Lost

Jason picked up the boy by the armpits, bringing them head level.

"You see that giant building right there," Jason asked, pointing at the giant dome-like building with numerous windows spaced throughout.

The boy nodded, pointing at the building himself. "That's where we are going to go. We'll be able to find your dad soon."

Jason smiled and patted the boy's back, striding toward the building.

"So, what's your name, little man?" Jason questioned, smiling and greeting the strangers around him.

Some glimpsed on with curiosity. Some disregarded the scene. They supposed it was a big brother and their sibling. Some recognized the child and were confused.

His father never appointed someone to care for his son, so who was the teenager?

Jason didn't see these looks. Only focused on the child he was holding.

"My name is Levi! My dad named me after his friend who disappeared like mommy!"

Jason was uneasy with someone speaking such things so gleefully despite it being a child not even understanding what this signified.

"That's a good name. I like the name, Levi. My name is Jason."

The two walked in silence before Jason asked some light questions.

"What games do you like?"

"My dad was teaching me chess!" The boy happily shouted, erratically bouncing in Jason's arms out of excitement.

'This boy is sure rowdy...' Jason thought, chuckling at the boy's innocence.

"What tier is your dad?" Such a question was unlikely for the boy to know, but Jason himself was curious.

"S-Tier! I remember! There was a big party for it!"

'S-Tier?'

Jason hasn't been awake long enough to know how strong S-Tier warriors are. He wasn't even aware of what tier the players were at.

"Even more important I find out where your dad is."

Before Jason could continue walking, an older woman approached from behind.

"Who are you?"

Jason turned around, laying his eyes on a fine white-haired lady wearing pristine heels paired with a short red dress that tightly clung to her curves.

"Jason, why?" Jason quietly said.

The woman examined him before answering him.

"I'm his aunt from his father's side," She bluntly said, her eyebrows relaxing up at Jason's gentility. "I've been taking care of him since Salvador went on his mission."

She stepped toward Jason, her eyes concentrated on the boy. She rose her hand to his head, gently stroking his blonde hair around.

This persisted for a few seconds before she formally introduced herself.

"I'm Uma, second born." She extended her other arm to Jason, which he took.

"What did my son want to do with you?" Although not meaning it, she spoke with a sudden tone change which made Jason's eyes narrow.

To him, it sounded like she thought he was some delinquent that was a bad influence which he didn't like at all.

"Levi told me his father hasn't returned to Altidor for a few days. I told him I'll take him to Jovian to ask about it."

Uma's uneasiness became visible as she flicked her eyes to the ground, fidgeting with her hands in a loud silence.

She is aware that it was unusual for a scouting mission to take this long. At most, it's only two days, but it's been nearly a week since Salvador left.

Worry swelled up in her heart. She was considering creating an administrative plea to search for Salvador.

She knew Salvador was one of the strongest warriors in Altidor, for him to be so late was alone enough reason to be worried about his well-being.

"Yeah..."

Jason immediately noticed Uma's actions and tone of voice, creating thoughts in his own head.

'I was right... It's not normal. What could be delaying his return this much? Could he have possibly been captured? Killed by a Suljar?'

A long series of potential reasons streamed through Jason's mind, all flowing into the back of his mind.

"Also, you so casually mentioned meeting Javion. Are you close with him?" Uma couldn't help but ask.

Javion was the most revered person in Altidor and possibly the most impactful in its success and growth.

Someone like him wasn't so easy to meet, or catch a glimpse of. That was why he was swarmed when he exited with Jason.

"He told me to come to him if anything goes awry, so that's what I'm doing."

Uma was shocked, but it quickly wore off as she regained her bearings. She took a deep breath and asked Jason to help with Salvador, to which Jason agreed.

"I was already planning to. You can come with me if you wish to."

"I'm sorry, but I have something to do at the house. I only came to look for Levi because he ran off."

Uma said, reaching her arms out for Levi.

Accepting that he'll be going alone, he passed over the baby before giving his farewells to the two.

He watched as they both strolled away, eventually vanishing from his sight as he stared on into the emptiness in front of him.

Coming out of his daze, he walked closer and closer to the dome, eventually arriving at the same staircase Javion was swarmed at.

