Chapter 22
A bleak light filtered in from seemingly nowhere into the large dark grey stone room, the light wood roof matched the similarly light wooden floor. Though the amount of scuff marks and scratches on the floor could easily hide a darker colour, giving rise to the true purpose of the room. A single doorway lead into the room with three rows of escalating stone rows, equally distanced to provide adequate space for people to sit upon.
The room flattened out into a simple stretch of the light wood floor, at the far end stood three crudely made scarecrows, and along one side of the room rested several wooden weapons held loosely against the wall. A well-worn white circle set in the centre of the room, covering enough space for two fighters to spar within.
On the stone rows sat a variety of individuals in diverse clothing, several grouped together while others sat as far apart from anyone as they could. With certain groups existed a common theme, one wore a similar dull yellow shirt with a flower emblazed upon the leather armour they wore on top, another had dark grey metal armour with a blood red claws imprinted diagonally across their chests.
Among each of these groups sat at least one individual in dark brown robes, a large oak staff in their hand that would have a crudely shaped gem affixed to the top. The ones sat alone took a general theme of heavy armour with flashy decals and extravagant colours, a few differed from this theme by only a thin margin. Amid those who sat alone, one stood out from the theme, a single individual sat with a light beige set of robes and a white sash across his chest.
The densely built man stood out drastically from the others, he was the only one sat crossed legged on the stone row with his hands pressed together in front of him. In all accounts, he represented a traditional monk with the shaved head and the prayer beads, though calling them prayer beads was a stretch as each of the stones was a different brightly polished gemstone. His dark skin matching his attire as his sharp blue eyes surveyed the room with a precision uncanny to that of hawk watching mice shuffling about, his prayer seemingly distracting others from noticing his keen eye.
The monk and Gideon held a staring match when he and Rhordan entered the examination room, each testing their will power against the other. As their iron wills refused to relent, they merely nodded to one another and broke their staring contest in favour of shaping up the competition.
"Be wary of the monk, he is anything but peaceful." Gideon whispered to Rhordan, taking a seat down the front row and as far from other groups as possible, mimicking the other participants in the examination.
"Why? He doesn't seem threatening." Rhordan uttered, taking a passing glance at the praying man as subtle as she could, finding nothing more than someone asking their deity for aid in their trails. She had thought about dismissing his paranoia, they were fearful of the pressure they were going to face in the morning examination, and she doubted she could handle one of his antics as well as the harsh conditions they were under.
"Call it knowing one actor to another." Gideon muttered, casting a passive gaze across the rows of other adventurers, all waiting for something that he and Rhordan weren't. As he scanned the silent judges to their trial, he felt a gaze upon him from somewhere in the room. His immediate thought turned to the monk, though the moment he turned his gaze to the alleged culprit his suspicion fell apart instantly.
The monk had dropped the pretence of praying, in favour of practicing breathing techniques that used large movements from his seated position. The monk had utilised this to his advantage, searching the ranks of adventurers lining the rows for something, or someone.
The gaze he had felt from earlier disappeared, leaving a lingering feeling of insecurity and worry. A cold heartless stare that could hide from even the most astute in its probing of the adventurers within the room, a feat that frightened Gideon to no extent. It was one thing to deal with a murderous or evil person, a heartless one was an a completely different level.
Gideon shifted in his seat, rearranging his backpack and the bound sword that they had secured to his back. After they had managed to seal the sword's evil energy, they felt they couldn't leave it for anyone to find, taking it with them proved to be the only option until they could safely dispose of it. That said, the sword proved to be good practice for Gideon, though the evil energy was contained it still leaked through and it gave him the opportunity to practice his magic control.
Since the magic sense types were rare in the world, he felt he didn't need to hide his attempts in public, however he couldn't be reckless and blunder his way through this world hoping no one would spot his ministrations. The evil energy would be a problem if it was found, though he doubted that he would escape unscathed if they learned of his suppression techniques.
Looking around the room once more, he inadvertently crossed glances with the monk, who he found to be hunting for the mysterious figure as well. The two exchanged a seemingly telepathic conversation, sharing mutual fear of the mysterious figure. Without warning, the monk stood and offered prayers to all those around him before moving away in prayer, his theatrics paid off as not one adventurer blinked an eye in his direction.
Decisively moving with practiced ease, he sat down near to Gideon and Rhordan, assuming the prayer posture he used earlier to scope out the competition. Rhordan scrutinised the dark giant, wondering how she managed to miss the threat that Gideon had seen, the moment he and Gideon had crossed eyes she saw through the disguise to the rogue buried within. It baffled her how she managed to miss it, though the one sat beside her provided her the answer as no matter how long she lived with him, she never once suspected the darker side of him.
"You feel it as well?" The monk's deep gravelly voice proved just audible as he started chanting in a language they hadn't heard before, the question rang in Rhordan's mind as she tried to recall sensing a presence that they clearly had.
"Sadly, yes." Gideon rubbed his mouth, hiding his moving mouth from anyone who happened to glance in his direction. The dark giant grunted his acknowledgement to Gideon's sentiment, his harsh brutish features settling into what could only be described as a frown. "I checked over most in here, no one sticks out."
"Agreed." The monk grumbled, exploding into a louder chant and showy moves to continue his act. Settling down before he continued his conversation with Gideon. "I was the first here, not one of those who entered matches the feeling that we felt."
"Well… if you two can hide yourselves, why can't they?" Rhordan joined in the conversation, keeping her voice low enough to withhold from using her improvised male voiced. If the monk cottoned on to her or not wasn't revealed, he merely continued his ministrations devotedly. Gideon rolled the idea around in his mind, for someone to have fooled both him and the monk took skill beyond anything he had even witnessed.
"Not to be arrogant, but that would take decades of constant practice and skill, to be far beyond my trained eye. Something none of those in this room has." The monk calmly stated, settling himself into a lotus position as Gideon grunted an agreement to his statement. The two felt assured in their apparent skill, determined that whoever slipped by them had to have something beyond anything natural that could hide them.
"What about someone that isn't here…" Rhordan question trailed off as it dawned on her that something could be watching them in plain sight and no one could see it, to know of a person that could put not just Gideon into a defensive stance but a lumbering giant that could probably crush a person's skull with a single hand.
The monk tensed violently, what once was perceived as dense muscle mass turned from a dark ebony to a subtle silver colour. His once soft blue eyes glared angrily at the scarecrows at the far end, determined to set one alight with just the sheer force of his will.
Gideon took different approach, channelling his magic into his eyes, activating his magic sight. Scanning the ranks of adventurers once again yielded nothing more than a slight envy at the excess of magical equipment on each of them, sighing in defeat he returned his sight to the scarecrows at the far end only to find the source of his and the monk's worry.
There, inside the circle, stood three figures facing them. They shuffled occasionally as they stared at the ranks of adventurers awaiting to take their trial, a soft grey energy coating their forms. Gideon carefully shifted his gaze through them, hoping he hadn't given away his newfound secret ability. His hope died as the cold gaze settled onto him once more, lingering for far longer than it had done so before.
