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Chapter 168: Hero Link
Even now, memories from the novel flashed through his mind.
The Hero of Knowledge had pulled the short straw and went to fight Wrath and barely survived, that was the extent of the finger’s power.
Zayn clenched his jaw.
’I’m not going there. Not if I can help it.’
He kept his arms folded, masking the spike of anxiety behind a cool expression. The Ruins of Varka were more than dangerous — they were suicidal.
That place was meant for the protagonist and his party of overpowered women, not his team which were trying to get by.
His silence didn’t go unnoticed.
Tobias glanced at him and raised a brow slightly, but didn’t press.
Elisse, ever the attentive one, simply poured another round of tea for Yua and the guild master.
Her gentle movements gave that feeling of comfort amidst the tension in the room.
"Would you like anything to eat?" she asked softly, setting down the kettle.
The guild master chuckled tiredly and raised a hand.
"I’d be tempted, lass, but duty calls. We’ll head back to the guild. Plenty to arrange. Yua — " he turned to the spy, his face serious again " — you’ll remain here until we finalize assignments. You’ll be briefed on what happens next. Stay with the hero party for now."
Yua nodded obediently. "Understood."
Tobias stood and turned toward Zayn. "When the summons comes, we need to be ready. That means everyone."
Zayn gave a small nod. "You’ll have it."
After the guild master exited, the front door closed gently behind them, leaving the room in an almost meditative quiet.
Kara sighed and leaned on the table. "So... Demon Cult extermination, huh? No pressure."
"Yeah," Bran muttered, "No pressure at all. Just death around every corner."
Elisse moved around, collecting the empty teacups with a calm grace, though her eyes kept flicking toward Zayn every now and then.
Seren remained close to him too, her expression unusually thoughtful.
"You okay?" she whispered when no one else was looking.
Zayn didn’t answer immediately. He was still thinking.
’The Ruins of Varka... that’s not my place. If Tobias is planning to divide the Hero parties, he has to keep us clear of that path. Maybe I can convince him. Or maybe... I’ll tell him to volunteer for a different one first. The southern base. That could work.
"I’m fine," he finally replied. "Just thinking through the options."
Seren nodded and didn’t press further, though she gave his hand a small squeeze under the table.
Tobias looked around at everyone, his tone turning a little more relaxed, though still firm.
"I’ll get in contact with the other Heroes immediately, Yua and Zayn, could you accompany me?"
Zayn raised a brow. "Sure."
He was probably going to use the Hero Link.
...
They were in Tobias’s room now.
Zayn sat cross-legged on the edge of Tobias’s bed, arms folded as he watched Tobias prepare the ritual circle with quick, practiced strokes of ink.
Yua lingered quietly near the corner of the room, her posture polite but stiff, eyes locked on the mark forming on Tobias’s palm.
Tobias didn’t speak at first.
He was completely focused, his brows furrowed in concentration, the hand for the mark in one hand while the other drew with a finesse that showed his skill in drawing apparently.
Once the circle was finished, he gave a slight nod and looked up.
"Sit," Tobias said, motioning to the bed. "This one’s not a regular spell. It’s called Hero Link. A spell recorded as one of the compulsory spells a hero must have — only the hero party leaders can use it. It creates a visual and audio projection connecting all four of us at once."
Zayn raised a brow. "All four heroes? That includes?"
"Cedric, Ragnar, and Eve," Tobias confirmed. "Yeah."
Yua silently obeyed and sat down beside Zayn, her hands folded in her lap. The room grew still.
"This isn’t a chantless spell," Tobias muttered. "Give me a sec."
He held his palm aloft, the inked magic circle beginning to shimmer with faint, bluish light.
Then, his voice lowered and took on the steady rhythm of a chant:
"From corners far and wills aligned,
Let bonds of fate and duty bind.
Heroes chosen, voices clear,
Through time and space, may all draw near.
By pact of kings and gods divine —
Hero Link, awaken. Cross the line."
At the final word, the magic circle pulsed with a bright flash.
A faint hum filled the room, and then a holographic screen which was as wide as a window flared to life above Tobias’s palm.
The shimmer resolved into four quadrants.
Each showed a different face.
"Yo, that worked," Zayn muttered under his breath.
In the top-left, Cedric reclined lazily on a velvet couch, half-dressed in a loose tunic while a maid with blush-pink hair fed him grapes.
His golden curls shimmered under the chandelier light. Typical of the Hero of Light.
In the top-right, Ragnar was standing shirtless in a windswept field, hefting a boulder over his head like it weighed nothing.
He was roaring some kind of chant of his own — probably motivational, judging by the crazy grin on his face.
Bottom-left showed Eve, cloaked in shadows. Her pale skin seemed to glow against the darkness of her room.
She wore a nightgown, her obsidian hair draped over one shoulder. Books and magical sigils floated in the background, suspended midair.
Of the three, she was the only one who actually looked at the screen with full attention.
Cedric was the first to speak.
"Oh?" His sharp blue eyes flicked past Tobias and landed on Zayn. "So that’s the Zayn the king was going on about."
Zayn frowned slightly. "And you’re the guy who gets grapes fed to him?"
"Can’t help it if I’m popular," Cedric replied with a wink.
Tobias coughed into his hand and waved it off. "Focus. We didn’t call to exchange charm techniques."
Ragnar boomed with laughter. "Tobias! Still stiff as ever, eh? What’s this all about?"
"It’s serious," Tobias said, his tone flattening. "We have intel. Cult activity. Yua, the woman beside me, infiltrated the Demon Lord’s cult. She brought back locations of three active bases and descriptions of several high-ranking members — called ’Fingers.’"
