In just a single day, Noah cleared out every single F-rank request on the bulletin board. As the sun set, Noah walked into the adventurer's guild for the last time for the day. He went up to a receptionist and dumped the bag of medicinal herbs that he had slung over his shoulder on the counter. He did all this despite the resentful gazes that he could feel on his back. Most of these resentful gazes came from other F-rank adventurers who had found out about the newbie who had been stealing their quests.
Without being able to complete quests for the day, they would go hungry, and they blamed Noah for that. However, none of them would dare act upon their resentment in the city of Odir. Not unless they wanted to have their possessions repossessed and find themselves behind bars. The Odir city lord and his wife were ruthless folk. Thus, they had to settle with vengeful gazes. This went both ways. Noah couldn't do anything to them either, not that he was the type to.
"Sir, you have completed 30 F-rank quests. Congratulations! You are now an E-rank adventurer. And you did it in just one day, too! What's your secret, sir?"
The receptionist asked, a slight humorous grin on her face.
"You know, plenty of meat. If you wanted, I could tell you all about it. And please, call me Noah."
As he leant forward while placing his elbow on the receptionist desk with a wink, he had to admit that he felt pretty smooth.
"Haha, you certainly are funny, Noah. Feel free to ask me any questions you have about the rank-up."
Only to get mercilessly shot down. His eye twitched as he thought about how that line, if spouted by Evan, would have him walking home with a woman in his arms. What a cruel world! As his mind started to dwell on thoughts of Evan, he inwardly shook his head to clear it up.
'No, I shouldn't think about this. I'll focus on doing what I said I would do.'
Thinking about their misfortune would do no good. Noah had made a decision to help Emma right now, and that's what he would do. He would leave Evan in his wife's hands. Still, he could not help but wonder about whether the two had safely eloped from Eldoria.
Princess Elara—no, it was just Elara now; she had left the castle under the guise of the night with Evan the night before the deadline. Having left the following day, Noah did not have to deal with the fallout of Elara's actions. However, Elara and Evan were undoubtedly being chased across the continent by Eldoria right now until they managed to shake off their pursuers and safely arrive in Xipil under false identities.
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Even if he tried not to, every now and then, Noah would think of how Evan was currently having to deal with the pursuit of a major power on the continent while severely mentally damaged, and he would feel a well of sorrow for Evan's situation and guilt for being unable to help him spring forward. He turned these feelings into determination to do his part and help Emma, so that the couple could feel reassured the next time they met. Because they would meet. Definitely.
Noah's briefly fluctuating emotions were enough to cause a ripple of mana to emerge from his being and fill the space of the adventurer's guild. However, it was only considered a mere ripple by Noah's absurd standards. To those in the room, they felt what they thought was a wave of mana devouring them, threatening to swallow them whole. It was brief, not anywhere near enough to determine its source, but regardless, most in the room instantly broke out in a furious sweat.
Most, except one, who stood on the interior balcony inside the guild, licking her lips with a sly expression as she looked down at a currently very flustered Noah who seemed to have realized his blunder.
Inconspicuously looking around, he hurriedly tried to act nonchalant. He hadn't really tried to disguise himself too often, and had accidentally let his emotions disrupt his mana flow. As a hero, it was usually the opposite, where he would try to grab as much attention as possible.
While Noah looked at the bulletin board, a woman in a bodysuit approached him and tapped his shoulder, without him noticing. The next moment, his reflexes sprung into motion, before her finger could even land the second tap.
'What the fuck!'
Mimicry - Lich!
A Lich was a monster that had 9 overlapping spirits, and thus could use up to 9th circle magic. Unfortunately for Noah, he did not know the flow of 9th circle magic, preventing him from doing so. The reason Noah was currently a Lich was its phylactery, which would grant the monster immortality as long as it was not destroyed. The phylactery that belonged to Noah's Lich form had been given to Eldoria's Royal Treasury for safekeeping, and it was likely still there, considering that it was one of a former hero's valuable possessions.
Now that the threat was so close to Noah without him having noticed, it was likely that a physical attack would be difficult to avoid. In that case, he would just have to render the physical attack invalid with a spiritual entity, such as the Lich.
Turning himself around, he was about to cast First Circle - Thunderclap, hoping to disorient the threat. As he did, he saw a middle aged woman wrapped in a black bodysuit that clung tightly to everything below her neck and highlighted her large womanly curves, as well as powerful, dense and lean musculature. However, on her face was a mischievous grin one would see one a woman half her age, radiating zero malice.
At this sight, he brought his cast to a screeching halt.
"Didn't expect you to try to hit me. Why, not a fan of your guildmaster? I'm one of your fans, you know? Mister H.e.r.o?"
Her grin only grew wider as she enunciated every one of the letters in the last two words, while looking him up and down, as if reminding him of how he had used a well known Hero's skill, mimicry in public. Looking around, he saw gazes of shock, wonder, and…awe in the faces of the bystanders.
Noah's face contorted unpleasantly, before he shut his eyes and brought his hand to his forehead, rubbing it, and sighing. His cover was blown.