An alley somewhere in Asheton…

“I can’t believe Kyra accepted such a simple request in the middle of nowhere.” A hooded dwarven man complained, holding a half smoked cigar in his mouth. “I mean verifying a clearly fake rumour is so boring, and I kind of feel bad for the guy we have to kill.”

“Stop complaining, Ignus." A hooded elven man replied, carefully watching the people walk by the alley. "And no you don’t, you heartless bastard.”

“Haha...I said kind of.” Ignus replied back, exhaling the cigar smoke through his nose. “But at least the payment for such an easy Request is unbelievable, so maybe it’s not all bad, right Lefan?”

“Stop babbling and tell me what you found on your side of town already.” Lefan said, relaxing and leaning back against the alley wall.

Holding the cigar in his hand, Ignus relayed “Only thing I found was that the target in question is a good-looking elven man with longish black hair and emerald coloured eyes—so basically a general description of any Wood Elf with black hair.” and then asked “You think I can bail on this Request without getting in trouble again? You and Kyra are more than enough to handle and kill a random guy, right?”

“Go right ahead. I’ll just watch Kyra beat the living crap out of you again for leaving another Request early.” Lefan answered, not caring.

“Hmmm…what'd you find on your side?” Ignus quickly moved on from the idea.

“Nothing much. The target seemed to only frequent a blacksmith shop in the market, and the big inn in the town square, but I did find out where he and his Dark Elf companion likely left for.” Lefan informed him.

“Aww, seriously? Our target must really be a nobody then, if all we needed to do was ask the locals about where to find him. So it begs the question, why go through all the trouble to personally request us from the Underground?” Ignus brought up.

“Who knows.” Lefan shrugged, figuring “Maybe the Request-Maker think all the sudden rumours are actually true? Or maybe they want us to make sure it isn’t true?” Telling Ignus, “They probably think the Elves finally getting a King will not only put the Tyrant on edge about the Kingdoms’ Truce, but also your Mountain Queen.”

“Well when you put it that way, maybe this Request isn’t so boring.” Holding the cigar back in his mouth again, “Now imagine if the rumours do turn out to be true, you think Kyra would be okay with the idea of kidnapping a King for ransom? I mean the Request’s payment will be nothing compared to what a Kingdom could pay us, you know?”

“Ignus, you’re absolutely insane...but you do make a solid point.” Considering the idea, “Except you know Kyra would never accept, she’s too...Kyra.”

“Yeah…” Ignus exhaled some smoke again.

“What wouldn’t I accept?” A hooded woman suddenly asked, silently walking into the alley. “And what’s ‘too Kyra’ supposed to mean?” Sounding slightly offended.

“N-nothing, Kyra!” Ignus panicked, surprised by her sudden appearance. “And being ‘too Kyra’ is a compliment, right Lefan?”

“Uh-huh, but forget all that. How’d collecting info at the Guild go?” Lefan asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

Kyra narrowed her eyes and glared at the two of them, but she relaxed and said “I got a lot, and I think I have an idea of where our target is, but I need you two to tell me exactly what you found to confirm it all—be very detailed.” She then slowly grinned as both Ignus and Lefan both told her what they found out, “Perfect, it’s exactly what I thought.”

“Uhhh...care to share?” Ignus and Lefan both looked clueless.

“It literally happened yesterday, how could you two already forget?” They both tried to remember, but Kyra just sighed at them. “You dunces, remember the incident we heard about Leon’s TCs yesterday? A Wood Elf man, A Dark Elf woman, and one of the Teleporters?” She reminded them.

“Oh yeah, I guess they do match the descriptions we were given here.” Lefan remembered.

“I don’t think I was sober enough to remember that, but you think it was really them?” Ignus asked, unsure it was.

“I knew you two wouldn’t bother speaking with the guards, but I did, and they told me the woman’s name is Odelia, and apparently she lives in Ven’Thyl; added with the fact that the pair here left for Leon and the pair at the TCs bought tickets to Ven’Thyl, and it all points to them being the same people.” Kyra concluded, taking account of the descriptions she’s heard from both places.

“Urgh, how annoying.” Ignus reacted in disgust, “I hate that city. It’s too massive, and if we’re looking for an Elf there, it could take weeks, maybe even months.”

“Maybe, but maybe not.” Kyra grinned again, making Ignus and Lefan curious about what she meant. “I talked to the Branch Leader in town, and he more or less confirmed that the target is a member of the Guild.”

“Does he go by something? and did you get what it is?” Lefan inquired.

“No, you know they never tell us the names of other members, even if they do know them—but, he did let it slip that the target is a Platinum Rank Adventurer.”

“A Platinum?!” Ignus exclaimed. “I was expecting this Request to be a breeze, but he must be kind of strong if he’s a Platinum. Now here’s hoping he puts up a good fight.” Anticipating the encounter.

