The merchants steadily approached the northern city gate. There were at least sixty guards stationed at the inspection site who checked the goods of the merchants before letting them pass through.
Not only that, they would also ask for their background and every single individual would be scanned by an expert at sensing soul energy called a 'Soul Eye Guard' to see if they were a threat.
Unlike the regular inspection guards equipped with medium armor and blue cloth with the city insignia on their backs, the soul eye guards wore thimble shaped metal helmets with three eyes around it alongside the standard armor, signifying their role.
Because of the nearby iron deposits and the mountains in the periphery of Mysteriea City, it had no lack of steel and iron equipment to arm their guards and soldiers with.
"…"
"Caophre, I'm going to go check up on those two." Owen informed him as he saw that it was nearly their turn for the inspection.
Caophre replied with a nod. "Go ahead."
Owen hopped back to the wagon and saw that the two of them were in the middle of a conversation.
Noticing their gaze, Owen sat down and said, "Hopefully I'm not interrupting anything.."
Oslan shook his head. "Not at all, we were just talking about what to do once we're in the city." He then patted the spot next to him invitingly.
Owen didn't seem concerned even by one bit. "That's easy. Just find a job so that we can sustain ourselves for long enough."
Riang wasn't willing to go inside a dark cave without knowing what's in it. "And what kind of jobs are available for us? You haven't explained Mysteriea to us at all, so we have no clue."
Owen replied, "What do you know so far?"
Riang looked up to the sky, "Let me think…" She then returned her gaze back to Owen after a second. "All I know is that the city takes merchants quite well. But because we aren't merchants, our methods of earning money are very limited.. Construction is out of the way because they have officials for that. Farming is also out because of the same reason."
Owen understood her worries. He didn't answer her question completely just yet. "So what do you suggest doing?"
Riang snorted. "Like I'd know.. Probably work at some small business? Hey, is Caophre looking for assistants?"
"I'll go check." Owen got off the wagon and dashed towards Caophre. It was so that he could gain mastery from the skill while he's at it.
Caophre sat down, waiting for the inspection ahead to finish until Owen appeared by his side.
"Are we in that much of a rush? Don't worry, I'm not leaving." Caophre teased. For someone that she could consider with an equal 'position', Owen was indeed an odd one.
Owen didn't mind the strange looks of the merchants behind them and asked,
"Are you willing to hire Riang and Oslan as your assistants?"
Caophre looked back towards the wagon and could see why he asked. "So you guys are worried about getting a job.. I'm sorry, I'm not intending on hiring anyone at the moment. I prefer to be alone when it comes to selling my wares."
"Ah, gotcha." Having expected her response, Owen merely hopped back to the wagon.
Riang obviously wanted to know what Caophre said, but Owen was just too fast and shattered the expectant looks on their face with a simple, "No, he said he's not hiring."
Sighing softly, Riang didn't dwell on it too much. "So working for Caophre is out of the question."
"We can still be a Sylloctate." Oslan suggested.
Riang's eyes brightened up.
"That works too… The Sylloctation Governance Guild can pay us for that, but I don't think that it's suitable for all three of us to be Sylloctates." Riang saw some sense from Oslan's suggestion.
In this world, adventurers are people who well…. venture through dangerous uncharted lands. A Sylloctate on the other hand, is the term used for those who take on a variety of tasks issued by an official guild.
Although an adventurer's guild exists in this world, it's probably not what most of you folks are expecting.
"Congratulations, you guys got it." Owen began to reveal his ideas that he had set up in advance, "My plan is to be a Sylloctate and take on the hardest tasks that I can realistically take on at the moment. Of course, I need to go alone since I cannot keep you both safe at all times. And reasonably, I won't force you two to be Sylloctates as well."
Riang thought about it with great consideration.
A Sylloctate has the freedom to choose what kind of quest to complete with their own varying degrees of danger.
Some quests are easy and involve collecting herbs, fruits and other items that the quest describes. There are also those that are dangerous, like monster extermination, beast hunting and gathering potentially dangerous items.
Since the difficulty and danger of a task depends on what the Sylloctate decides to take on, Riang figured that it was a good idea.
"I'm fine working as a Sylloctate."
Oslan also thought it through and said, "If it gets us food on the table, it doesn't seem so bad."
As the three of them polished their plans together, it was soon Caophre's turn to be inspected by the guards.
