Chapter 37: Kidnapper

Julius had always wondered why the rift literally sucked him in. He had never heard about rifts kidnapping people to clear them. They usually were voluntary, until it got past the point and the rift overflowed. Most of the time, there were adventurers or other groups that focused on keeping rifts at healthy levels because they would be able to constantly collect the cores of the main monsters of the rift once they respawned. Once it overflowed, the rift would collapse and no longer be usable. However, Julius didn’t get a choice.

His potential kidnapper didn’t answer right away. He took a moment to look at Julius before he spoke. “The only way I could safely transport you to this space was if you were leaving a rift and transferring back to your dimension,” the man flung his arm in the air, waving off Julius’s concern away. “It is all very complicated and not worth explaining to you at your current tier.”

“So you kidnapped me,” Julius pressed, still angry about it.

“I needed to find out what happened,” The man explained.

“That’s still kidnapping,” Julius retorted before he could catch himself, forgetting that he was talking to someone closer to a god than Julius was to him.

The man didn’t respond and just stared at Julius with an intense gaze. It dragged on for long enough that Julius started to become anxious, worried that he might have offended this powerful figure. He was about to speak up and apologize for his rudeness when the man broke his silence with a sigh.

“You’re right I did, I was wrong for doing so.”

Julius choked on his words, he was just about to apologize himself but ended up hearing the man take accountability for his actions. It felt weird because he expected someone as powerful as this man obviously was, would consider it beneath themselves to admit fault to a mere Tier 1. Julius’s respect for the unknown man went up a few notches.

“Oh, um… thanks.” Julius couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Neither spoke and another long awkward silence ensued. Finally, Julius broke it and asked the man another question.

“So what now? Will I go back to the forest?”

The man nodded. “Yes, the portal should take you right back where you entered.”

“There isn’t a way to go somewhere else?” Julius questioned with a hopeful look on his face.

“It’s possible.”

Julius got excited hearing that. He was not looking forward to trying to find his way out of the Endless Forest when he left the rift. He didn’t even really know if he was in the Endless Forest, it was just the most likely location. So he had to ask.

“Could you send me to a location of my choosing?”

Julius saw the man take a moment to think about his request. He really hoped he would help him out. After what seemed like an eternity, the man answered.

“Where did you want to go?”

Julius hadn’t gotten that far. He was just hoping that the man would say yes, but he didn’t have any idea of where he would go if the man said yes. He took a moment to think about it. The first place that popped into his head was Celestia. But he quickly ruled that out. If House Hyperius had betrayed his uncle, then going to Celestia, where they held the most influence would not be a good idea.

His next thought was going to the capital, Luminous. He would be able to blend into the large population but still could hire some independent contractors to find out what happened to Lukas and Edwin. The only issue was that Duke Greyson undoubtedly had agents within the capital. Julius did not think it was likely that Duke Greyson was searching for him, he didn’t even know if his identity was shared amongst others yet. Julius had been quite isolated and not many knew of his existence outside of House Hyperius. But if word got out that a young boy with Julius’s features was snooping around and investigating what happened at the manor, anyone could put two and two together.

The last place he thought of was Heston. Heston was not only the city where Goldencrest Academy was located, but it was also far away from Duke Greyson’s domain. Another reason why he thought it might be a good idea, was that both Lukas and Edwin knew that Julius had been planning to go to Goldencrest if he got the chance, so if they were alive it was reasonable for them to search for Julius there.

Julius wasn’t worried about his affinities that much, there was a practical exam he could take that might gain him acceptance. It was notoriously difficult, but he was brimming with confidence after this rift. He couldn’t imagine many Tier 1’s could match him.

However, another important reason was that Julius was in dire need of an education. There was too much he didn’t know about this world still. He wanted to find out what happened with Lukas and Edwin, but he understood he was way too weak to do anything at the moment. He would need to get stronger before he could take revenge on Samuel and the others. That would mean he would need to learn how to advance properly and gain more experience.

Julius made up his mind.

“Can you take me to Heston?”

The man didn’t respond to Julius, but Julius saw the man close his eyes and concentrate on something. Then he opened his eyes and told Julius, “I can’t take you directly into the city, I would shatter too many wards doing so, but I can send you just outside of the city if that’s okay.”

Honestly, it was better than Julius had expected. “That would be wonderful!”

The man didn’t waste any time. In a blink, a new portal had appeared in front of Julius. It was still just as beautiful as the others he had seen. Julius had so many other questions he wanted to ask. But decided on his most important one.

“Is there a way for you to know if my uncle or Edwin made it out okay?” Julius grimaced as he asked it, one part of him aware of how dumb it was to presume that this man knew who they were and the other part was scared to hear the answer.

The man shook his head sympathetically, “No more questions, you have been here too long as is. It is time for you to leave.”