Morning shone through the closed shutters of the Peace of Mind Inn's second-story bedroom. Faintly, the sunlight illuminated a messy sushi roll of angelic feathers and raven hair on the far right edge of the bed. Cipher's face contorted as the sun graciously kissed his face and caused the cat to stir beneath the covers.
Feeling something relatively soft, yet boney, and malleable; a small smirk formed over his lips as his eyes fluttered open to greet the new day. He could feel her petite little butt in his right hand.
'I didn't do this on purpose… but it feels rather nice…'
"Mmmmmm…" She let out a little murmur before turning her head away from the window.
Rem was completely comfortable just sleeping there on him, her tail moving unconsciously. If she were a real cat, Cipher was quite sure the young lady was going to start purring. In the end, she didn't. She just laid there as the chill of air threatened to wake her. In response, she made herself small and curled into his chest in a subconscious effort to preserve her sleep.
She really was a cat though, through and through.
Pushing the blankets off of them, Cipher slowly sat up and practically held her cradled in his arms. Her sleeping face was adorable… though he could see dried tears around her eyes. A subtle sigh left his lips before slowly lowering her onto his lap only to pause.
Stiff.
Cipher swallowed a mouthful of saliva.
His brain within the lower half of his body was stiff.
"C-cold…" She shifted in his arms, slowly revealing her pretty green hues and looking up at him. Squinting, she couldn't help but rub her eyes clear of the crust. "Cipher…? What am I on…"
Sweat formed over his brow, "Haha… You know… I did tell you to call me Centurion, yesterday."
"Hm? You did… Right… What's poking me?" She sat up in his arms, peering over her side.
"...A natural phenomenon that undeniably happens every morning in healthy males," Cipher couldn't help but make a nervously forced smile as he gently placed her down on the bed beside him. Taking in and letting out a deep breath, he folded his hands into his lap.
Rem flushed as her dark green orbs shifted to him, down to his hands, and then back to his face. Rubbing her thumb and forefinger across her eyes, she didn't appear to be fully awake at all.
"Huh?"
"So, what are we doing today?" Before she could entirely catch on, he pushed for a subject.
"Oh uh... We're going to the Adventurer's Guild to get Shera and you registered into the guild, and get your levels appraised… Then..." Rem yawned and covered her mouth tiredly, before looking to the door as it opened, revealing the cow-titted elf.
"Good Morning!" Shera came in with a big brilliant smile on her face, in an all-around good mood.
"Morning," Cipher paused before placing a hand on his chin in thought. Thinking back on how the quality system from his game was going to affect his level. Was he going to be considered a level one hundred here, or was he higher simply based on standards? He had nothing to go on.
"I'm a level forty summoner with seven consecutive summons," Rem announced with the tip of her tail flicking from side to side. She was boasting, but he could only sense the truth from her lips.
Though her words were heard, they went in one ear and out the other when it came to Cipher. His gaze was on her tail. "Hehe…" Distracted by the fluffiness that he had felt the night before. He wanted to touch it again.
"Ce-Centurion, what are you looking at?!" Rem, reminded of the sensation of him touching her tail, hid it against her back with one hand. Her ears twitched furiously before leaning back.
"Nothing in particular..."
That seemed to be Cipher's favorite line, which he was beginning to pick up on. From what he gathered, he liked using those three words together often. The reason was simple, it sounded more suspicious than they were meant to.
"...Your sleeping face was just really cute."
"Hah!?" Rem fell backward on the bed, her face beet red as her mouth was wide open. Tears welling up in her face. And from the looks of it, she wasn't expecting this compliment whatsoever. "Y-y-y-you can't just say that!"
"Why not? It's true."
"Haba habaaaaaah~…" With her hands outward and shaking as she could hardly talk coherently, Cipher was sure he could feel her heat from where he was seated on the bed. She was discombobulated with his simple compliment and backtalk.
"Eh? What about me?"
Turning his head, he looked to Shera who he had automatically greeted a moment ago.
"Hm. Anyone into stupidly large racks would be gracious to have you."
"Bah…" As if she should have expected that, Shera sighed as she shifted her weight to the side.
"Anyways, the Guild has the means to assess your level, so we can head there now."
"No breakfast?" He cocked his head to the side, expecting some sort of snide comment.
Even as Rem's stomach growled, she let her head hang low. Her hand cupping at her stomach before she looked up at him once more. Her face was still red from his compliment. "We don't have any money left, so we need to do some jobs to get food…"
"Ah… and I only have foreign currency…"
"Huh?" Rem was suddenly taken aback, though not as loudly as Shera's following.
"HUH!?"
'Probably shouldn't tell them I have a few hundred million gold pieces and hundreds of thousands of silver… Then they probably wouldn't want to work – or make me pay for everything… A pro gamer is a hoarder and a hoarder hoards all, they do not frivolously spend their stash!'
"I'll pay for breakfast, then we can go."
Cipher finally rested his hands on the bed by his hips, his nethers no longer harder than rock.
"Really~!?" Shera squealed, "You'll get me food?"
"First…" His eyes narrowed on Rem's hair that was going every which way. She had a serious case of bedhead and it was going to show plenty once they left the room, "I need to brush out the knots."
"Eh?" Rem's flush was slowly fading away as she calmed from his concern towards her hair.
"[Create Item], this should do." A refined looking silver hairbrush appeared in his right hand. With his left hand, he then pats his leg, as if asking her to sit on his lap once more.
Eyeing over his lap, then back up to his face, Rem gave a subtle smile. In seconds, she was sitting on his leg as he began brushing out her hair; straightening it out. Though there were quite a few knots, she hardly winced as he pulled them out with the brush. If anything, her tail and ears twitched in the enjoyment of what he was doing.
At least that is what he could comprehend when remembering the cat mannerisms back home.
