Ugras!

The capital city of Ugraok kingdom, a comparatively small kingdom of the north eastern continent of Rudia. Being in the southern parts of this continent, the climate was fairly warm, and got colder towards the north. The God’s Graveyard, was the northernmost continent, and several expeditions had been sent to create settlements there. But, the sub zero temperatures were impossible to survive in, for most civilians. But, southern Rudia was still a comfortable place, with winters being colder than in the central continents, but still bearable.

A capital city was on a completely different level from Ravenblack. I wonder how the royal capital of the empire would look like? I pondered, as I walked into the huge city.

A wall surrounded the city, seems like that was the norm for every kind of settlement. But, the quality of the walls was related to the financial state of the settlement. Generally, villages had wooden fences, towns had stone walls, and cities, well cities had these.

These huge white walls, that were almost 30 meters tall, surrounded the outskirts of the capital city. There were humongous brown metal doors that I have no idea how people were going to open. Outside the city, there were countless small houses and settlements, sprawling across the plains. The splendor of a capital city was incomparable.

We were waiting outside the city, in a huge queue for almost two hours, waiting to get entrance into the capital. Reginald san had already begun munching on the crackers that we had bought from a passerby merchant. It was salty, and perfect for a light snack.

The city was obviously popular, and to get admission, we had to wait in this queue, since illegal smuggling is not uncommon in these parts of Ugraok. Strict checkups were set up at city gates, and the number of merchants that wanted to enter was not small. Tch~ Sometimes, capitals are a pain.

We neared those gates, which had a domineering presence, as if expressing the might of Ugras. Just outside, there was a huge semicircle like space, where the checkup was held. In the middle of said semicircle , there was a statue.

A woman, with her hair billowing around her. She raised her sword, aiming at the sky, with a valiant expression burning on her face. The perfect sculpture almost made it seem lifelike, expressing the great life this woman might have led.

Of course, such poetic and philosophical thoughts never entered my head.

“A stone woman?”

Maria looked at me like I was an idiot. What? Was it not a stone woman? It obviously is!

Niviel san chuckles, and answers.

“Yuuya kun, that’s Koon Aguera. She was an attendant of the hero of the Wilterburn kingdom. To become a hero’s attendant, is a true honor, and only the strongest can become one.”

Sigh… Heroes sure have it good. I wonder what category I’m classified under? The illegal immigrant group?

We headed towards the desk that blocked the doorway. A group of guards surrounded it, fully covered with armor. The symbol of the Ugraok kingdom, a burning rose, was inscribed on their chest plates. They stood around, chatting, while some of them stood like unmoving statues, keenly observing the area.

The person at the desk was obviously a guard captain, since added to the armor, he wore a red mantle. His helmet also had a bright red plume, indicating the gravity of his position. It was a bit ironic to see such a warrior doing paperwork on a desk.

He glanced at us, and looked us over.

“Adventurers? What might be yer purpose?”

Thankfully, his words were quite legible, and I could more or less understand it. His voice was rough, and he questioned us, like it was a chore.

“Ah, yes. We’re here to meet her uncle, and they are our escorts.”

Reginald san replied, gesturing to Niviel san and then to us. He smirked in derision after looking at us. ‘Such weak looking guys’ must be what he was thinking, I guessed. Well, suits his fancy.

He asks us to submit our ID cards, and he checks them all, and then marks our name on the register beside him. After that, he stamps something on a paper and gives it to us, telling us to show it to the guards when we passed by. He tells us not to cause any trouble, and gestures us to enter.

We walk past the guards who were standing near the door. We showed him the seal of approval we got from the guard captain like man at the desk, and walked in to the capital.

“Huuuuugeee!”

The entrance paved way to a path that descended down a small stairway, down into the city. From above, we could see, almost entirely, Ugras’s glory.

Red and brown roofs spread out to the left in a huge area, encompassing almost a third of Ugras. The residential area, I guess. In the middle of the huge area, a humongous white palace was present, the red flag that waved above the four spires that surrounded it were quite evident even from this distance. The royal palace?

The frontal part, where we were closer to, was an assortment of each and every kind of buildings, with hordes of people walking through the streets. We walked down the stairs, down into Ugras.

“Let’s head to the adventurer’s guild. There, we can register ourselves, and complete the mission”

Niviel san says so, and I ask her my query at her words.

“Register?”

“Ah? Yuuya kun doesn’t know? Whenever you’re going to quests in a certain area, you’re supposed to register yourself in the area’s guild, so that the guild can record whatever you did, and update your card. Also, the guild can identify you if were, well, dead.”

Huh. The guild was oddly quite meticulous in their works. But another part of her words bother me.

