ROTLE- Chapter 183- What It Means To Be Human (Patreon)

Several hours later, they were walking through the forest once more. This time they had a new member. Telma walked with a frown and a silent tantrum. There was a faint smell of burning skin in the air, but they could not be bothered by it. They’d been in the forest long enough to know that odd smells were cause for caution but not alarm.

Aiden ignored it, moving forward, while the others turned their heads once in a while. Telma’s frown never left her face. But, for all her stoic anger, her eyes still glanced about, still sought out threats.

While they walked, Aiden thought of everything. Not just of Ted’s safety or Valdan’s consciousness or who Elami could possibly be, but of everything.

It felt to him like he had gone astray at some point. When he’d woken up in the king’s palace, resummoned from Earth, he had panicked. After his panic, he had concocted a plan. It was supposed to be precise, straight to the point.

He pushed aside a low hanging branch. Lost in his thoughts, he released it, not watching to see if any of his new companions were right behind him.

The library of truth. The crystal of existence. The heart of Nosrath. These had been important parts of the plan. But had there been an order to it? Had there been a hierarchy?

Yes.

The heart and the crystal came first. That much was clear. The type of power he needed was the kind that would make him very difficult to kill. Making his opponent easier to kill was a skill he had developed. That needed no attention.

So what then? The crystal of existence then the heart of Nosrath.

Then the [Enemy of the Order], he reminded himself, stepping through the forest.

But somehow, even though he was still on track, everything seemed to be unraveling, going astray. What was wrong? Why did things feel so stretched out?

The [Sage]s.

He’d already met two.

Then there was the attention of the Order. He had been hoping to avoid them until he was ready to deal with them. That was a plan that was gone with the wind.

He sighed, leaning to the side to avoid something he did not pay attention to.

I’m still on track. He had to remind himself of it. At this point in his past life he was not even at level fifty, he didn’t think so. But now, he walked beyond level one hundred. But was that truly an achievement?

No.

He could’ve been powerful. But the crystal had forced him to slow his progress for the safety of his teammates. For Valdan and Ted.

Level one hundred was weak compared to what he could’ve been. The crystal had stunted him. But wasn’t that the reason he had gone for the crystal first? Specifically because he had to be weak to go for it?

Now he had the crystal, packed away in his storage space. He scoffed at the incredulity of it. Nastild did not know that the crystal could be stored away in a storage space. Why? Because Alobam had never given anyone that information. At least not anyone who had been willing to share it with anyone else.

A tree came into sight. It had an orb of golden mana embedded into it. Aiden walked up to it, still lost in thought. His body moved on its own. He placed his hand on the tree and looked back at Estabel.

The [Mage] moved her staff and the orb disappeared, disintegrating into nothingness.

“Where next Saint killer?” she asked.

She called the title with so much pride, as if he was the greatest anomaly to walk the world. But he was not. To kill a [Saint] was not truly a feat. [Saint]s were revered for being divine, not for being powerful. One did not kill a [Saint] because it was a sin against the gods. And if one did not fear the gods wrath, then the wrath of the church with its ability to have them killed was deterrent enough.

Aiden ignored the pride in her voice, the fear in Yerit’s face, the careful lack of expression on Tanor’s and the hate on Telma’s.

He pointed south. “There.”

Estabel aimed and fired off another blast of a golden mana orb. Once that was done, they waited.

Aiden folded his arms over his chest. His black hand stared at him. He ignored it. It was just another unknown variable. A chaos in his life that had thrown him astray. On earth they had read too many stories about people going back in time and righting their wrongs. The way they easily traversed their problems, dealt with known foes, even rising enough to slaughter gods…

The stories made it look so easy. The anime made it look grand.

None of that was his lot. He tapped a blackened finger against his other arm as they waited for Estabel’s feedback. Since turning back time, all he’d been doing was trying to figure things out.

It’s still early stages, he reminded himself.

He had paid attention to nothing in this part of his life. He was like a gamer with an overpowered game character. A man who had grinded through a specific video game for hours on end. Days. Weeks. Months. Maybe even years.

If you brought them back to the beginning all of a sudden, it would be problematic. They would not remember the basic beginning spells. Why? Because they had become obsolete at some point.

“I believe we are clear, Saint slayer,” Estabel said, turning to him.

Aiden frowned. He wanted to tell her to stop calling him that. It scared Yerit and worried Tanor. He had no idea what it did to Telma, though. But he didn’t, something told him that she would not listen.