"H-how did you make a brush out of magic? And do you normally… brush people's hair?" Rem asked, turning her head but not enough to find herself looking directly at him.
"It's part of a special sorcerer skill set, and no… not normally."
"Oh, can you brush mine too?" Shera went to sit on the side of the bed, putting a hand down as she sat beside the two of them. Though she had her legs hanging off the edge and her torso twisted to face them. In his mind, despite how he had treated her and told her off… she was eager to be friends.
Looking at her from the corner of his eye, Cipher continued brushing through Rem's hair.
"Once I'm done with hers."
"Eh? You're going to brush her hair too? I thought–..."
"It's no use trying to push someone away who's already decided to stay… well unless I kicked them off a cliff or threw them out the window."
His golden hues briefly locked with Shera's shimmering baby blues, before turning their attention back to Rem's hair. So soft and smelled like the sheets, yesterday's fields, and the sweat from the day before. Not only that, but it was oddly sweet and oily.
"Is that so…" Rem muttered quietly to herself, not necessarily showing much care for it.
"I'm not going to throw her out the window," Cipher chuckled quietly, "though I know at least a couple people that I won't have an issue tossing off a high standing tower…"
"Heh!?" Shera seemed startled by his declaration but didn't say much else.
Based on the values of a human being, he could only assume she was immediately worried for her brother's sake. The family members one was born with were still by far –family– no matter how much you hated them; their death still affected you. So, after brushing both of their hair the hairbrush dissipated into lively orbs of mana before vanishing completely.
"Uwaaah~! They were just mana the entire time?" Shera was absolutely amazed.
On the other hand, Rem though quite speechless about the ordeal just stared at his hand.
"Aye. Making a permanent one would be a waste of mana since I have no idea what we'll be facing later today." Cipher had no choice but to say this, it was the only reason he had. If he knew there was nothing they were going to do, he could've used a higher version of the spell.
"That is amazing, I've never seen anything like it."
As soon as Shera said that he tensed up and looked over at her. Did that make his magic suspicious than to anyone else who sees it? Or perhaps it could make him famous… This made him outright curious about how others were going to react to such a spell.
"Interesting… Perhaps you two may be able to learn it with me around..."
"Really!?"
Rem's ears stuck straight up towards the ceiling hearing his proclamation.
"I'm not a good teacher, so you'll need to find a way to feel the magic I use and replicate it."
"Ooooh~?"
Once everything was said and done, he went ahead and started getting dressed in his robes.
The moment they were done, all three of them headed for the eatery on the ground floor.
A faint smile tainted his lips, as he walked down the steps. Rem was in front of him and Shera was behind him. Though the two hadn't said much of a word after he brushed their hair, he could see something had changed.
"Good Morning, Nya~!"
Mei greeted them from the bottom of the steps, in her lovely maid outfit and cat-like pose.
"Mornin' Mei," Cipher gave her a light and friendly wave, "Something we can help you with?"
"I have breakfast ready and waiting for your party, Centurion!"
Mei's proclamation caught him off guard, but quickly Cipher began to understand. He had given her three gold coins yesterday. Although they were foreign coins, they must've been worth enough for her to take the initiative. A small chuckle resonated in his chest as she wore that lil' sassy smirk on her lips. Three gold coins, if they were from this Kingdom, were worth two-hundred-forty-thousand Friths…
'It seems I left a mighty fine tip, huh?'
"Eh? Really?" Shera seemed to be the most surprised.
Rem on the other hand turned and looked up at him with this suspicious look on her face. As if he had planned everything ahead of time. All he could do was smile at her curious big green hues that searched him up and down for answers.
"Thank you, Mei; I do believe there is no better Idol in this city than you, eh?" He gifted a less than subtle wink, as he smirked shamelessly at his own words.
Mei's face went from content to completely and utterly thrilled. "Thank you, dear customer! And you're welcome! Please continue to be a patron of our establishment and come as much as you want."
.Rem's face turned a slight shade of red, but she said nothing as she hopped off the last step.
"Tis' a pleasure," Cipher smiled with almost wickedly sharp eyes, before following both Mei and Rem towards their prepared table.
After a few minutes, they were settled in their seats, Rem sitting beside him, and Shera sitting on the other side of the table. It was the same table as the night before, between two well-placed windows. On the table was a simple worn-red cloth with a number of different bowls, containing foods he didn't recognize, ready to be eaten.
"Hey…" Rem began to speak up after Mei went off elsewhere, "Centurion do you normally flirt with people this much in the morning...?" There was a hint of jealousy in her voice that nearly jabbed him like a blunted blade.
"Err… I was flirting?" Sweat began to form over his brow like it had done a few times before.
"...Did you do something with Mei while I was asleep?" The Pantherian crossed her arms, staring at him with a deadpan expression on her face.
"No. I gave her a tip last night for interfering with the Mage that was making a scene." '
Cipher reached over and plucked a piece of chicken-like meat from the bowl. Holding it by the bone, he bit into the glistening meat. Tender, easy to chew. The flavor alone was delicious beyond anything he had in this world; since it was the first thing he had tried so far.
"Tip?" Shera cocked her head to the side, apparently not understanding the term.
"Ah… An act of giving an additional reward for completing a service both well or beyond the immediate demand. Though I might have overcompensated her, for the most part, all is well."
"Don't be too generous," Rem nudged him in the side with a quiet mutter of words.
Hardly affected by the nudge to his ribs, he nodded. That was not the reason why he had given such a generous tip. All the same, he had given her enough coins to likely fix up the place or buy plenty of additional supplies. If not do something for herself rather than her customers. He had no idea what things cost, or what the cost of living was in this world. At least not yet.
But taking note of the denominations of currency, he was sure there was a reason for specific numbers being set in stone. The copper coin was probably worth a dollar, but he wasn't quite sure. The game's economy, or at least the one he came from, had a different denomination and worth of a copper, silver, and gold coin. It was based on tens, rather than eights, and there were fewer zeroes involved.
