"I'm going home." An aspiring adventurer says to another.
"Yeah, you're right. Fuck that." The other says, both their nerves on edge from the killing intent that Secessus just unleashed.
Not the only ones sharing that sentiment, around half of the applicants decide to leave. Deciding that if adventuring is something for people like him, then it's definitely not for people like them. Cornelius is desperately trying to hold back his laughter, seeing this out pour.
"Hello? I asked you a question." The shade demon says in an arrogant and impatient manner, still pointing his spear toward the blond-haired veteran.
"Wait! Calm down! Bronze rank! Bronze rank! Your Bronze, okay!" He yells in a slight panic, desperately crawling away from the blood-bound spear.
"Are you certain?" A voice calls out behind the shocked veteran. Cornelius stands behind him and grabs the mentor by the throat.
"Greenhorn, Beginner, Novice, Stone, Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Emerald, Diamond, Exalted. Those are the ranks, correct? So tell me how does my dear boy end up in bronze!" Cornelius asks, squeezing the neck of the still laying on the floor veteran.
"We…Ca…Eurgh." The blond-haired man tries to reply desperately. His words do not get out as he tries to not get chocked out.
"Cornelius, stop!" Secessus yells as he dispels his spear.
"He's lying. Bronze like Fervni's chamber that there are so many stronger than you!" Cornelius replies, still squeezing the blond-haired man's neck.
"You're causing a scene. Let the man explain. Perhaps I'm just not that strong." Secessus says as he grabs the pipe given to him by Ergillaz and begins to smoke.
Cornelius begrudgingly let's go as he almost grabs the blond-haired man's neck again out of spite. The man breathes heavily on the ground, probably praying to his god. The other "veterans" here also seem doubtful of what to do. Some have their weapons out, while others are looking for the nearest exit. Yet neither has actually made a move.
"My apologies, I get easily swept away by my desire to battle. The same goes for my friend, I do hope you will all forgive me." Secessus says, looking rather nonchalant about it all.
"It's fine." the veteran that they have beaten up says as he stands up.
"I understand your anger. Your skills are frankly far above bronze. However, we are not allowed to rank anyone above bronze. You will have to do quests and apply for a promotion. It's to safeguard that no one gets put in a rank that doesn't match their skill level." The blond haired mentor explains, having recomposed himself.
"Thank you so much,…Uhm. Now that I think about it, I never got your name. What was it?" Secessus asks, his emerald eyes completely focused on the veteran adventurer.
"It's Kir."
"Well Kir, thank you so much. But I feel bad for what've we done. How about we get something to drink later?" Secessus says as he holds out his hand, showing an endearing smile.
"Sure, however, I'm still on shift for some hours." Kir shakes the hand of Secessus and replies hesitantly. The contrast of personas that this emerald-eyed person before him has slightly freaking him out.
"We will be here in a couple of hours. See you then!" the shade demon yells excitedly before quickly moving away from the training ground.
Walking at a high speed, Secessus walks in a random direction, with Cornelius chasing behind. Having walked a few streets, the shade demon stops moving and leans against the stone wall of someone's house, beckoning Cornelius to come closer.
"What was that all about?" Cornelius asks whilst tapping his cane on the ground with a lot more force than usual.
"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" Secessus asks back, his emerald eyes shooting daggers.
"What were you going to do? Murder him! Traveling without getting attention does not mean getting the guards after us!" Secessus yells out of frustration. Some passerby look confused and slightly disturbed, but continue on with their day. It seems that a large city as this has its fair share of strange occurrence, and some lunatics yelling would be no different.
"Did you want to kill him yourself? I guess not because you invited him to a drink. Do you have a dual personality disorder?" Cornelius says, softly hitting Secessus's head with his cane.
"Firstly, I was just showing my strength. They have to rank us properly, after all. Can you imagine what the low tier quests are? I'm not going to catch a stray cat. Secondly, I invited him to drink so that we can get his expertise."
"About the guild?"
"Exactly, we didn't even know that there are limitations when joining. However, we can ask him about how to quickly rise in ranks, or he can even help us find a party. Besides, having contacts in a city is never a bad idea."
"He can't be that great of a contact. You almost killed him as well." Cornelius replies slightly annoyed.
"If I truly wanted that man dead, he would have been. Now make yourself useful and use that silver tongue of you to get us money." Secessus says as he begins to wave Cornelius away.
Cornelius listens surprisingly meekly and vanishes out of sight. A few hours pass by calmly as they both seem to be successful in keeping a low profile. With Cornelius rejoining the shade demon, they make their way toward the training ground of the guild.
When they arrive, they immediately manage to spot Kir, the blond haired veteran. He's busy ranking another applicant. Looking at the fight, Kir seems to be dominating. Purposefully not striking back to grade his opponent correctly. The badly armored applicant seems to be a young woman with a rather frail constitution, wielding an Armsword. A rather peculiar mismatch, as the weapon takes a heavy toll on her stamina every time she tries to strike. Gritting her teeth and with ferocious eyes, she continues to strike.
"Stop, enough." Kir commands in a calm tone.
"You will be in the stone rank. Personal advice, change your weapon or train your strength." Kir says whilst not even looking at the woman. He's simply busy packing his stuff, his shift for the day finished.
Seeing this, Secessus moves to approach Kir. However, a weak hand grabs his sleeve. The woman that was just sparring has taken a weak hold on the shade demon.
"Can I help you?" He asks politely, showing no killing intent, but simply a curious look.
"How did you get so strong?" The dark greened hair woman in her twenties asks. Also, showing no killing intent. Rather, her sapphire eyes blaze with determination, unfitting of the serene color.
Dumbfounded by this sudden question, Secessus watched the woman before him closer. She's frail and quite lanky. However, her hands are filled with scars and calluses.
"Thar requires a longer story and I have an appointment. Do you wish to join us?" Secessus offers the woman, before him.
"Is it that drink you talked about before?"
"It is."
"Will you tell me?"
"Sure, but you have to tell me your name first. You know manners and all."
"I'm Alessia. What about you?"
"Call me Sol."