One of the grey outlined figures walked towards him, its icy stare boring into Gideon's soul as he tried to act as if he hadn't seen them. The grey figure stopped right in front of Gideon as it inspected him, the other two curiously watched the ordeal occur though did nothing to stop their colleague.
"I seriously doubt they would be invisible, the adventurer's guild has warding against covert magic." The monk stated, repeating the adventurer's guild company line, hoping it would assuage his fears. His words drew the attention of the grey figure, causing him to tense up once more as the cold stare bored into him. "Then again, I could be wrong. They are staring at me, and it feels as if it is coming from in front of us."
"Could this be a ploy by the examiners?" Gideon prayed for his question to be true, he watched as the other two figures exchanged looks before turning their attention to them. If they weren't instructors, then it meant there were possible enemies standing before them.
"They are late, you two would have been thrown out for coming in when you did." The monk relaxed as the cold stare left him, returning to scrutinising Gideon once again. The monk's words felt harsh though held a note of truth, despite being led here by Chrysanthis they weren't exactly sure if they arrived in time since nothing existed to display time to them. "If this is a ploy of theirs, it's a weird one."
"Could they be testing our patience? Or hoping to find someone that could figure it out?" Rhordan surveyed the area before them as she asked, questioning the reasoning behind why nothing was happening in the examination or if they were actually hiding themselves from the adventurers.
"Is this an exam!" One of the other adventurers stood up and yelled, their voice started a chorus from the others, murmurs raised into boisterous complaints at the lack of an actual exam happening. "We can't be wasting our time here if they can't be bothered to show up!"
The adventurer's words echoed throughout the room, casting doubt into the others as they sat there thinking about the exam. Even the monk questioned his choice in staying as he silently glared into the ground.
"Why is it a waste of time to be here? An exam raises one's rank, doesn't it?" Rhordan confusedly asked, wondering why the other adventurers were intent on leaving when they all paid a fee to be here.
"The best quests are displayed in the morning, that's why they put the exam here." The monk replied, grateful for the distraction as they watched the group bearing the yellow garments with the flower emblem rise from their seats and leave the room. Rhordan felt she knew the trick here, if the best quests were launched during these exams would put any adventurer on edge, and it would be a good test to show the desire of an adventurer to rise in the ranks by forfeiting their chance to the best quests.
"So… do we just wait until we are the last ones left?" Gideon dumbly asked, trying his best to ignore the figure still standing before him, scrutinising his every action. He felt a growing frustration build within him as this unknown figure stared at him, whoever they were wanted to determine if he could actually see them or if it was a fluke.
"Doubtful, they would probably wait until some of the groups have left." The monk sighed, casting a yearning glance towards the exit as he debated the cost of leaving the exam in favour of a good quest. "I don't think I am going to stay either, if they are pulling something like this then I am out!"
The monk stood and bow, offering some form of prayer before leaving out the door, followed by many others as they all filed out as time wore one. Eventually, only five remain, including Gideon and Rhordan. The three other individuals were lone adventurers, one dressed in brightly blue colours twirled a dagger between her fingers as she casted glares at those remaining.
"Do you think this is Baltharn?" Rhordan hadn't like the director's callous and underhanded approach, refusing to believe that he was genuinely interested in helping them.
"No… it isn't his style… not that I actually know his style." Gideon agreed with her distrust of the man, barely able to contain a smirk as the figure before him flinched the moment the director's name was used. "I doubt he would purposefully ruin other adventurers just to cause us to fail, it would backfire on him greatly if anyone found out."
"I still don't like him, I wouldn't put anything past him." Rhordan griped, shuffling uncomfortably on the stone row as they waited for something to happen. If they didn't need this exam to become adventurers then she would have been among the first to have left, these stone rows weren't exactly designed for comfort. Gideon flinched slightly with her words, the grey figure still stood in front of them, and it seems that they didn't know anything about the deal they had going with the guild director.
"Yeah, he reminds me of the silver phantom." Gideon falsely complained, hoping that his lie would register with her to keep quiet. The silver phantom had been a particularly annoying villain to face off against, their ability to disappear and phase through solid objects proved problematic to apprehend. Though what he hoped she would glimmer from his secret message was the incident when the Silver Phantom had snuck inside their tower and sat with them through a briefing, if it wasn't for Gideon's animalistic senses then they would never have known that the villain was there.
Rhordan failed to comprehend his message at first, wondering why he chose a stealth thief when a more apt comparison would have been a slightly less evil Slade. Baltharn and Slade could compare notes on how to be subtly evil geniuses, though Baltharn would have a modicum of decency to give you the carrot before he reeled you in with his evil plan. Though, she finally understood Gideon's choice of words as she recalled the embarrassing moment, Robin had reluctantly returned to Gotham to seek his former mentor's assistance on issue.
"The Silver Phantom was a pain to deal with…" Rhordan agreed, relaying her understanding of the hidden message he had sent. She activated her magic sense, bidding to find the unseen spectator. As her sense expanded around her, she took in the multitude of magical effects in the room, from the gear on the other adventurers to the magic ingrained in the walls. It took her a second to realise the grey energy in front of her was the spectator that Gideon had mentioned, she couldn't actually see the outline of the person rather just a formless mass of grey energy swirling around in turmoil in front of them.
"I think we have taken enough of their, and our, times." A harsh voice rang out breaking the illusion and startling the other adventurers, though they didn't appear the moment the voice spoke. Gideon and Rhordan were too absorbed in pretending not to see them that the moment the harsh voice broke the dull silence they sluggishly reacted to the other adventurers' explosion of gasps.
The figures suddenly glowed vibrantly before the spell broke, revealing three differing figures with two standing inside the room while the third appeared in front of Gideon and Rhordan. They tried to act surprised to the sudden visibility of the unidentified person though they fell short as the figure before them levelled an icy glare, scrutinising their every reaction.
The first figure standing in the circle wore dark brown clothes, a leather chest plate and a shock white shirt underneath. The man had chiselled features, a small brown goatee adorned his face and a short gelled back light brown hair, striking battle-hardened brown eyes scanned over the adventurers before him. He stood in a somewhat relaxed posture, a heavy steel sword hung on his leather belt and a large steel disk rested on his back.
The second figure, standing rigidly beside the stoic man, had a permeant scowl on her face. Her jet-black hair was tied behind her in a long ponytail, her soft sharp features angled perfectly into a striking beauty that had Gideon taking a breath. She wore a short bright green dress and matching green trousers, on her back rested a beautifully hand-crafted oak bow and an equally designed quiver full of arrows.
The final figure standing before Gideon and Rhordan sported a long dark blue robe, a large dark oak staff in his hand with a brightly glowing blue jewel embedded in the top. The mage standing before them boasted short pure white hair and a similar pure white goatee to that of the stoic man behind them, his aging features matched well with the white hair. The old man's sharp grey eyes bore into Gideon specifically, studying him with an intensity that the other two previously unseen characters couldn't understand.
