Part 1.
A soft morning glow permeated the room, and the creaking of the wooden floorboards could be heard throughout the otherwise still house. The only way you could describe this place was half clean. The living area appeared spotless, not even a speck of dirt nor dust to be found, and the kitchen was immaculate, even the bed, freshly made in a prefect manner that would allow a gold coin dropped from shoulder height to bounce back up. It was the areas that you couldn’t quite see, unless you were looking that would surprise you. Overstuffed books with parchment notes, on overstuffed shelves in the multitude of bookcases all around the house. Drawers containing long forgotten items that had once been of interest, only to outlive the curiosity of their owner. A beside vanity, containing strange foreign mixtures of many experiments ranging from times long passed. A back room, cordoned off from the old fire when an attempt was made to undo the old curse.
This home was the definition of organized chaos. It was a home that belonged to the greatest mind in the world. No one alive remembers when or how she got here. For there were some that knew of her, fewer that knew what all she had done, and almost none that knew the real her. For here, in this grove, hidden deep within the dark forest, was her domain. She was, is, the Witch of the Woods.
Today she had woken up with the sunlight, cleansed her body using her own unique magic, then moved into the kitchen for breakfast. The kitchen was tidy and while it looked rather simplistic with a large stone over and wooden pantry against the wall, it was deceptive. It was equipped with a second wooden panty, ladened with ice runes, allowing for cold storage, there was a large stone basin next to it that had a stone pipe, equipped with water runes, underneath it was a box, lined with special magic, allowing for a place for all the water and waste to drain too. This was the only place in the world where you would find concepts together like this, innovations from another world. It was not only the kitchen that you would find things like this, all throughout this house you would find small marvels of ingenuity. The bathroom, the heated floor, lamps that could turn on and off with a simple clap were just a few of the things that you would find within the house.
Waiting for her on the table was a plate occupied by a steaming fish broiled and set just before her arrival, a bowl of millet-like grain topped with fermented beans, a murky watery soup, and a small dish of mixed vegetables. “Good morning, milady. Your breakfast is prepared. I shall take care of the housework today.” Said a kindly voice full of humility.
The voice belonged to a young, or rather, young-looking elf. She had long blond hair, jade green eyes, and a lean body. She wore an off-white two-piece top and skirt that exposed her muscular midriff. While she may be currently doing household chores, she was, much like many of the other women found here in the hidden grove, a huntress. She was one among eight other female elves, all immigrants from the Northern Continent, now exiles from Elvendom. They were now under the protection of one of the greatest casters in the history of the world, in return they provided assistance in the form of hunting, housework, and intelligence gathering of the world outside.
After eating, the lady of the house returned to her room and sat at her vanity. In the mirror a woman of undeniable beauty stared back. She had long silver-white hair, a tanned complexion decorated with flowing black lines that could be mistaken for elaborate tattoos, long pointed ears that extended to just beyond her hair. Her eyes were a pale brown color, surrounded by long silver eyelashes. She also had a rather large bosom that seemed to defy gravity. Even though this truly glorious beauty stared back, she wore a saddened expression and a gaze that seemed to be looking into the beyond.
After a moment of silent contemplation, she refocused on the face in the reflections. “Okay, let’s test a new sample today.” she said, reaching her hand out and grabbing a sealed tub on the vanity. She scooped a generous helping of whatever was inside, and meticulously applied it to her arms and her face. When she was done massaging in the mysterious cream she sat there and watched, as if waiting for some great change to occur. After 5… 10… 15 minutes without the slightest hint of any kind of reaction, she let out a sigh. Then in a flash she shot to her feet, grabbed the container, and sent it hurtling through the air crossing the room, only for it to then collide with the opposite wall, smash and fall the floor, creating puddle on the floor of oily cream and clay shards. “Another failure!” she screamed.
“This isn’t fair!” she cried, falling to her knees on the wood floor, tears now beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. “How much longer… how much longer must I endure this?” she began to wipe her arms, as if she was attempting to hurriedly remove the substance she had just applied earlier, though it wasn’t long until she began using her nails to claw at her own skin. “Why won’t come off!?” she screamed, her voice echoing through the house.
