All eyes were fixed on the book and the strange triangular key.
"I didn’t know Grandpa had a diary," Liam said, eyes narrowing with surprise. "How long have you kept it?"
The mayor let out a faint breath, his fingers brushing the worn cover as he spoke.
"He gave it to when he stepped down as mayor and passed the title to ."
He slowly flipped through the pages, his gaze distant, like he was sifting through the dust of old mories.
"In this book," the mayor began, his voice heavy, "he wrote everything about his adventures how he beca obsessed with uncovering the secrets of the ancient weapon. He was truly mad about it. And then, one day, after countless days of research and hardship, he finally discovered it, an ancient weapon buried deep beneath the earth."
"He managed to enter it using a key... a strange object soone had entrusted to him. But once he realized the true destructive power it held, he abandoned the pursuit. He sealed the structure himself, terrified of what might happen if it fell into the wrong hands. That’s when he made his decision, to found a town here, so he could watch over it for the rest of his life."
The mayor sighed deeply. "And now... I’ve lived long enough to witness this ancient calamity awaken. Curse this fate," he said, a faint, bitter smile tugging at his lips.
Everyone in the room fell into a silence, each man lost in thought. The weight of the decision ahead pressed down on them.
Kiwi stood apart from the others, arms folded, his back resting against the wall. His eyes were closed, brows drawn together in quiet contemplation.
’So... one of them is here. But without that thing, it can’t be activated anyway’ he thought.
"So with this key," Ted finally broke the silence, pointing toward the triangle-shaped object on the diary, "we can activate the weapon?"
"This key is only for entering the hall that houses the weapon," the mayor said gravely. "But to activate it... it requires a resource, sothing called a Power Stone."
He flipped the diary to a marked page. The page revealed a detailed drawing, various gemstones-like objects, each unique in color and shape. So were jagged like lightning, so square in shape. But one stood out.
My eyes and Bob’s locked onto a red, circular gem. It shimred even through the faded ink.
Why is it so familiar?
Bob suddenly gasped and slapped a hand over his mouth. He leaned toward and whispered, "Dude! That’s the jewel we looted from the Black Eagle!"
I stunned, my hand also covering my mouth. I slowly turned to look at Bob, wide-eyed.
What kind of twisted event is this?
The mayor continued, unaware of our revelation. "But this Power Stone is nowhere to be found. The only one Cain ever saw was said to be in possession of the royal family of Rose, in the capital. It was sealed away in their vault long ago." He paused, his voice heavy with resignation. "There is no way they would lend it to us."
Tup!
Liam slamd his fist on the table. "We’re so close! And now what, are we just supposed to wait here and be slaughtered by monsters? Wait for doom to knock on our door?" he shouted, frustration etched across his face.
The room fell silent. Everyone shoulders slumped. Eyes dropped.
Tonight, Lily Town might vanish from the map, swallowed by fire and monsters.
"Ermmm..."
A voice broke the heavy silence.
Everyone turned toward it, toward and Bob, awkwardly raising our hands.
"Actually... I think we have the Power Stone," I said, forcing a sheepish smile.
Everyone eyes widened. Mouths parted in disbelief.
Even Kiwi, who had been leaning calmly against the wall, lost his composure for a brief second. ’What? How? How do those two have the Power Stone?’ he thought, blinking in disbelief.
"Are you sure?! How did you get it?" Liam demanded, his eyes sharp and intense.
Everyone’s gaze locked onto and Bob like we’d been caught red-handed stealing ice cream.
"We got it when we defeated so mbers of the Black Eagle," Bob explained quickly. "They were carrying loot they stole from a vault... and the Power Stone just happened to be one of the items."
"But the stone’s in our room, at Tania Inn," I added. "We can go grab it. It’s safe there, for now, I think."
Everyone’s eyes lit up with hope. For the first ti, a way forward, a chance to survive, was within reach.
"So it’s decided," Liam said firmly. "We’ll use the ancient weapon to destroy the monsters."
"Wait a minute!" a voice rang out, cutting through the air.
It was Ted.
He stepped forward, eyes filled with conflict. "Are we really going to do this? Have any of you truly thought it through? Your hos, your farms, your mories... If we activate that thing, we lose everything."
"So you care more about your property than your own lives? Fine, go sleep in your farms, and let the monsters take your empty heads," Kiwi snapped, his words cutting like a blade.
"You—!" Ted shot back, fury flashing in his eyes.
"Alright, alright!" Lukas stepped in, raising his hands to calm the rising tension. "We’ll settle this with a vote. Majority rules. No more complaints after that."
"There are 21 of us. Now, who wants to prevent the use of the weapon and find another way? Raise your hand."
Ted was the first to raise his hand. Slowly, five more followed, just six in total.
Ted scanned the room, then locked eyes with g. "g, you know how hard you worked to get everything you have now. Do you really want to risk losing it all and start over from scratch?"
"Samuel, you already have a mountain of debt. Do you want to pile on even more?" Ted’s voice was calm but cutting.
"Peter, you’ve got small children at ho. If everything gone, what will your family have for dinner?"
This man...he aid to sway the undecided. The n he spoke to hesitated, the weight of their lives pressing down on them. One by one, their hands slowly rose.
And the vote stood at ten.
"Now, those who want to activate the weapon, raise your hands."
Kiwi, Bob, Lukas, Liam, and I raised ours. Five others followed. Ten to ten.
All eyes turned to the mayor, the last to vote.
