"Thank you, Dassy.", sighed Tepo. He patted the blue fathered head as he angrily glanced at the stranger.
Meanwhile behind the green mask, thoughts were spinning.
Hmm? So weak? I expected him to be an aspirant but now it doesn't look like it. Soloing a dungeon is already not bad but if he isn't even a warrior…
The stranger's eyes flashed. He was already impressed by Tepo's feat of soloing a dungeon before, but now his interest peaked.
With a slight move of his body the stranger was suddenly standing before Tepo. After the strength the man had just demonstrated, the investigator was certain that he wasn't dealing with a commoner, but the instantaneous movement still made his body flinch.
"Young man, let me ask you: Are you a warrior?"
It seems the tables have turned.
"No.", replied Tepo, seeing no reason to lie. "I didn't awaken."
"But you cleared the dungeon here?", asked the stranger, surprise mixing into his leisurely voice.
"Sure. I needed the artificial core."
The stranger stared at Tepo. His instincts told him that Tepo was lying, although the young man was good at hiding it. But it didn't matter.
"Right." Nonchalantly, the masked man handed the bottle containing the core to Tepo.
"Now that you have a core, are you prepared to step onto the path of a warrior?"
"Of course.", answered Tepo immediately.
"Then are you interest in joining me?"
Tepo stocked slightly, his brows furrowed.
I knew there was something amiss. Nothing is ever free. If I decline, will this man offer me to the guards? F*ck! What should I do?
Since everyone thinks I have an artificial core, it won't be easy to get a good position in any organization. From this perspective the offer isn't bad. But who knows if I won't just end up as cannon fodder somewhere?
"Can I know who you are? Who are you working for?"
"You can call me Quill. Everything else will have to wait."
The stranger didn't show any aggression. Tepo took a deep breath as he asked carefully:
"And why would you want to recruit me?"
"You explored a dungeon alone. That's not easy. Especially for a commoner. Of course, if you want to join us, one more test is still necessary."
Tepo's forehead wrinkled as he sunk into thoughts.
Could this really be the reason? Thinking about it, if I really were a commoner, I would have died to the poison. It's obvious that solving a dungeon solo isn't easy.
"Can you at least give me a rough idea of what your organization does?"
Contemplating for a moment the stranger answered:
"You can see us as collectors of knowledge. We gather everything we can get our hands on, studying it closely, discovering spells, and gathering information. We value intelligence highly and are of the opinion that dungeons shouldn't be monopolized.
Although I came here for the dungeon, I'm not interested in the core, but in everything else I could learn."
Listening, Tepo had to admit that he was tempted. This force sounded ideal for him. If they really had so much information, they might have heard about the 'outsiders'. The young man didn't care if this organization was strong or weak. It's not like he was swimming in opportunities.
The stranger was patient. He watched as Tepo contemplated. But he was confident that a young commoner would be easy to recruit.
And indeed. It took a few minutes, but Tepo sighed lastly. Just as he wanted to open his mouth and agree, Dassy suddenly growled behind him.
Tepo's body shook. He turned his head to a certain direction.
There, the sound of flapping wings suddenly appeared.
"Men, surround the criminal!"
Tepo gritted his teeth. Those b*stards! They indeed came to ambush him.
Helplessly the young man watched as about to dozen guards appeared on impressive, golden-brown beasts.
The guards looked a bit strange, though. Bedraggled maybe? Their white uniforms were torn in places, wounds apparent on their bodies. Some beasts even had to carry two guards. Tepo quickly concluded that they went through a fierce fight.
With anger on his face, the guard captain stared at Tepo. This should have been a simple mission but now out of nowhere they encountered a swarm of beasts. They even lost good men today.
And when the guard finally arrived at the dungeon, they had to discover in shock that the dungeon was already gone! Meanwhile their target was leisurely conversing with someone… in his underwear?!
The situation was apparent to the captain: Someone had the audacity to help their target, snatching the artificial core in the process!
Gritting his teeth the captain yelled in rage:
"Tepmodus te Avatio! The mayor pardoned you and this is how you thank him?! By colluding to steal the city's dungeon?!"
Tepo clenched his fists. His anger boiled as well. He didn't know how deeply involved the captain was, but right now the young adult couldn't help but to hate him.
What had he done to deserve this? Why was the mayor hunting him?
The only calm person present was Quill. He turned his head around, nonchalantly looking in the soldier's ugly faces. They were all prepared to vent their anger on the young man before him.
"Tepmodus, hmm? Are they friends of yours?"
Tepo rolled his eyes.
"Obviously not."
"It seems you angered the mayor of Floating Rain?"
"I didn't do sh*t! I don't know why the mayor is targeting me.", growled Tepo.
"Well, since I'm trying to recruit you, this seems like a good time to show off."
Despite already having made his decision, Tepo was glad to take this opportunity.
"Sure. If you help me to break out of the encirclement, I will follow you!"
"HEY!", interrupted a loud shout.
"How dare you ignore us, criminals?! This is your last chance! Let go of the core and get on your knees! We will use force if you resist!"
In his head the captain couldn't wait for Tepo to make even the smallest unnecessary movement. Even if he beat up the young man every day, it wouldn't appease the spirits of his fallen subordinates. It was too bad the mayor told him to only kill inside the dungeon.
But… would anyone really know? He trusted his subordinates not to tell on him. What if…?
As a chilling killing intent settled in the captain's eyes a low chuckle interrupted the tense atmosphere.
Frowning, the captain focused on the green masked individual. He had no recollection of such a person within the city.
"Thinking of killing us, hmm?", spoke Quill leisurely. "I guess I have to thank you. This way I don't need to feel guilty."
An ominous feeling settled in the captain's stomach. The green masked man appeared too confident.
"Men! Attack them! Kill!"
Exited roars sounded all around the cloud. The soldiers raised their hands.
Tepo was shocked. One moment they had still been talking and the next the air was filled with all kinds of phantasmal phenomenon.
Fireballs, windblades, icespikes, even a group of illusionary birds, fused into a gorgeous but deadly display of power.
Drawing a sharp breath, Tepo stared at the green mask. Quill spoke confidently, so he should be able to deal with the attacks, right?
Behind his green mask Quill smiled lazily. Those guards were only aspirants. They posed no threat to him. It was perfect to show Tepmodus some real power.
"Nice try. But how can you fight us? After all, all your spells are missing."
Tepo grew slightly anxious. Why didn't Quill move? What was he planning? Knowing that the green masked warrior was his biggest support, Tepo didn't blindly run into the array of spells. He stuck close to Quill, hoping to survive.
Suddenly, a loud rumble broke out. The cloud shook dangerously. The air itself distorted. Explosions broke out. Ice shattered. It was pure chaos.
But at its center, Tepo stood slack jawed. He watched, incredulous, as all the spells crashed into the cloud, missing completely. Even the ice splinters shot through the air, seeming as if to avoid any bodies on purpose.
Tepo trembled as his disbelieving eyes focused on Quill. He wasn't stupid. His new acquaintance said that all spells are missing and so they missed. This surely was no coincidence. But Tepo couldn't tell how Quill had done it.
The captain was also shaking. He gulped audibly. From his perspective everything looked natural. He couldn't make out the moment those spells deviated.
He realized he had met a dangerous opponent. The green-masked man was certainly no aspirant. Now it was hard to tell who might get out of this fight alive.
After the result of their first attack, the captain didn't dare to attack with spells again. Instead, he ordered loudly:
"All soldiers, take out your weapons! Attack!"