Could that mean that the foreign currency was worth more? If that was the case, he could ruin the economy of the Kingdom – or – form his own. What was a Kingdom really worth though? It sounded like way too much work.
'Way too much work…'
"So, what are you going to do when your brother catches up to you?" Cipher asked as he swallowed down his mouthful of strangely chicken tasting food.
"Eh?" Shera looked to Rem and then back to him in a hurried look.
"You can't expect to keep it a secret… It's going to affect the rest of us if he comes after you."
Deflating in her seat, she took another mouthful of food and began stuffing herself. Though after a couple of minutes she slowed down as he hadn't broken a sweat staring her down. She was far too easy to defeat and her appetite seemed to be quickly dying because of that.
"I don't know… He's my brother…"
"Centurion… What's this about her brother?" Rem furrowed a brow at the two of them.
"He's obsessed with the purity of his bloodline, so he's lusting after his sister… She ran away."
Darkening in the face, Rem looked at Shera for a few seconds before shaking her head.
"What's worse is that she used her real name here in town, there is no doubt they already know she is here of all places…" Cipher combed his fingers through his hair before itching his tingling scalp.
"To have the determination to run from someone like that, I like it." Finally, Rem gave her praise.
"Really~?" Shera was excited to hear it, though, from the way she reacted...
...It looked like she was misunderstanding something. She was praising her, not saying that she liked her or anything. Though deep down, Cipher was pretty sure she cared a great deal for the elf–no matter how stupid she was.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Stupid Elf…"
'Come to think of it… Rem is beginning to act like some sort of Tsundere.'
"What are you looking at, Centurion?"
Rem snapped as she noticed he was staring at her with a grin blatantly plastered over his lips.
"Oh, nothing."
Shifting his head from side to side, he began putting some food on the empty plate in front of him.
Stuffing their faces, the three of them spent a good hour devouring the food that was placed on the table for them. The first thing he noticed about the food though, was that it was better quality; at least compared to last night's meal. Even though he had hardly touched the food at all. Perhaps that was also because of the tip?
Standing up from the table once the meal was finished, Cipher stretched and looked to the girls.
Folding his hands behind his back, he walked behind Rem as she led the way out of the Inn. Out of the three of them, only she knew the destination of the Adventurer's Guild. Though it made him rather curious, how come the Elf wasn't already registered?
Then as his attention changed as they made it to the outside, his gaze flickered over the architecture. Paying a bit more notice to his surroundings, he was quick to pick up on the European design. A frown formed over his lips. Every Isekai he had seen in the old world, his homeworld, their architecture was always something resembling fifteenth-century Europe or the Middle East.
"So what kind of quest do you think we'll be doing today?"
"That will mostly depend on the levels you two have."
"How exactly do they assess our levels anyway…?"
"Oh right… You're not from this world…" Rem stopped and looked up to him as she turned around. "There's a mirror that you focus your mana into and it shows your overall level."
"So it judges by the amount of mana you channel into it…? Hm. So if I were to channel the same amount of mana that you exhume, I'd be able to get a false positive of level forty?"
Rem's lips parted as she heard this, but didn't show much emotion on her face. Then she placed her hands on her hips as her tail flicked aside. "Why would you want to appear what you're not?"
"You said there are Demon Worshippers in the Man-Eating Forest. They want to resurrect their supposed Demon Lord… So why must I paint myself a target?" Even though he was strong, Cipher didn't want to get caught up in needless fighting unless it was to protect Rem. And perhaps even protect Shera if she had even bigger problems with her brother than he was told about.
"Y-yeah… I did," Rem's gaze flashed to Shera then back to Cipher.
"So… now that we got that covered, can you tell me about the person that governs this city?"
Rem nodded reluctantly, changing the subject to what he wanted to know about. Just before she spoke, she let out a deep breath and looked him over. "His name is Chester Ray Galford, a Feudal Lord, and a powerful War Hero who defeated a Demon Lord thirty years ago."
"Sounds like someone I should talk to later on…"
"He looks down on Adventurers though," Rem crossed her arms over her chest now.
Not much of a surprise there. At least that was what he thought. Nobles were often stubborn and just used Adventurers to do their bidding in most fiction that he read. Discrimination towards them wasn't really left unseen.
Even as he was thinking about that, he was quick to pick up on his observations. Cipher had taken note of her patterns in body language. Something was telling him she wanted to keep moving. That and just the curious look Shera was giving her was enough to annoy her.
"So that's how it is… Huh?" Cipher smirked to himself before shrugging.
A soft sigh escaped his lips as he gestured for them to continue on their way.
It wasn't long before they came across one of the many stone buildings in the Fortress City of Faltra, but it stood out from the rest. Hanging along the front of the building and its many large windows, were banners with the depiction of a sword with a bow accompanied by two arrows. The roof was green, not orange, and the first level was laid with red stone brick.
"Hm…" Compared to the other buildings, it was better constructed. However, just like the rest of this district within the city, it was worn down and decaying at the hand of time.
"Another thing came to mind… Who is the strongest person in the Guild?"
"...Ah, that would be Emile, he's around level fifty I believe." Rem kept him informed as he figured she would with all the questions he decided to ask before their arrival.
"So there are two likely outcomes if my level is too high, we either have really challenging quests or none at all. There is even a chance I might be seen as too strong…" He scratched his chin curiously, looking over the guild entrance. There were plenty of people outside and inside the establishment. The aroma of alcohol even lingered out from inside.
"I think it'd be better if you were truthful about your level, Centurion. Let the Guild trust you."
Her argument was sound, really. Trust between employee and employer was something he figured was very important, even in this line of work. In most iterations of the Guild, he was sure the Adventurer's Guild protected its members.
"I suppose I'll give it a try… Not like there are any retries after all."
