Level Up Legacy

Chapter 1332 Derailed

Chapter 1332 Derailed

Oriole was walking toward Julia's office to check on her. He had a feeling that the earlier events, and those to come, would take a toll on their inexperienced vice-master. Nonetheless, she had done a magnificent job that sent chills down his spine.

Her door was open, and he found Julia just standing there in her office, cleaning her face from what he assumed were tears. He walked inside and closed the door, confused.

"Is something wrong?" Oriole asked as he rushed inside. "Did something happen? Is this about Garrick?"

"What? Oh, Oriole," she turned toward him with red, teary eyes and shook her head. "No, nothing happened. It's not about that... but yes, it is. I'm sorry. I feel like shit right now, so can you leave?"

"Not a chance in hell," Oriole said, guiding her toward the couch to let her sit. "You need to rest and have a shoulder to lean on. Let me get you some water, and you can tell me what happened."

Julia was still sniffing as she began telling Oriole what had happened while sipping her water. Li had hugged her—not in a wrong way, but in a way that made her walls crumble. She had lost her father late last year and had no one to spend time with in this dome.

Oriole understood her situation, having spent twelve years in Alka leading an organization to hunt the fallen beings. Although he was only twenty now, he had lived far longer than she had.

"Even as a vice-master, you're still human. You need to rest. You encountered something terrible today, and you protected everyone in Ascent. You deserve to rest."

Julia didn't answer; she just stared absent-mindedly at the glass of water. Oriole found her reaction a little strange, but then realization dawned on him.

"Come inside, Li," he said. Julia flinched and dropped the glass. Water splashed on their feet as the glass rolled onto the carpet. Julia was looking at the door, but it remained shut. Then, she turned toward Oriole, who had a mischievous grin.

"Was he that charming?" Oriole asked with a grin. Julia's face turned bright red as she looked at the ground. "I never thought the aloof Miss Julia would have a crush. Men around the world would be sobbing."

"Don't call it a crush. I'm just a little confused," she blurted out, and Oriole could tell that his teasing was too much. After all, in their situation, love was the last thing anyone would think about.

"Don't feel like you're doing something wrong. These emotions are natural, and even Li might have them towards you. Arthur and Diana are one example; another is Yuran and Tiara."

"But I should be the older figure for them, not a girl with strange fantasies about a man whose face I've never even seen," replied Julia with a firm nod as she rose from her chair. "This is just a troubling day. I'll be fine."

Oriole didn't say anything but observed her over the following days. He noticed her avoiding the masked man who roamed the guild like a guard. Li was the guild master of their Rotten Legion, who led the shadows and goblins.

"I heard a lot about you when I was a member of Mistletoe. You were the first person to follow Arthur when the two had a fallout. But at the moment, Mistletoe is an ally of Ascent. You chose to remain here instead of joining your old group."

"Arthur is the one I serve."

"But he is not here," Oriole reminded him with a smile. "The entire world needs our help at the moment, and Arthur sent his followers everywhere to help fight against calamities. I heard that you were the only one who wanted to guard the Runic Dome. Can I know why?"

Li was silent for a while, still staring at the training targets. Then, he turned toward Oriole, and the tree mask seemed to shine a little. Oriole didn't know that this mask was reacting to the spiritual energy that Li was unconsciously leaking.

"I want to protect the people that Arthur cares about: his mother, his friends, and—"

"And Julia?" Oriole asked.

Li was silent as he lowered his head, staring at his sword. Then, he began again. "My village was destroyed. Ever since then, I've known nothing other than to fight and fight. But when I became a member here, I learned that fighting without something to protect is useless. And yet..."

Oriole waited for the man to finish his sentence, but he seemed to be somewhere else entirely. It was as if his mind had wandered far away.

"And yet you began to feel something else," Oriole continued when he realized there was no hope for this masked man. "I heard about what happened with Julia."

"I understand. Am I being punished?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Miss Julia wanted me to leave, but I didn't," Li said, tightening his grip on the practice sword, his voice low. "I acted without thinking, and that has never happened to me. I understand if I need to leave the guild."

"Nonsense," Oriole said in surprise. "You were caring for a friend, right? You are a core member of Ascent and the only person to follow Arthur when he had no one."

"A friend?" Li muttered, his voice deeper than the oceans. "I stayed in Ascent because I wanted to protect Julia. I failed once before, and she lost her father. I will not make that mistake again."

Oriole looked at the blockhead of a man, who seemed unable to understand his own feelings for Julia. But that's what Oriole wanted to achieve here. He wanted to make this man realize his feelings, whatever they were, even if just a little.

"Tell me about your impression of Julia when you first met."