The combat district was called such mainly because it was the place of the city that dealt the most with things related to violence, like fight clubs, combat sports, and there was even an arena. The only actual thing that was forbidden was the production of weapons and armor, that specific trade was limited to the northwestern section known as the smith district, a place cautiously separated from this one as a precaution.
Rhemurus could also see a much larger number of watchmen in comparison to the other districts he has seen so far, even more than in the central one.
- With so many eyes everywhere, finding a thug to kill may be hard.
But he still wasn't deterred, he needed to find a way to level-up no matter what, that's how fractured and unstable Tanaka's mind was as of that moment.
After several minutes of walking aimlessly, he spotted a particularly dark alley with no watchmen nearby, the perfect spot to hide from watchful eyes, hence the place where thugs may be hiding in.
Or at least, that's what he thought.
- Maybe some of the stuff I purchased is flammable, I could use [Entangle] from a distance to make sure I don't get caught, then [Burning Hands] to make sure anyone caught in it dies for good. The more die, the more EXP I will get.
If only he could actually pay attention to the thoughts brewing inside his unstable mind, Tanaka may realize how crazed his desperation was making him and would stop himself. But no, it would require someone much stronger than him to physically restrain him and smack some sense into him, and luckily for him, as a level 2 human that wasn't so hard.
So as he began to walk into the dark alley to look for any shady individual hiding in it, he instead felt someone touching his right shoulder from behind.
He was so startled that his body instinctively made an attack response by turning around and aiming a fist strike at what surprised him. But the other individual was much faster than Rhemurus and caught his fist with his own hand, holding it tight.
"Hey there, friend. What are you doing here?" Said the one who just sneaked out of nowhere and was holding Rhemurus with incredible ease.
Now that his hand was being held immobile, he could take a good look at this individual despite the lack of illumination in the alley; a man wearing the same type of equipment that the other watchmen use, except that he looked quite youthful in comparison, no older than 20 years old.
"Huh hi, I...appear to be lost."
"Lost? It appeared to me like you were actively looking for a place like this, a dark and lonely place."
"Well, there's a good reason for that."
- I'm looking for criminals I can kill so I can level-up, but you wouldn't understand even if I explain it to you.
The young watchman simply gave him an expectant look, as if waiting for that 'good reason' to be revealed, but Rhemurus couldn't come up with anything good enough, not under these pressures and current circumstances.
So finally, the young watchman spoke.
"Well, I believe at this point I have no choice but to ask you to come with me. I'm sure marshal Korva will have some questions for you."
"N-no, I HAVE to, to find...you don't-"
"There there. Whatever it is, I'm sure the marshal will be able to help you, so I insist you don't resist."
The young watchman used his free hand to hold Rhemurus' arm, then with the hand he was using to hold the player's fist he then held Rhemurus from his shoulder, holding with just enough strength to not hurt.
- This guy, he must be at a much higher level than me!
Fighting against the young watchman would be unwise, he was at least sane enough to realize that.
"Come, friend."
Unable to resist, Rhemurus simply walked alongside the young watchman outside the dark alley that, in retrospect, he really shouldn't even have walked into in the first place, but the player was anything but sane as of that moment.
Walking for what seemed like a near eternity from his perspective, they eventually approached a woman who was mounted on an armored ibex. Her equipment made it clear she was from the watch, and while she wasn't unattractive by any means, she had a hard and forbidding expression on her face that would make anyone looking at her stand firm and pay attention. The armor and weapons she had on her person were spotless and neat, as well as the barding on her ibex, befitting of a high-ranking soldier.
"Marshal Korva-" Spoke the young watchman addressing her. "-you instructed us to report any suspicious individuals, and if possible, restrain them."
"Yes, Kobad. But just because someone looks unusual it doesn't mean this someone is suspicious by default." Replied by marshal after noticing the player's strange physical features.
"So, what if someone were to purposely look for the most isolated and darkest alley he could find, and proceed to enter it with an anxious expression on his face? Would that be suspicious?" Answered the watchman, Kobad.
Hearing that made the marshal furrow her already serious brow.
Rhemurus for his part was dead silent, his mind in the chaotic state it was didn't know what to do.
"Mmm, that would indeed be quite suspicious."
