Dark's eyes slowly turned to look at the person, his gaze like a ferocious tiger about to pounce on its prey.
"His guard? Why would a guard need to sneak around, do you take me for a fool?" Dark asked.
Liam swallowed hard, every word that left the mouth of this man sent chills down his spine, and he was a trained knight. How was this blacksmith terrifying him so much?
"No no no, I'm not, I promise. My orders are to not let the young master know that I'm following him, I'm to observe and report to the baron." Liam spilled the information like a torn water bottle, something he would never do on a normal day.
"So you are not his guard, rather, you are stalking him for his father. Either way, that is none of my business, but hear this. If even a hair on the head of the kid is touched, I'll find you, and I'll make sure that I dig a hammer so deep into your chest, that it will fill the space of your heart," Dark said. He let go of Liam and walked back into the store.
Immediately the door slammed shut, Liam collapsed to his knees, his face covered in sweat. People passing by looked at him for a few seconds before walking off.
'This blacksmith, who is he?'
Dark walked into his shop, without saying a word, he headed toward the back.
"Master, the sword you gave him, that was Twilight, right?" Lucas asked. Dark paused in his steps and looked at Lucas, "Yes, it was."
"But master, Twilight isn't just an ordinary blade, it..."
"I made my decision, the kid gets the sword," Dark said, cutting Lucas off. He continued on his way into the back.
[...]
Riven made his way into the town center, the noise reached a new level as soon as he got there. With people trading all sorts of wares in stalls, adventurers walking around, some looking for party members to go on quests with.
At the center of the town square was a statue fountain, a vermilion bird rising out of the flames of rebirth. The water came out of the vermilion's wings and somehow went down in a twirling pattern, which gave a beautiful sight.
Riven stood there for a moment, taking in the beauty of the fountain, before heading toward the guild. It was the biggest building at the square, standing at two stories tall.
Built of fine wood and stone edges, it gave a simple yet prestigious look. There were no special adornments or statues.
When he arrived at the large double door and was about to walk in, the door suddenly opened, and a burly man in shining armor walked out. Riven moved out of the way and let the man pass before rushing to stop the door from shutting.
The loud cheers of adventurers drunk on wine early in the morning was the first thing to reach Riven's ears. He stepped inside, and the air wrapped around him, thick with the smell of red wine.
He looked over to the west wing of the guild. Round tables stood there, a place where the adventurers came to drink and eat if they didn't want to be far from the guild. One never knew when the best possible mission could be posted.
No one seemed to notice who he was as he walked on like a breeze. He walked at a steady pace, trying to emanate confidence as he walked, though it was harder than he thought, as he felt some eyes glance at him for a brief moment before they looked away unbothered, like their hadn't seen him
At the east wing of the guild was a massive wooden quest board, with different types of quests pinned to the wall, each with their required ranking and rewards.
He glanced at the wall as he walked. A few adventurers stood there checking what mission they would take. Choosing the right one would lead to wealth, but the wrong one to death.
The counter was at the back, with four ladies dressed in black uniforms standing behind it: a beautiful blonde, a brown-haired, and two black-haired ladies.
Each of them looked to be in their twenties or less. Luckily for Riven, there was no one at any of the counters, and so he was free to pick.
He walked to the lady with coffee-brown hair. She glanced at him with an empty gaze that told Riven she couldn't be bothered to try and be nice.
"What do you want, kid?" she asked, paying little attention to him.
"I want to register as an adventurer," Riven replied.
She looked at him again, this time for far longer, as if she was trying to understand what he said. Sure, she had seen young adventurers, but not as young as Riven.
Still, the legal age to become one was twelve, which meant Riven was legal. She didn't even need any form of identification to know that Riven was above twelve. Maybe it was due to the fact that nobles lived a better life and so grew to look more healthy. After all, he was only thirteen.
"Are you sure about that?" she asked to confirm.
"Yes, I'm sure," he responded.
"Sigh, well, you need to pay two copper coins to get registered. I'll have your identification prepared in a few minutes after you pay.
You'll start as a one bronze star adventurer and work your way from there," she said.
Riven already knew all of this, though. The ranking system of adventurers in this world was simple. There was the bronze, the silver, the gold, platinum, diamond, and the one very few ever reached—Legendary.
And each one had five levels: one star, two star, all the way to five star before entering the best tier. It was a simple yet effective method.
"I understand," Riven replied.
"Good, then fill this form." She pulled out a form and placed it on the table as well as a quill and ink.