Rem gave a hint of a subtle smile as she nodded before leading the two of them inside.
The sound of excitement, arguing, play. All of his senses were flooded by things he had only read about or seen in movies. Clubs, bars, he had never been to any of them. With plenty of tables laid out, he saw everything from people waiting at their parties, to groups celebrating a victory and a job well done.
All of it painted a smile across his lips.
It reminded him of his Guild back in the game, where they went out and did quests together. Sat down for a virtual pint. Talked about how school or work was going. Warm memories kept him happy despite the conundrum of being stuck in another world, away from friends and family.
Monitoring Rem's movements, he followed behind her as she was heading up the steps.
Though the first thing he noticed was that there was no greeting desk by the door. Just about anyone could stroll on in here without any form of identification. Where were people supposed to make their requests? Upstairs? Sucking on the backs of his teeth, he was sure this place could use a little more work on becoming user friendly.
Soon enough though as he was about to walk up the stairs, he narrowed his gaze on a baggy red-robed individual walking down the flight of stairs. He couldn't quite make out their face, and their enigmatic body language made it hard to identify… not that he had the time to know them. Whoever they were, their presence made everything feel off.
So far he only had a few names and faces, so he didn't have much outreach. He couldn't touch them.
'... How curious…'
At the top of the steps, he rested his gaze on a more welcoming sight. A long counter with three canine demihumans standing behind it. Taking in more of their forms with his eyes, he raised a brow. Each one had the same face, hairdo, and body type. Not only that, but their outfits were red, yellow, and green like that of a traffic light. Similar to Shera, they were also well endowed.
'What are they… the embodiment of Cerberus? And why are large breasts so common…?'
As Shera passed him to follow Rem to the counter, he followed behind at a sluggish rate. There were two tables with benches, the floor was clean and what looked like a job board was by the windows. This place was relatively organized, but he couldn't say it was all that impressive.
Before he knew it, his eyes were on the bookcases behind the three women. The amount of knowledge there looked to be vast, but there was a chance they were used for bookkeeping instead.
There beside the counter setup also seemed to be a door to a backroom of sorts. Perhaps it was an office of some kind? He hadn't seen anyone who could be remotely considered the Guild Master.
"Hmm…" As they approached the counter, Rem handed both Shera and him their sign up forms.
He stared at it for a few seconds, he couldn't read it without magic. Though based on the line at the bottom, he was pretty sure he was supposed to sign it. This was most likely some sort of compliance contract that Adventurer's had to sign to agree to the rules.
Using [Translate], he was able to read the form before nodding to himself.
'In the game of Nine Divine, Lifestyle skills and spells were useful for all sorts of things… Like, [Translate] or [Lesser Comprehension] for quests requiring such an ability or magic item capable of doing the same. Even [Clean] was used to clear obstructed terrain or to reveal things hidden from view by static dust and dirt. Mending spells were also used a lot too, to maintain barricades and doors during raids on his guild base...'
His gaze trailed over the chipping paint and visible cracks in the brick walls.
'For a place with so many people frequently visiting, it is strange to see such deterioration.'
His gaze flickered over to the gold gilded mirror that looked completely out of place. There was no reflection coming off of it. For whatever reason, someone could even assume it was an elongated picture frame instead.
"I am Shera L. Greenwood…. I was born in…."
Those words made him lower his head in blatant annoyance as he recalled what he had told her the night before. Had that not stuck to her mind or did she purposely just give her real name? Walking over to the counter as Shera was finishing up signing and filling out the personal information, he turned to Rem. Compared to the Elf, he knew that the cat could be trusted.
"Can you fill out the information for me…?"
He could only read it, he couldn't write in the native language.
"I guess it can't be helped~," With pride, she took his flier and began writing down his information. Or at least as much as she could write down. All he did was simply watch. "Ah, Centurion. I never asked… but how old are you?"
"Sixteen," Centurion responded automatically without giving his age a single thought.
Both Shera and Rem seemed to be smiling to themselves as she went back to writing.
'Perhaps that means I'm close to their age…? Well, whatever, nice to know I suppose.'
Despite how long he had spent with them already, which was only a day or so, he didn't know how old either of them was. And still, despite telling them how old he was… he didn't feel like asking how old they were, to begin with. Though after glancing over his and Shera's waivers, he found the year was very close. So he was about the same age as her.
"Hm…"
"Now then," a submissive tone grabbed his full attention, "To finish up… Please place your blood seals here." The one in the green outfit placed a dagger on the countertop beside Shera's document.
'Blood magic? If I remember correctly, Enochian blood lore said it to be golden in color and used to create powerful healing and youth inducing elixirs...'
"Waaah… I don't like this…" Shera objected to the notion.
"It's just a little prick," Rem assured her, in a near-completely stoic manner.
Thinking it over, he observed the parchment. There didn't seem to be anything special. Then as he saw the elf move from the corner of his eye, he watched her. With much hesitation, Shera pricked her thumb before pressing it down onto the parchment. There was no glow or indication of magic, but just like in some nations it was like a form of identification stamp. No visible enchantment was in use.
Wiping the blade clean, he placed his waiver down on the counter and pricked his thumb. Wincing at the sudden pinch of pain, he watched as a faint glowing pool of blood formed on his tip.
"He has Golden Blood...?" He could hear the women behind the counter whispering. A grin took to his lips as he, without a second to waste, pressed his thumb down onto the parchment.
"...What is he…?"
"...Sister, It smells sweet…"
"Enochian Blood smells sweet you say?" Cipher placed both hands on the countertop almost harshly to garner their attention. Their big puppy-like eyes immediately snapped to him, it almost looked like they were about to cry.
"Don't terrorize the Guild Employees, Centurion…" Rem sighed.
"Eh? Oh… sorry," He proceeded to shed an innocent smile before looking towards the mirror.
