31 Days out of Kret
Alec couldn’t help but stare out the window as the carriage he and Alexandar currently rode in made its way past the entrance of Zenik and through the streets. The architecture wasn’t that different from Grenkin and Xynhall, wood and stone-hybrid houses designed primarily to insulate and keep heat in on especially cold days, but the sheer number and differences in the sizes and shapes of the buildings certainly caught him off guard.
He could certainly tell the difference between a small city, like Xynhall, and a full-blown capital city like Kret or Zenik when it was put on full display like this. The carriage cresting a hill and allowing an even better view of the city and, across the other end of the carriage from Alec, its large seafaring harbour.
Though of course, even though his view wasn’t the best between having to look across the carriage and around other people, Alec was still able to gain at least a vague idea of the kind of size difference he was looking at, even comparing it to Xynhall’s harbour.
“We’re about to pull up, Mr Dius. Do you have all of your gear?” Alexandar asked, stretching his arms above his head as he looked over at his young charge.
To think that his quest with Alec, after a long, long, month would finally be over in another few hours. He hadn’t spent this long on a single quest in close to three years by this point, and he hadn’t done so as part of his job within the Guild in close to six. It was vaguely refreshing to the old man to remind himself of the roots of adventuring and get back in touch with where he himself had started, much like everyone else.
But what truly made this journey worth it was to meet and personally see the growth of Alec Dius, the first known wielder of the [Swordmaster] qualification in decades, if not centuries. It made Alexandar’s heart all warm and fuzzy inside to know that the next generation of adventurers would still have powerful people to rally behind when him and the old guard, inevitably, bit the dust for one reason or another.
But, if Alexandar had his way that wouldn’t be for quite a while, so there was no point thinking about something as morose as his own end. For right now he had to help the late teen finish his quest and get his payout, as little as that was for a Copper quest.
“Yeah, I have everything. Ready to go when you are.” Alec nodded after going through his bag.
“Let’s wait for the carriage to actually pull to a stop first, we aren’t exactly in much of a rush now.” Alexandar chuckled, getting a soft exhale and a roll of Alec’s eyes.
“I know that already, Alexandar.”
“Awww, you’re learning already.”
Alec just grunted as the older adventurer threw an arm around his shoulder. He just had to let Alexandar get it out of his system and he’d stop, he’d learnt that much after a month of dealing with the man.
‘Though I guess that’s about to come to an end, huh…?’ The teen mused to himself, turning his head to stare out the window once again, the curious gleam in his eyes gone now.
Of course, he knew this day would come eventually, and a part of him was even excited for it. But he also understood this would be the last time he had to put up with Alexandar and his annoying, but somewhat amusing, outbursts. It would be the last time he had someone around constantly to act as a safety net against the dangers of solo-adventuring. And it would be the last time he had someone close to him to remind him of Kairahl and his friends.
But that was just him being silly and sentimental, as much as he struggled to make himself actually believe those words. If he wanted to grow, he needed to face uncomfortable situations like this and make it out the other side, after all he couldn’t just return to Blessed Catalyst the same weak, naïve brat he had been.
He didn’t think he’d ever hear the end of it from Angelica and Felicia if he did.
A slight lurch forward snapped Alec out of his thoughts, turning his gaze from the window to the front of the carriage, where some of the more impatient riders were already beginning to stand up and grab their things.
“Looks like we’re here.”
“Your powers of clairvoyance astound me, Mr Dius!”
“Hah hah. Very funny.”
“Yes, I did think so myself.” Alexandar grinned cheekily, unwrapping his arm from the teens shoulder. “Now, shall we get going once the exit clears up a little?”
“Yeah, I’m in no rush to be trampled.”
“A man after my own heart, Mr Dius. A man after my own heart.”
XXXxxxXXX
“Oh no. Oh no no nonononono!”
Cupboard doors flung open so fast that one of the hinges made an ominous creaking sound as two hands began to dig around in the recesses of the storage space for something or another. Bowls, jars and other containers of herbs, plants and various fine grains –all labelled of course– all slid around and clanged against each other as the figure, feminine with long ears and silver hair, desperately searched for the ingredient she was looking for.
