CHAPTER 81: INVITATION

Luke slowly opened his eyes to a brown leather and felt ceiling of the tent. He was lying on a soft cushiony bed and the room was dimly lit with candles.

He turned his head and saw Anna dozing off on the chair beside him. He tried to get up as the rustles of the fabric waked Anna up.

"Y-You awake? Thank God!" Anna rushed and hugged him tight, tears of relief and excitement rolled down as she kept Luke’s head buried in her bosom.

"I’m alright elder sister. This happens often after I use that skill." Luke assured her, speaking in a muffled voice.

"You’re banned from using that skill again! You don’t know how worried I was when you wouldn’t wake up even after three days." Anna scolded Luke with her strict gaze. But Luke was shocked when he heard that he’d been unconscious for three days. It was the longest phase of being unconscious for him after using the limit break.

He was now sure of one thing. He couldn’t use the limit overload carelessly.

"The physician said that there’s nothing wrong with you, you were just sleeping...but after three days, I was starting to get impatient. I feared whether you’d...never wake up."

"Don’t worry anymore. I woke up, so all good now." Luke said with a smile. But immediately, the smile vanished from his face and sadness took over.

"About Adam and his wife...did their..."

"We’ve done their last rites properly. With Raguel present, they were sent off properly. Their ashes will be kept together in the hall of sacrifice that will be built in the city, in remembrance of the innocent lives lost in this disaster." Anna said with a sigh, saddened at the loses.

"I’ll wipe those endless nights bastards from the face of this world. These evil heretics don’t deserve to live." Fury burned in Luke’s eyes as he gritted his teeth in anger.

Anna was about to speak when two people entered the tent. Luke and Anna turned to look and saw Layla with a man in his fifties, having long white hair and beard, wearing a patch in his left eye and in a full body blue metal armor with a huge broadsword at his back.

Seeing the man, Anna immediately stood up in attention and bowed in respect.

"Master."

Luke was a bit surprised, there was only a single man who Anna called master, he was the commander of the army under king Yeren Regelak of the kingdom, and master of Layla and Anna, a seventh circle fighter mage, Mana master Cahill stormborn.

"I’ve brought up some fine disciples, seeing how they stopped a disaster class beast." Cahill said with a proud smile on his face.

"It was a revived beast master, far weaker than a true disaster class. And it’s my brother here who stopped it, not us." Anna said respectfully, pointing at Luke.

Cahill was surprised as he looked at Luke. with the aura surrounding Luke, he could gauge that Luke was at most a fourth circle fighter mage.

Though he was impressed with his rock hard and solid physique, he couldn’t believe that Luke had stopped a disaster class. As though weaker, a disaster class is still a disaster class.

"I didn’t do this alone. We all fought it together. And the one who truly stopped it, gave up his life in doing so." Luke said with a wry smile.

Cahill was briefed on the way about the events from Layla. He understood who Luke was talking about.

A smile spread on his lips as he looked at Luke. He liked his honest and selfless thought. He could have taken the whole credit and acted as the hero, but he was humble and gave credit to everyone involved.

"Not being weak, but being a coward is a sin. I like your fearless and selfless spirit young man. you have the qualities of a hero. Tell me, would you like to join the military and be a general under my command?"

Anna and Layla were shocked, their eyes opened wide. Anna’s lips started twitching, trying to lift themselves up, as this was the greatest honor and opportunity for Luke. being in the military would be a shield from their stepmother and he would be trained directly by their master, and they will also be able to stay close.

Layla was excited too, as Cahill doesn’t give such invitations to just anyone. They all looked at Luke with expectations.

Luke was shocked at first to have been invited by the commander himself. But he didn’t need to contemplate much, he knew what he had to do, even clearer now after this incident. He smiled and with a slight bow spoke to Cahill.

"Thank you for thinking so highly of me, commander. But I have to fulfill certain things and for that, I want to remain an adventurer. I am honored by your invitation, but I’ll have to politely decline."

Anna and Layla were shocked, their jaws dropped to the floor, they couldn’t believe Luke was throwing away such a big opportunity. Just then Cahill laughed out loud.

"Hahahahaha!! Amazing. I can’t believe I was rejected outright, without a single second of contemplation. I want to recruit you even more now young man. But I’ll respect your decision. Everybody has something they wish to achieve. If you ever feel like changing your mind, I’ll welcome you with open arms." Cahill said with a wide smile.

"Take some rest young man. I hope you achieve greatness in the future. Come on Anna, let’s take a walk, I have something to discuss." Cahill then moved out of the tent with Layla behind her.

"W-Why did you reject it?"

"Because I don’t want to."

"Are you fool?" Anna yelled out, but Luke was firm, he kept his silence. "We’ll talk about this later. This is not over." Anna sighed and helplessly started moving out.

"I’ll send some food. You must be hungry. You haven’t eaten anything from three days." She left after leaving those words.

Luke’s lips parted into a wide smile. Even though she was furious at him, she didn’t forget to care for him.

Luke never got to experience his mother’s love, but Anna was the one who gave him the love a mother would to her child and so he never felt foreign to mother’s love.

He looked down at his palm and clenched it tight. Adam had left a spark of vengeance inside him. Luke vowed that no matter what, he would get Adam’s revenge and never let another Adam to be made out, from the acts of those evil heretics.