Arthur's first move upon reaching the central continent was to check the nearby village, and see if what the vampires said was true.
He hoped so, or else Harker would have a real problem to face.
They moved through the woods of the Forbidden Forest, slapping the bugs that tried to bite their necks, and avoiding the bushes which looked harmless, until someone stepped on a poisonous thorn.
The only good part was that the village was near to the portal.
"Finally! Those bugs were killing me," Jane complained as she panting after leaving the dense area of the Forbidden Forest, enjoying the fresh air!
There was a muddy road right after they left the Forbidden Forest, with a sign saying no one should go inside.
If Arthur wanted to find the village, all he had to do was follow the muddy road, and that was precisely what he did.
This time, though, he did not use his red mantle or his incredible spells to fly, but walked, and enjoyed the fresh breeze, and the surrounding greenery that looked like it came straight from a painting of how beautiful it was.
"This place is dangerous and beautiful, like my wives," whispered Arthur, but his wives heard it, lightly punching his arm.
Arthur caught the attention of the villagers, as they wondered who was that guy with a plate armor and a red cloak, looking like a general of the army.
Out of fear, or maybe respect, the villagers answered all of his questions.
"Did you see or hear something strange lately? Like, perhaps near the Forbidden Forest?"
"N-No, sir, not at all. No one goes near the Forbidden Forest anyway, and the village looks the same as usual," a man said.
Not only him, but anyone who had similar answers, meaning nothing happened to the village, just like Harker said.
"Good, good."
Despite talking to strangers, there were two people Arthur wished to talk to, but that would take too much of his time, and maybe worry them for no reason.
"Maybe I will come back here with Elena to talk with her parents," thought Arthur, moving away from the village with his wives.
The word about him spread fast, and the citizens of the Central Continent wondered who was that mysterious person who looked fierce, and in a different level of power.
It spread so much that Arthur came across some mages during his way to Odemore, and those mages wished to duel him to prove their value.
"If I win against this famous person, then my fame will skyrocket!"
That was the thought they had in mind, one that was foolish. No one had the slightest of changes of winning against Arthur, a rank-five mage.
"Take my Firestorm!" A mage yelled, casting a spell only rank two mages could.
An extraordinary level of power inside the Central Continent, yet Arthur made the flames disappear with a single wave of his hand, shocking anyone that saw it.
"I yield, I yield!"
Arthur did not attack any of those mages directly, as he was not a madman who would create a trail of corpses throughout the Central Continent, but he still made sure they acknowledge his power, and all the mages gave up after realizing he was beyond their league.
After doing those things, his fame spread even more inside the continent, and everyone wanted to know his identity.
Only three days passed, and Arthur was finally back at Odemore! There, he stopped right in front of the school's barrier, near a small structure where a person responsible for not letting any stranger come close to the school was.
Arthur saw the man walking toward him with a worried face. The man was a rank one mage, and what bugged him was that he did not sense anyone coming, meaning their strengths far surpassed his own.
"Hello. May I know what business you have here?" the young mage asked.
He wore a long black robe with the symbol of a dragon, and was looked youthful for a rank-one magic, meaning it had decent talent.
Arthur did not say a word, but pointed to a statue that was far away from where they were. The youth followed it, and it took him a few seconds to realize that the statue had the same face as the man before him!
"A-Are you the founder and ancestor of his school? The protector of the Central Continent?"
The youth could not believe it! Arthur was once known as the protector of the continent, and the strongest mage it ever produced, yet he vanished a long time ago.
Some people around the continent still remembered him, but many of his statues vanished throughout the years, but there was one that did no: the one inside Odemore!
Why? Well, Arthur was the one who built the school. The Odemore before him was not the only one with a statue of him, the other one in the other continent also had one.
"That's me. I will go inside, if you excuse me. Also, these three are with me," Arthur said as he walked passed the young mage, crossing the barrier with no problems.
Not even his wives, who were already at rank-four could do that, and Arthur was the one who had to open a passage for them.
The young mage looked at that, thinking, "he is even more impressive than the stories! His power is unfathomable!"
Every student inside Odemore saw when Arthur arrived there, and soon everyone was gasping for air, looking at someone who they thought was only a legend in the Central Continent, told to the kids for them to have someone to chase as their goal.
No one truly believed all the stories they heard, yet now that Arthur was in the same space as them, they could not deny he had something different, like an aura no one could match.
Out of all the students, Elena recognized Arthur the moment she saw him, running straight at him for a hug!
Elena was that student he brought along to the One Hundred Thunder School, and it was now studying in Odemore. Laura was there too, and she also recognized Arthur!
Both girls were at the rank-two, which was quite good considering Arthur had been away for less than a decade.
Also, they looked almost the same from when they met. Elena looked way older now, an adult, but she did not look old, having a perfect skin, and Arthur was sure she would keep that appearance for a long, long period.
"Perhaps even forever if she keeps increasing her power, which I hope it happens."
The directors of Odemore, those Arthur put in charge, were not there. Theo and Kai were not there too, and in a quick conversation, Arthur discovered they were not in the central continent anymore, and no one knew what they were up too.
"What about Sully?" Arthur asked Elena and Laura.
"It is said to be with Kai, but no one can find him. Some say he left this world, but no one is sure about it."
They knew a few things, but not a lot. Arthur was a little worried about the whole thing.
"Nefion should know more about this," thought Arthur as he left Odemore after seeing everything was alright.
His destination? Ouroboros island to speak with old Nefion, and Eleonora!