She took a quick peek around her, as if checking the surroundings, then asked Kobad another question.
"Was he the only individual you and Baradin saw acting suspiciously?"
"As of now, yes. But I left Baradin with enough support, any other suspicious individuals will be apprehended as well."
"Very well."
Marshal Korva gave Rhemurus a sharp glance and asked him who he was and what his business was.
"I...my name is Rhemurus, I'm a refugee sent from Guraxus."
"Hm, there was indeed a mention of a refugee from the capital in today's morning reports from the other marshals."
"My goal is to become a member of the city watch, but I'm not capable enough yet. I need to improve my abilities."
"And so you decided to improve your abilities by acting like one of Drulia's thugs? Because that's the first impression you gave us, friend." Remarked Kobad, who was still holding Rhemurus tight.
"No, that's not it. I, um-"
"You were seriously trying to find some of Drulia's thugs by yourself?" Marshal Korva said in almost a mocking tone. "Even if you somehow managed to do that, you still wouldn't earn the watch's favor, boy."
- Huh, she almost got my reasoning right. This marshal is quite perceptive. Also, did she seriously call me 'boy'?
"If anything, a stranger from some other land appearing out of nowhere, without any known background, suddenly eliminating criminals and demanding to join the watch would only make you look even more suspicious. Don't tell me you didn't think this through."
"Well, marshal Korva, right? I, I did give it some thought-" That was a blatant lie, Rhemurus acted merely on a senseless impulse. "-and the conclusion that I reached was that the most direct approach would be the best."
"In any case, regardless of your reasoning, it's unlikely that a refugee from some other land who came to our city just yesterday is related to Drulia or her gang in any way. Kobad."
"Yes, marshal?"
"Have this refugee taken to the druid district, where sage Aerodus is."
"Huh? Uh, of course, marshal. But if I may ask, why take him all the way to the druid district when our headquarters are nearby in this district? That way he can be detained and questioned later, after our scheduled sweeping of the district."
"The reports from marshal Gellius stated that, even though Lord Erodel advocates for this refugee and even said that he would speak personally with him if the refugee requests to do so, Gellius still believes that there is no need to distract the chieftain with such thing, and I agree as well. Sage Aerodus is a much better choice for handling things that the chieftain has no time for, and besides, we're quite busy here."
She paused for a bit and threw a cold stare directly at Rhemurus' eyes.
"This is for your own good as well, refugee. I can tell just by looking at you, your anxiety, your unhealthy amounts of stress. Sage Aerodus will give you the aid you need."
- You tell me I need counseling...? No, I have no time!
"I appreciate your concern for me, but-"
"Also, you don't want to put both Lord Erodel and sage Seliaxhala in a bad situation, should your mental disarray make you do something that breaks our laws and moral decency. Right, refugee?"
"-but...huh?"
It finally clicked in Rhemurus' mind, he never considered it until marshal Korva pointed it out to him right now; Erodel and Seliaxhala were the ones who decided to trust him despite the fact that they knew nothing about him, a stranger from who knows where. If Rhemurus starts acting in a shameful or undignified manner, regardless of the reason, the ones that spoke in his favor would also look bad by extension, he would be repaying their kindness with disgrace, which is something that he felt was worse than remaining weak.
Tanaka's mind was still in a bad place, but thanks to marshal Korva, at the very least it was now slightly pushed to a better place than it was before.
"I...you...you're right. I didn't consider that."
Because he had his stare looking downwards in shame, Rhemurus didn't notice the dumbfounded stare that Kobad was sending his way, a stare that clearly had "is this guy really so brainless? How didn't he think of that?" written all over it.
The ones that he was trying to impress - the city watch - were the complete opposite of impressed so far, which wasn't a really good start for Rhemurus at all.
"So if there are no objections from you, I'll call captain Gruckalus to escort you to the druid district." Said Kobad to Rhemurus who just snapped back to the real world.
"Of course, I will appreciate that. Thank you."
"Right, so don't get into trouble, alright?"
And so it was arranged for the refugee to be taken from the combat district to the druid district, which didn't take that long because the druid district was in the south section of the human city, bordering the combat district which was in the southwest section.