"Jorgan, leave the kid alone." The stoic man commanded respectfully, openly showing the esteem the dark blue mage deserved as the girl twirling the dagger fumbled and dropped it in awe of the figure standing before Gideon. The old mage grumbled slightly, leaving a lasting cold harsh look upon Gideon before retreating back beside the two other figures.
"To those who are confused as to what is happening, this was a test of patience that the Ice Master Jorgan concocted." The scowling woman stated, her sharp and harsh tone contrasted with her striking beauty, shaking anyone from whatever admiration they had for her. The old mage didn't even acknowledge that the plan to remain hidden had been his idea, he simply stood there casting an occasional glance towards Gideon. "The test was designed to see if whoever wanted to advance would sacrifice their chance at the best quests, to show if they had what it takes to progress no matter what."
"Yes, though only three of you pass this challenge." The stoic man announced, causing the three to search the room for those that had failed until their sights landed on Rhordan and Gideon, a slight understanding crossing their features as his words registered in their mind. "Two are taking the entrance exam, which will be done first before advancement."
"As for our surprise guest, Ice Master Jorgan happened to be in the town and took an interest in participating in before the morning and afternoon exams." The scowling woman informed them, gesturing respectfully towards the old mage standing beside her. Her frigid demeanour shifted quickly upon addressing the old mage, preferring to move her gaze towards the only two odd ones out from the room. "You two! I am Elisa Balcar, and this is Conrad Jackel, we are your examiners today. You will refer to us as sir or ma'am. Understood!"
"Yes Ma'am." Gideon and Rhordan called out, neither wishing to get on her bad side as she glared at them, a teacher disapproving of two troublemakers. Conrad's expression remained static, revealing nothing of his disposition towards them, though the Ice Master Jorgan's coldly calculating stare revealed even less.
"The exam consists of three parts, the first is a strength test, the second a magic test, and the last is a skill test." Conrad informed the two with practiced ease, his bold voice akin to that of a drill sergeant, sending chills through Gideon as memories of Mento flashed through his mind. "The strength and magic test go on your record, the skill test is a separate score that the guild keeps and uses to determine what kind of quests you are capable of doing."
"The strength test is a short sparring match with Conrad, he will determine your score out of a hundred." Elisa barked, her glare intensifying with every word, conveying a sense that she wouldn't repeat herself no matter how much they beg. "You need a score of twenty to pass, beyond that and it will increase your starting rank."
"Amethyst, you are first." Conrad called out as Elisa and Jorgan left the circle, standing over to the side as Rhordan left her seat to stand at the opposite side from Conrad. Whispers shared between the lone adventurers as they exchanged looks, sizing up their opponents. "Choose your combat type, weapons are over there. Rules of the fight are; no killing blows, no permanent damage, no magic, and stay within the ring."
"Can I choose hand to hand combat?" Rhordan asked, scanning the row of weapons lining the walls, taking a mental note to learn to use at least one weapon. For now, she would have to rely on her hand to hand skills trained into her by Robin and his endless training drills. A slight shock settled in on Conrad, passing in a split moment as he settled himself into a defensive stance, tossing his large sword outside the ring.
"Interesting choice, though I will be stricter in my judgement." A slight smile graced his otherwise stoic features, somewhat excited to take on the challenge of hand to hand combat as if he hadn't done so in a long time. Rhordan settled into her typical open stance, a move set Robin had her train in as it focused solely on countering attacks through evasion and parrying. It wasn't a typically offensive martial art though it does give her the advantage against larger, heavier hitting opponents, forcing them to expend more stamina than they otherwise would.
"Ready!... Fight!" Elisa called out, sparking Conrad to charge towards Rhordan instantly, taking advantage of his size and speed to bully his opponent out of the ring. His confidence lead to dismay as Rhordan ducked effortlessly through his charge, kicking her leg out and striking the back of his legs, knocking him down onto his knees.
Taking advantage of the opening, Rhordan spun a full force kick directly towards his head, missing at the last moment as he rolled out of the way. Using the moment of her kick, she rolled forward to the edge of the ring, confusing Conrad as he exited his roll to retaliate only to find her gone. Rhordan tired once again to strike his head, choosing instead to thrust her leg out towards him, managing to hit this time.
Though the strike, the damage was negligible as he hardly flinched from the impact. Rhordan immediately retreated to the edge of the ring, revaluating her approach as Conrad stood back up, a slightly irritate look adorning his face. An idea blinked into her mind, a possible way to win the match. Forming a plan into her mind, she watched as Conrad settled into a different stance, one that garnered a gasp from Elisa.
Instead of charging her, Conrad stayed in position, inviting her to attack him. Walking right into her plan, a smirked graced her face that had him raising a confused eyebrow. Rushing forward, copying his original style at the start of the match, she raised her arms in preparation of a leaping towards Conrad. Her smirk grew as the instructor raised himself to tackle a rushing leap attack, and at the last second, she dropped to the ground and slip through his legs. His stance gave him a wide setting that would prevent him from being knocked over by even the most hard-hitting attacks anywhere, combined with her small size gave her that option.
Stunned once again, Conrad swiftly spun around to counter her unexpected move only to find her nowhere in sight. He had hoped for a quick ending to the fight as he stood close to the edge of the ring, when Rhordan had slid through his legs he hoped to find her at the edge, though that was the case as a sudden force struck him from behind. Rhordan knew it was a risk to be that close to the edge, though the moment she slid through, she sprung up and dashed around as low as possible. Avoiding his sight, leaving him stunned once again, she struck his lower back with elbow before following it up with her fist to the same spot.
As Conrad stumbled forward a step, it left him open for her to jump back a step and dash forward, catching his face with her foot as she kicked him with as much force as she could. Stumbling back a few more steps, a look of thunder broke his stoic demeanour, a desire to end the fight in his favour when he was abruptly interrupted.
"Out!" Elisa called out merrily, an overjoyed look of a cat just finding out the location to the holy grail of cream had been permanently etched into her face as she beamed at them. Conrad held a look of confusion as Rhordan still stood inside the ring, a harrowing thought occurred to him as he looked down, finding his foot outside the ring.
A turmoil brew within him, emotions crossing his face one by one; realisation, regret, shame, anger, rage, and defeat. Rhordan worried that she might have gone too far as she watched the array of emotions cross the once stoic instructor, though that worried disappeared the moment he erupted into laughter. Confusing both Rhordan and Gideon as they watched him laugh like a madman.
The other adventurers were the real confusion to them as Rhordan passed a glance to Gideon in reassurance that she hadn't hit his head to hard, all three sat there with their jaws somewhere between the floor and the other side of the world. Not one of them even uttering a word as they stared incredulously at the laughing instructor, the only exception to the mass confusion happened to be the aptly named Ice Master Jorgan as scrutinised Rhordan intently.
