At the roof of a Guild, a man was leaning on the wall looking at the movements below in the street with his hand supporting his chin.
From his back an articulate female voice spoke,
"Are you preparing your mind for the job you're going to do today?"
Her questioning tone was of worry. In a raid against magic beasts, only a calm minded person can hold their fort, if ones mind wasn't ready or unprepared then it would only hinder their performance making it impossible for them to show their full potential.
A calm mind also a form of warrior's strength. For adventurers who needed to risk their life in every turn, a calm mind was of utmost necessity...Without a calm mind, even if one was peerless in strength and Magic control, he was bound to fall and trampled upon by their enemies and rivals.
As the saying goes, a calm minded person can kill a dragon thousand times where a person with unprepared mind cannot even scratch a cat.
"No, I'm just watching the street!" He shook his head and said, "Today's raid isn't something for me to be pressured from."
The girl shook her head resulting in her blond hair to flutter, "You're taking it too lightly, Charlie. This is of very importance for you. If you fail in this raid today then your position in the Guild will decrease substantially."
"What Lia says is correct," Licht said from behind," If you take it lightly then you might end up regretting it."
He didn't seem to mind it and only kept looking at the street as if captivated by it.
"I know but I'm confident for this raid. If I wasn't confident about my ability then I wouldn't have come here."
"Charlie, I don't doubt your abilities but..." Before she finished her sentence, Lianna came to an abrupt stop when she saw his sparkling eyes. She was dumbfounded to see him excited for something.
How many years has it been since I saw those eyes? Maybe I shouldn't pressure him if he is excited for the raid.
"When will the raid begin?" He suddenly asked.
She was happy that he was asking it now to prepare himself. She immediately replied,
"Half an hour from now."
"Half an hour?" He frowned, "That is more than enough!"
More than enough? What was going on in his mind? She knew he rarely showed emotions but seeing a smile on his face she had concluded that it because he was excited for the raid. Was he not?
"Well then, I'll be back before half an hour" He suddenly said and jumped from the roof in excitement, heading towards the central plaza.
Just what was the idiot thinking? It was his big day and he just ran off jumping in the street like that? If he was successful in today's raid then it was if no doubt that he was going to be the successor of the Guild after the old man but seeing him so carefree, Lianna wanted to punch some senses into him.
Gritting their teeth, she and licht similarly followed behind him jumping off the roof. If he were to be late today of all day than it was likely that he would lose face and also they might get caught on crossfire resulting in them being reprimanded as well. Many thought passed through her head as she followed from behind.
On the contrary, he was very excited because of the figure he had seen. There was no doubt about it, it had to be him! The more he got closer, the more assured he was.
Its definitely him!
Although he had gotten taller, his face had changed a little, his eyes were darker than ever, it was definitely him. But it had been a long time, so he had to confirm it himself.
Just as the person was trying to walk to the portal saying something to a girl, he grabbed his shoulder barely stopping him.
Oslo who got momentarily stopped turned his head to look at who it was that stopped him. Upon seeing his face he was surprised. Again he shook his head and tried to look at the face clearly.
"It really is you..." Both of them blurted out at the same time.
He couldn't believe in his eyes. It was his friend from aback. If one were to consider Oslo's feeling then he was one of two friends Oslo had made in his entire life.
"James, how have you been?" Oslo said with a smile, "What are you doing here in Magic Land?"
He was filled with questions because it had been ten years since he last saw him. Oslo was only six when he met James.
"What am I doing here?" As James said, a smirk appeared in his face.
"TADA!"
Out of nowhere, a card appeared between his index and middle finger. Just from a look of it, Oslo was flabbergasted. His jaw literally dropped to the ground.
"You became an adventurer? Also you are an A-rank?"
An A-rank adventurer!
Oslo was hardly surprised. Maybe deep down in his heart he knew that this friend of his would surely amount to something great in the future. Seeing his friend as a strong adventurer, he couldn't help but be filled with admiration. Watching the card, he wasn't depressed but was inspired to reach new heights.
A new rival! And just the thought of it make Oslo smile.
Seeing Oslo's face, Jake expression changed as if trying to say something like "How is it? Damnit!". The more Oslo lips curled up, his nose was about to poke open the heaven.
But at the back, Licht and Lianna were taken aback. With a confused expression they looked at the Charlie with surprise. James? Who was James? Wasn't he Charlie, the man who was going to be the successor of the guild after the old man? But seeing James smile and excited face, they were convinced that it was more likely that James was his original name, not Charlie. They suddenly felt that despite being together with all those years, they didn't know him at all.
Was he lying to us all along? Licht looked at Lianna who was frowning looking at the ground. Noticing his glance, Lia said,
"Let's go and ask him what it is about."
Licht nodded and followed her from back.
James was happy. He said as he patted Oslo shoulder with both of his hands as smile crept his face,
"Seeing you here, I was wondering if you, Oslo, too became an adventurer!?"
"Ahahaha, I was just..." Oslo came to a halt before he shook his head inside his mind. He knew he couldn't always hide it and seeing James's expectant gaze, he said,
"Yes, I too am an adventurer!"
James was delighted hearing his answer. His old friend was also an adventurer, so he could even ask his friend to party with him as well. He wanted to ask if Oslo had joined any guild and if not, he could just use his position in the guild to rope him in.
But not everyone was delighted. Like Lianna and Licht who arrived beside Anna and Anna as well was not delighted hearing their conversation because the name of the people they knew was an alias.
They had been lying to them all along. Joseph Morph? Charlie? Those were the names they had used to make a cool of them. Right then, they wanted nothing more than to beat these untrustworthy people to a bloody pulp.
But Anna recognizing the person talking with Jake didn't even lift a finger. Seeing Charlie beside Oslo, she couldn't just casually beat him senseless just like that, afterall Charlie was stronger than her and even more popular than her. But Lianna couldn't just take it in, she said,
"Do you know who he is?" Lianna and Anna asked at the same time.
Lianna asked casually as to know who Charlie was talking to but Anna's question was that of a surprised person. She didn't know that this farmer of a boy she knew was friend of such recognized figure.
"Hm? Who? He?" Both Oslo and James said at the same time, patting each other's back as a response. They smiled as they said,
"He is an Old friend!"
Old friend? Licht was confused. If the boy was his old friend, then was Oslo also an orphan like Charlie? Because from what he had researched about Charlie, he had realized that Charlie was originally an orphan abandoned by his parents.
But the names of people inside the whole orphanage didn't match to the name Charlie had just called him with. He hadn't heard or seen someone like Oslo in the photo of the orphanage he had stumbled upon when he researched. The information about Charlie was too limited as well...So, Oslo was an old friend.
Interesting!
Who was he? Who was this dude called Oslo?
Although he didn't show it, Licht was very curious of Oslo's identity. A grin formed in his face thinking about just to research about this Oslo dude. His talent in researching and technology was very outstanding...it was coveted by many but Licht was already working for the Guild which was one of the best in Magic Land, which had personally came to hire him in.
I will uncover your identity! Licht promised himself as he was the person who would see through it after he had made his mind.