Forest green eyes that seemed to faintly glow in the shadows searched left, right, high and low for whatever ingredient it was the woman looked for. A high-pitched keening noise beginning to leave her twisted lips the longer that she went without finding hide nor hair of the necessary component. Her dark leather pants accruing more and more dust on them as she stayed on her knees and her white poet’s shirt mostly covered by a thin, unbuttoned, pants-matching leather jacket that dipped just slightly below her waist.
“Oh, come on. I need to mix it in before the solution cools. But I can’t just leave it on the heat or the silverberry and dracoling shavings will fuse and make that awful sludge!” She muttered to herself, her movements becoming rougher as she desperately tried to deny the truth of the matter, sending some jars toppling off the cupboard shelf and onto the ground.
“Svarjln!” The foreign swear left the woman almost before the containers hit the ground, the woman trying to pull herself out of the cupboard as quickly as possible and smacking the back of her head on the ceiling of the storage unit, earning yet another swear.
Ding-a-ling ding~
The woman’s ears perked up slightly as she heard the bell of her store-front door. Her hands clutching her jacket as she began to run to the door leading to her shop-front only to slide unsteadily for a moment on a thin layer of powder stemming from the one, and only, bowl that she had knocked over. A yelp leaving her mouth as she steadied herself before a strangled sound left her lips at the sight of so much ruined ingredient. The woman sliding a hand down her face and sighing heavily before dashing for the door once again, throwing it open and practically tackling her own counter.
Her breath came out a little heavier than average as she looked up at her customers, seeing a young-looking human boy right in front of the counter and an elderly mage standing further back with his arms crossed and a highly amused expression on his face. A small bead of sweat rolling down her temple as she did her best to smile in her currently extremely stressed state of being.
“H-Hello. Welcome to Diana’s Apothecary and Alchemist, h-how may I help you?” She panted lightly, clutching the counter with both hands while trying to straight herself back out and regain her breath.
“Uh..Hey. I’m Alec Dius, the adventurer the Guild hired to complete a quest for you? I have a delivery of twilight bloom.” The blue haired teen muttered, evidently very confused and slightly off put by her demeanour.
Though Diana didn’t care about that at all, bright sparkles lighting up her eyes as she lurched over the counter to rip the package from his hands and take off into her backroom once more with only the lingering echo of her shout left behind a second later.
“GODS SEND!”
XXXxxxXXX
A few minutes later
“Did she….forget about me?” Alec asked, still staring at the door leading into the backroom of the apothecary.
“I wouldn’t be surprised, she seemed like she was in quite a frantic state when we walked in. She didn’t even acknowledge me!” Alexandar cried dramatically, leaning against one of the wooden support beams of the building itself, situated in a small nook between two sturdy wall-mounted shelves.
“To be fair, I wouldn’t acknowledge you even if I wasn’t in a hurry.” Alec shot back, turning his head just enough to grin over his shoulder at the older man.
“Agh! Mr Dius, after all I’ve done for you. How could you!?” Alexandar cried, clutching his chest and beginning to slide down the wall.
“Thank you for waiting, young man!” The door to the backroom swung open slowly with the opening statement from Diana, the woman herself walking out while wiping her hands with a fairly worn-looking rag.
“You’re welcome, Miss….Diana?”
“That’s right, I’m Diana, owner of this apothecary.” She answered, smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of her head. “It’s nice to meet you when I’m not freaking out over a lack of ingredients.”
“Likewise. I’m Alec Dius.” The teen introduced himself, holding a hand out that she quickly took and shook firmly. “Was twilight bloom hard to get a hand on…?”
“Not hard to get a hold of? No, no. It's just that the interim delivery I was meant to get never arrived, so my safety net was all used up and I didn’t realise because I’m so used to having what I need.” She responded with a short, nervous laugh while averting her eyes from the teen.
Based on her judgement he couldn’t have been older than 20 at the very most, and here she was –one of his elders– making herself not only look like a total loon but also completely unreliable too. It, while harmless, was a complete embarrassment to her and left her rather on the backfoot compared to how she’d prefer to introduce herself.
“Oh, well at least we managed to get here…in time?” Alec tentatively guessed, seeing the lack of scrunched features or tenseness in her expression that would indicate anger or stress.
“Oh yes! You got here at the perfect time in fact! I was just looking for my twilight bloom when you entered actually. Another couple minutes and I would have had to throw out that mixture entirely. So many materials lost…” Diana muttered, hugging herself and shivering at the idea of wasting so many materials on a useless sludge that was, in all purposes, completely inert and unusable.
