"This…… is the port?"

  "……You’ve never really seen a port before?"

  "I have never seen the ocean before."

  "Did you know that Newer York used to be beside the ocean before every hell broke loose?"

  "W…… What!? Did you see it!?"

  "No, how old do you think I am!?"

  "As old as Evangeline?"

  "No!"

  Charlotte didn’t know whether to laugh or be mad at Van’s statement. But ever since they…… landed near the port, his eyes had been glistening. Charlotte had never seen Van’s eyes like this before, even when he and his friends reunited.

  In a word—— childish. With how tiny Van is; if you take away that he was some kind of killing machine, one could mistake him as just a little boy seeing the ocean for the first time. It was sort of cute, Charlotte thought. She could still remember when her son was still as small as Van, he was a lot younger at that size, of course. Seeing the curiosity in Van’s eyes truly reminded Charlotte of her son.

  It was always the maids that took care of him, as Charlotte couldn’t even hold him due to her unpredictable strength.

  But if it was Van…… then maybe Charlotte could—— No. Charlotte shook her head as soon as the dangerous thought surfaced in her mind. Van was already a grown-up, one must never forget that fact.

  But still……

  "Miss Charlotte, are we going to ride this? Won’t it sink because of you?"

  "Miss Charlotte, how long would the trip take? Won’t it be faster for us to just run there?"

  "Miss Charlotte, which country will we be going first? Will we be riding that huge one?"

  If he keeps asking her questions like this, The grandmother in her might just gobble up Van whole. He is strong, Charlotte was sure he would survive it. Once again, Charlotte shook her head off of the dangerous thoughts.

  "Boy, come here. We need to register you as an Explorer before we can board any ships."

  "Ah, alright."

  Van cleared his throat before taking in a deep breath. It would seem that he was getting too worked up, almost forgetting why they were starting this adventure in the first place.

  "Do I need to do anything?" Van said, now walking beside Charlotte.

  "No," Charlotte let out a small smirk, "Who do you think I am? You just need to show yourself and I’ll let them issue you a brooch."

  "Hm," Van nodded, now trying his best not to get distracted by the large ships that littered the ocean. The air that was coming from the oceans sort of held a calming air in it, but at the same time, the vastness of the ocean made Van feel even smaller than before.

  The ends of the Pit that Hercules showed him were the same. There was so much space the world had to offer that he had yet to see; so much.

  Van’s thoughts were then disrupted by the sudden change in the air, as well as the moans and whispers that it brought along.

  "……That?" Van furrowed his eyebrows as he looked towards the direction where the noise was coming from, only to see a bunch of people all huddled up in front of a medium-sized ship. All of them wanted to go in, but the guards were pushing them all away.

  That wasn’t the only thing the people had in common, all of them had injuries, one way or another.

  "Victims of war, boy."

  "Hm."

  Van had already seen worse injuries, but these people seemed to be ordinary humans. On the way to the port, he and Charlotte passed through a couple of villages, and some of them seemed to have been torn down.

  "Do you see why I don’t participate in the war between the Circle and the Resistance? Once I join Angela and the others, the entirety of the Circle would get involved, not just the ones stationed here in America.

  China, Philippines, North Korea, India, and United France. The other countries the Circle has a huge influence in would all start joining our little war. What do you think would happen to whatever’s left of this country?"

  "Hm," Van could only let out a breath as Charlotte listed some places that he had never even heard about before, "Are we going to any of those countries?"

  "Fuck no," Charlotte shook her head as she gestured for Van to continue walking, "I had enough of the Circle for now."

  "Have you been to any of those countries before?" Van could not help but be curious.

  "I have been to India and Philippines before," Charlotte said, "Philippines has one of the most interesting Platinum Explorers you would see, an Evolution-type."

  "Stronger than you?"

  "Fuck no," Charlotte let out a scoff before stopping in front of a tall marble building, "Anyway, we’re here. Stay close to me, boy…… and try not to say anything."

  "Oka——"

  *BOOM*

  Before Van could even say a word, a thunder echoed throughout the port. Or more specifically, the door of the Explorer’s Association exploded as soon as Charlotte’s finger snapped through it.