“Niviel san, update my card? As in, the rank promotion?”

“Ufufu, nope. Every quest you’ve done, every achievement you’ve earned, everything is recorded in the guild card.”

My card has my every secret?

Thinking that, we headed to the adventurer’s guild, in order to register ourselves.

The guild building was quite obvious, but more extravagant than the one in Ravenblack. It was huger, and looked like it was repainted recently. And, the logo of the adventurers, A sword crossed by two spears, was inscribed on top of the wooden doors of the guild.

I walked into the nostalgic atmosphere of the guild, with sweaty and rowdy men, and even a similar arrangement.

But, everything was more refined. The receptionist desk was gleaming like it was polished. The food in the restaurant was hot and fresh, unlike the cold food that was served in Ravenblack. The entire guild looked luxurious, compared to the one in Ravenblack.

We walked upto the desk, and the young man there greeted us. Tch. I thought it was mandatory for attractive onee sans to be in the desks?

The young man looked to be about my age, with the characteristic blue hair that most people in this area possessed. Even Maria had the same color, except it was of a more lighter shade.

“Welcome to the Adventurer’s guild. How may I help you?”

“We want to register the completion of an escort quest”

“Yes, of course!”

I let Reginald take the reins here, since I’m just here for the money. I hope they don’t shirk on the payment just because we became friends. If that was so, let’s become friends after we get paid.

Thankfully, Reginald san didn’t do such deplorable acts. Good, at least he’s a honorable man. We handed over our cards and had it registered. Then, an idea struck me.

“Yes, I’d like to register someone else.”

“Of course. It’ll be 300 nirs”

My ears twitched when I heard his reply. An extra 100?! Tch, whatever.

“Mili, come on, place your hands on it”

I lift her up, extending my arms so that she can reach the Luxor stone. She looked surprised, but then nods, determined. What a good girl.

“Um…Miliasa…. The Forest Elf!”

On the other hand, I can feel a cold stare on my back. Sorry Saki! You’re still too weak! I’ll help you, definitely!

I receive the card from the receptionist, and give him the money.

NameMiliasaTitleThe Forest ElfRaceElfGenderFemale[tr]Level3RankBronze

Hou~ she leveled up once, eh?

It struck me as odd that I never questioned the existence of levels, and that I never bothered to find out. Oddly, I found it extremely ordinary, and never learnt about what the levels exactly where, and just replaced it with the information I got from RPG’s. Defeat, Gain EXP, Level up. Must be it, right?

“Then, we’ll be off”

“See you around, Reginald san! Thanks for everything, Niviel san!”

“Mm! Later, Yuuya kun! Let’s meet again!”

We bade our farewells to Reginald san and Niviel san.

“So…they’re gone eh?”

Maria muttered, looking at the spot they had gone to. I guess she liked having them around. Well, I did too. Mili looked a bit sad, and Saki’s face was blank. She was like this since yesterday. I wonder what happened.

“Then, let’s find an inn!”

“Ou!”

We energetically reply to Mili’s declaration, trying to put the past behind us. Travelling with them was a really fun time, and it taught me a lot of things. The sins and the conflict between the human kingdoms.

I had reported about the bandit group at the guild, and they agreed to send forces towards Damar village at once.

Xhoing, the fight with him was great, without doubt. Of course, I didn’t go all out ,but with respect to my base abilities, he was an even match. I resolved myself to get stronger even more, so that stuff like that never happened. I was lucky enough to face only a hundred of them, but if I had to fight against their full force, or even Arlenid, I’m sure I have no chance of winning.

I slid the key into the door and turned it, the door creaking on its hinges as it edged open.

A musty room, with two beds in it, and a study place with a lamp at another end. A simple room and this was more than enough.

Saki enters along with me, and sits on the bed, without speaking even a word. I wonder what’s wrong with her. But, right now, it’s not the time for such things.

I sat down on the ground, and take out the bunches of old parchments from my ring. I coughed, and began reading.

The basic skill of the Chaos slayers, .

I read into the technique, the execution. I studied all through the night, and only got up when I decided it was time to get some dinner for Saki. She was sullen like before, but still ate her food obediently. I wonder…

I got back to the room, and restarted my studies.

I was always bad at studying. Just taking the book would make me sleepy, and right now, I was a step away from deep sleep.

It looked so pleasant, its warm embrace beckoning to me. My eyelids felt heavy, and my mind was sluggish. I kept reading, determined to fully understand this.

Finally, I slipped into sleep, weary from the studying and the travel. Saki was already asleep, and soon, so was I.

Tomorrow, tomorrow, I had to test this out.

Resolving this to myself, I slept peacefully with Saki at my side.