The Author's POV

'This place hasn't changed since the last time that I've been here.'

It was shit as usual.

Jin moved in the direction of an old and dilapidated warehouse that was off in the distance. It was a building that he was acquainted with as he had been there in the past. Ren's mercenary group headquarters.

He didn't have the fondest of memories of the place as it reminded him of the incident that happened a while back. When he was kidnapped against his will by Kevin and Ren.

'Those bastards.'

Even now, as he reflected on the occurrences that took place a long time ago, he felt an unsettling rage rising up from the depths of his being. It took a few deep breaths before he became calm again.

'Let's calm down for now. Ren isn't even here at the moment. There is no point in getting angry about something that happened in the past.'

Despite what he said, he never relaxed his clenched teeth as he moved closer and closer to the warehouse's entrance. He was clearly still upset about what had happened in the past.

In any case, this wasn't the reason why he was at the warehouse at the moment; he was there for a completely different reason.

'Another planet, huh?'

Ren extended his invitation to travel to another planet yet again. This time, he did not resort to another kidnapping...or at least, he did not attempt the same thing again, and even if he did, Jin did not intend to fall for the same trick again.

Regardless, after hearing Ren's offer, Jin was about to deny his request once more. However, just as he was about to refuse, he realized something.

'Isn't this the best opportunity to skip out on all the dates that grandfather is planning on having me attend?'

If he left for another planet...

Wouldn't he be able to skip the dates that were planned for him?

It was at that moment that he stopped hesitating and readily accepted the offer. To him, anything was better than attending those blind dates.

'Yes, please.'

He arrived at the entrance of the warehouse and rang the doorbell.

Clank!

"You're here."

It wasn't long before the door opened and Jin came face to face with Kevin.

"Mhm."

Jin greeted Kevin with a simple nod and entered the warehouse.

'What a sharp contrast.'

The stark contrast between the outside and inside of the warehouse never ceased to amaze Jin. Almost as soon as he walked through the door, he had the impression that he had been transported to an entirely new location.

From the furnishings and fittings, as well to the rooms themselves, everything seemed to be made with the most up-to-date and high-priced technologies and materials. The equipment in the training room was even better than the best spots at his guild, which was saying something.

To tell you the truth, Jin was currently experiencing feelings of jealousy.

did Ren get all of this

to make an estimate, all of this would

has Ren been

It wasn't long before they stopped in front of a small metallic door.

see, make sure

"...Okay."

upon seeing how serious

he saw Jin nod. After that, he grabbed the door

"Alright, let's go in."

"Uh?"

the exact moment Kevin opened the door, and he

Dwarves.

sight upon opening the door were

wasn't just one of them, but there were more than a dozen of them, and they were all currently moving around a room that was the same size as a tennis pitch, connecting some strange wires to what appeared to be a

painted entirely in white, and it was crawling with dwarves who were busy

turned his head to look at

they setting

"They are."

Kevin nodded his head.

my skill enables me to set up a portal, it still has a cool down that I have to respect. It may have decreased over the years as my strength has grown, but I simply can't teleport that many people with me at once, so I found that setting up a portal was the

"Okay..."

he stared at the dwarves, who

also be

"Us?"

looked at him with a strange

shook his

aware of this, but I won't be coming with you

"Right."

his head in

excuse made sense. Unlike him, who worked for an independent guild run by his family, Kevin worked for the Union and was directly responsible for stopping the

the current situation, it made sense for him to not have time

"What about them?"

"The dwarves?"

Why exactly are they coming with

his eyes swept over the dwarves that were hard at work. His

Kevin

to a planet that

"I don't know."

his shoulders with

them personally and that they agreed to his request. If you want to know more, you have to ask Ren yourself when you meet him. At the moment, they're setting up the

"I see..."

Jin quietly mumbled.

before he spotted a couple of familiar

'Melissa, Amanda, and Emma?'

instantly recognized them and was surprised to see them

"Are they also coming?"

"Yes."

face turned to face him, and their eyes met.