Chirh hunched over into a small pitiful ball, his shoulders wrapped around by the arm of this youth of House Larne. Rein was starting to get a pretty clear idea of why Chirh looked somewhat wretched compared to his original self. He had thought that perhaps the Hall of Heroes did not reward its members well enough, but the current events would suggest that possibility to not be the primary source of Chirh’s hardship.
Rein did not wish to attract unnecessary attention. Although he felt conflicted, he knew he would not give Chirh any type of assistance. He could not afford unneeded attention. He needed the freedom to delve into the inner workings of the devils out west and the Dingien Clan. The best way to do that would be to cozy up to key figures, especially some of the nobles that might have influence over the Hall of Heroes branch in the Green Trout City.
He could not afford the extra trouble, or to create any enemies this early! He hadn’t even entered the Hall of Heroes yet!
As for joining this supposedly rising Larne Clan? He considered his options. There were quite a number of issues if he were to join. He certainly had nothing to his name and would not be able to pay the said ‘small fee’.
Also, if he were to join, he would be but a lackey and limited with regards to his investigations. He quickly scanned the Larne youth. The youth from a seemingly well-off clan won’t pursue dangerous missions, and if he had to follow him around as one of his lackeys, he would be unable to undertake the more dangerous missions in order to discover the truth…
Thus, Rein concluded that his best play was to reject this offer without incurring too much of this Larne youth’s wrath, and perhaps some time in the future, find a way to drag Chirh out of his predicament-- with a bit of situational luck, that was not impossible. It was very much a balancing act-- he needed an amicable relationship with said nobles without necessarily being at their beck and call.
He picked his words carefully. “Forgive me, scion of the Larne Clan.” He specifically chose to use ‘Clan’ instead of ‘House’ to appeal to this youth’s desire for his family to be regarded as an advancer lineage. House Larne had yet to be recognized as an advancer clan.
“Frankly, I do intend to join the Hall of Heroes, but am extremely inexperienced. Just the other day, I attempted to catch a rabbit, yet I stepped on a branch and the rabbit became startled and darted away!”
He gave the Larne youth a deep bow, perhaps a little too exaggeratedly. “It would truly be a black mark on your record if I did the same thing and caused you a mission failure!”
At the same time, he begged in his heart that this Larne youth would leave things be, so everyone could go their merry way, at least for now!
A small crowd had now gathered around. Many were here to watch a show. Perhaps they were used to watching this Larne youth starting drama. All this served to heighten Rein’s premonition that he would not be able to avoid drawing attention to himself.
This Larne youth snorted at Rein’s words, before snatching the Soak Staff that Rein had been carrying with him. Rein’s travel sack was luckily in his rented inn room, and safe from this youth’s hands at least.
“Just a small prize you know? Chirh has been most unhelpful. Let’s test your poor weapon out… perhaps it would give me a good surprise!”
Twelve hells… Rein swore in his heart, and before he could utter a warning, the Larne youth in front of him actually attempted to activate the Soak Staff. Even the biggest idiots would never recklessly do such a thing! It was rather common for advancer weapons to have some sort of spell to prevent others from controlling their weapon in combat.
In response, a crimson red inscription activated across the surface of the Soak Staff-- it was none other than the blood inscription that Rein had seen Master Yirn combine with the physical form of the Soak Staff!
“Hah! To think you can even afford a measly protective spell!” The arrogant Larne youth stated, and he focused on forcing the Soak Staff to obey, only to find the blood inscription aglow with an even brighter crimson blaze.
The Larne youth screamed in despair as his whole right arm became charred in the blink of an eye, and he barely managed to drop the Soak Staff onto the ground in time, preventing his arm from being burnt right off his shoulder.
Chirh appeared absolutely euphoric at the unfolding events. Rein, on the other hand, could only cover his face with his hand as he continued to swear in his heart.
How had this occurred? Rein was absolutely befuddled. He had interacted with nobles when he was a merchant-- many had come to buy Blacksmith Tiehr’s weapons. None of them had behaved this way!
Then, he pondered. Perhaps those nobles had simply behaved themselves because they desired the goods House Hehr had on offer. Perhaps some nobles always behaved like this, and he was but blinded due to House Hehr’s unique circumstances back then.
He had wanted to enter the Hall of Heroes unknown and unrecognized, but unfortunately for him, he discovered that some scions just love walking to their deathbeds while dragging others down with them!
