The Aether God: Chapter 13 - The Other Guilds
When they are ready to begin
No flag is flown, no fuss is made
The Trade District
“She won’t be picking me up anytime soon now. Haha!”
As he exited the Elixir Alliance’s headquarters, the table was as busy as ever. He strolled past all of the residents, and walked around the Trade District. He passed a large number of stalls, workshops, and tents. Most of them had little business if they weren’t empty. A number of them even had vibrant banners with seals of the Legendary Sects. They, however, were also quite empty. At one point, he found himself alone, and canceled his concealment art.
“Let’s see just how keen Boreas really is…” Cerulean eventually found himself in front of a large pagoda. In front of it was a dark blue banner, displaying the seal of the Frostbane Sect - it was their hall of azurean ingredients. He walked inside.
“How may I help you, how may I help you?”
As soon as he stepped inside, a high-pitched voice darted to his ears. It came from a short man with his hands clasped together. He spoke quickly, almost slurring his words together, while bowing. He was clearly a salesperson.
“I’d like to see your R6 ingredients, if you don’t mind.” Cerulean smiled as he spoke.
Hearing this though, the salesperson took on a serious expression for a moment, as if totally dropping a fake act. He saw Cerulean’s white Caladrius School robes, and as such would not be showing him such items. As soon as he realized he was frowning though, he began to smile again.
“I’m sorry junior, but you must be aware that ingredients only go up to R5. As such we are not able to sell you what you desire.” The man spoke politely, but was worried.
“Oh… That’s such a shame… I guess I’ll have to get my Azurean Egwu Fur elsewhere.” The ingredient Cerulean mentioned was the fur of an ethereal beast that most commonly peaked, cultivation-wise, in the spirit rank. By the time they were adults, they were usually saints.
Hearing this, the salesman frowned. It was not necessarily because he was upset, rather he was worried.
“I will be back in a moment... Two minutes, two minutes.” He smiled at Cerulean, then turned away. As he did so, he heard Cerulean shout.
“Keep it in your sect!”
As soon as he turned around though, Cerulean was gone and the door was flopping forward and backward. The salesman stood there, dumbfounded.
“Huh?”
……………………
“Was that too risky?”
As he continued strolling, practically invisible, through the Trade District, Cerulean saw two more enormous crowds. They belonged to the tents, or rather pagodas, of the Glyph Guardians and Ethological Ethomancers. They had moved their locations to adjacent plots of land. This was because the guild’s masters were twins, and thus the members of their guilds were close. They were also venerable artists and tradeswomen, or technically lords of their trade now, having recently made R5 items. Unlike Nora though, they were much younger, only in their early twenties. They were sitting between their two buildings on adjacent reclined chairs, watching over their sales tables. They were joking around with one another, basking in the sunlight. They seemed to not have a care in the entire world. Cerulean walked up between them.
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“Business is booming.”
“Business is indeed booming.”
“No… Business is like, booming booming.”
“Yes… Business is indeed like, booming booming.”
“Having a good time, are we ladies?”
Hearing a voice so close to themselves, both of the girls became frightened, looking at one another, then around themselves.
“It’s Cerulean. I come bearing gifts.”
Hearing this, they relaxed and nodded to one another. They stood up and walked towards the Glyph Guardian’s pagoda, followed by Cerulean. Many in the crowd pointed at them, as if they were celebrities and cared about whatever current and menial thing they were doing.
The twins entered the upper office, and closed the door behind Cerulean. Soon afterward, he canceled his concealment art.
“Master Cerulean!” The twins immediately bowed.
“Hahaha I just came to check in. Treat me normally. Just… don’t twirl me around like a baby…” His voice trailed off.
“Yes, Master Cerulean!” They continued to bow.
Cerulean sighed, and waited a few moments for them to lift their heads. They didn’t though.
“So bothersome…” He thought to himself.
“Have there been any new developments?” He stated loudly and regally.
They stood up stiffly, with their hands at their side. After looking at one another, deciding who should speak, one did so.
“We’ve made a ton of shards, and converted most of them to coinage in the Central District. We have your portion ready for you in another room. I’ll send for somebody to bring them here!” The girl who spoke was Celestia Elson. She darted out of the room, and within a couple of moments had returned to her position. Cerulean addressed them again
“Okay great… So I have some more stuff for you two. Because of your help, I’ve brought a little over a thousand welkinean manuscripts, which includes a number of cultivation and martial techniques. I made two of each. Furthermore, I’ve included some discipline techniques for you, Solene. These will get you to the spirit rank, and your martial abilities will be well rounded.”
“We do not deserve your graciousness, Master Cerulean!” They dropped to the floor, shouting.
“Now… I have a mission for you two. Would you be willing to accept?” Cerulean loudly addressed them, as if a king speaking to a knight.
“Yes, Master Cerulean!” Their heads practically hit the floor.
“Because this situation is going to be evolving for the next year, I suspect that the Legendary Sects will not continue to sit idly by… I am going to need something akin to a network of spies. I know that each of the sects have their own eyes on the ground. So I need some way to gauge what they are planning, and be able to prepare for such things in advance. Can I leave this to you two?”
They changed their positions from bowing down to kneeling upon one knee. As if a knight speaking to a king, Solene began.
“Please leave this matter to us, my liege!”
Cerulean nodded. “Good, good. Now… Both of you appear to be at the peak of the venerable rank. If the two of you would be okay with me doing so, I can purify your ethereal bodies, and even refine your Ether to the next rank. Once I ascend to a higher rank, I can purify them again to an even greater extent. This will make it much easier for you to continue absorbing Ether, as well as use techniques much, much faster. Furthermore, any martial techniques you use will be much stronger. You can also make a list for me of good people in your guilds that you would like manuscripts for as well… Regarding purification, do be aware I will have to place my hand over all of your nexuses and core, as well as trace most of your ethereal veins while pressing against you - but I can do so over your robes. This may be uncomfortable, but I swear upon my honor that I will do so with absolute prudence and respect.”
“We would be honored, Master Cerulean!”
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