Chapter 214
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Even before he finished moving, Dominique already caught sight of an anomaly appearing beside his boss.
Besides his boss' presence, there was a white coloured female that had appeared out of the blue.
Who was she, and why was she here?
Instinctively, Dominique could feel that the presence of this woman was going to threaten his position in the future.
Dominique was instantly pissed. He didn't like her already.
Who was this outsider!? Was it not enough that the boss had already picked up that damn Lukas and his merry band? Dominique finally got rid of them, but now there was another one? Where were they coming from?
Why were they randomly popping out of the woodwork?!
He already hadn't seen boss for so many years – though the time dilation seemed to have compressed the amount of time they were gone, so his body hadn't changed much – yet here there was, another person who was stealing boss' attention from him!
The girl that appeared had silvery-white hair, not unlike the shade that Dominique associated with the boss' daggers, and golden eyes.
The boss' stance was a bit tense, which Dominique had never seen before, so his alert was high. Why was that woman causing boss to be tense? Was she stronger than him? Was she threatening him?
With the smile on her face, Dominique had no doubt that she could have somehow bewitched the boss. She looked like the type that many males found cute, though it wasn't like he could judge. All she looked right now was threatening – or, at least, that's what his instincts told him.
What Dominique didn't know was that his guess was actually relatively close to the truth for once. Usually, his guesses were completely off the mark.
Seeing Dominique's slightly hostile appearance, Alec finally, and very firmly, made up his mind concerning Elysia.
He would indeed help her when she asked for help, but he would just remain as a friendly, if distant friend.
Ten years.
That's how long he gave it. If, by the time she was twenty-six, and she showed no signs of falling in love with anyone else, Alec would… pursue her?
Alec made vague plans, but he had no idea what he was doing, since he was flying completely blind without a solid plan.
He didn't like it. He didn't like not having a solid plan, or something that he would work away at continuously until he achieved some manner of success.
Still, he made his plans, because… because? Sometimes, Alec felt confused. Because of what?
Still, having already made up his mind, Alec immediately locked up his errant and uncontrollable emotions. He didn't like how unpredictable they made him to himself even, which was just plain unacceptable.
She's a friend. A friend, a friend. She's *just* a friend.
Compartmentalizing was a skill that he was rapidly getting skilled in, but it was a useful skill to have, at least, in this respect.
The thoughts clicked, and Alec's shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit, now able to go back to his normal self.
If Ye Sha could hear Alec's thoughts right now, he would have tried to wring the stubborn idiot's neck. He would have shouted at the other, "Love can't be rationalized! What are you doing, locking it behind that solid mental wall?!"
Unfortunately, Ye Sha indeed could not hear Alec's thoughts, as he needed Alec to speak aloud in his mindscape before he could respond.
Realizing that the tenseness in Alec's frame melted away, and Dominique's stance changed as well. For some reason, the boss didn't see this woman as a threat any longer? Though, just in case, Dominique was still on his guard.
"Mini," Alec greeted normally.
"Boss!" Dominique answered in return, a smile breaking out on his face for once.
The smile was genuine with his emotions. He hadn't seen the boss in *years*! He instantly disregarded the girl at the side, though he would not let his guard down against her.
If she was sticking around, the boss would tell him.
"This is Elysia Grayxia. Elysia, this is my subordinate, Dominique Falren."
"Hello, Dominique!" Elysia said with good cheer. Her eyes were all but shining with curiosity as she met another human besides Alec.
Well, the novelty would fade. Just as it had for the rest of Alec's clan members when they left the clan for the outside world.
Elysia thought to herself that Dominique originally looked unfriendly, but his face turned so expressive whenever he looked at Alec. How cute! He must look up to Alec a lot, right? If he admired his boss so much, then he couldn't be a bad person.
Likewise, Dominique was eyeing Elysia up. "Hello," he said shortly, but she didn't seem to take offense, with how she was beaming at him. This confused him. It did not line up with his experiences in social interaction.
He felt wary, as he did whenever he didn't understand a person.
There was plainly something wrong with someone when they seemed overly cheerful whenever they first met a person. Or was it just that he didn't understand how someone could be so cheerful?
