Chapter 13: Past and Present
'System, explain to me how the mission system works. How was I able to complete a mission I've never accepted? Also, why did you ask me to recruit Elliot?', Aaron asked in his mind.
[All missions are meant to assist the host. Achievement based missions are missions that the system issues automatically without the users consent. They are there to reward the user for completing specific tasks and to encourage host to travel and experience the world. As for Elliot Drake, The system has determined him him to have high compatibility with the 'Six Styles' and could be of use to the host.]
'So that's how it', lost in his thoughts Aaron hadn't heard Veronica speaking to him.
"Aaron!", she yelled in his ear
"Huh? Whats up?"
"You're spacing out, were here", she said while pointing to a magnificent 3 story building.
In front of him was a building that had people constantly moving in and out, it was quite lively. Its appearance similar to the merchants guild except without the pillars or balcony. In there place where two bronze sculptures to the each side of the entrance. One was of a young man in shredded robes and long hair that appeared to be flowing in the wind. He was wielding a sword that he pointed it at the sky as if challenging The Heavens. Arrogance and pride could be seen on his face, the statue was amazingly life like. However what stood out about this man the most was the diamond shaped crystal embedded in his forehead.
'How strange', he thought as he looked at the other sculpture
The other depicted an middle aged man, his eyes seemed to contain the universe itself; His gaze unfathomable and full of wisdom. He wore a scholarly robe with many layers, that draped over his thin frame. His long beard reached the middle of his chest and his hair tied in a top knot. Both his hands were forming strange seals that seemed illusory and obscure.
After agreeing to teach Elliot, Aaron and the rest had went to find an Inn. Once they got their rooms, Aaron told Elliot to come meet them tomorrow morning. After settling all the small details they had left to reach the Adventurer's guild.
"Who are these two?", Aaron asked. He could tell at first glance that they were far from ordinary.
Josh was the first to speak up, respect could be heard in his voice.
"These two are the founders of the Adventurers guild. The First Emperor of Dawn and the Founder of the Astral Pavilion!", his eyes where shining when he spoke. Everyone on the Stellar Void Continent knew of these two, they were the most powerful cultivators of their time!
Before he could ask any more questions, Andrew had jumped in to explain.
"1500 years ago the 1st Emperor of Dawn and the Founder of the Astral Pavilion where citizens of a small kingdom to the north west known as the Sapphire Kingdom. To the south of the kingdom was another, almost 3 times its size! The Kingdom of Valdis! The Royal Family of Valdis possessed a Peak Platinum Grade bloodline that allowed them to manipulate Dark Qi. However, they had always been friendly with their neighbors, that is until the new Queen was crowned, Ammara Valdis! After her coronation she immediately waged war on the Sapphire kingdom without warning or cause. Her power was unfathomable! She had reached the Peak Domain Realm at the age of 28! Under her power the Sapphire Kingdom, whose strongest cultivator was only at the Early Domain Realm couldn't resist, in less than 6 months the Royal Family was killed and the kingdom collapsed. Just when the citizens had lost all hope these two men suddenly appeared!", Andrews eye were burning with passion as he spoke. He continued.
"No one knew where they had come from but their power was amazing, both were at the the Late Domain Realm. The 1st emperor of Dawn was named Alexander Dawn, he possessed a Peak Platinum grade bloodline that allowed him to manipulable light. The Founder of the Astral Pavilion was know simply as Aretes, while he had no bloodline his cultivation and skills were profound. He had devolved a skill that allowed him to manipulable the very stars! Together they fought back against the Valdis empire, gaining support along the way they we're able to establish themselves. One fateful day the both of them were said to have gone and challenged Ammara, legend says that their fight shook the earth and tore the the heavens and lasted for over 3 days. However, The Queen was far to powerful and they were unable to kill her, realizing this they decided to instead try and seal her. Alexander used his light to weaken Ammara enough to allow for Aretes to bind her. Together with a flame cultivator with a unique bloodline and who's name was lost to time, they managed to seal her!"
"They sound amazing!", Aaron's eyes were glowing. Even though he was only hearing of it, he felt as if he was there.
'To shake the earth and heavens! How powerful must they have been?', he thought to himself.
"Where was she sealed", he suddenly asked.
Andrew smiled and said nothing to increase the suspense. After a moment he blurted out.
"Black Mountain!"
"What!? Are you serious?? That's a seal?!", Aaron couldn't contain his shock. He had seen the mountain from a distance, it was massive!
