HP: The Arcane Thief

Chapter 166: A King's Return

Why can't things ever go smoothly?

A question Axel had asked himself probably a million times. He had seen it happen to other people, getting everything to happen exactly how they wanted it to be.

But It just never seems to happen with him.

The only explanation he can come up is, someone must be fucking with him. Why else… would he be sitting in a prison right now when he had come here expecting royal treatment?

How did this happen?

Well, let's go back a bit.

Axel had teleported right to the place that was supposed to be the entry point for Atlantis.

It was a heavily warded and fortified island, also known as the entry point to Atlantis. Few people even know about this place's existence, and even few are provided entry.

This place is called Atlanopolis, the city of false hopes and wealth. People who come here are either extremely wealthy, or extremely hopeful, or both. This place, run under the strict supervision of the royal family, provides limited services of the real Atlantis.

Since direct entry into the city is prohibited via wards, Axel Teleported to the edge of the island. Though, something happened as soon as he appeared.

"...What the fuck?"

His knees buckled as he went through what some sort of sensory overload.

!!!

The sea churned, causing the whole Island to quake. The Guards were, of course, alarmed thinking that they had been attacked. Though very quickly, the disturbance stopped the sea calmed down again. Axel opened his eyes as slowly stood up.

"Holy shit." He murmured. Now he understood the word 'home domain' really meant. This island was in the middle of ocean. There was water all around him. Right now, he felt… powerful. Too powerful.

'No time to waste.' Axel didn't dally. He got to work. First, he quickly transferred almost all of his things from his storage bag into his ring, leaving a few things like money and basic necessities to not raise any doubts.

'Now, system, buy that Atlantean Language.'

[Atlantean Language will be installed into your mind. Buy for 1000 SP?]

'Yes,'

Instantly, Axel learnt a new language. Even though he knew they had translation devices, Axel still learned the language in case he needed it.

'Now Finally, the last arrangement.'

[Disguise]

Axel changed his appearance with the handy skill he had learned for occasions like this. He was an Arcane Thief. Of course, changing his appearance was included in his class description. He just didn't like to use it since, well, he'd rather just turn invisible, or put on a mask.

But since he can't choose either of those options this time, he has to go with [Disguise]. He changed the color of his eyes from Amber to onyx, removed the scars on his face, and changed his facial structure just a tiny bit.

Now he didn't look like his father at all, and even looked quite different from himself due to the lack of scars and his striking amber eyes. With little changes, the difference was so huge that no one attribute him to Axel at all. Though if they knew it was him, they'll realize that nothing much had actually changed about his face. With his disguise set in place, Axel was ready to go.

He began marching into the island and the Royal Seal in hand. But, after arriving in front of the place, he was surprised to see the situation. The towering walls were being guarded more tightly than he and thought, and the wards in the place were crackling with power. Guards could be seen stationed at the top of the walls, carrying what seemed like magical guns, their armors streamlined with glowing blue lights, making it appear futuristic.

There were big sign boards hung on the walls, saying the word. "CLOSED due to internal issues" in different languages.

Axel was stumped here. This… isn't how this place was supposed to be in the memories he got from Theron. There should have been plenty of people coming and going into the city right now.

'Might as well try it out,' thought Axel, boldly moving forward.

"Halt! You can't advance forward!" But he had only walked a few steps, numerous red dots appeared on him, making him stop and raise his hands.

Axel took out the shell he had taken from Theron. "I have the Royal Seal!"

?!?!

That seemed to do that trick. The guards frantically talked among themselves, and rang the higher ups, and very soon, they were rushing towards him. Axel found all this normal. After all, he had the royal seal.

Though, he found out something was wrong soon enough, he was strapped with handcuffs and the seal snatched from his hands, and so was his space pocket along with it. "Hey. What the hell? That's my seal! Not even the space pouch!"

His protests were ignored as he was all but dragged inside the city through the smaller entrance of the looming gates.

"Gentlemen, I think there is a misunderstanding here," he began to say, but the guard at the back gave him a shove, almost making him fall.

"Keep walking, you thief!" He barked, his voice automatically getting translated into English.

'Me? A Thief?' Axel was stunned… by how right they were. 'How'd you know that?!' That's what he wanted to ask.

"Why would you say that?!" He asked instead, trying to sound offended.

Though, the next thing they did was put some sort of advanced mechanic gag on his mouth to make him stop talking.

Axel sighed. That's why he HATES following rules. He was only using his mother's royal seal to enter his OWN kingdom, and THIS was the result. What had he done wrong? He hasn't even cursed anyone yet, at least out loud.

And that's how he found himself in his current situation, sitting in an advanced magic security prison.

It has been more than two days since he was thrown here. And he is at the limit of his patience. No matter how high secure this place is, it can't really hold him if he doesn't want to stay. But the thing is, if he sneaks inside Atlantis illegally to fight kraken, he would be a fugitive for both sides, which is going to make things much more difficult for him. He wanted to avoid such a situation if possible.

Of course, revealing his identity is not an option right now either. He needed to understand the situation first.

Axel needed his freedom. He doesn't want to be tied up to any place. For all he knows, he might never be allowed to live in peace if they found out he was supposed to be the inheritor of the throne. They might not let him leave, and if he leaves, they might even use force to bring him back. Maybe, they don't want a new successor, so they might just decide he was a threat.

Thus, revealing his identity could lead to a whole lot of trouble. He has to choose between the other two options.

Just when Axel was just about to get serious about breaking out, he heard movement outside the cell. "Where is he?"

