~15 minutes prior to the screen appearing before Isaac~
"A guild? What do you want to know about that for?" Oliver raised an eyebrow to Isaac's peculiar request as they both faced each other while on the sofa, waiting for Zach to finish his shower.
"I was just curious." Isaac shrugged.
Isaac didn't know much about guilds, just the basic outline of it from the Helmet.
However, one thing he did know about it was that it was a place he could get stronger.
Ever since fighting Silver, he'd realised he was inexperienced.
Sure, he'd survived the Dark Continent and its monsters, but that was due to his wits, not his fighting capability.
To this day, Isaac has had a collective amount of 3 fights.
One of which he was saved by Netero, and the other was against Fetoh when he'd eaten the Sanguine. He wasn't even in the right stage of mind.
And he didn't even count the scuffle with Alfie and the three goons.
Meaning the battle against Silver was the only battle he'd won, and barely at that.
Looking back, from his lack of awareness that gave Silver the time to swallow the red pills, to his carelessness that made him overexert his healing and worsened his hunger, it was obvious to Isaac that he had to make some changes, quickly.
"Hmm, well alright. I guess as an Outsider, everything in Spawn may seem new and surprising to you."
Isaac nodded his head, as if he were agreeing with him.
"Well, to start off with, Guilds are a fairly new concept. They've only been around for a little more than a decade. So naturally, there aren't very many."
"However, the reason why they've grown in power and reputation, is because of their accomplishments throughout the years."
'Accomplishments?'
Isaac had questions, however, he didn't interrupt.
"Guilds recruit Inheritors as Guildsmen, allowing them to complete missions that range from simple F-Rank, like collecting herbs, all the way to S-Rank."
"Money, power and acknowledgement are all guaranteed for those who become successful Guildsmen. Therefore, countless Inheritors have flocked to the Guilds to grab a piece of the cake before it's too late."
'Interesting. Not only can I get stronger, I can also earn myself a little extra cash.'
The more Oliver spoke, the more Isaac agreed on this decision.
"So which would be the best Guild to work at?"
Oliver slowly raised an eyebrow as he stared at Isaac, pausing for a few seconds.
"Why exactly do you want to know this information, Isaac?" Oliver asked, to which Isaac wore a innocent smile.
"Like you said, I'm new to Spawn and I'd like to learn as much as possible."
The both of them stayed quiet, staring at each other.
"Well, that would obviously be the Hearts Guild. Its ranked number 1. The same Guild Lucy's family owns."
'Good. I…'
Before Isaac could complete his thoughts, Oliver glared at him intently as he continued.
"But also the most dangerous."
Isaac furrowed his eyebrows.
"Dangerous?"
"Yes. You see, The Hearts Guild specialise in the extermination of Terrors."
'What?'
Terrors. The creature that appears when an Inheritor dies in their Scenerio. The creature was usually a manifestation of the character of said Inheritor.
And since 1 in 10 Inheritors died in their scenerio, the chances increasing the further the scenerio, this was a frequent problem for Spawn.
After all, they had taken it upon themselves to exterminate Terror's that formed in the outside world too.
But this was reserved for highly ranked individuals.
However, they were able to somewhat keep control of the situation, monitoring all those who entered their Scenerio like Orion did for Isaac.
But this didn't mean there weren't Terrors that went unnoticed, wreaking havoc.
"Ravenwood. This is the name of a small forest just on the edge of Spawn. It's famous for housing countless Terror's."
"Since the Terrors were growing in number faster than the S.A. could deal with them, they've made it a practice to regularly dump low level Terror's in Ravenwood, so as to reserve resources."
"That…seems a little irresponsible." Isaac couldn't help but think creating a small army of bloodthirsty Terror's would come back to bite them in the ass.
"And I'm assuming the Hearts Guild's missions are usually expeditions to Ravenwood." Isaac asked, to which Oliver gave a quick reply.
"Yes."
'I see.'
Isaac pondered as silence enveloped the two.
"There's also The Arena." Oliver broke the silence.
"The what?"
"The Arena. Its an illegal underground fighting ring in Spawn. People go there to test their abilities or get stronger. Most do it for the chump change."
Isaac stayed quiet as he glanced at Oliver.
It was clear Oliver had figured something out. Although, Isaac didn't mind. It's not like he was trying too hard to hide it in the first place.
"Cool." Isaac said simply.
"The Arena also allows you to change your face and identity, so you can keep your anonymity."
Isaac had barely given a nod before Oliver continued.
"Additionally, the S.A. don't see it as much of a problem. In fact, they secretly use it to scout out promising individuals."
Oliver paused as he widened his eyes and cotinued to speak in a defeated tone.
"I wasn't really supposed to tell you that."
"I didn't hear anything." Isaac waved off.
But he had already made his choice.
The Arena sounded interesting, but he needed more.
