Aven stared at the twins, calmly observing them.

  Now that she had a closer look at them, they were certainly twins.

  If it wasn’t for the fact that one of them was a boy and the other was a girl, it would have been difficult to tell them apart. It also helped that the boy had short hair while the girl’s hair flowed down her back.

  The twins gazed at Aven, trembling with fear. It didn’t take much for her to see that her appearance and most likely her actions during the confrontation with the blond bully had startled them.

  Still, since the bullies ran away, these twins were her best chance to learn about what happened to her.

  And she couldn’t get her answers while they were cowering in fear by just her mere presence, no matter how amusing that seemed.

  She raised her hand and hovered it over the twins. The siblings shrank away in response, as if fearing that she was about to strike them. She ignored their reaction and proceeded with casting a spell.

  “[Serenity’s Embrace].”

  The pair was then shrouded in a gentle blue light as their trembling suddenly stopped. The fear in their eyes faded, now replaced with surprise as they looked at one another with widened gazes.

  [Serenity’s Embrace] was a spell that could only be used by her class [Primordial Archmage]. Unlike a normal Archmage class, Aven could cast primordial spells. They were essentially spells in their primal and strongest forms.

  Aven mainly used this particular spell on NPCs that were too panicked when giving her a quest or when players were hit with some sort of frenzy or panic status effect. It was quite useful in those situations, and she was glad to have it.

  And seeing how the twins were so afraid, she figured that using this spell would make things easier for them. And she was right.

  “Do you two feel ready to answer my questions now?” She asked in a soft tone to avoid scaring them again.

  The twins sat there for a moment, the girl embraced by her brother, who guarded her for dear life. Then, the boy lifted his head and looked at Aven, his gaze much more steady than before.

  “Y-yes...” he answered.

  Aven suppressed a sigh of relief. Good. It looked like she made the right call using [Serenity’s Embrace] on them.

  Plus, she was curious how her spell worked in this world, so she decided to experiment with it on them. A tinge of guilt swelled within her for using the kids as Guinea pigs, but that feeling was pushed down since it caused them no harm.

  She straightened while taking a couple of steps back, giving the twins some space.

  “Now then,” she spoke up. “Since you two have collected yourself, it’s time for you to answer my questions. You understand, yes?”

  The twins nodded in unison. The way they bobbed their heads so eagerly nearly forced a chuckle out of Aven. She managed to hold back, keeping her face neutral.

  “Before that, I’d like to know your names. Calling you two ‘boy’ and ‘girl’ seems rather rude, don’t you think?”

  The twins paused to stare at Aven, looking confused. Then the boy spoke up first.

  “M-my name is Conner...” he then gestured toward the girl. “T-this is my sister, Chloe.”

  The girl named Chloe nervously nodded her head. A soft smile touched Aven’s lips.

  “Conner and Chloe, huh? Then I shall address you two as such.” She brought a hand to her chest. “My name is Aven Willows. I am a mage.”

  As soon as she introduced herself, Aven noticed that the twins’ eyes sparkled with wonder. It was only for a brief moment before their anxiety flooded back in. Judging from their reaction, they knew who she was.

  Now that their introductions were over, it was time to ask her questions. And there was one that she desperately needed to know above all else.

  Her eyes flicked to Conner. “Conner, yes? That blond brat from before called me the legendary archmage. What did he mean by that?”

  She remembered the blond brat from before calling her the legendary archmage. While that sounded cringy, did that mean she was famous in this world? How did that happen?

  Conner took a moment to collect himself before answering. “Your name has been revered as the legendary archmage after you defeated the Dark Apostle, before shortly disappearing afterward.”

  Aven blinked. My boss raid? How did that turn me into some legendary archmage? All I wanted was to farm some items for a project I was working on.

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  Not only that, but there should’ve been other players who defeated the Dark Apostle Boss before her. So, why was she the only one getting the credit? That made no sense.

  She rubbed her chin, mulling over the information. Then she remembered something else that caught her attention.

  “You said that I disappeared after defeating the Dark Apostle, right? How long exactly?”

  The blond kid stated that she was gone for centuries. Did that mean it had been two, maybe three hundred years? She dreaded the thought.

  Conner hesitated, gulping nervously. “F-from what we’ve heard...over six hundred years. Give or take.”

  She paused, drinking in the information she just learned. “Six hundred...?” The words rolled off her tongue before she could stop herself.

  Six hundred years? She thought. I've been gone for over half a millennium? But why? Did the Boss do something to me? That can’t be right. I defeated it and didn’t receive any status ailments or the like when it died.

  Then she remembered what happened after defeating the boss.

