After a somewhat successful deal had been brokered and ended with the acquisition of a new property, the friends travelled to where the home was listed.

“North east of the Nevfix Inn? Did they have to be so vague?!” MIyuki complained.

“The receptionist mentioned how we would see it quickly.” Itzozu mentioned looking at Miyuki.

“I can barely even read any of this!!” Miyuki shouted, shoving the parchment form into Itzozu’s chest. “You can’t read this?” Itzozu questioned, giving a suspicious glare into her blue eyes.

Miyuki subverted her gaze as a cold sweat dripped down her forehead. She scratched her head, hoping Itzozu’s gaze would relent, but his willpower was as strong as a monk’s. “...Well… I can read the numbers and speak it. So I never bothered to learn it. Miyuki nervously told Itzozu. Feeling the intense heat of his gaze burn into her face.

“I honestly can’t believe this.” Itzozu's eyes twitched as he clutched his head. “This girl is seriously… stupid.” He kept this thought to himself.

“Hey! I lived in Sora for most of my life. I can at least read that!” The blue-haired woman made an attempt to defend herself. “Being fluent in Sorian is impressive. The second hardest language to learn, if I recall.” Elijah jumped in.

Behind the friends were a dozen wooden carriages being pulled by horses; their hooves clicked on the ground as they impacted the worn, paved road. The carriages had a small tent-like roof above them to shelter any people or goods inside.

It was a strange sight to see a carriage being pulled by a house. Many centuries ago, this custom faded due to new technology and essence techniques taking their place. “A horse carriage?” Miyuki questioned, looking at the carriage slowly disappearing to the horizon.

The sunset was an amazing mix of colours; the friends couldn’t help but look at it. The rays of the setting sun pierced through the buildings, splitting into colourful waves of orange, purple, and red.

"Well, here’s the inn,” Itzozu pointed at the derelict building.

It looked to have been eroded by the passage of time. Its once prestigious and grandiose exterior is now being reduced to rotting wood; it looked as if someone would fall through the building at any time.

“Looks terrible.” “Awful” “Is this place even open?” “This place sucks." The friends all took turns insulting the terrible state this once “grand” inn was in. “Wait, don’t tell me...” Asher questioned.

“It looks like it. The apartment is above the inn.” Itzozu sighed, looking defeated. “Hey, maybe this apartment on the inside looks better?” Asher attempted to cheer Itzozu up.

They entered the inn; the door handle was weak, falling apart the moment Miyuki grabbed it. Slowly, the door opened with a loud creak, like they were inside a horror movie. One by one, the friends slowly peaked their heads into the inn. It was pitch black, with only the sound of a chair rocking back and forth.

“Yeah. No thanks. Bye guys. I’ll just go live in a bush or something.” Asher refused to enter.

“No way. You’re dealing with this too.” Miyuki refused Asher’s request. Grabbing him by the back of his pink top, he stopped him dead in his tracks. Asher began to shake uncontrollably, with tears streaming down the freckles on his cheeks.

Asher clutched onto Miyuki’s armour, his grip not daring to let go. “You can’t force me!!” Asher pleaded with her. Demanding the blue-haired girl let him go. She gave a little chuckle. “No,” was the last thing Miyuki said before throwing Asher into the apartment.

Itzozu cautiously approaches the door handle, taking a small step each time. “They wouldn’t trap the floors... At least I hope they didn't,” he thought to himself, prodding each plank of old wood with his foot.

After a thorough examination, he deemed the planks to be, in fact, safe. Itzozu let out one last deep breath before swallowing all his ego and grabbing the handle. “It’s freezing.” He loudly muttered. His face was in complete shock, like he had just caught a glimpse of Medusa.

The door slowly opened, and they all walked inside. Their heavy footsteps followed into the main living room of the apartment, and they finally got why it was so cheap.

“Looks… Nice.” “Terrible. I would rather live with the rats.” Itzozu lied through his teeth, while Miyuki made no sign of sugarcoating.

They examined the living room, and they found mould coating the ceiling and spreading across the walls, giving the floor a dirty green colour. There was a carpet that was dirty beyond comprehension. There was even a leak from the floor above, dripping down and down.

“This is not fitting for a party of adventurers going to Orion.” Asher mumbles, looking down on the ground.

“Since when were we adventurers? Do those guilds even exist anymore!?” Miyuki questioned.

Asher looked away; his green eyes felt as if they were shining.

“I think the last one went out of business 20 years ago.”

“It marked the end of the magic era and paved the way for the technological era.” Asher looked away once again. He sighed as he completed his sentence.

“I’m sad that we’ll never get to witness the magic era. Tales and scriptures tell of a tale from so many years ago. About a group of four with ambitious dreams, they wanted to kill the demon king!”

