Tri Radha was nowhere near what Izik was expecting. The new Guide was expecting some shady old man but he was instead welcomed by a beautiful woman with long indigo hair that she tied in a high ponytail. Her skin was a beautiful shade of brown. Her features were sharp but they go well together. But the thing that Izik couldn't take his eyes away from was the dark veins that seemed to have eaten her left arm, stretching to her neck and her left jaw. Her left eye was also completely the color of ebony.
Those were the sign of an Acolyte being corrupted.
The sign of Heresy.
"Looks awful, right?" Izik almost jumped from where he was standing.
"I'm sorry," he was quick to apologize. "I was being rude."
"Well, my eye and arm are rather eye-catching," Tri replied, staring at her arm. She lifted her gaze, meeting Izik's green eyes. "I wouldn't really blame you for staring." Tri moved in front of her wooden desk, leaning against it. "Don't worry, it had been like this for the last seven years. I am not going to feast on your heart." There was a playful smirk on her lips.
Heretics were the same as Fallen in some aspect.
If a Hunter failed to balance their mana they'll be a strong, bloodthirsty, and insatiable Fallen. A Fallen doesn't have any ability to think anymore, they only have their primal instincts to survive which meant they don't care what they destroy or whom they kill in their havoc.
In a sense, Heretics were the same. They're no longer humans and they would be twice as strong as how they were before.
The main difference of the two were Heretics have the need to consume human flesh. It's their main food. All the tales about them that Izik heard were about them ripping people's heart and eating it like a savage animal.
Seven years? Izik couldn't imagine suppressing the corruption for that long. It must be painful.
At the thought of that, he remembered Xanthe Soleil who had been enduring being on the edge of Falling. Izik was quick to fan those thoughts away. This wasn't the time to be thinking of the Prince even when he was greatly pissed and he wanted to kick him off the planet.
Tri snorted, "Seems like you have been thinking of something annoying."
"Ah," Izik awkwardly scratched his cheek, "He is indeed a pain."
The Acolyte crossed her arms over her chest, "Then you better do something about it. If you just let the pain be it's either it's going to go away or it's going to get worse. In my experience, it's always the latter."
The new Guide wanted to burst into a tirade of complaints but stopped himself. Clearing his throat, he instead replied, "Thanks for the advice. I'll see what I can do."
"What can I help you with then?"
Izik straightened up, pulling his hood down, "I need you to run an assessment on me, and whatever the result... I need you to fake it."
Faking assessment results was something a lot of Laics do. No one earns more than a Hunter since it's hard to fake being a Restorer or Acolyte, a lot of people fake being Hunters in order to enter dungeons. Entering dungeons will allow them to get rewards for closing them and it also gave them a chance to get items from the dungeons which they could sell.
In order to escape the harsh hands of poverty, Laics fake their assessments.
Tri's expression changed. The playfulness was suddenly gone as she pushed herself off and walked back to slump into her seat. Reaching for a document, she flipped through them. "Aya," she called for the child. "Please show the customer out."
That surprised Izik as he exclaimed his protest, "I will pay!"
"In case you are unaware, being in this kind of business meant I have tons of money," Tri replied, not even looking away from the document she was reading.
"I just need an assessment!"
Tri looked at him, her eyes were now narrowed with anger. "And I am not doing it."
"Why? It's not like this is the first time you have this request! I am pretty sure that you have done this numerous times before!"
"Well, I am not sending another idiot inside a damn dungeon to die!" The Acolyte slammed her hands on the table. The force was too much that it shook, knocking over what seemed to be an old empty mug that shattered to the floor. "Go home, boy!"
That caught Izik off guard, usually, people in the business like Tri wouldn't really care. All they care about was the money they were going to be paid off. They don't pay another mind to whatever their clients will be doing. If they're paying that's good enough.
"Get a different job! They're hiring down the pier three towns away from here. There's always a need for more manpower at farms. Having no mana path sucks but that is much better than losing your damn head." He understood where Tri was coming from. Perhaps she had sent too many people into dungeons. People who were just hoping for a much better life only for them to face death.
"I am not leaving," Izik firmly stated. "I need an assessment."
Tri stood up, stretching her arms, "Well, I can drag you out here."
As the Acolyte marched towards Izik, a bright flame burst surrounding Izik's body. Light filled the room, reaching even the darkest corners that no oil lamp can reach. Tri stared at the beautiful flames in awe. They were almost... sparkling. They have this spark in them that made them look unreal... almost ethereal. She knew right then and there that those were not ordinary flames.
