Should I Find a Companion?

Josh had done it on purpose.

Although it made him look rather pretentious, Josh felt that he had to make Frank understand one thing clearly—that he was not, as Frank imagined, completely incapable of using any Magic elements!

Josh guessed that Frank might have also thought of that unfortunate Garen. If Frank made even the slightest inquiry or investigation, he would discover that Garen was no simple man. Probably any guard stronger than a Third-Tier Warrior could discern Garen's strength. When that happened, Josh would naturally be exposed.

Rather than wait for someone else to discover it, Josh thought it would be better to tell them himself—I can take down a Third-Tier Warrior! Not only did this put Josh in a more proactive position, but it also gave Frank even more to speculate about.

Sure enough, just as Josh had guessed, Frank was absent-minded throughout the entire banquet. No matter how many young ladies approached him to strike up a conversation, he barely paid them any attention. After hastily finishing the obligatory dance, he stood obediently beside Josh, lost in thought.

Frank truly was a mess inside. He had realized that he seemed to have been completely led around by the nose by his lord. This left the somewhat prideful Frank feeling incredulous. Yes, Josh had first made Frank regret deeply with a noble's right to grant fiefs, then had vaguely activated a Magic Shield in front of him.

Frank knew perfectly well that a Magic Shield was something only a Second-Tier Mage could master. That itself was not difficult for Josh. The real problem was that Josh had never received the recognition—or affinity—of Magic elements. In Frank's mind, that meant Josh could never possibly learn a spell like Magic Shield.

Yet what made Frank feel as though he had seen a ghost was that Josh had actually cast that spell right in front of him!

"Could it be that His Highness Josh had been hiding his abilities all along?" Frank unconsciously came up with an idea that even he found unreliable. First of all, he did not think Josh had any reason to hide himself. On the contrary, if Josh had displayed his abilities properly, his quality of life would have been far better. He might even have been able to contend for the throne.

Then why had Josh hidden himself? Frank could not figure it out. Still, he considered another possibility: perhaps Josh had only recently learned the spell. But he quickly rejected that thought, because he did not believe someone who had just learned magic could take down a Third-Tier Warrior—and emerge completely unscathed!

It had to be said that fixed ways of thinking could sometimes be frightening. But Frank could not really be blamed for it, because Josh had only defeated Garen because Garen had charged straight into Josh's magic. The resulting eruption of Void Magic had directly left Garen seriously injured.

As for Josh, all that could be said was that the man had been incredibly lucky. Or perhaps he was simply too afraid of death. Instinctively, he had cast a Void Shield that would have made countless mages on the Muya Continent green with envy, directly negating the damage. Well, it could not quite be called complete negation. At the very least, Josh had been knocked unconscious by the impact, had he not?

So sometimes, coincidence and luck truly were not things strength could determine.

While Frank was lost in wild thoughts, Josh was doing the same. Unlike Frank, however, he was considering what he needed to prepare for his next world-hopping journey. Honestly, he had no experience at all with traveling between worlds, even though he had already crossed over twice.

The first time, he had directly become the child of an empire's ruler—and he had even been an infant. Once he grew up, he had wanted for nothing, so that crossing offered him no reference whatsoever. The second time was even more absurd. He had been sent to Icathia without any preparation at all, followed by a series of events. Though it was not especially useful as a reference, it had still given Josh some ideas.

"Should I bring a companion on my next trip?"

Indeed, his trip to Valoran had left him with very unpleasant memories. If he had had a companion back then, he at least would not have been scared so badly in Icathia. Even now, Josh felt embarrassed whenever he thought back on it. More importantly, if he had had a companion at the time, Garen would not have beaten him so badly.

"The importance of a companion... Though wouldn't it be better if I brought a bodyguard or something?"

The moment that thought surfaced, Josh immediately crushed it. Bring a bodyguard? Then the bodyguard's strength would have to meet certain requirements. If the bodyguard learned that Josh possessed such abilities, then his freedom and all sorts of other things might no longer belong to him, but to the bodyguard he had hired.

Since a bodyguard would not work, Josh could only look for a companion. Thinking carefully about the people around him who could serve as one, Josh realized that the only person he could really talk to was Frank, who stood beside him lost in thought.