“Yet once they found him, covered in scars and fatefully injured, The Saint showed mercy, eventually befriending the demon king. According to those who witnessed these times, The Saint was an incarnate of kindness and forgiveness.” Asher reminisced about an old tale, smiling somberly.

“That’s incredible. The magic age was truly something else.” Itzozu laughed. In awe of the tale Asher had told.

“I guess we just live in the most boring era, huh?” Elijah joked around, and both of them also joined in on the laughter.

“Yeah. Cool tales and stuff, but did the asshole who left this mess leave a piece of paper on the table?” Miyuki griped. She used the end of her sword to slowly leverage the paper into the air, refusing to touch it with her bare hands.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“There’s writing on it?” He pondered. When she lifted the paper up, he saw writing on the underside.

“And there is...” Miyuki groused as she lifted the paper onto the other side.

The note had been written on an expensive sheet of parchment. If it weren’t for being on this decrepit table, it would’ve been a sight to see. Itzozu took it upon himself to read the letter.

“Greetings, I am a representative of Chthonia; we have close ties with Edessa however, the royals express an unwavering determination to see you. As such, you have been blessed with a rich opportunity. You are invited to the royal banquet in two days from now. We will be in close contact soon.“ The letter was signed by someone called Augustus Ryegal.

“Does he take us for a fool?” Miyuki complained about the letter.

“Maybe it’s all not too bad?” Asher faltered.

"Yeah, because they’ll mention how they have close ties with the people who’re trying to kill us and then invite us to a banquet. Surely you gotta see the plan they have.” Miyuki formulated their plan, or at least what she thought the plan was.

“Huh. I’m going to go, check out the shops." Asher grabbed the handle and slammed the door shut. Unfortunately, it seemed like no one was paying any attention.

“Can we ever catch a break?” Elijah yawned while stretching his arms out. He glanced around the room and noticed something very strange. There was a distinct lack of annoyance. “Where’s Asher?” He asked.

“Ah, he just left. I think he said he was going to the shops.” Itzozu answered while giving the letter a thorough check.

Itzozu rested his weight on an old wooden table. The table creaked as it attempted to support him; he wasn’t going to dare try to sit on a chair due to its disgusting and fragile nature. The table creaked and cracked under his own weight. "Well, I guess we know why his apartment was discounted.” Itzozu attempted to laugh it off, and yet the room fell silent.

“This place sucks so bad.” Miyuki muttered as she gazed out through the single window in the apartment. The entire place was dark and gloomy due to this window not letting much light through.

“That it does.” Itzozu replied back, also now feeling more sad than ever. He sat his laptop and notebook on the table and began to get to work. Clicking each one of his fingers in the process.

Itzozu’s hands glided over the keyboard at a high speed, pressing each key quickly like his life depended on it. He had a strict deadline of about two minutes. His fingers impacted each key like they were going to be caught on fire.

“Shit.” He sighed, taking a defeated lean back before remembering he wasn't sitting on a chair.

“This apartment costs more than our house. And it is apparently haunted.” Itzozu questioned, shimming himself away from the laptop so he could show everyone else.

On the screen was a news headline about a haunted apartment where seven people were killed at a party.

Miyuki looked closer at the screen; her eyes darted between the reporter and the apartment. “That’s our apartment.” Her expression faded to nothing as she stared blankly at the screen, only blinking quickly.

Itzozu scribbled with a pen, writing things so fast they were impossible for Miyuki to understand, despite the fact she cannot read Edessian anyway. He clicked his pen while racking up thoughts. He considered the possibility of selling weaponry; over the course of their friendships, they had collected many, which could fetch a valuable price. “No, that wouldn’t work. Someone would kill me.” Itzozu thought to himself while staring at Miyuki.

His red hair complimented the warm colours of the sunset, making a display of bold colours. He took a moment to breathe. Looking at the roof, he noticed how damp and grungy it was. The wood looked as if it were falling apart.

The blue-haired girl noticed how defeated Itzozu was; his eyes bore a great deal of tiredness.

She knew that the money situation between them was already bad, and now this much worse apartment also costs more. Just thinking about it made her head hurt. “Ugh, I’ll have to get a job too. Bleak life for I” Miyuki thought to herself.

“Elijah, are Foundation Hunters still hiring?” Miyuki asked while smirking. Knowing what the answer would be.

Miyuki had heard about a plethora of dramatic stories about the company. Even knowing how Phi, the contract dealer, was always frustrated by the lack of agents, The fondest tale Elijah has is of a fight he had with an old friend, a tale Miyuki loved to hear.

Miyuki’s personality was that of a deranged, psychopathic super soldier, as evident due to his insane strength. It was the perfect job for her.

“We still are,” Elijah laughed.

