CHAPTER 85: WHEN ARTHUR MET ALDRIANA

Liam is reading Julian’s last text message to Arthur:

"Art, I’ve been receiving reports from Arcatherm about spikes of dungeon energy somewhere in Mt. Helene. Only for a few short seconds, but repeatedly. Then there are those missing people. Also, around Mt. Helene. Something doesn’t add up here. I’ll go check it out. I’ll get back to you when I’ve got updates. See you."

He turns to the assistant, "Do you have any last coordinate of Julian? It should be around Mt. Helene."

The assistant nods, "I can get it." He leaves to get the report.

"Also, if you have any reports on energy spike around Mt. Helene. That should pinpoint his location."

"Got it."

Liam makes a few calls to gather a team of Sentinels. But he’s out of luck. Most of Monfort’s Sentinels in Arvion were already sent to Novaquist for a dangerous assignment. Only a handful of trainees are left.

He knows Montrose Corporation has a few Sentinel teams with skills on par with his, but he has no access to them, and he’s sure Arthur would’ve reached out already.

A few minutes later, Arthur calls him. Liam updates him immediately on Julian’s last recorded location.

Arthur sighs. "Liam, I can’t get hold of my team. They’re either on assignments or completely unreachable. You?"

"Same here. A level six dungeon appeared in Novaquist. Most of our Sentinels were sent there. It’s only the fourth level six ever found in all Altheon. The manpower needed is no joke."

"Yes. Mine too. I’m going to Mt. Helene myself. Can you come with me?"

"Arthur, you don’t need to ask. If you didn’t ask me, I’d come anyway."

"Thanks, Liam."

"No need."

"I’m about ten minutes away. Be ready."

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We don’t know how dangerous the Mt. Helene dungeon is. If even Julian is asking for help, then it’s serious. Can Arthur and I really clear it alone?

No. We need more people.

Liam thinks hard. He knows he’s an excellent Sentinel, easily top three in Concordia. He won’t claim "top in the world." He’s not that vain. And Arthur’s skills are at least equal to his. Maybe even better.

But clearing a dungeon with just the two of them? Even two highly skilled ones?

That’s delusion.

We need more.

He exits the Montrose Mansion to grab his gear from his car when he spots Theo closing the car door.

Aldriana.

The thought hits him instantly.

He runs straight toward Theo.

"I need you to contact Aldriana. Now. Julian’s missing. He’s inside a dungeon about fifty minutes from here, somewhere on Mt. Helene. Arthur and I are going. There’s no time to form a full Sentinel team. If Aldriana comes with us, our chances go way up."

He forces all of it out in one breath.

Theo blinks once. "She’ll be here in a few minutes."

Then he runs toward the Montrose Home and vanishes inside.

Liam stands there, blinking.

A few minutes? She’s here?

He looks around and whispers, "Aldriana?"

Nothing.

He tries again, louder. "Aldriana?"

"What?"

Liam jumps and whips around.

Aldriana stands there in her usual all-black clothing and baseball cap, a fresh black mask covering the lower half of her face. Only her sharp, dark eyes are visible. Her jet-black hair is tied in a high ponytail. It looks shorter than last time.

She also cut her hair?

Liam snaps himself back together.

"You really are here. You’re at Thea’s side twenty-four seven?"

She only blinks at him. Under the mask, she’s smiling , but he can’t see that. That’s why she’s wearing it. The main reason is to save his mana; he only needs to put the illusion on his hair.

Car lights streak across the driveway, Arthur arriving.

Liam rushes to his car, pops the trunk, and starts gearing up.

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Arthur’s car enters the Montrose Estate gates, and he speeds up.

From afar, he sees two people standing near Liam’s car.

Two silhouettes.

One must be Liam... and the other is... Thea?

He frowns.

If Thea asks to come, the answer is absolutely no. This is not a field trip. This is a dangerous search-and-rescue. A level of danger he doesn’t want Thea anywhere near. Asking Liam to go with him is already pushing it — but Liam would insist anyway.

Doesn’t matter how much Thea has trained, the answer is still no.

As the car gets closer, Arthur’s brows knit tighter.

"Thea" doesn’t have white hair.

