Reborn as a Weak Earthling, I Became the Most Overpowered Mage Alive-Chapter 51: Ch : Fated Encounter - Part 1

"Finally, we are back...hey, something is weird. Look at the sky. There is no countdown for game 8. It’s about game 9..."

Clara immediately looked at the sky and noticed this change. She wanted to ask if she had miscounted the game rounds until now, but even she was not that clumsy.

Besides, the evidence of them having just finished round 7 was still on their screen.

"You are right. But we just finished round 7. What is going on? Andrew, do you know anything about this?"

Lilianna asked Andrew and he immediately opened his system to check. His best guess was that game 8 had started immediately after game 7 ended, so there was no countdown.

[Game 8: Long awaited-reunion.

Objective: Find and recover something from your past. Time: indefinite]

[Game 9 countdown started. Time remaining: 4 days 5 minutes]

"This is weird. This kind of game has never happened before...did something change?"

Emperor asked as he looked down at this screen with an almost worried look on his face. As someone who relied on the knowledge of the future, this must be a lot more unsettling than before.

He was already looking at Andrew and considering whether he should kill him or not for changing the future in such an unpredictable way.

"I don’t think it is such a bad thing. Since we have no time limit for this round, then we can just ignore it until we need to do it. Let’s go back and focus on the next round instead."

Emperor did not look convinced but both Lilianna and Clara took Andrew’s side and they went back home.

Andrew pretended as if nothing was wrong, but he was starting to feel doubtful about the system the way these games were being held as well. His chest felt unsettled and he was sure something was going to happen.

"Man, the system sure is cruel. People who are going to finish the maze late will have no time to rest before the next game starts. Don’t you think this is too much?"

Clara asked during dinner as she tried to make small conversations, but no one seemed interested in it.

In the end, they all went to sleep and their daily lives returned to normal...until it was time to start game 9.

The 4 day wait ended far too quickly and before they knew it, it was already time for game 9. The soulless puppet appeared in front of them once more, and her eyes looked all over humanity before settling at the system screen.

"Welcome everyone, to the next game round. This game will be special. Its name is - Lost and Found. I am a good creature, so I will give you a hint about it. If you agree to part with something precious here, you will get to keep something precious in return. With this, I hope you have fun."

For the first time, the puppet smiled. But her smile did not look the happy or relieving kind.

Instead, it filled everyone with a sense of dread.

"W-What does that even mean-"

People questioned but the world had already begun to fade around them.

"Oh, and before I forget. There will be some...special guests joining the next round. Be careful not to lose your place to them."

The puppet warned before the world faded. When Andrew opened his eyes next, he was all alone on a brick road and toy-soldiers as tall as him were moving around.

"Hey, move it-! Don’t block the way."

"Do you want to die? If not, then do not stand on the brick road. It is for royalty only."

"Get off it right now."

The toy soldiers quickly rushed Andrew off the road and he walked down from it. He had no intention of making enemies so quickly.

"So, this is game 9...? What kind of place is this? It looks so weird..."

Andrew complained as he moved around. He opened the map, but as expected, he had none at the moment. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

[Map has not been unlocked. Please talk to the shoe-maker to open the map.]

"Great, so I need to find the shoe maker...what is going on now?"

Andrew asked as he looked down at his system. It had started to beep and he quickly opened the screen to check what it was.

[Reward of round 7 has been triggered. A special surprise is waiting for you in this round, the last archmage of Arcana.]

"What does that mean...hey, give me an answer..."

Andrew questioned as he looked at the system. But there was no answer. The message had even faded, almost as if it was never there to begin with.

"What do you mean by that? Hey, come back..."

Andrew wanted to shake the system but that was not physically possible. So he could only sigh and wait for an opportunity to get his answers.

"Tsk, how annoying..."

He complained as he stood on the side of the road with a conflicted expression on his face. He was not sure what he should do about it anymore.

"Oi-! Standing in the middle of the road is an offense punishable by death. Leave now or else..."

The soldier reminded Andrew and he quickly took out his staff to fight against the person who spoke to him. But before he could fire off his gun, he was stopped by someone.

"We apologize for this. I will personally make sure that my companion stays in his lane and does not cause trouble. Please find it in yourself to forgive him this once."

The familiar voice apologized for Andrew and he felt himself becoming stiff. He opened his mouth but no voice came out.

"I see. Then take your companion as far as you can before anyone else notices. I won’t be held responsible for his life next time."

The man told the female and she nodded before she grabbed Andrew’s hand and pulled him after her.

His mind could only think of one person who had that voice and this kind of mannerism.

"Seraphina...?"