Serve To Survive

"Now, don't worry too much; his condition isn't too severe. But that doesn't mean he's completely free from irreversible damage," Kilian said.

Kilian paused for a moment, his gaze sweeping across the room and lingering on each member of the team.

After a brief silence, he slowly turned his attention back to Haruo, his expression unreadable.

Kilian's focus returned to Haruo, his face unreadable. "Let's take this conversation outside. I feel like it's better there," he suggested, his tone light, almost casual. Too casual...

"What are you talking about? Why can't we talk here—" Haruo began, but his voice was cut off by the deafening crash of wood and stone.

Kilian, without a hint of hesitation, had shattered the wall of Haruo's room, leaving a jagged hole in its place. Debris scattered across the floor, sunlight streaming through the gaping opening as dust swirled in the air.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Haruo exclaimed

Kilian slowly turned his head to Haruo, a smile tugging at his lips as he stood amidst the wreckage of the finely designed wall and shattered windows. "It's much faster if we go through here."

Haruo's room was beautifully designed, spacious like that of a noble, yet with subtle futuristic touches. A bed stood in one corner, the bed neither too large nor too small, but just the right size.

The walls were adorned in a dark blue design with a smooth surface, giving the room a serene feel.

Next to the door stood a bookshelf, overflowing with books. Beside the bed was a desk, with a lamp resting on top, currently turned off.

Now imagine all of that—debris everywhere, shattered glass, and finely chopped planks. Really, really good planks. The entire side of the room was gone, destroyed by a single punch from Kilian.

The six had different reactions to this. Ena wasn't bothered, a sense of I should've expected this in her demeanor, while Isaac was a bit startled, his eyes widening for a moment.

Leo was holding back a laugh, doing his best to keep it in. Tatiana looked confused, not quite sure what to make of it, while Theodor remained completely unbothered, as if lost in his own world.

As for Haruo, no further explanation was needed. Kilian simply smiled, unfazed by the fact that he had destroyed his own manor just to avoid taking a longer route.

"Come on, let's go," Kilian said before dropping down to the ground.

Theodor followed, then Leo, each dropping down to the field. Everyone else joined in, except for Haruo, who remained in place, staring blankly at the wall ahead.

'Sleeping in the streets was better than this,' Haruo thought.

"Hey, bozo! When are you gonna get down?" Leo exclaimed at Haruo.

Haruo clicked his tongue and jumped down to the large field where ena and haruo trained with kilian for hours. To his surprise the damages were gone and was completely the same as it was before.

"Alright, all of you brats, form a single file line and face me," Kilian said.

"Face you as in... fight you?" Theodor asked tilting his head a bit clueless.

"No, I meant literally cause i need you all to listen up." Kilian replied.

Kilian raised two of his fingers up as he faced all of them trying to draw their attention.

"Alright, there will be two things you guys will be focused on during this mission. First is finding the cure and second by raiding tombs on the way."

"Now the main problem of this mission is that the northern kingdom is at the edge of the continent, very far from here."

"Then why don't we just use portals, like when used to travel from galeris to the other world?" Tatiana asked.

"That doesn't work, portals only work for large-scale travelling like space travel. Having portals as way to travel through the world could cause environmental issues," Kilian replying to the question.

"Then what do we do? We can't use carriages or any type of transportation since that would take too long," haruo asked.

"There is one..." Kilian suggesting...

"I am not walking all the way there," Haruo quickly objected, as if he knew what he was going to say.

"Do you guys have a better idea, then?" Kilian asked, squinting his eyes as he looked at them, waiting for a response.

"No—"

"Good, then you guys are walking your way there," Tatiana said, before being cut off by Kilian.

The whole division just stared at Kilian, an awkward pause hanging in the air as no one spoke up.

"What are you guys waiting for? get to it."

Haruo happily walked away, though "happily" might have been a stretch, given the lack of any actual joy on his face. On the other hand, Ena's expression wasn't exactly open to negotiation.