And the clothes? Completely different.

Who the hell is that?

The car stops in front of them.

Theo can feel Arthur’s stare the second he steps out.

Both Liam and Theo turn to him.

Before Arthur can speak, Liam cuts in.

"Arthur, this is Aldriana.

Aldriana — Arthur."

Aldriana extends a hand, waiting for him to shake it.

Arthur blinks, frozen for a second. His instincts tell him this person is familiar, yet those same instincts warn him she’s a stranger. A powerful stranger.

He finally takes her hand.

The moment their hands touch, he almost pulls back. He forces himself not to. Something surges under her skin, not heat, not pressure, but power. Raw, contained, and unmistakable.

He doesn’t understand what kind of power he’s sensing, but he knows one thing:

Liam wasn’t exaggerating. Not even a little.

Liam smiles from the side. He sees the exact moment Arthur understands and finally gets it. He turns to Aldriana.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice. Really appreciate it. But we should go."

Arthur, who has been staring at Aldriana the whole time, nods and steps back toward his car.

"Yes, thank you. Let’s go."

------------------------------

"Dinner? But she just left again with Liam and Arthur." Maurice looks at Leila, puzzled, when she tells him she’s about to call Thea. He sees them from the window he casually passed on his way to the kitchen.

"Really? They’re going somewhere?" Leila sighs softly. "Hmm. I don’t mind. It’s just... I’d appreciate it if they could inform me beforehand."

She was looking forward to dinner with Arthur and Julian, to tell them about the luncheon.

Maurice takes her hand. "Let them. Have you noticed Arthur hasn’t gone anywhere with Thea for a long time? I can’t even remember when he last did. Let them go. You can scold them later."

Leila smiles. "I know, Reese. Don’t worry. I’m not mad, or upset, or disappointed. Maybe a little disappointed. Very very little."

They both laugh.

------------------------------

In the car, Liam briefs Aldriana.

She nods at every point, confirming she understands.

Arthur drives fast, his eyes flicking to the rear-view mirror every now and then.

He exhales heavily. "There’s one thing I’m really worried about."

Liam turns to him. "Go ahead."

"If the dungeon is level three or above... if Julian is inside the gate, we can’t enter until the gate is cleared."

He doesn’t finish the sentence, but they all understand.

Or until everyone inside is dead.

Liam tries to ease him. "Maybe Julian isn’t inside a dungeon. Maybe he slipped. Maybe he broke his leg or passed out."

Arthur sighs. He’d take that. He’d take anything over Julian trapped behind a closed gate he cannot escape.

"Let’s not think the worst before we get there. We don’t even know where ’there’ is. The assistants could only narrow it down to a five-kilometre radius. On a mountain with no hiking trail? That’s huge. And the fact there are only three of us? That’s even bigger."

Liam rambles.

A quiet scoff comes from the back seat.

"Are you trying to make it better or worse?"

Her voice is low and smooth like silk, annoyingly calming for a situation this bad.

"Right, you’re right. I was just trying to paint the whole picture." Liam mutters. This is only his second time meeting Aldriana, and he’s both excited and a little intimidated.

"I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Mt. Helene," Arthur begins.

"But it only has one hiking trail, and it’s dangerous. A lot of inexperienced hikers had accidents there. Some weren’t fatal, but most of them were. The mountain itself is tall, its peak covered with snow all year. The forest along the slopes is thick, and there are plenty of wildlife, bears, wolves. No tigers or lions, but they do have mountain lions."

He explains mainly for Aldriana’s sake. She nods lightly, absorbing every detail.

"And Liam’s right," Arthur continues. "There are only three of us. Searching a five-kilometre radius will take hours, at least. That’s why we’ll ask for help from the park rangers."

Liam nods, agreeing. "Good idea. They know the terrain better than anyone. Hopefully they can spare at least three teams."

Aldriana says nothing. She doesn’t know the terrain or the conditions of Mt. Helene. She only knows one thing: Julian needs to be rescued.

Alone if she has to.

She knows she’ll be more useful once she’s on-site, seeing it, sensing it, reading the land herself.

The rest of the drive is quiet. Aldriana stays silent, speaking only when addressed.