"I am not entering a dungeon to die," Izik said. It wasn't exactly a lie. Izik wanted to use his remaining vacation to enter as many dungeons as he wanted in order to increase his level. The money from it will also be nice considering there were definitely items that he would /want/ and /need/ to purchase.
Tri narrowed her eyes, "If you can do this much why do you need me to do an assessment."
"Just please do it," The fire retreated back, disappearing leaving only a few shining embers.
The acolyte sighed. "Aya," she called and the child was quick to grab a stool from the corner which she placed down next to Izik. Tri gestured for him to sit down and Izik complied. Tri let out another sigh as magic circles and floating runes appeared. Izik almost fell down from being surprised but was quick to recover his composure.
"What?" Tri's face crumpled with a frown as the magic circles and runes disappeared. Without another word, she began another assessment that only ended up with her being more confused.
"Are you wearing an artifact?" Tri asked which caught Izik off guard but he managed to keep his face straight. "No, no, even if you are wearing an artifact it won't work unless you have a mana path." Izik furrowed his brows.
It was common knowledge that when Laics wear an artifact, they turned into nothing but ordinary accessories. Artifacts may be a powerful tool but they would need mana to work.
"What's going on?" Izik finally asked.
Tri met his eyes, "I need you to show me what you did again."
Izik was quick to pick up that she was referring to the Heavenly Fire. lifting his hand, Izik summoned the fire with a single finger. He then willed it to burn brighter and it burst into a beautiful flame before he extinguished it.
The Acolyte was silent for a moment before she pulled out the result. Izik's eyes widened seeing the assessment result floating before him.
[ Designation: Laic ]
Laic? His designation was still Laic? He went to an Acolyte because he was sure his designation changed to Class S Guide. Izik didn't expect his designation to remain as Laic. Suddenly, he was pulled off doubt that he pulled his profile up. A window appeared in front of him.
.
.
[ 👤PROFILE ]
[ Name: Izik Arden
Age: 17
Designation: Class S Guide
Level: 10/99
Mana: 630 / 2500
Attribute Points: 0 ]
[ Active Skills 🗡️ ] | [ Passive Skills 📜 ]
.
.
It took him five days before he decided to contact an Acolyte and was able to somehow level up through something called /Daily Quest/. His eyes zoomed on the designation. It was still the same. It still says that he was a Class S Guide.
"Excuse me," Izik snapped back to reality as he felt Tri's hand on his chest. "You have a mana path. Your mana is also strong... how is this... possible?" The Acolyte was confused. Izik was also confused but tried to stay calm.
"Uh, can you give me a fake result?" Izik asked. In order to join raids, Hunters were usually required to present an ID from Acolytes that stated their designation. The guilds check them but some don't. Izik could risk joining those raids but he deduced that it's much better to have a fake result.
Tri pulled away with a sigh. She ran her palm over her hair, clearly confused and unsure of what was the right thing to do. "Stay here." She said, meeting Izik's green eyes. The Acolyte marched out of the room, slamming the door behind her while Izik was left to wait in the poorly lit office.
After nearly ten minutes, Tri went back. Izik stood up to meet her but the Acolyte simply slammed a card against his chest. Izik let out a small oomph, completely surprised by what she did. "That's 50 gold coins." Izik expected it to be expensive. He set aside a budget of at least 150 gold coins. Hearing the price felt like a total bargain. Pulling a small pouch, he decided to hand over 150 coins as he initially planned.
Izik stared at the card. The assessment card had always looked beautiful. It was made of a reliable metal, ornamented with a beautiful intricate border. There was a huge seal of Serene on the right next to his designation. Izik blinked at the Class A Hunter engraved on the card. Lifting his gaze he looked at Tri with complete awe. It was like he could fly now from the amazing feeling he had in him.
In his hand was something of a license. It almost felt like those licenses or permits businesses need to get to be able to operate in the Capitol. In a sense, maybe it was a license.
Tri frowned at the pouch before looking at the stupid expression on Izik's face, "Get out of here." The guy clearly couldn't hide how pleased he was about the fake result.
"Thank you so much!"
"If you die in a raid, don't come crying to me." Tri huffed, strutting back to her desk.
"I won't!" Izik chuckled. "Thank you again." Turning around, he followed Aya who opened the door for him.
"Also," Tri spoke. "If you need anything, you know where to find me."
Izik didn't look back. He only pulled his hoodie up with a smile and waved goodbye.