The reason why the druid district was so close to the combat district was the same reason the religious district - which was located in the west section of the city - was also bordering that specific district; as their names imply, the druid district is where Breizen's druids are raised and trained, while in the religious district is where the clerics are raised. Both places would serve as a buffer should some or all of the criminals imprisoned in the combat district somehow manage to break loose and attempt to run into the other districts where the relatively weak non-combatant humans live in.
It's true that the central district where the chieftain and his family live in was also bordering the combat district, but any escaping criminals would rather try their luck against small armies of druids or clerics, for everyone knew that Lord Erodel was easily the most powerful human in the Argland Council State.
Well, the most powerful human so far, that is.
"Here we are, refugee. This is sage Aerodus' abode."
Captain Gruckalus from the city watch took Rhemurus to a large three-story house built with wood and mud bricks and a roof overflowing with abundant grass, a house that made the player reminiscent of some of the structures he saw back in Yggdrasil, in the natural realm of Vanaheim.
"Just knock on the door, the sage is almost always home."
"Thank you again, captain."
Gruckalus simply nodded and turned his ibex back to the combat district. Judging from what he overheard while being escorted to this place, it appears that the city watch was currently in some type of war against a gang leader called Drulia, someone who managed to take control of the criminal underbelly of the city and turn it into an organization that is giving the watch a lot of trouble as of late.
- I should be helping in that war, I know I could do something about it if I was higher-level.
Rhemurus may only be a level 2 human as of now, but he was still a player with tremendous room for growth. If he managed to reach his full potential, he could singlehandedly end whatever crime was plaguing the human city, he could singlehandedly do pretty much anything.
- As I am right now, I really can't do shit. It's maddening!
This continuing feeling of powerlessness will eventually drive Tanaka even madder than he already was, he could feel it.
- I guess, I should play along with this place's rules. If it turns out I can't level-up here, I will have to find a way to move elsewhere.
So without any further ado, Rhemurus knocked on the door as the captain instructed him.
He believed that he would have to be waiting for a good while, but to his surprise, the door was immediately opened right after he knocked on it. But what did surprise him was the fact that there was nobody at the other side of the door, as if the door opened by itself.
- A magic item? Or something else?
"Hello!?"
No response.
"The door opened, so I will come in, if that's okay!"
No response yet again.
- Is me calling out for an answer and receiving none going to be a recurring occurrence from now on?
With that bit of frustration inside him, Rhemurus just walked into the house and heard the door close behind him. He just ignored that and kept walking since he only saw a single corridor leading forward, no doors or even a window.
- Judging by the thick vines covering the walls, I imagine the doors would be hidden underneath the vegetation. I guess this place really is the druid district, huh.
Eventually, he reached another door, and this time he didn't have to knock because the door opened itself before he could do that.
And unlike the first door, he could now see someone on the other side; an elder man - one older than even Erodel who sported much thicker hair and beard than the chieftain - sitting on a soft-looking earth floor with his legs crossed and eyes closed, almost as if he was taking a nap. The clothes he was wearing were without any ornaments, but were still quite colorful, with light purple being the most prominent dye.
"Hello, I am-"
"Rhemurus, I'm aware. Thank you for coming, just give me a moment." Said the elder while his eyes remained closed.
It appeared as if the elder, sage Aerodus, was deeply concentrated on some type of task that demanded his full attention.
With nothing else to do, the player just sat on the soft floor as well and remained still for a minute or so before the sage finally opened his eyes with a relieved expression on his face.
"Alright, thank you for waiting. My name is Aerodus, the archdruid of Breizen. Erodel and I spoke last night about you through [World Message], I believe I have an idea of why you decided to visit me, but why don't you go ahead and tell me? I told the chieftain that I would rather hear the full story from you."
"Sure, gladly..."
Rhemurus proceeded to tell sage Aerodus a roughly similar tale to the one he had told everyone so far; that he came from a faraway land and how he was taken to these lands by force, with no way to go back.
"I see...that's quite the tale. So I imagine that you want a way to go back home?"
"Well, the truth is that I don't have many hopes to find a way to return-"
- And I have no desire to return, either.
"-instead I decided to find a way to make the most of my current situation."
"You're that quick to give up in any potential way to go back to your native place? Do forgive me for saying this, but you aren't someone who loves his home, are you?"