Besides, he was experienced in dangerous unknown territory filled with powerful creatures. This was going to be a breeze.
He was going to Ravenwood.
[A thread has been woven]
'What?'
"Isaac, what's wrong?" Oliver asked upon seeing the amber eyed boy staring into nothingness.
"What…oh, nothing. Thanks for your help, I'm going to take a nap." Isaac stood, heading toward his room.
"Wait, what about the shower? You called dibs."
"It's fine, you can go before me." Saying this, Isaac shut the door to his room, leaving Oliver alone in the living room.
***
[A thread has been woven]
Isaac had been sitting before his desk, on his chair for the last hour, pondering upon the screen that mysteriously appeared before him.
'It's gotta be. It can't be anything else.'
Isaac had a theory, and after ruling out all other possibilities, this was what he was left with.
'The Calamity.'
Since completing his Scenerio, and seeing the message "A Calamity Haunts you", Isaac had yet to hear anything else about it.
He'd almost forgotten about it.
'What does it mean? A thread?'
Countless questions ran through Isaac's head with no answer seeming the least bit plausible.
"Arghhh, this is hurting my head."
Isaac stood, stretching a few times before walking back to his table.
'There's no point worrying over it. I'll just wait and see what happens next. For now, how do I deal with this?'
With today being Thursday, Isaac had been planning to set out for the guild first thing Saturday.
And with his Next Nen class being Monday, Isaac had to worry about implanting his Scarlet Eyes and Ava Longfield.
'I'd prefer to get this done before I set out to Ravenwood.'
Leaning over his table, Isaac stared at a single Aroze on his table.
This was why he needed Ava Longfield. He wanted her to mass produce the Aroze for him.
Since her family came from a pharmaceutical and medical backround, as well as their close relationship with the Khan's who specialised in this field, he was hoping their talents could be of use to him.
At first, he thought it to be impossible, since one needed the Brion to create an Aroze, but that was false.
It wasn't until Fetoh told him her backstory, that he figured this out.
She was able to cultivate the Aroze before the war, and before the Brion.
Therefore, he didn't see why Spawn's best Alchemists couldn't do the same, with vastly better technology.
'It won't be easy.'
After all, Ava wouldn't just believe what he had to say, let alone even meeting him in the first place.
Isaac had worked hard to build his trash F-Ranker persona, but he was starting to see the disadvantages it presented.
'How should I do this? I could coerce her. Its not hard, she's soft.'
Isaac quickly discarded this idea.
'No, that's stupid. I'd rather not make an enemy of the most powerful in Spawn.'
Isaac continued to think.
'It seems a mutual deal is the logical approach.'
Isaac nodded. After all, the Aroze was described as Fetoh to be a Miracle Herb. One that could cure a thousand ailments.
Anyone would become instantly intrigued after hearing that.
Resolving his thoughts, Isaac returned the Aroze to his bracelet.
'Let's make it happen.'
***
~One day later~
"It's Okay, don't worry. I got it."
In a café at sunset, the Golden Six and Heather sat at a large round table with leather seats, dirty dishes before them after they'd eaten dinner.
"Are you sure, Ava?" Heather asked after Ava offered to pay the bill, while Daniel didn't need to hear anymore and prepared to head for the exit.
"Yeah, we don't mind helping out." Cain added, to which the others nodded.
"He's right. What kind of man would I be if I made a lady pay for the meal?" Colt spoke, to which most ignored him.
"It's okay, really. Go on ahead while I pay." Ava responded with a bright smile.
Reluctantly, they agreed and Cain dragged Colt away while the others followed.
"I don't like to owe others." An apathetic voice came from Ava's side as a 'Ding' could be heard from Ava's watch.
"I've sent you my share." Lucy spoke as she followed the others out of the Cafe while carrying her book.
"Alright, thanks…I guess." Ava waved with a defeated expression.
As they all left, silence enveloped the café. Other than Ava, only the workers were in the building since it was the end of the day.
As Ava prepared to get up from her seat, she paused upon hearing a voice.
"Excuse me."
Looking up, Ava was met with an Amber eyed boy, with messy and unkempt hair standing before her, wearing his school uniform despite it being late at night.
Ava paused for a few seconds, staring at the boy. After a few seconds, her eyebrows raised in realisation as the smile returned to her face.
'It's him.' She thought.
"My name is Isaac. Do you mind if we talk for a moment?"
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Next chapter title: Targeting Ava Longfield [3]
I'm curious, which is better? The titles system I currently use, or individual titles for each chapter
A Doctor was once asked what the most dangerous kidney disease is.
He responded with a low and ominous tone, "The stones..."
"Do you mean Kidney Stones..."
"POWERSTONESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"
(This joke wasn't even mine. I stole it from a guy named "Desire96". Thanks for the joke XD)