Feeling utterly revulsed by the man's touch, Daisy slapped his hand away and retreated a step out of his reach. Immediately Kline and Maxwell placed themselves between her and False Alex.

“My apologies. I didn’t mean any harm,” False Alex said, bowing his head slightly in apology.

“It’s just you lot seemed so bleak that I hoped to cheer you up. My touch has been said to be magical,” he explained as he waved to a few of the tavern women, who immediately began fanning their faces.

The more they looked at him, the more they could at least see the charm. He had a cheeky handsomeness to him that could charm people. The class, however, had been taught to look out for those sorts of tricks and weren’t fooled for a second.

“So you are the Alexander Guntherian?” Maxwell asked, finally addressing the mammoth in the cupboard.

“Yes, I am he,” he replied, making a pose where he held his hand dramatically in front of his face and leaned back into a weird angle.

“The first true human accepted to Sloth’s academy. None of those born to other races. I am he who was known as the Nightmare child of Bandits, the trickster Loki; I am a man of many titles. But please feel free to call me Alex. I am no fan of standing on ceremony.”

The class were taken aback watching this whole show. Whoever this False Alex was, he had the showy side of their teacher down. He had also certainly done his homework.

“What brings you to Port Staine then, sir?” Bea asked.

“No sir… as I said, call me Alex,” he insisted.

This again reminded them of their teacher's first lessons. He had tried to convince them to call him by his first name. Only years of ingrained training to treat a teacher with respect had been a hurdle too high to overcome, and he gave up and accepted being called sir. This man, however, was not such a person that demanded such respect.

“Very well, Alex; what brings you here?”

“Well, it is my old stomping grounds. Came here when I was a young boy and all.”

“You joined the elementals, if I recall correctly?” Kline offered, hoping to peer deeper into this imposter. The class seemed to have mutually agreed to enjoy this fake to its fullest.

“Yes, they were very kind to me, though I dare not bother them when I left on such bad terms,” he replied, lowering his head in regret.

“You left on bad terms?” Daisy asked, seeing this as a chance for them to learn more about their teacher as at least a portion of his story must be true.

“Yes, I felt the call to adventure and left without a word to anyone. I imagine they were rather annoyed at me, especially as I defaulted on a few contracts.”

“Sir, you abandoned work?” Daisy muttered under her breath, realising this must be a half-truth, at the very least, about their teacher.

“Please, I have a booth; we can settle down and talk all you kids want,” he said, gesturing to a booth in the tavern area of the guild that had a little plaque. Following him to the booth, the class held one of their silent conversations, which consisted of only glances and gestures.

“Want to have some fun with him before we fully expose him?” Bea eagerly asked by, knitting her fingers together and wiggling her eyebrows.

“Why not?” Maxwell replied by way of a shrug.

“Should we tell the chief?” Gunter asked with a gesture of his head towards the door.

“I WANT THOSE SWEETS!!” Tasha’s bug-eyed glance towards a bowl of rare sweets said.

“Help yourself; they are honeydew droplets. Said to be so sweet that even pure sugar tastes sour,” False Alex said, gesturing to the bowl. “I got them for everyone in the guild to enjoy, and there’s plenty more, so don’t worry.”

“Whooop!!!” Tasha cheered as she broke away from the class and started shovelling a handful of the sweets in her mouth.

“Interesting girl,” False Alex said as he glanced at Tasha.

“She just loves her sweets,” Maxwell explained, making a mental note to get the sweets in the dorm hidden lest they all be devoured by Tasha.

“So, your questions… ask away,” False Alex said as he settled into the booth.

“What rank are you?” Kline asked.

“Oh me? Only steel. It is a travesty, I know, but I would be nearer Adamantine had I not gotten demoted near as often as promoted,” he admitted.

“You got demoted?” Daisy asked, curious if this was a true fact or a convenient lie he had conjured.

“Yes, many childish pranks on my fellow guild members garnered me a lot of demerits. I gained promotion points near as often as I lost. It is part of why I gained the nickname Loki within the guild. I caused and solved a lot of problems. It is all moot though I went off to the Academy and suspended my membership till only recently.”

