And so, my reign finally started. We’ve broken past what we considered normal, we thrive when others bleed, and laugh loudly when they die by our weapons. God… Just wait, I shall find a suitable vessel, and then, you shall ascend.
----------------------------------------
Kai slammed his fist against the wall, however, no matter how hard he punched, the portal disappeared and he couldn’t pass through anymore. What’s going on? He looked around and saw the dozen heads turned toward him with a mocking smile. Flustered, he rushed through the crowd and slammed the door open, angrily marching toward Anna. Upon seeing her, he took a deep breath and waited for everyone to be done with their requests, which didn’t take long, as usual.
A rocky hill immediately rose from the ground, surprising Anna, who took a step back before smiling awkwardly. “Yes, how may I help you?”
“Miss, something strange is going on.” Kai began, pulling out his tasks and preparing to present them, however, Anna’s hand rose before he could say anything else.
“Let me stop you right there, it’s the kid-looking guy, isn’t it?” She asked with a defeated sigh.
“Uh, yes, how did you know?”
“He always makes trouble for newcomers, I should have warned you but I was too busy. I’m sorry.” Anna said and rubbed her temples. “Please tell me you didn’t sign anything.”
“Well- About that…” Kai laughed awkwardly, without needing to continue his sentence, as the receptionist had already understood.
“Damn that brat, always picking on newcomers…” She sighed and leaned backward, exposing her pale neck, her veins visible on the surface. Kai gulped and clenched his fists as his heart threatened to jump out of his chest. Biting his lower lip, he glanced away and said through gritted teeth.
“What does that mean??” His voice, which had turned rougher and raspier, escaped his lips in an unintentional, threatening tone. Anna’s pupils widened upon hearing that, her heart skipping a beat and she immediately straightened herself. However, she let out an inner sigh of relief upon noticing that Kai wasn’t looking at her.
“Well… the contract you signed means that… you gave away all the resources you gathered for that task, to the child.”
“What!?” Kai gasped, almost falling from his hill. “But I couldn’t even read it!”
“Well… a signature is a signature. I’m sorry kid… it’s out of my hands now.” She almost shrugged her shoulders, and Kai’s expression changed from flustered to angry, he gritted his teeth as he thought about all the hardships he went through getting those materials.
“You have to be able to do something about it!” He said, a tinge of despair hidden in his voice. “You’re the one who hired him, you’re liable for my losses. That contract isn’t legally binding, I’m a minor!”
“That-” Anna paused, her eyes widening in revelation. “That makes a lot of sense actually, but wouldn’t that mean you can’t join our guild either?”
“I didn’t sign anything when I joined…” Kai said, ashamed of the inconsistencies in his reasoning. “Anyway, that’s not what’s important here, please help me get my materials back.”
Anna stood with her mouth agape for a second before reluctantly closing her mouth and nodding gently, giving Kai a look of assurance. “Alright then, please be patient and I will talk it out with the director.”
Kai grunted, and stepped off the hill, then walked outside under the gazes of Wildfire’s and the other guilds’ members. He took a deep breath and sat on one of the benches, staring up at the moon with disgust in his eyes.
To think that I was fooled by a child, there are a lot of kinds of people in this world, huh? Malice at such a young age, I wonder where he learned it from…
He sighed and calmed down as he waited, refusing to allow his mind to wander too much. That child is damned weird, he seems younger than me but behaves like an adult already, what a pain. I hope they can deal with that soon enough.
Kai leaned back on the bench, spreading his arms and taking in the beautiful view of the natural starry sky. Such a sight was rare back in his world, but now he’d grown accustomed to it. However, no matter how much he gazed at the shining stars, he could never have enough. His eyes shimmered as tears fell down his cheek, although he quickly shook off from his trance and redirected his gaze toward the ground.
A pair of feet stopped before him, and as he looked up, he noticed Raymond, wearing a wide smile and a few smoked meats planted on a stick. “Everything alright, kid?” He said as he sat down, handing Onyx a small piece of meat, and then offering one to Kai.
“For… for the most part.” Kai refused the food, prompting an eyebrow raise from Raymond.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“I heard that little kid took your loot, is that why you’re so down?” The man asked, swallowing the rest of the food. “Don’t worry, it’s already taken care of. At least he counted everything right, haha.”
“Already?” Kai exclaimed, straightening his back. “I just reported it.”
“Well, that kid’s been a pain in the ass for us for a while now. But don’t worry, there are never any serious consequences due to his antics.”
“Ha… I see.” Kai sighed, feeling relieved that he would get the fruit of his labor after all.
“Yep, you can go to Anna and she’ll take care of it for ya,” Raymond said, standing up and walking away, leaving Kai alone once again.