Regardless, Dominique was confused.
Somehow, his instincts were screaming at him that she was strong, something that made him itch to battle her, but he shoved that instinct down for now. If she entered the sect, he would challenge her.
He put it aside for the time being. It was inconsequential.
"Boss, we found a way back into Incantix."
Alec felt surprised.
Ye Sha scoffed. "I could've done that," he pouted.
Alec nodded. "Let's go."
The three of them ran back towards the rest of the group.
"Hm?" Ye Sha said suddenly, frowning. "Hey, Alec! This place has a spatial beast!"
Alec frowned. "What? Where is it?"
"Under us somewhere. It's currently moving around. But, that's impossible! Spatial beasts are able to move freely through space itself, yet this one is acting like it's trapped here."
The two Systems grew serious at this.
Alec didn't know what was happening, but he couldn't just leave it be.
Spatial beasts were able to rend space and time, and they were able to devour whole planets, not to mention a little crack between dimensions like this. Yet, Ye Sha said that wasn't the case here.
Exactly what was happening?
"Hey, I'm going to hack this place, alright? We can't just leave a spatial beast roaming around like this if we don't know what's happening to it."
Alec nodded, giving Ye Sha the go-ahead.
Further ahead, Alec could feel the familiar magical signatures of the Spectres, as well as Dietrich and Tatiana nearby.
Without meaning to, his heart started beating quicker. He hadn't seen them in years – to him, anyway – but to them, it was only a matter of days.
For now, he didn't dwell on the matter of the spatial beast. As a top-level hacker, Ye Sha would either be able to do it, or he wouldn't. Either way, they were going to leave this space.
Along the way, Alec looked at Dominique, but he couldn't see anything different about him, besides him sporting a new piece of equipment on his right ring finger.
It was a silver ring with faint engravings on it.
It looked like something cheap. Something you'd pick up at a street stall, but Alec suspected it was anything but.
Ye Sha confirmed his suspicions absently as he concentrated on working his screens over the data in this space. "It's a ring that signifies he's inherited everything from that crack between realms. He's the master of that space now, and it's connected to that ring. He can enter it whenever he wants."
Alec was surprised, yet at the same time, he wasn't. Could he say, as expected of a Main Character's luck?
That was definitely a lifesaving item, as well as one that would allow him to grow to unimaginable heights.
The three of them were welcomed back with open arms, and they didn't find Alec producing a whole other person much to be suspicious about at all, though they were surprised by how much Alec had grown.
Tatiana squinted at Alec. "Hee. Now you're only two years younger than me. That's going to take some time to get used to."
Fenrir and Bunbun both launched themselves at their master, rubbing his face with their soft heads, earning them a genuine smile from Alec.
Both familiars had gained much in the time in the legacy hall, but it had been a long time without their master.
It had been a long five years without his familiars.
Elysia's eyes were sparkling as she looked at the tiny wolf and bunny, giving Alec pleading looks.
Alec tried to maintain his façade as he passed Fenrir and Bunbun over to her, ignoring their betrayed looks. This was just being friendly.
Vi winded its vines around Alec lightly, greeting him.
Alec patted Vi, who suddenly shrunk from its gigantic size to the size of a small sprout, surprising Alec.
From the unsurprised looks from the rest of them, Vi had been able to do this for a few days now.
By the time they managed to get out from the crack between realms, some of the mercenaries were even kissing the ground and as well as throwing their arms out towards the sunlight.
It had been so long without the glorious sunlight, and as mentally strong as they were, they had started to get a bit depressed being underground the entire time.
Both Tatiana and Dietrich exchanged looks, something that Alec didn't miss, but he didn't know what they were exchanging with their slightly raised eyebrows.
Tatiana even managed to find some sort of chalice that ended up sucking in the entire lake of Obsidian Aqua, allowing her to carry it around everywhere.
Of course, she'd protested against it, but Dietrich insisted that she take it since she had a lot of mercenaries under her.
Tatiana then slyly accepted, but only with the condition that Dietrich stay together with her so that he could use it whenever he wanted to.
Dietrich had accepted without much thought, missing some of the mercenaries clicking their tongues in the background.
