“Good morning, Wanderer Alnea,” said the hundredth man of the day. Or at least that was how it felt to Alnea. On the sixth day, as Vestia had predicted, few people came for the recruitment. Mostly the relatively weaker Wanderers in the city, hoping to turn their fortune around by joining the Star Seekers. Except for a couple of them, all of them were opportunists, like the other Wanderers roaming the streets, just a little stronger than them. None of them could be trusted.
As for the few who could be trusted, they were not too strong. Like the simple man from the Endenhill clan. Alnea liked how simple the George Endenhill was, reminding him of the time when he also used to be so simple. Unfortunately, George himself was not too strong, and neither did he have too much potential. Even if he stubbornly agreed to accept George into their team, it would only end up hurting George in the long run.
In the end, Alnea rejected all the Wanderers that came for the recruitment, including the girls. Especially the girls. It did not matter how strong they were, or how trustworthy they seemed. For the sake of his own life, as long as any girl showed intentions of joining their team, he just perfunctorily asked them some questions, and then sent them on their way, earing some breathing space for himself.
Still, even counting the girls, barely over twenty something Wanderers had come for recruitment the day before. On the last day of their recruitment though, Wanderers had queued up around the area where they usually did the recruitment long before the scheduled time, with even more Wanderers queueing up behind them as time passed by. There were so many Wanderers, that the Wanderers entering the Blood Hall had to squeeze their way in through the stairs.
Red, blue, green, yellow, white, orange, pink, all sorts of colours kept flashing in front of his eyes, as Alnea kept going through the interviews as fast as he could, rejecting Wanderers, and earning their curses one after another, until he noticed a strange colour flash in front of his eyes. Brown. Not dirt brown, but more like a… glowing brown. That was the only comparison that Alnea could come up with when he saw the man’s robe.
“Good morning to you too, Wanderer…”
“Ralph,” the brown robed man said. “You call also call me Ralph Erstone, son of the Erstone clan.”
“Erstone clan…”
“A Grand clan,” Yuri said, coming to his aid as usual. “And quite a strong one at that. Strong enough to lay claim to an entire Forbidden Area all to themselves. But…”
“But what?” Alnea said to Yuri, while not forgetting to pay attention to the man in front of him. “It is an honour to have someone from the Erstone clan showing interest in joining our team.”
“No,” Ralph said, shaking his head with a smile. “The honour is all mine. After all, just in terms of potential, Star Seekers is indeed one of the best teams in the Lost City.”
“…Although Star Seekers does have great potential, but in the end, we are still not some of the strongest teams. There are quite a few teams stronger than our own, like the teams of your clan.”
“…A team with all of its members having enough strength to fight, and even defeat Peak Stage False Wanderers cannot be considered to be weak. Especially since only one of your team member is at the Peak Stage, and two are still at the Intermediate Stage. Most importantly, it is not very often that one can see an Intermediate Stage Wanderers killing Peak Stage Wanderers without getting so much as even a scratch.”
“…Barely, and that too, with a little external help.”
“…Maybe,” Ralph said, with some complicated expressions flashing across his face. “But in the end, it is the result that matters, and not the process.”
“…Forget about me. Let us talk about you.”
“…Fine,” Ralph said, nodding in understanding. “What do you want to know about me?”
“…First of all, why do you want to join our team?”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“…To chase a star,” Ralph said with a hint of melancholy in his voice. “To chase my star… Is that not what you established your team in the first place? To find likeminded people to help each other on their paths?”
“…I did not think you were there in the Arena that day.”
“I was not,” Ralph said, shaking his head once again. “But the words you said still reached my ears… Now, do you understand how much you are underestimating yourselves? Especially you, Wanderer Alnea.”
“…Coming back to what I was asking about, this star that you want to chase… why do you think you can chase it only with us? Why did you not try chasing it with the people of your clan?”
“…Because the people of my clan can never help me chase the star that I am seeking…”
“…Wha—
“Enough, Alnea. Do not ask him about his clan.”
“…Why?”
“…Since he did not introduce who is father is, it can mean only one thing. That his father has been expelled from his clan. Either because of a mistake. Or because he betrayed his clan. In either case, he would never get any help from his clan.”
“…But he did not do anything wrong. Why does he have to bear the price for his father’s sin?”
“If not him, then who will bear it?”
“…I knew that Orthodoxies were overbearing, but—
“If the Erstone clan had been overbearing, they would not have cared enough to send him to the Lost City. But that should be the limit of what they will do for him. They will not ask their descendants to help the son of a traitor. Of course, they will not stop them from helping him either. If he can convince his peers to give up their prejudice, then they will chalk it all up to his ability. They might even accept him back into the clan as one of their own. That is how Orthodoxies usually deal with the progenies of their traitors.”
“But he is all alone…”
“Obviously. Or else, he would not have come to us.”
“…If everyone in his clan treats him so badly, why even bother introducing himself as a son of the Erstone clan?”
“Because he is a son of the Erstone clan,” Yuri said. “Even if he is rejected by everyone in his clan, that is where he has grown up. That is where he belongs. That is where he wishes to return. And most probably, that is what he is chasing after.”
“…Will they accept him?”
“…His clan must have given him a test. What exactly the test is, I do not know, but it must have something to do with the inner city. As long as he completes the test, they will welcome him back. Of course, he will still face some prejudice, but as long as he works hard, he can return to his clan.”
“Then… Should we—
“It is up to you, Alnea. You have to decide whether he is trustworthy or not. Besides, the things that I said are just my own predictions. You will have to check them out on your own. Maybe ask Vestia. Although I do not like her, I cannot deny her expertise in gathering information. If things are really as I predicted, she should know a thing or two about him. Be quick though. There are still quite a lot of people in the queue.”
“…I hate this job,” Alnea mumbled to Yuri, before focussing back on Ralph.
“Pardon me for getting a little lost there. I have almost understood your situation. There is only one more thing that I need to ask. What is your Spirit Power, and your specialisation?”
“…My Spirit Power is at the Second Level of the Peak Stage, so you can consider me as a Peak Stage False Wanderer. As for my specialisation… I have dabbled in all three paths a little, but I am best in the path of Scholars. I have mastered three Intermediate Stage Glyphs, four Advanced Stage Glyphs, and am currently working on my first Peak Stage Glyph. I can also use a couple of Glyph Arrays. In the path of Arcanists—
“No need,” Alnea said, raising his hand to stop Ralph from continuing. “That is enough information for now, Wanderer Ralph. Next, can you wait until I am done with the rest of the Wanderers before telling you about our final decision?”
“…So, that means—
“It means that I am very interested in you, Wanderer Ralph. Whether it is your philosophy, or your strengths, they are a perfect for the Star Seekers. If there are no surprises next, then today, you will leave the Blood Hall as a Star Seeker.”
“…Thank you, Wanderer Alnea,” Ralph said, with a smile blossoming on his face. “I will not fail your trust.”
“Do not thank me yet,” Alnea said, shaking his head. “You have just been shortlisted for now. I still need to go through all the Wanderers behind you before I can make my final decision.”
“I understand,” Ralph said, nodding solemnly at his words, before moving towards the side, making way for the Wanderer behind to come forward. “Then I will be waiting for your good news.”
“Thank you for your understanding, Wanderer Ralph,” Alnea said, nodding back at Ralph with a smile, before turning back to the Wanderer who had just stepped forward. A green robed woman… It looked like he was going to suffer once again.