  "……"

  "What’s up, motherfuckers!?" Charlotte trotted her way inside of the building, not even minding the guards that were surrounding her.

  "Halt——"

  The guards were about to rush towards Charlotte, but before they could do so, a loud scream echoed throughout the tall building.

  "Fools! Don’t you see who that is!?"

  A muscular bearded man quickly rushed towards the guards, hitting all of them on the head as he reprimanded them, telling them to go away. "Madam Charlotte!" He then said, his smile almost leaving his face, literally, "What can we do for you? Are you going to leave the country? Do you need some supplies? Or maybe……

  You want to reconsider my propo——"

  "Gustavo, I’m just here to get this kid his Explorer’s brooch."

  "Madam?" the bearded man called Gustavo slowly turned his head to look at Van, "He wants to be an Explorer?"

  "He is stronger than most of the people here, just give him a Gold brooch or something."

  "This kid…… gold?" Gustavo squinted his eyes as he looked straight into Van’s eyes. But after a while, he let out a long and deep sigh, "Even if that was the case, Madam…… I am afraid the Circle has ordered us to stop registering new Explorers."

  "……Oh?"

  ***

  "Too bad they only had a Silver one. Maybe I should have nabbed you a Gold one back in the city."

  "……"

  Van and Charlotte were now walking their way back to the docks, with Van staring at the Silver brooch pinned on his waist. He still remembered the days he wished to become an Explorer back in the Relic Graveyard……

  He always imagined it to be a grand spectacle where a bunch of people was present, cheering and clapping for him. But the only thing that welcomed him there was silence, and a bunch of men shivering in their boots.

  He was then nonchalantly given a card, proving he was an Explorer, as well as a Silver Brooch.

  He…… was an Explorer now. And he didn’t even have to start at the bottom. Van could only sigh as he continued to follow Charlotte to one of the large ships.

  Van stopped in his tracks, waiting for someone to escort them inside once it was time to board. But to his surprise, Charlotte just casually embarked on the large ship, nonchalantly walking across the long moving stairs.

  "……" Van only let out a small breath as he once again followed Charlotte. And as soon as both of them were on the ship, the people quickly removed the stairs and all the ropes that secured the vessel.

  "……Where are the other passengers?"

  "What do you mean?" Charlotte blinked a couple of times, "It’s just us."

  "W…… what?"

  "Did you really think that the port would allow any normal passengers to board with a Platinum-rank Explorer?" Charlotte let out a slight chuckle as she walked deeper into the ship, "And most of all, me?"

  "……" Van nodded his head as he quickly understood what Charlotte meant. Charlotte could casually destroy a mountain, a fragile vehicle like this large ship wouldn’t stand a chance if she somehow loses control of her powers.

  Perhaps——

  "!!!"

  Van’s thoughts were quickly disrupted as the ship began to move, causing him to become somewhat nauseous. It has been a while since he felt this way, causing him to slightly lean on the fence.

  Van closed his eyes, calmly adjusting his breath to the random movements of the ocean. He stayed like this for more than a minute.

  "What are you doing?"

  He then heard Charlotte approaching him, making him open his eyes.

  "……I think I might have motion sickness," Van finally admitted to himself. The noise of the birds singing as well as the horn of the ship made it even worse.

  "……A young man who can run faster than me on a straight line has motion sickness?" Charlotte could not help but snort. But after a few seconds, she looked behind Van, her expression a bit solemn, "Aren’t you going to take a look?"

  "Hm?"

  Van turned around, looking in the direction where Charlotte was pointing to. And there, the port that they were just on now could be seen in its entirety.

  "……"

  "It might be a while before we can return," Charlotte let out a breath as she stood beside Van, leaning on the fence, "We can still turn back and beat the shit out of your mother, you know."

  "……" Van could only shake his head as he looked at the fleeting scenery in front of him, "I…… want to save Victoria…… but I also want to see the world."

  "And the world will see you as well," Charlotte let out a short sigh, "……Let’s just hope they are ready for you."