“Uh…right. I’m glad it all turned out alright in the end.” Alec said, nodding slowly. “So could I please get a signature proving I completed the quest for you?”
“Oh! Right, yes, of course!” Diana yelped, covering her mouth with both hands before frantically looking around for a piece of paper and a pen.
The reason she was doing this was simple; to prove that the mission had been completed as the adventurer said it was, all quests of the ‘delivery’ or ‘fetch’ classifications needed proof in the form of either a written, verbal or thaumaturgical nature from the client upon completion. This meant that adventuring parties could no longer pocket the item(s), walk into a Guild branch and receive payment for it as well as they had once been able to a mere 42 years ago.
For adventurers around Alec’s age, the way that things worked now was simply the norm. You got proof, you went to the branch, and you got paid for a hard quest’s work. But for those that had been around before the change, like Alexandar, the new method was a rather simple way to get rid of a large portion of the ‘get-rich-quick’ parties that had existed at the time. Though some managed to survive even to this day.
Now-a-days such parties have to be far smarter, and more subtle, about the ways that they gamed the system. Stuck in an ever-escalating war with the Adventurer’s Guild itself to make as much money as possible as quickly and lazily as possible without being found out and brought before the iron-fist of the law. A rather paradoxical effort that Alexandar was certain took far more effort in pulling off than actually working as they were meant to, these days.
“Here we are!” Diana crowed victoriously, ending her handwritten note with a very exaggerated, flowing signature.
In a surprisingly fluent motion, the elven woman folded the letter and handed it to Alec alongside a singular gold coin, which Alec promptly dropped before diving after it the moment the sound of it bouncing off the wooden floor reached his ears.
The sound of Alexandar’s laughing seemed to bounce off the walls of the apothecary, surrounding Alec from all sides as he laid on his stomach on the floor, with the gold coin held firmly in his singularly raised clasped hand. The teen’s lips pressing together firmly and his face beginning to go bright red as the embarrassment of his actions slammed into him alongside the belly-deep laughter of his month-long companion.
“I understand that a gold coin may be a lot of money for you, young man.” Diana hummed, the gentleness in her voice somehow making Alec’s embarrassment both better and worse. “But you truly did help me out and I know that the payment I offered for the quest in the first place wasn’t all that high. Think of it as a special bonus the guild doesn’t need to know about, hm?” She grinned, placing a shushing finger over her lips and winking down at the teen.
“Right. Yeah. T-thank you.” Alec muttered, still blushing as bright as a tomato as he hopped to his feet and pocketed both the letter and the coin, his expression souring the longer Alexandar’s laugh went on.
“Oh! Oh Mr Dius! Oh, that was wonderful! Again! Ag- Ah?” Alexandar ceased laughing for a moment as Alec stomped past him and ripped the door to the shop open. “Mr Dius?”
“Thank you for completing my quest, Mr Dius. Please remember to stop by if you ever need anything!” Diana smiled and wiggled her fingers at him, resting her elbow on the counter and her chin on the heel of her palm.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Alec just nodded to Diana silently before closing the door, leaving Alexandar staring dumbfoundedly at the door for a few seconds before an anguished cry left him and he rushed for the door himself.
“Mr Dius! Mr Dius wait for me! Don’t leave me behind now!” And with that last frantic cry, the old man closed the door behind him too, a small, amused snort leaving Diana as she stared at her now closed door.
“Alec Dius, huh? I might have to keep an eye out for him.” She hummed to herself, a cup materialising in her hand and a dark purple magic circle dispensing a light brown liquid into it that she promptly took a good, long sip of. “Who knows, he might turn out to be pretty interesting.”
XXXxxxXXX
Adventurer’s Guild, Zenik Branch
“It looks pretty similar to the branch in Kret…” Alec spoke to himself, spinning around as he walked forward to get a better look at the multi-storey foyer of the building.
Just like its contemporary in Kret, the building was a four-storey megalith of a building with civilians, adventurers and guards moving back, forth and around its stairwells and walkways in an intricate and utterly chaotic dance. If not for the slight differences in masonry, carpentry and decorations Alec probably wouldn’t have been able to tell the interior of the building apart from the one in his home capital.
