Noah Wilson POV
As I watch the battle between that bespectacled man, and that masked man. It's obvious to me that the masked guy was holding back a lot.
Looking at where he was earlier. I see a black hair girl, with red eyes, and a lizard with horns and red spikes.
It seems like that was him.
I turn my gaze where's my partner at. before leaning closer to her ear and before whispering "Caera it seems like we found him."
She was surprised by my sudden action. But quickly composed herself, before she ask. "Are you sure?"
"Yes! Look where he came from, and you will see a lizard with horns and red spikes. And I removed my concealer earlier and I checked his mana core, he's at the dark yellow core. And he's probably using a concealer like me." I responded
"So it was him! We will move steadily as we told, and find the right time. We need to get close to him for that to happen." I added.
"Okay!" Responded Caera, while turning her gaze where the fight that was reaching it's climax.
Arthur Leywin POV
The same receptionist that had led us to the examination site handed me my silver-colored adventurer's card at the front desk.
From E-class to B-class, the card was a copper color, while starting from A-class, it would change to silver, then gold for AA class, then white for S class.
"Do you have a close relationship with Kaspian, Jasmine?" I asked after putting away my card, Sylvie asleep on my head.
"He's an acquaintance of my father," she said simply with a cold chill to her voice.
I didn't dig for any further answers. She obviously didn't have any positive feelings regarding the man. Changing the subject, I asked my adventuring partner, "So what should we do next?"
She pondered for a bit.
There were several options. We could do missions that were at, or below, our ranks. These missions included a variety of tasks, from guarding to acquiring specific items. We could also transport ourselves to the Beast Glades and explore while hunting down mana beasts. Or...
"Dungeon-exploring," Jasmine answered, a faint smile forming on her face.
Sylvie let out an excited chirp at the idea of exploring a dungeon but I remained silent.
The suddenly I felt someone bump past my shoulder. Looking up, I caught sight of the blond noble named Lucas strutting past me amongst his entourage of guards and servants.
"You're not bad for an augmenter, but that's all you are. Don't get cocky just because you happen to be place higher than me.Know your place, commoner!" Lucas spat venomously. The blond boy let out a smirk while intentionally leaning his head back so he could look down on me. The fact that his height was a fair bit shorter than mine just made him look silly.
Is he an idiot? It's clear as a day, that I was far stronger than him.
What cliché behavior for an annoying side character.
Not bothering to argue with him, I just faced back to Jasmine. "Let's go to the portal."
"Wait!" before we can go a voice interrupted us. Looking Where the voice came from, I noticed that the amethyst hair boy who was ranked as an A-Class, and the midnight blue hair girl walking toward us.
"Hi! My name is Noah Wilson an A-class adventurer. And this is my friend Caera Denoir and a B-class adventurer. Nice to meet you! " Noah introduce themselves to us. While putting his hand forward.
"Hello! I go by note an A-Class Adventurer. And this is Jasmine Flamesworth an AA-CLass Adventurer. So why did you stop us?" I responded accepting his handshake.
"Oh! It was just we want to ask for a favor." This time it was the girl whose name was Caera answered my question.
"What favor?" Asked jasmine.
"Well, you see, We want to get some battle experience and making name for ourselves before we enter the Xyrus Academy. And being an adventurer could give us both at the same time. But, were still young and doesn't have an adult or experienced adventurer to guide us. So...." Noah explain, but I cut him knowing where this was going.
"So you want to join us, right?"
"Yes! But don't worry we will pay the both of you." Said Noah.
I look at jasmine asking her opinion about this. I don't really mind them joining us for free and as for the money I don't really need it. Jasmine just give me a nod.
"Okay! We will let you join us, as for the payment we don't need it." I said, while looking back at the.
"Thanks you! But are you sure you don't need the money though?" Caera asked, while Noah nod his head.
" We don't need money, and I also just want to have an experience. So we don't really mind you guys coming with us." I responded
"Okay! Thank you again! So what we'll gonna do?" Said Noah.
"Dungeon-exploring." I responded
"Sounds good!" They both said in unison.
With that we head where the portal is.
....
