OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 214: Cycle—Marcus

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Marcus Aurelius POV

A man approached my room, my sanctuary.

His name was Emir. freёweɓnovel.com

Lyra showed me his achievements, and I was impressed.

An Order's chosen; that's what he was.

But there was something more; I knew there was.

The way he looked at the Script Of Creation was unlike any that I had seen before.

Emir wasn't the first of those under the Order and he might not be the last.

I had allowed many of them to come and ago.

Those of the past simply looked at the Script and assumed it to be the language of the Arcane.

But Emir seemed to immediately realize its importance.

That's when I knew I had to talk to him.

...

I gave him a trial.

I knew he wouldn't like it, but I did so anyway.

My excuse was that my code wouldn't allow me to give away something for free.

It wasn't a lie.

Though to be honest, I could've just given him the simplest of tasks.

But I wanted to see what he was made of.

I was interested in him.

Emir was spunky and wild.

Although he attempted to hide it, I saw that he was different...

Especially when compared to those who came before him.

He appeared to be the type of guy who would make you sell yourself while you'd help him count the money he gained from selling you.

In short, he was calculative beyond measure.

But he also had deep sadness within him.

Yet... Emir was no victim.

As if the concept of such a thing didn't exist in his mind.

This wasn't something the man noticed himself, but his pride didn't allow him to feel that way.

And he acted in a way befitting his name.

A prince.

A man among men.

However, that wasn't all.

Emir showed genuine respect when he met those like myself who deserved it.

I'm not one to brag, but everyone must admit that I'm amazing.

After all, I was the one who solved Earth's biggest problem.

'Anyways enough about me; now what was I thinking?'

'Oh, right....'

Emir also showed his innate desire to fight, as if it was ingrained in his blood.

This only grew my interest in him more.

'I have to see what he's made of!'

...

I returned to my holographic throne and sat on it.

It was made of soft gold, worthy of my presence.

My surroundings, which were once a clear white, soon grew as dark as a moonless night.

After making myself comfortable, I raised my right hand and showed my palm.

A coffee mug appeared.

Slurp.

I took a sip.

Then a sigh escaped my mouth.

"What in the seven hells is he doing?!"

This boy was more deranged than I thought.

Maligorths lived on this planet I chose.

Emir wasn't supposed to fight any of them but run away at their mere sight.

Another sigh left my lips.

"I guess I'll be losing another..."

"But he showed a lot of promise; should I save him?"

My head shook in response.

"No, I shouldn't."

I drank some more and let the mug rest mid-air.

"If a chosen one can't even survive this, then what hope do we have on Earth?"

My left hand rose from the comfy armchair, threatening to shut down the massive holoscreen

before me.

But just before I did so, I heard Maligorth converse with Emir.

My right hand then raced towards my mug and punched it away.

It instantly dissipated into particles of light.

Then a box of popcorn and a fizzy drink appeared before my throne.

The drink floated into my throne's cup holder, and the popcorn to my left hand.

"Interesting."

Crunch!

I kept snacking away as my eyes witnessed something that I had never seen before.

...

"You're going to die, you goddamn Neanderthal!"

For the past while, I had been screaming at the top of my nonexistent lungs.

"Why are you attacking needlessly? Just run!"

It seemed that I grew invested in this boy....

Way more than I would've liked to think.

Emir's actions gave me one surprise after another.

And soon, my eyes widened even further.

"This boy!"

I had finally realized that he was setting a trap for the Maligorth.

Every attack that appeared to be directed at the monster was in fact aimed at the ground itself.

"Way to go!"

I cheered him on.

It was fun seeing him lead a being above him so easily.

Stomp! Emir's dominant foot was the final part of his act, as the ground crumbled and a roar echoed

in the cave.

"АНАННАНААН!"

...

"Rest well, you wicked boy; you deserve it!"

Emir had finally chanced upon a safe place to rest, and he had fallen asleep.

Munch. Munch. Munch.

I finished my popcorn and drink.

And as soon as they were gone, I turned off the holoscreen.

A desk appeared right after.

"Man... I didn't have this much fun in a long, long time."

For that, I wished to thank him at least.

I sincerely hoped that he would survive.

Not only for the questions that I wanted to be answered.

But for the hope he had given me.

...

My days, like usual, were spent on menial tasks.

I chased out those who came too close and killed those of the Liberation Army.

Those of Templar came by as well, but they didn't last long either.

Unlike the group of twelve from before, those who came couldn't handle the S-ranked

monsters that I had set upon them.

"Ahhhhh, this fucker will not stop chasing me!"

My eyes looked up at the holoscreen.

Emir was there, who, like usual, was running away from the Maligorth.

His constant blabbering, complaining, and shouting grew annoying over time.

If my ears were real, I probably would've developed a rash because of his never-ending curses

that must never befall any child.

Each word was worse than the next.

My first thought at the time was:

'Does he kiss his mother with that mouth?'

But I didn't know how he lived, so I stopped it at that.

I wasn't one to discuss or think of such things.

Anyways, Emir just had another narrow escape.

Like before, he tricked the monster's senses using another ruse of his.

It seemed as if he would never run out of cards to play.

At the start, each encounter was fun to watch.

I enjoyed commentating as if it were a TV show.

I was so entertained that I forgot the fact that I had to go meet him.

But now... I finally grew bored of it.

And I remembered.

Like every other long-lived being, my attention span was quite an issue.

A sigh escaped me.

"I guess I need to talk to him now..."

I left my seat, and everything turned bright.