“So that problem is... Somewhat dealt with. The last problem is Chthonia. We cannot afford to move again.” Itzozu slumped down in his chair, his brain again wracking with thoughts.

“Even if it’s a trap, why don't we just kill them? We haven’t been stopped so far.” Miyuki pondered the thought.

“Considering the invitation, I bet they’d send an elite mage,” Itzozu emphasised.

“Elite mages are considered the apex of essence, being able to effortlessly use their techniques. They’ve trained from the moment of birth to reach a perfect state of transcendence. They even hold an Authority.” Itzozu explained.

“Huh, what the hell is the Authority?” Miyuki questioned, taking an interest in the conversation.

Itzozu’s eyes furrowed, and his hands rested on his lap before falling down to the end of the table, increasing his grip ever so slightly. He let out a small chuckle before looking at Miyuki, deciding to spill the truth.

“Authority is a special-class technique that is beyond the current techniques. They give you complete control over your innate ability. It was believed to be created during The Saint’s time.” Itzozu added.

This conversation was interrupted by the loud bang of the door slamming against the wall. Whoever opened the door clearly had no concern for damage. The friends look behind them to see the familiar sight of the pink-haired, green-eyed person.

“What did I miss?” Asher exclaimed.

“Hm. Do you know about Authority, Asher?” Itzozu asked.

Asher’s expression turned from the classic carefree into a serious and almost cold expression. “I do.” He coldly stated this before rummaging in a bag that was thrown by the table.

After a brief moment of looking through, he slowly pulled out a book. It had a brown and black cover with a golden spine; it had various patterns of serpents and a large dragon in the centre.

“The hell is that?” Miyuki questioned.

“It’s a grimoire. This one was created by someone close to The Saint about 200 years ago. It details ancient techniques and essence manipulation.” Asher explained while flicking through each page.

“It’s a grimoire I hold very dear to me,” he muttered.

Asher’s finger arrived at a screeching halt as he found the page he was looking for. His eyes darted between the words as a smile creeped up his face. “Here it is.”

“Hehe, if you want to learn more, you should read this book!” He giggled. Purposely teasing Miyuki, as he knew just how much Miyuki hated learning.

Asher handed the book to Itzozu, being careful not to drop it. He elegantly accepted the book and looked at the page before deciding to read it out.

“Authority hast lost time. The technique hast faded. To rebuild thyself to new peaks. We must act. Absorb thee essence from thy innate and charge it to the innate ability. Only the most extraordinary mages shall perform this technique.“ The grimoire read weirdly enough. This was a massive book with so little information.

Asher grabbed the grimoire and stood back up, the fiery colours of the candle on the table showing a perpetual darkness of the left and the fiery desire of the right side. The friends saw a new side of Asher as he gave a warm smile.

“Let’s do our best, so we can be in tales and legends too!” beamed Asher.

“That’d be amazing.” “We’ll be the greatest tale of them all!” “Legends of us… would be nice.” All the friends chirped in.

2.

The cold night was harsh, and the apartment offered little to no resistance to the frigid temperatures of Edessa. Massive gusts of wind blew through the open window, catching everyone off guard.

After their motivational speech, the friends went back to discussing their plans with Chthonia.

A wooden stick slammed against a piece of worn parchment. Itzozu scribbled down several ideas of what to do, yet nothing stuck. He thought about accepting the invitation and then waiting to see what would happen, wondering what would happen if they didn’t accept.

“What about an assassination? If we do it in secret and without being noticed, we are in the clear.” Elijah asked, giving the most well-thought-out answer yet.

The room went silent for a moment until Itzozu spoke up.

“That may work. The only problem would be finding a chance to.”

“Those goddamn royals have dances before and after their meals. It’s prime time to cull them!” Miyuki assured them.

“In case things get bad, I took a look into blueprints. Thanks to my manager, I've been able to dissect the blueprints for the fortress.” Elijah disclosed this while straightening his back.

“Fortress?” Miyuki questioned.

“Yeah. Chthonia is the fortress city, known for its impenetrable gates and its maze-like halls. Not a single person has broken into Chthonia in the last four hundred years," Elijah declared.

Elijah pulls out a piece of worn parchment; inside, it details the fortress walls and the inside of the walls. Elijah points to the left quadrant.

“Here’s the plan: first, we send Itzozu into the gate, distract the guard for as long as you can, and maybe stir up an argument. While the front guard is distracted, Miyuki and Asher will go to the left quadrant and attach the bomb.” Elijah laid out.

“Lastly, I’ll be in the right quadrant; hopefully, that’ll cause the guards to disperse, and then we can weaken through the forces.” He added.

“If this turns out to be a trap, we’ll be taking their heads!” Miyuki laughed sinisterly.

The friends had made their own declaration.