"I should never have underestimated you, that is my fault and your gain." Conrad managed to quell his laughter enough to admit his mistake, he had entered the fight arrogant and gotten himself beaten because of it. Rhordan breathed a sigh of relief, her worry leaving her as she watched him beam at her. "I don't think we need a skill test for you, you kept a level head and retreated the moment you knew you didn't have the advantage in strength. You didn't let that stop you as you used my own strength against me."
"Ha! You were actually using your true martial stance to take him on only to lose immediately, you couldn't even use a single move!" Elisa roared with laughter, she couldn't contain herself as she loved the look of exasperation on his face as she pointed out his failure. She immediately turned her attention to Rhordan, a beaming smile that easily could have been mistaken for a shark grin adorned her. "You are now my favourite! If you even need help then come see me, though you may need it now!"
Her words felt gratifying to know, that they had someone they could turn to for help, however her last words stuck with them as they couldn't understand what she meant by them. Rhordan's look of confusion cause Elisa to roar even louder in laughter, clearly loving the events taking place in front of her.
"You just put Conrad on high alert, your brother isn't going to fair easy now that he knows you two can fight." Elisa's evil grin shone brightly as realisation dawned on Rhordan, passing a worried glance towards Gideon who sat apprehensively thinking about how to approach the fight. Noticing her worried glance, he offered his goofy grin, hoping to reassure her that he would be fine. "What's his score, Conrad?"
"From his skill, and utilising his smaller size to his advantage, I would give him seventy-three on skill and thirty-four on strength." Conrad's words rung out and startled everyone in the room, even Elisa raised an eyebrow at him. Rhordan felt delighted at her score in skill, strength not so much but she would settle with passing for now. Her victory felt short lived as she knew Gideon's fight would not go anywhere near as easily as hers. "Despite defeating me, your strength is just above passing grade. Your skill puts you beyond most at your strength level, though you wouldn't hold out if it was purely a strength challenge."
"Just to confirm with Conrad's assessment, can you strike the stone at the centre of ring." Elisa stated, confusing Rhordan for split second before a large stone suddenly appeared inside the ring. It was as large as Conrad who stood beside it, its pitch-black colour didn't match the surface, moving inside the stone column as if liquid inside a constantly shaking jar. Stepping up to the ominous stone construct, taking a deep breath she reeled herself back to strike the stone with as much might as she could.
The stone suddenly changed colours, shifting through every light level of red before settling into a dull yellow. A nod of approval from Elisa as she wrote it down on a clipboard that had suddenly appeared in her hand, neither Conrad nor Elisa altered her score.
"Alright, Amethyst you have passed your strength test, you can opt out of the magic test though it will score it at zero. This will affect your overall score." Elisa informed her, awaiting a response to her somehow open question. Rhordan didn't feel confident in her magic skill, she couldn't expel her magic outside her body as Gideon could, though if she was put on the spot then maybe she could pull something off.
"I'll try the magic test, though I am not confident in my skills." Rhordan admitted brashly, if she had to rely on her strength and skill levels then it would be enough to get them by, but she wanted to at least try her hand at the magic test. Elise nodded her head in pride, offering a small smile of encouragement to Rhordan as she wrote something down.
"Okay, Emerald it's you turn." Conrad called out, settling himself in the suddenly vacant ring, a valiant look of determination replaced his stoic demeanour. Standing there rigidly, awaiting his chance to get retribution for his earlier loss. Rhordan stopped Gideon as they were passing one another, offering a look of support and apology to her though she only got his goofy grin.
"Don't worry bro, I plan on beating both of your scores!" Gideon arrogantly called, drawing a short chuckle from Conrad and a series of baffled looks from the three adventurers. He walked up into the circle, standing lazily at the edge as he and Conrad exchanged stares.
Gideon had a plan that could secure him the win and relied on playing Conrad for a fool, and it meant acting arrogantly to throw off the instructor. The only silver lining he had to boost his confidence lied with Rhordan's victory, he would have been appalled with himself if he had put her into the situation he was walking into. If he managed to scrape a passing score in strength then he would be happy, praying his plan works for the paltry hope of being an adventurer alongside Rhordan.
"Ready… Fight!" Elisa called out once again, eagerly awaiting what the brother of Rhordan could do to her colleague. The Ice Master Jorgan took a particular interest in this fight, watching Gideon stand lazily as Conrad settled into the same stance that Rhordan had defeated him in. Rhordan sat down and readorned her backpack, checking that the sword was still bound within the bandages before nervously awaiting the results of the fight.
Conrad and Gideon stayed watching one another, deciding who would be the first to initiate the fight. Gideon immediately sprang into action, bolting towards Conrad and flamboyantly showed his attention to launch himself into the air. Falling into Gideon's trap, Conrad expected him to follow the same attack pattern that his brother had and shortened his stance.
Gideon catapulted himself into a front flip, throwing Conrad as he realised his mistake of taking his opponents arrogance at face value. Ending his front flip, he thrusted both legs out into Conrad's exposed face as his arms had been held low in preparation of an attack similar to Rhordan's.
The impact stuck with the full force Gideon could muster, to no avail, Conrad didn't flinch at all as both of his leather-bound feet were fully planted onto his face. Realising that strength wouldn't cut it, Gideon let himself fall and strike the ground in a fake mistake of overestimation on his part. Taking the opening, Conrad aimed to slam his foot into his exposed stomach when he rolled out of the way, the crushing stomp worried Gideon as he realised his opponent wasn't holding back.
Without missing a beat, Conrad went on the offensive, pressing the advantage of forcing Gideon into revaluating his method of attack. Strike after strike, Gideon barely managed to dodge them, taking the occasional hit with the impact force of a baseball bat swing. Under the constant assault, he doubted he would last much longer if he didn't pull a rabbit out of the hat.
Gideon tried to escape from the onslaught only to find Conrad countering him, bringing him back into the fray. If he didn't come up with something soon, he was done for, and he would be out of the test for good. Berating himself for ignoring Robin's advice, believing his animal instincts to be better than any martial art that he could learn.
A solid hit struck him in the head, throwing him to the ground in a daze as the sudden impact threw him. Gideon's blurry vision barely registered Conrad approaching, his flight or fight instincts kicking in as thoughts of his potential death ran through his mind. Flipping over and landing on his hands and feet, he tried to shake his hazy vision in vain before rapidly moving to another position as Conrad advanced on him once more.
As part of his vision turned red, he ripped off a strip of his shirt, tying it around his head and covering his eyes. Relying on sound, he listened intently to the heavy footfalls of his opponent, tracking their movement towards his position.
Springing into action just as Conrad was almost on him, Gideon launched himself forward once only one of his opponent's feet were in the air. Spinning himself around, he landed his heel into the side of Conrad's foot, preventing it from landing on ground where he had intended it to land. The impact actually registered with the impervious iron man as he roared in pain, his foot landing hard onto the ground, sending another spike of pain rocketing through him.