Their lady boss definitely knew how to turn things to her advantage!
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Even before he finished moving, Dominique already caught sight of an anomaly appearing beside his boss.
Besides his boss' presence, there was a white coloured female that had appeared out of the blue.
Who was she, and why was she here?
Instinctively, Dominique could feel that the presence of this woman was going to threaten his position in the future.
Dominique was instantly pissed. He didn't like her already.
Who was this outsider!? Was it not enough that the boss had already picked up that damn Lukas and his merry band? Dominique finally got rid of them, but now there was another one? Where were they coming from?
Why were they randomly popping out of the woodwork?!
He already hadn't seen boss for so many years – though the time dilation seemed to have compressed the amount of time they were gone, so his body hadn't changed much – yet here there was, another person who was stealing boss' attention from him!
The girl that appeared had silvery-white hair, not unlike the shade that Dominique associated with the boss' daggers, and golden eyes.
The boss' stance was a bit tense, which Dominique had never seen before, so his alert was high. Why was that woman causing boss to be tense? Was she stronger than him? Was she threatening him?
With the smile on her face, Dominique had no doubt that she could have somehow bewitched the boss. She looked like the type that many males found cute, though it wasn't like he could judge. All she looked right now was threatening – or, at least, that's what his instincts told him.
What Dominique didn't know was that his guess was actually relatively close to the truth for once. Usually, his guesses were completely off the mark.
Seeing Dominique's slightly hostile appearance, Alec finally, and very firmly, made up his mind concerning Elysia.
He would indeed help her when she asked for help, but he would just remain as a friendly, if distant friend.
Ten years.
That's how long he gave it. If, by the time she was twenty-six, and she showed no signs of falling in love with anyone else, Alec would… pursue her?
Alec made vague plans, but he had no idea what he was doing, since he was flying completely blind without a solid plan.
He didn't like it. He didn't like not having a solid plan, or something that he would work away at continuously until he achieved some manner of success.
Still, he made his plans, because… because? Sometimes, Alec felt confused. Because of what?
Still, having already made up his mind, Alec immediately locked up his errant and uncontrollable emotions. He didn't like how unpredictable they made him to himself even, which was just plain unacceptable.
She's a friend. A friend, a friend. She's *just* a friend.
Compartmentalizing was a skill that he was rapidly getting skilled in, but it was a useful skill to have, at least, in this respect.
The thoughts clicked, and Alec's shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit, now able to go back to his normal self.
If Ye Sha could hear Alec's thoughts right now, he would have tried to wring the stubborn idiot's neck. He would have shouted at the other, "Love can't be rationalized! What are you doing, locking it behind that solid mental wall?!"
Unfortunately, Ye Sha indeed could not hear Alec's thoughts, as he needed Alec to speak aloud in his mindscape before he could respond.
Realizing that the tenseness in Alec's frame melted away, and Dominique's stance changed as well. For some reason, the boss didn't see this woman as a threat any longer? Though, just in case, Dominique was still on his guard.
"Mini," Alec greeted normally.
"Boss!" Dominique answered in return, a smile breaking out on his face for once.
The smile was genuine with his emotions. He hadn't seen the boss in *years*! He instantly disregarded the girl at the side, though he would not let his guard down against her.
If she was sticking around, the boss would tell him.
"This is Elysia Grayxia. Elysia, this is my subordinate, Dominique Falren."
"Hello, Dominique!" Elysia said with good cheer. Her eyes were all but shining with curiosity as she met another human besides Alec.
Well, the novelty would fade. Just as it had for the rest of Alec's clan members when they left the clan for the outside world.
Elysia thought to herself that Dominique originally looked unfriendly, but his face turned so expressive whenever he looked at Alec. How cute! He must look up to Alec a lot, right? If he admired his boss so much, then he couldn't be a bad person.
Likewise, Dominique was eyeing Elysia up. "Hello," he said shortly, but she didn't seem to take offense, with how she was beaming at him. This confused him. It did not line up with his experiences in social interaction.
He felt wary, as he did whenever he didn't understand a person.