"Seriously!? Right off the bat!? We haven't even properly introduced ourselves yet!" Ena clearly protested to the idea of going right away.

"Do it while you guys hit the road," Kilian said with a smirk as Isaac and the others fell in line, following closely behind Haruo.

"But—"

"No point in persuading him. Even though I just met him, I doubt he's going to budge," Leo said to Ena, his tone exaggerated.

Ena rushed to catch up, trailing behind them. "Oh, come on, we haven't even prepared yet. Not to mention, Haru just woke up! Come on, Haru, you gotta agree with me on this one!"

"Just shut up, it's not like I want to go either," Haruo said, finally shushing her. "We'll grab stuff as we head to the exit."

"Ohh, so your nickname is Haru. Might as well call you that from now on," Leo said.

"You shut up as well! Like Ena just said, I just woke up!" Haruo grumbled, shushing Leo, hoping that the more they spoke, the less likely a headache would kick in.

"How cold! Then again, your personality does match your ability," Leo teased with a grin.

"Your ability doesn't match your personality, that probably means it matches your DNA," Haruo said, his words sharp, hinting at Leo having a bit too much going on upstairs.

"I don't get it?" Leo said, clearly confused by Haruo's words, but he didn't stop his constant nagging.

'Is he brain-dead or something? How did he not get it? His ability has 3 extra abilities, which would mean—' Tatiana thought with a sigh, 'what's the point of thinking about it?'

'Let's just get this done quickly and head north,' Haruo thought.

***

"For the last time, ma'am, we aren't allowed to let you go out unless you have your IDs!" the guard said.

"Even if you do have your IDs, we still aren't allowed to let you through since there was an order not to let anyone use the north gate!" he added.

"Bullshit! Just a day ago we went through here with Kilian, and Kilian ordered us to go here, just so you know," Ena said.

"Ma'am I believe you but we still can't let you go through unless you have authority!" The guard said.

Haruo just stood there with the others, watching Ena argue with the guard. 'She looks like a Karen looking for a manager,' they all thought in unison.

'Ugh, we aren't getting anywhere with this. Even though we have everything we need, we can't get through the gate, and the only ones available are all of them except this one!' Haruo thought, his mind a tangled mess.

'We can't go to the other gates since they're too far, and we're already behind on schedule,' he thought, recalling the schedule from when they were buying materials and putting it in his mana storage.

"Hey guard, what exactly do we need to do to use this gate?" Haruo said.

"You need a badged ID that allows you to use the gate whenever, whatever the situation," the guard said.

"Badged ID? What's difference between normal ones?" Haruo asked.

"Badged IDs are special IDs that come with certain privileges," Tatiana explained. "For example, a badged ID might allow someone to enter the royal castle or access restricted areas that regular IDs can't."

"And how do I get one?" Haruo asked.

"You need someone who can upgrade your regular ID, and it's pretty pricey too," Tatiana said. "When I first had my ID upgraded, I needed a lot of money."

"How do I get a regular ID and wait... YOU HAD A BADGED ID ALL ALONG!? WHY DIDN'T YOU GET US OUT!?" Haruo exclaimed, his frustration building.

"Yeah, duh, it makes sense for nobles to have badged IDs," leo said.

"To get a regular ID, you either need to buy citizenship or, if you're already a citizen, just wait until you're 18," Tatiana said.

"Oh, yeah, wait—hold on. Be right back," Haruo said, sprinting off toward Kilian's manor.

After reaching Kilian's manor, Haruo quickly made his way through the halls, heading straight for the office. It took a bit longer than expected since he wasn't familiar with the layout, but he eventually found it.

He barged inside, kicking open the large double doors to the office. There, at the edge of the room, Kilian stood with a book in hand, his expression calm despite the sudden intrusion.

"What's with the aggression?" he said, a smirk playing on his lips as he moved to sit at his desk.

'his office looks more clean than I expected,' Haruo with a confused look while he gazed on his office.