Crossing through the teleportation gate, my senses jolted from the scenery. The City of Xyrus had the most teleportation gates among the cities since they were the only way one could enter it, it being a floating city and all. The one we crossed led us directly to the front entrance of the area known as the Beast Glades.
The chirps of birds, occasional cries and roars of beasts, and the constant sound of water flowing filling the background all created an enticing symphony of nature. The sight of tall trees and numerous hills covered in various plants and shrubs made it hard to believe that this beautiful landscape was filled with magical beasts capable of killing even the strongest mages. However, because of abundances of natural resources on the outskirts, it was mostly only the lower rank beasts that inhabited this area.The deeper an adventurer traversed, the more mysterious and treacherous the landscape turned, filled with the lairs of powerful beasts that have amassed their treasures and power in the solitudes of unexplored regions in the Beast Glades.
I took a sip of the crisp air as Jasmine, Noah and Caera arrived behind me through the teleportation gate when, suddenly, Sylvie hopped off my head and scurried off.
'Papa! Since we're here I'm going to train.' said Sylvie through our bond as she run away.
' okay Sylv! Just take car of yourself' I responded looking at the direction where she run off.
"Don't worry Mana beasts have a natural instinct to grow stronger" Jasmine explained, walking next to me.
Putting her hand on my shoulder, she signaled for us to start moving. "There's a place I wish to visit first before going to a dungeon. We have to hurry though; it gets a little more dangerous at night."
Willing mana into her body, Jasmine bolted off into the distance, her wind attribute mana propelling her even faster.
We just followed after her with just mana. Since there's Caera and Noah here, I decided to act as a single elemental augmenter in water with ice deviant.
The journey lasted a few hours and it began to grow dark. Caera looks tired while both Noah and I was still in a good shape. This was thanks to the use of mana rotation throughout the way. This skill had become almost second nature to me now as I utilized it unconsciously whenever I exerted mana.
By late evening, we had cleared through a dense forest and arrived at a small clearing. Surrounded by trees, there was a small field of grass with a stream of clear water flowing through it.
"We'll camp out here for a few days," Jasmine announced as she take out her bag from her ring and took out a couple of items.
"Weren't we going to a dungeon right away?" I asked jasmine.
"That's what we planned before for the two of us. But since the two of them are joining us we need to know about each other before we dive."jasmine responded while picking up a few branches of wood and gathering them together.
I went into the forest, finding some decent-sized branches to make a fire with. After a bit, we had a fire crackling and popping in the middle of our camp. Making myself comfortable, I removed my mask and sat silently by jasmine, while Caera and Noah sat opposite us.
Both Caera and Noah look at my face. I don't really mind the others to know my identity. Especially since the both of them are joining us for the next 3 years.
"You look the same age with us." Said Caera.
"Yes, by the way let me introduce myself again. My name is Arthur Leywin, A.K.A Note I'm 9 years old in Dark-yellow core and A-Class augmenter with water affinity and ice deviant, specialty in swords play."I introduced my self again.
" Then I will be next. I'm Noah Wilson and I'm 10 years old, in dark-orange core and Also an A-Class augmenter with the affinity on earth and fire, specialty in spears." Noah said, then gesturing for Caera to follow.
"Caera Denoir, 10 years old and a light-red core and a B-class augmenter with fire affinity. Specialty in longsword." Caera said, then looking at jasmine.
" Jasmine , AA-Class augmenter at initial-silver core, wind-attribute dual swords." Jasmine said.
" Arthur you said your at the Dark-yellow stage. But we all know that's not your real core right? So what is it?" Inquire Noah.
As expected he also know I was using a concealer.
" And you? I also don't believe you're at dark-orange stage. So what's yours?" I asked back. While he just chuckle.
" If I say mine will you say yours?" He asked.
"Okay, I will so what's yours?" I responded.
"No, you first." He said looking at me.
" Why don't you just both say it, at the same time." Jasmine chimes in.
" Sounds good!" We both said in unison.
"In the count of three."
"1"
"2"
"3!"
"Mid-silver!" "Mid-silver"
We look at each other and just laughed. while both jasmine and Caera were shocked.
Caera after knowing my core. While jasmine were both. Since only my family and the elves I live with know my core stage.