But morality and the mental and emotional state of those present was unimportant. In truth, another reason he did not tell her to stop was because he hoped she would spread the news when she returned to the Mage Radiants… if she survived the forest.

If that happened, then the Mage Radiants would also know the tale of the man who killed a [Saint]. What title could he get from that? What benefits would it grant him?

Always calculating.

It was a poor trait, a woman had told him once. But why shouldn’t he be always calculating? Calculating saved his life on more occasions than he could count. Just because he was stronger now when compared to his enemies, it did not mean that he should forgo the ways of the weak.

They pushed further into the trees, following a single path… his path. No one had repeated the question of what his plan was. Estabel hadn’t even questioned his path. She simply followed.

Was she secretly wary of him? Was she being careful but pretending since she witnessed him kill a [Saint]?

Did she fear him?

And what if she did? He could not care less what any of those with him felt towards him as long as they helped him reach his goal.

The thought didn’t necessarily shake him, it just brought him back to the present.

Careful now, Aiden, he cautioned himself. Humans are tools, but they are still humans.

His mind was concocting plans, turning people into nonliving tools. Even the Order reminded its members that humans are a different kind of tool. Even if expendable, they were still humans. Once upon a time, Torat had told him that the Order taught in such a way so that their members still maintained a level of humanity.

“Lacheart.”

Estabel’s voice drew him from his own mind. He turned to her. “I’m listening.”

“Something up ahead.” She pointed with her staff, maybe trying to get accustomed to its mana weight. “A group.”

“Another one?” he asked.

She nodded. “They seem to be… waiting.”

“An ambush, do you think?” Tanor asked, catching up to them.

Estabel shrugged. “I cannot say for certain.” She returned her attention to Aiden. “Perhaps your teammates?”

Aiden shook his head. Valdan and Ted were far from here, far east. They would not be running into them any time soon.

Looking back, he took in those with him. Tanor, a [Paladin], Yerit an [Enchanter], Telma a [Batle Archer] and Estabel a [Mage].

He hated to say it but they were a balanced group. More balanced than the one he had been moving with.

That’s because you weren’t creating a team.

Valdan, Ted, Zen, Fjord, and Feira.

A [Knight], a [Summoner], a [Time Walker], a [Gambler] and a [Guide].

That was as unbalanced a team as one could get. The [Knight] could tank and the [Summoner] could provide ranged support. But what was the use of the others? They did not need a [Guide] since Aiden could play that role well enough.

A [Gambler] was nothing but a wild card. But not even a wildcard in their favor. And a [Time Walker]?

If one of his students had suggested such a team back when he was an instructor in the Order, he would’ve laughed.

But he was not gathering a team. He walked with friends and family. Feira only followed because of Zen. And Fjord was… something of an interest perhaps.

“I say we take them.”

All eyes moved to Telma. She shrugged. “I don’t need a bow to be good with my hands.”

“Somehow I do not doubt that for a second,” Estabel said with a fun smile. “You’re a wildfire, aren’t you?”

Telma scowled but said nothing.

“Must we fight?” Tanor asked.

They did not have to. But Aiden’s new plan meant that they had to fight. They were no longer looking for Ted and the others; they were looking to complete the reason he came to this godforsaken forest in the first place.

“What do you say, Lord Lacheart?” Tanor asked, tone respectful.

Aiden looked in the general direction. Maybe it was time for him to stop holding back. Sometimes, there was nothing wrong with being the villain in a story. Sometimes, anyone that was not standing with you was food for growth.

“We’ll kill them.”

“Sorry, what?” Tanor blurted out. “Have we considered that they might be innocent people?”

“They are in Nosrath’s domain,” Estabel pointed out. “Believe me, there is nobody here that is not aware of where they are.”

“And if they are?”

“Then they are trespassing on Alobam’s territory,” Telma spat.

Aiden cocked a brow at that. “Isn’t your king the one who last stole the heart of Nosrath.”

“He won it in honorable combat,” she snarled.

Aiden chuckled. He couldn’t help it. There was scarcely any honor in ambushing an entire group of people, killing everyone, and living only the one with the heart alive, then demanding a duel. But he wasn’t going to be the one to point that out.

There was no world where he would say he was better. In fact, he would’ve just killed the entire group and taken the heart.

“We can’t just kill them,” Tanor continued to object. “It is not right.”

“Little boy.” Estabel’s tone carried a touch of anger, maybe displeasure in it. “Those who are currently in this forest are here for one of two things.” She walked up to him, somehow managed to intimidate him even though he was the one in armor and was taller. “Their greed. Or the greed of their master.”