  "……What? They were ready for you, right?"

  Charlotte shook her head as she looked Van straight in the eye, "Your mother told me what you are…… what you will become."

  "Evangeline did?"

  "Yes," Charlotte nodded, "And if it is true……

  it scares the fuck out of me."

  "……"

  "……You’re not going to tell me, are you?"

  "Of course not," Charlotte burst out in laughter as she walked away, "I guess we just have to find out for ourselves."

  "Wait, Miss Charlotte!" Van called Charlotte before she could go inside the bridge, "Can you at least tell me where we’re going?"

  "Oh, you’ll love it there, boy."

  "……What?"

  "After all, in a way, you’ve been with one of their children before," Charlotte chuckled, disappearing into the insides of the ship, but not before the name of their destination whispering into Van’s ears.

  "……

  Africa?"

  ***

  The sound of water heavily flowing, as well as a rhythmic beat of a drum that resembled the heart harmonized in the air. Roots, thousands of roots were throbbing, slightly wriggling as if they were alive.

  And each end of the roots all lead to some sort of glass container, and inside it…… were people. They were floating inside the glass container filled with what seemed to be water. And in both of their arms were tubes, throbbing rhythmically along with the roots that connected their capsules.

  The roots continued to throb, and along with them, the humans inside slightly flinched. The roots were many, all connected to thousands of capsules, maybe even more…… but they all lead to one thing.

  At the center of everything, was an even larger glass container. Standing tall much bigger than the rest. But even then, there was also a human inside of it—— and he too was much bigger than the rest of the humans.

  The gigantic man was floating lifeless in the water, a large tube embedded in his spine. But even then, as the tube desecrated his body, the man’s physique stood tall…… almost proud.

  He looked almost other-worldly, perhaps even glowing; a man very familiar to Van……

  A man that he had seen in his dreams more than once——

  Hermes——

  Evans, Age 17

  Height: 5’2"

  System: ……Hermes?

  [Base Lv. 142 EXP: 69/313800, System Lv. 128 EXP: 2342/728370

  HP: 3600/3600 | SP: 900/900

  STR: 400 | (Atk: 730+0)

  AGI: ??? | (Speed: ???)

  VIT: 800 | (Max HP: 3600, Def: 210 +0)

  INT: 235 | (Max SP : 900, MAtk: 235+0)

  HP Regen: 10/min | SP Regen: 15/min

  Status Points left: 0 ]

  [Active Skills

  Air Step Lv. 1 | SP Consumption: 1

  Basic Info: Able to create an invisible platform below your feet. Disappears after 3 seconds.

  Time Perception Lv. 1 | SP

  Consumption: 1 per Second

  Basic Info: Able to slow down your perception of time.

  Rage of Hercules Lv. 1 | SP Consumption: 30 per Second

  Basic Info: Increase your STR by 70%. However, you will lose control of your actions and will attack anyone that stands in your view, whether friend or foe. Can not be deactivated until SP reaches 0. After SP turns 0, you will instantly lose consciousness. ]

  [Passive Skills

  Gift of Hermes Lv. ?

  Basic Info: Harness the speed and durability of the Messenger of the Gods by will.

  Able to speak and understand any language.

  Conductor of Souls Lv. ?

  Basic Info: Able to gain EXP by sending a soul to the afterlife. ]

  Charlotte Gates, Age: Younger than 70(Self-Proclaimed)

  Height: 6’2"

  System: Enhancer-type

  [Base Lv. 1222 EXP: 0/????, System Lv. 999 EXP: 0/????

  HP: 14000/14000 | SP: 900/900

  STR: 4,200 | (Atk: 7665+11496)

  AGI: 1,105 | (Speed: 3646+0)

  VIT: 3,149 | (Max HP: 14000, Def: 840+840)

  INT: 100 | (Max SP : 412, MAtk: 103+0)

  HP Regen: 7/min | SP Regen: 3/min

  Status Points left: 1 ]

  Volume 2: Reunion ——END——

  Volume 3 ——START——