Jareth's breath stopped, but she broke into a smile at this moment.
"I heard about your situation. Well, here is your comm band," she said and passed him a watch-like thing in her hand.
She instructed, "Wear that. It has your ID. And your name is Jareth Idren. You were seventeen years old last month."
Jareth collected it and wore it on his wrist.
Liana then walked up to him. She smiled brightly. "Looks like my judgement was right. Forget about what previously happened. Nadia is just very sensitive and guarded due to some personal issues. As an apology, how about I explain how the world is to you? And also, a nice meal."
Jareth, who planned to leave immediately, changed his mind and decided to follow them, now that he had nothing to fear.
He nodded. Liana led him out as she spoke about how to use the comm band. Nadia followed behind, with a short distance between them.
It was then Jareth knew that the comm band can be expanded to the size of a mobile phone and function as one, and also has a holographic function.
Liana spoke about the Terminis Dominion.
On the way, Jareth finally came to terms that he wasn't on Earth, but on an unknown planet known as Arkados. And there was magic, which Jareth had already deduced.
A car abruptly screeched and halted in front of them as they got to the road. The window in the front lowered, revealing a young, beautiful lady with snow-white hair, dressed in casual wear, who stared at them with an impassive expression.
"Sister!" exclaimed Liana, as she jogged to the car with a bright smile.
Nadia also walked up to her with a smile. "Sister Esta."
The lady nodded at them before turning to Jareth.
"Who's he?" she asked calmly.
Liana said, "He's Ja—"
"Jareth Idren. He told us he lost his memories, which is quite pitiful. I don't know if you can help him," Nadia interrupted her with a straight face.
Esta arched an eyebrow at Nadia.
"He's pitiful too," Nadia added, her voice barely audible.
Jareth felt weird hearing her speaking for him.
Esta nodded. "Get in."
Liana entered the front seat and Nadia entered the back.
"You too," Esta said to Jareth.
Jareth was stunned before answering, "No need. I think I can walk on my own."
"If you have no memory in your head, as an arcanist you are, you will need my information to survive. Ignorance is the fastest gateway for an arcanist to die. Of course, you can still leave," Esta stated.
"Me? An arcanist?" Jareth asked with a stunned expression.
"Haven't you seen your sorcerer's chart? That interface that resembles a blue screen?" Esta questioned calmly.
The place descended into silence as Jareth tried to remember. His eyes widened as he remembered the fuzzy interface he saw before he fainted. He thought it was an illusion from the pain and muddled vision.
'My identity is no longer suspicious, and this world is a magical world, so I might need a knowledgeable guide. Since I don't remember anything, I won't need to answer questions. Besides, apart from my memory from Earth, I'm clean!'
After a brief deliberation, he decided and nodded. Jareth opened the back door and entered, sitting beside Nadia.
"Good evening, ma'am. My name is Jareth Idren," he greeted politely.
She threw him a casual glance before focusing on the windscreen while replying, "Evening."
With that, she started the car and drove off.
Liana turned and mouthed to him, "She's always like that."
Esta threw a sideways glance at Liana, who feigned like she was focusing ahead.
On the way, Liana made small talk about different things with Esta, with many things he had never heard before. Esta's replies were succinct, with the only time she spoke for long being when she sternly warned Liana not to go deeper into the Dreadwood with her puny rank as an arcanist.
A few minutes later, the car halted in front of a fenced two-story building.
"You two go in." Esta gestured with her head before saying sternly, "And remember, you're to prepare for your hunt with the money you earn from your hunt. No lazy leeches in my house!"
"Yes ma'am!" Liana saluted before getting down while giggling.
Nadia followed her.
Esta turned to Jareth, who was feeling a bit awkward.
"Jareth Idren?" she questioned in a weird tone.
"Yes?" Jareth answered carefully.
Esta chuckled, then turned ahead and sped off.
With her left hand on the steering wheel, she used her right hand to detach the comm band, which then expanded into a black, portable, hand-held phone. Then she keyed in something before she placed it back on her left wrist as it reverted to a watch.
The journey continued in silence.
Jareth shivered.