There was plainly something wrong with someone when they seemed overly cheerful whenever they first met a person. Or was it just that he didn't understand how someone could be so cheerful?
Regardless, Dominique was confused.
Somehow, his instincts were screaming at him that she was strong, something that made him itch to battle her, but he shoved that instinct down for now. If she entered the sect, he would challenge her.
He put it aside for the time being. It was inconsequential.
"Boss, we found a way back into Incantix."
Alec felt surprised.
Ye Sha scoffed. "I could've done that," he pouted.
Alec nodded. "Let's go."
The three of them ran back towards the rest of the group.
"Hm?" Ye Sha said suddenly, frowning. "Hey, Alec! This place has a spatial beast!"
Alec frowned. "What? Where is it?"
"Under us somewhere. It's currently moving around. But, that's impossible! Spatial beasts are able to move freely through space itself, yet this one is acting like it's trapped here."
The two Systems grew serious at this.
Alec didn't know what was happening, but he couldn't just leave it be.
Spatial beasts were able to rend space and time, and they were able to devour whole planets, not to mention a little crack between dimensions like this. Yet, Ye Sha said that wasn't the case here.
Exactly what was happening?
"Hey, I'm going to hack this place, alright? We can't just leave a spatial beast roaming around like this if we don't know what's happening to it."
Alec nodded, giving Ye Sha the go-ahead.
Further ahead, Alec could feel the familiar magical signatures of the Spectres, as well as Dietrich and Tatiana nearby.
Without meaning to, his heart started beating quicker. He hadn't seen them in years – to him, anyway – but to them, it was only a matter of days.
For now, he didn't dwell on the matter of the spatial beast. As a top-level hacker, Ye Sha would either be able to do it, or he wouldn't. Either way, they were going to leave this space.
Along the way, Alec looked at Dominique, but he couldn't see anything different about him, besides him sporting a new piece of equipment on his right ring finger.
It was a silver ring with faint engravings on it.
It looked like something cheap. Something you'd pick up at a street stall, but Alec suspected it was anything but.
Ye Sha confirmed his suspicions absently as he concentrated on working his screens over the data in this space. "It's a ring that signifies he's inherited everything from that crack between realms. He's the master of that space now, and it's connected to that ring. He can enter it whenever he wants."
Alec was surprised, yet at the same time, he wasn't. Could he say, as expected of a Main Character's luck?
That was definitely a lifesaving item, as well as one that would allow him to grow to unimaginable heights.
The three of them were welcomed back with open arms, and they didn't find Alec producing a whole other person much to be suspicious about at all, though they were surprised by how much Alec had grown.
Tatiana squinted at Alec. "Hee. Now you're only two years younger than me. That's going to take some time to get used to."
Fenrir and Bunbun both launched themselves at their master, rubbing his face with their soft heads, earning them a genuine smile from Alec.
Both familiars had gained much in the time in the legacy hall, but it had been a long time without their master.
It had been a long five years without his familiars.
Elysia's eyes were sparkling as she looked at the tiny wolf and bunny, giving Alec pleading looks.
Alec tried to maintain his façade as he passed Fenrir and Bunbun over to her, ignoring their betrayed looks. This was just being friendly.
Vi winded its vines around Alec lightly, greeting him.
Alec patted Vi, who suddenly shrunk from its gigantic size to the size of a small sprout, surprising Alec.
From the unsurprised looks from the rest of them, Vi had been able to do this for a few days now.
By the time they managed to get out from the crack between realms, some of the mercenaries were even kissing the ground and as well as throwing their arms out towards the sunlight.
It had been so long without the glorious sunlight, and as mentally strong as they were, they had started to get a bit depressed being underground the entire time.
Both Tatiana and Dietrich exchanged looks, something that Alec didn't miss, but he didn't know what they were exchanging with their slightly raised eyebrows.
Tatiana even managed to find some sort of chalice that ended up sucking in the entire lake of Obsidian Aqua, allowing her to carry it around everywhere.
Of course, she'd protested against it, but Dietrich insisted that she take it since she had a lot of mercenaries under her.
Tatiana then slyly accepted, but only with the condition that Dietrich stay together with her so that he could use it whenever he wanted to.
