Chapter 143 - Return

Two young soldiers were watching the scenery pass by the windows of the carriage. One of them was looking at the trees in the distance without showing a hint of emotion. He had brown hair and green eyes, and his name was Zaos. The other one was Drannor, and even though he grew a lot physically and mentally in the last three years, he still was fidgeting while he saw the capital of the kingdom approaching in the distance.

"We are almost there, Zaos," Drannor said.

"Thanks for reminding me of it," Zaos said. "It has been so long since the last time you said that, after all. Exactly five minutes."

"I thought you would be much more excited to return home after all those years," Drannor frowned. "After all, we were the only group of recruits that didn't have the chance to return to their homes a single time in three years."

Almost two years had passed after the war in the North. Although the mercenaries ran away and the followers of the demon god never did anything suspicious for twenty months, they didn't have the chance to return to their homes. In the end, commander Ruvyn gave everyone one month off as he had promised, but he didn't promise anyone that they could leave the region. Zaos reevaluated his image of the old man, he had muscle for brains, but he also was the king of sophism.

Truth to be told, Zaos was pretty excited about returning home, but he wasn't a kid, even though he looked like one, so he didn't want to show that. Usually, after graduating, the soldiers who wanted to work in other jobs would return to their homes by buying some horses, but the group that had been traveling with those two for the past five days received them as gifts from the king and also as an apology since they didn't have the chance to return to their homes. Still, while most soldiers had horses, the heirs of the noble families had those carriages sent by their families. Zaos already imagined that his father wouldn't send one since he wanted his son to finish that journey on the same way he started, but Drannor and his father had other plans.

"I wonder how everyone is…" Drannor said with a smile full of expectation on his face. "Do you think Ameria changed as much as us?"

"Since you are the same as ever, she probably is as loud as ever," Zaos said. "The only thing I can see in her changing is her tone, and that is getting louder."

"I guess you didn't change as well…" Drannor said. "Well, this is good for all of us, I guess."

While those grew a lot taller than before, and they also had some scars gained in the last three years, they were basically the same. Even Drannor didn't want to make his parents worry and made them think that those harsh years changed him too much. 

Regardless, while things weren't that exciting inside that carriage, things were very different in the others and outside. All the new soldiers were eager to see their families, and their smiles filled with pride. While seeing that, Zaos couldn't help but wonder how the families of those that once served in his squad would feel while seeing those soldiers returning.

"I can't keep thinking like this…" Zaos thought and then shook his head. "I can't show a depressed face in front of mom."

After just a couple of minutes, they crossed the Northern gate of the capital, and they saw many people waiting for the newly graduated soldiers. A loud cheering echoed throughout the area. That seemed a bit too much for a group of twelve-year-old kids, but considering that they survived two massive battles, it wasn't that surprising. A lot of rumors spread around the capital regarding those battles, so the survivors were pretty the heroes who repelled thousands of invaders, at least from the perspective of the common people.

Some of the graduated soldiers began to leave, and a few of them greeted Drannor before leaving. They were the former members of his squad, former because all the squads were disbanded after graduation. Drannor looked pretty happy for them but not even a little bit sad considering that his squad was disbanded. The reason for that was the fact that they could see each other whenever they felt like it.

The cheering continued like that for quite a while, but the group of soldiers only decreased over time since most of them lived near the gate of the capital. Eventually, Zaos and Drannor noticed that they were the only ones who hadn't arrived home, even the other kids from the noble families had already arrived at their residences, but soon they found the castle, and they realized that their long journey was almost over. Once they reached the bridge that connected to the central part of the capital, Zaos knocked on the door and then got up.

"I will take my leave here," Zaos said. "Say hi to your mother and father for me."

"Thanks, see you later," Drannor said.

Zaos could always ask Drannor to ask him to take him home, it wouldn't even last a single minute, but that would delay Drannor's return for a few minutes, and he already looked like a caged wild animal. It didn't take long for Zaos to see the entrance of his home and find a lot of people there waiting for him. Even his father was there, and that surprised Zaos since he didn't seem like someone who would act like that, standing and waiting for others in events like that.

Zaos tried to keep his cool while he walked, but in the end, his pace quickly increased when he saw his mother waiting for him. Maybe that was rude toward others who were about to welcome Zaos as well, but Zaos didn't want to fool himself or any other. His mother was definitely the person he loved most in that world.

In the end, Zaos decided to look a bit more dignified and mature and didn't jump to hug his mother, but then he stopped in front of the group with a large smile on his face.

"I am back," Zaos said.

Health: 680/680

Mana: 1720/1720

Stamina: 1610/1610

Strength: 340

Magic: 860

Endurance: 805

Resistance: 860

Focus: 06 + 01 

Sorcery Lv 55 (+ 05 UP), Meditation Lv 28 (+ 03 UP), Magic Swordsmanship Lv 32 (+ 07 UP), Magic Spearmanship Lv 09 (+ 08 UP), Magic Archer Lv 11 (+ 10 UP), Magic Martial Arts Lv 07, Alchemy Lv 09 (+ 03 UP), Magic Resistance Lv 09 (+ 04 UP), Magic Perception Lv 11 (+ 05 UP), Swordsmanship Lv 44 (+ 06 UP), Axemanship Lv 14 (+ 05 UP), Spearmanship Lv 13 (+ 04 UP), Archery Lv 19 (+ 04 UP), Martial Arts Lv 10, Shield Mastery Lv 22 (+ 04 UP), Pain Resistance Lv 26 (+ 04 UP), Blacksmithing Lv 15 (+ 04 UP)

Lesser Heal, Heal, Holy Light, Detoxification, Cold Whisper, Mend Bones, Dispel, Protection, Magic Barrier, Stone Skin, Fire Sword, Water Sword, Earth Sword, Wind Sword, Earth Bullet, Ignite, Spark, Agony,