Shortly two other women came rushing into the room, grabbing her arms and restraining them. Her nails were covered in blood, and long track marks were down her arm, blood seeping out of them. After a few tries, a sleeping spell finally worked, and the crazed woman fell limp to the floor. Healing magic quickly followed, and she was laid to rest back in freshly made bed. One of the two women, the one who had made breakfast and applied the sleeping magic, then went to clean up the remains of the spilled concoction. When she bent down to clean up the clay shards, she was amazed by what she found. The cream on the floor was giving off incredible mana. “This is incredible cleansing magic!” she uttered to herself, loudly enough to attract the attention of the other woman, now having healed all the self-inflicted wounds of their mistress.
“Even cleansing magic of that level couldn’t work?” the woman asked from the other side of the bed.
“If something like this didn’t. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would take work.” Said the other sorrowfully, while scooping up some of the remains.
“Make sure to remove any contaminants, and save it, just like the others.”
“Yes, of course. If any of our lady’s experiments got out, they would turn all common knowledge of healing magic on its head.” The first lady said, cleaning up every last drop of cream. She removed all the shards and placed it in a new container. She then left the room and went to a sealed room in the back. Opening it revealed a small dark room, lined with shelves from the ground up, on the shelves were dozens of containers just like the ones in her hands. Each of these jars contained a different concoction, some were creams, some were ointments, tonics, potions, and the like. Each one was based around different concepts of healing arts, each one more powerful than the next, each one a complete failure in the eyes of their creator. “My poor lady. Her affliction isn’t of the body anymore, it instead in the mind.” The woman said, placing the newest addition on a shelf, just above eye level, then leaving and resealing the door behind her.
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Part 2.
After all the chaos that had happened inside the library, Ina and I sat together at the table in our room. There was an awkward feeling that filled the air. I had found out information about her using my [Inspect] ability, but it had seemed that there was certain information that she was trying to hide, her name included in it. Now, here we sat on metaphorical pins and needles, not sure what exactly to say to clear the discomfort between us.
The sound of the pages turning in the large children’s book, full of fairytales and bedtime stories, was grating my ears in the otherwise soundless room. The sounds of my own thoughts became screams in my head, unable to manage this impasse any longer I caved, “Why are you hiding your name?” I asked her in a very simplistic Kimmimoki.
Her face, half hidden behind the text, showed an immediate reaction the to question. This led me to believe that this was a far more complicated circumstance than I could initially comprehend. She stayed quiet for a just a second, her eyes moving back and forth, however I had doubts that she was actually reading any of the lines on the page. Finally, she spoke, it was a calm, quiet voice, similar to how she had initially spoken to me back when I first brought her to my room. Full of uncertainty and fear. In near perfect Hume, she said. “There is a curse on my name. Speaking it can lead them to me.” Her eyes were large and wet, but she was hyper focused on my face, scanning it for even the slightest change in expression.
“I don’t understand what you mean by that? How is your name cursed?” My voice was a mix of surprise, pride, and absolute confusion. I was impressed by her near immediate comprehension of a different language and my reaction was to feel like a joyful parent whose child had just performed an incredible task, with the other part of a me completely confused, as the concept of magic and how it actually worked was still something I had fully yet to comprehend. “How is it that if I say your name, that they can find you?”
“I was told that if my name was said, that the bad people could find me. When the men attacked my village, I thought it was the bad people coming to kill me, though it turned out to just be different bad people.” Her voice was sullen, and her expression matched, not doubt that memories of that night were resurfacing during this conversation. “So, saying my name is bad. Please don’t say it.”
“So, it is not necessarily that there is any actual curse put on her. She was just told to keep it a secret to avoid it getting back to whomever is looking for her.”
“You are also from the Eastern Beast Continent. You are a ‘Moon Fox’?” I asked her. Her response was another surprised expression that begged the question of, ‘exactly how much did you already know about me?’, to this I answered her, “I have the ability to inspect others and see certain bits of information about them.” Her facial expressions relaxed slightly before taking a double take back at me.
“Only the devout are supposed to be able to inspect others, even then, it requires that the information be transferred into the sacred texts to be readable!” She exclaimed in a hurried voice. The information was new to me, but it matched the fact that the only person I had seen so far to posses the ability was the stuttering priest from when I first appeared in the royal court, and how he did in fact transfer the information into a rather oversized text before he could share any of my details. The other thing was that even though my level of [Inspect] was now higher than his, the information he was able to obtain about me was more than what I could currently view of others. Thus, I came to the conclusion that there was also some kind of power within the book, as if the pages themselves were a type of magical scroll.
