Reincarnated Hero System

During the spaceship journey, Evan and Arthur enjoyed a surprisingly relaxing time, thanks to special treatment likely arranged by Jamie and the Sect Master.

They spent their days playing games and visiting Artemisia and Beatrix’s room, where Crim and Hibiki often joined them, drawn in by Beatrix’s unexpectedly good cooking.

The group shared meals, jokes, and playful banter, including a memorable moment when Beatrix chased Arthur and Evan around their room with a spatula dripping with hot oil for making fun of her.

The light-hearted routine made the trip enjoyable.

On the fourth day of their journey, Arthur and Evan ran into Crim and Hibiki as they made their daily trip to Artemisia and Beatrix’s room.

“Hey, how have you guys been? How’s the trip so far?”

Arthur asked casually, waving as they crossed paths, and Crim, her golden hair slightly tousled, shrugged.

“It’s been relaxing. I didn’t expect this much downtime like this, to be honest.”

“Same here. I thought we’d be in constant preparation for the Secret Realm, but instead, I’ve been eating more of Beatrix’s food than I should probably admit,” Hibiki added.

“Beatrix knows how to reel people in with her cooking, huh?”

Evan chuckled a response, and the two girls, or rather, young women (Crim, 19) (Hibiki, 20) agreed.

As the conversation carried on, Arthur’s attention suddenly shifted to a nearby window, his expression blanking as he fell silent. The others quickly noticed and followed his gaze, but all they could see were the usual stars drifting through space.

A few moments later, Artemisia and Beatrix stepped out of their room. Noticing Arthur’s blank expression, Beatrix tilted her head in confusion and asked, “Arthur, what’s wrong?”

He didn’t answer right away. His eyes stayed locked on the stars beyond the glass, scanning the distance carefully.

After a few seconds, he murmured.

“The Cosmic energy concentration outside… It’s off the charts. Where the hell did Jamie plan for us to go? It’s been like this for days.”

His words drew puzzled looks from Crim and Hibiki, who exchanged uncertain glances.

“Cosmic Energy? What’s he talking about?” Crim asked, confused.

Hibiki looked just as unsure, but Artemisia, Beatrix, and Evan knew better.

They knew of the existence of Cosmic Energy—an imperceptible omnipresent force woven into the fabric of the universe, and they knew both Arthur and Jamie could manipulate it.

If Arthur was saying its concentration was climbing, then something significant was happening.

Beatrix frowned and glanced out the window.

“So, we’re headed somewhere that’s been steeped in Cosmic energy… for days?”

Arthur nodded silently, still fixated on the view beyond the glass. He pressed his hand against the window, then slowly began walking down the corridor, as though being pulled by some unseen force.

Roughly a hundred meters in, he stopped abruptly, his expression changing again.

“The concentration is increasing; the further we move, the higher it gets. The Space around us is also fragile.”

Artemisia stepped forward, her brow furrowed with concern.

“Is that bad?”

Arthur turned to her, a thoughtful look on his face as he responded.

“It depends. Cosmic energy concentrations can vary greatly in different places. Take Aidos, for example. It’s a prime world, so the Cosmic energy there is naturally high.”

He paused, his tone growing heavier.

“But this… The concentration outside makes Aidos feel like a bottle of water compared to a tank.”

Crim and Hibiki exchanged uncertain glances, still a bit lost on what he was saying, while Arthur looked back out into the stars.

“Even with my Sub-Cosmic Superiority… I doubt I can withstand this level of concentration for long.”

He suddenly lifted his right arm and rolled up his sleeve, tapping the wide bracelet adorned with six multicoloured gems. A moment later, he sighed in relief and spoke.

“Oh well. Maybe I’m just overthinking things. I’ll check the star map I picked up earlier.”

His words prompted Beatrix to raise an eyebrow, “Star map? From where?”

“A few days ago, while we were with Jamie, I saw one of the star maps being delivered to the ship. So, naturally, I picked it up.”

“And you just kept it?” Artemisia asked curiously.

“Well, I meant to put it back, but then you guys called me over, saying you’d found a new arcade game, and I totally forgot I was still holding the map. By the time I realised I still had it, it was too late.

But hey, they had like a dozen others.”

Evan shook his head, chuckling quietly at Arthur’s response.