Quickly moving to where he was looking, the puppy girl in green stood beside the mirror. "So next we're going to measure your magic levels."
"So there is a mirror that measures your magic power… huh?" His gaze flickered over the dark surface and noted the lack of reflection. Truthfully, there was no doubt this was a magic item. He could see the enchantment with his true vision that was granted to all Enochians.
"I bet I'm going to be over level forty, or maybe fifty~!"
Shera was understandably excited, she either had the chance to one-up Rem or fail in the process of trying. Either way, it was going to show just how far she had to go to improve herself.
"There's nothing reflected in it though…"
"Touch it with your hand, and try to fill it with magic."
"Like as if you're imbuing an item with magical properties?"
Rem stared at Cipher for a few seconds as she heard the question. She had no idea what he was talking about, but he was sure she knew what an enchantment was. She simply shrugged at his inquiry.
"S-so like this?" Gradually and cautiously, Shera finally placed her hand on the surface of the mirror and channeled magic energy into it.
Cipher was expecting to see some sort of number, but instead, a slight reflection was shown in the mirror of just Shera herself. Not even her entire body showed, just mostly above her abdomen.
"Oh?" His sights settled on the one employee in the green outfit again as she went to speak.
"Wow, that's incredible~!" The puppy girl exclaimed, taking a step behind Shera to examine the outcome of the Elf's attempt to gauge her power. "Let's see… It's clear enough to count your eyelashes and all the way down to your chest," she looked at what appeared to be a scoring sheet. So your level... "
"How high~? How high~?" Shera was chiming about with a big bright smile on her face.
"Thirty!" Though she wore a charming smile on her lips as she spoke, she didn't even look up from the paper. Sure, she was happy for the result, but it wasn't all too impressive considering Rem's was forty.
Completely defeated, sweat running down the side of her face, Shera cried out, "No way! I lost to Rem again!?" She inevitably sulked where she stood, all the while, Rem rolled her eyes as she had seen this coming.
"You were overreaching if you thought you could surpass me…" She shifted to one hip, leaning towards the light of the uncovered windows. Her words made her out to be sure of herself, and with her eyes closed, cemented the claim.
"I will surpass you in no time, Rem!" Shera declared, pointing at her friend.
'As a level thirty, she'd probably be stronger in the game I came from… Though here. I feel like they're far weaker than they let on.'
While they were preoccupied, he approached the mirror and observed it closely. Since the elf had left it alone, the reflection was now gone. Based on what he knew now, the power of the person who touches it is gauged by how much is shown. As he wanted to see just how much he could make appear in the mirror, the method didn't sound very definitive.
Surprised he had gotten to the mirror, the employee gestured to the mirror, "You may go now"
Nodding to her words, he reached forward and pressed his hand against the cold glass surface.
"Uh, I might be a biiit stronger than the usual, so...I think it might be best to prepare yourselves for what might happen."
All he could do was caution the others, as not even he knew what to expect. There was no precedent to how it would react to someone that was hypothetically a Level 100 or even above it. On top of the fact of his suspicion that the 'Levels' of this world were weaker compared to those in Nine Divine.
With the tips of his fingers on the mirror, he lidded his eyes and channeled his mana into the item.
A ripple of golden hues filled the dark abyss that was the surface of the mirror, followed by a foreign yet immense pressure that filled the room. That wasn't all. There was little to no warning as the room began to become illuminated by an invisible force.
"Aaaaah!" The employee closest to him jumped back in fright covering her eyes from the intensity.
Others within the room were all huddled together, while his two companions did their best to shield themselves from the glaring light. He oddly enough could recognize the radiance that filled the room. As if it was just part of his nature, he determined it was Divine Energy. That was when suddenly the mirror cracked and both the area under it and the wall behind it began to tremble.
As a burst of holy energy exploded from the mirror in an unstable wave, he swiftly pulled his hand back from the mirror. In that instant, everything was back to normal except…
...The damage had already been done.
"Oi… What the hell…! As an Angel Lord I know I was expecting something, but not this!"
With no warning, the door he surmised as being connected to some sort of office, came crashing open. A small, petite, form came rushing out on dainty feet. "What was that wave just now!?"
Settling his gaze on the tiny humanoid, he narrowed his sights on a scantily clad bunny girl. Pursing his lips, he was not expecting such a youthful, almost spotless, and cute looking character to appear.
Raising the same hand he had placed on the mirror, he gave the little lady with pink hair a wave. She looked like some sort of belly dancer, though with much less silk than normal. Perhaps a prostitute? He doubted one of those worked here… perhaps she was the Guild Master? Didn't she look a little young though? His mind was filling up with a number of useless inquiries before suddenly–
"[Mass Restoration]."
A singular massive magic circle filled the entire room, even the people on the ground floor could see the glow from the stairwell. In seconds, not only was the mirror repaired but so was the numerous amounts of decay. Walls that once had paint chipped away, were now restored in a fresh dry coat. Even the outside of the guild building was restored.
"Guild Master! U-uh…" Coming around, the puppy in green responded, "Aaaah..." She was still in panic even after the whole event had settled down. Her eyes moving between him and his companions.
"Yo, GM!" Cipher gave a delayed, short, and informal greeting.
Though it seemed to have taken her a moment to process what was going on, she suddenly wore a smile on her face. A warm expression to meet her cute stature. "Hello, I am Sylvie; Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild in Faltra City… Do you have a moment to spare?"
Taking a bit more of her white silk and gold attire into his mind, he could hardly think of her in the role she proclaimed to have. She looked more like a slave dancer, like a Twi'lek or something...not that he was complaining since she's undeniably great eye candy.
"O-of course," He smiled faintly, trying to give the most impressionable gesture he could muster.
As the canine demihumans handed over the paperwork, the three of them followed her into the office without question. Sylvie as she called herself, closed the door behind them once they were inside.
