CHAPTER 37 - UNAGITATED
Upon leaving Xyrus City–with little to no contact to my family or the main character–I said my temporary goodbyes to Dinzel who was my personal blacksmith from now on, or at least I thought since he would just stay in the most protected city known to man.
Kind of.
We had gone through the teleportation gate with ease. Not a single person expected an eight-year-old boy to be accompanied by two of the most powerful mages in the whole continent. However, seeing as they both are covering their faces without wanting to be recognized, I was still surprised that they let us through without any questions or suspicions.
Again, the sole sensation of going through a portal, no matter where I go or the feelings of excitement I get, is horrible to the point where I feel my guts being taken out and put back in while I am watching painlessly.
Before I could puke, my feet touched the rough floor followed by the endless sounds of voices that came from people who negotiated about items to buy.
"D-do we really…need to go…t-through the…portal?" I asked the two elven lances who seem perfectly fine after entering and exiting the portal.
I for sure needed something to relax to, my mind and stomach were killing me with horrible sensations. What's more, the voices of the people trying to trade and negotiate for their goods made me irritated.
"It is necessary to get used to it. It is only going to get worse after here, Luke, so let me ask you. Are you sure you want to become an adventurer at your age, and not spend it with your family?" Aya spoke with a firm but understanding tone, her eyes fixed on me with some sort of sentiment.
Again… The same question.
I let out a sigh, a tired one that maybe the lances caught a hint of but still I answered Aya's question.
"Yeah… Trust me, I would rather be with my family right now, enjoying my walk with them through the city of Xyrus but I no longer have that option. Ever since I've gotten this power, things have become difficult for me to understand and those closest to me might die because of some mistake that I had made."
I let my words linger in the air for some seconds before continuing, this time a firm and sharp but gentle tone at the end. "Even if I had the option to go back, like nothing ever happened, I would. Still there must be someone who has to do the cleaning behind the scenes."
My body turned, after all those words that left my mouth, there was still an unease in me. It was going to eat me from the inside until I no longer could ever be sane. Aya and Alea both gave me pity and melancholic looks.
That is right. I must do this, whether or not The Luke Hodges would've done this.
Still having eye contact with both elven lances, I forced a smile. Though it didn't quite reach my eyes, it was something that I needed to show them that I was ready for anything, that I was accepting my path which I embarked on.
"Now let's head towards the adventurer guild."
***
After our silent walk towards the guild, I noticed how things really were. It was lively, and the loud voices of the merchants and blacksmiths negotiating with the adventurers who had material was something that brought a smile to my face, even though I was irritated earlier.
What's more, now that I've gotten this mechanical mask, things have been easy. There won't be a single person who would recognize me, aside from Arthur Leywin but still.
It feels like what a man from my world once said, "Give someone a mask and they will show you their true nature." or along those lines…
Once inside the guild, it was noticeable to anyone that judging from the outside, the inside is pretty spacious. And quite silent for the most part.
I continued to look around, perhaps hoping to see an attendant or a receptionist that was free.
"Luke, over here."
I followed the lance who took the lead and without question we arrived at a window.
On the other side of the window stood a tall beautiful woman with brown eyes and black hair past her shoulder, maybe even longer. "Welcome to the adventurers guild, how can I, Anna GreenHorn, help you with?"
Aya and Alea both took something out of their dimension rings and showed it to the receptionist. Her calm pale face rapidly turned tense upon laying her eyes on the medallion both elven women held up. Anna immediately bowed and apologized for the inconvenience and guided us through the halls which were colored over with white and a tinge of dirty gold.
The luminosity around the place was quite the show, frankly I'd thought this was a museum of some sorts if not the guild.
After some minutes of quiet walking towards the hallways of the guild, we finally reached a door that was our destination.
"Sir Kaspian, we have some important guests here that wish to see you." Anna GreenHorn said in a tone where one could mistake it as a servant. When she opened the door, the room was plain but it wasn't that which bothered me to the point where I couldn't put my nerves at ease.
In the middle of the room were two sets of couches, facing each other but still had some space in between them for the small table for the easy exchange of information. Nevertheless, what caught my attention was the slender young man behind the main table all the way in the back of the room. Though he wasn't putting his full attention towards me, something told me that he was strong, stronger than what I am now.
It gave me chills knowing how strong someone could actually be, something that Cadell or anyone else I've met haven't fully dug into me.