As the instructor fell to his knee, Gideon pressed the opening and rolled away from the injured instructor before launching back into the fray with a flying leap. Crashing his fist into the cheek of the instructor, the force of the impact actually causing an audible crunch as Gideon landed beside him. The strength behind his leap had pushed him behind his opponent, forcing him to give up the advantage and retreat from the fight.
Keeping a low stance close to the ground, crouched low and listening for his opponent, he waited to locate his foe to resume the fight. Though as silence reigned, he worried that Conrad grew wise and stayed quiet, forcing Gideon to coil his legs and hands to spring the moment any sound registered with him. Abruptly, an explosive laughter erupted from beyond the ring, sending Gideon flying upwards as he responded to the sound rather than the location of it. Landing on all fours, he hastily threw his head around in confusion, aggravating his head injury further and sending him flat to the ground in pain.
A pair of hands grasped his shoulders, helping him to a seated position as they removed the strip of cloth from around his eyes. A figure sat beside him looking worriedly into his eyes, a figure he knew well as a pair of stunning amethyst orbs filled his vision.
"Are you alright Gar… Emerald?" Rhordan barely caught herself from using his real name, only just remembering that the instructors had used their new code names, her worry apparent as she fought to keep him awake as he relaxed into her embrace.
"Did I win?" Gideon's voice slurred slightly, wishing to fall asleep after the intense fight he had, or maybe the impact to his head, he wasn't sure. His thoughts were falling apart when a freezing icy water shocked through his system, the freezing water focused on his head briefly before it disappeared, clearing his breaking mind. His eyes flew open as he tried to leap out of the way of the freezing water only to be held in place by Rhordan.
As his vision cleared, he finally took in his surroundings, and specifically an old man in a dark blue robe walking away from them. Rhordan held him steady as he searched for Conrad, only to find the Ice Master kneeling over a prone body on the ground, his hand pressed against the arm of the body. When the body shocked upright, Gideon finally realised who it was, Conrad had been knocked out cold. Baffled, he looked to Rhordan for an explanation as to how the literal walking tank had been knocked out cold.
"You won the fight." Rhordan eventually said, drawing the attention of Elisa who had been debating between taunting Conrad for his second failure of the day or going to the side of her new favourite person. A broad grin adorned Elisa's face, obviously enjoying the show that had been put on for her.
"I'll say!" Elisa roared exuberantly, strolling into the circle nonchalantly as she gladly watched Conrad probe his jaw in surprise. "I would ask Conrad for your score, but you broke his jaw!"
"Wait… really?" Gideon asked incredulously, trying to recall how such a thing happened, his last hit may have struck Conrad in the face though he doubted the force would injure him.
"Yep! Though you won the round when he broke the rules." Elisa levelled a glare at her colleague, clearly upset about something Gideon couldn't fathom, Rhordan look of confusion mirrored his own. Elise shook her head and withdrew her gaze back to them, immediately noticing the confusing looks. "Conrad hit you with far greater force than he should have, I was about to intervene as he wasn't stopping when you pulled out those crazy moves. Stunned me into silence, never thought I'd ever here that man scream."
The look on her face scared them, a malice grin proudly beamed as her eyes shone like a dog with a new bone to chew on. The Ice Master had moved off the moment Conrad was on his feet, a slight approval flashed in his eyes as he passed a glance over Gideon. Conrad stood sheepishly, recalling the fight and realising his blunder, he held his head in his hand in shame.
"You lack a proper fighting style, opting for a loose form of assault that would be effective against lessor trained fighters." Conrad suppressed the shame and set about giving his assessment, avoiding Elisa's glare as he broke down the fight. "Your strength is more than adequate, and your skill matches that of your brother. Disregarding the tail end of the fight, your strength is roughly fifty, your skill is seventy-one."
"Disregarding the tail end of the fight?" Elisa levelled an astonished look upon him, finding it hard to believe that he would decline to acknowledge the thrashing he took. Rhordan shared her look, silently glad that Gideon had passed the strength test though somewhat dismayed at the amazing display of fighting she had ever seen, while being blind.
"I don't know what that was, but it increased his strength and skill by nearly twenty each." Conrad curiously stared at Gideon, trying to figure out what happened in the last moments of the fight after what should have knocked him out cold. Even Elisa swiftly looked at him, stunned at the words Conrad had just spoken. "I can't unfairly increase his score when that ability of his is only useable when he is injured… or whatever happened."
"It's a fight or flight response… though none that I have ever seen before." A cold voice echoed through the room, drawing everyone's attention to the old mage. He stood by the edge of the circle, intent on understanding the mechanics of the fight down to the last detail. "When you struck him on the head, the force alone combined with the head injury would give anyone cause to think you are trying to kill them. How did you managed to locate your opponent while blind?"
"I'm not really sure… All I knew was my sight was almost gone and I couldn't exactly think straight." Gideon somewhat lied, he had a vague understanding of how it worked, though without his shifting powers he failed to equate it to moments before. "I think I just measured how loud it was by how far I thought it to be, then hoped I hit."
"Hmm… your instincts are more primal than most…" Ice Master Jorgan astutely analysed, causing Gideon to flinch at how accurate his assessment was. Rhordan had helped him to his feet and they now stood staring at the intense investigative eyes of the man that was solely working out their true identities, and as someone as respected as the Ice Master, they could be face with an interrogation of they didn't play it well. Rhordan doubted that Gideon could lie his way through such an ordeal, hoping this didn't get back to Baltharn either. "With proper training and the right mentor, you could become a rising star in any clan."
"Agreed, if you managed to reach Gold rank then I will happily provide you both with a recommendation to the knight school here in Bardia." Conrad stated, his stoic demeanour settling back in. His offer raised both Gideon and Rhordan's spirits, if they could secure a place in a school, even a purely physical combat school, could give them an advantage in this new world. Learning to use a weapon, and possibly another martial art, can be the difference between life and death for them.
"Emerald would suit a knight school, but Amethyst would be better in an archery school." Elisa countered Conrad, a slight determination in her eye to capture Rhordan into her chosen combat field. Her colleague had opened his mouth to retaliate only to fall short as he realised the lack of strength Rhordan had that she made up with her mobility, he couldn't argue with Elisa's assessment and fell silent. "Anyway, Emerald can you confirm your score."
The black stone appeared once again, leaving both Rhordan and Gideon baffled as to how it appears, or where it is even stored. Stepping up, Gideon took a deep breath and reeled back his fist, closing his eyes as he visualised the stone before him. Launching his fist forward, he drove it solidly into the stone, the slight expectation that it would hurt disappeared as the hit barely registered in his fist. The stone changed colours, passing by Rhordan's dull yellow and into a solid yellow colour, it appeared to be approaching a lighter yellow.
"Bordering light yellow, roughly fifty." Elisa recorded the score down, Conrad and Jorgan moved away from the circle as she stayed there. Gideon noticed the change in position and motioned for Rhordan to stay in the circle as he returned to his seat, patting her on the back for reassurance. "Alright, the second test. The magic test has three parts to it; capacity, speed, and skill."
