Inverse System

Chapter 8 - New Home

As they emerged through the trees, they found themselves in a small bustling town, surrounded by the walls over the forest around them. This town held the species known as "Elves". They were a species native to Econica and self-sufficient forest-dwellers. The town had a population of about 2000, consisting mostly of elves,  and some humans and half-elves.

"Wow… This place is amazing!" Exclaimed Emria enthusiastically, looking at the nighttime town that was glimmering in the dark.

"The place is on the other side of the town. We came through the Shortwell district, the man's atelier is through the Westway district outside the walls. We should head there right away and get some rest." Said Core pointing in the direction.

"So are you and this guy on good terms?" Asked Rein, trying to get his mind off his System for now.

"Yeah, his name's Voron Xilris. He was good friends with my old man. He owed him for some help he assisted him with, and after he died, his debt kinda came to me."

They continued riding through the silent, sleeping town, admiring the buildings and marketplaces, until they reached Voron's atelier. It was located outside of town, directly west of the wall. It was a large, modern-looking white house. It looked clean from the outside, having no dirty spots on its white walls. It was 2 stories tall, with no trees in a 10-meter radius of the atelier, allowing the windows to bring in maximum moonlight.

Core dismounted from the carriage and headed towards the seemingly silent home.

"Hey! Maybe we shouldn't knock right now. He and his daughter are probably asleep." Rein said, concerned for the man.

"Yeah, his daughter probably is. But I don't think that'll be a problem." Core drew a fist, wind up his hand, and punched the door, knocking as hard as he could. Rein and Emria closed their eyes and braced for impact, feeling bad for the man who was just woken up. The door opened, Rein and Emria expected a yawning old man to walk out.

"Who the hell is knocking this late in the night! I was this close to making a breakthrough!! Why I oughta… Oh! It's little Core! How've you been kid? Look's like you brought Miss D8 and some children with you." Said the old man that emerged from the house.

Emria and Rein didn't know how to react. They sat there, baffled at the vitality of this old man this late into the night. He had long elf ears, short brown hair, red eyes, and a stern, scary-looking face. He wore a white lab coat, covered in coffee stains, with his sleeves rolled up. He had white socks and brown work pants.

"Gimme a break, you were doing research this late into the night? Take a break old man. Anyways, I want you to take these two kids in for a while. Also, re-attach the white-haired one's arm. We have the limb in the carriage." Said Core, quickly getting irritated at Voron.

"Sure thing. Hey! White hair! What's your name?" Asked Voron, raising his voice. 'He accepted to take two kids in just like that?', the thought ran through Rein's mind, looking at the very eccentric man.

"I'm Rein, and this is Emria." He didn't mention last names, as Leona taught him never to reveal that he is the son of Drevius Alister.

"And just how in the hell did you lose your arm?"

"I was fighting the Orthlys royal prince Sir."

"You what?" Voron said, scratching his head.

"It's a long story, old man. I'll explain it when we get inside." Said Core, walking in and dragging Voron with him. They entered the work area, which also had a couch in it. A messy space, full of bookshelves, workbenches filled with tools, and piles of stuff that extend across the sides of the room. Core explained what happened to Voron, skipping out on some vital details that Core couldn't be bothered to explain.

"Orthlys nobles hired you to wipe out a village in their own country?!" Yelled Voron, almost as if it weren't midnight. Listening to Core retell the story, Rein's blood started boiling. This time, his hate wasn't directed towards Core, but rather towards Orthlys, who attacked their civilians. Emria started trembling, recalling all the things that befell her village the previous day.

"Hey, old man. Maybe you shouldn't yell so loud. Isn't your daughter asleep? I only knocked that loud because I know the sound wouldn't reach her." Said Core, starting to tap his shows repeatedly, evidently beginning to lose his cool.

"Oh don't worry. Saphrilla got so fed up with my noise that she invented sound-isolating walls around her room. That girl's genius frightens me sometimes." He declared, seeming strangely proud of his daughter, even though she did it to shut him up.

"Anyways Core, do you know the reason those nobles hired you?" Asked Voron.

"They didn't directly tell me the reason, but I assume it's for an excuse to start a war with Econica. I suspect there will be a declaration in the coming days." Said Core, calming his nerves.

"And these kids are the only survivors I'm guessing? Sorry Core, but even if you were hired for this, you killed all of those villagers? Doesn't that go against your—"

"You're wrong! We didn't kill any villagers! We followed the contract I made with those Orthlys nobles and only attacked the people inside the village. We let all the villagers leave the village. I will admit, we did try to kill Leona Alister and Rein Alister, along with Greeny here because they were still in the village. Also, the contractor specifically told us to target them. But let me set the record straight, I did not kill any innocent bystanders. Those filthy Orthlys soldiers did it, not me," Core said, finally losing his cool. It seemed like, even by mistake, he did not want to be associated with the deaths of all of those civilians.

"Sorry kid. Looks like I shouldn't jump to conclusions like that." There was silence for about 10 seconds when Voron came to a realization.

"Wait… Did you say Alister? As in Drevius Alister? Is that the son of the Timeless Blitz?!" He said, beginning to shed tears.

"Cat's out of the bag I guess. But wait, you knew my dad?" Rein asked curiously.

"Your dad… yes I knew him." Voron calmed down, almost like he was hiding something. Rein didn't question it. He just wanted his arm fixed.

"Oh dear me, I almost forgot. I need to fix your arm. Come here, Rein." He took Rein's severed arm and put it where it used to be.

"Sorry, this part's extremely painful. It'll do so much damage to your arm that it'll take another month to fully heal." Rein started growing fearful, but he didn't stop him. Even if it took a year to heal, it'd be better than being severed.

He grabbed a hammer and prepared to hit Rein's arm with it. As he was about to swing, he was stopped by a tap on the leg.

"Hey grandpa Voron, if it's gonna damage Rein a lot, let me help." Emria suggested.

"Emria was it? Haha! Ok kiddo, do your thing. Not that it'll affect anything!" He laughed. Emria grabbed onto Rein and closed her eyes, focusing all of her Spring power on him.

"Okay, go ahead grandpa Voron." She said.

Voron took a mighty swing on Rein's arm, making an incredibly loud noise. A black light emanated from the point of impact, and when it dissipated, Rein's arm was back on good as new.

"Well, I'll be… That's the first time a human didn't go into a week-long coma. What'd you do kid?" Astonished, Voron drew his attention to Emria.

"I just used my Spring on Rein. It heightens his defense by a lot!" She exclaimed.

"And you Rein, You really didn't feel any pain?" Voron asked.

"Just a little, but that's because Emria's only 6 years old, so her Spring's not perfect. Man, it's scary to think I copied the opposite of that," Said Rein in amazment, stretching his newly attached arm. Suddenly, Voron's grabbed Rein by the shoulder.

"You copied the what!?!?"