Edited by: KenChi死
I woke up couple hour later. My mana pool was still low barely 1/3 of its full capability. My throat was a little sore, my head a bit dizzy, and my vision was slowly adapting itself to the dim lights in the room. I sat on the verge of bed and drank water from a chalice standing on cupboard.
* “We need to talk” Sebastian said quietly.
* “What’s the matter?”
* “…Do you even need to ask? You lost yourself. And I though Wrath was doing his job right up until now.”
* “Wrath did everything properly. He kept the rage from beast I consumed.” I looked at Sebastian “It was my rage.”
Sebastian looked at least disappointed. And somehow I felt, as if I would say something that would anger him even more, Sebastian will prepare some really nasty things as “training”.
* “You need to control yourself. You just gave your opponents another argument against you. They will say you are emotionally unstable. I hope it is the last time you allowed yourself such an act. If you would loet yourself one more time… for such a pathetic reason, I will drag you in the mountains, where you will meditate for 10 years, and either you will reach enlightenment, or we shall repeat the process. Your life spawn was greatly improved, so “wasting” 50 or so years to find peace is still not that much. The problem is, that you have no time to spare. The world is changing rapidly, and sooner or later you will have to react.”
* “Pathetic reason you say… From every possible person… you are the one saying that? You know why I came here… don’t you? Because I was “unsatisfied” with my previous life… no, calling that dissatisfaction is like calling a dragon a mere lizard. And here I come… living over 7 months covered in blood and dirt… can you call this a happy life?”
* “It is not what I mean…”
* “For whatever I did… for every fucking sacrifice I made… for all the love I showed… what was I paid with?.... I DESERVE TO BE LOVED! FOR EVERY THING I KEPT DOING, YET IN THE VERY END SOME WHORE WOULD STEP OUT AT SAY “GET BACK TO THE HOLE YOU CAME FROM?” I DESERVE TO BE ADMIRED! I DESERVED TO BE RESPECTED! AND I DESERVE TO BE LOVED! And yet, I will probably never be able to find anyone. Either I will have to lie, to hide who I am… or from the very beginning I would be judged either as a tool or threat. There will be no one who will simply love me for who I am. Just look, this whole damned Council, what do they want? They are interested in me, because what I did, or because I am Chimera? The beastmens… they don’t even know me, yet they almost force me into becoming some kind of a king… or rather a war chief. Why? How would they know I am not an idiot? They don’t want ME, they want a Chimera. Demons… they want a mercenary… at least they didn’t hide it… Who would judge me by who I am?! WHO!?”
* “I will”
I was speechless.
* “I picked you, not because you were a chimera, nor because you were chosen by the gods, nor because I wanted to use you. You were… pure. Forcing yourself against everything. Clumsily walking forward. As you became a witch, I forced myself into becoming a familiar. If you would took a hunter, I would transform into some kind of animal and follow you to be a beast master. And if you would be a warrior… then I would broke the pact from the ancient time, cast aside my powers to be take the shape of a human… to join your party. And I am here for you. I will train your body and spirit, because I want to see how much the world can influence you… and how much you can influence the world.”
And he hugged me. And it was something I really needed. How much time has passed since someone hugged me like that? I can’t remember. The warmth was so strong and nice, that it pierced through the skin and gathered in my heart. Thehe… Should I say something like “B-baka! What are you saying so suddenly?”… no, he wouldn’t know the joke.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
* “So now, don’t give them satisfaction… my master… my friend. Stand proudly before them, and make their words have no impact on you. You are so much better than them… And I hope you have decided which weapons you want to use… for this touching moments we have now, is not going to make me treat you any better during trainings…”
* “Not yet. But soon you will be able to torture me just like before.”
* “And now… pardon me. It’s a bit… awkward… “
Oh crap! The rule sayin’ that bros cannot hug for more than 15 seconds was broken! I will have to punch a wall for an hour to feel manly again.
Sebastian once again turned into a bird and sat on the chandelier. I refreshed myself, ate an apple from the plate, and prepared myself to leave, when someone knocked the door.
* “Open”
It was Daralon…
* “What the fuck are you wearing?!”
* “Hee? You left the arena so angry, so I thought I would cheer up you a little.. is that bad, master?”
* “BUT WHY THE FUCK A MAID OUTFIT?! … even more… if that would be just a maid outfit, I wouldn’t mind, that would make me laugh for sure… but this is an outfit used by prostitutes!
