While Hiro was leading his little adventure with Foresight, Akira was having a fun time spying on him throught a holographic screen that displayed everything at absurdly high resolution.
"Fucking hell... Had I been his place I would have already invaded Nazzarick... But still, his interactions are quite interesting." Akira said, his head leaning on his hand as he observed the world building.
"I do not mind him assisting me with the world-building aspect." Akira rises and continues, "Upon my arrival, I will assume Hiro's position, implying that all his previous efforts will solely benefit me. That is why I dispatched him there. I could have simply created a clone of myself and stationed him here while I traveled, but I needed to conduct an experiment; how would a virtuous version of myself interact with the world? " Akira reflects.
Suddenly someone entered the chamber, which caused him to get startled bit, "O–Oh honey!" Akira welcomed Alice to his private apartment, quickly hiding the holographic screen, his ruse going unnoticed.
Alice was dizzy, barely walking and it seems like her belly has swollen more. She didn't speak a single word, she seemed to be in a drunken state, with stars orbiting her head.
Akira walked to her then held her tightly, "I'm here for you. Let me take you to the bed, there's not much time left so take care of yourself hun." Akira said, earning incomprehensible words for a response.
In the meantime, Akira had a much bigger thing to take care of other than observing Hiro.
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"Hiro, I present to you the Baharuth Empire." Termite introduced.
Hiro indeed received some informations and instructions concerning Baharuth from Akira, so seing this place for the first time gave him that unusual sensation of déjà-vu.
"It feels familiar." Hiro commented.
"Hm. I can't exactly comprehend your feeling, Hiro. But for us, this was the place where we first met, so we hold it dear to our hearts." Roberdyck explained.
"Yeah I gotta admit that it's not half bad." Imina added.
Just what you'd expect from one of the most powerful empies in the world. This nation was strong enough to hold up the upper hand against the Kingdom Re-Estize in many wars for centuries now, thanks to their admirable military forces and ingrowth strategies.
Baharuth is currently considered to be at its peak, thanks to the remarkable leadership of Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix, who has purged the useless and corrupt nobles, giving priority to the stable growth of Baharuth's economy and military strength. With the assistance of his family's immortal servant, Fluder, Jircniv has accomplished what no other in his bloodline has ever achieved...
More on that later... For now, Hiro and his companions were heading towards the Guild. Foresight had successfully accomplished their mission, and even though they were looked down upon by the staff and adventurers for being simple workers, these people didn't complain as they found their comfort in being independent individuals instead of being affiliated to some sort of agency, meaning the rewards were less extravagant and the service was rotten and unnerving.
"Eight silver coins? That's it? But the contract clearly indicates that the reward for this mission is a single gold coin and two silvers." Termite says, showing the receptionist the contract sheet.
"That's the tariff for an adventurer. Considering your status as a simple worker and lack of ressouces, you should consider yourself lucky my superior gave you that generous amount." The cold-blooded receptionist gave him a bold reality check.
"Grrrr! But that's unf—" Termite was getting worked up, but Roberdyck came in clutch.
"All right, that's it for now young man. My excuses miss." He apologized to the receptionist for the latter's behavior then the group left the guild with a handful of what they were promised.
"Oh stop it Roberdyck, I know how to walk." Termite said. Then, he shifts his gaze towards Hiro, remembering that this a goodbye for now.
"We still have to give our little friend here the proper goodbyes, what do you think, my friends?" Termite said, his mood getting sunny.
"Hm. I'm very sure our paths will cross again, Hiro. Take care of yourself." Roberdyck hold his cross then gives him a benediction, "May the god bless you on your journey." He prays.
"You know where to find us if you ever feel like it. A little advice, get some cash cuz next time you'll pay a glass or two for us." Imina teased.
Arche moved forward and whispered some inaudible word of goodbye. Hiro found this goodbye to be quite difficult but finally accepted to let go of his first acquitances and focus on the objectives given to him by his God and master.
When Foresight left the guild, Hiro found himself head to head with the cold-blooded receptionist. "May I help you, sir?" She asked Hiro.
"I'd like to register myself as an Adventurer." He said.
The receptionist let out a sigh, however she didn't feel like explaining the dangers and risks to Hiro this time. She wasn't paid enough to tell these stubborn people about the possible liabilities, instead, letting them die was easier.
"Alright." She said, pulling out a magic crystal, "Put your hands on the orb, I'll be measuring your power so you decide if you want to continue or not." She demanded, with a poker face drawn on her expression.
Hiro does as he's told. The maximum someone has ever started with as a beginner adventurer was the gold-rank. Even if he showed an orb-breaking magical capability he won't be receiving a rank higher than gold, so might as well aim for the top.
Hiro pours in the orb a flow of perfectly pure and chaos-free magical energy. This never seeing before phenomenon causes the orb to illuminate in a thousand radiant lights of different colors.
"I—I can't believe my eyes!! A... A–A gold rank on sight! Th—This has only happened once before!!" The receptionist mumbled, backing away from amazement.
"Woah do you see that?!"
"Relax bro the thing could be just malfunctioning..."
"Fuck no that shit's boutta' blow!"
There was no denying what the orb was going through right now. Hiro repeated it a second time on another orb for confirmation.
However he was still not getting the gold-rank, not before a thorough meeting with the guild leader concerning this god-like apparition in such a needy time.
The news of world's second beginner gold-rank adventurer appearing in Baharuth out of nowhere spread across the entire Empire and nearby countries like a fiber optic through a cable.
For the smartest, it represented a sign of an upcoming prodigious war. With Jaldabaoth, Momon, Honyopenyoko and Ainz already making an uproar, it seemed like the chess game was starting to take form with heros and respective villains taking place in the chess board for a prophicized battle.
Seems like things will finally get serious now. This is a clash of Nations.
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CH. 185: Heads (3k words) IS OUT!!
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>Up to 20 Advanced Chapters waiting for the impatient readers! Hoping you'll continue with the adventure ! Thanks for any support!
Thanks for Reading.