- Huh, he's the first one to actually notice. Quite perceptive, no wonder he's a sage.
"I...no. I'm not." Replied Rhemurus after thinking about it for just a single second. For the time being, he still believed that being as honest as possible was the way to go.
"And considering the amount of venom that laced your voice just now, I imagine you must indeed have a good reason to not love your home. Do forgive me, I shouldn't have asked you that."
Rhemurus didn't say anything else, mainly because he didn't want to lose himself in a ramble about how horrible his native world was, so an uncomfortable silence fell between the two.
"So-" Sage Aerodus finally decided to go back to the topic. "-Erodel told me you're looking for employment. In the watch, to be specific?"
"Yes. That's correct, sage."
"But if you are here instead of the training grounds for new recruits, that means you didn't have much luck."
"You're correct again."
"What happened? Do you think you were rejected because you're not a native of our city?"
"No, sage. While I understand that blindly trusting a refugee from another land is unwise, the main reason I was rejected was my lack of ability."
"Erodel told me you're a druid, so your circle never taught you skills that are useful in urban places?"
"No, um, the issue wasn't the circle I joined, the issue was that I barely learned the basics. As of now, I can only cast three 1st-tier spells."
After purposely wording the fact that he was low-level in a way that avoids gaming jargon, sage Aerodus gave Rhemurus a concerned stare.
"Only three 1st-tier spells, at your age? What was your circle teaching you during your entire youth!?"
"Well, I only recently became a druid apprentice. And I was learning the basics before being separated from my native lands."
- Man, rewording stuff to make sure it doesn't sound gamey is harder than I thought.
"I see, so now that you have been separated from your circle, you no longer have anyone to teach you how to progress as a competent druid."
"That is the source of my current frustration, yes."
"Alright, in that case..." Sage Aerodus slowly stood up and gave Rhemurus a confident look. "I will take it upon myself to teach you, as the archdruid of the Blood of Land Mother circle, and take over from where your original circle left off. If you agree, of course."
Rhemurus couldn't believe his ears, so the only thing that came out of his mouth was a dumbfounded "Eh?"
[Four days later]
- This is so embarrassing.
Rhemurus could barely hold his frustration at that point, and he didn't know how much longer he could endure it.
Ever since sage Aerodus took it upon himself to 'put him on the right path' as he kept telling the player, Rhemurus has been doing all types of miscellaneous tasks related to 'bonding with the land', be it assisting farmers in their daily chores, plant trees, play with animals, and pretty much any peaceful activity that has nothing to do with grinding monsters for EXP in the quietest section of Breizen; the farm district.
And if that wasn't enough, Rhemurus has been doing those activities alongside little children who were making their first steps into becoming proper druids. Being the only adult in a group of infants wasn't new to Tanaka, since back on Earth the exploitation of child labor was something he had no choice but to witness and endure, but it was still quite shameful.
"What is it, Rhemurus? That hay isn't going to dry by itself."
Sage Aerodus wasn't just standing around barking orders, he too was working the land alongside his younger disciples, leading by example.
"You really want little kids to outpace you? You won't become a good druid if you don't bond with the land."
"I...!" Rhemurus purposely prevented himself from lashing out, just barely. "...I just, I just feel like this is pointless." He said as he let the hay he was holding fall back to the ground.
He then turned around to look at the sage eye-to-eye, then spoke his frustrations in the most respectful tone he could muster.
"Sage Aerodus, surely you have noticed. All this time, all this work, and I have yet to progress even a single step. I don't fear being outpaced by little children, because they are already doing it!"
Indeed, pretty much every other current student of the sage was already capable of casting more spells than Rhemurus could, which pretty much confirmed to the player that the natives of this world don't need to grind for EXP to level-up, but for some reason, a player like him still needs to do so.
"There now, don't lose heart. You're just a late bloomer!"
Aerodus was obviously noticing the increasing disinterest of the refugee, and was thus trying harder every day to keep his hopes up, blissfully unaware that every single thing he tried to teach Rhemurus so he can progress as a druid would always result in failure.
But Rhemurus himself wasn't blissfully unaware, the loss of hope in the player's eyes was as clear as day.