Hearing this, the class were now certain it was the truth. It sounded very much like something their teacher would do. If anything, it is odd he hadn’t told them about it as he often took great pride in his mischief.

“What would you say then is the toughest monster you’ve ever faced?” Maxwell asked.

“A troll mountain is so far the toughest beastie I have faced,” False Alex answered.

“A mountain troll?” Daisy repeated in faux surprise. During her training with Gorm, she encountered a rampaging wild mountain troll. The pair had then used it as a live and moving target for her target shooting. While challenging and very durable, they were something a low-rank adventurer could face with the right prep work.

“No, not a mountain troll… a troll mountain. They are like ancient dragons in a way. The older a troll gets, the larger it becomes; in this case, it was the size of a mountain. Close in size to the one Braxis launched into the straight. Sadly Trolls, as they age, have the reverse of dragons in that they gradually lose their sapience. It’s why troll mountains are such a terrible threat.” The class stared, blinking at the False Alex for a few moments, before collectively shaking their heads.

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This man who sat before them gave off no aura at all, and they couldn’t feel any strength. Even using the spells woven into their tattoos, they couldn’t feel enough strength for him to defeat a monster that big.

“Oh, here you are, kids?” A decidedly real Alex said, approaching the booth. “You kind of snuck out and didn’t let me know where you went.”

“Sorry about that, sir; we just wanted to go sightseeing,” Bea explained.

“That’s alright; it is a fun place,” Alex replied with a nod.

“Oh, sir!!” Bea began as a wicked smile spread across her face. The class could tell what she was going to do. It would be a fun show to see their teacher reveal this fake for what he truly was.

“Hmm?”

“You really should meet this adventurer.”

“Oh? Nice to meet you,” Alex said, offering his hand to the False Alex.

“Pleasure is all mine. My name is Alexander Gunterian,” False Alex said, taking Alex by the hand and shaking it. Alex recoiled his hand rapidly.

“Did you say Alexander Gunterian?” Alex asked, a gleam in his eyes.

“Yes, the one and only,” False Alex replied, puffing his chest in pride.

“Here it comes,” Daisy whispered, giggles bubbling to the surface already.

“I am such a big fan!!!” Alex said as he gripped False Alex by the hands again and vigorously shook them.

“I have followed your exploits for years. I honestly can say I never expected to meet ‘the’ Alexander Gunterian.”

“Don’t worry about it; it’s always a pleasure to meet a fan,” False Alex replied with all the bravado of one unknowingly walking onto a very thin sheet of ice.

The class watched this exchange with growing anticipation wondering when their teacher would strike. The False Alex couldn’t see; he had just stepped into the dragon's claw and was already dancing to the muse’s tune.

“Where are my manners…” Alex said, thumping his forehead with the heel of his palm. “I have yet to introduce myself. I am a Professor from the Academy. My name is Professor Helshep… If it isn’t too much of an imposition, could I get your autograph?”

“I would be more than happy to do so; I have mini portraits set behind the guild's main desk. I’ll go grab enough for all… your students?” Alex nodded.

“So I’ll grab some to give you all a souvenir to commemorate the time you met THE ALEXANDER GUNTHERIAN!!!” With his spirits peaked, the False Alex left the booth and walked off towards the main desk.

“So, sir, when will you close the proverbial dragon's claw?” Kline asked.

“Close the…? Oh, I see what you mean… I’m not,” their teacher's response surprised the class. He had just met an adventurer who was using his own name and reputation, and he was going to let it slide.

“Sir, surely you should put a stop to him?” Bea asked.

“Why?” Alex asked right back. “I have been waiting years to get a reputation hopper, and I won’t ruin it the very first time it happens.”

“Reputation hopper?” Maxwell repeated the unfamiliar term.

“Yeah, just like it sounds, someone who has hopped onto someone else's reputation to get further ahead. Yuu has been holding over my head that she has a few for years now. But I finally got one,” Alex explained as he clenched his fists in victory.