An authoritative, tall, gray-haired woman in bulky and heavy armor lifted her hand to tell the guards to stop Caophre from advancing. She walked towards him, her armor making crisp metallic sounds every time she took a step. The slender saber sheathed on her side was meant to look like the hilt is a snake with a blade coming out of its opened mouth.
Because her helmet's visor was down, it was impossible to see her face, but her long hair sticking out from the back wasn't. Mysteriea guards were all given unique helmets that allowed their hair to hang from the back as long as it was tied up. Long hair for a person in a dangerous occupation meant that they had the strength and discipline to take care of it, but that wasn't all. Long hair even symbolizes long life and wisdom.
As for the leader of the northern gate's inspection squad, her gray hair reached her waist.
Following behind her was a well built and intelligent looking male soul eye guard with a long braided ponytail that looked like a frizzled broom at the end. His left eye has doubled pupils, but it doesn't impair his vision one bit.
[Edelyn Amuleha, Northern Gate Inspection Squad Leader.]
"Ma'am, we have to check your carriage for inspection. Please open it for us." Edelyn's voice was enough for Caophre to identify that she was female.
"Sure thing, right this way." Caophre was used to the procedure and followed along.
The soul eye guard began using his penetrative gaze to peer through Caophre and the contents of his carriage. All of them were basic stuff and nothing exudes soul energy at all.
When Caophre opened the carriage for them, Edelyn checked the goods and found nothing wrong with them.
"All clear." Edelyn left the carriage and let Caophre close it after she was done.
Caophre, Edleyn and the soul eye guard then went to the back and found the three sitting on the wagon tied to the carriage.
Edelyn has been working with the inspection unit for two years now. She recognized Caophre's occupation as a merchant and that she works alone.
Seeing Owen, Riang and Oslan, what she surmised was that they were below the age of 20, the two male individuals aren't remotely special except for the red haired girl with a special 'scent' to her.
Edelyn decided to keep a close eye on her.
The soul eye guard casually looked through them. Oslan was nothing out of the ordinary, Riang had a lot of soul energy flowing inside her body as well as a soul core for the Soul Warrior.
Examining Riang, he saw that she possessed 5 stars floating around her soul core that represented the Soul Warrior constellation.
'The stars of Harmony, Body, Soul, Mind, and Balance.. just as expected…' Since all of the stars were present and the formation of her soul core was legitimate, the soul eye guard didn't see her to be that special.
But when his eyes landed on Owen, he had to take a second… no, third look just to confirm that he wasn't seeing things.
Owen only had two stars alongside a colorful soul core.
The soul eye guard alerted Edelyn immediately by saying, "Squad leader, I have something to tell you."
Edelyn could see the solemn look on his face. She turned to Caophre and said, "Stay here for a bit."
Owen, Riang and Oslan looked at each other. Unsure why the inspectors would walk away so suddenly. They turned to Caophre who also looked just as puzzled as they are.
"What? I don't know everything that goes on in this city."
"…"
Edelyn stared down the soul eye guard, even with her face covered, it was easy to tell that she's beckoning for him to speak.
The soul eye guard wasted no time and said, "The kid with a missing hand, he has a soul core with only two stars."
Lifting an eyebrow, she asked, "It's not one of the orthodox constellations?"
The soul eye guard reached into the leather bag on his waist to grab a guidebook for identification of different races, disguises, and constellations.
He went through the table of contents with his finger and spotted the page about known constellations. He quickly flipped through the book and began reading it aloud.
"The known constellations with only two stars are as follows…" The soul eye guard went silent for a moment before correcting himself. "It seems that I've made a mistake.. there's only one known constellation with two stars. And that is the 'Seer of Fate' accompanied by the star 'Understand' and the star 'Reveal'."
Edelyn didn't react much to the guidebook's information. "So it's either that kid knows the rebirth ritual to that unknown constellation, or he is naturally born that way."
"But squad leader Edelyn, below 4 stars, the people born with such constellations are extremely rare.. Even more so for them to survive as a newborn because the influx of soul energy for such constellations with a low amount of stars can mutate their soul, either turning the newborn child into a mutated soul or by killing it outright.."
Soul energy, if circulated incorrectly can indeed become dangerous enough to inflict injuries or become fatal.
