Chapter 359

'The outside air, the forest trees, it was a good feeling to be outside again' Jack thought as he heaved a breath. Right now, Jack, Ray and Bob were all together, making their way to the town of Zrey on the same carriage they had arrived in. After witnessing Ray's strength, Bob realised who he really should have been afraid of. Ray was never going to do any harm to Bob, but he also had a backup plan if Bob refused. He would simply use his Dragon's truth skill to reveal where Zrey was. Out of his own pocket, Bob had paid the guards to let the two boys out of the prison. Well, he also paid for the cost of the cell bars that had been destroyed. The guards had asked what happened, but Bob just paid them again to earn their silence. So far, it has been the worst day for Bob. As a merchant, he was all about profits, yet ever since running into these two, all he received were losses. The only thing he was happy about was seeing the mechanisms of the carriage. Whenever the carriage would run out of energy, the crystal would also disappear, getting smaller and smaller in size as the energy was used. Upon their inspection of the carriage, they had found the hatch but never imagined that a beast crystal was to be put in it. Usually, a mage would have to inscribe a magic circle to allow things to be powered, yet this seemed to show no such requirement. It was clear that it was technology beyond their time. However, Bob quickly realised it was useless, for he was no longer the owner of the carriage. Jack rode the carriage, sitting at the front, with Bob sitting by his side, giving directions. Meanwhile, Ray opted to sit on the roof. "Did we even need an interior?" Jack asked. "I like the outside because when I'm inside, it makes me feel cramped. "Ray replied. As they continued to follow Bob's directions, he noticed that the two people didn't talk much to each other. It was clear that Jack respected the one sitting on top of the carriage as his boss, but it made the merchant wonder just who they were. Both of them seemed quite young, though what worried him more than anything was why were they trying to get to Zrey? Just as Bob thought about this matter, Ray started to ask some questions. "So Bob, is it? Why don't you tell me why no one knows of this place and why do you even know about it." Bob had a nervous smile on his face. He was worried about what information these two already knew. If they knew enough, then telling them wasn't such a bad thing. Still, if he revealed something he wasn't supposed to disclose to the public, then it would start to cause problems. "Please, for my sake," Bob said, "Can I ask how you two came to learn about Zrey?" Jack looked up and could see that Ray had given him a nod, giving him the go-ahead. "When we were locked in that prison cell, I wasn't lying. I really am from Zrey, but I just can't remember how I spent my time there since I haven't been in that place for years." Bob remained silent for a bit. Just as Jack said, no one should have any knowledge of Zrey, or they should have at least been informed of the rules before leaving and entering. "Well, if you already know about it, I can tell you some information. Zrey is a special place not even the Queen of the Alure kingdom knows. It has been kept that way for years, to the point that there aren't even any rumours connected to it. That's why I was so shocked to come across you two. It's a special place for merchants."

"What do you mean by special?" Ray asked. "I'm afraid that I'm not allowed to say, especially if you guys don't know what's going on. All I can do is continue leading the two of you towards Zrey." "Stop the carriage," Ray shouted as he got down from above, descending to where the other two where. [Dragon's truth skill activated] "Tell me, why is Zrey so special?" [Skill failed: The ability has been blocked by outside forces] For the first time, Ray's Dragon's truth ability didn't work. He left Bob be and went back to the roof of the carriage while they continued the journey. For some reason, Ray felt his heart beating louder with excitement. 'Someone was able to block my ability, well that's a first.' He thought, amused with the circ.u.mstance. 'There are so many possibilities. Could it have something to do with the werewolves? Or was it something else?' While using his Dragon's eyes skill, he could tell that Bob wasn't a werewolf. Hence, it was clear that not everyone knew about where Zrey was. Which meant that there might be something else going on in there that was bigger than he thought. What could a town be hiding so much that they needed to keep being so secretive? Finally, they had reached a fairly large wall. It was red in colour and seemed like it stretched far from either side. The path only allowed one to go left or right, eliminating the possibility of going around the place, but Bob had pointed to go forward. On the spot that Bob pointed at, there was a stone slab displayed. Written on that slab was a strange script that not even Ray could recognise. Jack looked at the writing and announced the words out loud. "To the original land, I have returned." After speaking those words, a piece of the wall started to shift. A large piece of the wall, shaped in an arch, started to descend to the ground until eventually, it revealed a stone pathway lit up by torches. "It looks like you really are from Zrey?" Bob inquired. "If you know the password, then the door shall open. Come on then, let's go." The carriage continued to move along the stone pathway. Once they passed the entrance, it began to close again, barring their way of escape, away from the sight of the outside world. "I thought you said you couldn't remember your way home, yet you remember the code?" Bob asked, curious of the uncanny excuse that Jack said to him earlier. Although Jack had kept silent, for he really didn't know the code, he was just reading the words that had been written on the stone slab. The path was quite long, and even with the carriage, it took them five minutes to arrive at their destination. "Well, here we are," Bob said. It was an underground town, but it didn't look like any other town. The buildings were mostly made out of gold and silver and was decorated with jewels all over. Just from the look it, one could tell that the town was wealthy. The jewels magnificently sparkled as they reflected the surrounding lights. Even the people who were walking about donned high-end articles of clothing, with different types of jewels and accessories riddling them. "This is it!" Jack said excitedly. "This is my hometown!" "Jack, it was a pretty big detail you left out that the town you grew up in was underground, don't you think so?" Ray said with an annoyed tone, looking at Jack like he cheated him.