The wails of this Larne youth faded as his body, with a bleeding, inflamed and blackened right arm, limply dropped onto the hard stone floor of the Hall of Heroes’ elliptical plaza. He had fainted from the pain of the Soak Staff’s backlash.
Inexperienced and brainless folk might think that the issue was resolved… but Rein knew better. It would have been preferable if this Larne youth held a grudge rather than get his arm nearly razed off his shoulder.
He could handle a grudge from a relatively non-influential member of an important House in this city. It was far more questionable if he could handle the impending retribution from, likely, the whole of House Larne!
Speak of the devil...An enraged roar bounced off the pillars forming the elliptical plaza, creating an echo heard by all of the advancers passing through to their individual daily objectives here.
The delight on Chirh’s face was wiped off by the approach of a figure that had similar features to the limp Larne youth-- just a slight degree older and of a bulkier body.
The surrounding crowd started muttering amongst themselves, and Rein easily picked up on the identity of this approaching figure-- one of the main leading scions of House Larne, Beincen, a shell advancer. This man would have been accepted by the great sects of the Evergreen Mountains if he was not dedicated to his clan! The man was accompanied by a middle-aged scholar that repeatedly whispered into his ear.
“Who dared to maim my brother in such a cruel manner?!” Beincen’s face contorted with rage as he unsheathed a longsword, pointing it at individuals in the crowd as he pierced their souls with his gaze.
“You?! No, you’re a known wimp!” He swept his gaze across the crowd. “Whoever tells me the truth will receive an ample reward! Fifty limpite coins!”
That was enough to live a few years of comfort in the mortal section of this city! The man that was called a ‘total wimp’ a moment ago immediately folded, pointing his finger right at Rein. He was rewarded with a small pouch of coins that he joyously pocketed before quickly dashing away as his gaze suspiciously darted to every individual in the crowd.
“So. It was you.” Beincen quickly judged from Rein’s wear that this person was of no import. “I expect compensation. How about I chop off one of your arms as punishment? As an important member of the Hall of Heroes… justice must be fair!”
Rein was at the limit of his patience. He found himself recalling the event of his now demised family’s expulsion from the main merchant house. Beincen reminded him of those unjustifiable fuckers. If they hadn’t been exiled to the Golden Desert Town, his parents would not have been struck by the town’s calamity!
All he wanted was to ‘peacefully’ seek revenge for the Golden Desert Town massacre. Yet he was randomly dragged into this… incredibly maddening situation!
“Beincen, was it? The fault lies with your own younger brother.” Rein did his best to reign in his bubbling anger. “Only one of a questionable mind would activate another advancer’s weapon with nary a thought!”
Stifled laughter echoed through the crowd as many, though worried about House Larne, couldn’t resist partaking in this show. They themselves were observers of the Larne youth’s idiocy.
“And? Someone must pay for my younger brother’s right arm!” Beincen pursued his goal, his gaze attempting to identify and remember those who couldn’t restrain their laughter within the crowd.
He was of House Larne, a major contributor to the Hall of Heroes in this city. He might not be able to kill someone in broad daylight, but being tyrannical, overly brutal and heavy-handed with punishment would be tolerated!
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
An aurae shell submerged his skin as well as his longsword. Beincen was ready to act with force! Rein held tightly onto the Soak Staff that he had regained. He wasn’t quite sure how he would fare against Beincen-- his advancer combat experience was mostly against his half-senior hiding in the Bleak Mountains! However, Beincen would quickly lose his chance to act. The tense situation was broken when a raucous laughter suddenly sounded through the plaza.
“Who dares to …” Beincen, enraged, surveyed the crowd for the source of this laughter. What he saw made his heart skip a beat. The middle-aged scholar accompanying him urgently whispered into his ear.
“I am truly shocked by the Hall of Heroes.” A figure dressed in white robes strode towards Rein. It was none other than the underling that worked under Baejenh and had participated in questioning Rein at the east gate.
“To think one in an eminent position in the Hall of Heroes would be unable to see the truth…” The white robed man shook his head in exaggerated dismay at Beincen.
Beincen opened his mouth to retort, but he stopped himself upon seeing another figure enter the stage.
“And you, the Fusion Sect, are acting outside your jurisdiction here.” A yellow-hooded old man stepped forth from the crowd to confront the white-robed man. “Darhge. This is not your place.”
“Hmph. Overseer Jeahz.”
The two men glared at each other in a standoff.