~Daaaamn… Look at those leeeegs… he has a good body, and you can’t deny it….
* “Tsh, you are just jealous, because I have the body of a model!... and I think it is the right time to move it out from the basement… you know, it starts to smell”
* “It is an illusion… is it… even more, specially designed for me?”
* “How could you tell?”
* “You are standing in the door, and an actual maid just passed you… without looking at you like you were some kind of abomination”.
Daralon pouted, and soon his uniform was replaced by his usual dark robe. Thank the gods… my eyes…
* “Anyway, as you were napping, the council was voting… and congrtaz, you were marked as someone that is unworthy of wasting our precious resources to be terminated. In the end lots of money needed to be spent if we wanted to kill you humanly… I still don’t get the point of it… in the holy Kingdom they are just paying for wood, and then buh, witch is burning… Anyway, you are now a Grand Mage with all the blessing from council. And you better act as fast as possible, because they will soon invite you to the special forces. Better find some occupation quickly, so you can just politely refuse.”
* “Who exactly wants to recruit me?”
* “Who dosn’t? Alchemist guild, enchanters guild, sentinels… well, I am one of them, they even want you to join the Academy… And they have some pretty nice methods of recruiting. Let me just say, that alchemy guild is… specific. They will cage you in golden rooms and force you to work 12 hours a day, they will pay you with… female friends, if you know what I mean, drugs and stuff… but as you would sign a contract… you would be a slave for 50 years… in a golden cage… but I can already see how you react to any kind of cage. What will you do?”
* “Probably adventure… maybe from time to time some alchemy on the side for extra coin”
* “The Adventure guild is a great pick. You will be a freelancer… but… alchemy in bigger cities is illegal… outside of the guild of course.”
I looked at him with questioning eyes.
* “You know… it is legal, but every potion made that way needs certificates, profs, taxes are insane… let’s just say that if you are not in the guild, you will need to wait a few months for each of your potion to be checked before selling. And then half of the moneys would be spent on experts that checked em’, tax on elixirs is 20%... so if you are buying your herbs… you wouldn’t earn that much… but then, there is a black market… It would be good for you to visit the Syndicate and say hello, even if you are not going to work for them. Pure courtesy, you know… The adventure guild in located near the slums, in those slums there are two inns that you would be especially interested… one of them is Devil’s Pit, another one is Black Snake. The first one… is for demi-humans, of course as human you also can enter it… you just have lower chances of getting out. In both of them, say to the barman, that you want to “say hello to the Boss”, eventually they could ask who sent you, first say “friend of a friend” it’s a key-word. If they would ask you who precisely… just say my name.”
* “You work with the Syndicate?”
* “Connections, my friend, they can consult you with everyone. From the black market alchemist to paid assassins… really good ones.”
* “How good?”
* “… I worked for them” Aha… this good. “Plus information, If you say spies you think Syndicate. You can think about them as about… the darker adventure guilds. Just instead of monsters in the forest they kill monsters in the palace… Oh… bro… that sounded cool and you have to admit it!”
* “Why are you helping me? Sorry, but I am not really used to kindness, especially if you don’t owe me.”
* “Oh, but I hope I will work with you in the future! I heard you are really good with alchemy, I mean, that you have huge potential! If you would work for the Syndicate, I will buy your stuff. It is cheaper that way, you know… also there is much wider option of poisons….”
* “Won’t the Syndicate throw me in the cage?”
* “that’snot how it works. If they would treat the alchemist badly… who would work for them? There reputation is all they got to keep the slums in one piece. Now, I can hear that someone is already walking this way… run bro, I will stop them.”
* “… but you won’t kill them…”
* “Of course not! I will talk with them! I have a nice position here, so they can’t simply ignore me when I talk to them! Now wait a few seconds and run!”
He stepped out from the room, and soon I could hear him shouting though the corridor.
* “AH! Senator Mirana! So good to see you! I was just looking for you! How is your new recipe for mana restoration potions going? You know, I am really interested with those potions, all sentinels are! You could earn a small fortune by selling those to…”
I stepped out of my room, I saw Daralon talking with some woman. She looked at me as if she wanted to say something, but Daralon was talking and talking… as if he didn’t need air to breath. I nodded my head in polite way as if saying “good afternoon” turned around and walked out of the floor. Then stepped out from the building, to finally leave the Academy district. By asking passers about the way, I headed to the adventure guild. What better place to gather information and some experience at the same time?