Leif and Lars sat in the guild-master’s office, though the room was absent the owner in question, Nikolas having excused himself several minutes prior. Lars was fully perceivable to Leif’s senses, though reading the man’s emotions or intent was like trying to see the sky while indoors.

The man sat, lounging back in his seat, grey eyes partially vacant in the familiar expression of ‘I’m looking through my system windows.’ He was a severe looking man, his tanned complexion and features similar to Nikolas and his son, Darius, though Leif’s self-appointed teacher lacked similarities beyond visual. Where Nikolas had an open sort of intensity, and Darius an ephemeral timidity, Lars gave off the impression of somebody in complete, authoritarian control over themselves.

His face was similar to his aura, both completely unreadable unless the man specifically intended to show otherwise. Leif didn’t mind the stretching silence, he had a lot to consider, and even more to worry over. Both masks, his self made blank wooden construction and the painted mask he had bought from the bazaar only a handful of hours ago. He had mostly bought it on a whim, the purchase something Nayet had eagerly jumped into, the female adventurer likely more proficient with hunting bargains than monsters.

Using [Wood Manipulation] he altered its shape and size, altering the underside to fit his chosen facial structure, while morphing the mask to provide greater coverage so he could wear it to hide his nature. The mask itself was painted with swirling blues and greens, with splashes of whites and golds highlighting the deer-like features it had been designed to mimic.

Leif looked down at the mask, trying to fight down the surge of regret that swelled to life within him. He had been so eager to come down into human society and embark on his self-guided quest of reunion that he hadn’t stopped for more than a month to enjoy the parts of his new life that he had grown attached to. He hoped Bam and Lani were safe, hoped the former wasn’t causing too much mischief and the latter was learning all she could. The pair of now evolved beasts had been a constant comfort even before his first evolution. He had come a long way since being a tree in the woods. Both in terms of physical distance but also personal change. How much further would he have to go?

The scion reached over the desk and smoothed over the damage he had done to the wooden surface, Nikolas hadn’t asked him to do so, but it felt right to undo his mistake. He definitely wasn’t putting off looking at the rest of the letters stacked neatly off to the side. He reached out a tentative hand and withdrew them into his spatial ring, the storage item having some free space after he had used the promotion seal.

He would read them over later. Just, not right now. He was busy now, he definitely didn’t have time. Besides it would be better to pace himself, that way he could read the letters written by his sister whenever he needed a… happy moment. Definitely, there was no self delusion in this train of thought at all-

“Ok, I’m ready. Let’s begin.” Lars said, the man’s eyes having returned to focus.

“Right.” Leif said, jerked from his internal tug of war match with reality. “Uh, if I could ask, what were you doing all this time?”

The guild enforcer frowned. “I was re-reading my notes on aura manipulation and training.”

“You… added that many notes to your aura skill?”

“No, I put my notes in a separate section of my system. I wrote down every single choice I made, why I made it and the thought process behind that choice.”

You can do that? How do you write notes separately from your system? He wondered, half tempted to open up his system window and riffle through it right then and there, but Lars kept talking.

“Look into it later, we have things to do and I want to check up on how the tryouts are going.” The man said, leaning back on his chair, swivelling the two back legs to face the door, then standing with one smooth motion. “Put a mask on and follow.”

Then he was gone, striding out of the door and past both guards, neither of whom reacted to his passing. When Leif stepped out after him both men jumped in place, one of them cursing and putting a hand to his chest. It seemed that neither guard could perceive Lars, but Leif had no issues doing just that. When he had asked the man how he performed his aura trick Lars hadn’t been inclined to answer, but things were likely different now.

Instead of asking Leif focused, his perception locking onto the guild enforcer as his [Aura of Recovery] pushed out to fill the hallway before him. When it was a metre away from Lars, the invisible strands of his presence seemed to struggle pushing forward, as if there was a hidden patch of air subtly blocking his progress.

“Tell me.” Lars said, his voice being transmitted telepathically instead of the man speaking out loud. “What is an aura?”

Leif was somewhat taken aback, not just by the telepathic communication, but by the feeling of connection that was brushing against his mind. Whatever Lars’s skill was, it clearly allowed for two way communication, unlike Leif’s own skill. He thought back to the conversation he had with Nikolas, as decided to basically quote the man in his mental response. “It’s something that displays intent, emotions and experiences.”

“True.” Lars said after a short pause. “But that’s what an aura does, not what it is.”

“It’s somebody's presence, an invisible field that radiates out from people.”

“Also true. This is something I’ve spent quite a while researching, most of my adult life really, so I’ll explain in more detail. An aura is a projection of the soul, everybody and everything alive has one, and its strength is determined by how strong that thing is, as well as certain factors like skill rank and [Charisma] attribute. But that isn’t the whole story, an Aura is, as I understand it, a byproduct of power. Like how a flame emits heat, a person emits an aura.”

Leif’s golden eyes flickered beneath his plain mask, his monstrous physiology mimicking a blink. “How accurate is that analogy? Because a flame has to burn fuel in order to produce heat.”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Hmm, more accurate than one might think at first, at least hypothetically. But for this explanation maybe something like how the creation of a detailed statue creates dust would be a more beneficial description. Everyone has an aura, obviously, but controlling it requires a skill, an aura skill to be specific, though there are other types of skills that either directly or indirectly affect it. There’s a fairly common skill that [Fighter]s and some other adjacent martial classes get that grants suppression resistance along with a boost to physical strength. And that’s just one example.”

“Would skills that affect the [Charisma] attribute also do that?” Leif asked, following the guild enforcer as he descended a switchback flight of stairs, then exited out a side door and into a large tiled courtyard.