For just an inkling of a second, she stopped to admire the walls. Then, she went on over to the two sofas in the center of the room, surrounding a small polished dark wood coffee table. With a single hop, she sat on the right. It didn't take long before she made herself at home as she gestured for them to take a seat across from her.
"Please take a seat~," She said as she glanced over the paperwork now in her hands.
Rem was the first to sit down, and he sat between her and Shera.
With a strip of silk beneath her bottom, she crossed her legs and rested into the back of the sofa. She had this little smile on her lips as she was looking at his information. He could tell since he could see his golden blood showing through the parchment.
"It's the first time the Mirror has ever reacted this way..."
She sounded curious rather than suspicious. If anything, there was a glint of excitement in her occupied gaze. Clucking her tongue playfully, she looked up from the paper.
"...Honestly, I don't know if we can handle you here."
Based on his hypothesis, this was one of the few possibilities. He was too strong for work. It was like those stories he heard about some people being overqualified for a job. Or simply being unable to get a job due to having an IQ test that went over a certain score.
"What do you mean?"
Rem was the first to speak up, leaning towards him. Though she had too little of an expression on her face, he could sense her worry with ease.
"I am certain you're a high level," Sylvie's gaze didn't leave him at all, "but I can't place how high."
"Ah… Where I come from I'm considered a level one hundred… but that wasn't proper power scaling, other than to say one has experience…"
"Oh...?" Sylvie was immediately interested in his little story, of where he was from.
"It's possible that in this realm, I'm above your mirror's scaling capabilities." Cipher caught on quick and kept a subtle tone, he didn't want to sound egotistical when comparing himself to their system.
Though not wanting to verbally flaunt his power after casting a spell, probably didn't mean much.
"That still puts you beyond our knowledge, how does the power scaling work where you're from?"
The Guild Leader dropped the paper onto the table between them. Keeping her composure, she then leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees as she unfolded her beautiful slender legs. Sylvie even presented a close-eyed smile.
"Alright… I'll get right to it. A single person can have up to ten job classes. Each of the job classes can reach up to level ten... Then as they level up, they can then enhance the quality of the class…"
Cipher was beginning to feel like he was lecturing a group of new players. A wave of nostalgia ran through him even though it had only been a couple of days since he trained beginners at the game.
"...Which they have to level up over and over again each time. The highest natural class grade is Legendary, while there are also two Mythological and one Epic grade slot that is super rare to obtain."
"Eh...?" Sylvie was flabbergasted, "Then how is power scaled?"
"Through a statistic called Might, mostly, which usually has more than four digits…"
"Even if that is the case… and I'll say this lightly; even though you signed up I wouldn't know what kind of missions would be acceptable for you."
Leaning into the couch, Cipher eyed the rabbit. "Why do I feel like I've been put out of a job..?"
"Don't get the wrong idea. We're happy to register strong people, but I'm weaker than you are. Can you really accept being ordered around by me?"
"Well, it's not much different from where I'm from, and I don't wish to work for any national body... I don't exactly want to deal with the paperwork that's a part of your job either… God knows how much I've already had to deal with before..."
No longer in lecturer mode, he kept her informed of his latest thoughts on the matter. For the most part, considering he wanted the job, he wasn't going to lose his composure. Even then, that didn't stop him from grumbling near the end of his tiny tangent.
"...So taking orders and getting paid to do so, that's something I can deal with no problem."
"Hmmmm~!" She playfully let her head move to the side, "Hehe… Well, aren't you interesting~!"
Seeing her laugh a bit, she undoubtedly accepted him into the Guild, directly or not.
"Alright! Glad to have you aboard, Centurion!" With one hand on the table, she leaned forward to shake his hand like a regular dealing between two people. His heart was beginning to pound, looking at her hand outstretched to meet him, which reminded him of how he had offered his services to Rem.
It felt warm.
Reaching out, he grasped her hand without hesitation. Boy was it small compared to his. Though he had a strange feeling that she was much older than Rem despite her youthful looks; especially as she grasped his hand in return.
"It's a pleasure to be had," a smirk flashed across his lips as he caressed her palm with the shake. Her skin was soft too. That was until he felt the nudge of a certain someone's elbow in his side.
"Stop trying to flatter the Guild Master," Rem couldn't help but whisper once he looked at her.
"Eh? Rem is being jealous~?" Shera blinked, poking the side of Rem's flushed red face.
Rem groaned aloud, "Shut up Shera you baka!"
Rolling his eyes, the two concluded the handshake and Sylvie stood from the sofa. She couldn't let go of that smile on her face, even as she made her way over to her desk. Now that everything was well cared for, her office seemed well put together. Though it was awfully small. Once she was standing behind her desk, she made a small hum.
"I don't know how many quests fit your actual abilities..."
She began looking through piles of parchment. Eyeing all the details before moving onto the next job waiver and the one after that. Worse comes to worst though, he figured his group was going to do something easy to start off anyway.
"I am rather curious about the Fallen… Do you have jobs for taking care of those?"
"Hehe~ Right to the point with you, huh? Hmmm... The Paladin Order is tasked with those unless they pose a direct threat to the area… The last time the Fallen attacked, the adventurers all attacked them head-on… We lost a lot of good people that day."
He slowly nodded to her words, understanding the danger of the Fallen now that she had told him what happened before. "If that is the case… I'll have to say gathering, exploration, and monster killing missions will work for us, hrm…. Right, Rem?"
Rem, his charge, gave Cipher a nod in affirmation with a subtle glimmer in her eye.
"Hmmm…"
"What's up?"
Sylvie pulled out a piece of parchment and peered over the details.
"I've found a new quest here, it's exactly what you're looking for."
Greeted by the image of a large wolf as she flipped the paper for them to see, she grinned.
"Apparently one of the Villages near the Demon Territory is being harassed by Dire Wolves."
