System's POV
chapter-273-2

"Well, then. I guess introductions are in order, right?" Uncle Boo said as he looked at the ten-year-old who was looking back at him with a calm expression on his face. "The name is Boo. You can call me Uncle Boo. What's your name?"

"Zion," Thirteen replied.

"So, Zion, I've never seen you on the island until now," Uncle Boo looked at the younger boy with great interest. "Did you just arrive here?"

"Yes," Thirteen answered.

"So, tell me, why did you send the Domini Mortis to the Pyramid?" Uncle Boo asked. "Are you perhaps looking for something?"

Thirteen nodded. "I want to see if there is something inside the Pyramid that can help me clear my mission."

The Beholder was a Rank 8 Monster that could kill him anytime, or worse, turn him into stone for an unknown period of time.

Since that was the case, he decided to be a little honest and see if the other party would be just as merciful and kind to him as he was to the other Wanderers.

"Are you talking about the mission about the Gate of the Moonlight?"

"Yes, that one."

Uncle Boo chuckled after hearing the boy's answer. Suddenly, he raised his hand and grabbed something from behind his body.

Tiona, who had recognized the Beholder, decided to launch a sneak attack from behind in order to help save her Master.

Unfortunately for her, she was already in the Beholder's detection range, so it was very easy for him to neutralize a mere Rank 1 Monster.

"Zion, tell me something—how did someone as young as you get your hands on a Domini Mortis?" Uncle Boo asked. "Also, that monster behind you is a Rank 5 Sovereign. It looked like it was protecting you earlier, which greatly confuses me.

"How did someone, who isn't supposed to be here in the first place, tame such a Beast? You're too young to be a Wanderer. So, tell me, who sent you?"

Thirteen blinked once because he did look younger than the other Wanderers.

But he didn't expect that the Beholder knew a lot about Wanderers, including the requirement to become one.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I was spirited away despite not being of age?"

"Well, I guess I can. That's the only explanation that I can think of as to why you are here. But you don't originally belong to this island either. That Hound and this Snake aren't natives of Arcadia. Then, that only means one thing… you traveled to this island, no?"

Thirteen was quite impressed by Uncle Boo's intellect. The latter had even accurately guessed that he wasn't a native of the island and that he had indeed traveled to the Arcadia Archipelago.

Seeing that the younger boy wasn't answering, Uncle Boo chuckled before dangling Tiona in front of him.

"Take her, and make sure that she won't attack me again," Uncle Boo said as he handed the Black Snake to her Master. "Although I am a pacifist, that doesn't mean that I won't attack if someone tries to attack me first.

"Of course, I won't really kill the Domini Mortis. After all, killing it would also spell my death. I'm not that stupid."

Thirteen told Tiona to not attack the Beholder before gently holding her in his hands.

The Black Snake crawled up to the boy's neck and coiled herself around it like she usually did.

She was still wary about the Beholder, but since it didn't make any move to harm her or her Master, she decided to just observe him for now.

"You're one interesting Wanderer," Uncle Boo said while rubbing his chin.

A moment later, he stood up and motioned for Thirteen to follow him.

"Come with me," Uncle Boo said. "It's time to show those brats my triumphant return."

The middle-aged man picked up the wooden pale beside him, which contained two fishes.

Since the Beholder didn't seem to show any hostility or aggression towards him, Thirteen decided to follow him for the time being and better understand why he was acting this way.

Wanderer's Camp on the Fourth Island…

"Here, eat some more," Lambert said as he handed Zion another grilled fish that they had caught from the river.

"Thanks," Thirteen replied and ate the grilled fish that was handed to him.

He still couldn't believe how his circumstances had changed so quickly.

One moment, he was meditating inside the cave and watching over Tiona as she infiltrated the Pyramid, the next second, he found himself staring face to face with the Beholder.

After that, he was taken to the Wanderer's Camp, where he received a very warm welcome.

The Wanderers couldn't help but contain their excitement after hearing Zion's name.

Although he didn't say his surname, the teenagers easily identified him as Zion Leventis because of his features.

"I can't believe that a celebrity like you is here on the island," a Wanderer, who went by the name Darren, said. "Man, do you have any idea how famous you are in Pangea?"

"Oh, is he famous?" Uncle Boo asked as he ate the grilled fish that he had personally caught.

"Really famous!" Lambert stated. "I mean, he has played a major role in the death of a Majin Prince!"

Uncle Boo immediately began coughing because he choked on the grilled fish that he was eating.

Lambert hurriedly handed him a cup of water, which the Beholder took and drank greedily.

After regaining his composure, he once again looked at the younger boy, who was calmly eating the grilled fish in his hands as if he was used to being treated as a celebrity.