Dietrich had accepted without much thought, missing some of the mercenaries clicking their tongues in the background.
Their lady boss definitely knew how to turn things to her advantage!
Even before he finished moving, Dominique already caught sight of an anomaly appearing beside his boss.Besides his boss' presence, there was a white coloured female that had appeared out of the blue.Who was she, and why was she here?Instinctively, Dominique could feel that the presence of this woman was going to threaten his position in the future.Dominique was instantly pissed. He didn't like her already.Who was this outsider!? Was it not enough that the boss had already picked up that damn Lukas and his merry band? Dominique finally got rid of them, but now there was another one? Where were they coming from?Why were they randomly popping out of the woodwork?!He already hadn't seen boss for so many years though the time dilation seemed to have compressed the amount of time they were gone, so his body hadn't changed much yet here there was, another person who was stealing boss' attention from him!The girl that appeared had silvery-white hair, not unlike the shade that Dominique associated with the boss' daggers, and golden eyes.The boss' stance was a bit tense, which Dominique had never seen before, so his alert was high. Why was that woman causing boss to be tense? Was she stronger than him? Was she threatening him?With the smile on her face, Dominique had no doubt that she could have somehow bewitched the boss. She looked like the type that many males found cute, though it wasn't like he could judge. All she looked right now was threatening or, at least, that's what his instincts told him.What Dominique didn't know was that his guess was actually relatively close to the truth for once. Usually, his guesses were completely off the mark.Seeing Dominique's slightly hostile appearance, Alec finally, and very firmly, made up his mind concerning Elysia.He would indeed help her when she asked for help, but he would just remain as a friendly, if distant friend.Ten years.That's how long he gave it. If, by the time she was twenty-six, and she showed no signs of falling in love with anyone else, Alec would pursue her?Alec made vague plans, but he had no idea what he was doing, since he was flying completely blind without a solid plan.He didn't like it. He didn't like not having a solid plan, or something that he would work away at continuously until he achieved some manner of success.Still, he made his plans, because because? Sometimes, Alec felt confused. Because of what?Still, having already made up his mind, Alec immediately locked up his errant and uncontrollable emotions. He didn't like how unpredictable they made him to himself even, which was just plain unacceptable.She's a friend. A friend, a friend. She's *just* a friend.Compartmentalizing was a skill that he was rapidly getting skilled in, but it was a useful skill to have, at least, in this respect.The thoughts clicked, and Alec's shoulders relaxed the tiniest bit, now able to go back to his normal self.If Ye Sha could hear Alec's thoughts right now, he would have tried to wring the stubborn idiot's neck. He would have shouted at the other, "Love can't be rationalized! What are you doing, locking it behind that solid mental wall?!"Unfortunately, Ye Sha indeed could not hear Alec's thoughts, as he needed Alec to speak aloud in his mindscape before he could respond.Realizing that the tenseness in Alec's frame melted away, and Dominique's stance changed as well. For some reason, the boss didn't see this woman as a threat any longer? Though, just in case, Dominique was still on his guard."Mini," Alec greeted normally."Boss!" Dominique answered in return, a smile breaking out on his face for once.The smile was genuine with his emotions. He hadn't seen the boss in *years*! He instantly disregarded the girl at the side, though he would not let his guard down against her.If she was sticking around, the boss would tell him."This is Elysia Grayxia. Elysia, this is my subordinate, Dominique Falren.""Hello, Dominique!" Elysia said with good cheer. Her eyes were all but shining with curiosity as she met another human besides Alec.Well, the novelty would fade. Just as it had for the rest of Alec's clan members when they left the clan for the outside world.Elysia thought to herself that Dominique originally looked unfriendly, but his face turned so expressive whenever he looked at Alec. How cute! He must look up to Alec a lot, right? If he admired his boss so much, then he couldn't be a bad person.Likewise, Dominique was eyeing Elysia up. "Hello," he said shortly, but she didn't seem to take offense, with how she was beaming at him. This confused him. It did not line up with his experiences in social interaction.He felt wary, as he did whenever he didn't understand a person.There was plainly something wrong with someone when