Seeing as his translation spell was still in affect, he could read the details.
"It's a bit fishy though, since it didn't come from the villagers itself."
Nodding to Sylvie's words, he didn't necessarily understand. Didn't it cost money to make a request to the Guild in the first place? There needed to be a reward, right? Though he was curious about the benefactor, the Church.
"I am curious, Sylvie, do members of the church wear red-robes?"
One of Sylvie's bunny-like ears flopped to the side as she raised a brow.
"Dark red robes are a symbol of magic power," she explained, "though I am sure some people within the church and other organizations may wear them."
'Could there be the slightest chance that the Church planted that job?... but why? I never met anyone in the church unless someone tipped them off about what I was.'
Considering the religious violence on Earth, particularly when someone claimed to be related to god by blood, he saw where this was going. A divine being suddenly appearing? Sounded like trouble.
"Oh… And Centurion?" Sylvie cleared her throat and offered her iconic well-meaning smile, "Thank you for repairing the guild, my office hasn't looked this good in years~!"
"It's no trouble, none at all. Just think of it as a preemptive gift for taking me in…" Cipher couldn't resist the urge to give a wink in her general direction. "Though, this makes things easier... I've been thinking of helping maintain the Demihuman District's infrastructure."
"Eh… You should offer that service through the Adventurer's Guild's job request services. The Carpenter and Labourer Guilds won't like it if a better skilled freelancer takes their jobs for free..."
"So, give them a chance to turn a profit from me...?"
Centurion saw she had a point there, about upsetting the economic balance of the city was once more on his mind. Getting on the bad side of most of the guilds was definitely one way to get kicked out of the city.
Sylvie bobbed her head subtly, somewhat disappointed in the reality herself.
"Do you have a map of the region that we can use to get there?"
She blinked and nodded, rummaging through her desk she pulled out a piece of old rolled up parchment. Holding it out for him to take along with the mission dossier, Cipher sat down with the items.
The map was relatively detailed, though he had nothing to compare it to as they hadn't stopped by a general store. Though part of him was beginning to believe that those stores didn't sell maps. Letting out a sigh as he took in the information on the map, the designated village was in a wooded area. Anyone who could hide in trees or foliage could get the jump on them if his group wasn't careful.
"From what I am seeing here, we can start near the Starfall Tower."
"Eh~!? Start? How are you going to start all the way out there?" Sylvie didn't know about his teleportation, at least that is what her reaction told him. A soft chuckle escaped his lips as he looked at the clueless rabbit.
Without warning, he decided to have a little fun. Teleporting directly from the Sofa making it appear as if he had vanished completely. Yet in less than a second, he reemerged sitting on the clear surface area of her desk.
Her ear twitched, "Huh?" With a swift turn of her head, Sylvie gradually raised her brows in astonishment as she granted herself a long pause. "HUH!?"
"I have transportation magic, Boss~! No need to worry about long travels to places I've been!"
Almost instinctively, he reached over and began patting her head. Though she was surprisingly childish in appearance, she glared at him like any adult would when they felt belittled.
With a mildly angered smile, her left brow twitched. "Haha… You're lucky I like you, Centurion."
Swallowing the saliva he had in his mouth, he immediately retracted his hand from her head. There was this intuitive feeling in the back of his head that she was going to bite his hand if he didn't stop. Cipher didn't want to see if she was willing to literally do it either.
"Good to know~ Good to know~!"
Slipping off of her desk he flickered right back over to the sofa and sat down there.
"Don't make the guild master angry," Rem nudged him in the side again.
"Yeah...I think I've learned my lesson. Boss is scary..." He imitated a faint shiver. No initiative came from getting on her bad side, particularly if that's how she was like when she was mildly irritated.
"Then I suppose it's time for us to go and collect the supplies before we leave for the quest," he chuckled lightly as he stood from the sofa again.
"Oh, oh! What are we getting~?" Shera had her hands out from her sides, like an arrow pointing to the sky. A bubbly smile across her face as she smiled up at him.
"Items for making healing potions and perhaps stamina ones as well… Maybe hunting tools."
The elf threw her hands in the air, "I can get those~!"
"You go do that," Cipher smirked and watched as she went for the door, "Meet us in the lobby."
"Mkay~!" And in less than a minute she was gone, running down the stairs and out the door.
"Boss… Our elf friend has a brother with bad intentions… If someone comes after her, or tries to kidnap her, please notify anyone who is solicited to go after her and dares ruffle my feathers… will be met with immediate lethal force."
Sylvie snapped to attention, staring up at him. "It's her brother though, you can't just..."
"If you're overpowered and pinned to the ground against your will with intent to make you into a breeding tool, what would you have me do?"
Sweat drops appeared on the Grasswalker's forehead as she heard him, "Ah… That bad?"
"That bad, boss." Reaffirming his statement, he nodded his head.
Feeling a light tug on his holy garb's sleeve, his gaze flickered on over to Rem.
"Have you… ever killed someone?"
"..Of course, I've slain many demonic beings, among others, in the other Realms..." Though, he himself hadn't truly killed a person...as it had only been a game up until this point.
It felt as if she was trying to capture him in a lie, or to see if he really was as tough as he claimed. His head tilted subtly before he looked to the window behind Sylvie's desk.
"Right," She let out a low sigh as the two of them made their way down to the lobby.
From her mannerisms, he was beginning to get the feeling that she hadn't killed a person before. This was both good and bad. Even if she was resolved to act, when she did kill someone, he expected a breakdown during that eventuality.
In real life outside of the game, he was trained in self-defense for when the necessity arrived.
Every fifteen minutes or so, he was silent casting [Locate Person] to track Shera's progress as they waited in the lobby. And for about an hour, there were absolutely no issues as she moved about the Fortress City.
In addition to that, there was no whisper about her amongst the other adventurers. Nor a hint of a bounty that he could only assume a family would put out for the return of their daughter or sister.