  The Angel. The one that showed up after she took down the Dark Apostle. The one who granted her a single wish as a reward for defeating the boss.

  That Angel was the culprit. It was the only thing that made sense.

  There was no other conclusion she could come up with. But why would the angel do that in the first place? What was its goal here?

  She wished to become a teacher, not her game avatar, who turned into some heroic messiah. So, why did the angel do this to her?

  “M-miss Willows...?” The girl, Chloe, suddenly called out to Aven, pulling her out of her thoughts.

  Her eyes landed on the girl, who flinched at her gaze. Realizing this, Aven tried to give a small grin as a way to put her at ease.

  “My apologies, I was thinking for a moment.”

  Chloe raised her hands, frantically shaking them. “N-no, it’s fine! I-I didn’t mean to disturb you...”

  “It’s quite alright. And you didn’t disturb me,” her eyes turned back to Conner. “Has it truly been six centuries since I’ve been...gone?”

  Conner nodded. “Y-Yes ma’am. That is what the stories have stated.”

  Aven crossed her arms and paced around the cave.

  Six hundred years have passed. That was a long time. Enough for old kingdoms to fall and new ones to rise from their remains.

  How much has the world changed in her absence? Was it even the same Realm of Myein that she remembered from the game?

  More importantly, what about her Guild? What happened to Genesis? And her people that were part of her guild?

  If Aven Willows was known in this world, then that had to mean her guild also existed, right? The same went for her companions within Genesis.

  She stood there, motionless. Letting her new reality sink in. Then another question bloomed.

  She turned back to the twins. “How much has the world changed? Did I miss anything while I was gone?”

  Because a lot of time had passed, there were likely a lot of historical events that occurred during her absence. She needed to know if any of them were relevant to her.

  The twins glanced at one another before turning back to Aven. Confusion rippled across their expressions.

  “We...do not know much about the world aside from our hometown,” Conner stated. “We do not have the luxury of learning since we’re commoners.”

  Chloe suddenly bowed her head. “W-we are sorry for not being of better use...”

  Aven raised her hand. “It’s fine, Chloe. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

  I see that the education system still hasn’t been developed even after six hundred years. How annoying.

  If her memory served her right, Aven remembered proposing to build a school in Mystmore City to help educate young minds, regardless of their status.

  It was from a quest she obtained after conversing with several people who desired a school to improve their kingdom’s education.

  This school would then help expand to build others around the continent, allowing everyone to have a proper education.

  And yet, six hundred years later, nothing has changed. I’ll have to investigate that later.

  Since the twins didn’t know much about the world during the six-hundred-year period she was gone, Aven decided to visit a library to do some research herself. The library she had in mind was also in Mystmore, so she’d be able to kill two birds with one stone while she was there.

  There was likely not much else that the twins could tell her about what happened during her absence. Since that was the case, she believed that it was about time for her to leave.

  Still, she didn’t like the idea of just leaving the twins alone here. Not after they helped her with her questions, if only a little. There was also the issue regarding them knowing her true identity.

  Maybe there was a way to make it up to them while also bribing them into keeping her appearance a secret. Like giving them a gift. Her inventory should have plenty of amazing items that she could give them as a reward for their assistance.

  Just as she was about to summon her inventory, a loud grumble from someone’s stomach suddenly filled the chamber room. Nobody said a word, even when the noise stopped.

  At first, Aven believed that it was her. But strangely enough, that didn't appear to be the case. She didn’t feel the feisty grumble from her stomach. It was as calm as a millpond.

  So, if it wasn’t her...who was it?

  Her eyes slid over to the twins. She first looked at the boy, but his eyes were directed at his sister. When Aven followed his gaze, they landed on Chloe. The first thing she noticed was her beet-red face before she lowered it in shame.

  A moment later, another loud grumble was heard, and both Aven and Conner knew who the culprit was.

  “I-I’m sorry...” Chloe whispered an apology, too ashamed to look Aven in the eyes when she did.

  Unable to keep herself composed, Aven let out a soft chuckle. It looked like she had found the best way to repay the twins for their service.

  “How about I treat you two to a meal?”

  At the mere mention of food, both siblings whirled their heads up in anticipation. Aven could see the same sparkle from before, but much more dazzling.

  They must be pretty hungry.

  She turned to the twins. “Alright then, let’s go get something to eat. We should be able to find a town that’s near Ridgeview village.”

  Hearing this, Conner spoke up. “Um, Lady Aven, Ridgeview is a town.”

  Aven paused, taking the moment to properly process his words. She tilted her head, confusion written on her face. “Ridgeview...is a town now?”

  Now that was certainly something she needed to know.