“But what if he does bad stuff and tarnishes your reputation?” Daisy asked.

“If he does bad stuff, the guild will investigate and discover he’s an imposter,” Alex casually replied.

“What if he takes on a quest and screws it up?” Kline asked.

“Same situation as before. He will be exposed during an investigation.”

“What if he isn’t strong enough?” Tasha asked who had finally freed her jaw from the cement-like properties of Honeydew drops.

“Well, he certainly is strong enough. He took down a troll mountain last month.”

“Wait, last month? You mean that wasn’t something you did?” Gunter asked.

“Yep, that guy over there is genuinely strong.”

“Then why did he impersonate you?” Tasha asked.

“I’unno,” Alex replied with a shrug.

“There are lots of reasons; sometimes they are impatient to get their reputation, other times they have the strength and want to do good sooner and can’t wait for the higher ranks. People who have genuine strength tend to be an odd lot,” Alex explained.

“Hang on, how is he strong, though? We tried to sense his strength, and we got barely anything?” Maxwell asked.

“Oh? Try to sense me right now?” Obliging their teacher's request, they turned their focus onto their teacher. They had only ever done this once in the past and had all suffered severe migraines due to the sheer intensity they felt. But now, as they tried to pierce his strength, they could only feel he was roughly equal to a city guard.

“H-how?” Kline asked.

“Suppression field. It is better not to wave your dick around because someone can come along and chop it off. Real talented combatants, when out in public, actually suppress their aura to make reading them harder.”

“But you-” Daisy began before Alex cut her off.

“On school grounds, part of my job is deterring people from attacking. Giving off the impression I’m a non-threat is sadly a no-go. In general, while in public, without the need to keep others safe, I can keep things on the down low.”

“Chief, I still don’t get why you are happy to let him continue using your name?” Gunter said with a confused look on his face. Titans, as a race, were very straightforward with their thinking, and the idea of letting someone use their name was a very strange notion.

“Well, it’s not like it isn’t a mutual benefit. His actions obfuscate my actions. Bit hard to pin me down if you got multiples of me running around. Also, I am determined not to lose out to Yuu… You know she has a reputation hopper in the capital of every region? One even has two Yuus.”

“One has two?” Maxwell repeated, confused about how that was possible.

“Yeah, they take turns to play her while they let their beards regrow.”

“Men are impersonating the big chief?!!” Gunter asked in shock.

This was an especially absurd notion as dwarven men typically were short, stout and had enormous beards that grew as quick as bamboo. To pretend to be a female dwarf was a feat in itself.

“Yeah, a bit of an odd couple, but their work is solid. It got Yuu’s seal of approval when we visited them during a summer holiday back during our school years. Oh, conversation is over; he’s coming back.”

Turning their focus back to the main hall, they could see False Alex returning with an armful of thin wooden boards closely trailed by one of the guild staff carrying an ink vial and pen.

“Sorry it took so long; it seems they were more popular than I anticipated, so they were getting spares out back,” False Alex apologised.

“So first to my biggest fan,” False Alex said, turning to the genuine article, who was bouncing in his seat.

“Please make it say ‘My Friend Helshep’” Alex asked to which his fake obliged, writing the message and signing with a flamboyant signature.

“I have a friend back home who is a major fan of yours as well, so if you could make one out to ‘Little Boulderfist’, she’d love it.” Once again, he wrote out the message dotting the I with a little love heart with an arrow through it.

“Come on, kids, look more enthusiastic; it is the Alexander Gunterian!” Alex prompted them, to which they each asked for the autograph and accepted it. In return, Alex palmed a few coins to the fake in payment for the boards.

“Oh please, no need. I make enough money doing jobs for the guild. If I can inspire even a little heroism in my fellow adventurers with these trinkets, then that is payment enough,” the class had to physically resist the urge to grimace at such a cheesy line.

“Well, we must be off; got a whole city to see,” Alex said, saluting False Alex as they left the building.