“Well, that’s not surprising, very few countries have as much land bordering one another as Kairahl and Xyrtah. And their histories are remarkably intertwined. So, both countries share quite a few similarities, and it helps that both buildings were made by the same organisation.”
“Don’t fix what isn’t broken, huh?”
“Precisely! Now let’s head over there. I think that young lad is free for us to talk to.” Alexandar said, pointing to one of the receptionists.
With a small shrug, the teen walked forward. His expression falling flat for half a second as a wide, fake as rubber, smile crossed his features.
“Hello sirs! What brings you in today?” He asked, a stern looking middle aged man coughed into his hand from the wall nearby, making the edge of the receptionist’s smile twitch a little. “…And how may I help you?”
‘Either a micromanaging boss or disciplinary action. Maybe both…? Oh well, not my place to pry.’ Alec thought with a small mental shrug.
It was weird to see such a thing within an organisation as fluid and efficient as the Adventurer’s Guild, but he supposed that no organisation could be perfect.
Silently the teen pulled out both his licence and the signed letter from Diana, remembering the drill from when Peter, as party leader, would claim a quest completed with the Guild, and receiving the quest flyer from Alexandar himself.
“I’d like to finish up this quest and get my pay, please.” He said, short and simple.
He really had no wish to talk anymore than necessary and the high-strung anxiety of the young man before him, thanks to his manager/superior, really didn’t do much in the way of changing that opinion.
“Of course, give me just a moment.” The man said, grabbing the three offered items and looking over all three carefully before nodding, seemingly to himself. “Alright, it looks like the quest has been fulfilled. If you’ll give me a moment, I’ll go and grab your pay.”
“Ok.” Alec nodded and just waited patiently at the counter alongside Alexandar as the young man went into the back to grab the 87 copper that he was owed for this quest.
“So, you’re about to complete your first solo quest officially, Mr Dius. How do you feel?” Alexandar asked, resting against the counter as he asked the teen his question, only getting a small snort from the teen as he crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.
“Not much of a solo quest when I have a Tungsten safety net the whole time.”
“Oh, don’t be like that, Mr Dius! The journey was all one of your own, it’s not like I learnt any new skills on our trip. Nor did I meet anything particularly out of the blue. Apart from the travel time this could have almost been my average quest!”
“Gee. Thanks, Alexandar. You’re making me feel so great here.” Alec huffed, averting his gaze from the old man stubbornly.
“Hehe. Come now Mr Dius. I’ll drop the jokes, I promise. How do you actually feel though?”
“I…” Alec turned back to face the older man, his face twisting a little as he tried, and failed, to sift through his complicated web of emotions. “I feel worried about what’s ahead, I guess.”
“Everyone does, sooner or later. And there’s nothing wrong with taking a step back to get a better view of what's ahead. So long as you eventually keep walking forward.”
“Thanks Alexandar….Who knew you could be so wise?”
“What’s that meant to mean you brat!?”
“It means you’re a child, Alexandar.” Alec shot back smugly, grinning at the childish raspberry that the man blew before his expression straightened out once more.
“Once you get this pay, I’ll be heading off, you know that right?”
“Yeah… I do. It’ll be weird not having you around, old man.”
“Now you’re just being cheeky.” Alexandar huffed, looking at Alec out of the corner of his eye.
“Perhaps. I’m not great with goodbye’s…” Alec admitted hesitantly, ever the subtly angsty teen that hated his own weaknesses.
‘Guess even a whole month of adventures isn’t enough to fully mature a person.’ Alexandar thought to himself in amusement, though he hadn’t exactly been expecting such a thing in the first place.
“Then it won’t be a goodbye, Mr Dius. It’ll be….hm….It’ll be a ‘Till you reach Tungsten’. How about that?”
“Are you trying to use this to push me forward!?” Alec asked, vaguely scandalised at the old man’s attempted craftiness.
“Ah drats.” The mage huffed, snapping his fingers. “You figured me out, Mr Dius. But do you deny my challenge?”
The man's mouth stretched into a wide, mocking grin and his eyes gleamed with a vaguely malicious shine. A mixture that Alec just knew would lead to an eternity of teasing if he never got to that level.
“…Nah. I’ll accept your challenge.”
“Hah! Great. Then I’m sure you’ll like the last gift I’ve set up for you, Mr Dius.”
