"I have decided to go against your advice and officially adopt him. As you know, I run an orphanage and it will be easy for him to adapt into that, and learn how to more human than his redcap heritage. Please give the child a chance. I can't kill him now.

Many Thanks, Iago Duskwalker"

-Letter to the Guildmaster II, by Iago Duskwalker

As the rest of the class began to open their eyes to the bright sun of golden hour, shining through the windows of the lecture hall door, it was jarring to find one's self either on the floor or slouched in your chair. Written on the chalkboard in front of them were the rushed words: Sorry, Nynae’s Art put you all to sleep. You all should wake up around 4 O’clock. When you wake up you are all free to leave. Class is dismissed. At that moment, Daniel remembered what had happened.

The second Nyn had chanted that phrase, a massive explosion of a purplish-grey mist enveloped the entire room, exploding out of the small girl. Powerful winds that came from nowhere tossed and overturned throughout the room, some of the porcelains even getting knocked over or whisked away because of it.

"Cover your mouth, quickly!" a voice shouted.

"What do you.. what do.. wha-" a body slumped to the floor. Screams erupted.

"Stay calm, or you'll breathe more gas in!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I don't remember it being like this!"

Then, the room went silent. Everyone was still and fast asleep, except for the sobbing Nyn and the teacher who had wrapped his entire face up in a dark, shadowy cloth.

"Well, fuck. I'm going to get in so much trouble for this," the teacher cursed, before turning to the crouching and relentlessly crying Nyn, "Hey, hey, hey... It's going to be okay, all right. Come on, climb onto my back," the teacher offered, turning his back on her and crouching down.

"O-okay..." Nyn cautiously agreed, hopping on the teacher's back so quickly, that he almost fell over himself.

"Jeez, you're heavier than expected. Okay, let's go!" the teacher announced marching to the door, quickly opening, going through and closing the hall door and finally taking off his covering, no gas escaping.

"Now that's an Art to be proud of, little miss,", the teacher excitedly said, laying Nyn back down and poking her forehead, "Well, I'm going to have to check everyone's in a good position and alright since I kinda gotta leave them there, or I'll get in trouble."

The girl nodded shyly, "Okay..."

"If you want, you can go to the dorms now, since lessons are pretty much cancelled. Anyway, here we go-" the teacher rushed towards the doors before swiftly running back, "Wait, how long does this last for?"

"Nine hours! Waking up at 4 O'clock my ass, it's hours after lessons finished!" Daniel angrily whispered, while the other students were beginning to wake up.

Despite everyone being confused and somewhat apprehensive of their surroundings, the classroom was tame. Some of the porcelains were helping their classmates up; asking about them; checking if they were okay; it felt like something. Camaraderie. Wait, where's Nyn? thought Daniel, before realising, Well, I suppose if it were her own art it wouldn't have affected her and she would have walked out just fine. But what about Lanyon? Was he the one asking people to cover their faces? If so, he must have done that pretty quick, if he began to shout for others to do the same. Wait, how did he do it that fast?! It was practically instantaneous, how-

"How’s everyone, ya'll okay?" a noble boy called out, stepping on one of the tables to get a better view of everyone.

"Yeah, I think so!" the reserved girl from earlier replied, the one who was talking to herself, getting up from the floor on the other side of the room..

"Well, if that kid wasn't something, that Art was mad!" the boy said, "So, I guess we should have our introductions, what better opportunity, amiright?"

"Well, if we're doing that then," the reserved girl finally stood up straight, beginning to approach him, "The name's Sid, and you, rich boy?"

"Well... My name is Astra Freyr, of the family of Duchess Libra," the noble's boy replied, coyly.

"Aren't you a pretty boy, Astra!" an excitable boy said coming down the aisle of the lecture hall, "The name's Connor, Connor Harris, son of Gulliver Harris, and won't you be a nice addition to my collection of stuck up nobles to tease, eh?"

The Harris name was not a surname that was easily thrown around, to the point that even Daniel, a boy from a place of the countryside as rural as they come, knew about it. Gulliver Harris; one of the strongest men in the Guild, who, unbeknownst to Daniel, was Platinum Rank 3. In all other ranks of the Guild, the structure follows a similar hierarchy to that of the military, the historical force of Alandriel that used to deal with direct threats to it, rather than the current Guild. On the other hand, the Platinums are ranked by number, taking two factors into account; confirmed kills and successful missions. For this platinum, he excelled in successful missions, due to the fact he was a rare kind of Guild Member. Rather than going gung ho on the battlefield, he wielded a rifle personally engineered to work at long range, carefully executing various enemies of high ranking without being noticed. In terms of strategy and pure skill, no one in the Guild could come close to Gulliver, who is known by the code-name, The Longshot.

"Y-You're... You're the son of that Gulliver, the Platinum Gulliver?!"

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"Yep, bullseye, as his admirers would like to think he says! You should be more scared and submissive more often, Astra, you look cuter that way," said Connor, approaching the jittery Astra and stroking his cheek, the boy instantly recoiling and covering that side of his face.

"Now, what is your name, you monster," Connor said, in a half-serious tone, turning to Daniel, just as he was about to pack up and leave, "Now, now, don't abandon me like that, unless you think you’re above manners?"

Nobody in the class had any clue of what this boy was talking about, but if the son of one of the most powerful mortals alive is calling someone a monster, they should not be taken lightly; for Connor had seen Daniel during the that moment with the teacher, since he has sensed far more sinister presence when compared to Lanyon. One of malice and wrath rather than the teacher's who was simply aiming to intimidate rather than threaten. And, while the rest of the classes' eyes were stuck on the teacher, Connor's were placed firmly on Daniel, intrigued beyond belief.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about there, but I will answer your request," he said, standing up a bit straighter before answering, "My name is Daniel."