Gideon picked up the sword that had been left neglected, checking over the bandages as he formed a suppression orb around it to quell any remaining evil energy. His action brought the attention of the Ice Master, who passed a curious glance towards him as if he heard something just beyond a whisper.
Suddenly another stone appeared in the room, close to the scarecrows at the far end of the room. Built as a light grey stone monolith with a large intricate magic circle constructed with multiple layers encircling around it, the magic circle was made from a similar stone as the column from before. The layers surround the main circle numbered only nine, just touching the edges of the monolith on either side.
"The stone measures all three parts; the brighter it glows the higher your capacity, the more rings you light up the higher your skill, and the faster the rings spin the higher your speed." Elisa listed off the stone's attributes, taking little care to express any more words that what was needed to convey how the test works. "Place your hand in the middle and start by pushing whatever magic you can into, if the centre starts glowing then you press onwards as far as you can. Since you passed the strength test there is no pass level, though to pass as a mage you need to hold the centre circle and at least two other circles simultaneously."
Rhordan stepped up the to the stone, worried that the Full Binding Bracers would interfere with the test. Another thought occurred to her that if she were to use all the power she currently had, she would score possibly higher than anyone becoming an adventurer, if what Alex had said been true. Passing a glance behind her, she found the other adventurers eagerly awaiting her results, they sat practically on the edge of their seats. After the fight with Conrad, she couldn't pull off another stunt without becoming rising stars, the attention on them already could spell their end if they weren't careful.
Placing her hand against the circle, she pulled the energy from her core and passed it through her arm towards the circle. She activated her magic sense, watching her magic flow through her arm and into the stone circle. The magic circle lit up a dull red colour, slowly getting bright as she trickled in more energy over time. Once she felt comfortable with the first circle, she attempted to move her energy out to the second circle only to be repulsed.
Rhordan confusedly stared at the magic circle glowing in front of her, no matter how many attempts it refused to relent. Frustration mounted as she channelled more energy into the circle, the dull red amplified immensely as she tried to move her energy into the first circle. Taking a deep breath, she focused her magic sense onto the main circle, searching for anything that could explain her inability to progress. To her utter shock and surprise, she found a separate source of magic blocking the pathways into the first circle, preventing her from progressing.
Refusing to fail on the one area where she had excelled in for most of her life, she focused herself fully into her energy, manipulating it with a practice eased. Rhordan had wanted to burst through the blockades yet doing so could give away her true magical potential, instead she opted to take a page out of Gideon's book, hoping that she wasn't becoming the foolish moron that he tended to be. Carefully channelling her energy, she slowly extracted her energy from the edges of the main circle and pushed it into the first circle.
As the first circle light up, she had to be careful to retain her concentration on her workaround otherwise it faltered and reduced the amount she had to use in the first circle. The solid red colour of the first circle was soon joined by the second circle lighting up a lighter red colour, stopping there she focused on increasing the brightness and speed of the two spinning circles. Satisfied with her attempt, she slowly powered down and removed her energy from the stone, portraying herself as weak and winded from the ordeal.
"Nicely done, you were struggling there at the start, but you pulled through." Elisa happily stated, a faint smile gracing her face as she recorded her score onto to the clipboard. Rhordan wanted to smile, though the strange look she was receiving from the Ice Master threw her, she silently hoped he hadn't seen what she had done with the monolith. "You magic score is around thirty, not bad. Combine that score with your strength and your skill, puts you at high Bronze. I'll explain the ranks after Emerald's test just so you both understand."
Offering a weak smile, Rhordan walked towards her seat as Gideon stood up, ready to take his test eagerly. She stopped him as they passed for a split second, stumbling in her step and causing Gideon to catch her mid fall. Leaning up, she whispered into his ear.
"Be careful, there is a magic block in the main circle. Just go around it." Rhordan regained her composure and thanked Gideon for his help, walking carefully back and sitting down as she watched Gideon march up to the stone without once losing his eager look.
Gideon silent sent a mental choice of swear words to Baltharn, he knew at some point that the guild director would pull some stunt against them though this was a low blow. Keeping his composure, he stepped up to the stone and quickly placed his hand against it. Channelling his energy into the stone, he quickly found the block that Rhordan had spoken about, pressing against it proved her point of watching out for it.
He focused on extending his energy around the block, following her words as he trusted her word on how to use magic. Despite his recent apparent luck with his newfound magic, he would trust her word over his own instincts to tear down the offending obstruction. Gideon effortlessly flowed his magic around the seams of the main circle, channelling the first circle. Holding his energy there, he refocused his attention towards finding where the seal was located. He wanted Rhordan to be the valued for her magic as he was for his strength, so he reframed from expanding into the second circle, though he did increase the brightness to up his score a bit.
Gideon studied the seal on the outside of the main circle, committing its design and formation to memory in hopes of using it later. He found the seal to have an inbuilt energy source, one that was waning quickly, possibly only lasting for another few hours. The seal would definitely fall away for the afternoon exams, which only further proved Gideon's theory of Baltharn's melding in their magic test.
An evil idea snuck into his mind, a way to get back at Baltharn. Following his sheer luck with the evil sword from last night, he channelled some of his energy into the seal, increasing the seals power source just enough to last through the afternoon exams. If it came out that the monolith had been tampered with to reduce the scores of entering adventurers then the suspicion would fall on those who would have access to it, and after the instructors being cleared by the Ice Master's presences then it would fall upon the guild director.
Gideon doubted that Baltharn would receive much of a punishment, being the director of the adventurer's guild in a moderately sized town wouldn't garner much attention, though Baltharn would get the message to not mess with them again unless he wanted to face retaliation. As he fell to his knees in exaggeration of fake fatigue, hoping to show that he exerted himself as best as he could in front of the instructors, he gave a passing glance at the ever-inquisitive Ice Master. Gideon had been worried when he face Baltharn, though he paled drastically in comparison to this old mage, his well-trained eye may have already seen through them and if it hadn't then it would only be a matter of time.
"Not bad, your skill isn't there, but you do have the capacity. You fall short for the magic test with a score of twenty, though with your score from strength and skill, you share your brother's rank of High Bronze." Elisa stated, she wasn't as interested in Gideon as she was for Rhordan, though she did give him a passing wink as she grinned at Conrad. "Congratulations, you both pass the exams. The girls at reception will give you your card as well as inform you about quests. For now, Conrad if you please."
"The adventurer ranks go in sequence of Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Onyx. There are ranks beyond this though they never stray far from the kingdoms or Larravass." Conrad stated, standing before both of them as they stood in front of the stone rows. Gideon had moved back beside Rhordan, adorning his backpack and sword as they knew they weren't staying in the exam room much longer. "Each rank has a Low, Middle, and High tiers, these are upgraded by either increasing your strength and magic score, or by completing harder quests consecutively. You need to reach High tier before you can participate in these examinations to progress to the next rank. Now, go get your cards. You both deserve them."
