Back in the kingdom of Nacia, rumors were spreading around about the Nightmare Terror of Aturia. Akube was out strolling when he overheard some adventurers talking about it. Those adventurers were the first party they met the first time they came into this world.
"Nightmare Terror!!" Akube blurted out, stopping in his tracks.
"Yeah—hold up, isn't that Akube?" Uto blinked in surprise, turning around
"Hey Uto, what's good man? It's been forever " Akube greeted with a casual wave.
"Tell me about it," Uto grinned, tossing a friendly arm out. "How are you doing, and how is Dranexx "
Before he could answer, Amanda leaned forward eagerly, her eyes scanning the street. "Where is my Drany baby? He's not here with you?"
Akube let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head. "Ahh, the lady's man, enh?"
"What do you mean, lady's man…?" Amanda pouted, crossing her arms
"Yeah, I hate to spoil your fun, but Dranexx… ahh, I don't know how to say this, but he's actually in a relationship and mostly he's been gone for a while now… so I haven't really heard much from him, though he's alright " Akube explained, scratching the back of his neck.
Amanda's jaw dropped slightly "So the hot guy finally gets himself a woman I thought he was the type to be avoiding ladies "
"Yeah, everything changed till he met Soral " Akube smiled.
Uto's expression turned serious, catching onto the words. "What do you mean Dranexx has been gone for a while now?"
"Well, it's complicated, but nothing much " Akube shrugged.
Soza, who had been quietly observing, narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "Hmmm, you two are not the type of friends that quarrel with each other, are you?"
"Oh no, nothing like that," Akube assured them quickly, waving his hands. "He just went for training, that's all truly "
"He went for training?!" Uto gasped, throwing his hands up in sheer disbelief
"He's strong and yet he still goes for training? Damn, that guy is one straightforward guy with massive determination. Enh… I guess I will train too. If someone as strong as he trains, then I will train too "
Akube laughed a bit, then shifted the topic back. "Earlier you guys were saying something about someone called Night… shii, I don't understand "
"Oh, you mean the Nightmare Terror from the kingdom of Aturia " Uto clarified, his voice dropping slightly
"Yes, that name. Who's he? Some kind of big deal warrior or what?" Akube asked, placing a hand on his chin
"It's a guy that recently came into the kingdom of Aturia and helped them defeat Narukia," Uto explained, leaning in. "And here it says he single-handedly demolished 78,000 elite soldiers of Narukia alone, and 5 power heroes. He's the defender there "
Akube's eyes widened a fraction. "Hmmm… Nightmare Terror, huh. So when did he arrive in the kingdom? Well, we haven't heard his name before, but it's probably around 2 months since he started dominating the kingdom of Narukia…"
There's no doubt that's one of our classmates… so that's the path he chose, huh? Whatever until we cross paths. Well, I don't know how powerful he is, but to take his name this far and make an entire nation fear him… then he's something else, and not someone we can likely play with. Akube thought.
"Well, whoever he is, I'm sure he's doing great work there " Akube spoke out loud, recovering his relaxed smile.
"My problem now is what if he tries to come after this kingdom of ours?" Uto muttered, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek. "I mean, with this news around, this guy is no joke "
"Nah, I won't worry about that," Akube waved off the anxiety smoothly. "He's smart enough to know this is the largest and biggest nation in the whole of Lumeria, so he won't dare to make silly mistakes "
Uto let out a sigh of relief, nodding along.
"You're right. This kingdom has powerful warriors that far exceed many demons and monsters' levels "
"So you've got nothing to worry about, okay? Everything is going to be fine " Akube gave a reassuring grin.
Soza let out a soft huff, looking at Akube with a dry expression. "You're so chill with it"
"Of course I am," Akube shrugged effortlessly. "Because I know we are in a better and safe nation, so nobody will dare to mess things up "
"Yeah, you're right!" Uto's bright mood instantly returned. "Care to join us for a drink!!"
"Oh, sure thing " Akube agreed.
Amanda let out a dramatic, blissful sigh as they started walking toward the tavern.
"Whoooo! A nice drink after some monster hunts always hits the spot… wish Drany was here to hit my spot, hmmhmmmhmmm "
The entire group froze right in their tracks, faces twisting in absolute disbelief
*Wow… she straight up said it out loud.* Everyone thought in unison
Breaking the awkward silence, Akube burst into a loud, roaring laugh. "Hahahahahha… man, you guys are funny….."