Her words ignited something in Aiden and he paused. The greed of their master.

The Immortal had come for the crystal. What were the chances that now that he was unable to find the crystal, he was not currently here for the heart?

Aiden bit his lip in worry. The Immortal would not be an easy opponent.

“What if I can prove their innocence?” Tanor asked.

Estabel moved, but Aiden stopped her from doing whatever it was that she had intended on doing with a hand on her shoulder.

He stepped forward in place of her.

“You want to prove that they do not deserve to die,” he said. It was not a question.

“It is naïve,” Estabel declared.

“It is foolish,” Telma supported.

Yerit had nothing to say.

Estabel turned to Aiden. “Surely you cannot accept this.”

“Estabel, do you know what it means to be human?” he asked her.

She gave him a skeptical look. “This sounds like a trick question with a cryptic answer from your… from where you came from.”

It was not. It was a question with an answer that he had learnt in the Order.

“What does it mean to be human?” she asked.

“It means to be willing to give your fellow humans the benefit of doubt until they prove otherwise.” He held her gaze, kept her in place. “As we see the brutality of the world, we begin to lose that. If only the children have that, then we are screwed.”

Estabel blinked, as if she had not expected it. “It’s not everyday I am lectured by one so young. To be able to hold on to that despite your recently discovered knowledge is impressive.”

Aiden gave her a small smile then let her go. There was no ability to hold on to anything. The Order taught them this for the sole purpose of exploiting people. Human naivety was in everybody. You just had to pretend well enough, and everyone would give you the benefit of doubt. Those unable to give the benefit of doubt were either not worthy of receiving it, which made them bad people, or were deeply traumatized.

Finding the difference between them was what made a good spy.

To Tanor, Aiden asked, “How do you intend on proving their innocence?”

Silence. It was all Tanor had to give for a moment. It was as if the man had not expected his argument to be heard.

“Fool doesn’t even have a plan,” Telma muttered.

Tanor scowled at her. “I have a plan.”

He paused again, thought for a moment. Aiden saw when an idea hit him.

Tanor turned to Estabel. “How far out are they?”

“Not very far. Far enough that they can’t hear us and don’t know that we are here.”

“So, I can just walk up to them?”

“Yes. But I would not advise it.”

Aiden shook his head, enjoying the conversation. He did not know this version of Tanor. The version he knew was cautious and kind, intelligent, too. But certainly not naïve. Not this naïve.

With a shrug of will he summoned a bow from his storage space. He offered it to Telma. The woman looked at him with suspicion in his eyes.

“What trickery is this?” she asked.

Aiden sighed. “One is too naïve, the other is too suspicious.” He did not have the time for this. “Take the bow, child.”

That got raised brows from Estabel.

“Child?” she repeated, a tone of interest in her voice.

Aiden ignored it. “Take it before I change my mind.”

Tanor moved quickly, swiping the bow from his hand. She held it to herself as if she had missed the weapon. She cradled it a little longer before looking at him.

“And the one you took from me?” she asked. “The reason I am here.”

“You will have it when you’ve earned it.”

A look flashed in her eyes. It lacked honor. Aiden almost laughed. She meant to find a way to kill him, even if it meant stabbing him in the back.

So much for honor.

“You make me reconsider my decision to keep you alive with every moment.” He shook his head, dispelling the thought and ending the conversation before Telma could reply. “You will pick a range to watch from while Tanor reminds us of the kindness of humanity.”

“Why?”

“So that you can save him if he needs saving.”

“And what if he needs saving from me?”

Aiden blinked slowly, in that tired way an adult does when reminding themselves that the annoying gremlin in front of them is a child they are supposed to love.

“If he needs saving from you,” he said very carefully, so that she did not miss a word. “Then you will die. It will be slow. It will be painful. Do we understand each other?”

Telma blinked.

“That’s dark,” Tanor muttered. “And I won’t need saving.”

He turned and started walking in the direction of the people Estabel had sensed. His demeanor shifted. Aiden watched his amiable nature increase. It was as if he was making himself more likeable.

Isn’t that cheating?

Once he disappeared into the trees, Aiden nodded off into the distance. Telma was smart enough to obey. She moved off to the side, then climbed a tree. Then she was gone.

“What if this group turns out to actually be friendly?” Estabel asked.

Aiden raised a brow.

“I know what I said,” she said hurriedly. “But it’s not like everyone here is a monster. Some of them are just normal people with their own circumstances.”

“I know.”

“What happens if that is the case?”

Aiden shrugged, turning away and heading into the forest. “Then they get to live.”