"Someone to teach me." Alessia mumbles softly but still audible. Now that the shock has subsided, the green-haired woman is ready to look at this new world of possibilities.
"Should I go to Dreadroth?" The frail woman asks, actively looking for someone's opinion. Her sapphire eyes almost bored into Secessus's head.
"Don't look at me. I'm not familiar with that place."
"Wait. So you haven't gone to Drearoth?"
"Nope."
"Are you a witch?"
"I don't know." Secessus replies, giving no extra information. Making it clear that this subject should not be expanded upon.
"As an instructor from the adventurer's guild, I would tell you to go. As your friend, I would advise against it." Kir explains, giving 2 contradictory opinions that don't help this conversation forward.
"Why shouldn't I go?"
"If you have potential and are strong, then sure go. However, I'm scared of what those wizards will try to do with you in your current state. Not many of them are nice people."
"So, I need someone who can train me to a certain extent and then go to Drearoth?" Alessia asks, discussing her future with people she has known for only a few hours.
"Well, we do have some capable magic wielders close by." Kir says, nodding toward Secessus in particular.
"I'm not planning to stay here. I want to quickly rise to the top ranks of the adventuring guild before I do anything else." Secessus explains shutting down the idea.
Alessia's sapphire eyes who temporarily held a lot of hope and expectation quickly liven down, hearing Sol's firm refusal. Kir thinks for a moment before a small little smile appears on his face, looking like Randyl that managed to steal something.
"I guess you can do some bronze quests far underneath your level and hopefully get promoted." Kir says in a drawn-out manner. Clearly hiding something behind those words.
"Or I can do what?" Secessus asks, biting the bait with no hesitation.
"Or I can tell my wife about you. Arrange a quick promotion to gold, where your skills truly belong." The veteran adventurer says, trying to sound especially persuasive. Unfortunately for Kir that also doesn't seem to be one of his strengths.
"Mmh." Secessus thinks about the proposal, trying to figure out if staying here is worthwhile or if he should just carry on sightseeing.
"Do gold ranks work in groups?"
"Most of them do. Missions tend to need more than one skill set, and you can hardly expect one person to know all of them."
"Well then, how about this. I will train Alessia until a certain level. In return, you will make sure that I'm recommended to gold and look for a potential party. I'm quite inexperienced, and it would be rather annoying to be held back because of something so trivial." Secessus looks at Alessia, who's simply watching. She probably realized that either this is her best option or more likely her only one.
Kir doesn't hesitate for a second and reaches out to grab Sol's hand. A handshake that lasts for a bit longer than normal is exchanged between the two of them. Kir is especially glad about this arrangement, and Secessus himself is also satisfied.
"I must warn you, Alessia, I haven't taught anyone yet. Are you still prepared to get taught by me?" Sol says, half joking, half serious. His emerald eyes trying to pry in the dark green-haired woman's head.
"Well, then I just have to be a clever student, don't I?" Allesia replies with a small smile on her face. With a frail arm, she raises her cup of wine, raising it for a toast.
"A toast to friends made and a hopefully brilliant teacher!" Allesia says the cup is still firmly raised in the air.
"To new bonds and the future of promising adventurers!" Kir says, looking like a proud dad as he also raises his cup.
'Am I older than that man? I died when I was 18… Whatever.' Secessus stops his own trivial thoughts. Seeing the expecting eyes of the toasting people in front of him.
"To new beginnings and the future to come!" Secessus also raises his cup of wine in the air. Now three of the four people around this small circular table have toasted. The three who have raised their cups look at Cornelius. Two of them are very curious about what this more mysterious person is going to say, and one of them hopes that he doesn't say anything too weird.
"To bonds that cannot be broken, and to power for those who deserve it." Cornelius says, as he also raises his cup.
The 4 individuals start to gulp from their cups, leaving nothing left of the wine within it. Finishing their drinks and having finalized their toast. The rest of the evening passes without much of a hitch.
Kir leaves early, going home to his family, as the three others stay the night in the tavern. As the night welcomes their sleep, the early morning soon arrives, beckoning a new day.
The early sun of the dawn was a neutral sight for both Cornelius and Secessus as they easily awaken from their sleep. For Alessia, it was a different story, the frail constitution of the woman had a disagreement with the amount of alcohol consumed.
Secessus who knocks on Alessia's room does not receive a heartfelt welcome. Rather, he doesn't receive a reply at all during the 5 minutes that he has been knocking at the door. This does cause some stares from people thinking that he's either a creep or way too persistent. The shade demon shrugs off the stares, simply continuing to knock.
"For Asariel's grace! Stop it!" The woman yells out of annoyance on the other side.
"Alessia!" Sol calls out in a cheerful tone.
"What?" The woman suffering from the previous night replies.
"Did I ever tell you something about one of my teachers?" He says, still sounding happy despite Alessia's not-so-eager responses.
"Maybe. I don't know." She responds, still laying in bed. Still, despite the blankets covering her body and the beginning of a fairly warm day. For some reason, she feels her body shivering.
"Well, you might not have known. He was very strict and didn't like people arriving late. When you did, it felt like you would freeze from fear."
"…" Alessia doesn't respond but does slowly get out of bed. A feeling of dread somehow prevalent.
"What I'm trying to say is."
"…"
"If you're not at the training grounds of the adventurer's guild in 5 minutes."
"…"
"You will experience a living hell." Secessus says, still sounding like an angel with a halo, despite nearly giving a death sentence.