“The ability was a gift from the gods when I first came to this world.” I said in response to her statement. Which was only met with another confused look. “Ah. I guess I never really did explain who I was. I was summoned to this world, in order to save it. I am from a different world called Earth, and I was given abilities, that I requested, by the gods in order to complete this task.” Her surprise quickly turned into admiration, her eyes grew large, and her mouth gaped open.
“You are a HERO!?” She asked with a mix of hope and joy.
“No. I am definitely not a Hero.” I responded plainly. The excitement in her face immediately drained and was replaced by an expression of regret. Looking at the dramatic shift in her psyche, I responded by saying, “I am not a Hero, but I promise, you will always be safe with me. Anyone who ever tries to hurt you, will first have to go through me.” My voice was filled with assurance and I reached out my hand, grasping her hand closest to me, giving it a small squeeze. She looked back up at me wearing a weak smile. Words that she had obviously heard before from people who had paid the ultimate price in an effort to keep them. “First thing we will have to do is to figure out a new name for you, if using your real name is too dangerous.”
She gave a slight nod in agreement. While between us, using pet-names like little one, and kiddo could pass, it was ultimately very inefficient, especially if there ever came a need to discuss something about her to another person. The two of us sat there, racking our brains to figure out a name that suited her. It was only by chance that I peered down into the book that she had opened to a story called, ‘Blooming by Moonlight’. The first thing that came to my mind was a flower whose color paled the moon, the Teppōyuri, more commonly known as the Easter Lily. It was native to southern Japan. It was a symbol of rebirth and hope.
“How about the name Lili?” I said with a slight eastern accent, emphasizing the mix of East and West. “A name that would mean rebirth, in the hopes of a better brighter future. Do you think that is a good name?” She gave me a large, genuine toothy smile at the suggestion.
“Yay! I love it.” She shouted, leaping from her chair, and wrapping her arms around my neck, only to then nestle her face on my, in a very animalist show of affection.
“Okay, okay…” I said with a chuckle as I attempted to calm down her down and regain some kind of decorum, in an effort to appease the very judgmental gaze of a particular maid who was standing rather statuesque next to the door, and ever-present presence that I was not yet accustomed too. The idea of her saying, ‘I shall inform my lady…’ simply rubbed me the wrong way. Though remembering how red her face had gotten when I said joking called our outing tomorrow a date, more than made up for any discomfort by her presence.
“Something else I wanted to ask about. What exactly is a moon fox?” Her eyes quickly shot over to Giazel in the corner then back to me. “It is fine. I told you; I would protect you against anyone.” I added, shooting a glance over to Giazel, who was facing forward, but her eyes where focused our direction, hinting at her interest in the subject matter.
“I hope you don’t plan on standing there all night?” I questioned her.
“It is a maids duty to stand ready and waiting, in order to fulfill all the wishes of her master.” She shot back.
“It would make it very difficult to go on our ‘date’ tomorrow, if you were all tired.” I responded, placing great emphasis on the word date. In response to this, I was met with a annoyed look from the maid, and hard kick to this shins from under the table.
“Servers you right!” She said, giving Lili a thumbs up for her part.
“What was that for?” I begged Lili. Her only reaction was to look away, and stick her nose up. “Anyway… You can leave for the night. I have no plans, nor will I do anything inappropriate to her. My honor is safe.” I said, placing a hand over my heart.
“I must stay, those were the orders from my lady.” She quickly responded. I could have sworn that the mental groan that had followed could have been heard in the hall.
“Where do you plan to sleep?” I asked. That night I found myself sandwiched between the two, on my left was Lili, whose head while on my chest, the rest of her was curled up into a tight ball. The biggest surprise was Giazel, who was cuddling my right arm in her sleep.
“[Inspect]… nope, no lucky pervert ability, had to make sure Vathsvala didn’t sneak anything weird in when I wasn’t looking.” I thought while doing a double check of my stats. “This is going to be a real hassle if this keeps going.” I continued with a mental sigh.
“Nope, that is just all you.” Said an alluringly disembodied voice.
“Go to sleep. Now is not the time for this.” I cried out mentally.
“I was just checking in with you. It has been a bit, you seem to be getting a hang of this world.” She said with a chuckle.
“Seriously… what is with the women in this world?” I begged her.