“Only you would end up accidentally keeping a star map of all things.”

“It turned out to be useful, didn’t it?”

Arthur replied with a casual shrug, pulling the map from his subspace and activating it.

A projection of the galaxy sprang to life above them, a vast three-dimensional array glittering with stars and planetary systems, all contained within a translucent sphere of light.

Looking at the intricate display, Evan asked.

“So… how do you read it?”

“It’s pretty simple.”

Arthur infused the map with a bit of magic power, and with a subtle pulse of energy, the map began scanning the surrounding space, gradually adjusting the projection as it triangulated their position within the galaxy.

“This pulse lets the map measure where we are in relation to the stars around us. And once it finds our coordinates, it updates the route the spaceship is following.”

Arthur explained as he pointed at a glowing line snaking through various stars and celestial systems.

“This line here is the route we’re supposed to be following. Our destination is somewhere within this area.”

Eyes focused on the shimmering trail, Evan asked, “So, where are we right now?”

“It should show up any second…now!”

Arthur snapped his fingers and, moments later, a marker appeared on the map.

As the image solidified, the group went silent. The projected route was clearly being ignored, and their current position was drifting well off course.

Finally, Beatrix broke the silence, her voice laced with uncertainty.

“Arthur, are you sure this map was meant for us?”

To this question, Arthur turned the map toward her, revealing a label etched at the bottom: ‘Secret Realm 4 (Special Event). 1st to 4th September, Year 1054.’

“We left on the 1st, and today’s the 4th,” Crim muttered the timeline to herself, and the others nodded in agreement.

Arthur examined the map more carefully, immediately noticing something that made his expression darken.

“It looks like we deviated from the original path about two days ago.”

Evan’s brows furrowed as he recalled one of Arthur’s earlier statements. Turning to Arthur, he asked,

“Arthur, you said you noticed the Cosmic energy increase a couple of days ago, right? How long ago, exactly?”

Arthur froze, scratching his head as he used his time powers to rewind his memory until the precise moment surfaced.

“It was around 46 hours ago, to be exact.”

He looked up and met Evan’s eyes. In that instant, they both understood without needing to say a word.

They’d gone off course 48 hours ago, and the spike in Cosmic Energy had started 46 hours ago.

That wasn’t a coincidence. Something was definitely wrong.

Arthur closed the star map, his gaze shifting toward the front of the ship.

“Evan, come with me. We’re heading to the bridge.”

Without waiting for a reply, the two of them headed off, arriving at the bridge within a minute.

Just before they entered, Arthur temporarily switched off his spatial perception, creating the perfect conditions for Evan to utilise the full power of a skill.

‘Lethe.’

Evan’s body vanished from sight and detection as he followed Arthur into the area.

One of the crew members noticed him and immediately addressed Arthur with a respectful tone.

“Huh? Lord Vaughn? What brings you to this section of the ship?”

Arthur kept his voice casual as he replied, “Just curious, really. We’ve been moving for four days now, and I wanted to know how far we are from our final destination.”

“Oh, no problem, Lord Vaughn. We’re quite close to our final destination,” the crewman said with a smile.

Arthur didn’t stop moving forward, heading toward the bridge, hurried after by the clearly flustered crewman.

“Is there anything else you need, Lord Vaughn?”

“Yeah, I want to speak with the Captain,” Arthur responded without pausing.

The crewman’s sweat began to bead on his brow as he replied quickly,

“Ah, Lord Vaughn, please wait a moment! I can call the captain for you.”

Arthur smiled politely but didn’t slow his pace.

“No need. I’d prefer to speak to him myself.”

“No, no, really! You are an esteemed guest. The captain should come to you,” the crewman insisted, his voice wavering as he stepped in front of Arthur, blocking his path.

Arthur finally stopped and gave the man a silent stare. He didn’t narrow his eyes or try to intimidate him, but his eerily calm gaze carried a heavy pressure.

At that moment, the bridge door slid open, and another crew member stepped out. Their expression froze the moment they saw Arthur, their eyes going wide with a mix of shock and fear.

They immediately tried to shut the door behind them, but the invisible Evan slipped in faster than they could, his heel catching briefly on the closing door.

‘Now, then. Shall we explore?’