“Huh? Last gift?” Alec’s head snapped towards Alexandar, but before he could speak again, the young receptionist came back with a small pouch and Alec’s ID.
“Here we are sir. Your payment and ID.” The supervisor by the wall coughed loudly into his hand again and the receptionist’s eye twitched. “..And thank you for your continued patronage to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” Alec muttered, grabbing his pay –4 silver coins and 7 copper coins– and ID and stepping away from the desk alongside Alexandar.
“Alright, Mr Dius. This is it, farewell.” Alexandar said from behind the teen, making him pause mid-step and sigh deeply.
“Yeah, farewell. But what did you mean by-“ The teen turned around only to see no one there, the green motes of light from Alexandar’s magic beginning to dissipate into the air all that remained of his existence.
Alec stood ramrod still for a couple seconds, watching the green motes of light dissipate entirely. His eyes unmoving and his body still enough to pass for a statue, even his breathing paused as his mind stuttered over the mounting realisation like a cold-starting car.
“That…rat…bast-“
“Excuse me.” A monotone, male, voice spoke from his right.
With a small jump of alarm, Alec looked over at them with wide eyes. The teen having been utterly unaware of their presence in the slightest, something which still continued to elude him, even when staring directly at him.
The man in question had an almost entirely bald head, with only a couple days’ worth of hair growth over his dome and deep grey eyes. Standing at about 190cm with long, smoothed out, black clothes that would look more in place in a setting of nobility, rather than the ground floor of the Adventurer’s Guild of all places.
“Um, hi?”
“Hello. I am Proctor Gale Fallow of the Xyrtahnian branch.” He introduced himself, nodding his head in a quick, measured, motion. “You are Alec Dius, correct?”
“Yeah, that’s me. Did you need something?”
“You’ve been nominated for a rank re-trial by [Tungsten-rank] ‘Lifeweaver’ Alexandar Greynam. If you’ll please follow me.”
‘THIS IS HIS FINAL GIFT!?’ Alec screamed internally, trying his very best to keep as outwardly calm as he responded slowly.
“I..see. Would I be labelled as a mis-ranker if I denied?”
“Not for that, no. But if a [Tungsten-rank] believes you qualified for a re-trial, their judgement will be trusted above all else and keen eyes will be kept on your progress. I’m certain you’re aware of the punishment for being a mis-ranker?” The man asked, not as a threat, but merely a simple question.
Alec didn’t know if that made it better or worse.
“Yeah, I’m aware. I’ll go with you.” Alec said quickly, holding his hands up in peace.
Alec wasn’t going to say no regardless, that would just be silly to miss out on an opportunity like this. But the threat of potentially being labelled a mis-ranker was enough to put a fire under him, that’s for certain.
After all, the punishment for being discovered as a mis-ranker included, and was not limited to, being completely cut off from the Guild, becoming a public enemy of the Guild, investigation from country authorities, and in severe –high-ranking– cases even capital punishment if royalty decided to step in. Such was the power of the Adventurer’s Guild, and such was the importance of adventurers in the functioning of a country. The system was set up for a reason and people trying to cheat their way out of it for whatever reason they happened to have, wasn’t to be allowed under any circumstances.
With a small nod, the man gestured for him to follow with one hand before folding it back behind his back and beginning to walk, Alec following him silently as they went down a particular corridor and into the back of the building where a large training room had been set up. Or to be more accurate, was always set up for this exact purpose.
“Alright, do you remember the process from your initial trial?”
“I do. I need to showcase my magical prowess, physical prowess and any particular techniques I happen to know.” Alec responded with a small nod, walking towards one of the wooden training dummies.
These particular training dummies were made tougher than the fabric and straw dummies the town guard near the orphanage had used; he remembered barely being able to cut halfway through one of them when he had first joined the Guild…
“You may begin when you wish. I am prepared.” Gale called out simply, getting a small nod from Alec as he slowly drew his blade.
“Let’s see…” He muttered, pulling his sword to his side and slashing out, cutting clean through the dummy as if it had been one of the straw dummies from his village, getting a wide-eyed look from the teen.
“I really have-“
“Please continue the test.”
“Oh! Right! Sorry!” He called out, his cheeks flaring slightly with colour as he moved to a stone dummy and attempted to repeat the performance with a regular slash, only to bite a couple centimeters into it.