"Are you a noble kid like that brat over there," he questioned, pointing to Astra next to him.

"No. I'm from the countryside."

"Well then, there's only one other thing left to ask, if you truly are the monster I believe you to be. What are your Arts?”

Usually, it was considered disrespectful to directly ask of one's Node, since it is often so important to people to the extent that they consider it their own personal possession, instead of physical attribute. Many would be disgusted or gravely offended by this question, especially when asked in an unprofessional manner, but Daniel's face only wore dread.

"I... I don't have any Arts."

It was a shock to be sure when someone says they do not have a Node, for it was incredibly rare for someone to not have one, at least in Alandriel. But the fact that this someone who was called a monster, didn't have one was an even greater surprise. While the other students were gasping or taken back by it, Connor still held his gaze.

"So, you're that much of one, eh?"

No one believed what had just come out of Connor's mouth. How was someone who didn't even have an Art and wasn't from noble heritage was even more of a monster than a man of his prestige had initially thought? It was unexplainable, yet to Connor, it made perfect sense. Before anyone could rebuke either of the two who were stuck in rigid confrontation, Daniel had left. His departure was so silent and unnoticeable, no-one had realised he had vanished until it had been too late.

* * *

At long last, Daniel had reached the estate, after what felt like an indescribably long day. As he walked through the front door, he could see that no-one was home and he had noticed a simple pot of stew had been boiling on the stove in a kitchen, along with a note attached to the side of it, telling Daniel how to serve it and that 'Igo was going to be out late tonight' and 'the servants have all gone to rest by now'. So, Daniel followed the final instructions on the note, and dealt himself a serving of it in the same wooden bowl that he had eaten his porridge in. It was tasty.

The added chicken was juicy and flavourful and the assorted vegetables added some well-needed variety to the dish. The only thing that was missing was some more seasoning and a good piece of buttered bread to have with it. And that was exactly what Daniel had done. Though it took a long time to cool to a reasonable temperature, the bowl was empty within five minutes or so, leaving a very full and dreary Daniel, sitting on the dining table chair, absorbed completely in thought. Well, at least it's out now and nobody's surprised when the truth comes out when in need of it. I just didn't expect people would find out that early. Truly, it was my fault for saying that, but I wish I never did. And what the hell was that Connor going on about me being a monster? I could barely throw a punch before coming to the city, and I doubt that's changed much. I simply hope I'm not treated like shit again like I was back home for it. Maybe they'll think there's something else up about me and treat me with respect this time. Well, I know someone who will do that anyway; Nyn. She was certainly a surprise to me when I entered that lecture hall, and a pleasant one at that. Maybe we could become friends and then... I don't know what. But being friends certainly does sound nice. Sounds nice indeed...

With that thought, Daniel fell asleep.

* * *

"So how is he, Lucan?" a voice said from the retreat of a red cushioned chair, that sat in a relatively small room holding four people.

"Interesting to say the least. But I don't know what either you or the Guildmaster see in him. He's not just weak but he's artless too!"

"Don't judge a book by its cover. I thought I taught you that."

"But this isn't judging a book by its cover, it's judging a book a couple chapters deep!"

"Just trust me on this for once. You know I'll never lie to you about something like that."

"I know that, Igo!", the man groused, before taking a short breath in and out, "There are others in that class that have infinitely more potential than Daniel ever could. The girl, Nyn, knocked out the entire class on her first day! And, Connor, he's your son, Gulliver, you know what he could become! And that Ellen too, she was so quiet but she could see right through-"

"That's enough, Lucan," another man said, in the corner of a room, "I trust Igo just as much as you, but I know that when he talks about someone in that way, he isn't someone to just be ignored."

"Shut up, Gulliver! You're all calling me foolish', and most of you haven't even seen him face-to-face! How could you-"

"No, you shut up, Lucan," another man near the entrance to the small room said, "For once in all my life, I agree with Gulliver. Yes, he may be the artless fool like what both you and Igo call him, but he is someone who's potential was directly recognised by the Guildmaster. Listen to that!"

"Oh no, not you too, Avos!" Lucan pouted, on the verge of what seemed like tears after his perceived 'betrayal' , "The Guildmaster's opinion doesn't mean shit now the Inquisitor has gone and fucked him up, he's practically a vegetable at this point!"

Lucan, who was sat down on a bedside, got up and stormed out of the room, grumbling all the way, "Your all fucking delirious, fucking delirious I tell you..."

"You can't just let him do that to you, Igo! Even if he is adopted, you're his bloody father, and you can't just let him do stuff like that!"

"Avos. I know you're concerned about the kid, but with him; well, it's best to leave him alone until he comes back begging for forgiveness. He may still look a little bit like a kid, but he's someone who knows when he's done something wrong, even if he denies it."

"It's just... He does this thing every. Single. Time! It's ridiculous!"

"Come on, Avos, it's time to go, after all you have to train for that competition with Ender now, don't you?" placing emphasis on the last two words

"Fine! Let's go, Gulliver," the two men began to leave, "Take good care, Igo, and don't let him boss you around again, you hear me!"

Igo was the last one left in that room. The room that was once his son's childhood bedroom. And now, the boy can't even stand being in it for longer than a minute. But, for today, it was enough for Igo for one reason. He got Lucan to become angry. And even if the slither of emotion he showed today was negative and directed towards him, he was more than glad to sacrifice that to see his son properly feel something beyond apathy and boredom. Anytime, and every time. Igo got up from his seat and turned off the small lamp at the bedside cabinet, before closing the worn wooden door of the bedroom.

"Good night... Lucan."