Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 70: Never again

"Good.. Good.."

With a visible effort, Marius reigned in his anger. He gave a curt, almost imperceptible nod to the priestess. "See to it that this... child receives a standard dose. And then escort these three out."

The priestess, looking relieved to be out of the direct line of fire, quickly fetched a vial of Sunpetal Draught and handed it to Elara.

"Thank you for your patience, young ones. I apologize for the inconvenience. As you can see, there are still many people who need treatment. Acolytes, please escort them out." Marius continued curtly.

"No need, Vestarch. We shall see ourselves out." Riku said as he turned to leave.

As Riku, Lila, and Elara turned to leave, Vestarch Marius’s cold voice followed them. "A word of advice, traveler. Luxia has little patience for those who stir dissent. Make sure to watch your back and that of those close to you."

Threatening... me?

Riku’s face turned dark, the darkest it had been since he had been reborn into this world. He slowly turned back and saw the Vestarch’s eyes on him. He was about to say something when Lila and Elara pulled on him, nudging him to let it go and pulling him out of the church.

After they left, Marius left the area as well. In a dark corner, he subtly gestured with his fingers, and two plain-clothed acolytes appeared, seemingly out of thin air.

"Follow them," he murmured, his voice barely audible. "Find out who they are, where they are staying. Report everything back to me. I want to know everything about these people."

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The oppressive atmosphere of the Church plaza began to lift as the trio walked back towards their inn, but Riku’s mood remained dark. The Vestarch’s veiled threat echoed in his mind.

Luxia has little patience... watch your back and that of those close to you?

Riku muttered, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides.

Who did that guy think he was? If I were in my Grand Maximus avatar, even Harus would pay his respects when he saw me. A mere Vestarch was talking so big?

Such audacity....

Ding!

[Heightened anguish detected. The system recommends that the host immediately calm down.]

Calm down? If not for you restraining my spells, do you think this would have ever happened? you are the one responsible for this

Riku curtly asked the system.

[Host is still not thinking straight. The system recommends the host to look behind his back.]

Look behind? Huh?

Riku looked behind, only to see Elara and Lila walking 5 steps behind him. Their appearance was visibly sacred, perhaps even more than when they faced Versatch Marius.

Huh? Why are they so scared?

[The system recommends that the host analyze his own self right now]

Subconsciously, Riku did just that, and what he found left him completely shocked.

He realized that he was oozing a strong, dark aura.

A dark, murderous aura.

After all, he had slain millions of mobs as the Grand Maximus during his playthrough of EverRealm Online. If the Grand Maximus’s murderous aura manifested in full strength, even the entire city of Luxia might not survive.

What is .. what is happening, system? Riku asked, extremely shocked by the aura he was emitting while desperately trying to recall it.

[The host needs to realize that although he inherited the body of the Grand Maximus and there were no problems initially, eventually, as the host keeps using spells and skills that belonged to the Grand Maximus, his personality would begin to change as well.]

Huh? Personality change?

[That is correct, host. After all, the Grand Maximus was a being who stood at the extreme pinnacle of this world. Do you think that he would be someone without an ego?]

But I am the Grand Maximus...

[The host did play the Grand Maximus, yes. However, that doesn’t mean that you share the same personality. Sure, the host was able to control him in the game you played. But does the host still think that he is playing inside a game?]

Riku slowly took in the new information, however, he could not fully wrap his head around the situation. The situation was so.. different.

So, what should I do now? Riku asked weakly.

[The host doesn’t need to worry. The system is there to help the host attain a truly peaceful life in this world. As long as the host trusts the system, that is enough. For now, just calming yourself down is enough.]

The system fell silent, and the prompts disappeared, leaving Riku to his thoughts.

There were many questions on his mind, but as he looked at Lila and Elara’s scared faces, he decided that he had more important things to do.

"I am sorry, girls. I.. don’t know what happened to me." Riku tried to explain as he went toward the duo with a slight smile on his face.

"Riku, you are ok! We tried calling you, but you were constantly mumbling weird things and seemed very.. angry." Lila spoke first, her face regaining some color and showing a small smile herself as she saw Riku speaking to them with a smile.

"Riku, is everything..alright?" Elara was still hesitant and spoke in a measured manner. After all, she had not spent as much time with Riku as Lila had.

In the few moments earlier, she had felt nothing but raw terror. It felt as if the smallest thing could trigger something in Riku that would cause him to unleash a catastrophe on the land.

If not for the fact that Riku had once saved her life and showed genuine concern for her earlier, she would have run far away by now.

"Yes, it is all good now. I was just disturbed a bit by the Vestarch’s earlier words. I am sorry if I scared you."

"Well, if you say so," Elara replied, still hesitant. The earlier experience left too big of an impact on her.

Riku sighed, knowing that words would probably not be enough. So, he switched tactics.

"Well, forget the Vestarch. Our mission was successful, and we did get a dose of the Sunpetal Draught. To celebrate, how about I take you all to eat something very tasty?"

"Ohh? What is it? It better be good." Lila asked, excitement creeping into her voice

"It is a surprise. You have to wait for it until we reach the inn." Riku smiled wider as he tried to lighten the mood. However, he made a strong mental note.

Whatever had happened just then... never again.

Never.