Chapter 35: Todos (2)

Thadius quickly pulled out a flower from his inventory. His eyes widened as he held it up with trembling hands. “‘Excuse me sir! Would you like to buy some flowers?’”

“That’s not funny Thadius!” she pouted with a red face.

“‘Oppsie.’” Thadius said playfully as he dropped the flower at her feet. When he went to pick it up, he slid a hand down her torso. Christina chewed her lip in irritation. She was disappointed that she could barely feel his touch through the coat, and frustrated from the fact that she had been caught multiple times trying to feel him up.

“T-that never happened!” she lied.

Thadius just laughed as Christina threw snow at him. Soon, the impersonations turned into full blown dramas as they continued on. Both Christina and Yuna had been ensnared in his imagination.

“Put the princess down demon!” Yuna cried as she raised her sheathed sword.

“Never! The girl is mine!” Thadius snarled as he and Yuna circled each other. He had one arm over Christina’s legs as she sat on his shoulder.

“Save me hero!” She yelled dramatically.

“I’m coming princess!”

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“What can you do fool? I’ve never seen a hero so small!” the ‘demon’ Thadius said as he threw back his head and laughed.

“I may be small, but my heart is strong and my sword is long!”

“Ha!”

“Taste my blade forged from truth and justice!” Yuna yelled as she leaped into the fray, poking Thadius in the belly.

“NO!” he hissed as he fell dramatically. Christina rolled off his shoulder and tumbled playfully in the surprisingly warm snow. Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

“Now demon, allow me to introduce my sword to your face!”

“Wait hero!” ‘princess’ Christina said as she walked up to stand beside Yuna. “His face is too handsome to ruin with a blade. Go for the heart.”

“As you wish.”

“Ha ha ha. You think this is over hero? The fight has only just begun! Witness the glory of my final form!”

“What!?”

Thadius knew exactly what he wanted to transform into, and gathered the air into chest to release a threatening roar. The effect was far stronger than he had anticipated, and the sound that came out of his mouth was something he’d only heard in movies and games.

[The ballad of death. The sound of impending doom. You’ve unlocked Dragon’s Roar]

[Dragon’s Roar LV.10 Novice

Anyone within a 50ft(15m) radius is pressured at full strength regardless of how many targets are within range. ]

Thadius immediately ran over to Christina, who'd buckled from the pressure. Yuna had withstood it, but she was still shaken.

“Christina!” he cried as he slid in the snow to her side. Her crytal clear eyes had become milky white, and as he met her gaze she bowed her head. When he reached out to comfort her, she shrank back from his hands.

“Dammit! Yuna!” he called out. He turned around to find Yuna still standing there. He ran up to her in concern. He was worried he may have deafened her since she was the closest. When he saw her face, her eyes were the same milky white as Christina’s.

“Yuna.” he whispered.

“Yeah.” she said through gritted teeth.

He was glad that her hearing was still intact. “Can you see?” he asked hesitantly. He feared the worst.

“Yes.” she replied. Her body quivered. It was as if she was struggling.

’Doesn’t she have broken Fighting Spirit?’ It was odd that she would be trembling in fear.

“Are you afraid of me?”

Yuna made a confused face. “Afraid?”

Thadius put a hand on her shoulder as he looked her in the eyes. As soon as he touched her, Yuna bent her knee as if in reverence. He knew then what had happened.

This what it looked like when a someone was ‘Awestruck’ as a result of his ‘Pressure’. The new status effect was added when his Fighting Aura was converted into Holy Fighting Aura. The skill didn’t mention how high the chances were, but this is what it looked like.

[Your convincing performance of a demon that transforms into a dragon has earned you a new skill. ]

[Pretender LV. 6 Novice

Not to be confused with Mimic or Disguise. Instead of concealing one’s identity or taking another’s, the user creates and assumes a separate identity that comes purely from their imagination. The more people that believe in the identity, the more convincing the performance becomes. Ranks are unlocked as the level increase. Benefits are unlocked with ranks. ]

’What!? Oh, boy...’

He waited until the effect wore off to apologize to them. Once he confirmed that he hadn’t actually hurt the young women, he suggested that they press on. They readily agreed. The playful mood had been thoroughly spoiled.

They marched through the blizzard for a few more hours with Yuna and Thadius pushing out their Auras to keep Christina warm. They arrived sometime in the afternoon when the blizzard had calmed into a light snowfall. The capital city stood proudly in the distance, welcoming all those who needed shelter. Thadius marveled at the sight of it.

The entire city was sitting on a giant foundation of stone. From afar, it looked like the city just had high walls, but as you got closer, you could see the giant staircases that were carved into each side of the city's base. Everyone was itching to get a closer look.

“Alright, you two. I want to try something, and I'm going to need your help. Will you help me?”

Yuna and Christina nodded immediately. It wasn’t often that Thadius asked for anything, so they listen carefully as he explained his plan. Minutes later, the trio arrived at the steps of Todos, where guards lined every bend on the way up.

