Chereads / Archmage Ascension / Chapter 16 - Castle or House?

Chapter 16 - Castle or House?

It was a warm evening. The sky had turned orange due to the sunset and the sun even though radiating light didn't send many sun rays for it was now orange in color.

The carriage was all white and fancy. Even the houses were white. And the curtains were gold same as the decorations. As the carriage door opened, there stood a little girl in a maid uniform. She reached out and opened the carriage door for Xavier. Xavier entered while questioning who she was.

" Who's this?" Xavier asked Baron.

Baron looked back and said," She's both my housekeeper and my apprentice. Her name is Katherine."

The girl called Katherine had blue short hair which nearly covered one of her eyes. She was short, maybe because she was Xavier's age. And she wore a black and white maid uniform. Her light blue eyes looked like the blue sky mixed with the blue ocean. Her eyes were something so beautiful that Xavier had never seen.

" Say your greetings, Katherine," Baron demanded as he drove the carriage.

" Nice to meet you," Katherine said.

Her voice was extremely quiet and soft but it sounded like a voice any bard would kill for.

" Nice to meet you too." Xavier smiled as he replied.

Xavier looked back and then asked," Where are we going?"

" My manor of course," Baron replied but the wind from outside made his voice hard to hear properly.

As the carriage continued going, Xavier asked," So what are you going to teach me anyway."

A soft but elegant voice then said," The fundamentals of magic and how to use different elements." Since Xavier could not hear Baron properly Katherine answered instead." What rank are you?"

Xavier stood in confusion," I have no idea what that means."

" Well then, shall I explain it to you. Ranks determine your status. For example, if your high rank then everyone would want to hire you like royalty, nobles, and high-ranking people. But being low-rank means disrespect and people don't adore you in anyway. You won't get anything as long as you stay that way. Well then, now the ranks are Early, Newcomer, Apprentice, Abnormal, Beginner, Adept, Master, High-class Mage, Sage, and Archmage. There is one more which is known as celestial but there are only four of them. These are just political ranks these don't determine your strength well enough but that's why elemental ranks exist. I won't take any more of your time." She had explained a whole five minutes which was boring to Xavier.

" Thank you," Xavier replied.

" Not a problem, I was simply doing what my master would want."

' Why is her voice so soft and quiet but can be heard loud enough to other people?' Xavier thought.

As the carriage continued going, they had reached a town. The town's houses were huge and rich but widely apart. Even the smallest houses were big. They all differed from one another and crops grew everywhere. The people of the town looked rich but dirty. The dirt on their clothing proved it well. They watched and waved at Baron as he drove the carriage. There were plants, fruits, and flowers everywhere. And not to mention, a gigantic river later down one bigger than any other river Xavier saw in this life and his past life.

" Where are we?" Xavier asked.

Katherine turned his way and replied," Rivermouth, a place where a god was once sealed."

" Even here people believe in other gods. There is but one real God, not those fake ones."

" Looks like someone has been living under a rock," Katherine answered." See, a long time ago God bestowed great items on seven humans as a way to make them his servants. The items differed in many ways. But these items allowed them to use unparalleled magic. As they cultivate kingdoms and their own lands they split up from each other. But one day, a greedy man appeared and killed one of the gods taking their item. This man was no other than a god himself. Maybe, long before God bestowed his great power upon them there was probably someone else who got rejected. The power wasn't his to take so the power had changed and because it was corrupted it turned dark. The magic was now Dark magic. He was stronger than all of the gods combined. As years of raging battles passed by they were able to seal him in a great river."

" Rivermouth?" Xavier asked.

" Certainly, you can even feel suffocating magic coming from the river," Katherine answered. She then grew close to Xavier so close that he blushed," But that's only a fairytale. Did you perhaps believe in it?" Katherine was making fun of Xavier.

" Haha! Nice story anyway. My mom should've hired you instead of telling those childish and annoying stories when I was a child. Well practically, I still am." Xavier was referring to his mother from his old world.

Katherine looked in a straight direction as she left the carriage which had now stopped, " We're here."

" I was not expecting it to look like this. " Xavier's mouth opened in awe as his body kneeled down.

The house was enormous, nearly as big as a castle. The house was made of stone bricks for it was grey and the doors were glass. It looked like an enormous church. There stood a huge window on the highest part of the walls. And the yard was probably the whole forest. Not to mention, from the house one could see the great river and the biggest river in the world which gave the house a great viewing point. And covering it all was a gigantic gate. An old butler came out and opened the great as another housemaid watched from one of the windows.

The old man wore a black and white fancy suit. it was clothing almost every butler wore. He held his hand in a strange gesture behind his back while one hand was free to move around. The old man also wore circular glasses on one eye and his eye color was brown. The old man had grey hair and barely any wrinkles for he was strong and muscular. On the hand behind his back, he wore white gloves and always kept a small watch in his hand.

The butler then bowed down, " Welcome back, sir."