Chereads / Ascent of the Dragon / Chapter 10 - "The Calm Before the Storm"

Chapter 10 - "The Calm Before the Storm"

I could hear the sounds of scissors snipping through my hair, the weight of the moment making everything feel surreal. And then, suddenly, everything stopped. The sound of razors and shears paused, and the room fell into an uneasy silence. I had no idea how long it had been, but I knew one thing—this was happening.

My reflection in the mirror after it was over was nothing like what I'd been expecting. I used to have obsidian-black hair with a slight blue tint in messy waves that fell down to my shoulders.

But now, the crown of my head looked disordered, the strands wild and untamed, as if a storm had passed through. The contrast between the sharp fade on the sides and the chaotic top looked quite good

I awkwardly ran a hand through the tousled mess on top of my head.

It felt… different. Not bad, just strange.

The others—Haruka, Kenjuro, even Shinra—seemed transfixed by the change. They were all staring at me, and I suddenly felt like the center of attention, which made me uncomfortable.

Haruka and Kenjuro looked at me like I was some sort of idol, their eyes wide with excitement as they muttered amongst themselves about how "good" I looked.

Shinra, on the other hand, looked at me for a long moment, his eyebrows raised. After a pause, he finally chuckled, his usual teasing tone slipping out. "Now you look like a normal, civilized guy."

I rolled my eyes, trying to ignore the awkwardness that was now creeping up my neck. It felt like I had just been through some sort of weird transformation, and I wasn't sure I was ready for this change.

But hey, at least it wasn't the disaster I'd expected.

We walked out of the barbershop, the city's busy streets greeting us with their vibrant energy. The hustle and bustle of the markets, the colorful signs of shops selling everything from weapons to trinkets—it all felt so… different now.

Shinra proudly showed me the weapon stores, the shelves filled with swords, spears, and staffs. Kenjuro, on the other hand, dragged me to a bookstore, where the smell of paper and ink filled the air.

And of course, Haruka wasn't about to let us pass up some delicious food, so she treated us to mouthwatering meat skewers from a nearby stall.

As I bit into the skewers, enjoying the tender meat, I was suddenly bumped into by someone. The person looked at me, his gaze narrowing as he seemed to size me up. For a brief moment, he thought I was someone important. A noble, maybe? He quickly apologized, but when his eyes landed on the Arcane guild's insignia on my uniform, his attitude flipped in an instant.

"Hey!" The man spat, his tone dripping with disdain. "How dare you touch me, you filthy little peasant?"

I couldn't help but smirk. Seriously, how cliché.

Do all nobles take lessons on how to act like completely pathetic idiots, or is it just instinct?

I didn't even look up from my skewer. My hand continued to hold it, and I took another bite as I minded my own business.

The man was clearly pissed off by my indifference, and he took a step closer, raising his fist. But before his punch could land, Shinra was there. His presence seemed to freeze the air around us, his aura flaring up as he stood between me and the approaching idiot.

I remained unfazed, still munching on my skewer, as Shinra's threatening energy filled the space.

The man—who I now saw was some arrogant noble—tried to act tough, calling out to Shinra in an arrogant tone.

"Hey, Shinra. You don't remember getting your guild beaten one-sidedly, do you? You want to get beaten up again?"

Even his dialogues felt like a cliche side character.

But those words hit like a hammer to Shinra's chest. Shinra's expression darkened instantly. I could feel his anger boiling up.

There was a notion that nobles were superior to the commoners and commoners were just slaves under the noble which the nobles could control and have entertainment to their heart's content 

The notion was now abolished due to the commoner uprising led by a commoner Makuto Luther Kingo, with the help of some enlightened nobles who thought the segregation of commoners and nobles shouldn't exist.

It basically changed the viewpoint of various nobles and later the segregation between commoners and nobles stopped.

Although it was stopped and considered illegal, there were still a whole lot of nobles that didn't like it and still continued to discriminate against the commoners

I don't know how these two met but I knew Shinra's distaste towards outsiders in particular cocky noble brats and before I knew it, his cyan-blue aura flared to life. The air around us began to distort as the pressure from his aura made the ground tremble slightly.

The noble, Hagusa Eldore, stumbled back, a flicker of doubt creeping into his arrogance, but his pride wasn't so easily shaken.

"WHAT HAPPENED, DICKHEAD?"

Shinra's voice was ice cold, his words slicing through the tension.

"CAT GOT YOUR TONGUE? COME I DARE YOU TO LAY A FINGER ON ME, YOU FUCKER!"

The words dripped with venom, and I could practically feel the hostility between Shinra and Hagusa.

The air grew heavy, the tension palpable, as the crowd around us started to gather, sensing that a fight was about to break out. Hagusa, sensing the pressure of Shinra's power, hesitated, his bravado faltering.

He took a step back, but Shinra advanced, his pace unwavering, forcing Hagusa to retreat further.

Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted. A new presence loomed, and I turned to see another figure emerge from the crowd. A powerful sapphire-blue aura radiated from him, matching the intensity of Shinra's cyan one.

The air around him seemed to pulse, and the clouds in the sky swirled as if responding to his aura, the tension now thick with the promise of a confrontation.

My gaze hardened as I saw who it was. A figure in the Eldoria Guild disciple uniform. I didn't know but he was quite strong perhaps stronger than both me and Shinra.

Both Shinra and Yuta walked toward each other, their auras clashing in an electric standoff, their eyes glowing with the intensity of their respective colors. The crowd around us started to back off, sensing the imminent clash of two powerful forces.

I looked back at the skewer in my hand. Suddenly, the fight felt closer than I'd ever anticipated.

...

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STATUS WINDOW

NAME: YUTA ELDORE (LVL-21)

AGE: 18

RACE: Human

TITLE: "The Indifferent Blade"

AFFILIATION: Eldore Guild [Disciple]

Ki: Martial Apprentice Stage [1/5]

Mana: N/A

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SKILLS:

Vajra Blade[G] (AUTHORITY)

Azure Fang Swordsmanship [A](60% mastered)

KI Materialisation [B RANK]

Killing Intent[C] [PASSIVE SKILL]

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