Author's Note: Yes, I'm back yet again! The last chapter was released earlier today featuring Alex and Calido having a fun day in the city of Audaceus, just like what Alex promised. However, today will be all about work and, let's see where their work will lead them to. This is the last chapter of Volume IV: Arcane Phantom so, enjoy it while you can as next week will be the next volume already!
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We headed out of the forest near the city as we walked towards the city. The sun was shining brightly as the birds chirped and the wind gently blew into my face. Of course, the 'sun shining brightly' part was told to me by Calido and I knew instantly that today should be a good day.
And I said 'should' because, if it turned out that it was a bad one then, karma will definitely allow me to have lots of good days in a row, due to all of the good things I have been doing over the past few days. Alright, that should be enough messing around now. I'll have to take all of this very seriously if I'm going to have a chance of getting higher up on the rankings when I am literally trying to do this in the CITY OF ADVENTURERS.
I am definitely going to make a name for myself here. Also, I worked really hard on research yesterday. Not the usual kind of research where you read stuff as I am not able to do that. Instead, the thing I have been doing after I had fun with Calido yesterday was looking for prime locations where plants and animals live.
As you know, I've been living in the woods for a long time so, I would know where things are. So, I found some plants that could potentially have some sort of benefits for people such as Clasping Pitchers, Swirl Sakuras, Cresswaters, Ghostly Butterflies, and Rocky Osmanthuses.
Now, let me be clear here. I know the names of Cresswaters and Clasping Pitchers only because I remember hearing something about them when I first went to Ray's house. I said that it was very big and I might have forgotten to say that there was a garden and, well, I participated in the flower admiring so, I ended up with a full description of their appearance, their proper names, and their medicinal benefits.
I just told Calido those details and he was able to find them. The other 3, which were the Swirl Sakuras, the Ghostly Butterflies, and the Rocky Osmanthuses were plants I never heard of so, I just asked Calido what distinguishing features each plant I found had and I named them accordingly with what he said. I also knew these 3, out of all of the plants I found, would probably have medicinal effects as Calido felt faint Mana coming from them.
I remember hearing in Glaive's practice session with us back in Quaran that everything in this world had Mana. So, I would usually pass it off as something that was normal, until I considered the possibility that rarer plants with special benefits could have more Mana as Mana is the lifeblood of this world. If it has more Mana then, it is something of more value, right?
Following that logic, I did exactly that. And that was what the both of us ended up doing yesterday until evening fell. Recalling all of those things, I confidently shifted into the shadow of the wall that is inside of the city, all the while evading security. Hey, I just realized. If I was ever someone who was actually bad, wouldn't I be able to infiltrate pretty much everywhere in the world?
I shuddered at that thought. It's a good thing that I'm a good guy then. Still, what if there really was someone who had similar powers as me doing the exact same things I just described? Well, that we be incredibly bad. Though, if they ever met me, I would stop them with my indescribable power.
(Somewhere in the world)
"Achoo!"
"Whoa, what's wrong?"
"I... might have caught a cold."
"Or, someone is talking about you."
"Why would anyone be talking about me? No one knows me at all, except you guys."
(Going back to Alex now)
I kept entertaining weird thoughts as I walked to all the way to the Adventurer's Guild. And, this time, I actually remembered to change my appearance before I reached the door. I opened it and, well, it seems people definitely remember me from before.
"There's the guy!"
"Oh, that's the guy everyone has been talking about? He doesn't seem weird enough to spark this amount of buzz though."
"But he was able to stop a swing from Boris! That must mean he is at least as strong as a C-Rank!"
"Hey, do you think he is actually some sort of knight or something? He wouldn't be that strong if he wasn't."
"Why would he? He is probably some random guy who trained his body and decided to become an adventurer."
"What should we call him? I mean, all newbies should be given a nickname, right?"
"Well, he left his registration form blank before leaving so, we should think about it."
Oh my Death God.
This is way too much. Way too much talking about me. There should have been at least one other interesting thing that happened yesterday so, talk about that instead. This is very awkward as I can literally hear every one of their whispers. And, as usual, Calido is inside of my pocket.
I walked as naturally as I could towards the counter when, surprise, surprise, the guy from yesterday came up and tried to attack me. I nonchalantly shifted into his shadow and appeared right behind him as I kept walking. This guy is way too persistent. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, I reached Miss Shirley.
"Hello again. I would like to accept a request from the Guild. Also, could you please you explain the rankings after you find a suitable request?"
"Yes, I will. Please wait for just a moment."
I could feel nearly everyone watching my every move. I started to unconsciously breathe a bit faster but, relief soon spilled over me when Shirley came back.
"Here. This request is from a florist named Aisha. It says that she wants someone to find some Gale Lillies for her flower showcase in a few days from now."
"Alright. Sounds easy enough so, I'll accept that one. Could you please explain the rankings now?"
"Okay. Adventurers are all separated from each other by ranks and classes. Here are the 7 ranks in total in ascending order: F, E D, C, B, A, and S. These ranks are then further separated into 3 classes: Low, Middle, and High. Monsters are ranked the same way as adventurers but, there is one major difference. In accordance with our safety regulations, there should be at least 5 people of the same rank to safely beat a High monster of the same rank. For example, at least 5 C-Rankers are needed to defeat a High C-Ranking monster, such as a Goblin King."
"Then, wouldn't it be much easier for stronger people to rise up the ranks. Also, how about the people trained by aforementioned strong people? Will they be ranked highly just because they're trained by strong people?"
"No. Being an adventurer needs much more than strength. You will also need leadership skills, communication skills, and the like to succeed. That is why there are so few S- and A-Ranks in the world. It's because not many people are able to satisfy these conditions. Oh, and for your other question, we rank people fairly. After all, experience is much more important than potential when it comes to adventuring as you never know what will happen."
Wow.
I just learned lots of stuff right now. I'll need to process each piece of information individually so that I will be able to understand the entire thing. Don't get me wrong, my brain is working very well and I was able to understand all of that but, I just want something to contemplate later if I run out of subjects.
And with that, I left the Adventurer's Guild and went to find the florist named Aisha. After learning what Gale Lillies looked like, I went to the forest to look for them with Calido. If I remember correctly, Miss Aisha said that Gale Lillies looked like pale blue flowers with Wind energy coming from them.
They are also known to grow near trees with roots that were black and had red stripes on them. These trees are called Qilin's Gazes as a legend with a Qilin in it ended with the Qilin planting a tree that would watch over a village it loved while it was gone. It was an interesting tale and I really wanted Miss Aisha to tell me more but, my job calls.
I wasn't able to find these flowers for a long time and, right when I thought I should give up for the day as I haven't found anything for a few hours already, I heard a voice behind me. I instantly drew Aether and told Calido to start emitting flames.
"Oh, so you are that cautious?"
It sounded like an old man and my tendrils confirmed it was a person with the build of such a person but, I felt power in his voice. This almost felt like when I heard the voice of the man I think ordered people to attack Quaran. I instinctually felt an urge to strike them and, I did. However, my blade was easily blocked by something big and heavy.
When I checked again, I felt a gigantic sword in hand. Is that a claymore or a greatsword? How was I not able to sense it earlier?
"You strike fast. Your senses told you that I am a threat. However, you don't have much strength, do you?"
"W-who... Who are you?"
"Ah, that question. Well, just call me a living relic. One that is from an age that long since passed."
That was how I met the one who would lead me to a place I was looking for. A place that was housing the next one I had to unseal.