What a weird dude… He thought as he leaned back on the bench, calmly breathing as he took in the peaceful quiet around him.
…
“Here you go, Ichor. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” Anna said in a soft, half-guilty half exhausted voice as she handed Kai a handwritten receipt.
<
A measly one thousand and sixty points, huh… Kai nodded half-heartedly toward the woman and got down, stuffing the note in his ring. He took a deep breath walked once again toward the board, and picked up some hunting jobs, as well as other plant-gathering jobs. They may not amount to much, but then again, I don’t need much.
He picked up five pages, and, just as he began walking toward Anna, he caught something with the corner of his eyes, or rather, someone, running away. It’s that brat!
He placed the tasks in his ring and immediately chased after the boy, sneaking through the crowd. As he got outside, he looked around frantically, until he spotted a small figure rushing into the city. Jumping off the stairs, he followed it with Onyx close behind, afraid of losing the boy. Where’s he going at this hour?
Kai followed quietly, using the shadows as a disguise to go unseen, and his soft footsteps were barely audible as he tiptoed around the busy streets. His eyes followed the scammer like an eagle, and even Onyx made as little noise as possible as the two trailed the young boy. He took many turns, sneaking through sometimes empty alleys and circling back to make sure he wasn’t followed. Of course, whenever that happened Kai would use a dark spell to conceal himself and Onyx before continuing to follow.
Finally, the boy looked around one last time, then sighed, and walked toward a large alley, which was much too familiar to Kai. It was the same alley he had felt that immensely strong presence when he first arrived a few nights ago. What is he planning? He thought, taken aback by the coincidence. Or maybe it’s not that much of a coincidence…
He hid behind a corner, concealing himself and Onyx, and watched as the boy stopped in front of a wall, and pulled out a stone from his ring. Pressing it against the cold surface, it rippled slightly, and the young man quickly passed through. Kai grits his teeth, and rushes, afraid of the gate closing. Onyx lagged, and, just as Kai’s body fully passed through, the wall turned back solid, causing the Obborik to hit its face, or rather, snout first.
After phasing through the wall, Kai made no effort to conceal his presence, and his eyes widened upon seeing the interior. It wasn’t fancily decorated but still held a certain aura of prestige. The velvet carpeted on the floor, although a bit damaged, perfectly mixed with the red couches with golden embroidery. A chandelier filled with large light crystals hung from the ceiling, and a large coffee table sat in the center of the room.
Kai’s eyes snapped toward a half-open door located on the west wall, and he quietly made his way over, peeking through the gap. His pupils widened and he gulped as he saw a creature that stood two meters tall, an ebony fur decorating its body, and a pair of sharp fangs baring themselves at the boy.
“Quiet now,” He said, bringing out a few pieces of meat. “Eat this. You gave me too much trouble last time, and now I could barely bring you some food after practically begging. You’re lucky I caught you, you know?”
The creature instantly devoured the food it was given, and let out a yelp however the anger in its eyes couldn’t be more evident. It growled and stared at the boy with mild hatred.
“I know, I know. Stay still, I still want to experiment on you. I know you understand me, so cooperate.” The boy said in a tone that didn’t fit his age and behaved in a similarly weird fashion. He stood hunched over a desk, reading over documents and scribbling down on papers. His visage resembled a seasoned worker more than a clueless child.
Kai watched silently, his heart racing as a wild idea formed in his mind, however, he didn’t dare voice it in any sort of shape. He observed the boy walking over with a weird, pointy object, and stabbing the creature with it before pulling back. A syringe? He asked himself, and his question was answered with an even crazier question. The boy pulled out a lot of glass circles, placed them in a weird, familiar object, and ejected some of the blood onto a glass trail.
No way…
The boy peered through the glass he placed on the device, then smiled to himself after a minute, and wrote down some findings. “I’ll soon find out how you can turn invisible, and then I’ll be rich, haha!”
Hm? Invisible? Could it be…! Kai took a closer look at the beast and felt its familiar aura once again. Yes, that’s it, the thing running through the alley back then. To think that this boy captured it… or rather… this man.
Kai wanted to observe further, however, the boy’s eyes suddenly snapped in his direction, and he took a haste step back before pulling out his wand and casting a concealing magic. His figure turned blurry, and he quickly walked into the most shadowy part of the room, holding in his breathing.
Moments after, the door slammed open, and the boy walked through, his eagle-like eyes scanning the entirety of the room before turning away with a scoff. Now, out of his range of vision, Kai let out a sigh and inched closer to the door. However, at that moment, the boy’s voice echoed in his ears, and he found himself face-to-face with a wand.
“Identify yourself before I blow your brains out.” He barked, the wand’s tip glowing with fierce darkness as it stood inches away from Kai’s head.