Rethos was under a huge amount of pressure. Quite literally.
In all of Zeryann, transcendents were considered the capital of a country. Out of all classes, there were no more than 1000 transcendents, nor for now, at least. Of those, a good 800 were newly advanced or low-level ones. As for mid-level, there were the heads of huge organizations. Such as the Magician's Association, the Warrior's Guild, and even the backers of some countries. They were very few of them. It could be said that they occupied the remaining 200 spots. But, what of high-level ones? Ranks 17 to 19? Well, they were simply unknown. They were usually backers of the strongest organizations, but they were hidden really well.
To date, only six high level transcendents were known, and four of them, apparently, had nothing to do with any organization or country. Of the other two, one was known as known as the "Guardian Deity" and was said to be the protector of the human race. In the face of an event that threatened human race as a collective, she would act. But only for that.
The other one was Lilith, the empress of the demon race, and an existence that made even the toughest man shiver and want to cry for their mommy. Why? Because of her ruthless methods. At age of five, she was selected as the "chosen" of the demon god, who is a greater god, and a very powerful one, for that matter. At age sixteen, she became a general of the collective demon army and was the main contributor for the end of the war between demons and demi-humans. At age 33, she transcended, becoming the youngest transcendent ever. At age 50, she brutally murdered the previous emperor and ascended to the throne to rule the demon race, which had always been a patriarchal society. For this reason, she was considered a nightmare to everyone, even to demons.
In the game, Empress Lilith was the first "World Enemy", which was a title to identify the five strongest threats for Zeryann at the transcendent level. Of course, this was all in the future.
This six were enough to bring countries to their knees, and there were no magicians in this group. Only warriors and rogues, and one individual of the almost-forgotten class "magic swordsman". And the most he could do was enhance himself and his allies with buff magic.
And now, a seventh high-level transcendent had appeared. This was enough to shock the entire world, but it didn't stop there. He was part of a previously unknown organization. And, for the looks of it, he was not the head of it.
The normal people wouldn't know what this meant, but all transcendents, some high nobles, royalty, and the big organizations would. It was a huge threat to the balance of power in the world. The cake is only so big, and no one wants to get left out.
But to make matters worse, he was a magician! It was not the most sought-after class for no reason. It was highly likely he would become the biggest threat to every country and organization, and even to the demon empress Lilith.
But still, the scariest part was that this organization was an unknown one. No one knew them, and now Rethos was the only one who had this knowledge. Even though he was a transcendent and was very high on the ladder, he still felt he was not qualified to deal with this matter. He would definitely report this matter to the higher ups.
All of this was going through Rethos mind while he was still facing the enormous pressure Randwen gave him. After a good 3 seconds that felt like 3 days, Randwen finally recalled his aura.
Dane had to fight the very strong impulse to laugh like a maniac, but he still did it. In his opinion, Rethos face right now was just hilarious. And, mind you, this was just his face when he "knew" Randwen was a high-level transcendent. What would his expression be when he found out he was actually a celestial? A whole realm above him? An existence that can battle equally with gods?
After realizing he was no longer under pressure, Rethos stood up with a ghastly pale face.
"Your excellence, please forgive me. I was not, by any means, insulting you. I will definitely get the young master his badge." He started walking towards the door.
"Ahm, don't you need to know my name or something?" Dane asked while still playing his part as an unknowable and innocent youth.
"No! No way! Young master will get the emblem, and it can even remain anonymous. There will be no problem." Rethos said while smiling and bowing. After that, he left the room.
"Well, that was really funny. Did you see his face?" Dane asked Randwen while giggling.
"Yes, my lord. He was absolutely scared." Randwen answered, stoic as ever.
"Perfect. You performed beautifully, Randwen. This matter will be known to the whole world soon." Dane smiled, but seconds later his smile froze.
"Shera, make sure he isn't able to send a report of what happened for now. After we leave the city, you can allow the transmission to go through." Dane said with small beads of sweat in his forehead.
He had forgotten about this! If the existence of Randwen became known to the whole kingdom in short notice, Dane wouldn't be able to complete his task peacefully. And this was not a result he wanted to see happening.
"Master, are you certain? It would actually be very good if more powerful people show up." Shera said something that got Dane thinking even more.
Yes, he needed money. And yes, powerful people usually had lots of it, so it was in his best interest to attract more powerful people here. But still, it was a very big risk. It was a very small number, but the possibility of another high-level transcendent arriving into the city existed. And if it was stronger than the rank 17 Randwen, his cover would be blown. Dane kept thinking about this and kneading his eyebrows until Shera spoke again.
"Master, Randwen can just adjust his rank to a rank 19. It will still be a high-rank transcendent, but I doubt anyone would try to find trouble with him after that."
Dane rolled his eyes. Just exactly when did the goddess of intelligence become so stupid?
"Yes, Shera, we could do that. But It wouldn't work. Rethos was a transcendent inside his tower, so the system allows him to see the level of individuals up to 9 ranks."
"Master…"
"What, Shera? Still not convinced?" Dane ignored her and kept thinking.
"Master…"
"Shera, please be quiet. Just let me think."
"But…"
"OKAY! What do you want to say!?" Dane hated being disturbed while thinking. So he shouted to the cat on his shoulder. As his conversation had been a mental one until this point, he just looked like a maniac.
"Master… I wanted to ask… What system are you referring to?" Shera asked with her cat form, obviously distressed of being shouted at.
"What do you mean by wh…" Dane was about to yell to the little kitten some more until it struck him.
