Level Up Legacy

Oriole was walking toward Julia's office to check on her. He had a feeling that the earlier events, and those to come, would take a toll on their inexperienced vice-master. Nonetheless, she had done a magnificent job that sent chills down his spine.

Her door was open, and he found Julia just standing there in her office, cleaning her face from what he assumed were tears. He walked inside and closed the door, confused.

"Is something wrong?" Oriole asked as he rushed inside. "Did something happen? Is this about Garrick?"

"What? Oh, Oriole," she turned toward him with red, teary eyes and shook her head. "No, nothing happened. It's not about that... but yes, it is. I'm sorry. I feel like shit right now, so can you leave?"

"Not a chance in hell," Oriole said, guiding her toward the couch to let her sit. "You need to rest and have a shoulder to lean on. Let me get you some water, and you can tell me what happened."

Julia was still sniffing as she began telling Oriole what had happened while sipping her water. Li had hugged her—not in a wrong way, but in a way that made her walls crumble. She had lost her father late last year and had no one to spend time with in this dome.

Oriole understood her situation, having spent twelve years in Alka leading an organization to hunt the fallen beings. Although he was only twenty now, he had lived far longer than she had.

"Even as a vice-master, you're still human. You need to rest. You encountered something terrible today, and you protected everyone in Ascent. You deserve to rest."

Julia didn't answer; she just stared absent-mindedly at the glass of water. Oriole found her reaction a little strange, but then realization dawned on him.

"Come inside, Li," he said. Julia flinched and dropped the glass. Water splashed on their feet as the glass rolled onto the carpet. Julia was looking at the door, but it remained shut. Then, she turned toward Oriole, who had a mischievous grin.

"Was he that charming?" Oriole asked with a grin. Julia's face turned bright red as she looked at the ground. "I never thought the aloof Miss Julia would have a crush. Men around the world would be sobbing."

"Don't call it a crush. I'm just a little confused," she blurted out, and Oriole could tell that his teasing was too much. After all, in their situation, love was the last thing anyone would think about.

"Don't feel like you're doing something wrong. These emotions are natural, and even Li might have them towards you. Arthur and Diana are one example; another is Yuran and Tiara."

"But I should be the older figure for them, not a girl with strange fantasies about a man whose face I've never even seen," replied Julia with a firm nod as she rose from her chair. "This is just a troubling day. I'll be fine."

Oriole didn't say anything but observed her over the following days. He noticed her avoiding the masked man who roamed the guild like a guard. Li was the guild master of their Rotten Legion, who led the shadows and goblins.

Oriole kept a close eye on Julia in the days that followed. She was usually composed, but now there was something different about her. It was subtle—moments where she seemed distracted, her eyes lingering a little too long on Li during meetings, or the way she quickly looked away whenever he happened to glance in her direction.

It wasn't hard to connect the dots, and Oriole had to stifle a grin every time he caught her sneaking a peek at the masked guild master.

The situation, however, was far from comical. Dragonir and Thiria, the twin empires of the beastmen, had declared war on Ascent, and the looming threat cast a heavy shadow over the guild.

Emergency meetings were held almost daily, with strategies discussed and plans drawn up. Julia, despite her personal turmoil, threw herself into the work with fierce determination. Yet, Oriole couldn't help but notice the small cracks in her usually stoic facade whenever Li was involved.

It started innocently enough. During one of the emergency meetings, as the group discussed troop movements and defense strategies, Julia was mid-sentence when Li, who had been standing silently in the corner, stepped forward to offer a suggestion.

Julia's train of thought derailed completely. She froze for a second too long, her eyes widening ever so slightly. Oriole watched her try to regain her composure, but not before a slight blush crept up her neck, coloring her cheeks. She cleared her throat awkwardly and continued, though her voice was a little less steady than before.

Oriole leaned back in his chair, pretending to be engrossed in the tactical map spread out before them, but he was very aware of every subtle exchange between Julia and Li. The more she tried to avoid him, the more obvious it became—to Oriole at least—that she was struggling with feelings she didn't know how to handle.

One evening, Oriole found himself wandering the halls of the guild, pondering recent events. He knew he should be focusing on the war, on how to protect the people of Ascent, but his thoughts kept drifting back to Julia.

He was genuinely concerned.

Not because she was smitten with the enigmatic Li, but because the weight of the guild's future now rested heavily on her shoulders, and she was clearly conflicted.

His footsteps led him to the training grounds, where he found Li standing alone. He was staring at a row of targets without moving, holding a practice sword in his hand as if he had forgotten why he was there. Oriole approached him quietly, and the masked man didn't notice him until later.

"Oriole," Li called with a nod. "How can I aid you?"

"I'm just wandering around the premises," Oriole said with a smile. "How is your guild doing?"

"Mero is the vice-master of the guild and handles all the affairs. I get called out whenever I am needed to handle a mess. It's becoming more often."

"Understandable, with the war against Thiria," Oriole said with a nod. Then, he tried to formulate the right words for such a delicate situation. "Can I ask you a question, Li?"

"Go ahead."

"I heard a lot about you when I was a member of Mistletoe. You were the first person to follow Arthur when the two had a fallout. But at the moment, Mistletoe is an ally of Ascent. You chose to remain here instead of joining your old group."

"Arthur is the one I serve."

"But he is not here," Oriole reminded him with a smile. "The entire world needs our help at the moment, and Arthur sent his followers everywhere to help fight against calamities. I heard that you were the only one who wanted to guard the Runic Dome. Can I know why?"

Li was silent for a while, still staring at the training targets. Then, he turned toward Oriole, and the tree mask seemed to shine a little. Oriole didn't know that this mask was reacting to the spiritual energy that Li was unconsciously leaking.

"I want to protect the people that Arthur cares about: his mother, his friends, and—"

"And Julia?" Oriole asked.

Li was silent as he lowered his head, staring at his sword. Then, he began again. "My village was destroyed. Ever since then, I've known nothing other than to fight and fight. But when I became a member here, I learned that fighting without something to protect is useless. And yet…"

Oriole waited for the man to finish his sentence, but he seemed to be somewhere else entirely. It was as if his mind had wandered far away.

"And yet you began to feel something else," Oriole continued when he realized there was no hope for this masked man. "I heard about what happened with Julia."

"I understand. Am I being punished?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Miss Julia wanted me to leave, but I didn't," Li said, tightening his grip on the practice sword, his voice low. "I acted without thinking, and that has never happened to me. I understand if I need to leave the guild."

"Nonsense," Oriole said in surprise. "You were caring for a friend, right? You are a core member of Ascent and the only person to follow Arthur when he had no one."

"A friend?" Li muttered, his voice deeper than the oceans. "I stayed in Ascent because I wanted to protect Julia. I failed once before, and she lost her father. I will not make that mistake again."

Oriole looked at the blockhead of a man, who seemed unable to understand his own feelings for Julia. But that's what Oriole wanted to achieve here. He wanted to make this man realize his feelings, whatever they were, even if just a little.

"Tell me about your impression of Julia when you first met."

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