Seed of Titan-Chapter 127: The Lone Man in the Wilderness

The man stopped stirring the pot in front of him and looked at Drai with a confused expression.

"What are you saying, lad? Of course we’re in Siyeun Mountains. Don’t tell me you ventured here without knowing what kind of place this is. If that’s the case, well... you’re definitely the dumbest person I’ve ever met."

Drai scratched his head awkwardly. He knew what Siyeun Mountains was, a vast forbidden wilderness situated between the two countries of Rivideria and Gerdatti. He also knew that to this day, no expedition had managed to venture deep and return to tell their stories. Even the Siyeun Comets, the flowers used to cure the deathly dreams pandemic, were gathered from the periphery.

What Drai didn’t know was the fact that he was sent into this notorious place.

"Sir, I was forcibly transported here, that’s why I had no idea until now what kind of place I stumbled into."

The man’s gaze sharpened as he scrutinized the young man before him.

"So are you telling me that someone dragged you here and left without telling you anything?" he questioned.

"Uhm... I was actually shoved into a portal by someone I know. And before I could even react, the portal closed on me while he stayed on the other side. That’s the truth, sir," Drai replied.

The man looked baffled, but based on Drai’s sincere gaze and tone, the man didn’t feel that Drai was lying to him.

’And why use such an absurd excuse if he wanted to lie?’ the man also thought.

Eventually, the man decided to inquire further before making his judgement.

"Okay then, let’s assume your words are true. This means this fellow was powerful enough to conjure a spatial gate that connected to Siyeun Mountains’ inner area. Frankly, I find it quite unbelievable. There are so few spatial mages to begin with, let alone those powerful enough to accomplish such a feat," the man reasoned.

"I understand your doubt, but that’s what happened," Drai replied helplessly. He didn’t know how to convince the man and feel the need to do so.

Seeing Drai’s response, the man turned his head and gazed into the distance.

"Looks like things have changed a lot since I left. I wonder if Zar knows he’s got some tough competition. Heh, who am I kidding? That old bloke is probably long gone by now."

"Zar? Do you mean Zar Augra?!" Drai blurted out.

Looking at Drai, the man raised a brow.

"Hm? Do you recognize that name? Now that I think about it, he could’ve actually ended up in a contemporary-history book. After all, he is Zar ’the Punisher’."

"I don’t just recognize him—I know him! He’s my rector!"

Hearing this, the man abruptly grabbed Drai’s shoulders.

"You’re from Soluna Academy?!" he questioned, seemingly flabbergasted.

Drai was stunned. He didn’t expect the man to react like this.

"Tell me!" the man urged as he shook Drai impatiently.

Literally shaken from his stupor, Drai frantically answered, "Y-yes! I’m a first-year there!"

Silence ensued as the man’s gaze locked onto the lad whose shoulders he was grabbing, which caused Drai to shift his eyes around, trying his best to avoid the man’s glare which was too close for comfort.

Suddenly, the man released his grip and broke out in laughter.

Drai watched in bafflement as the man kept going for a whole minute, even falling off his seat, before he finally calmed down.

Wiping his now teary eyes, the man sat back on his stone chair and remarked, "Fucking Zar. If he could travel freely here, why didn’t he just scour the area and rescue me instead of leaving this poor lad behind?"

"Uhm, sir..." Drai said hesitatingly, "Do you know Zar personally?"

The man looked at Drai and grinned. "Of course I do. I was his student too, just like you."

"Huh? Did you also go to Soluna Academy?" Drai surprisedly asked.

"Yep. I was in the 2468th batch," the man stated rather proudly.

"Ho... That means you’re my senior by thirty years," Drai mentioned. He was still taken aback by this unexpected revelation.

The man scratched his chin and said, "Has it been thirty years already? Time sure flies, especially during my early days here where I had to give it all just to survive another day. Man, I sometimes miss those adrenaline-filled days. Now I’m just spending most of my days in boredom, hunting critters and cooking this barely edible slop."

Drai took a glance at the pot that had just started to boil. Just like the man said, the smell wasn’t too appetizing, as there was a pungent scent which Drai found to be slightly nauseating.

Noticing Drai’s expression, the man couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Don’t worry kid. You’ll get used to it after vomiting two or three times. I don’t know why, but the creatures in this valley have that sort of rancidness that’s impossible to clean off even if you wash their meat thoroughly. Your taste buds just have to adapt."

Drai nodded, deciding not to dwell on it. He wasn’t a stranger to hardship, and adapting his tongue to this place’s "specialty" could also be considered as physical training if he believed hard enough.

However, something was bugging Drai, so he decided to ask.

"Sir, I don’t know why Zar didn’t try rescuing you, but why didn’t you escape from here on your own?"

Hearing Drai’s question, the man chuckled again, but this time with a hint of somberness.

"I know what you’re thinking, Drai. Thirty years seem too long for someone to stay cooped up in this wretched place, right?" he asked.

Drai responded with an awkward smile. He did actually think that three decades were more than enough time to find a way out of this wilderness, regardless of how dangerous it was.

"Then let me tell you this," the man said as his voice turned serious. "Up until a few years ago, there wasn’t a day that I didn’t plan for my escape or attempt to do so. Only after I nearly lost my life during my latest attempt did I stop trying, Drai. And that wasn’t the only time I almost ended up dead, but my last try was the one that finally broke the camel’s back. I just couldn’t get myself to do it anymore."

Drai fell silent. He felt that he had severely underestimated the man’s plight, failing to put himself in the man’s shoes. "Thirty years" was just a concept of time to him, but for the man, it was his reality—his constant struggle in this forbidden wilderness without anyone or anything to rely on except for himself.

The man patted Drai’s shoulder and smiled reassuringly, saying, "Don’t worry, Drai. With you here, I feel that there might be some hope. Time is something we don’t lack here, so just adapt to this new life first and then we’ll talk about escaping."

"Thanks, sir. By the way, you haven’t told me your name."

"Oh, sorry. You can call me Max, no need for honorifics or the like," the man said.

"Okay, Max," Drai replied. He now felt somewhat reassured that his only company here was someone experienced, amicable, and buff. Not to mention, they shared the same academy too.

Max scooped up some soup with his ladle and tasted it. He shook his head disapprovingly and let the pot simmer more. Then, he turned to Drai and said, "Anyway, tell me more about the outside world, starting with why Zar sent you here. There’s no way he became so cruel that he’d incorporate this into some kind of student punishment."

Drai proceeded to tell Max about the Crimson Order’s invasion, including how Nero managed to nullify Zar’s powers right before Drai was forcibly sent away.

After listening to Drai’s story, Max’s face turned wary.

"Looks like Zar wasn’t kidding..." he muttered before turning to Drai, asking, "So you don’t know actually know how it ended?"

"No..." Drai shook his head. He had left prematurely, so he didn’t know whether the invasion succeeded or failed, and whether his friends ended up escaping or getting captured, or worse—killed.

"I see. Well, I hope my juniors from VV aren’t hurt. Heck, is VV even still around?"

Drai froze.

Due to Max’s unkempt hair and beard, Drai had failed to notice it, but now he could finally see a face that was so ingrained in his memory despite having seen it only once.

"Hm? What’s wrong?" Max asked upon seeing Drai’s expression.

Slowly, Drai’s mouth opened as he asked, "W-were you in VV?"

Hearing Drai’s question, Max realized that his old group was still around, so he couldn’t help but grin widely when he answered.

"Yep. Not sure if you’ve heard of me, but I’m Maximillian Velles, VV’s 31st President."