they seemed overly cheerful whenever they first met a person. Or was it just that he didn't understand how someone could be so cheerful?Regardless, Dominique was confused.Somehow, his instincts were screaming at him that she was strong, something that made him itch to battle her, but he shoved that instinct down for now. If she entered the sect, he would challenge her.He put it aside for the time being. It was inconsequential."Boss, we found a way back into Incantix."Alec felt surprised.Ye Sha scoffed. "I could've done that," he pouted.Alec nodded. "Let's go."The three of them ran back towards the rest of the group."Hm?" Ye Sha said suddenly, frowning. "Hey, Alec! This place has a spatial beast!"Alec frowned. "What? Where is it?""Under us somewhere. It's currently moving around. But, that's impossible! Spatial beasts are able to move freely through space itself, yet this one is acting like it's trapped here."The two Systems grew serious at this.Alec didn't know what was happening, but he couldn't just leave it be.Spatial beasts were able to rend space and time, and they were able to devour whole planets, not to mention a little crack between dimensions like this. Yet, Ye Sha said that wasn't the case here.Exactly what was happening?"Hey, I'm going to hack this place, alright? We can't just leave a spatial beast roaming around like this if we don't know what's happening to it."Alec nodded, giving Ye Sha the go-ahead.Further ahead, Alec could feel the familiar magical signatures of the Spectres, as well as Dietrich and Tatiana nearby.Without meaning to, his heart started beating quicker. He hadn't seen them in years to him, anyway but to them, it was only a matter of days.For now, he didn't dwell on the matter of the spatial beast. As a top-level hacker, Ye Sha would either be able to do it, or he wouldn't. Either way, they were going to leave this space.Along the way, Alec looked at Dominique, but he couldn't see anything different about him, besides him sporting a new piece of equipment on his right ring finger.It was a silver ring with faint engravings on it.It looked like something cheap. Something you'd pick up at a street stall, but Alec suspected it was anything but.Ye Sha confirmed his suspicions absently as he concentrated on working his screens over the data in this space. "It's a ring that signifies he's inherited everything from that crack between realms. He's the master of that space now, and it's connected to that ring. He can enter it whenever he wants."Alec was surprised, yet at the same time, he wasn't. Could he say, as expected of a Main Character's luck?That was definitely a lifesaving item, as well as one that would allow him to grow to unimaginable heights.The three of them were welcomed back with open arms, and they didn't find Alec producing a whole other person much to be suspicious about at all, though they were surprised by how much Alec had grown.Tatiana squinted at Alec. "Hee. Now you're only two years younger than me. That's going to take some time to get used to."Fenrir and Bunbun both launched themselves at their master, rubbing his face with their soft heads, earning them a genuine smile from Alec.Both familiars had gained much in the time in the legacy hall, but it had been a long time without their master.It had been a long five years without his familiars.Elysia's eyes were sparkling as she looked at the tiny wolf and bunny, giving Alec pleading looks.Alec tried to maintain his faade as he passed Fenrir and Bunbun over to her, ignoring their betrayed looks. This was just being friendly.Vi winded its vines around Alec lightly, greeting him.Alec patted Vi, who suddenly shrunk from its gigantic size to the size of a small sprout, surprising Alec.From the unsurprised looks from the rest of them, Vi had been able to do this for a few days now.By the time they managed to get out from the crack between realms, some of the mercenaries were even kissing the ground and as well as throwing their arms out towards the sunlight.It had been so long without the glorious sunlight, and as mentally strong as they were, they had started to get a bit depressed being underground the entire time.Both Tatiana and Dietrich exchanged looks, something that Alec didn't miss, but he didn't know what they were exchanging with their slightly raised eyebrows.Tatiana even managed to find some sort of chalice that ended up sucking in the entire lake of Obsidian Aqua, allowing her to carry it around everywhere.Of course, she'd protested against it, but Dietrich insisted that she take it since she had a lot of mercenaries under her.Tatiana then slyly accepted, but only with the condition that Dietrich stay together with her so that he could use it whenever he wanted to.Dietrich had accepted without much thought, missing some of the mercenaries clicking their tongues in the background.Their lady boss definitely knew how to turn things to her advantage!