"Tell you what, let's just finish drying this hay and we can take a break for the rest of the day." Said Aerodus to everyone, which was welcomed by an excited ovation from all the children apprentices.
"Whatever..."
With absolutely no energy whatsoever, the player lazily picked up the hay again and continued with the pointless activity.
The day eventually ended and everyone returned back home, sage Aerodus and the children apprentices all lived in the druid district, but since Rhemurus was staying in an inn from the merchant district he had to take a stagecoach all the way to said district.
So disappointed the refugee was today that he didn't even bother to say goodbye to everyone like he always did, which understandably made Aerodus a bit worried. After all, the main reason why the grand councilors sent the foreign human to their city in the first place was so that he could heal the wounds on his mind, but as things stood now, Rhemurus was doing the opposite of healing.
- This isn't looking good. Our land bonding methods have always worked, every single time, why is Rhemurus' spirit resisting the blessings of Land Mother?
Being such a magically-inclined city, Breizen has a strong relationship with religion which ties to the world that they live in. Those who succeed in becoming clerics are stated to be blessed by Sky Father, while druids are instead blessed by Land Mother. A perfect balance between the two distinct divine casters is enjoyed by the humans of the council state, with no group being significantly more numerous than the other.
- I never made intimate questions about his original circle, for privacy is very important. But now that we have known each other for a few days, would it be prudent for me to intrude about his homeland, back in Midgard?
Aerodus assumes that the reason Rhemurus is unable to progress may be related to the way his original circle may have initiated him as a druid, a conflicting and contradictory philosophy with the one preached by the adherents of the Heaven and Earth faith could very well be a valid reason.
- As frustrated as he is, I'm not sure...
However, he still couldn't discard the possibility of the refugee misunderstanding his intent as him suggesting that the stagnation was Rhemurus' fault, which would make him even more restless.
- I guess...I have no choice but to ask Erodel for help, after all.
Sage Aerodus may show the image and aura of a humble archdruid, but the truth was that he still had a semblance of pride as Breizen's most powerful druid, so he seldom asked his younger brother - chieftain Erodel - for aid, but he wasn't prideful to a fault and could still recognize his own limits.
Hence, the first thing he did after making sure that all his disciples arrived home safely, he himself returned home, went straight to his meditation room, and used [World Message] to contact Erodel.
In contrast to the relatively useless [Message] spell that has fallen out of use among the natives of this corner of the supercontinent because of its unreliability, [World Message] instead was not only a spell that any native could learn regardless of the system that said native caster could use but was also a spell based on the soul-bounding philosophies of the Wild Magic used by the dragon lords, so every time the spell was used the recipient always innately knew who was contacting them. [World Message] was a spell based on trust that encouraged individuals to bond with each other.
"Erodel, are you busy?"
" [ Aerodus! No, I'm not too busy right now. ] "
"I apologize for interrupting your duties, I know how busy you are."
" [ Nonsense, I can always make time for my older brother. So tell me, what can I help you with? ] "
"It's regarding the refugee, Rhemurus, the one that a fellow councilor requested you to look after."
" [ I thank you again for going through the trouble of looking over him for me, the things the lieutenants and marshals told me about him weren't flattering at all, which means that obtaining that job he wants will be quite hard. ] "
"Yes, Rhemurus' situation is quite precarious. I have tried every single method our ancestors used to connect with the heart of the world, yet...yet Rhemurus is still stuck, I can't imagine why he can't progress as a druid at all."
" [ Mmm...do you think it could be related to the way druids are raised back in Midgard, his native land? ] "
"I considered that, yes. But Rhemurus is only growing ever more frustrated each day, so I fear that asking him such personal questions will only make his heart grow even more bitter than it already is."
" [ Well, you never were one to compromise your values, so I won't ask you to pry into the refugee's backstory. Instead, I believe there's something I could do from my end. ] "
"You...you're not gonna try one of those mind divination things, are you?"
" [ Wha, come on! I only tried that once, and that was over 40 years ago! I'm not that snot-nose brat anymore. No, I meant about something my fellow councilor confided in me. ] "
"Ah, I see. In that case, I won't pry any further."
" [ Depending on how long it takes for me to get a response and figure out what I can do, can I trust you to keep looking after Rhemurus? ] "
"Gladly. Rest assured, I will help you in any way I can."
