Chapter 157: Heading to Ravenstone
"Golden Letter of Recommendation..." Mary muttered with a slightly stunned look on her face. Lukas might not know about it, but she was very familiar with what this letter represented. Using this letter, if Lukas wanted, he could directly join the White Knight Guild.
Even she, who already came from a prominent family, had joined the White Knight Guild, so anyone with even a little common sense could tell just how valuable this letter of recommendation was.
And here the White Knight Guild leader was handing it to Lukas....
Instantly, Mary wanted to protest, but then she remembered the scene of Lukas fighting against the necromancer Ryan. When she took this performance into consideration, it suddenly made sense.
In the end, Mary had no option but to shut her mouth.
Meanwhile, while she was thinking, the formation carved on the ground let out a tiny hum. A blinding light streaked through the sky, opening a portal in the air.
Lukas's eyes tightened with strange emotion. The moment he had been waiting for all this time was finally here. He could finally return to the real world. He could finally let his guard down. He would no longer have to worry about the Star Mother coming at him out of nowhere, nor the shady organization called the Shadow Merchant. This was the best outcome Lukas could have wished for.
While he was watching, one by one the awakened started jumping into the portal, their bodies disappearing to the other side.
Meanwhile, behind him, Natasha turned to Mary and said in a commanding voice,
"When I am gone, Mary, you will be acting as deputy guild leader. Don't disappoint me."
Natasha's tone was strict and commanding, carrying none of the softness she used when speaking with Lukas.
"Don't tell me, Guild Leader, you are going too...? You didn't inform me beforehand—"
Mary's jaw nearly hit the ground in surprise. This bomb that Natasha had suddenly dropped caught her completely off guard.
"It's not that I want to go. I just have no choice in this matter. I also have to accompany Lukas, following official protocol..."
Mary's eyes rippled as she remembered there was indeed such a rule. Natasha did not wait for her reaction. She lightly tapped the ground with her foot, and her body disappeared into the portal, leaving behind Lukas gawking around.
Just as he was about to follow her lead, Mary came out of her shocked state and turned to him.
"You be careful. By killing Karlos, you have completely offended the Von Maximus family. They definitely won't let you go..."
Lukas, of course, was aware of it, so even if she had not mentioned anything, he was going to stay on guard. But he could tell Mary was genuinely concerned when she spoke. To show that he cared, he simply nodded at her gratefully.
Then, thinking of something, he suddenly asked,
"You yourself are a Von Maximus, don't you hate me...?"
Hearing that question, Mary simply shook her head and did not say much. Instead, she turned to the portal and said,
"You should leave quickly. The portal will close any time now."
Hearing her warning, Lukas turned up to see and realized the portal had already shrunk by half. At any moment it would close.
Lukas saw this and was not surprised. According to the official report, the portal could only be opened for a minute at most, and then had to close.
It was done against any surprise attack.
Humanity did not want the star monsters to make use of the portal to invade Earth. If that happened, it would be far too tragic.
With a slight jump, Lukas also disappeared into the portal.
...
Lukas was not sure what he had been expecting, but once inside the portal, he instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Lukas found himself surrounded by a crowd of people, loud waves of discussion hitting his ears.
"Oh, Portal Code Sixty opened..."
"Is that my son Arin...? My son, is that really my son...?"
A middle-aged man who had just happened to look at the new arrivals found that one of the young awakened who had been lucky enough to come back was indeed his son.
Yeah, lucky.
After all, more than fifty percent of the young awakened either failed to save enough star stones or simply died while struggling.
Anyone that was able to come back was an elite. If not talented, then they were capable individuals able to survive anywhere on their own.
Lukas looked around, finding everything unfamiliar. Just one glance told him this was not his hometown, but somewhere else.
Just as he was thinking, a woman wearing heavy makeup on her face approached him. Just before she could get too close, Natasha moved from the side, placing a hand between him and the woman.
"Please move away. He is already a member of my White Knight Guild..."
The moment the words White Knight were mentioned, although Natasha was not loud, it made the entire teleportation station freeze for a second. With a single expression, people looked in Lukas's and Natasha's direction with curious eyes.
Lukas looked at this scene and inwardly muttered in confusion.
It appeared the White Knight Guild's background was deeper than he had expected.
After that, more people ignored Lukas and moved on to the awakened next to him. Listening to their conversation, Lukas realized they were various guild representatives, here to recruit these new awakened into joining them.
Natasha saw him looking curiously and explained,
"Don't bother with them. It's too common. Most guilds station these people at every teleportation station, hoping to rope some talented young awakened under their wing."
Lukas nodded and followed her lead, walking out of the portal hall. As he moved out front, he noticed the ceiling rose high, with multiple lanterns shining overhead. He looked around, trying to figure out exactly where he was. However, no matter how much he looked, he could not guess the exact location. In the end, he could not help but ask,
"Hmm... where are we? How far is this place from Ravenstone City?"
"Oh, so you are from Ravenstone City?"
Natasha looked at him in surprise. She had totally not expected him to be from that city. With how Lukas had performed, she had expected him to be from some elite clan of a top-tier city.
Lukas's eyes lit up when he realized she knew about Ravenstone City.
"Oh, you know about Ravenstone City? Can you tell me exactly how far that city is from this place...?"
Natasha replied offhandedly,
"It's not too far, just one thousand kilometers north of here."
Lukas's mouth opened wide. This was more than anything he had expected. Still, with their speed, it should not take too much time.
"However, you can forget about returning to the city first. We need to report to the White Knight Guild headquarters."
"First move to the White Knight Guild headquarters, huh...?"
Lukas mouthed those words and then shook his head.
No, he was not going to report to the White Knight Guild headquarters first. He needed to return to Ravenstone City and check on his sisters and family.
They might not be his true family, but they were the family of the original owner. As someone who had taken over the body, it was the least he should do.
If he did not do that, he would be worse than a dog. After all, even a dog does not bite the hand that feeds him.
Natasha suddenly felt stumped, unable to comprehend his reaction. Should he not be feeling excited to visit the White Knight Guild headquarters? All this time she had been thinking she had done him a huge favor, but it seemed she had been thinking too much.
If Lukas knew what she was thinking, he would have surely smirked. Lukas might not be super powerful now, but he knew his own worth. If he did not die prematurely in some random threat, there would be very few in this world that could match him.
He did not need some White Knight Guild. In fact, it was they who might need him.
Without saying anything more, he simply walked away. In his opinion, although the White Knight Guild had helped him, that did not mean he should become their servant.
Natasha watched him leave. It was only when she could barely see him that she gritted her teeth and chased after him.
"Fine, we'll do as you like. There's still some time left. First, we'll visit Ravenstone City."
After saying those words, she furiously chased after him.
Meanwhile, after walking for five minutes, Lukas was out of the heavily guarded containment building. Looking down, he sensed faint star-energy formations carved into the earth. These were one of the criteria used to defend against sudden invasions.
Outside, in the open space, stood multiple vehicles that looked like airships, each with a single word written on their mast.
Looking around, he quickly found a small run-down ship in one corner labeled Ravenstone City.
Lukas hurriedly made his way over. Natasha also followed him, huffing and puffing.