"Thank you, Sir. Thank you, Ma'am. Thank you, Sir." Gideon and Rhordan expressed their gratitude to Conrad, Elisa, and Jorgan before they left the room, slightly unsettled by the looks the three adventurers gave them. Leaving the exam room, they followed the series of corridors back to the main area that Chrysanthis had showed them earlier.
"I don't think Baltharn is going to be happy with us." Gideon's signature grin seemingly engraved onto his face as he spoke, barely containing himself as he thought about the look on Baltharn's face when the afternoon exams fall apart into chaos. Rhordan looked curiously at him, hoping he would offer an explanation to his statement. "Remember the block in monolith. Well, I found the power source and it was only supposed to last long enough for the morning exams. So… I increased the amount of power in it, it's going to last all the way through the afternoon exams!"
"You didn't." Rhordan sighed, though she tried in vain to hide a smile, realising the hell storm Baltharn would have to deal with once it comes out. "You are unbelievable."
"Hey, he tried to mess with us, why isn't it fair that we get our own?" Gideon remarked, grinning as they filed out into the main area, somehow missing the mess of boisterous merchants as they made their way to the reception. Rhordan shaking her head at his antics, she pressed ahead to the find Chrysanthis.
"Well done you two!" A cheery voice echoed from in front of them, as Chrysanthis beamed widely at them as she held two bronze rectangle pieces in her hand. Thrusting them out to Rhordan as she was the first to arrive by Chrysanthis side, she beamed brightly as she was proud of them and their achievement. The bronze pieces had three stars highlighted on one side, their code names and their scores for each test. "And I have a gift for you two."
She held out a piece of parchment, on it depicted a hobbled and deformed creature with what looked like a dagger in his gnarled hand. There was writing below it that neither Gideon nor Rhordan could comprehend, but they did understand what it was as they had seen similar ones on a board on of quests.
"Since you couldn't read, I managed to snag a simple, but well-paying quest to start you two off." Chrysanthis beamed seemingly brighter than before, radiating positivity on another level than even Starfire could match. Taking the quest from her, they studied the picture in front of them, tucking their cards away into their backpacks. "The quest is not far from here, follow the road out to the right from the building and it's the first farm from Bardia. The farm has a rogue few goblins in the area that are scaring their flocks and killing any that stray from the flock. All you need to do is head there and kill them off, you get an additional reward for bringing back an ear from any you kill. Also, I will pick your quests until you can read them for yourselves."
Chrysanthis warmly waved at them before heading off, intent on returning to her duties before she got into trouble for ditching work. Leaving Rhordan and Gideon with the moral dilemma that they knew was coming yet failed to prepare themselves for it, a moral dilemma that they should have questioned the moment they knew they were going to become adventurers.
Can they actively hunt down, and kill, a living creature for profit?
"Who would have thought the great former crown guard Conrad would be beaten by two kids, especially when you were specifically called in for this morning exam." Elisa taunted her colleague, loving the slight twitch forming in his eye as he tried not to rise to the bait. They remained in the exam room after Gideon and Rhordan had left, about to get the second part of the exams underway.
"They have training and experience fighting opponents beyond their skill, I doubt their intention in becoming adventurers as desire or anything close to actually wanting to be adventurers." Conrad stated, rerunning the fights through his head as Elisa smirked at him, wondering if the two were actually genuinely teenagers or if they were a plant. The fact that he was specifically called in for this aided that point, he wanted to have a conversation with the director once the exams were over, determined to get to the bottom of this.
"That's for sure! With their experience, I would have thought they would know of you as well… or the Ice Master for that matter." Elisa agreed, offering her own doubts into the fray, wondering if the two brothers could actually rise to gold rank as she wanted to personally write a recommendation to her former master. Hoping for a student that would impress at the school she taught at.
"They are one to watch, though their magic scores weren't that great. If they scored higher on that then I am sure no school nor clan would pass at the chance to acquire them." Conrad rubbed his goatee in thought, slightly disappointed that the two brothers hadn't shown more promise. He did believe that Emerald would thrive in the crown guard academy, his strength and skill would definitely get him the status of captain at least.
The Ice Master Jorgan stared inquisitively at the exit to the room, pensively in thought about the two he had witnessed. Shifting his attention to the stone monolith, he approached it and placed his hand against the centre, stunning all in the room as they watched him light up the main circle though nothing more than that. Finding the block in the device, he pressed his other hand against the first circle, locating the seal quickly.
As he studied the seal, he thought about how they managed to surpass the block without using a second point of contact, the amount of control and capacity needed to pull that off would be immense. He zeroed in on the seal, intent on finding out who would have the audacity to stunt two promising stars.
The work on the seal was similar to most of the magic inside the guild building, specifically the magic that the guild director had set up. A slight twitch formed in his eye as he studied the seal, debating whether he was going to berate the director or let his little trick slide, he wouldn't have known about their hidden potential if it wasn't for the guild director.
Just before he left the stone monolith, he noticed the differing energies in the seal, one was waning quickly while the other increased the seal's fuel amount greatly. Jorgan recognised the waning energy belonging to the same person who made the seal though the other somewhat resembled the energy sparking from Emerald, he couldn't accurately determine if it did belong to the one of the brothers thought that didn't matter as he erupted into laughter.
Those within the room all had their fair share of surprises in that one exam, but to witness the Ice Master laughing his head off just finished them off. The Ice Master struck the monolith lightly before holding his palm against the main circle for a moment longer, never ceasing his booming laughter. Their jaws fell to the floor as the old mage left the room merrily, a smile adorning his old face as he strode by the dazed adventurers.
The Ice Master moved through the corridors with practiced ease, gliding past other people who threw themselves at the wall the moment they saw him approaching. He appeared before a door, and without even pausing to knock, tore open the door to find the director working on guild documents.
If Baltharn was surprised by the sudden appearance of the Ice Master he didn't show it, he finished up the sentence he was working on before giving the old mage his full attention. Jorgan simply levelled a glare at the director, still debating his next course of action.
"What can I do for the unexpected pleasure of your presence, Ice Master." Baltharn smoothly addressed Jorgan, keen on not upsetting the old mage beyond what he already was judging by his current expression towards him. "I hope my instructors were welcoming to you as you witnessed the morning exams?"
"My arrival here was nothing more than a fluke, I was interested in the rising action of the Dusk Legionnaires when I happened by this place." Jorgan calmly stated, refusing to answer the question that the director had asked, holding his glare at the devious gentleman before him. "Remembering my old days, I thought to watch over an exam in hopes of finding something of interest..."
"Someone piqued your interest?" Baltharn excited sat up straighter as he spoke, hoping to supply the great Ice Master with a potential candidate for his clan, and securing a favour that could help him in his endeavours.
"That they did." Jorgan's aging features curled slightly as a smile adorned his face, killing the excitement and joy in Baltharn. The director prepared himself for bad news, hoping that whatever it may be, he could handle it with little issue. "All I have to say is that I will be watching those brothers with keen interest, I care not for your little tricks though I will leave you with a word of warning."