"Only through a rebirth ritual can one change the constellation of their soul core and safely live as someone with a 3 star constellation soul core or below." Right in front of a precious opportunity, the soul eye guard wasn't willing to let it go that easily.
"So Lintaul, what are you saying?" Edelyn crossed her arms. She waited for Lintaul to explain what he wanted to do instead of being so vague about it.
Lintaul held his chin before saying in a serious tone, "Squad leader, I think we should interrogate him. If we manage to uncover the ritual for another constellation, wouldn't it be a huge merit for us?"
It was unclear if Edelyn's lack of response was because she expected the answer or if she was just uninterested to begin with. "I'm not tempted for a reward… Just tell me if he's a threat or not."
While keeping a steady, upright posture, Lintaul said, "Hard to say since with unknown abilities, I can't really ascertain his strength."
"Fine, I'll allow it. But remember, do not forget your duty as a soul eye.. Greed will not get you far." Edelyn gave him a stern reminder.
"I understand." Lintaul didn't hold anything against her and bowed in acknowledgement.
Edelyn turned away and went to find Owen.
Upon spotting the two return, Caophre thought that the inspection was over until Edelyn gestured towards Owen saying, "You, come with us for questioning. We have something to ask you about."
Owen felt that he was in trouble for some reason. He already assumed the worst just from the way they wanted to ask him. He didn't react on the surface, but he was already planning to escape if something went wrong.
'If they can see the inventory, I'm pretty much dead am I?' Owen's thoughts quickly ran through until he calmed himself down.
Shaking his head internally, Owen had an inkling that they might not be able to see something like his inventory because it seemed to exist from another plane of existence. Instead, they might be suspicious of him for some other reasons.
Owen leapt down from the wagon in a not-so orderly fashion and followed Edelyn.
Oslan tugged on Caophre's arm and asked him in a whisper, "Is Owen going to be okay?"
Caophre smiled and reassured him, "They wouldn't hurt him.. If the inspection squad ever questions someone, it's definitely for a good reason."
Riang thought about the pink crystal knife that Owen used and was led to the false assumption that it might be the reason for the questioning.
When Edelyn brought Owen far away enough, she laid her palm out to Lintaul, signaling him to initiate the process.
Lintaul coughed twice and asked Owen. He was used to this process and was quite professional with it.
"The series of questions is for the safety of the city, please cooperate.. Now sir, what's your name, age and hometown?" Lintaul watched him closely, his eyes flickering with a strange light.
"Owen Ivory, 19, Lerdrom City from Silmoun Kingdom." Owen answered truthfully to test the waters.
Lintaul nodded, "Mhm.. Would you like to explain your soul core's constellation?"
"My what?" Owen was clearly confused. Although the words made sense separately, he didn't know what they implied as one.
Lintaul paused while looking at Owen incredulously. "You… Do you not know what a soul core's constellation is?" For a person to not know basic terms like these, did Owen live under a rock?
"No I don't. I thought that you would be able to tell from what I asked previously.." Owen wasn't awkward at all when he replied. "Maybe if you explained what that is, I might be able to provide you with a better response that you guys are looking for."
Lintaul turned to Edelyn as if asking for assistance. But when she didn't do anything at all, he knew that it was her way of telling that he must deal with it by himself.
He grabbed the guidebook from his waist bag and passed it to Owen.
"Here, go to the page about constellations and you'll see your answer."
Owen was about to say that he couldn't read anything when a panel beside him appeared, showing the translated version of the guidebook.
==========
You are reading [Inspection Guidebook 37th Revision]
==========
'Saves me an unnecessary explanation.'
Owen looked at the panel while flipping through the book.
For outsiders, it appeared as if Owen was holding the book without reading it. He realized this, so he moved the panel over to the correct perspective that makes it look like he was reading the book like how a reasonable person would read it.
'Table of contents… Constellations…. Oh? Aren't these just classes but with changed names? Discovered rebirth rituals for constellations, Paragon Forger, Creationism Alchemist, Divine Gardener, Mystical Infuser, Soul Warrior, Secret Assassin, Allsight Archer, Mage of Wonder, Seer of Fate… The so-called rebirth rituals are just the class change requirements!'
In GOTG, in order not to overcomplicate terms, some class names were simplified unlike what they were truly called in this world.
Soul Warrior is the warrior. Paragon Forger? It's simplified to just Forger. That goes the same way for the rest.