“You exude strength and confidence. I doubt the women in your world were any different.” She continued. While she may not be necessarily wrong, I was also told many a times, that I came off as cold and even gave an aura of intimidation around me, so many people avoided confronting me. This was apparently something that didn’t follow me to this new world.
“How are things on your end?” I asked, attempting to steer the conversation in a different direction.
“No changes. Wherever it is he is hidden, he is proving to be impossible to find.” She said seriously.
“Could it be that he isn’t actually in this world? How long would it take to search the godly realm?” I asked.
“To search all the possible places. Forever. It goes on and on infinitely. Unless we find some connection here, we won’t find him that way.”
“Understood. Well, just keep doing what you can.”
“You really think Eldgrin has something to do with all this?” she asked.
“Just a feeling. Regardless… I want to talk to the man who created such a ridiculous spell that would pull someone from another world. Why not just give someone who is already here the power to defeat your enemies.” I paused for a few seconds. “It isn’t all bad though.” I said to her, looking down at the two pretty ladies sleeping next to me.
“You are going to make me jealous.” She said with a chuckle.
“You stay up there. I’M GOING TO SLEEP NOW!” I quickly shouted at her in my mind.
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Part 3.
The fresh morning air greeted us as we stepped out from the gate of the Old City, into the Middle city. The sun hung low in the sky, but already the town was bustling with activity. People shopping in the local markets. The different shoppes either preparing or already selling their different wares. The smell of freshly baked bread hung heavy over the central avenue, luring any passerby who happened to have even the smallest of appetites this morning.
Luckily for us, the palace chefs prepared a hearty breakfast for us this morning, satiating any possible appetite that could arise before midday. During the meal, which was served in the dining room, and consisted of the Prince, Princess, Margrave, myself, Lili, Holdebark at attention as always, and Giazel who was waiting on me hand and foot. To call it a tense breakfast would be to undersell just how bad it was. Platz was in a truly disgusting mood, which was only matched by his overall personality. This set everyone else in the room on edge, and led to an uncomfortable impasse, dissuading anyone from attempting to even start up a conversation.
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“For real. I just went through this yesterday.” I thought to myself, remembering back to the conversation over Lili’s true name. “I am not a people person, but this is just painful.”
“Princess, I thought I would let you know. I’ll be taking Giazel and Lili into town. We will be getting supplies to start our trip, and taking a stroll through town.” I spoke aloud across the table. Her face appeared confused at the unknown name.
“Lili?” I asked in a polite, proper tone.
“Ah.” I said, forgetting that the only people who knew her name were the three that were present for the naming event last night. I motioned with both hands to the small girl sitting to my right, shoveling a bowl of some millet or grit like substance into her mouth. “This is Lili. Allow for me to formally introduce her the everyone.” All around the table there were nods of acknowledgement, with Platz just giving an ugly stare at her, before sticking his nose up in the other direction.
“I see, so she does have a name.” Said Eline, with an annoyed undertone. “Why does Giazel need to come along to your outing. Surely you don’t need a chaperone.” She continued.
“MY LADY…” chirped in Giazel. “You gave me the order to assist Sir Alex with anything he needs. This will be his first visit around town. In hopes that he doesn’t lose his way in our wonderful city, a resident would prove to be most helpful in guiding him through the streets.” Finished Giazel with a deep bow and a glowing smile on her face.
“Yup… landmine. No avoiding it. Total explosion coming up.” I thought to myself.
“Sorry Princess.” I said apologetically. “This was my idea. Yesterday you gave her the order to be my aide, so I invited her along to insure she could follow your orders.” I winced, unsure of what kind of response was to come.
“Yes. I believe he called it a ‘date’.” Giazel chimed in.
“Yup… Dead. So dead. Thanks for that Giazel. Roy here I come!” I screamed internally.
As if some otherworld force acted on Eline, she remained calm, keeping her majestic visage together. She simply sat her spoon down next to the bowl and said, “Father, may I be excused. I seem to have lost my appetite.” She then rose, and glided across the room, giving one last curtsy at the door. To anyone not paying any real attention, this looked to be a proper lady following proper manners, but the icy, deadly stare she gave me as she exited the room told me all I needed to know.
“Oh Giazel. You have probably dug a grave for the both of us. Why are all the women around me so scary. Sumire… no hold that that, she was probably more frightening of them.” I groaned looking up at the smiling maid next to me.