'Why do I feel like I am getting kidnapped? Kidnapping can't be legal in this world, right?'
It was a long, quiet ride with a tranquil atmosphere that was supposed to be calming, instead Jareth felt stifled. The tranquil atmosphere felt heavy to him. He had to breathe and swallow quietly and slowly so as not to break the tranquility.
He fixed his eyes on the window and periodically took a peek at Esta every few moments, but her focus was on the road.
'Now I know why music is important; it would have lightened this atmosphere.'
That was how they continued the journey until she drove and halted in the small parking lot of a four-story building with 'HOT KITCHEN' written on an arch-shaped slate at the top of the glass door.
Switching off the engine, she alighted and walked towards the building. Jareth quickly came out and followed her, trailing a step behind.
The doorman opened the door as they entered.
It was a high-end restaurant, which he wasn't new to.
They took the elevator to the top floor, then walked to a room at the end, which Esta surprisingly had a key to—her comm band.
It was a big room, and in the middle was a pair of long couches facing each other, separated by a short but wide table. But she led him close to the wide window facing the street, which had the same arrangement, but couches were replaced with chairs.
As she sat down, she signalled for Jareth to sit opposite her.
Just as they sat down, the door opened and three waitresses entered with trays.
They swiftly served and elegantly arranged the food in front of them before leaving.
"You can eat while we talk," Esta finally broke the silence.
"I'm not hung—"
But his stomach grumbled at that moment, interrupting his lie.
Esta chuckled. "You can eat. I'm not telling you anything heavy, or interrogating you. Nadia already begged me, so I'll just help you. After I finish, you can leave."
She picked up her fork and began eating gracefully.
Jareth picked up the fork and began eating too, even though he felt uncomfortable dining with a stranger in a foreign world.
The food was so delicious that he soon forgot her as she didn't bother him, and focused on the food.
When he had his fill, he raised his head to see her calmly staring at him.
He blushed slightly in embarrassment.
Esta waved her hand.
"Nothing to be embarrassed about. Let's get on with business." Then she asked, "Do you know who an arcanist is?"
"I know nothing," Jareth answered calmly.
Esta nodded and explained, "Centuries ago, before oblivium invaded and changed Arkados, beings who could use mana and perform sorcery were called mages. However, after oblivium invaded and changed the world, the power system also changed, with the old world mages getting wiped out. A new group of people were born—the Arcanists.
"Arcanists are new age sorcerers, with a sorcerer's chart awakening when they clock fifteen years of age. The sorcerer chart controls the spells and all that. You should know your spells, right? And how to check your sorcerer's chart, right?"
Jareth shook his head.
"Just think of materializing the sorcerer's chart."
Jareth followed her instructions and a panel materialized in front of him. It was a dim golden ancient scroll, with simple runic carvings adorning the edges, and bright, glowing gold text written on it.
'It wasn't a hallucination…'
He focused.
–––
SORCERER'S CHART
[Name]: Jareth Idren
[Race]: Human
[Body]: ⟨5% Mana | 95% Oblivium⟩
[Source]: [Oblivium Forge], [Caniblaze]
[Spells]: [Weeping Ward], [Grieving Echo], [Quagmire], [Infernal Torrent], [Quintessence Claws]
[Rank]: Awakened
[Core]: 0/200
–––
"Wow…" he couldn't contain his amazement. 'Like a game…'
Just as he was marveling at the projection in front of him, Esta spoke, "What's your body percentage?"
Jareth read the figure and his heart jumped as he felt nothing good would come from having a higher percentage of oblivium, which invaded Arkados and made ancient sorcerers history.
But he still said it as he thought he might need a cure. "Five percent mana; ninety-five percent oblivium."
Esta raised her eyebrows with her lips parting slightly and shutting back. Her lip's action was almost unnoticeable but because of her always calm expression, Jareth caught the action.
The silence lasted for about six seconds before she spoke again. "You're the first I've ever seen to have that kind of a high oblivium percentage in your body."
Jareth's face darkened.
'I know a bad compliment when I hear one.'
"Is it that bad?" he asked in a very low tone.
"Worse than you think."
"How worse?"