" So we are at the same stage huh." Noah said.
" It seems like it. What about you Caera?" I responded While asking Caera.
"Oh! I'm just a light-red Im not using a concealer." Caera said. I just nodded at her words.
I then asked Jasmine, "What made you want to become an adventurer?"
Caera and Noah also turned their heads waiting for Jasmine's answer.
"..."
But her gaze never left the fire and after a few minutes of awkward silence, we all just stared back at the flame, assuming she didn't want to answer.
"I wanted to get away from my family." she said barely enough for us to hear.
"I see... were you on bad terms with your family?" Caera responded, her eyes focused on the fire.
"..."
"The Flamesworth House was a major contributor to the war against the elves. Our house has provided many powerful mages, both conjurers and augmenters. Our lineage in the fire attribute element was second to none. We took great pride in this, because fire is considered to be the most powerful of the elements," she stated monotonously.
Despite her short sentences, this had been the most Jasmine had talked in one sitting.
"But Jasmine, aren't you a..." I looked up at her as she nodded in response.
"Since early on, when I had first awakened and started training, my family tried to test my mana for fire affinity. I went through various tests so they could see how my mana was exerted and how it flowed through my mana channels." She took a pause and poked at the fire before continuing on. "When it was made clear that I had no aptitude for the fire attribute, my family regarded me as lesser."
"..."
I didn't know how to respond to her. For the first time, the always aloof and cold Jasmine seemed...vulnerable.
"I'm sorry for what happened..." was the only response I managed to utter.
While Caera just look down, and Noah looking at jasmine with pity.
Shaking her head, she gave me a faint smile. "The Twin Horns have treated me and train me well. And I don't dislike what I am."
" Twin horns?" Both Caera and Noah asked the same time.
"Twin horns is an adventuring group jasmine was affiliated with. My father was their former leader, and he asked them if one of them could accompany me. Which was jasmine." Both of them nodded at my words.
I glanced at her palm as Jasmine formed a small swirl of wind, different emotions running through her face as she peered at her hand.
This world was a place of discrimination and classification. The hierarchical roots imbedded into this land would never truly disappear. Normal humans were considered second-rate people, while even amongst mages, augmenters were discriminated against by conjurers. It went further than that where, unless one was a deviant or a dual element specialist, some elements were considered "higher class" than others.
Being born from a family of powerful fire attribute mages, she was discarded as inferior because of the elemental attribute she had; something that most mages would kill to acquire. She was a initial-silver augmenter skilled in fighting and mana manipulation at the ripe age of 24. Many would consider her a genius but from the standards she grew up with, she considered herself lesser.
We placed more wood to last through the coldest parts of the night and laid out our sleeping bags a few feet away so we could still feel the heat.
...
"Good morning." Jasmine and the others was up and cooking something over the fire by the time I had gotten up and out of my sleeping bag.
My stomach rumbled to remind me that I hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon as I looked hungrily at the skewered fishes being grilled on the fire.
"Good morning! One of you should've woken me up. So I could help to do some chores."
The three of them look at each other, then look at me.
"...we tried waking you up... You wouldn't budge." Noah said."If I didn't hear you breathing, I would've mistaken you for a corpse."
"Haha..." I let out an awkward chuckle. "I'm sorry, I really need to fix that."
After devouring the grilled fish for breakfast, we put out the fire. Using the nearby stream to wash myself and my clothes, I put on my mask and swords.
" So? What we'll gonna do now" asked Caera.
" Art and Noah will spar against each other, while you're with me." Jasmine responded. To what we all nodded
Both Noah and I distance ourselves and took out our weapons. I decided to use dawn's ballad since no one was here other than us anyway.
As we both clashed it was clear that the both of us were on the same league in terms of power. But with 2 lives of experience under my belt, It's was obvious It would be my win.
Both Caera and jasmine looked at us with awe.
After we finished our spar we sat on the ground exhausted, Caera sat beside us while jasmine start cooking our food. Although I don't need to eat every time, I still eat a regular person would.
After we finished our food Jasmine look toward us before she speak.
"The three of you should've rest we will begin our dive tomorrow."
Following her words we started to prepare to sleep.