“Do you truly believe that I wanted to act?” Darhge scoffed at Overseer Jeahz. “It’s just that, dear ‘friend’, I am worried that the reputation of the Hall of Heroes would be tarnished. You might even struggle to recruit if that were the case!”
“Look at this young man.” Darhge turned his attention onto Rein. “A traveler, coming here to join the Hall of Heroes and put his life on the line.” A melodramatic sigh. “Yet even before he could take your silly little assessment… he would lose an arm because a key member in your organization,” he raised an eyebrow at Beincen, “had a brainless little brother that used another advancer’s weapon recklessly.”
“Are all of you certain that you want to join such an organization?!”
Many in the crowd had doubtful looks. Many of them had indeed come to the city in hopes of gaining a bit of glory in the Hall of Heroes, hopeful of becoming a shell advancer and truly breaking into the advancer world. They had been rejected by many sects and saw the Hall of Heroes to be their last chance, despite the rather harsh conditions they would operate under as a member.
Darhge then straightened his posture before proudly meeting the gaze of all in the surrounding crowd with a beaming smile.
“Do not listen to--”
Overseer Jeahz furiously attempted to interrupt Darhge, but Darhge was no idiot. At this point of time, he intentionally used magic to augment his voice in order to drown out Overseer Jeahz’s protestations. A thick aurae skin formed a pattern in front of the man’s throat.
“I pity all of you for coming here to see this disappointment. However, worry not! We, the Fusion Sect, will make a special case today! We are willing to provide all of you with an opportunity to join the outer ring of many of the sects affiliated with the Fusion Sect! And if you perform well, it is not out of the question that you might one day become a key member of the Fusion Sect itself!”
He continued, “There would be no need to throw yourself against demons and devils for a miniscule return!”
Oh. Rein found himself, once again, used in a greater scheme. He hated that feeling, but there was nothing he could do about it. Though, he would at least leave this place with an intact body.
Initially, he had thought Darhge might be offering him a helping hand under Baejenh’s orders. Now, it was abundantly clear that the Fusion Sect simply did not see eye-to-eye with the Hall of Heroes, and Darhge was but attempting to drain the Hall of Heroes of potential recruits. The conflict between the two must be of a much larger scale than he initially thought.
Meanwhile, Beincen was displaying a vast array of emotions as the middle-aged scholar furiously spoke into his ear, as if he was a stage performer preparing for a show.
He recalled the information on the sects affiliated with the Fusion Sect. Indeed, some sects in the Minhr Nation had submitted directly to the Fusion Sect, not wishing to submit to the clans within the nation. The clans? They couldn’t exactly resist the ruling Fusion Sect of this realm.
As for the Shroud Alliance to the southwest-- some of those sects received quite a number of benefits from being a part of the Fusion Sect umbrella.
The Zoh Empire to the east, though backed by the Hall of Heroes, had to pay a yearly tribute to the Fusion Sect, not to mention, lost many of its talented individuals, some picked by the Hall of Heroes while others, to the Fusion Sect.
Rein had no interest in this offer of the Fusion Sect-- the Hall of Heroes in the Green Trout City was perfectly positioned and structured for his own goals of hunting the devils while peering into the world of the Dingien clan.
A brilliant idea suddenly popped into his head-- he did not wish to constantly have his fate dictated by these bigger players. It would come along with a certain degree of risk, but playing it safe would only bring mediocre results!
Rein aggrandized his voice as he thumped his fist against his chest.
“Forgive me, Overseer Jeahz. Do not worry, for I am not so easily convinced by,” he waved his arm dismissively at Darhge, “this man’s words. I have come to the Green Trout City to join your Hall of Heroes! Granted, there have been some… complications, but I plan to take on some of the missions into the western wilderness once I enter your Hall of Heroes!”
“Surely, that will be ample compensation for,” he glanced at Beincen, “House Larne. I am confident that House Larne, who no doubt cares about the citizens so deeply, would be quite happy to have another able-bodied young man strive for its people on dangerous missions involving these hungry demons and devils, no?”
The crowd nodded at each other, and a few of them even cheered at Rein’s gallant words. With this, Rein was confident the Hall of Heroes would not necessarily provide much support to House Larne. As a multi-realm organization, while they might seek local support, what they lacked most were willing fighters for the dangerous missions. Rein was banking on that fact.
Beincen clenched his jaw for a heartbeat before spitting at the ground. “If only that was true, then we, House Larne, would acquiesce.”
