Frostfire Legacy

The entire drive lasted no more than five minutes, but Aster savored every moment. He felt as if he were on a thrilling amusement park ride while seated in the passenger seat!

He'd never had the chance to experience such rides since excitement increased one's heartbeat, demanded more oxygen, and caused him to breathe more frequently.

This short ride was the closest he'd ever come to that sensation.

"We've arrived," Officer Helvetica announced, stepping out to open the passenger door.

When he got out of the car, Aster craned his head up at the large building before him. From a glance, you couldn't tell that it was a hospital, with its elegant facade belying its purpose of caring for patients.

The two of them didn't enter through the main entrance, of course, as that would gather too much attention. Instead, they perused a special passage made for those affiliated with the police.

"This way, quickly."

Helvetica prodded Aster to move forward, allowing him to enter the strange platform that had a cylindrical glass wall surrounding it. He carefully stepped inside it and turned around, facing where they came from, copying the elf's actions.

As he did, the glass "entrance" suddenly started to deform, closing down radially, like a ripple going in reverse. Right as the wall closed, the platform suddenly released a low hum as blue light started to shine below it.

"W-What's happening...?!" Aster panicked, kneeling down to keep his balance.

Helvetica looked at Aster and chuckled lightly. "Sorry, Mr. Aster. This is a Magic Elevator. It's a piece of equipment designed to transport someone from one floor to another."

"Elevator?" Aster repeated, bewildered. "This thing is?!"

The speed at which they were ascending past each floor was scary! They were almost moving five floors up per second, causing Aster's eyes to spin and his stomach to churn. If the elevator came to a sudden stop, then the momentum was probably enough to flatten him against the elevator's roof!

*TING!*

"...!"

At that moment, the elevator came to a sudden stop. Aster's body stiffened, bracing for impact, but nothing happened. "What's wrong, Mr. Aster? Come over here fast."

He opened his eyes slowly, checking his body and the elevator. He was unharmed.

"Eh...?" He muttered in confusion before standing up and stepping out.

As soon as it detected that nobody else was onboard, the glass walls closed up once more before the elevator zoomed away, going to the underground floor where it usually stays on standby.

"What are you standing there for? Let's go!"

"Ah, please slow down!"

Aster chased after Helvetica's back again, moving across the mostly empty hallways as they went toward a certain room.

They stopped at a certain laboratory, with the label "Dr. Zellbrook" hanging in front of the door. Helvetica knocked lightly before pushing the door aside and entering without even calling out first.

Aster, curious, peeked inside and saw a wonderful, pristine laboratory. Various machines were running, releasing low humming sounds, while blinking lights could be seen on their panels.

"Oh, Helvy. What brings you here?"

And at the center of it, standing before a tall table while wearing something like a headlight, was a short, stout man. Aster glanced at him and at Helvetica, then back at the man. "A dwarf?!" He cried in shock.

In fantasy stories, dwarves and elves usually don't get along, so Aster was worried about their interaction. However, Helvetica smiled joyfully as he approached the dwarf, extending a hand.

"Professor, it's been a while. Has it already been three years? Time sure flies."

"Brat, it's been 30 years! I know elves have long lives, but 3 and 30 are way different!" The dwarf retorted with a cheerful snicker.

"Haha, you don't look any older than in the past, so I thought not much time had passed."

"..."

Aster, still confused, realized that the two had known each other for quite a while. As such, the fear of them fighting was quickly chased away from his mind.

"And? Is that man the reason why you came here?" The dwarf asked, staring at Aster from head to toe. "Hmm... a human? Quite rare nowadays."

"Yes, Professor Zell. Actually..."

After that, Helvetica provided Dr. Zellbrook with a quick rundown of the situation. When he mentioned that Aster was from the 21st century, the dwarf's eyes widened.

"Hmm... Interesting. A cryogenically frozen body surviving for thousands of years... It's nothing short of a miracle!"

He exclaimed with a hand, brushing his long white beard, looking at Aster as if deep in thought.

"And it was detected that you have 100% Human DNA too... If this gets out, then those anti-humanity movement brats will hunt you down!"

"..."

Aster was long lost in their conversation, unable to follow it at all. Helvetica saw this and smiled wryly before pushing him toward the doctor.

"Professor, let's stop the chat here. We came for a comprehensive checkup for him. The information will be placed under the S-Class Confidentiality Level, so keep that in mind."

"Hmm... S-Class, huh? Another bothersome offer... Welp, alright! Lad, go lie down in the middle of that machine over there! We'll do a complete scan of your body!"

The professor pointed to a large cylindrical machine with a bed in the middle. It resembled an oversized MRI scanner, with an inner diameter of three meters and an outer diameter of five meters.

"A-Alright," Aster answered with a trembling voice.

As he moved to lie down, the doctor suddenly spoke. "Ah, remove your clothes first. They'll interfere with the mana scanner."

"..."

Aster had lost any sense of embarrassment long ago, as his nurse had seen his body more times than he could count. Stripping before two men didn't faze him.

After removing the baggy clothes and the scarf he was wearing, he laid down in the middle of the table and relaxed.

"Hmm... Then, I'll begin the scan." Dr. Zell said this before pressing a button.

*HUMM!*

A sound escaped the large cylinder as it began to move, covering Aster's body entirely. Then, suddenly, blue light started to shine down on him, as if scanning his entire body.

"Ugh!"

As he did, the back of his right hand started to feel burning pain. Looking down, Aster found a weird symbol glowing in a mix of blue and red lights.

"Hmm?! That is...?!"

Dr. Zell gasped loudly. With a surprised expression, he uttered words he never thought he'd say during his long career as a doctor.

"A real Legacy-Level Carved Seal!"