He puffed on his pipe, the smoke curling slowly into a perfect circle before drifting up to hover over a faded portrait, himself standing beside Cain, the town’s founder. His gaze lingered on the picture, mories flooding back. Cain, more than a founder to him, like a brother.
’So, it all depends on , huh?’
He kept puffing the smoke, eyes fixed on the swirling circle above the portrait. Finally, he slowly raised his left hand. The vote was sealed, the weapon would be activated.
Ted and the others looked disappointed but silently accepted the decision of the majority.
"Then it’s settled. Now, let’s plan how to do this. There’s no turning back," Lukas said, his voice steady but heavy.
The room fell into a thick silence, the weight of what was to co pressing down on everyone.
Bob was grinning broadly, excitent lighting his face. I forced myself to look as serious as possible, knowing this was no ti for recklessness.
----
I equipped the [Apprentice Robe]. It slightly increased my INT stat. I wondered, would increasing intelligence make my head physically bigger?
Bob strapped on [Leather Bracers] on both elbows. Now he looked like he was ready for a skateboarding trick. He then threw on his signature red cape.
"Bob, I’ve been aning to ask, why have you been wearing that ridiculous cape since we got here? Is it because so old man gave it to you?" I asked.
"Nope. I brought it from our world. It ca together with the book checklist." He pulled the worn book from his pocket and showed it to .
I imdiately regretted asking.
Now, we were behind the mayor’s house, keeping watch on the townspeople as they entered the secret tunnel. This was the first step of our plan to reclaim Lily Town.
"Our plan is divided into two parts. First, we need to ensure the townspeople are safely transported out of the town," Lukas explained.
"How are we going to do that?" soone asked. "Moving hundreds of people all at once sounds dangerous."
The mayor nodded. "I have a secret passage behind my house. It leads directly out of town. But it’s narrow, only one person can pass through at a ti. So it will take a ti"
"Then it’s settled," Lukas said firmly. "I’ll assign Ted and those who voted ’No’ to escort the townspeople along the secret passage. Once you reach the end of the road, flare a signal."
Ted and the others nodded in agreent, their faces set with determination.
"Then the second part," Lukas continued, "is to retrieve the Power Stone from the inn and bring it to the ancient weapon."
He glanced around the room. "The ones tasked for that are , Liam, Alan, Bob..." He nad off everyone who had agreed.
Before he could finish, Bob raised his hand. "I think for that mission, a smaller group would be better. , Alan, and Kiwi should be enough."
Hm... he was right. Besides, our mission was not to directly engage the monsters. A small group fits perfectly.
Lukas’s eyes widened briefly before shifting to the mayor, who gave a subtle nod.
"So be it," Lukas said firmly. "Bob, Alan, and Kiwi, you’re the team."
We all nodded in agreent, but honestly, I felt a little bit of fear tighten in my chest. The sudden loss of power earlier still haunted , I had no idea what triggered it. If it happened again during the mission, we’d be cut to pieces.
Suddenly, Kiwi raised his hand. He’d been silent throughout the eting.
"I have a question," he said. "You said the key opens the hall, but Liam went there and found nothing. How can we be sure this map isn’t misleading us?"
Good question, Kiwi. I had not thought about that.
The mayor stood up from his seat, his voice steady. "It’s because of Cain. He cast powerful magic to seal the weapon. For decades, it’s been hidden, invisible to anyone without the right key. But now," he pointed his pipe at Liam "the key to unlock the weapon is you."
Liam blinked in confusion. "?"
"Yes, you," the mayor said firmly. "Cain placed a spell that only he or his bloodline, his descendants, can reverse."
Bob whispered to , "Does this an a ritual? Like sacrificing soone to bleed?"
"You have a crazy imagination."
Lukas cut in, "Liam, you’ll join Alan and his team. First to the inn, then to the hall of the ancient weapon. Everyone clear on their roles?"
"Yes sir!" Bob and I saluted like police officers receiving orders.
Kiwi approached us from behind, making Bob jump and snap his head around instantly.
"I told you not to sneak up on like that," Bob warned, still on edge.
"Sorry, I just wanted to ask sothing," Kiwi said calmly. "Are you guys conjurer class? I saw you summon a weapon earlier."
He’d been watching and Bob since we entered the mayor’s house, or maybe since I summoned Indra.
Bob grinned and replied, "Do you want to know exactly what class we are?"
"Yes," Kiwi replied, eyes curious.
Bob raised an eyebrow at , signaling. I nodded he’d been planning this since we entered this world. Now was the mont to reveal.
"We are!" we shouted together.
"Indra!" I summoned my majestic blade gun, my right hand raised proudly.
"Gaia Sword!" Bob announced, matching my stance. Then, with a grin, he added, "Mina, appear!"
A bright light shimred above him, and from it erged a tiny green fairy. She fluttered around us, striking a cute pose.
"Chosen One!" Bob struck a regal pose like a king at his coronation.
"...and Chosen Two," I mimicked a masked rider about to transform.
In my mind, an explosion of colorful light blossod behind us.
"..."
Suddenly, a boy walked past, pointing at us with a laugh.
"Mom! Look at them! They look so stupid! Hahaha!"
"Watch your mouth, Rey!" The boy’s mother tugged him away, plastering a fake smile in our direction.
Clap, clap!
Kiwi clapped his hands, as if watching a circus act. "
’Chosen class? Is it a new rare class?’ He thought.
This is so embarrassing! I vowed never to do that again!
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