He knew. If he still pursued a young man willing to put aside his own safety to take on these dangerous Hall of Heroes missions, especially for his dumb young brother… it would put a dent in his own position within the Hall of Heroes and House Larne’s aspirations as well.
There were other houses that desired to elevate themselves to the status of an advancer clan in Green Trout City. Beincen, after being pelted by the rapid mouth of his advisor, understood that he could only grit his teeth and play along this day.
“Well…” Rein pulled out his identification papers from his jacket pocket as his eyes darkened. How many times had he explained his identity this day? “You see, I am a survivor of the Golden Desert Town massacre. I must hunt the devils, and the Hall of Heroes have been the biggest contributor across realms in this aspect of the advancer world! Is that not true?!”
Overseer Jeahz beamed, his earlier anxiousness completely erased as he slapped Rein’s shoulder. Rein discovered that although Overseer Jeahz had an elderly look, his back was still straight as an arrow, and his arms strong like iron.
“This young man has the right ideals! We, the Hall of Heroes, have always made hunting devils and demons to be our primary objective! Devils and demons are fallen existences, slaves to their desires and a source of chaos for us all!”
“The offer to join the outer ring of affiliated sects still stand.” Darhge repeated. “As inner advancers, you are all nothing but meatbags to sacrifice ato the wilderness demons and devils!”
Overseer Jeahz further amplified his voice as he reinforced his position. “All of you that have come here to join the Hall of Heroes know the truth in your hearts! Sects have always recruited those they deemed most promising, and their resources, too, spent on those most gifted!”
“The Hall of Heroes is different. We take risks because we recognize that in many of you, there may very well be,” he swept his eyes across the crowd, making an effort to meet the gaze of every single pair of eyes. “A hidden, intangible strength and talent, that the sects fail to see!”
“That is why we have more dangerous missions. That is why we are willing to give chances to those that, at first glance, may seem lacking in talent! This is where one gets forged through fire and steel! Where one surpasses expectations!”
The heads bobbed in agreement. They had been reminded of how they had been ignored by recruiting sects. Frankly, that was precisely the reason they had come to the Hall of Heroes in the first place.
Darhge raised his hands and slowly clapped theatrically. “Once again, my offer stands. Once all of your companions start dropping like flies next to you-- and they most definitely will-- you will only have one, single thought.” He raised his chin.
“The thought of wishing to avoid being crushed and swallowed into the corrosive bellies of these demons and devils with not even a single bone in your body remaining. And when that day comes, and your spirits break… you can come to me, and I will give you a place to see out your days.”
Darhge beckoned to a few of his other white-robed underlings in the plaza, and as he left, there was a relatively meager, but not insignificant group of of people that decided to follow, preferring to wallow their days away safely in an minor sect under the Fusion Sect.
For many, they knew in their hearts that they would probably be a corpse very soon if they joined the Hall of Heroes. Darhge’s offer wasn’t amazing-- chances were that in these minor sects, they would receive barely any opportunities-- but they figured it would be better than losing their precious life as the price for the multitude of chances at the Hall of Heroes.
“Xune’s spear! Those Fusion Sect bastards have been endlessly poking us like a fictite needle these past few years.” Overseer Jeahz’s voice cackled next to Rein’s ear. “They’ll be back before long.”
“I hope you understand that I have to be fair, and you must still take the assessment. Worry not, it has always been just a tradition. We almost never reject potential helping hands against demons and devils. But today’s contribution will be added into your tab once you enter the Hall of Heroes.” The Hall of Heroes overseer chortled before pointedly staring at Beincen.
“We will have a special consideration and allow the upper echelon of healers to tend to your younger brother’s arm. It should return to being mostly functional, and as long as your younger brother reaches the telekinetic realm, he will be able to regain whatever minor control over his right arm he may have lost as a result of this incident.”
Beincen could only hook his fingers respectfully before giving Overseer Jeahz a bow. With a wave of his arm, Overseer Jeahz summoned a few servants to carry off Beincen’s hapless younger brother on a stretcher.
Was this incident resolved? Would the Hall of Heroes keep Beincen in check? Rein knew that the Hall of Heroes adopted policies that generally ensured that their members’ deaths would always come while combating demons and devils.
However, when Rein took a brief glance at Beincen, he knew… that this incident was far from resolved. The unconcealed hostility within those eyes communicated that House Larne would cause endless troubles for him.