" [ Thank you, big bro. ] "
And with that, [World Message] was dispelled and Aerodus was left alone to ponder what will happen now.
- If only I could do more to help...
The reason why Aerodus, the firstborn of the previous chieftain, didn't become the leader of the human city was because of his lack of proficiency in the arcane arts.
Basically, in order to avoid any possible conflict with potential heirs to the position of chieftain, the current human leader first verifies if his firstborn has any potential to become a wizard. If the firstborn for some reason or another shows no talent, then the chieftain has another son and the process repeats itself until a child with promise is born. That way Breizen makes sure that only one individual - the smartest one - becomes its next leader.
Said method also had the side-effect of making a very extended royal family, since chieftains more often than not needed to have several children, who in turn have even more children of their own, most of them sharing a home in the Heaven and Earth Temple built in the very center of Breizen.
Despite such sacred tradition, Aerodus still felt guilty even to this day, for his lack of talent in the arcane meant that the burden of leadership - alongside the extra burden of the position as human councilor of the Argland Council State - fell into the shoulders of his only brother, Erodel.
- The best I can do is help relieve the burden in any way I can. If that means looking after a stagnating aggressive druid apprentice from who knows where, then so be it.
His resolve renewed, Aerodus exited his meditation room and went straight to the dining room, for it was supper time.
The soothing sight of his wife, children, and grandchildren always brought comfort to his aged and weary heart. For the royal lineage of the human city, nothing was more important than one's family.
[The Heaven and Earth Temple]
After the conversation with his older brother ended, Erodel was deep in thought.
It was right after supper time in the temple when Aerodus made contact, so Erodel himself was just helping clean off the table while interacting with his brother, which also meant that his relatives were around and caught a small glimpse of what he was doing.
"Working even after the sun already set? Didn't we agree that you're no longer the city's leader after you get back home?"
The one who just chastised the chieftain was none other than his wife, Lady Oviento.
"Right. I'm sorry, beloved. I just spoke with Aerodus, he's having trouble dealing with that refugee I spoke to you about, but I will take care of that tomorrow."
"Good. Our children need their father, and our grandchildren need their grandfather, at least for a portion of the day."
One of the reasons Aerodus felt guilt over the fact that his younger brother was left with the title of leader of Breizen is that such a position is by far the busiest one, which leaves very little time that can be spent with one's precious family.
So after keeping his promise of not working at all while staying home with his family, interacting with his sons and daughters, and playing games with his grandchildren before telling them their favorite bedtime stories to go to sleep, Erodel slept through the peaceful night and woke up next morning, had breakfast, interacted even more with family and waved them goodbye before using [Over Magic] to cast [Teleportation].
Yet another thing that Rhemurus was currently unaware of is how the [Over Magic] skill actually works, hence why he assumed that Lord Erodel is a 5th-tier arcane caster when he is, in fact, just a 4th-tier caster who needs to use the aforementioned skill to cast 5th-tier spells.
And the place that Erodel landed after using the teleportation spell was a designated room of the curia court in the capital, for he needed to have an audience with the grand councilor Tsaindorcus.
"Councilor Erodel, at what we owe your visit?"
The one who just spoke was a cyclops, a giantkin demi-human who was infamous for its single eye. Said cyclops worked as a guard in charge of welcoming the arrival of any councilor who teleported to this particular room which was purposely made as a place that important medium-sized individuals could teleport to.
"Is the Platinum Dragon Lord present?"
"I'm afraid the grand councilor Tsaindorcus is not present today. And the other grand councilors are also busy elsewhere, as well."
"I see."
It's not like the actual rulers of the Argland Council State would shape their entire lives' schedule around the needs of Breizen, so Erodel will have to make do with what options are available right now.
"So are the Ruby Dragon and Moonstone Dragon present?"
"Yes, as they should."
"Alright, thank you."
While the Argland Council State only has five proper permanent seats in the form of the dragon councilors, the people outside the council state sometimes assume that there are seven dragon councilors rather than just five, a misconception born because of the presence of the regent dragon councilors; the Ruby Dragon Kaslyxarse=Dalonashar and the Moonstone Dragon Thatorarau=Turacearveia, the ones responsible of taking care of matters of state when the actual grand councilors weren't present.
