask. The rest of the crowd, watching the fight with interest, also turned toward the building.

The whispers among the crowd began to reach Arthur's ears as he stared at the cloaked figure. Then, as he was starting to wonder who this character was, the masked figure disappeared. There were no traces of him left as if he was nothing but an imagination.

"I cannot believe that arrogant brat keeps ruining things for me," Jumana stomped her feet on the ground before grandmaster Kiren walked toward her and shook his head. "I know, but nothing will happen even if I was heard."

Jumana's mood seemed to be ruined before she walked away without even regard to Ori and Arthur. As he helped his friend stand, Arthur used his healing runes to mend whatever was broken.

"I would never survive without my first aid kit," joked Oriole as he allowed Arthur to raise him. "I apologize for not mentioning the implications of being her disciple. I was dissociating from the truth."

"I can see the reason for that," sighed Arthur as he dusted his friend. "Who is the figure who prevented her from attacking me?"

  "That must be the Ghost King," snickered Oriole. "I cannot explain this here, so let's go to our rooms and rest. But, ah, shit, here comes the annoying ones."

"Second Rank, Oriole," said a man as he walked over. "That display puts everyone to shame, not just the rankers."

"The fact that I know you put me to shame, Carlos," said Arthur as he turned toward Arthur. "This is Carlos Beva, from Sourna. I competed with him in the Runes Apprentice Cup."

"Ah, the one who raised his nose so high that he almost trips every step?" asked Arthur with surprise. "It is an honor to meet you, Carlos Beva from Sourna."

"You have a big mouth for someone who is still an apprentice," said Carlos. "I became a runemaster a long time ago, and no one called me a genius. Your store got lucky, and everyone says you are a genius of the runic path? Sounds fishy," said Carlos while holding his nose.

"It's always fishy with you around," said another person as they interjected into the conversation. "I'm glad to see you again, Oriole."

"The same goes for you, Mulan," said Oriole as he patted Arthur on the shoulder and stood by himself. "And Abraham and Lily," he greeted the other two wearing golden sleeves. "I guess this is turning into a small reunion for the top rankers."

"Everyone should be here except for our top ranker," said Mulan with a shake of her head. "A pity that the world has to move on without its greatest genius."

"Arthur Silvera was far from the greatest genius," snorted Carlos before everyone glared at him. "However, he was a proper rival."

The mood got dark, and everyone seemed down except for Oriole. As he explained it to Arthur, the two of them did not act close in public just in case it endangered the alchemist runemaster. After glancing at 'Alexie' and a shrug, Oriole cleared his throat.

"The past is behind us now, and we cannot let it ruin the moment. It would be a good idea to meet later and discuss the runic encryption of the ruins. Alexie is the best person in that field."

"I thought that the exploration would be for runemasters only," said Carlos with a frown. "I guess even a peacock can get in with enough colors."

"Pardon me," said Oriole as he walked past Carlos and stepped on his foot, making the thin runemaster yelp. Arthur laughed and walked behind his friend toward their rooms. "Ignore the idiot."

"I did not intend to entertain him," said Arthur as his smile disappeared. "It seems that Runera made sure all the top rankers were here, but Emma did not tag along. This is a bad sign."

"It is natural," said Oriole with a sigh. "The Agard family and the Yalen Royalty situation is quite tense. I heard that they were quite dissatisfied with the marriage being postponed once again."

"The marriage was postponed?" asked Arthur with surprise. "By the Yalen Family?"

"It was Emma who did not want to get married yet," said Oriole with a sigh as he turned toward him. "The reasons are unclear, but the previous Arthur believed she was unhappy and trapped."

"And I didn't do anything?"

"There was very little you could do without compromising the disguise we built," replied Oriole. "You have to understand that the current and the previous Arthurs are miles apart in terms of strength. No one received a kick from Jumana and went unaffected."

"Am I showing off too much of my strength?"

"We have yet to open registration to our guild, so we need the publicity. Ascent is still just a name at the moment. Unless we leave Jerano and build a headquarters, we will just be two ambitious students."

"That won't be long from now," said Arthur with a smile. "I will deal with Caleb once I go back. You have yet to tell me about the Ghost Ruler."

"Ah, yes. It is quite a mystery, but it seems that person is the Ruler of Runera. However, he is not a part of the runic families, but the fine line that keeps them from killing each other."

"And no one knows their identity?"

"It seems they are the holder of the sole artifact that controls every rune in Runera and can deactivate it. Since his appearance a little less than a year ago, the city has acknowledged them as the rightful owner ever since his appearance."

"A little less than a year?" asked Arthur with a frown as he stopped walking. "That means it happened after the deviation in the timeline. This person must be...."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.