For the time being, they were in the clear. Tracking her only proved one of two things, either the family didn't know she was here yet or there was an unseen plot waiting for them in their quest. It reminded him a bit too much of the escort quests from the Nine Divine. All he knew was the event was inevitable. Somehow, somewhere, they were going to make a move and he had no information to come up with a battle plan.
As Shera came bustling through the front doors of the Adventurer's Guild with a basket in hand, she came right up to Rem and him. "I'm back! Hehe. I have everything we need~."
"And no one was following you?"
"Huh? No, I don't think so… but I did feel an odd itching sensation in the back of my head."
Raising a brow at her claim, Cipher reached over and ruffled her long blonde hair; purposely making a fierce mess of it all.
"Eh? Hahaha, what are you doing~?"
Feeling Rem's eyes piercing through him, he gently came to a stop. A subtle smile taking to his lips, but truthfully the expression on his face hardly measured how smug he felt.
"I was watching your movements every fifteen minutes."
"Hah?!" Rem jumped in place, having been clueless the entire time.
"I can divine locations of people and objects. So, if anyone is kidnapped, I'll know where they're taken." A faint chuckle escaped him before he draped his hands over their shoulders.
"Hello there!" A spontaneously, loud, male's voice took Cipher's attention.
Turning his head to face the source, a young blond man clad in what appeared to be gold colored full-plate armor. Creasing a brow, Cipher scrutinized the guy who was asserting himself. "Salutations, stranger?"
There wasn't much he could tell with a single glance at the male.
"I'm Emile Bichelberger! You must be the newcomer to town, said to be a Divine Being?"
"That was fast… My name is Centurion." Squinting at the level fifty warrior that Rem had spoken of, he was about ready to teleport away. "Is there anything in particular I can help you with?"
"As the protector of all women! I wish to accompany you on your quest to slay the Dire Wolves and to make sure no harm befalls these fair maidens!"
From the corner of his eye, he could see the Guild Master sneaking back up the steps.
"Ah… I see what's going on..." He couldn't help rolling his eyes at her interloping actions.
Rem sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, Emile, I don–"
"I believe that to be a sound plan actually, so just put your hand on my shoulder."
Centurion grinned as he overwrote Rem's rejection of Emile's offer to join their party.
Not too pleased with that, she pouted. "...Centurion?"
Emile was visibly confused, but nonetheless he was all too happy to comply without question. Placing his hand on Centurion's shoulder, he chuckled a bit. "So… I'm not quite sure why I'm doing this. What's going to happen now, exactly, my Divine friend?"
Without a word, without a warning, he silently cast [Teleportation] causing the four of them to vanish in a sudden flash of white light.
Emerging at the foot of their designated location, Starfall Tower, Emile stumbled from the group. Disoriented from the sudden change of location, he placed a hand on the side of his head.
"Wha…How did we get here?"
"Teleportation, something sorcerers and arcane spell casters can use."
"...That is insane! Haha! I like it."
"Centurion," Rem tugged on his robes, "We should follow the edge of the forest to the village."
Cipher clucked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, "Good idea." Taking the lead as it were, he began walking almost casually so towards the Man-Eating Woods. He could hear them behind him, crushing the grass underfoot.
Emile tapped Rem's shoulder, "Do… people usually act so casual walking towards the woods?"
"Only Centurion." The tip of her tail flicked from side to side while keeping it low to the ground.
Shera managed a whimper, "There's supposed to be really powerful monsters in there…"
"Is he any good at fighting?" Emile had no experience being by his side, so it was only natural to question someone's aptitude. When he was met with a shake of Rem's head, he tensed.
"I'm surprised the Guild Master didn't tell you anything more," Cipher chuckled ahead of them.
"Eh?" Rem's ears perked up hearing about Sylvie, "What about the Guild Master?"
"How did you…"
"I saw her sneaking back up to the office after meeting with you," Cipher turned to look at them from over his shoulder. "She's a sneaky-cheeky little rabbit. I'll give her that."
Running a hand through his bangs, with stars in his eyes, Emile smirked. "She simply gave word that Shera was in distress and that she wanted me to help protect these fine women. Hmhm! … Though I'd avoid referring to Demihumans as the animals their traits represent..."
"Ah… He doesn't know the races." Rem scratched the side of her head, fidgeting with her hair.
"...Wait, really?" Emile blinked several times in disbelief, "You don't know the races?"
"In the Realm that I came from, most of the Demihumans were generalized by their traits… If not simply called humans. There were hundreds of Elven races, which had high-pointing ears… then there were Dwarves that were exceptionally short humans with beards…"
"Did dwarves from your plane not have canine-like ears?"
"Nope... Those were the dog-folk or halflings. Dwarves were just very short humans with stocky builds and beards as long as they were and no race was better Smiths than they… but I suppose you could call them midgets if you don't mind getting pickaxed to death..."
"Talk about a painful experience!" Emile laughed, "But that is interesting… Then again, I never heard of any summons that could talk like you do…"
"From what I hear, Emile, most summons aren't humanoid either." Cipher didn't turn around to face him. Instead, he folded his hands behind his back as he continued to walk with mediocre stride.
Not wanting to sound rude, he nodded, "So what are Sylvie's people called then?"
"Grasswalkers. Beings like Rem are known as Pantherians… You probably know the rest." Emile was nice enough to tell him the names of the races. A smile across his lips as he did.
Looking to the sky, he let out a quiet sigh. "Good to know the interesting names of the races..."
"Happy to help!" A soft chuckle left Emile, before he turned his head to look to Shera as he rested his hand on the hilt of his sheathed blade at his hip. "Know that I will protect you and your interests, Shera."
"Th-thank you, Emile." A kind and gentle smile rested on her lips, though anyone could see she was nervous from a single glance.