Was it from pure experience? That He was just a sole human mage with affinity towards the fire element and was maybe the sole person who would last about twenty minutes against a lance… no, that is too much for someone like him, maybe ten was just his limit.
All while I kept rampaging in my mind about how long can this man go against a lance made me jolt when he put his gaze upon me. The greyish blue eyes fell upon me like some gravity magic had been activated just for me.
"You may leave the room, Anna." Kaspian spoke in a well mannered tone, fixing his long black hair that was in a slicked back.
Taking her order, Anna GreenHorn left without a word.
When she closed the door behind her, Kaspian's aura changed. "Now, what may be the honor for two strongest mages in all of Dicathen to be present here in my humble hall?" He bowed towards the two elven lances without a beat.
Wait… Kaspian knows about the lances? How?
Alea was the first to walk forward, letting her hood down and letting the leader of the guild to see who it was. "Hello, Kaspian Bladeheart, we are here on a business matter. As you may have heard from a letter of our King, we only wish to register as adventurers."
So Alduin Eralith was the one who informed Kaspian about the lances? No, that can't be right.
The leader of the branch guild walked back and sort of sat at his desk, gesturing to us that sitting down was still available, so we took the chance.
"So you two– No you three wish to register as adventurers? Aside from that, who exactly is he?" He said, pointing at me with a kind demeanor which I take offensive but rather embraced the way he thought of me as a normal kid despite having lances backing me up.
Aya nodded towards me and I stood up, extending a welcoming hand. "Greetings Kaspian Bladeheart, I am…" I took a moment, hesitation reached my mind and throat. Many names entered my mind and there was a consideration to even say my old name, from before I reincarnated but that would be too suspicious that maybe the lances might report back to Alduin and Virion, and I couldn't take any chances, not when I am this far already.
So instead I took a moment, my battlemask was still active, something I had forgotten about until now. I was grateful to whatever gods were watching me now. Finally with a–not proper but something that sounded cool–name, I said, "I am Apollo, may our exchanges be of those similar to acquaintances on the same grounds."
"Apollo, huh." Kaspian took my words as a surprise but didn't let his facial expression betray him. The greyish blue eyed young man took my hand and held it firm,
Arthur wasn't wrong when he had said Kaspian was strong. Indeed he was strong and that brought expectation into my mind. Kaspian Bladeheart had the same expression that I had, anticipation and excitement.
Suddenly, he let go of our handshake and repositioned his glasses before letting out a sigh. "I'm sorry for the delay. As for your adventurers rank, will you two like being AA-Rank while Apollo could be… B-Rank."
B-Rank huh.
I was expecting too much, initially I wanted to be at least double A rank but this is still fine. It means that I am not strong enough to be an A-Rank adventurer yet. However, that will change in a year, I will AA-rank before Arthur becomes an adventurer with Jasmine Flamesworth.
Yes… This is all going according to plan…
I pushed my thoughts to the back of my mind, realizing that I was lost in thoughts.
Aya and Alea were concerned about my current rank, Alea almost said something to Kaspian which he noticed and was ready with a counter but I stepped in before any of that happened.
With a grin, eye to eye, I bowed to the man in front of me. A firm, cold with a hint of eagerness in my words I said, "I thank you, Kaspian Bladeheart. With this you've shown me that I could grow much more in strength and rise the ranks of an adventurer. Now I must take my leave as my fever to ascend to the higher ranks can no longer be unagitated. Until next time…"
I let my words linger in the air as I closed the door behind me. Alea and Aya walked behind me, worried that maybe I had gone insane. On the other hand I assured them that it was a great opportunity to go incognito and have no one question our doings while we hunted down the foreign beings.
It took them some time to let go of the thought of going back and re-assigning my rank but deep down they knew it was better. Even Aya commended my actions and composure when Kaspian told me the rank.
Her words were, "I commend you, Luke. In truth I thought you were going to be arguing with the man about giving you a higher rank. Yet you still surprise me even more with your undeniable spark that your eyes reflected in that moment."
She was right, I could have been greedy and chosen a higher rank but that is not what I'm going for. I need to be strong, strong enough to fight the Elderwood Guardian, not only that but as well as Draneeve, the war.
-TO BE CONTINUED…
–THIS WAS THE LAST CHAPTER FOR THE SECOND VOLUME OF TRANSMIGRATION INTO THE BEGINNING AFTER THE END. VOLUME THREE -ACCUMULATED FATES- WILL BE CONTINUED THIS UPCOMING SUNDAY. UNTIL THEN, SEE YOU NEXT TIME.--