'My god! How powerful were those 3?! How powerful was Queen Ammara who manged to fight all 3 by herself?!', his heart shook at the very thought.
"Its said that after Alexander and Aretes weakened and bound The Queen, the flame cultivator was able to form Black Mountain around her in order to contain the light and keep Ammara in a state of suspension.", Andrew responded. He was was pleased with Aaron's reaction. Finally it was his turn to surprise him.
"Suspension?"
"Yea, it was said that Aretes possessed a skill capable of stagnating ones time and that this was the skill he used to bind The Queen", responded Andrew.
"So she's still alive?!"
"Who knows, no one could say for certain if she's still alive or if she had passed during these 1500 years.", Veronica spoke up this time.
"After defeating The Queen, Alexander and Aretes went on to reclaim the kingdom as well as invade The Kingdom of Valdis. Now that Ammara had been sealed, none could stop their advance. Within 2 years they had conquered the entire Kingdom. Aretes did not wish to rule and stepped to the side to allow Alexander to be the new ruler of this Empire. Alexander in order to thank his friend decreed that the Island in the middle of the Astral lake would belong to Aretes and that it would forever be under the protection of the Empire of Dawn; It was on that Island that Aretes formed the Astral Pavilion. Finally, in order to clear up all the remnant of the Valdis Kingdom they formed the Guild which at the time only issued rewards to those who could find these last survivors and remnants. Over time it evolved and grew into the Adventurers Guild of today, you can now find a branch in every kingdom and the headquarters at the Empire of Dawn", Aaron said proudly, as if it he had witnessed it with his own eyes.
"What an incredible story!", Aaron said. To think that mountain he had seen when he first arrived had such a history. Thinking about how he wanted to go there made him shiver.
'Looks like I dodged a bullet', he said while wiping the sweat from his forehead.
"However, there are some who wish to unseal the Queen, they have taken up residence on the mountain and cause havoc to the surrounding inhabitants. 15 years ago they attacked Viridian City thinking that they could use the blood of the citizens in a ritual to weaken the seal! ", this time it was Jasmine who spoke, anger could be seen in her eyes.
"How awful...", he was about to go on when noticed a commotion occurring inside the guild.
The 5 looked curiously at each other than decided to walk in and see what was happening. Everyone inside was distracted, as such they didn't notice them enter.
"That damn leopard has killed another 30 farmers!"
"This is the 8th time! If this keeps on, there wont be anyone left! Not only that, the city will starve without people to work the fields!"
"Why haven't they sent someone after it?"
"They have, but its far to elusive. Not only that, its reached the Peak of the Core Formation realm!A month ago it was only a Mid Core formation beast. Its growth is terrifying! If this goes on it'll reach the Earth Realm in no time!"
Hearing the discussions Aaron became curious. Asking around he discovered that an One Horned Blaze Leopard had been attacking the towns and villages to the west of the city. There had been a few teams that had gone after it but none of them could find it, there were even a few that never came back.
"Peak Core Formation realm!", Veronica yelped
"This might be a problem.", muttered Jasmine.
"Why's that?", asked Aaron
"A Peak Core Formation Realm Qi beast would require a very strong C ranked or lower ranked B Adventurers to deal with. However, due to Black Mountain stronger Qi beasts seldom appear in this part of the forest. So only lower ranked individuals and teams operate here as it allows them to get train and hone themselves without placing themselves at too much risk.", Jasmine explained
"The majority of team's are similar to us, that is to say D ranked. Even's Marvin's group that we ran into outside the city were considered lower C Ranked. I don't think there are any B ranked Adventurers in Viridian city", Andrew said with a grim look on his face.
"Ranks? How does that work?", asked Aaron.
"The Ranks go from F to S; F being groups of mortals or cultivators at the Early Body Tempering Realm. S being those powerful few who can contend with Domain ranked experts!"
"So that's how it is.", Aaron nodded his head.
"That's not our problem, for now lets go get you registered Aaron", said Jasmine.
She knew that the kingdom or the Guild would send for people strong enough to handle the matter. While Viridian City only had one 2 Earth realm cultivators the same could not be said for the Capital. There Earth Realm cultivators were common and Sky Realm cultivators could be found if one searched for a bit. Not to mention that there were 3 Domain ranked experts not including the King himself.
Aaron nodded and walked up to the counter with the rest.
"Are you here to take a mission?", asked the middle aged man behind the counter. His eyes still buried in his work.