“Does that mean we’re headed to Ven’Thyl right away, Kyra?” Lefan asked.

“We...are.” She answered hesitantly, explaining “Even with the information we have on the target, it’ll still be hard to find him in that city, so might as well start searching while the trail is still hot. And it’ll give me a little time to plan a strategy around how strong he could be, as well as a few plans just in case we have to deal with any extra companions accompanying him.” All nodding in agreement, they all travelled back towards the Adventurer’s Guild.

***

"Lord Eyes...Lord Eyes...It’s time to wake up, my Lord." I heard a soft voice call to me, “Umm...I’m sorry my Eyes, but O’de asked me to wake you up at this time.” As I felt someone gently shaking me awake. Slowly opening my eyes, I was met by the lovely sight of Amariina, who then nervously greeted me “G-Good morning, Lord Eyes!”

Yawning and sitting up, I greeted her back “Good morning to you too, Amariina.”

“You remembered my name, thank you my Lord.” Amariina replied gratefully, “And Verana told me to cook you food while they’re gone, so if you’re hungry, breakfast is ready for you downstairs.”

“Of course I remembered, but where did they all go?” I curiously asked, standing up from the bed.

“About that...there was a small incident that occurred quite early in the morning while you slumbered, Lord Eyes.” Amariina shyly mentioned.

“An incident? What kind of incident?” Raising my brow in curiosity.

Amariina explained, “Late last night, around 500 city guards arrived and surrounded the whole House, even blocking the entrance in the Soil—with 5 of the 10 Guard Captains all coming to knock on the Tops entrance.”

“Wait, what!?" Losing my morning grogginess immediately, "500 guards and 5 Guard Captains doesn’t sound like a small incident at all, what the hell happened!?”

“Well as O’de tells us, you somehow made that incredibly powerful barrier around the whole tree—all without any of us noticing, and it was immediately reported to the city guards. And as expected for such a suspiciously powerful barrier to appear out of nowhere and without warning, the guards angrily demanded an explanation from the House right away.” Amariina informed me while she guided me back down the floors.

“Oohhh...I didn’t even consider how my Barrier appearing in the city would be such a problem. That’s my bad.” I thought to myself; then asking Amariina “Is everything alright then?”

“I...believe so.” Though she didn’t sound too sure, “But it all depends on how Verana, O’de, and Ael clear up the issue in the Courts.” She then pointed out one of the small windows in the stairwell, “A few hundred guards did leave after their shifts were done, but they were all replaced by the morning guards.”

Seeing a passing glance of all the countless guards along the Tops’ bridges and platforms, I asked “If the guards are still here, does that mean making a barrier around the House was illegal?”

“Not entirely, but one would usually need the approval of both the Tribunal and the Noble Council first. For it’s nearly impossible to create such a permanent barrier without the many powerful Mages the Kingdom could call upon to do so.” Detailing the process to me.

“If it’s not illegal, what’s the problem?” Reaching the 4th floor.

“I believe that the guards were forced to investigate the sudden barrier as none of the top Mages in the city were in any way connected to creating it, and cautiously—yet rightfully assumed it may be an enemy attack coming from inside of the city.” She rationalized.

“Makes sense. I should’ve told everyone about it yesterday so they wouldn't haven’t been so surprised in the morning.” Sitting at the dining table full of different foods, “It really was my fault for not telling them.”

“To be honest, Lord Eyes, we all would’ve still been as dumbfounded and astonished as we were this morning.” Amariina claimed. “Well except for O’de who said she's seen an even more monstrous barrier created by you.” Respectfully sitting herself a few chairs away, “And even Verana noted she’s never seen such a powerful barrier created by a single person, let alone one that can rival Ven’Thyl’s barrier, and one which was also created in an impossibly short amount of time without our noticing.”

I simply nodded and ate my food while she continued, “As a Mage myself, I cannot fathom it at all. After all it would take over a hundred high-level Mages to create such a permanent barrier, and it would surely take days of unyielding focus to complete it all—but for you to accomplish such a feat alone...is honestly a little demoralizing as a Mage.” I thought she was going to be sad from what she said, but Amariina simply stared at me with a huge amount of awe and admiration.

Ignoring her unusual stare, I thought to myself “I better tell all the House to keep quiet about me creating the barrier, if they haven’t already spilled it wherever they are. Wouldn’t wanna bring even more attention to myself now that I’m the Head of the House.” Continuing to eat my breakfast with Amariina joining in too.

After we both finished eating, there was still plenty of food for the others when they got back, but Amariina then informed me she had to leave for work soon. Telling me that if I needed something to just ask ‘the guy’ who hadn't left yet—in fear that the guards would arrest him—as she quickly ran off down the stairs. Then wanting to get a better look at the situation outside, I walked over to one of the curtain covered windows and partially peeked through them.