The walls loomed over 300ft(91m) high. The line to get in wasn’t very long since the blizzard had stopped only a few hours before. The way out was a large archway further down with dozens of people pouring out with their carts and luggage. It made one wonder how merchants entered the city with their goods as their carts couldn’t possibly acsend the stairs.

Christina walked up to the guard at the foot of the staircase with the watchmen up the first flight watching over them. Beside her was a hunchbacked old man covered in a dark brown cloak. His hair, turned white with age, nearly touched the ground as he hobbled beside her.

“Status cards.” the guard said with outstretched hands. He never took his eyes off the old man who had his face entirely hidden underneath his hood and hair.

Christina flashed her card while the old man searched his cloak. “Hmm, that’s odd. I could have sworn…” he mumbled to himself.

“Status card, old man.”

“I’m sorry dear boy, I seem to have forgotten it.”

“Grandpa! I asked you if you had it and you said yes!”

“No,no. I’m sure it’s here somewhere. Just let me get my spectacles and I’ll take a closer look.”

The old man continued to search himself while Christina apologized to the guard. “It’ll just be a moment sir. I’m terribly sorry.”

“N-not a problem.” the guard stuttered. It had been a while since he’d seen such a beauty.

“What’s the hold up?” said the guard from the first flight as he stepped down to stand beside his colleague.

“The old one can’t find his status card.”

“Seems too strong for an old man.”

“Ha! When you’ve spent as much time on Central as I have, you’re bound to get this strong boy. Though I admit, I’m long past my prime.”

“You’ve been to the central continent? I find that hard to believe.” the first flight guardsman said.

A heavy pressure weight down on the two guards as the old man took a menacing step towards them. The first flight guard put his hand on his sword in panic.

“Have you ever seen a Lorian Strangler boy? It's a dog-like beast with blades for fingers and swords for teeth. When Loras sent their expeditions into the Forest of Nam, they woke the damned things. The beasts were named after we found one of them gnawing on the throat of a Lorian scout, and for you to tell me that I didn’t witness such a thing.” the old threatened in a low voice.

The guards took a step back as Christina scolded the old man. “Grandpa don’t scare the nice men!”

The old man released his pressure and the guards breathed easier. “I’m terribly sorry, I’m afraid my age is starting to show, disrespecting such honorable guards. Come child, let’s go back and look. We’ll turn Yune upside down if we have too.”

“Go back!? Grandpa, no way!”

“Wait a minute, old man! Just go up.”

“Y-yeah. No need to go all that way. Just make sure you stop by the Adventurer’s Guild once you're inside the city.

“Thank you!” Christina smiled as she put her arm around the old man. ”Thank the nice men, grandpa.”

“Thank you boys. It’s good to know that our soldiers know kindness.”

The two moved passed the guards with Christina supporting the old man as he took his first steps up the staircase.

“Damned stairs.” the old man muttered to himself as he took the stairs one at a time.

Beneath the old man’s cloak, Yuna shook with mirth. Getting a piggyback ride had already put her in a good mood, but when Thadius had used her hair as his, she nearly burst out in laughter.

Christina looked back as they turned to climb the second flight. “I can’t believe that worked.”

“Of course it did child. This hair is 100% real after all!” Thadius replied in his best old man voice.

Yuna could no longer suppress her amusement and laughed hysterically, using the collar of Thadius’ robe and the cloak to muffle the sound. Even Christina found it hard to keep a straight face as they climbed.

After about an hour, they reached the top, and Yuna quickly hopped off of Thadius so he could equip his shield and put away the cloak. Only to regain her seat as soon as he was situated.

The city of Todos was huge, and they were all astounded as they looked upon the capital for the first time. Sitting upon the foundation, was a city of pure stone. Rows upon rows of buildings formed neat and orderly streets. Towers and huge buildings littered the city, drawing all eyes to their magnificence. All of it was encased by a 10ft(3m) wall from where the guardsmen could stand watch over the city and the world outside. Then all of it was topped off with a heavy layer of snow.

Yuna and Christina could barely contain their excitement. Thadius on the other hand, had his eyes glued to one structure in the distance. He knew it at first glance as the bloody stadium where gladiators battled for gold and glory. In the heart of Todos, stood the coliseum.

"We finally made it." Christina smiled as she enjoyed the view.

"Now the fun part begins." Thadius replied as he led the way.

He asked the first person he ran into for directions. Even though the streets where in order, one could easily get lost if they didn't know where they were going. The first place they headed to was the Adventurer's Guild.

Thadius wanted to get a status card for Yuna and himself since it truly was a standard form of identification. Although he was a Traveler, the only person to identify him as one, without him saying anything, was Old Man Tony. If he could get a status card, he'd be implying he was a NPC without actually saying it. He thought it’d be more interesting if he posed as one since he practically lived here anyway.

Thankfully, the Adventurer's Guild was located close to where they entered the city, so Thadius led the way while Christina followed closely beside him. The sun shined down on the trio, giving a glow to Thadius’ robe as they turned down the street where the guild was located.