The afternoon sun shone upon the walls of Haslott city. Unlike the scorching, skin-stinging heat of the Gaterland desert, the air in Haslott felt cool and familiar.
Upon arriving at the west gate of Haslott, the guarding soldiers immediately straightened their posture. Spears that were previously leaning aside were now gripped tightly in a respectful salute.
They recognized the silver-white-haired figure leading the group, as well as the High Elf beside him. Without asking for identity checks or complicated procedures, the guards opened the gates wide and invited them in.
Their footsteps continued toward the city center, cutting through the crowded streets of Haslott which were beginning to buzz with afternoon activity. Hudeon walked with his chin held high; there was a certain pride in walking alongside a figure like Kazien.
The Haslott Adventurer's Guild building stood firmly before them. As the large double doors were pushed open, the scent of old paper, wood, and iron greeted their senses. They walked straight toward the main reception desk.
There, Liona, the receptionist handling their mission, was seen tidying up a stack of documents. Seeing the approaching shadows, she looked up, and her face immediately brightened.
"Good afternoon, Young Master Kazien." Liona greeted warmly yet full of curiosity. "Have you finished investigating that cave?"
Kazien nodded calmly, placing both hands on the wooden reception desk. "Yes, we have investigated everything there, down to the deepest point."
The atmosphere around the reception desk instantly fell silent. Several adventurers nearby sharpened their ears.
"What did you find?" Liona asked, her quill ready to take notes.
"There is an ancient door there which is a random teleportation trap." Kazien answered with a serious, fabricated yet convincing tone. "Upon passing through it, I was forcibly transported to a desert on the Yovel continent, specifically near Gaterland city, in the territory of the Dwargon Kingdom."
Silence...
The next second, the guild lobby erupted into an uproar. Whispers of fear and admiration sounded like the buzzing of bees. The Yovel continent was thousands of kilometers away, separated by a vast ocean.
"W-What? The Yovel continent?" Liona gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"I hope you all issue a stern warning immediately. Do not let anyone try to enter it!" Kazien warned firmly, his voice rising slightly so it could be heard by the entire lobby. "This time we were lucky to be dropped in a desert near a city. But the next victim could be transported to the middle of the sea, a monster nest, or directly into a very deep abyss. It is better if the place is sealed or strictly guarded so there are no more reports of missing persons there!"
Liona swallowed hard, her hands trembling as she recorded the horrifying report. However, doubt still lingered in her eyes. 'How could they have gone to Yovel and returned in such a short time?'
In the midst of that silence, Hudeon took a step forward. With a movement full of confidence, the boy placed his new adventurer license card on the table.
Tak!
"Look at this!" Hudeon exclaimed proudly, pointing to the stamp on the card. "We really went there! This license card is the proof. The woman who signed it is a receptionist named Ella, she was the one who served me when I made this adventurer license card in Gaterland!"
Liona took the card hesitantly. Her eyes traced every detail from the material of the license card, the ink, and the Yovel continent stamp. And she saw that all of it was reality.
This is authentic... Liona thought in shock, her heart thumping loudly. They really went to the Yovel continent and came back alive. That place... that cave is truly a gateway to hell if one takes a wrong step. The Guild must act quickly before there are more casualties.
Liona carefully placed Hudeon's card back on the table, as if the object were made of thin glass.
"Very well, we will handle this immediately so there are no more cases of missing persons at that location. I will report this directly to the Guild Master today!" Liona answered firmly.
Then, the receptionist called another guild staff member and gave quick instructions to blockade the cave area.
After the situation calmed down slightly, Liona's professional curiosity resurfaced. She looked at Kazien with an investigative gaze.
"Young Master Kazien, excuse me if I am being presumptuous... but how did you know it was a teleportation trap without getting trapped there forever? How were you able to return so quickly?"
Kazien gave a thin smile. He had already prepared a scenario for this question.
"Good question!" Kazien remarked.
Without warning, he activated the 'Sui Reflection' magic.
A deep black light glowed, reflecting itself like calm smoke before slowly hardening beside Kazien's body. In an instant, another figure of Kazien appeared standing right next to him. Both were identical, real, and radiated the same mana.
"A-A clone?!" Liona shrieked in surprise, taking a step back. Everyone in the guild lobby held their breath seeing the demonstration of high-level magic.
"I split myself and checked that room more than once." Kazien began explaining his well-structured lie. "When my clone entered the door for the first time, it was thrown into a vast grassland in the middle of nowhere. And when the second clone entered the door, the four of them followed me immediately and we were in the middle of a very vast and scorching desert. From there, we concluded it was a random teleportation. We were also very lucky that there was a dwarf willing to return us here with the help of a teleportation magic tool, although the cost was very expensive."
The story might differ from the reality of how they used teleportation, but the outline was plausible enough to cover Kazien's true abilities. He didn't want the world to know he could move across continents at will.
Liona nodded while continuing to record the report. After finishing her notes, she immediately opened a small safe drawer under her desk and placed a tray containing money on the table.
"This is the payment for your S-rank investigation mission, please accept it." Liona said while handing over the money. "The total is 16 Gold Pieces. Thank you for helping the guild investigate the case of many missing people in that cave."
"It was our duty to help, Liona." Kazien replied kindly while accepting the payment. "If so, we will take our leave now as we must escort Hudeon to his home."
They left the guild and walked through the crowd of Haslott City. Their destination was Hudeon's house.
Upon arriving at the mansion gates, the two soldiers guarding the main entrance narrowed their eyes as they saw a group of people approaching. However, their eyes instantly bulged when they recognized the small figure in the middle of the group.
"Young Master Hudeon, w-why are you with Young Master Kazien?" one of the soldiers asked, confused yet curious.
"I just happened to meet him near the north city gate this morning, and then we went for a short walk." Hudeon answered casually, hiding the fact that their "walk" crossed an ocean.
After hearing the explanation, the gates were opened and they stepped into the vast mansion grounds, passing a well-maintained flower garden, finally arriving at the front door which Hudeon opened himself.