Yes. What system indeed? This was no longer a game and, even if it were, Rethos was not a player, so he had no way of knowing. Dane gave a big sigh and looked at Shera the cat with apologetic eyes.
"Yes, you're right, Shera. Ahhhhh I'm so dumb. I'm sorry for shouting at you. It is a very good idea that I neglected." Dane sighed.
"Don't worry, master. We all make mistakes." Shera rubbed her head against Dane's cheek, but straightened her eyes almost immediately after. "Master, the transmission is being sent. Do I stop it or let it go through?" Dane pondered for a few seconds before turning to Randwen.
"How long will it take you to adjust your power to a rank 19? Let's make it level 199 so no one will beat you." Dane asked.
"It would take a minute per level, so about 20 minutes should be enough." Randwen answered with a straight face.
"Great, start it now, but don't let any of your aura leak. Shera, to whom is the transmission being sent?"
"To the magician's association headquarters, master."
"Just to them?" Dane asked, incredulous. If it were him, he would let the whole world know.
"Yes, just them." Shera nodded in her kitten form. With her silver eyes and moving tale, she looked so cute Dane had to restrain himself from petting her.
"That's no good. Modify the receiver, include all the powerful organizations and magicians you can. Got it?"
"Yes, master. Doing it right now." Shera said and closed her eyes. While she was indeed a tower spirit, her current form was little more than an antenna. She could receive and send information to and from the tower and inform Dane, but all the hard processes needed to be done by the core, in the Thunder Tower. After a short 10 seconds, Shera opened her eyes.
"Is it done?"
"Yes, master. It is." Shera the cat nodded.
"Great, now we can relax a little bit." Dane let go the strength in his legs and fell to the couch. He smiled and took something out of his ring. It was a white staff. It was embossed with the depiction of a rose. The stem was the body of the staff, with thorns coming out of it here and there. They were not long, at most 1cm long, but pointy enough to puncture your skin. The tip of the staff showed a rose blossoming. The petals were black, however. And only the core, in the very centre, was red. It was a very pretty staff, as far as Dane was concerned.
It was actually the favourite weapon of Lilia, a designer that worked on the game with Dane. It meant a lot to him, but it was the only item he was sure to recover. Before designing the game, Lilia's dog was stolen. He loved him very much, but never got a chip for it. As such, she never found it. Day's later, while designing this staff, Lilia thought of a way to recover it even if it was stolen, and it was by using a twin staff, but depicting a different flower. When the game launched, she made sure to get at least one of each of these. And as they were rare drops, they were not reverted to materials. Dane took another look at the staff and handed it to Randwen.
"You know what to do."
Randwen just nodded and stored the staff in his spatial ring. This would be the last time in a while he held that weapon. But still, it had to be done. It was a crucial part of their plan.
While Dane was thinking about this, the door opened and Rethos entered once again. He had a nervous expression, fearing he would be found out for sending out a report.
Little did he knew that Dane and company were aware of said report, and they even sent it to additional people.
"Young master, here is your badge." Rethos smiled and handed Dane the magician's badge. It was a very pretty one, but it was still lacking when compared to the badge he used to own in the game. He gave his thanks and put it away. This confused Rethos, as he expected Dane to wear it immediately, like all the apprentices who get it. But in the end, he decided not to think about it. An organization like this was too strange to be judged by common sense.
"Great. Thank you, magician Rethos." Randwen spoke while crossing his arms.
"No no no no no, it was my pleasure." Rethos smiled awkwardly. He seemed like he wanted to ask something but didn't find the right words. Randwen noticed this.
"So, you want to ask, right?"
Rethos hesitated for a bit before he nodded.
"Sure, a deal is a deal. But first, I need something more." Rethos's face was doubt itself. "You are having an auction tomorrow, right?" Randwen asked.
"Auction?" Rethos was confused, Which auction? The association doesn't organize auctions. That's the Golden Star Pavilion's job… The, it hit him. "Oh, yes. Though it can't be said to be ours, but we are collaborating with the Golden Star Pavilion to have a magic related auction. Books, materials, wands, everything will be there. It is repeated every year, and tomorrow is indeed the correct date. Would you like a ticket, your majesty?" Rethos thought this was an easy way to gain Randwen's favour and to stall for time until the higher ups answered his transmission.
"Don't call me majesty, magician Rethos. Randwen is fine." Randwen waved his hand and the white rose appeared in his free hand. "I do want to attend the auction, but I also want to sell this." Randwen handed Rethos the staff. The latter's eyes were round as plates. He didn't need to be an enchanter to discern a high-quality staff. Meanwhile, Dane also looked at it intensely before sighing. It would be a tough thing to do, but it had to be done. And he could recover it anyway.
[Heaven's Rose. (Legendary) A legendary staff, created by a master alchemist. It can be wielded together with "Hell's Orchid", or can be wielded while an ally wields "Hell's Orchid". Inspired by the image of two different flowers interlaced to each other.
Effect: Casting time of all magic reduced by 45%.
Twin Effect: Casting time of all magic reduced by an additional 45%.
Effect: Mana requirement reduced by 45%
Twin Effect: Mana requirement reduced by an additional 45%
Effect: Light, Fire, and water magic power increased by 200%
Twin Effect: Darkness, wind, and earth magic power increased by 200%
Stored Spell: Heavenly Thorn (rank 10). Can be used once a month.
Twin Stored Spell: Heaven and Hell's Embrace (rank 20).
Note: When Heaven's Rose and Hell's Orchid are together, their stored spells can be combined, releasing a might akin to a god. The twin spell can only be used once.]