?

The one who came into his view was a middle aged man in heavy armor. Unlike the guards, his armor was a shining silver colour, and the magic glow in it was much more pronounced.

He had an air of authority about him, and just by looking at him, it was apparent that he was someone important.

"Yes G-General, right this way!" the guard who had acted like an asshole to him had now turned into a pussy. An extremely loose one at that. He looked at the man with reference, fear and respect.

"You could have just sent up an order, we would have brought him to you ourselves!" The guard said anxiously, looking like he would piss himself any time.

The General had an exasperated look on his face. "Can't do anything about it. It's the Princess's orders."

The two of them finally arrived in front of the right cell and looked at Axel, who was sitting there with a somewhat annoyed look on his face.

The person who was called the "General" studied Axel with a critical eye while Axel did the same. "Looked enough?" Axel asked in English, but of course, it was translated to him due to their communication devices.

The guard was instantly triggered. "You insolent outsider! Don't worry, General, I'll teach him a lesson for disrespecting you."

Not only Axel, but even the General seemed annoyed by the excessive boot licking. "Just opening the cell and undoing his restraint will do."

"But sire, he's—" the guard seemed to want to say something but stopped himself after realizing who he was talking to. He punched in a code in a code in the lock, the cell which seemed to have been powered by magic, opened up on its own.

The guard entered inside and did the same with his handcuffs as they opened with a click. He glared at Axel. "Listen, that man can kill you with a swat. So, you better behave, or you won't know when you died."

Axel ignored the dog. His eyes were trained on the "General" the whole time. This man… he got the feeling that he was much stronger than even Theron and Nerio.

The general also seemed to be a bit perplexed looking at Axel. "What is your name?" He asked, translating his words into English.

"Chris."

The General seemed to be expecting a more elaborate introduction, but he just nodded. "Outsider Axel, you have been called directly to the royal court by the Princess. It's considered a great honour."

Axel didn't move yet. "Gee thanks. But why was I locked up in the first place?" He asked, making the guard almost pounce on him. Such disrespect!

"I don't know the details. My only orders are to bring you to her, unharmed," said the general, glaring pointedly at the guard.

Axel got up. "Well, let's meet her then," he said, slowly getting up. It looked like he wasn't being taken, but having the general escort him to the princess.

"Unharmed right?" Axel gave a tight slap to the guard on his way out, making the man fall to the ground.

Axel rubbed the hand he had used to slap the guard. "Ouch. Do punish him for hurting my hand," he muttered.

The General's eye twitched, but he continued leading Axel. He was taken out of prison, towards an even more heavily guarded place, beyond which was a portal. Axel was pretty sure it led to Atlantis.

The restrictions around the place were removed as soon as the general arrived, giving him free passage to the portal. "Well," Said the general, stepping aside. "Go in."

'Well, that's more like it.' It seems that the Royal seal did work after all. Now, he wouldn't have minded sneaking into that place on his own, but it is just much better this way.

Axel stepped into the portal, followed closely by the general. It would have been quite funny if Axel were to suddenly disappear at this moment, but he decided against it.

Appearing on the other side, Axel was stunned, as his glowing blue for a moment. He could feel it. They are hundreds of thousands of miles deep into the ocean, covered by water from all sides. He was feeling invigorated, refreshed. The air breathed felt like he was breathing for the first time.

Axel slowly calmed down as he checked his surroundings. And the view made him catch his breath. Unlike what others might think, Atlantis was not submerged underwater. A huge protective bubble surrounded the city, seemingly extending till forever. The vast ocean could be seen beyond, unable to crush the bubble despite the overwhelming pressure.

As far as the eye could see, he could towering buildings seemingly made out of metallic rocks, their shapes varying from spiral to conical. Various vehicles could be seen flying around at high speeds.

"Looked enough?" Asked the general impatiently, though there was a hint of pride in his eyes. He waved his hand and what looked like a silver chariot appeared floating in the air. "Hop on," said the General, stepping onto the chariot.

'Damn.' Axel didn't need to be told twice. The General tapped a few buttons, and a transparent magical field surrounded, before they were off at a tremendous speed.

Axel had to strain his eyes to take in the scenery rapidly whizzing by. Atlantis was big, probably bigger than britain. And beautiful. No doubt about it, But… something was wrong. A lot of buildings were damaged. There weren't many people on the streets.

"You've come at a wrong time," said the General. He increased the speed further, as if not wanting Axel to see the sights.

Within a few seconds, they had already covered a huge distance, arriving at their destination. The buildings were gone now, and replaced by a vast lake of crystal clear water. The only structure dominated the area. In the middle of the luminescent lake stood a colossus castle, looking like a marvel of ancient magical architecture. It had multiple towering spires, each magically reinforced to touch the very top of the protective bubble that encapsulates Atlantis.

"Can't imagine what's so special about that she'd send me to get you, especially at this time," muttered the General.

If Atlanopolis had high security, this place would have to have a hundred times that. Axel could see thousands of soldiers milling around at the borders of the castle.

"At this time?" What is that supposed to mean.

At this moment, a notification rang in his head.

[Mission: A King's Duty]

[Atlantis has officially entered into a War against Kraken. Help your Kingdom achieve Victory.]

Fuck!

It now made sense. The weird atmosphere in the city, the damaged infrastructure, even the advanced security.

He really came at the wrong time.

...

A.N.: POWERSTONES!!

NeXT: Meeting the Aunt (Princess)

Come read /Snollygoster