His office looked spacious and more lively than any other room in the manor, large windows at the back of Kilian and beautifully decorated bookshelves.

In the middle of the room stood another table, flanked by two couches positioned parallel to each other, creating a space for conversation. To Haruo's left, a tall shelf caught his attention, its tiers neatly arranged with various objects on display, each seemingly more intriguing than the last.

'that shelf is creeping me out a bit, but who cares I've got no time to worry about that." Haruo thought and redirected his gaze back to Kilian.

"So... What brings you back here?" Kilian said.

"I know you know," Haruo said.

"Haha, yeah, anyway here's your guys IDs," Kilian said throwing three thin rectangular cards.

The ID was a sleek rectangular card, edged in silver. Haruo's photo occupied the top-left corner, while his personal information was neatly listed below in bold, crisp lettering. A faint watermark of the Marion Kingdom's emblem shimmered across the surface.

Haruo Chiharu's ID

Name: Haruo Chiharu

Age: 16

Citizenship Status: Citizen

Division: Artifacts restoration

Ability Rank: F-

Mana Magnitude: —

Martial arts rank: Master

"Look at the back as well," Kilian said before Haruo turned his ID revealing Two Icons.

The golden ribbon formed a flawless "O," its polished surface reflecting light, with subtle runes etched along its edges. The emblem featured a shield with a diagonal sword behind it and a glowing orb at its center, encased by claw-like designs.

"Those are your badges. The first grants access to restricted areas, while the second is your division emblem, unlocking exclusive resources like rare information, artifacts, or funding," Kilian explained with a smile.

"There are more perks, but you'll figure those out on your own." He waved his hand dismissively, signaling him to leave.

Haruo hurried back to the others, and as expected, Ena was causing trouble again. Thankfully, he arrived just in time to stop her from escalating the chaos any further.

"Ena, I was gone for less than five minutes," Haruo groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's Saturday morning, the atmosphere was peaceful, and here you are, turning it into a circus! Please, for once, keep your ridiculous ideas to yourself."

"Oh, come on, I wasn't even doing anything yet!" Ena protested, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms. "I mean, it's their fault for not letting us through in the first place. And I'm not even doing anything."

"Isaac, come here," Haruo called, motioning for Isaac to approach.

Isaac quickly straightened his posture at the unexpected call from Haruo and hurried to his side.

"D-Do you need anything?" Isaac asked.

"Isaac, before I arrived, what did Ena do to cause such a ruckus?" Haruo asked, raising an eyebrow while looking at Ena.

Sweat ran down Ena's face as she heard Haruo's question, clearly caught off guard. She shifted nervously, avoiding eye contact.

"S-She tried to climb the wall beside the gate," Isaac stammered. "The guards yelled at her to come down, but she didn't listen. When she finally reached the top, she slipped and fell onto her back. The guards tried to take her away, but then you arrived..." Isaac finished, not missing a single detail as he recounted the entire chaotic scene.

Haruo nodded, closing his eyes for a moment to compose himself. When he opened them again, he rushed beside Ena and, without a word, slapped the back of her head hard enough to make a sharp sound.

The sudden slap made Ena curl up into a crouch, her face wincing as she slowly placed her hands on the spot where Haruo had slapped her head before she said a long and exaggerated "Ow."

Ena looked back toward him with tears forming in her eyes with her hands still in the spot where he slapped. "You didn't need to slap me so hard! And I only made a ruckus." 

"Ena, the crime you committed..." Haruo exclaimed, his frustration building.

"Disturbing the peace and breaking policies... WE'RE GOING TO GET FINED, WE'RE ALREADY BROKE!" His voice cracked with disbelief before he suddenly fell to the ground, dramatically clutching his head as if mourning a lost cause.

Both of them were in pain—one from the physical slap, and the other from the impending financial disaster.

'This team has no hope...' Tatiana thought, while Theodor, on the other hand, remained distracted, not speaking a single word throughout the entire ordeal.