Erodel exited the designated room and walked all the way to the courtroom, and as he expected, the regent dragon councilors were there.
The Ruby Dragon was the strongest member of the fire dragon tribe, he had horns extending back over the neck, frilled ears, and smaller horns at the cheeks and chin, with rows of horns over the brows. His nose was beaklike and sported a small horn, a frill began behind his head and ran to the tip of his tail. He reeked of smoke and sulfur, and his scales shined with shades of crimson and scarlet.
While the Moonstone Dragon was originally from the frost dragon tribe, but he was kicked out by his fellow frost dragons because of his nature as a mutant, which made it quite difficult to tell that he was a frost dragon in the first place; he had a beaked nose, spiny dewlaps, and a crest supported by a single, back-curving spine. A crisp, faintly chemical odor accompanied the dragon mutant, whose scales glistened like snow.
And they weren't alone, another councilor requested an audience before Erodel did. The formian councilor, in particular.
Formians were large-sized insectoids about the size of a horse which at first glance looked like insect centaurs of sorts. They resembled ants, but held their heads and thorax upright. Their mouths featured powerful-looking mandibles and had humanlike shoulders and arms ending in humanlike hands. And they had a natural weapon in the form of a stinger in their abdomen.
Their current audience appeared to be a few hours away from concluding, so Erodel had no choice but to wait until the regent councilors had time to heed his own request.
And three or so hours later, the formian councilor thanked the regents for their time and left the court, which meant it was now Erodel's turn to have an audience.
"Councilor Erodel, welcome." Said the Moonstone Dragon.
"Thank you, regent councilor Thatorarau."
"We apologize for making you wait so long-" Stated the Ruby Dragon. "-so let us ask beforehand, are you requesting an audience regarding the human refugee in your city?"
Erodel was legitimately surprised, so it took him a couple of seconds to respond.
"Why, yes! I was actually going to ask if it would be acceptable for me to request that you leave a message for the grand councilor Tsaindorcus."
"No need. The Platinum Dragon Lord left us a message a few days ago and said that he will be absent for the following months. He wanted to apologize beforehand for any inconvenience caused by his absence, and made a special request for us to work alongside the other four grand councilors to ensure the safety and prosperity of our council state."
"Said message, in particular, was a letter. We didn't read it, for the grand councilor said that he wrote it for you and you only."
The Moonstone Dragon took out an oversized scroll that was stored in a giant bag hanging from his neck, which he unfolded in front of the human councilor so he could read the contents written within.
It was quite a robust letter, clearly, it will take a good while to read all of it, but Erodel's senses were sharp enough to read each individual word clearly, and he took his sweet time to memorize and process all of it. The regent councilors were quite patient after all, and even if they didn't read the letter themselves, they still realized that it was quite a serious matter, judging by the way and tone of voice of the Platinum Dragon Lord when he gave them this letter directed at the human councilor Erodel.
Before anyone knew it, over 20 minutes flew by. There was now even another councilor that was waiting for his own turn to have an audience with the regents.
"I, I have finished the letter, honorable regents."
"Did you memorize each word?"
"Yes, regent councilor Kaslyxarse."
"Are you certain? Completely sure?"
"Positive."
"Good."
After confirming that the letter was now safe inside the human councilor's memory, the Ruby Dragon took the letter, tossed it upwards towards the open roof, and used his powerful fire breath attack to utterly and completely destroy the letter, not even ashes were left behind.
"Hm, I assume the grand councilor ordered you to destroy it after I read it."
"You assume correct, councilor Erodel."
"Alright, I suppose this concludes our audience. Thank you, regent councilors."
"So everything you needed to know was in the letter? The wisdom of the platinum dragon truly knows no bounds after all."
Erodel would normally agree with that statement, but the things that Tsaindorcus wrote in the letter made the human councilor doubt if it was wisdom alone that allowed the platinum dragon to have the foresight required to not only answer every question he had regarding the refugee, but also any other potential question that Erodel didn't even know he would have, but Tsaindorcus somehow did know.
- It was almost like...he saw the future.