That conclusion drove Josh mad. He was a mage, and Frank was also a mage. If two mages formed a team, there would be no complementary roles when they encountered danger. It would simply come down to whoever could take more hits drawing the enemy's attention while the other dealt damage. Josh did not trust Frank that much.

"I need to find someone good at close combat."

Josh pondered this in frustration. His Guard Captain was quite good, but Josh barely knew the man. In Josh's memories, the man was a Fifth-Tier Warrior, and one of those powerful Sky Warriors who could charge into the sky and fly for a short time.

On the Muya Continent, no matter what profession one practiced, once they reached Fifth Tier, the magic power or Battle Qi in their bodies would undergo a qualitative transformation. This allowed them to touch something every land-dwelling creature dreamed of—flight. Of course, warriors were inferior to mages in that mages could use elemental magic to form wings. Wind element mages could even fly directly using the Wind element, without needing wings at all.

Warriors, on the other hand, could only pitifully erupt with Battle Qi. Although this also allowed them to fly through the sky, they could not sustain it for long. Under normal circumstances, a Fifth-Tier Mage could fly continuously for an hour without considering consumption, while a warrior could only fly for half an hour.

Of course, this was not to say warriors were weak. Although warriors could not defeat mages one-on-one, their advantage lay in endurance. If a mage was even slightly distracted, an experienced warrior who had spent years walking the edge of a blade might spot the opening and kill them in a single blow. Such cases were far from rare, and such mages were often written about as negative examples.

"Do I have to persuade him myself? But what reason would I use? I can't exactly tell him: Hey, buddy. I'm going to travel to other worlds, but I need someone who can help me—basically, a bodyguard. You're my Guard Captain, and I think you're pretty good?"

The moment Josh imagined that scene, he immediately stopped. It was too absurd. Josh felt that if he really said that, the Guard Captain would definitely think he was insane. And Josh could tell that the Guard Captain was also deeply dissatisfied about having to follow him to Constantinople.

"Another person like Frank?"

Josh rubbed his brow helplessly. His terrible performance over the past ten years had clearly made many people unhappy, especially those assigned to follow him. At the same time, Josh temporarily gave up on expecting the Guard Captain to accompany him.

"Looks like it'll have to be another solo trip where I just leave whenever I feel like it."

Josh sighed helplessly. But for some reason, someone suddenly came to mind—the severely injured Garen who had followed him here and been thrown into the dungeon! A bold idea struck Josh. Could he have a proper talk with that man and get him to come along?

It had to be said that even Josh himself was startled by his own crazy idea. But after calming down, Josh suddenly felt that the plan actually seemed somewhat workable!

First, Garen had attacked Josh only because he believed Josh was a Void creature invading the Valoran Continent. Josh could figure that out without even guessing. As long as he explained things clearly to Garen, would that not make it simple?

"First, I have to make it possible for him to communicate with me. That shouldn't be difficult. I remember reading in some notes that communication through spiritual power was possible, and there was also something about making Memory Magic Crystals. I'll have to go back and look through those notes carefully."

"Second, I need to make him believe that I only arrived in that world by accident. At the same time, I'll tell him that I'm human—and a great lord with my own territory! Garen is a noble himself. I believe that once he understands all that, he'll basically listen to what I say next."

"Finally, I'll invite him to travel with me and provide me with the necessary protection. In return, I can promise to help him increase his strength, and tell him that while my world crossings are random, they may not be impossible to repeat. That way, Garen might have hope in his heart, and perhaps he'll agree to it?"

After analyzing it all the way through, Josh became increasingly convinced that this method should work. First of all, Josh was not a Void creature. Although he had mastered some Void Magic, he had no intention of invading Valoran. Thus, he and Garen were not enemies in terms of position. Moreover, Garen had been accidentally brought here by him and was basically alone in a strange land. He surely wanted to return home, so Josh could use his ability to travel through different planes to make Garen work for him!

Once he figured all this out, Josh finally felt much better. Only then did he realize that the ball seemed to have reached its end.

This made Josh very happy. He had never been particularly interested in this sort of ball. Most importantly, he had no interest whatsoever in those heavily made-up women. So upon realizing it was time to end, Josh immediately announced that everyone should continue enjoying themselves, then slipped out of the hall and fled back to his room. He needed to find those magic notes.

The simplest relationship between people was communication. Josh had no time to wait for Garen to learn the language here, and Garen might not even be willing to learn it. So he had to use magical means to achieve his goal.