“The pain of being popular…” chuckled the old man sitting at the head of the table. Even the great bear-man next to him was quietly laughing to himself.
“Yeah… something I am not really used to.” I said, already exhausted before the day had even begun. “Ahem. So, I plan to takeout tomorrow, early. We will follow the plan as we discussed.” I said to the Prince but making sure to take notice of any changes in Platz’s presence.
“Sounds like that would be fine. One last hurrah into town before setting out. Try to have a good time, but not so much of one that it would upset my daughter anymore than she already is.” Said Hordin with a grin.
Giazel, normally drabbed in the restrictive maid uniform of the palace was now sporting a modest white dress, with floral patterns embroidered around the edges, and a simple black cord wrapping around her waist. She had basic dark brown shoes and had put on a little touchup makeup here and there. She was, for lack of a better description, a very pretty girl, with her normally bound blonde hair freedom to drop and hang, nearly reaching her butt. For a girl who had given me the impression that she hated my very being, the smile on her face, and gleam in her eyes at this moment wrote a completely different story.
We walked down the Central Avenue, feasting our eyes on the different sites to be seen, as both Lili and I were foreigners, it was the first time in my life that I felt like a true tourist. Lili was secretly a resident of the Beast Continent, and I, from another world, took in everything all at once. The only thing I could compare it too was a late medieval city, though cleaner than you may expect, and slightly more advanced, thanks to magic supplanting the need for technology. Lamp posts lined each side of the street, and wherever present in modest abundance throughout the two more central parts of the city. They turned on automatically with the setting sun, and off when the sun reared itself over the horizon each morning.
There were groups of custodians who walked through the city daily, cleaning up any and all trash that may be found, using sticks imbued with an ember enchantment. Allowing them to burn and trash they found on the spot with a simple pouring a small amount of mana onto the stick. It was explained to me that the last time there hand been a fire incident because of improper use of the device was over a hundred years ago, due to strong regulations set up be Hordin’s predecessors, and special incentives given to all those applicants selected to join this surprising elite sect of individuals. ‘Cleaning is a sacred task. It is important to all those who live in the world, cleanliness is goodness.’ Or so the saying went in the Chamber of Health, which had a branch that belonged to the city’s custodial staff.
There was also a large central hospital that treated anyone who visited regardless of social standing, it also had branches that were positioned around the city making it more convenient for people in need of treatment, fully staffed fire department, and multiple guard stations throughout the town, with a heavy presence near the outer districts of the old town. These all were apparently practices learned from the old Kimmomian Dystany, back in old day before diplomacy had broken down between the different species and had become a part of Human governmental ethics.
Our first stop was a small shop, on a side street just off the Main Avenue. “This is a special item shop; they have a lot of interesting products that can come in handy.” Said Giazel in an enthusiastic tone. “I’m sure that they will have something that will prove useful.”
The inside was dingy and dark, and immediately gave off an uncomfortable vibe. Dust seemed to cover most of the items that were on the shelf as if it were some sort of aesthetic applied to any new merchandise the owner got in. At first it appeared that no one was managing the store at all, it took a second take to notice a person bent over, with their face down, and a soft snoring escaping from space between their crossed arms.
Walking through the store, I found myself using [Inspect] on the different items that piqued my interest. Most appeared to be basic useful survival items, or had minor enchantments that increased a particular state by one or two. Doing so did seem to level up my skill though, so in the end it was productive use of time. I had all but considered this to be a bust until I stumbled upon a small section on a shelf that would otherwise have been overlooked completely had I not be essentially auto-Inspecting everything in my eyes passed over. On the shelf sat four pieces of jewelry, two rings, a hair comb, and a silver necklace. Isolde’s parure was the name of the collection. A ring of a poison resistance which as the name implied, made you immune to any poison. The other was a ring of deception, which improved your wisdom by four points and gave a skill that disguised any single ability you possessed. Next was a necklace of piercing resistance, which protected you from any kind of piercing weapon. Last was a comb of guile, which increased your intellect and dexterity by two points each. All of the items were also equipped with location magic, allowing for anyone one person to ascertain the location of anyone other person equipped with a piece of the collection.