The Ice Master paused to allow the director to catch up, the realisation dawning on the sharp features of Baltharn, the breath slightly leaving him as he awaited the words of advice. Cursing his luck that Jorgan happened upon Bardia of all days, though he did wonder what the two brothers could have done to spark an interest such as this from the Ice Master himself.
"Be careful of who you make your enemy, you never know what they are capable of." Jorgan smirked as his words settled into the director's mind, turning to leave, he stopped and spoke somewhat over his shoulder. "Oh, and I took care of that seal you placed on the Bisanium, it seems you left too much power in it and could have stunted the scores of future adventurers."
Leaving the director's office, he found the red-haired receptionist waiting outside, a look of confusion and fear as his presence registered in her mind. Ignoring the girl, Jorgan strolled through the corridors, happy in his work to unsettle the director. If the brothers manage to survive the inane plans the director had install for them, they would be of great interest to him and his guild. As he left the adventurer's guild, he felt an excitement that he hadn't had in decades, eager to see if they would meet his expectations.
Chrysanthis watched the Ice Master turn the corner, slightly scared of whatever conversation he had with her boss as the smile gracing the old mage's face unsettled her. She had waited outside as she heard voices inside, knowing all too well how the director disliked being interrupted during a meeting. Stumbling inside the room, she found her boss paler than she had ever seen him.
"I am afraid to even ask." Chrysanthis announced her presence in the room, somewhat startling the otherwise impervious director. She held the documents in her arms tighter, she would have been worried about her boss had she not lost all respect for him. Chrysanthis couldn't sleep that night after she learned of her boss's plan, her morals harassing her relentlessly and preventing her from sleeping at all.
"It seems the Ice Master has a vague interest in the brothers." Baltharn supplied, still reeling from and trying to understand the words that Jorgan had left him with. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he exhaled deeply as he leaned back in his chair. "What were their scores?"
"Rhordan got thirty on strength and thirty on magic, his skill score made a huge impact as Conrad gave him seventy-three." Her words startled Baltharn, causing him to flinch harshly, baffled at both the magic score and the skill score. Chrysanthis curiously stared at her boss, wondering why he would upset at their score when he himself took a particular interest in them. "Gideon got fifty on strength and twenty on magic, his skill matches his brothers at seventy-one. Both achieving High Bronze rank."
"It seems I underestimated those two, and now with Jorgan watching them, it will be difficult to pull off my plan." Baltharn complained, ignoring the tiny smile gracing Chrysanthis' face. "Though it won't be impossible. I take they are off on a quest?"
"Yes, Sir. I managed to grab the goblin quest for them, it should give them experience and money to get a room at the local inn for a couple nights." Chrysanthis proudly stated, uncaring that her actions were practically taboo in the guild. She would play along with her boss's cruel plan, though that didn't mean she wasn't going to help them whenever she could. So long as she didn't actually hinder Baltharn's plan or alert the two to it either, then she knew her boss couldn't break their deal without ruining his own code of honour.
"Fine… though don't think for a second that I am not going give up or relent, they are going to suffer, and Mr Greyhound will learn from his mistakes." Baltharn committed himself to his plan, knowing that he couldn't outright ruin them without drawing the ire of the Ice Master himself. He doubted Jorgan would intervene at anything less than him thrusting a sword through their chests, so long as he played it safe and let them destroy themselves then he would have nothing to fear from him.
"Yes, Sir." Chrysanthis reluctantly nodded, heading towards the door when she thought of a way to throw her boss for a loop. Just her little way of getting back at her boss for forcing her to join his insane plan, just as she was about to leave, she turned and quickly looked at her boss. "Oh… and they both defeated Conrad… easily…"
Before Baltharn could registered her words, she bolted out of the room and down the hallway, hoping to be far enough away when her boss finally collected his sense. Though that wasn't long as she heard him yell from his room.
"WAIT WHAT!"
Author's Note: Long chapter this time, don't know if I will try to keep with long episodes or intermittently short and long. Either way, I found the start of this difficult to write as I didn't know what director to take with it, so if you are a bit confused with the first half of the chapter, don't worry you are not alone.
That said, I enjoyed writing Ice Master Jorgan. I never thought of using him as ploy to slap Baltharn, but it worked out well, if I do say so myself. The monk may come back as an ally or an enemy, all I do know is that I have something in store for him. As for Conrad and Elisa, they are going to be returning… maybe… I'm evil
I may change the name of the magic stones but for now, Bisanium will stay for now. I will take suggestions if anyone has a better name.
Also, what do you think of the fight scenes? I wanted them to win since they were titans and Conrad was underestimating them, though he wasn't actually trying otherwise they wouldn't stand a chance.
I made Jorgan tell Baltharn of why he was there not for the director's benefit, rather to explain that he was there by sheer chance. Though he won't be coming back for a long time, so don't expect him any time soon.
Anyway, Hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Comments
Guest – Thank you for the comment, it's really appreciated.
I agree that I need to wait before I can bring them in, it will tank the story if I throw them in the first few days of the two's arrival. They are only a week in on their arrival, it would be months, it not a year, away before I add them in. As for the story villain, he is first introduced in chapter one, Red Eyes. He is the story villain, though he isn't appearing right now for the same reason that the other titans aren't, it's too early in the story.
That said, I will warn that I am going to be using time skips soon. I am 22 chapters in and only a week in the new world, they have had many benefits and boons in that short week. I need to pick up the pace or its going to be chapter 190 before something interesting happens.
As for the others coming in, I won't be using the justice league (not that they will not have a part, just that this story is about being stuck in another world and I want the others to be stuck in the new world that BB and Raven fought hard to survive in). I have a vague notion on it that I built a couple chapters ago, when I gave them the team name titans. I am thinking that when they get stuck in the new world, they will try to find the titans under the vague notion that the titans could be those two.
Your suggestions are amazing and would work well with a story like this, though I have to apologise as I hope to render them stuck there for a long time and force them to find their own way back instead of relying on others. Also, if the other titans do get stuck in the new world, then I kind of want them to be forced to rely on Beast Boy and Raven to help them.
I am writing this story with absolutely no plan, I am making it up as I write so there will be changes here and there. And I may change the story to something other than what I have stated in the notes, so it's possible that the justice league may get involved (or bring in Constantine who would be fun to write in).
Frog31791 – Thank you for the comment, it's really appreciated.
I too am looking forward how this story plays out as I am writing this with no plan, it has been really fun writing this and I hope I can take it somewhere interesting.
Eris – Thank you for your continued support and your comments, they are really appreciated.
I'm glad you liked their interaction, I am trying my best with creating an open but even dynamic between them. That they have to rely on one another for their different strengths, though I feel that I am pulling Garfield out ahead of Raven, so I needed to introduce an element that could be called upon soon.
I never noticed that Garfield could be left-handed, it rather works with his quirky nature. I will see about incorporating it into the story with their writing though I am not that good at intricate detailed writing without it coming out as pointed and obnoxious. As for the ambidextrous, that gives me a few ideas for future fight scenes or maybe even magic.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!