Owen looked for the 'true' name of the Debuff Knight's constellation.
However, there was none.
Owen gave the book back to Lintaul while asking, "Are these all of the constellations?"
"Yes.. And as we saw, you possess a constellation with two stars. The only other constellation with two stars is the Seer of Fate. That's why we need to ask you how you got that kind of soul core." Having asked the question that he wanted to, Lintaul was fixated on what Owen's answer would be.
"Ah, that…" Owen wasn't going to reveal the method so easily.
He was still kept in the dark. If it was hidden to begin with in the game's story, what would be the implications if he revealed sensitive information like that?
As someone who wanted to leverage off from his knowledge of the game's story direction, he must limit the amount of changes he might do to the world.
So for now, Owen decided to hide the truth.
"I was already like this during my first steps into this world.. I didn't get it through what you guys call the 'Rebirth Ritual' or whatever other names there are for it."
Lintaul seemed disappointed as he looked at Edelyn.
Noticing his expression, Edelyn took charge as she was the one who asked him a question this time.
"You are lucky to survive.. So tell me, what can your soul core do? What abilities does it give you?"
Owen looked at the woman on Lintaul's left. The feeling that he got from her was completely different.
"I haven't figured out the full extent of what it could do... However, it does give me a lot of stamina that I can use." Owen looked at her face hidden behind the helmet.
Edelyn noticed the spark under Owen's eyes. "Is that all? If you're withholding information, we can tell."
"I know.. And don't worry, what I said is true." With a sly grin, Owen responded.
Narrowing her eyes, she knew that getting information from him was no longer an option. "Hmph, fine.. You're free to go… Welcome to Mysteriea City."
"Thank you." Owen went back to the wagon.
Caophre returned to his carriage and grabbed onto the reins to get the horses moving.
Edelyn and Lintaul watched them leave and enter the city gates.
"Did he lie at all?" Edelyn asked.
"Huh?" Lintaul turned to look at Edelyn who hadn't taken off her gaze at Owen and his crew. Shaking his head, he said, "No, he didn't tell any lies."
Edelyn clicked her tongue. Even though Lintaul couldn't see her face, he could tell that she was sneering. "Knew it.. He's definitely aware that by limiting what he said, he can pass off as someone telling the truth despite hiding major details."
"What? Then should we do something about him?" Lintaul wasn't comfortable letting someone in the city who could be a potential danger to many.
Edelyn shook her hand at him. "Don't be hasty… If this is a ploy from someone behind the scenes, Mysteriea's reputation could be tarnished from it. Not only that, we still have no idea who he is exactly. Unrightful detainment would lead us into great trouble, so it's best to stick our noses out of it."
"Is it not but an oversight to the city's safety to ignore something like that?" Lintaul was not convinced yet.
"Oh of course it is. But we will keep close watch though.. The guards of Mysteriea aren't that irresponsible." Edelyn approached the next carriage to inspect.
"... Just trust your squad leader. Strange people always lead to strange occurrences after all."
As Owen and the rest were inside the gray stone walls of the city, they were greeted with a beautiful sight.
Riang and Oslan both didn't expect for the city to be so vibrant. Unlike the honest feel with Wiunlen, Mysteriea felt more comfortable and teeming with life and activity.
Different stalls were set up with vendors eagerly selling sparkling jewelry, aromatic and tasty food, medicinal herbs, and many more products.
Up ahead, a pure golden statue of a woman grasping a miniature sun on her arms. This brought back a good sense of nostalgia within Owen.
The restaurants around the place were gorgeous, making one think about the talented workers who chiseled the walls and pillars. Hotels for people to stay in were also given a meticulous treatment for their aesthetic.
When Oslan stood up at the wagon to take in as much of the scenery, orderly and well built houses sheltered the citizens of the city, stretching as far as Oslan could see. Not only that, he spotted the shape of the second wall of the city that was kilometers away from him. It was even taller, given better structural support and defenses than the first wall.
Riang observed the spires from magnificent towers made of white stones mixed with some rocky purple crystalline material and black decorative structures. The purple crystals of the tower were laid out like bricks wedged between the white stone surface of the towers, while the black structures of people and animals gave it a mysterious air.
Seeing the look of awe on their faces, Owen spread out his arms and bowed slightly as if to welcome them.
"Here we are, the city of Lady Mysteriea."