“You four are probably the best finds in this whole shop.” I said, collecting the items and heading up to the counter with them. As if trying to meet my expectations, the person manning the counter still had their head down and the sound of a gentle snore continued to permeate through their locked arms. “I see… then that means that these are free right?” I said in a loud clear voice. No response. “Giazel what kind of shop did you bring us too?” I looked back behind me, only to find the two girls playing with what appeared to be a straw doll, attached to some wire. “You two, put that back and don’t touch it again.” I said, feeling a wave of dread and disgust covering my body.
“Hohoho…” came a voice behind me.
“Great, some creepy old dude laugh.” I thought in response to the sound coming from the counter while rolling my eyes so hard the hurt.
“I see that you know what that is for then, aye kiddo?” Said the man who had previously been sleeping face down on the counter. He had a long white beard with singed ends, long white eyebrows that nearly covered his eyes, he wore a dirty blue cloak and his breath smelt heavy of a tobacco-like odor, mixed with a repugnant fragrance of stale alcohol. “You have a good eye, the items in your hand have been in my shop for the last twenty-seven years. No one has even bothered to give them a second look, much less bring them to my counter. And you also knew what that doll of– “.
“Stop there. I don’t want to know, don’t care. It just creeped me out when I saw it. How much for the jewelry.” I cut him off, not because I didn’t really care, but because I didn’t want him to say aloud that it was a manipulative magic item that could get someone to perform in any manner that the user desired, as long as the user had attached something personal of the intended target to the doll. Essentially, it was a voodoo puppet. Combined with the fact that the two of them both seemed interested in it, it made my skin crawl thinking about what they were possibly thinking.
“Let’s see… to be honest, never considered, never thought they would sell.” The man said scratching his beard. The man seemed to get lost in thought, or I thought that was the case. Not being able to see his eyes or mouth made it incredibly difficult to judge what his real emotions were. “How about a discount? Half price, twelve silver bars.” he said, reaching out his hand. I looked inside the pouch, an allowance given to me by Hordin.
The currency system was pretty basic and convoluted all at the same time. All forms were divided into two kinds of forms, bars, or coins. Ten copper bars were equal to one copper coin, ten copper coins equaled one silver bar, this cycle repeated from copper to silver, from silver to gold, from gold to platinum, and if you had to do a transaction which required a significant amount of platinum coins, there were special diamond bars that were equivalent to one hundred platinum coins, and transaction that required a higher form of currency that this, simply didn’t exist in the realm of reality, or didn’t exist with an actual trade of currency. To put into perspective, the Empire’s entire yearly budget is worth just slightly more than a diamond bar. Faustus’ budget was less than half of that.
“That is with a discount? Sounds a bit steep.” I said, leaning forward on the counter.
“You want them because you know their value, I want to sell them to you because I know you know their value. Trust me kid, I gave you a big discount.” He finished with a gnarly smile, that showed almost half of his teeth were missing, and the ones he did have, didn’t seem to be in their proper place. While his argument wasn’t really all that convincing, the mood in the store seemed to shift and a feeling of discomfort came over me.
“Fine, you win.” I said, handing over the coins into his greasy boney hand.
He reached out with his other hand, catching me by surprise. His grip was far stronger than it had any right to be. “Choose the receiver carefully. The world is troubled, and none can see the future. The right gift a bless, and the wrong gift a curse.” The foreboding warning concluded, I retracted my hand, grabbed the girls and left the store with haste.
“That son of a bitch, raising flags for now reason.” I thought, worried about the now distinct possibility of his warning coming true.
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Part 4.
Having left the world’s strangest oddities store, we made back to Main Avenue. I was feeling quite tired, yet the sun had not reached its zenith. “Where next?” I asked, letting out a long sigh.
Giazel rushed ahead, then turned and pointed to a large building off of Central Street, a long circular road that ran through the heart of the Middle City. “That will be the next stop. The adventurer’s guild.” She said with a smile.
“No.” I said flatly.
As if she had run into a brick wall, she stopped in her tracks and did a 180-degree turn and put her hands on her hips. “Why not?” she yelled.
“I am not getting involved with an adventurer’s guild, no quests, no ranks, nothing. Not happening.” Was the last thing I said before finding myself at the counter inside the guild hall. The looks I had received when I entered were expected. Some young kid, accompanied by a pretty blond girl and a small child, enters a hall full of prideful hunters and adventurers, risking their life and limb for coin and glory. I was sure that my mental groan was audible.
“Are you sure you want to sign up to be an adventurer lad?” Said an older, well-endowed woman, well thirty years past her prime.