Following that, the teen showed off the extent of the mana that he could control, the singular spell that he was able to cast, and the potency of his attribute on the wooden dummy he had already sliced. Each showcase getting a small hum from Gale and a quickly jotted note on a piece of paper, his gaze never leaving Alec for even a moment.
“Any particular techniques at your disposal?”
“Yes, a Power Stance.”
“Please go attempt it on the metallic dummy right there.” Gale instructed, pointing to the metallic dummy to the left of the stone one.
Alec just nodded and walked over. He’d been practising in the mornings even since his fight with Calliope a few days prior, at this stage using Fortress Piercer in a calm, controlled setting like this was child’s play.
‘Using this in a fight is one thing. But here and now?’
Mana surged out of Alec, and he struck forward, the tip of his blade meeting the smooth, metallic surface of the dummy-
XXXxxxXXX
One minute later
“Please wait here in the foyer for a few moments while your results are deliberated over.” One of the Guild employees, a young woman, instructed him with a small smile.
“Uh, yeah. Alright.” Alec nodded, going over to a less populated area of the foyer and resting back against the wall.
He hoped that nothing was going to go wrong with the results. He’d done his best with the Power Stance, but Gale hadn’t really said anything following the results, so maybe it wasn’t as impressive as Alec had thought it was?
Oh well, there was no way of knowing what was going through the proctor’s head when he was as expressionless as he was. He might as well take the time to try and figure out what his next game plan was, because currently he had nothing.
Idly the teen let his gaze drift around the Guild’s foyer, trying to find an idea or inspiration in anything that he saw. His eyes going from one party to another, from quest room to quest room, client to adventurer without any discrimination, eventually landing on a small kiosk with copies of the Adventurer’s Guild-funded magazine “World Quest” available for all adventurers.
He'd never been one to read through the magazine before, he actually didn’t think that anyone in Blessed Catalyst had either, but he knew vaguely of some of the things that could be found inside and decided that it wouldn’t hurt to take a look through it.
Though he really didn’t have to look far, because the second page of the thing had an advertisement for something that caught his attention in a vice-grip and refused to let go.
“Huh… Dragon-Scale Sword Academy. Seems like a good place to check out next.” He muttered to himself, looking over when the same female employee, shadowed by Gale Fallow walked up to him.
“Mr Dius. After going through your retrial, your skills have shown-“ The employee spoke, following the rehearsed script to a T as Gale stared emotionlessly down at the teen.
At least, that’s what it looked like to the teen.
XXXxxxXXX
A moment earlier, Trial Chamber
Gale watched the employee he had called into the chamber lead Alec Dius away and back into the foyer. His gaze following the teen unflinchingly all the way up until the door slid shut, where it then snapped to the metallic dummy, and the aftermath of Alec’s singular Power Stance demonstration.
Adventurers that underwent re-trial to go up the ranks always tended to put their best foot forward when they went through the tests, they tended to show results that simply showed the best of what they had to offer. Even in the higher ranks, where the re-trials grew beyond just flaring your mana and attacking dummies of various materials, this rule was true.
Yet even so, even if this was the maximum might that Alec Dius could put forth…
“Good grief…” He chuckled to himself as he placed a hand on what was left of the dummy, a scratchy, gravel-like laugh that didn’t sound like it should come out of a human throat.
Alec Dius had struck the dummy in centre mass, aiming for the thickest, most reinforced part of the dummy to showcase the power of his strike. And that very centre of the dummy was now missing, with its clavicle, neck and head lying on the floor as his fingers ghosted over the equivalent of its pelvis. The torso of the dummy missing in its entirety, and a small 3cm deep, 1cm wide hole gouged in the wall 20 metres behind it at the exact level and position of where Alec Dius’ sword tip had been positioned.
“It’s a good thing he’s going up a rank. Because truly…what kind of [Copper-rank] manages to create a Power Stance like this?”
XXXxxxXXX
Present time
‘Alec Dius. Qualification: [Swordmaster], an [Abyss-rank] qualification…’ Gale thought to himself, his gaze shifting the subtlest of distances to the employee at his side.
“-So we’re elated to inform you that, congratulations Mr Dius, you are now rank Iron!”
A small, but blindingly sincere smile overcame Alec’s features, and for a moment nothing else in the world even mattered. His hand reaching out and gently grasping his updated ID from the softly clasped fingers of the employee.
“Thank you!”