My head is spinning from all this confusing talk. I thought for a second about asking again what he meant by this commission being a trap, but I decided not to. It's getting way too complicated for plain old me to understand.
When Eddy asked me to prepare for an adventure, I thought to myself that we'd have fun like the old times. But from the moment we started our journey, everything changed. First, Eddy and I didn't talk for a long time, and then we suddenly met Kathleen. Not going to lie, at first, I wondered why Eddy, out of the blue, decided to just take Kathleen with us without any explanation. I started to feel angry toward both Eddy and Kathleen.
But as time passed, I started learning more about Kathleen's situation. Then we met Barren at the city gate, had a huge dinner, and I began to feel sorry for her. Slowly, I realized Eddy was doing the right thing. That made me happy—truly happy. It felt like the brother I thought I had lost wasn't actually lost after all.
Then, at night, when they finally opened up to me about their past, I truly felt sad for Eddy. When Eddy suddenly came back home completely changed, it hurt me. But now, knowing that they lost their dear friend, someone they can never get back, it made me realize just how much pain they carry silently without showing it to the outside world.
I still have Eddy. No matter how much he's changed, he's still Eddy. But Viola... she's gone, no more. I can't even fathom how much they've been suffering. That realization made me respect them even more.
"What are you thinking, Theo?" Barren asked me, putting his hand on my shoulder.
"It's nothing," I answered.
We were sitting at a round table. On my left was Simon , then Eddy, then Barren. On my right was Kathleen. She was still weeping.
"Look at this guild card. They're so beautiful," Barren said, as if trying to change the subject from their past.
Barren wasn't lying—the golden rectangular card he received from the guild was truly spectacular. On the card, his name was written in bold letters at the top. Below that was his magical aptitude, followed by a small space, and then a number.
"What is this number below?" I asked as I checked my own guild card. Sure enough, mine also had a number below, just like Barren's, with the exception of the color. Mine was a brownish hue and not as sparkly as Barren's golden card.
"That's your unique guild ID. Everyone has one on their card," Barren explained.
"Why do I need that? Isn't my name enough to identify me?" I asked curiously but quickly realized the answer. "Ahh, I see—there can be different people with the same name, and even the same title."
"Exactly! You're getting sharper—my talents are rubbing off on you," Barren said, smiling.
"What material is this made of? The card feels heavy in my hand," I asked, trying to bend it slightly, but it didn't budge.
"I think all our cards are made from an alloy of steel," Simon said. "I don't know what it's called, but I think the actual color is silverish, and then they paint it different colors for each rank."
"Ahh."
"Oh! I totally forgot—congratulations on your guild registration! It completely slipped my mind," Barren said.
"Thanks," I replied, blushing slightly. But I was still confused—how did I manage to get a guild card? And the biggest shock was that I apparently had Earth magic now.
"The ball that checks for your magic aptitude only requires a small amount of mana to confirm whether you have that aptitude or not," eddy explained. "But for spells, they require three to four times that amount. That's why you were never able to cast an Earth spell before, even though you have the aptitude."
"As for your low mana, it can be addressed with some mana-boosting potions," Barren explained. "It's impossible to naturally increase your mana level, but if you frequently use Earth spells, there will come a time when you won't need potions anymore. Your body will adapt to the low mana and learn to work with it. However, if you can't even cast a single spell now, I doubt you'll be able to cast more than 3-4 low-level spells a day."
Three or four spells are still better than not being able to cast any spells at all, I thought to myself but didn't say out loud. I knew if I did, Barren would make fun of me.
"No, Theo, 3-4 spells are not enough," Eddy said with a serious look on his face.
Wait, did I say that out loud? No, I didn't. Is he reading my mind? I looked toward Eddy.
"Dude, remove that smirk from your face," Barren said.
Wait, was I smirking that much that they noticed what I was thinking? Cut me some slack, man! I just found out I can use magic. They wouldn't understand how I'm feeling right now.
Though I was happy about discovering my newfound magic power, seeing Kathleen's saddened expression made me feel awful.
"Look at them," Eddy said in a low voice, pointing to the table behind me where five adventurers were sitting, keeping an eye on us. "They're leaving. We should follow them."
"No, don't. It's a trap," Barren said, holding Eddy's hand as he was about to stand up.
"We're not in the best condition right now. Let's take Kathleen and go back to the inn for now," Simon agreed with Barren.
"Yeah, let's do that," I said, glancing at Kathleen. Seeing her looking so broken made my heart ache a little, but nothing I said or did would make her feel better. So, I stayed quiet for the moment.
"Hey, sir."
The voice came from behind me. I turned to see Elina standing there. Her usual smile was gone, replaced by confusion.
"Do you need something from us?" Barren asked with a friendly smile.
"Here," Elina said as she placed a black card on the table.
I finally noticed that it was a guild identity card with the same text that had appeared on the smaller ball when Kathleen touched it. But how could this be? Elina had said earlier that Kathleen didn't have any mana, so we assumed she couldn't register with the guild. Yet here it was—a guild identity card, confirmed by the unique ID number.
"A black card?" Simon asked, confused. "We've been out of adventuring for a long time, so we don't know much about the newer ranks. What rank is a black card supposed to represent?"
"I don't know either," Elina replied. "I've never seen anything like this before. As far as I know, the ranks are as follows:
- **Bronze**: Brownish
- **Silver**: Silver-colored
- **Gold**: Golden-colored
- **Platinum**: Blue
- **Diamond**: Transparent
- **Mythical**: Red
I've never heard of a black card. Not only me, but no one in the guild has. We're sorry about the confusion. We'll contact you as soon as we get more information about this card.
"Can you please let us know where you're staying in the meantime?"
"Sure, we're staying at the City Inn," Simon replied.
"Look at the time, guys. It's already past noon. Let's go back to the inn for now, and then we'll decide on our next course of action," Barren said as he quickly picked up the black card and stood up.
"Let's go," Eddy said, agreeing.
Kathleen was still sitting there with her head lowered. I tapped her on the shoulder. As I did, she looked at me with teary eyes and stood up.
"Thank you so much for your patience, sir," Elina said, bowing to us as we left the guild hall.
To be continued...
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