The raven-haired man with azure-colored irises stepped down from an intricately-adorned black carriage parked in front of a three-story building.
His stature seemed majestic during his previous life on a mortal planet. In this plane, his height could be passed on as average but still within the tall standards among men.
His youthful-looking feature, however, was midway between seductive and innocent. But he wanted to project a cold, indifferent appearance to appear intimidating and superior over others. His decision over this factor was borne out of a defense mechanism as he fancied the merchant role to set his footprint inside this village.
The man arranged his garb, looking like a young master of a noble family as he fashioned a white robe and bluish embellishments at the seams. He carefully gazed at the façade of the building, reminiscent of Gothic architecture with spires and stained-glass windows.
If it were not for the symbol adorning the central part of the front building, he might think of the structure as a church or temple.
The architectural design had certain distinctions, however. The material was made of white marble while the stained-glass windows were intricately crafted with a color similar to lapis lazuli.
Overall, the building gave an impression of grandeur. The high stairs, even crafted from white marble, highlighted the entrance of the structure.
The young man was accompanied by a slightly shorter youth with black hair and dark blue eyes. His distinctive attire matched the former. They could pass on as brothers, except for Sigmund’s Oriental, deep-set eyes with clear blue irises of the former. It was a contrast to the other young man behind, whose Slavic feature bestowed a seductive expression.
Sigmund scrutinized the building before he quickly climbed up in practiced sophistication. His aura was more intimidating and mature.
The other young man quickly followed behind, his expression turned to a smile whenever he met individuals gazing at him. He noticed only fewer people entered the building at this hour.
The two youthful-looking individuals eventually approached the reception after going through the entrance door. They briefly glanced at the two groups of people donned in seemingly business attires in this world at the area with a bar serving coffee drinks.
‘Even in this world, coffees are also served.’ Sigmund thought.
The security was not constricted but Sigmund sensed the presence of surveillance tools around, installed in concealment. Perhaps, only those with higher levels could detect the existence of these tools.
Sigmund gave a good impression of the security of the building. It seemed the village was not entirely an economic backwater. But he also expected these features to be installed, given the nature and objective of the merchant guild.
"How may I help you?" a handsome young man of average height greeted the two.
Sigmund immediately checked the screen in his consciousness as it displayed the stats of the receptionist.
[Cole Berry]
Age: 24
Soul Force Units: 1,900
Level: Rank 3 mage
MP : 1,800
HP : 500
XP : 110
Strength : 120
Wisdom : 150
Agility : 40
Intelligence : 200
Dexterity : 40
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Control : 20
Expertise: Fortune-telling by checking the facial feature of any individual.
Clairvoyance level 2 - the ability to sense the location of the target by touching an
item owned by the target
Weapon of choice : Mage staff
Tools equipped: storage ring
2 daggers
{end of stat display}
Sigmund eyed the receptionist as he alleviated the effect of his aura of intimidation. He heard his companion initiate the greeting.
"Good day! My name is Harry Chua. We would like to meet Mr. Berry, the Head of the Guild." The second young man responded with an introduction as he stated the purpose of their visit.
"And you are?" the receptionist asked the other young man.
"I am Sigmund Chua. I am a merchant with a group who just arrived recently in Greston. I own my enterprise with my sons. I wish to meet Mr. Berry to discuss matters with him." Sigmund made his introduction as he noted the receptionist's reaction.
Cole, the receptionist, had been working in the same position for five years. Although he met various types of merchants and even managed to gain connections with some of them, it was a first for him to greet and see a handsome young man, who owned an enterprise. And the young man also mentioned 'sons'.
Instead of outrightly rejecting them while potentially asking to drop their business cards, he sensed calmness as he gazed over the recent guests. Most of the merchants who visited this guild always brought with them their entourage such as assistants and mercenary guards. But these two guests only reached the guild on their own.
Though the young men were taller than him and were even looking younger than him, the mention of the 'sons' sent Cole the signal that the individuals before him might be immortals. Their white robes embellished with crystals also gave off the feeling of otherworldliness.
Many of the immortals never cared about giving off their aura. Most concealed their mysterious aura to appear less intimidating and normal for mortals.
However, in the case of Cole, his heightened senses gave him an advantage in his job. He could even see the fortune of an individual by looking at one's face. And as he looked at the recent guests, he had an instant vision that was seemingly fortuitous for the guild.
He never shared this ability with anyone as he felt that even informing the guild might lead him to be taken advantage of. The guild might be safe for him, career-wise but it could also be potentially dangerous for him if he was not careful.
"Mr. Berry is currently in a meeting but you can wait if you want," Cole informed the new guests while he prepared a form for membership, noting the probable cause of the visit. "If you wish to register a membership with the guild, you may fill out this form while waiting for Mr. Berry's availability."
"Okay. I will do it. This is on behalf of my father and our enterprise." Harry received the form with a smile, sending Cole with a more mysterious feeling as the receptionist heard the young man mention 'my father'. Meanwhile, Sigmund already searched for a couch to settle down while waiting.
He let his clone, Harry, whom Sigmund planned to be introduced to this village as his son to deal with the matters concerning the guild while his objective was to have a cordial business relationship with the guild master.
After a few minutes, a lady with a sophisticated appearance and a pair of glasses arrived at the reception from the stairs that led to the second floor of the building.
As she was treading the granite floors, approaching the reception counter, she briefly noticed the white-robed young men ensconced at the lounge seat of the reception area. She decided to ignore them as she greeted Cole.
"Hi, Cole! Are there registrants for today? It seems to be less busy as time went on even though…" before the lady continued whatever she wanted to say, she was immediately disrupted by Cole's immediate reply.
"Oh, Ms. Roxie! We have a new registrant today. This is Mr. Harry Chua. Together with him is Mr. Sigmund Chua, seated on the couch." The receptionist responded with a smile, intending to cut off the lady's remark that might potentially discourage the new registrant to become a member of the guild.
Roxie Sylvan observed the person named Harry Chua, who rose from the chair. This young man poised with a seductive smile and approachable personality as he proceeded toward the reception area.
"Good day! I am Harry Chua, you may simply call me, Harry." The young man brought his right palm to his chest area as he smiled and slightly bowed.
Cole detected the greeting as it was not really something new but was somehow similar to how it was performed by one of the foreign guests who visited the guild before. He was not sure if the gesture was entirely similar to what Harry performed.
The lady, however, did not notice it but she was mesmerized by the young man's handsome look and tantalizing pair of dark blue eyes.
It was over a minute before she responded, "How rude of me. I am sorry." She instantly blushed as if she was struck by a hidden arrow at the heart, metaphorically.
She reciprocated the smile while she continued, "I am Roxie Sylvan, Mr. Berry's first secretary. Cole mentioned that you were intending to have a meeting with my boss. He is actually available now as the meeting was already wrapping up when I left." She continued to radiate a good smile as she was eyeing the young man.
"That's good to hear. My father and I wish to speak to him. I already submitted the form here." Harry remarked cordially maintaining his tone of subtle seduction.