“Skills, perks, some enchanted items, anything that can affect [Charisma] also indirectly affects your aura strength. Speaking of which, once you get to high levels, around seventy to eighty, though it varies, if you don’t have an aura skill you can actually be a danger to lower levelled people.” Lars sent, stepping aside to allow a group of chatty adventurers walk by.

“Monsters always get their aura skills at level thirty.” Leif mentioned, likewise stepping aside.

“Yes, I’ve always seen that to be true, though I’m sure there are exceptions to any rule.” He said, giving Leif a side-eye. “But that’s something the system chooses, it would be too easy for a group of people with aura skills to suppress monsters far stronger than themselves if that wasn’t the case. Though that assumes the system makes choices based on some sort of balance, and I have not always seen that to be true.”

“Right… So to summarise, an aura is a projection of somebody's soul that encapsulates their intent, emotions, experiences, what kind of power they have, and finally they can be controlled and changed with aura specific skills.”

“Also, according to some aura researchers, it may be the by-product of our souls slowly breaking apart.”

Leif missed a step. “That’s the theory you mentioned before? That's… God’s, that’s pretty horrible to think about.”

“It’s likely a natural process, nothing to be upset about.” Lars sent, his mental words somehow conveying a shrug. They approached a large squat building carved from stone like the gatehouse to a fortress. There was a line of people in the courtyard outside.

“Where are we going?” Leif asked, getting slightly uncomfortable at the dirty looks that were being sent their way as Lars casually skipped the line and made his way towards the heavy set gate. At some point the enforcer had stopped using his aura technique to spoof the perceptions of those around him, though Leif hadn’t noticed that exact moment when he had done so.

“Requisitions hall, also the guild vault. The people waiting are either going to request a specific item for a monster hunt, or turn in a reward token for an item.”

“I see, what are you… requisitioning?”

“A toy, wait outside, I'll only be a moment.” Lars sent, the mental connection being severed as he stepped through the doors that opened automatically at his approach.

That has to be some sort of enchantment, there’s no way he used his aura to move something that heavy. That doesn’t seem possible, unless he’s like level two hundred or something ridiculous. He thought, taking a peek inside as the doors closed behind the man. Despite the requisition hall’s outward appearance, the interior seemed almost identical to the reception area Leif had first seen when he entered the Twin Heart headquarters, there even seemed to be manned booths inside with waiting clerks.

Leif stepped to the side and out of the line he had just cut. He settled down to wait, sitting on the lowest of a series of stone steps that lead up to and outlined, what by the sounds coming from inside, was some sort of gymnasium. Five minutes passed, then ten. Adventurers entered as individuals or smaller groups of twos and threes. Then those same people would come out, some brandishing newly gained items while others were more discrete.

Fifteen minutes turned to twenty, then thirty as he sat and waited for Lars to return. He wondered if the man had gotten lost, or had accidently triggered a trap in the vault. Both seemed unlikely. A pair of adventurers stepped around a nearby building and marched up to the back of the line, Leif recognised both of them, and as they looked around they noticed him sitting off to the side.

“Leif!” Nayet called, waving. “What are you doing here?”

“Waiting patiently.” He replied, standing and making his way over. “Did you finish whatever you were doing?”

“We did.” Tollumi said with a smile. “Our nearly year long honeymoon tour is officially complete, and we are now off the registry of active adventurer teams.”

“We got enough contribution points to earn a reward each, but we pooled our points and upgraded our reward token.” Nayet happily explained. “Normally they don’t let you do that, but being married has its perks.”

“It has a few.” Tollumi added, earning himself an eye roll from his partner.

“Congratulations.” Leif said. “I assume whatever you’re getting will have been worth the effort?”

“Yeah it will.” Nayet said. “Spatial item here we come! And without needing to wait for an enchanter to have a commission slot available. Life is so much better when you don’t need to carry around luggage.”

Leif nodded. “They are quite nice. Even if my ring is quite small I don’t dislike having it, the convenience of not needing to carry around a bunch of small items in my pockets or in a bag makes me glad I have it.”

“Mhmm, the low grade one’s are really small, but they’re still expensive and quite rare. We got away without needing one for a while with Hammer Boy’s skill letting him store a set of armour and a weapon. And I’d love a ring or bracelet for personal use, but it’s important to prioritise an asset that will be helpful for both of us, you know?”

Tollumi huffed, rolling his own eyes at Nayet’s ‘hammer boy’ comment.

“With how valuable they are, don't you worry about them getting stolen?” Leif asked, genuinely curious. His own ring was partially fused with his finger, though that fact wasn’t obvious at a glance, instead it looked to be built into the ivory gauntlet he looked like he was wearing.

“Higher grade storage items have personalised locks, and if you pay a scryer to imprint the item’s identity you can track it down if it gets stolen.” Tollumi said, shuffling forward as the line moved up.

“That isn’t a foolproof method.” Lars said, the man materialising seemingly out of thin air.

Nayet gasped and Tollumi leaped back, bumping into the adventurer behind him. “H-head enforcer, p-please don’t do that.” She said, hand to her heart.

“I enjoy keeping people on their toes, it helps with awareness training.” Lars said, expression completely blank. “Congratulations on your return, know that the guild values your membership and supports your decision to take a break from active adventuring.”

“Y- you know about that?” Nayet asked, shooting her husband a glance, the man just shrugged.

“I know everything.” Lars said, completely seriously. “Except, apparently, where what I came for was located in the vault.” He mentally sent to Leif, reestablishing the telepathic link. “Whoever used it last has some explaining to do, because it most certainly is not a piece of armour.” Then he marched off, clearly expecting Leif to follow.

The scion said his goodbyes to both flustered looking adventurers, then followed the enforcer out of the courtyard.