“No happy-go-lucky beauty in her young twenties, or even a gorgeous vixen in her ripe thirties. Nope, just some lady pushing 70, who reminds me of a rather older and voracious Empress of the Sea.” I thought to myself quietly, lest she sick her family of adventurers on me.
“Yes. I will apparently need the registration to move about the land freely, and since I am not a merchant who goes about trading his wares, this seemed like the most logical option.” I said, giving her the best salaryman smile I had learned.
She looked me up and down a few times, then said, “Okay honey, just don’t get killed out there. It hurts the guilds reputation when kids die on silly quests.” She then flopped down on whatever poor piece of furniture happened to be today’s victim. “Okay kid, to start off we will need to gauge your strength. First, we’ll test your mana capacity with this meter here.” she said, lifting a large spherical object on the counter. “Just touch this and pour some mana inside.”
“This would be the part where I accidentally destroy the meter with my mana, but I will choose to avoid that route.” I said internally, only to then look over at the two girls, eyes excited in anticipation of the possibility I was trying to avoid. I placed my hand on the meter and poured a bit of mana into it. Slowly the light changed from originally a dark murky color and eventually to a clear bright light. Feeling that was enough, I removed my hand, to the dismay of the audience to my right.
“Well… I’ll be damned. I’ll give it to ya kid. You got some good mana. Haven’t seen that color form a newbie in the past twenty-five years.” she said, aging herself publicly.
“Yeah, I am pretty confident in my capacity, though I don’t really know any spells.” I said with a nervous laugh.
Silence crept across the room. Apparently high mana capacity isn’t something that is just given, it is something that is acquired through rigorous magic training by expending all of your mana, over and over again, letting it naturally grow over time. I, however, had cheated, and all my abilities expanded in unnatural amounts as I leveled, again another concept that was foreign to the inhabitants of this world.
“They can be upset if they want, you all have no idea what I sacrificed to achieve this power.” I thought coldly.
“Here.” said the lady flatly. Handing me a book, ‘Beginner’s Magic’ was the title. “Use that and learn some magic, it would be a crime to let that outstanding magic capacity just go to waste.” While I wasn’t entirely concerned about that statement, as I did have abilities that consumed mana, it was far from conventional magic. Though the idea of attempting to learn magic in the normal way did seem to pique my curiosity.
“Thanks.” I said with shallow bow, habit from my older world and old job.
“Next will be a practical exam, go through that door with this pass, and tell the examiner you are taking the entrance test.” She said, not bothering to even look at my direction.
I turned to the two girls, again, their eyes full of excitement. “I am trying to keep a low profile here… shit and there is another flag.” I sighed angrily at myself.
“Come on you two, stay with me. Maybe we can avoid issues that way.” I said to them, corralling them through the door into the exam hall. That hall turned out to be a small arena in the back of the building, a few of the seats taken up by other adventurers, watching examinees try their best to reach the next ranks. “Cheers for a success and a jeer for a failure. Humans are all the same.” I said to myself aloud.
“What does that mean?” asked Lili.
Just now realizing I had vocalized my thoughts; I turned to her and spoke. “Even humans in my world would applaud those who achieved success in their endeavors. However, if you failed, you were ridiculed and laughed at, never being able to go on without hearing over and over again about how you failed to accomplish your task, even if you managed to succeed at something else. We tend to cruel to those that are in the public light.”
“I see. Truly, humans are humans, no matter where they are.” Added Giazel, who wore a sad expression. “Though, I do not believe you will meet that fate today. Today, you will receive cheers and stares of wonder.” She finished, flashing me a lovely smile.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” I responded. “Why don’t you two take a seat there.” I said, pointing to a couple seats in the first row. “I’ll be able to see you easily, and you me. Try to avoid any people if you can.” I added.
The girls took their seats as the last person was sent flying into a wall, having the medical crew come to his rescue. The beast that did it, was an incredibly muscular Lion-man, he had large war axe which he spun around with one hand. His Mane was trimmed short in the front while the back was left long and flowed back down behind him. I gave a scan of all those in attendance and brought my eyes back to him.
“Would you happen to be the proctor?” I asked in Kimmimoki. He was startled at hearing his native language spoken, albeit not fluently. “Or the man behind you?” I finished. Again, surprise showed on his face, for a person to realize that he was in fact just the stand-in.