He tilted his head upwards, finally digesting how tall the building was. Even if fifty of him stacked upon each other, they would narrowly match half of the height of the building.

He walked up the staircase, greeted by another attendant.

"ID, please." She politely asked, reaching out her hand to receive Jason's ID for authorization and identification.

Jason reached into his back pocket, yanking the self-treasured green ID card out and handing it to the attendant, feeling a portion of her hand rub against his in a deliberately flirty way.

Jason acknowledged this but kept quiet. It would be mortifying for the girl to find out she was swooning for Jason, who was only 14 years old.

She snapped her eyes back and forth between Jason and the card, making sure it was really Jason and not some pseudo-fake.

Comparing her own card to Jason's, there were no irregularities, besides the picture of them.

"What's your business?" Obtaining his card, Jason told her that he was there, but to his surprise, she declined.

"Javion didn't say he had any meetings with an individual. I'm sorry but I can't let you go."

Jason stood, astounded for a moment before regaining his bearings.

"Javion said I can meet him whenever I want to. Let me through." Jason demanded, but the attendant declined nicely as possible before Jason asked again.

Yet, the attendant denied his request again.

"Leave before I call the guards. Any further disturbances will entail banishment."

"Call them I won't be leaving."

The woman slammed the red button embedded into the side of her wristband.

A few seconds after, three men came out. Equipped with swords and armor, they stood in a triangle formation.

"It's him." The attendant told them, and they looked over at Jason.

Stern eyes planted their vision onto Jason, viewing him as an enemy.

Before the men could pounce on Jason, the woman notified them of Jason's tier.

"He's an A-Tier."

When the alarm went out, they presumed it to be a pushover who wanted to cause a ruckus. But for an A-Tier to appear and be a nuisance? Even the three as B-Tiers might not be able to defeat Jason.

In order, the three darted to Jason, closing the 10-yard gap in a blink.

[Equip.]

With a flip of his palm, an iron longsword materialized in Jason's hand, bringing it up to his chest in defense.

The in-charge guard jabbed forward with his rapier, and a sharp whistle tore through the air to Jason's heart.

Sparks of metal clashing against each other erratically flew through the air before dissipating, more and more sparks taking their place.

In a few seconds, the two already exchanged over a dozen blows, Jason gaining favor over his opponent.

Realizing this, the left-hand guard jumped in, swinging his blunt halberd at Jason's hip.

This attack forced Jason to block it or give up his advantageous position against the guard.

Jason retaliated by changing his focus from the first guard to the second guard, dismissing the former.

Ducking below the Halberd, Jason sliced the latter's leg virtually in half.

Jason could feel his sword tear through bone and muscle until emerging from the other side.

Blood plunged onto the concrete floor, coating it red as the man bellowed in misery.

[Non-Kill Defeat; Level 13 Strength.]

[250 XP Rewarded]

"Jay..."

The man standing at the back leaped into action, a sequence of icicles finding their way to Jason's blade.

Multiple clashes reverberated throughout the area, the sporadic bursts of ice breaking catching the attention of every citizen near it.

"STOP!" A blaring roar sounded through an open window on the dome, a small dark figure leaning out of it.

Javion hunched over, rage visible on his face as his eyebrows furrowed and veins bulged.

Vaulting over the ledge, his knees took the brunt of a 7-story fall, quickly stabilizing themselves.

He quickly examined the situation, noticing his guard's condition, he was enraged.

He looked to Jason, furiously walking towards him.

"I asked you to do one thing and not to be a pain in my ass. The first thing you do is cripple one of my guards. Are you fucking serious?"

The words came out in a shout, and fury flew around his body like an aura, blanketing the entire area around them.

"They attacked me first." Jason nonchalantly replied, looking Javion dead-center in his eyes.

Javion swallowed his words as a radiant golden light shone from his hand, his irises turning a divine gold as the golden light enveloped the man's leg.

In a few seconds, his leg was re-attached and healed. Although the damage done to the nerves is hard to recover from, over time they should naturally recover with Javions healing properties.

"Jason, inside, we need to chat."

"That's what I came to do."

He welcomed himself inside the building and Javion followed suit.