“There really are a lot of them, and they're all pretty high level.” I noted, seeing the hundreds of Lv.40-60 guards blocking all the areas connected to our House.

Deciding that there wasn’t much I could do except wait for the others to return, I went down to the 6th floor and knocked on a few doors until I found Shurtyrr’s room. I asked him whether or not there were any rules for using the baths on the 8th floor, and he let me know there weren’t really any except for showing common courtesy while in them. Though honoured that I remembered his name, Shurtyrr happily guided me down to the baths, leading me to a narrow corridor with two large double doors opposite each other—left for the men, and right for the women. Showing me into the men’s side, we entered a changing chamber where Shurtyrr explained that the baths were just through the next doorway, as he then excused himself and closed the chamber’s doors for me.

Removing and putting everything I had on in my Inventory, I walked through a longish doorway and entered a massive steamy bath chamber. Unlike the previous chamber, or any other of the floors above that were made of wood; this entire chamber was basically all made up of chiseled and natural stone, with foliage and vines hanging all along the pillars and walls of the place.

It was all very reminiscent of some sort of traditional bathhouse, with several smaller pools of steamy hot water sectioned off on the sides, and one giant pool that occupied a large space in the center. However this chamber was slightly dark, only being illuminated by a few dim light crystals on pillars and walls, and an unexpected small tree standing on a flat rock-bordered island in the center of the giant pool.

The tree was the centrepiece of the chamber for a reason, as all its leaves uniquely gave off a faint colourful glow from each of them, and the moment one would fall off from its branches, it would increasingly grow in brightness—perfectly floating above the water with the rest of the fallen leaves, all helping to beautifully light up the center of the chamber with a rainbow of colours.

Stepping down the stairs into the center pool, I dove straight into the soothing hot water, and thought “This is just what I needed.” Feeling the not so ordinary water wash all the dirt clean from my body as I resurfaced for air. Then while I soaked my body in the water, I noticed that I had multiple unread messages from both Global and Mako—all sent during the time I slept. Reading over Global’s messages first, they were all just her questioning how my name changed, if it meant or did something to do so, and if it was somehow related to the city of Ven’Thyl; though I didn’t answer a single one as I responded.

Global

...

Is it somehow related to the Elven capital city of Ven'Thyl?

If you want answers, bring me something that you’d think would be useful for me to know, or maybe something that I’d find interesting. Until then, it’s my little secret.

Not caring to wait for a response, I skimmed through Mako’s messages next, but it made me slightly worried so I carefully read it again.

Mako Nomura

Mako- Eyes, I was working overnight on finishing up my new sword, and somehow an elven man wearing black leather armour entered the locked up shop asking about a man with your description. I freaked out at first, but I only told him that you just bought armour here and never really talked to us, always leaving right afterwards. I couldn’t ask Drune about it since he's still at the castle visiting his friend, but I’ll let you know what he says when he comes back.

Little update: When I returned to the inn to have some breakfast, I saw the same suspicious man talking to Rayna. After he left, I asked Rayna what they talked about, and she said that he was an old friend that wanted to reunite with you and asked where exactly he could find you. But Rayna only told him that you left town westward, and that she didn’t know where exactly you left for.

I don’t know if you actually know him or not, but he definitely didn’t look or act like any of the Players I’ve seen in town, so you better watch your back just in case, Eyes.

“I haven’t met many people, but if he’s specifically looking for someone that looks just like me, maybe he also heard the rumours about a descendant being in Asheton? Ideally he’s just another dedicated fanatic like House Ven’Thyl are, but if he’s not...I better get on with my training when Odelia gets back.” Sending a response to Mako.

Thanks for letting me know, and for covering for me. I’ll remember to bring you back something extra special from Ven’Thyl.

Closing the Menus, I slowly submerged my whole body into the hot pool waters again, and felt every inch of it relaxed and soothed the further down I sank. Then before I knew it, I was suddenly no longer in the waters of the pool, and instead found myself floating in the golden space of the Seer—with an ocean of eyeballs drifting all around, and the quick-moving visions of the future right behind them.

Having leveled up Seer’s Visions Skill quite a bit since the last time I’ve seen the future, the passing images and memories were noticeably much more clearer this time around. And although there was still plenty I couldn’t see, I valued and noted everything I could see. From the various different individuals I looked to be meeting ahead, to the multiple training sessions and Skills I was going to receive; but a single future instantly undermined and overwhelmed everything I saw.

My heart dropped as the future brought back all too familiar memories I thought I had completely suppressed and finally forgotten. A future which foretells me being absolutely devastated and weeping over another lifeless body of a person I care about. And unmistakably presenting the horrible sight of Odelia tragically dying in my blood-soaked arms.