"It seems like you have a story to tell, Zion," Uncle Boo wrapped his arm around the ten-year-old's shoulders in a friendly manner and smirked. "Why don't you tell us about this glorious feat of defeating a Majin Prince? I'm sure everyone here wants to hear that story, right, everyone?"

"Yes!"

"I want to hear it!"

"Please tell us!"

Thirteen, who had been strong-armed into telling the story, sighed in his heart before he began the tale.

Just like a good storyteller, he exaggerated the story to great heights, making Uncle Boo and the Wanderers listen to him with mesmerized looks on their faces.

The story had a lot of action, action, mystery, adventure, and tragedy.

Thirteen didn't mention the deaths of his subordinates because he wouldn't be able to explain how they were revived if the other Wanderers were to see them.

He just said that all of them suffered serious injuries and was almost at the brink of death when the battle ended.

Blacky shuddered as a sobbing Uncle Boo patted its head, telling him that he did a good job surviving the Majin Prince.

When Thirteen came to the part where the fiend, Mammon, descended on the battlefield, everyone felt goosebumps.

The Seven Celestials and the Seven Fiends were legendary beings who were often spoken about in the various Human cities.

Tales of their feats were something that everyone loved to hear, so Thirteen's story about Mammon's descent made them feel as if their blood were boiling.

"In the end, Arundel died after his head was sliced off from his body by Cranky," Thirteen said. "Mammon then left with the Majin Prince's body, as well as his entire army that had been turned into gold. That's how the battle, which has been recorded by the historians of the Valbarra Archipelago, ended.

"They called it 'The Battle of the Destroyer' and even made a statue of me in the Valbarra Archipelago. It's quite embarrassing really. All I did was lure the Majin Prince to the Formation and let my right-handnman, Cristopher Rotombus, deal the finishing blow. The story about me has been exaggerated too much."

"Even so, luring a Majin Prince into a trap is not something anyone can do," Lambert said as he wiped the tears at the corner of his eyes. "Even the Monarchs wouldn't do such a thing."

Thirteen nodded his head because he believed that Lambert was right.

After finishing his tale, the other Wanderers then asked Thirteen why he traveled to the Arcadia Archipelago.

"It's because I suddenly received a mission," Thirteen explained. "It told me that if I go to the Arcadia Archipelago, I will be able to finally return home, so here I am. I've been in Solterra for three years, and I really want to go home badly. I'm sure that my family misses me very much."

Lambert and the others felt touched and pitied Zion because he had experienced too many hardships.

"Don't worry. I'm sure that you will be able to go home soon," Lambert said as he held Thirteen's hands. "In less than seven weeks, the Lunar Eclipse will happen, and the Gate of the Moonlight will open. We will finally be able to return to Pangea."

Thirteen's eyes widened in shock because he thought that only he knew this information. But after hearing Lambert's words, he couldn't help but ask him how he found out about this information.

"Uncle Boo told us," Lambert replied. "He said that as long as we wait until the Lunar Eclipse, the Gate of the Moonlight will appear, and all of us just need to enter it so that we can go home."

"I'm really lucky that I was sent here to the Arcadia Archipelago," Darren said. "I really thought that I was going to die, but Uncle Boo saved me. Now, I just have to wait until the Lunar Eclipse, and I will be able to return home. I hope all my quests are this easy!"

Contrary to what the optimistic Wanderers believed, Thirteen never thought that this quest was easy.

In fact, he even felt great anxiety because his Old Man, the System God, wouldn't give him an easy quest for his Final Trial.

Besides, his mission wasn't about entering the Gate of the Moonlight.

It was to prevent the Moon Princess from getting corrupted.

As to who the Moonlight Princess was and how she would get corrupted, Thirteen had no idea.

But his gut instinct was telling him that this was not going to be an easy mission.

The reason for this was simple.

Uncle Boo, who seemed very friendly and amiable, made him feel that he was more dangerous than the Unicorn who was staying at the First island of the Arcadia Archipelago.

But in order to hide the fear in his heart, he just smiled and nodded at Lambert's words.

"Yes, this is going to be a walk in the park," Thirteen said. "All of us will finally be able to go home and see our families."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Uncle Boo commented. "Family is important. I had a family once, and I know just how important they are. Human lives are fleeting, and all of you are like small sparks that bloom for a brief moment before disappearing forever.

"I sincerely wish that all of you will be able to reunite with your families, just as much as I want to be reunited with mine."

The Wanderers was happy to hear that Uncle Boo had the same sentiment as them.

But amidst this happiness, the System of Cannon Fodders could only hope that he would be able to solve the mystery in the Arcadia Archipelago before the arrival of the Lunar Eclipse.