“If this were actually a test, you would be the first to pass.” He responded, placing a hand on his heart and giving a shallow bow of respect. “I go by Richard here.” He said in the local tongue.
“Richard the Lionheart… got it.”
“Thank you, Richard.” I said returning the gesture. Then I proceeded forward to find an older gentleman; next to him lay a large flat sword, it looked as if someone had smelted a giant iron bad, about four feet in length, then stuck a handle on it. I would have thought this to be simply compensation for something, had I not read his stats earlier. “I wonder, who is stronger, you or Holdebark?” I asked the man, who had up to this point been ignoring my existence.
“You got some balls on ya kid.” Said the man, still sitting in his chair, with his eyes close. He was an older gentleman, around the same age as the receptionist, and while he looked to be rather frail, his physique was extremely deceptive. No doubt that piece of wrought iron was his weapon, and I am sure he could still use that just as well as he did in his younger days. He could take on ever adventurer in the building and still come out on top, that was how strong this man was.
What I didn’t know was that he had apparent beef with Holdebark from way back in the day when they were adventurer buddies, and Holdebark slept with the girl he fancied, only to then leave her right afterwards, causing her to swear off adventurers and settling down with the baker who made the delicious smelling breads from earlier. So every morning the man was reminded of the incident when the baker made a fresh batch of breads.
“Not sure what you mean by that. You simply look to me like you were about the same strength as him.” I said unknowingly.
“You are here for the entrance test.” He shot back, grabbing the slip in my hand. “I’ll have to tell them that you failed and send you home in a body bag.” he said in a breathy angry voice, as he shot up grabbing his hunk of metal next to him.
My eyes grew wide at the sudden realization that I had apparently triggered some kind of event that I was attempting to avoid. “Damn. This is stupid. Fine… if the flags get raised, they get raised, I’ll get tear all down as they come along.” I jumped back and took a stance, ready to react at a moment’s notice.
“Where’s yer weapon kid?” said the man, swing his large blade around him. I shook my fists in response to him.
“Do we wait for a signal, or do we just go when we are ready to go?” I asked.
“Oh, you’ll know.” He said, raising his weapon and taking a step forward. Accepting that as the signal, I moved forward. Faster than anyone could see, I moved into his space, his eyes just barely catching my movement, but his body was unable to keep up. I launched a fist forward, smashing into his weapon. The crunching, cracking sounds could be heard throughout the area. As time seemed to catch back up, his weapon exploded, sending shards all around. I kicked one of the shards that was flying close by, sending hurtling towards the girls, to then pierce a man who had moved in close behind Lili. Catching him in the right shoulder, he yelped in pain, grabbing his injury. Medical crew rushed to his aid, taking him away on a stretcher.
“So… do I pass?” I asked the old man, who was now sitting on the floor dumbfounded by the event that had just played out.
“Y-y-yes.” He stuttered, still in a daze. The entire arena had been dead silent, save for the injured man’s cry. They were all staring down at me.
“Anyone else have anything to add?” I said loudly, allowing my voice to be heard through the auditorium. None ventured to move, let alone utter a single sound. I took my slip back from him, called for the girls to rejoin me and walked back out into the main hall.
“Passed. Looks like I am an adventurer.” I said to the receptionist.
“Oh, did Richard go easy on ya?” she asked.
“Na. I fought against Walter. Ended up destroying his weapon. Hopefully you guys don’t bill me for that. If there is a fee, send it to Holdebark, he owes me for that somehow.” Her face looked as if she was painfully confused.
“You mean Walter fought you? The old man who does nothing but sit, smoke, sleep, and drink? And you, destroyed his ‘Mountain Cleaver’?” She asked with surprise.
“So, he was compensating for something.” I accidentally shared aloud. “I mean, yes… that Walter.” I said hurriedly, attempting to cover up my vocalized thoughts. “Again. Any bill, send straight to Holdebark.” The lady, still in disbelief at the thought, placed two things on the counter; one was an iron plate, which contained my identification. It was magically imbued so that, when mana was poured into it, an image of myself would appear, along with all the necessary identifiable information, such as home base, number of quests completed, rank, age, height, etc. The other was a piece of quartz, cut into a square shape. This matched the ranking labeled on the id, Guild Rank, Quartz Square.
“Congrats Alex!” exclaimed Giazel. “I am sure in no time; you’ll be a Diamond Princess!”
“I absolutely hate whoever came up with the ranking system for the guild.”