No More Pain For This Villain.

363  Add-On To The Gathering

[Ren Hilton POV]

There were way too many things going on at the same time. It was quite... weird, but then again, when was it not weird?

My question remained unanswered as everyone stared at me, until the blond guy stepped forward and yelled. Nôv(el)B\\jnn

"You do not mean that this guy is coming with us!" Adam seemed like there was somewhere they were going, and he didn't want me to come along.

"And who are you to decide that?" asked the pale-haired guy, a bit shorter than me, with two small horns protruding from his forehead and pure white eyes. His voice seemed familiar.

Adam gave me a sideways glance. "Mr. Falco, he's not one of us—I can assure you of that. It will be a waste of time; he's not trustworthy."

Falco? I thought. So that's Falco? It was my first time seeing him without his hood, so it was a bit strange. But it made him look more human.

'Don't get fooled, he's concealing his aura,' Blaze transmitted from behind me as the portal closed. 'He's quite a promising young dragon, but I can't quite place which clan or sub-race of dragons he belongs to.'

"That cat of yours…" Falco began, and in an instant, he vanished from my view. For some reason—maybe just pure instinct—I stepped to my left and raised my palm. My hand met something.

"Fast. Way too fast for..." Falco stood in front of me with a neutral expression, but I could tell he was a bit surprised.

It was instinct that made me sense him coming to my side. To be honest, I couldn't have done that before—not to this degree.

'It's because of the level-up.' Blaze remarked as he jumped onto my shoulder.

"What's happening here?" I asked again.

Falco waited a second, then took a step back as I lowered my hand. The system store panel was still open in front of me. If he attacked, which seemed unlikely, I could pull a weapon out. But judging by the environment, that wasn't going to happen.

"Ren Hilton, I want you to join us on our campaign to the Mortal Realm's deepest dungeon, where we are going to train for the upcoming war against the creatures that I assume you know—since you fought them in Eshmera. The demons."

Oh, okay... I looked around the room. Adam, Mary, Devon, Aron, Amelia, Vexa, Isolde, Elsa... Falco too.

In the game, only four went to get Adam's blessings. But now, there were more chosen ones and more blessings. Are all of these guys chosen ones?

If yes, that's way too many. But it also strengthens my theory: the gods just needed information about the plot from me.

"I really don't get it, but I'll listen," I said. Falco didn't change his expression, just continued staring at me, like he was searching for something.

After a fifteen-minute talk, he gave me a rough explanation, but he left out a lot. He only mentioned that he and Aron were Chosen Ones. He didn't even say that Adam Stales—the main character—was one too, nor did he mention that others in the room were Chosen Ones. He introduced them as meticulously selected warriors but said nothing about the gods.

it's roughly, we are fighting the bad guys...wanna hop in?

He probably only told me about Aron because of what happened this morning. If it hadn't, I guess that would have been kept secret too.

"So, the choice is yours. We leave tomorrow, and I can only wait until then," Falco said. "What do you think?"

What do I think? I looked around the room again. Half the people here weren't very welcoming of me, and I knew it all too well.

Staying with this group triggers the curse. It hasn't done much other than make people hate me… but maybe that's just Ren's destiny.

Do I even need to be here? They're going to defeat Azra and Riksar with or without me.

Screw it, they already have more than one Chosen One. In the game, Adam was more than enough on his own.

"I'll think about it, but why me?" I asked.

Falco paused, as if searching for the right answer. "You seem like there's a lot going on with you. I like that," he said, ending the conversation.

"I'll leave it at that. Think it over before tomorrow. If you join us, you'll be part of a history that will never be forgotten—not by mortals, not by immortals." And just like that, he vanished.

I immediately grabbed Blaze, pulling him off my shoulder and close to my chest.

"Well, this is another reason I want you on the team," Falco whispered in a low voice before he actually left me and Blaze alone.

He's way too curious about Blaze.

After Falco left, I was left standing in a room full of people, all staring at me. The silence hung heavy in the air, but I'd grown used to situations like this. Without saying a word, I walked toward Aron and casually took a seat beside him.

"Looks like you're the only one happy to see me here," I said, offering a half-smile.

Aron immediately shook his head, denying it with. "Don't get the wrong idea, I just hate everyone here but there are levels to it."

Before I could respond, Vexa stood up, pulling a chair over, and sat down across from me. Her piercing gaze made me feel like she was sizing me up for something.

From the corner of the room, Devon leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "I said hi, but you didn't even acknowledge me. Already forgotten about me, boy?" he teased, raising an eyebrow.

I shook my head, grinning slightly. "Nah, Devon, didn't forget. Just wondering how you're still alive with Mrs. Amelia around."

Devon chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Lucky, I guess. But you know how it is."

"So you helped him escape!" Amelia crushed whatever she was holding in her hand as if in anger, her pride is hurt.