Author's Note: Hi, I am now formally back into writing chapters again. Well, what can I say except, oops. Um, the drawings will be released tomorrow on Saturday and I thought that I might as well make another chapter so, here it is. Also, there is yet another time skip in this story because, why not? Enjoy the new volume!
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A long time has passed since I met that mysterious old man that day. I still remember it vividly as the feelings of fear, confusion, and uncertainty were on a magnitude which wouldn't let me forget that encounter. Well, I don't think it would be a particularly memorable experience for any other random person as nothing really surprising happened. Aside from the fact that he suddenly got a giant claymore from nowhere.
The thing that really made that experience memorable was his answer to my question. He said that he was a living relic from an age that has long since passed, in his words. Those words might have been specifically chosen to accentuate how old he really is.
I mean, not every random old man you would meet out in the woods would explain who they are in that kind of manner. Those words also seemed to imply that he is even older than what I previously thought. That made me wonder if he was a human at all as he described the past as 'an age long gone'.
Which means that he must be, at the very least, older than a hundred years, right? That question floats into my mind every so often when I have nothing else to do. Human curiosity really is something, isn't it? Okay, enough about the past. The situation in the present is virtually the same as before.
The only difference is that I am a bit older and that I am much more familiar with the areas around the city now. And yes, I am still living near the city and, just a few months ago, I mustered up enough courage to rent a room in an inn. I am actually inside the room I rented with my own hard-earned money right now.
Oh, and the amount of time since I met the old man wasn't that much. I think only a year and around two months have passed since that time. Since then, I haven't even heard anyone mention someone else who fits the description of the old man I met before. I've just been doing the same things after that.
Some good news is that I was able to have lots of progress with pretty much everything during the past year. I was able to go higher up the adventurer ranks and now, I was able to reach the Middle Class in Rank D. That is quite the improvement, considering I started off in the Low Class in Rank F.
I lean back down onto the pillows while thinking how much I grew and feel the familiar scene of Calido resting on the floor next to the bed with my tendrils. Oh, and Calido was able to get the hang of adjusting his size so now, he is able to shrink down to the size of an actual lizard and not a monster one. On the other hand, he can grow to be roughly half of my size. And, I grew a bit so it is nice to know he is growing alongside me.
Still no luck in finding the Thunder Beast though. I've been exploring the nearby mountains in this area and checking their valleys as well but, I haven't found any sort of sealed area. However, I still barely remember that the message about their locations was only general so, it might not even be in a valley and is instead located on the mountain itself. But, that uncertainty poses an even bigger problem as I really have almost no clue where to look.
That is why I have been only accepting quests that are related to mountains. That also explains why I have only ranked up to Rank D in an entire year. Speaking of adventuring, it seems I have finally been given an adventurer title. Adventurer titles are basically the nicknames other people in the Guild call you.
Of course, you can have more than one. The one that is the most commonly used is 'Arcane Phantom'. I've got to say that I was pleasantly surprised when I heard that it sounded very nice so, I definitely approve of it. Oh, and there was another thing.
There was an announcement from the Guild that was made nearly a year ago but is still going on right now. It was that there was a person from the Jekiro Continent that was suspected of a severe crime or something. It wasn't related to what I was doing at the time so, I sort of ignored it. I wonder how the people who were involved in that crime are doing now?
Anyways, aside from that, no other major announcements were made. I was challenged by that annoying guy before to an arm-wrestling competition and... I nearly lost. I said NEARLY because I technically cheated by adding lots of shadow tendrils to my arm but, I made sure to make them faint so that no one can see.
I learned that my arm strength is nothing that special and that I need special forces to make my striking strength much stronger. So, I started doing all of the exercises needed to build up muscles but, I still get worn out as, like I said, I am only ten years old and I'll be turning eleven in a few months from now.
Speaking of strength, there is a famous adventurer party that came from the Anteo Continent that just arrived here in this city a few weeks ago. The name of their party is Divine Paladins. As for their name, it really indicates what they do. Not really. However, there is some sort of indication as they are mostly people with the Light element or are able to use exorcising arts.
What do they exorcise, you may ask? The adventurer title of their leader shows what they mainly do. His title is Wraith Conqueror. Mister Wraith Conqueror is the title he got for most likely exorcising lots of monsters called Wraiths. They are shadow creatures that haunt dark places and are able to possess inanimate objects.
They are of average danger rank as they are Middle Class in Rank C. However, the stronger ones, especially if they possess an extremely strong object, are able to reach Low to Middle Class in Rank B. Coming back to the main topic, word on the street is that they acquired yet another member, which marks their 7th one.
The thing that got my attention is that an anonymous person of high prowess entrusted them to take care of a young girl for undisclosed reasons. They found out that she is somehow very talented in the art of exorcism and that she may even have the Nova element. Hopefully, I may be able to meet her as I will eventually unseal the Divine Nova Beast as well.
That anonymous person must have really trusted those guys if he allowed a small child to go with them. Well, their party rank is technically Middle Class in Rank B so, I can definitely see why that person did so. But, for some reason, I keep thinking of child labor even though I am certain they aren't working her hard. I mean, all of their members have good reputations and are well-liked.
Oh, and that girl already has an adventurer title. Can you actually freaking believe that?! Even I have only recently discovered I actually had a title and she got one already!? Plus, her title actually sounds very cool as well. Her title is Crystal Moon and, even though they say she sometimes appears in public, I haven't caught wind of her name so, oh well.
I really hope things will start to pick up the pace by tomorrow. With that thought, I closed the eyes that never really see anything at all and start drifting off to sleep.
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"Today was a good day, right guys? I think we should have a nice meal."
"Yes, we should. Victor, what will we eat?"
"Hmm. Well, today was a good day mostly because of what we got to see, right? So, how about we have the little Miss decide what we have."
"Yeah, that sounds fair."
"Yes, a great idea."
"I'm on board with that!"
"So, what do you want to eat?"
"..."
"Oh, I'm sorry. I know we have been together for some time already but, can you please tell us your name? Don't worry. We don't discriminate between people. I think you can see that just by the composition of our party. We won't mind even if it is a fake name, right guys?!"
"""""Of course not!"""""
"... Then, call me Chroma. Chroma Justina."
"All right, Chroma. Or, should I say, Crystal Moon? What will be eating today?"
"How about... Ronanian Springboar With Corus Herbs?"
"Huh? That is an unusual choice for adventurers. And expensive to boot but, I'm sure we can afford it just this once. May I ask why you chose that kind of food?"
"Well, it has sentimental value. The last name I gave you was based on what I thought someone else wanted, even though he never really told me anything."
"Who was it?"
"Someone... I got off with on the wrong foot. But, he helped me realize many things so, this is just some sort of choice I made to honor my memory of him."
"Ah, I see. A close friend?"
"No. It was someone... who considered me family, even after everything I did."