"No, we're here to register someone. By the way Aaron do you want to register as an individual or with our group?", asked Jasmine
Aaron had told them he wanted to join the Guild so he could take missions. But they had never asked if he was going to join their group or not. Even though they wished he would they weren't sure about he felt on the matter.
After a moment, Aaron responded.
"I'd like to register as an individual for now."
"Ok...I see.", Jasmine said dejectedly, The rest also had an awkward smile on their faces. Veronica was especially upset and was unable to conceal her feelings. Aaron seeing her expression felt bad, however he knew that he wouldn't stay with them the whole time. He wanted to explore! He wanted to go on his own Adventure! Still he had to respond.
"Don't be like that, We'll still travel to the capital together. This doesn't change anything, we're already friends after all.", he said with a bright smile
They group was once again shocked by his radiance. Having traveled with Aaron for the past few weeks they had gotten somewhat used to his appearance but now they were reminded of just how stunning he was. Veronica and even Jasmine found themselves blushing at his smile, It took their breaths away. Andrew and Josh could only shake their head in dejection, he was beyond their reach.
The clerk who had kept his head down the whole time had also manged to see Aaron smiling. The pen in his hand had dropped to the floor his mouth hanging open.
'What the hell! Are we really the same species?! Is this really a human?!
Like anyone who sees Aaron for the first time he feel into a stupor. His face unlike any he's seen before and the outfit the young man was wearing was luxurious beyond belief.
'A Golden feathered robe! He must be a Noble and a high ranked one at that!', he thought to himself
However he soon noticed Aaron didn't posses and Qi. This helped him relax a little, he could take this as a small victory for himself and men all over the world.
"Hello, I'd like to register as an Adventurer", Aaron said to the man who was smiling and nodding to himself.
"Ah, yes no problem Young Lord. However, you being a mortal we can only rank you at F. Is that acceptable?"
The Red Bands hearing this were about to interject they knew how strong Aaron was. Before they could speak up Aaron held out a hand to stop them.
"That's fine", he said with a smile. The clerk went and got him some paperwork to fill out, it only took him a few minutes to complete it. Afterwards he was handed a small medallion, on top there a small hole that he could use to attach it to his clothing or he could simply hold onto it. It was made of polished steel and shaped like a octagon, on one side was a letter, 'F'. The other side had a image of a sword surrounded by stars, the symbol the the Adventurers Guild. Both sides were bordered with a strange pattern.
"Welcome to the Adventures Guild.", said the clerk after handing Aaron his medallion.
Aaron took the medallion and attached it to his golden silk belt with a piece of black robe.
"Congrats Aaron! You're an Adventurer now.", Veronica said with a smile. Aaron smiled back at her.
"Alright, we should head back to the Inn and get reading so can set off tomorrow.", Jasmine reminded them. However before they could leave Aaron said something they weren't expecting.
"I'd like to take a mission."
"No problem, all the missions for F ranked adventures are here.", said the clerk while pointing to the book labeled F in front of him.
"I want to take the mission for the Blaze Leopard."
"Aaron! You don't need to do that! Even if your strong, there's no need to put yourself in danger!", Veronica quickly jumped in. She knew Aaron was strong and he might even be at the Earth Realm but she couldn't hep but worry. The rest also stepped in to try to convince him otherwise but they couldn't get him to change his mind. However Aaron had his mind set. He even told them that they could go to the capital without him and that he would meet them there, which they refused to do.
"Sir, I'm afraid you aren't eligible to take on the mission considering your rank. My apologies but I cant in good conscience send you to your death", the clerk interrupted them.
"That right! You should just let it go Aaron, someone will take care of it.",Veronica was giving the clerk the thumbs up in her heart. She didn't want to separate with Aaron just as they were getting to know each other.
Aaron frowned he didn't think they would stop him from taking the mission due to his rank. If he wanted to risk his life wasn't that his business? When he had heard about the leopard his interest was piqued; he figured that by killing it he would be able increase his level and he wouldn't have to kill an absurd amount of lower ranked beasts. Considering there were few strong Qi beasts here he didn't want to let the opportunity pass. Quickly he came up with an idea.
"Fine, lets go back to the inn.", he said while appearing to accept his fate. Seeing this Veronica breathed a sigh of relief, the rest also calmed down. Soon enough they found themselves back at the inn ,after a brief chat they all went to their respective rooms and went to bed.
However, none of them noticed that Aaron had a strange look in his eyes before heading to his room.