But that was ridiculous. Someone as educated and knowledgeable as Erodel knew about the intricacies of the ancient art known as wild magic, and precognition wasn't among the abilities that wild magic grants, at least not the wild magic that the Platinum Dragon Lord wields.
- Well, no point theorizing about it. Now I know what to do, I should get going.
"I will take my leave, farewell."
The regent councilors likewise said their farewells to Erodel who used a teleportation spell to go, not back to Breizen, but to the city that was the one most nearby to it; the orc city of Vairekhor, the only orc settlement in the Argland Council State.
In contrast to the RPG fantasy stereotypes of Earth, the humans and the orcs of Argland share quite a friendly bond with each other, mainly because both races are among the least populous ones in the country, so few of them around that they only need one settlement each.
Likewise, since all members of the same race live in the same place, the leader of the said city also has a double job as the councilor that represents his race in the council state. In the case of the orcs, their chieftain who also acts like the orc councilor was known as Lord Tsadok, warrior-cleric of the Sovereign Host and a close friend of Lord Erodel.
Unlike the humans, however, the orcs of the council state are very, VERY focused on martial development. So much so that less than 5% of the council state orcs are spellcasters, in their entire history there hasn't been even a single arcane mage among the orcs of Vairekhor. Instead of proper druids, they have emerald hunters - which are ranger/druid hybrids - and instead of priests, they have divine champions - which are fighters capable of using buffing skills and a few healing skills, both fueled by their faith - with their only proper cleric being the one who holds the title of chieftain.
Erodel teleported above the city and immediately activated the [Fly] spell, both to take a good look at the amazing fortified city of Vairekhor and to look for his friend Tsadok while he was at it, for they had much to discuss. But eventually, he found the orc chieftain, training younger recruits of their city's militia the old-fashioned way, which was through actual physical combat with real weapons.
Since his healing spells were the most efficient, Tsadok could afford to occasionally wound the recruits in sparring matches, wounds that he always made sure weren't fatal for he knew that the divine magic he wielded still wasn't powerful enough to bring back the dead.
"Lord Tsadok, it appears we have a visitor." Said the one who always accompanied the orc chieftain and served as the leader of Vairekhor's militia, the one known as general Ausk.
At hearing that, Tsadok stopped his sparring match and turned to look in the direction his general was looking at.
"Erodel! You son of a bitch! How have you been?"
Erodel simply waved his hand in response, a genuine smile painted on his face.
"Just give me a moment, I will be with you in a second."
Tsadok dismissed the recruits he was training and his general, then quickly called for some snacks and refreshments. Before long both he and his human friend were sitting at a comfy table inside the safety of Vairekhor's citadel.
"So what brings you to Vairekhor? The hunting games will start in just a few days, will the humans join us as always?"
"Of course, every able-bodied individual is quite excited for this year. Rather, the reason for my visit is regarding a particular person, a human refugee who is actually a foreigner from another land."
"A foreigner, you say? Well, I imagine this human wants to compete as well? There will be no objection from our side as long as this extra human is strong enough, the more the merrier."
"Well, that's the issue, old friend-" Erodel paused for a second in order to cement the seriousness of what he was about to say. "-this human is anything but strong."
"...um...what...? You want to bring a weakling to the hunting games?"
"This is no regular weakling, I'm afraid. I know I can trust you, Tsadok, what I'm about to tell you was in fact a request I received directly from the grand councilor Tsaindorcus."
"The...Platinum God...!"
"Yes, precisely so."
As a warrior-cleric, Tsadok's faith was based on the doctrines of the church of the Sovereign Host, and his divine patron in particular was none other than the Platinum Dragon Lord. Every single word that comes from a dragon councilor is gospel for that church's adherents, one of the reasons Erodel decided to confide the request from the letter to his orc friend.
"Will you keep what I'm about to tell you a secret between us?"
"I will take the words of the Platinum God directly into my soul, and if he requests so, I will take them to my grave."
"Thank you, old friend. Here is what you need to know."
Erodel gave Tsadok a full verbatim of the contents of the letter the Platinum Dragon Lord left behind, words that the orc chieftain made sure to remember forever, for they were the most sacred to him.
In the said letter, the grand councilor left Erodel a particularly strange but still doable task; help Rhemurus deliver the finishing blow to as many creatures as possible, more preferably to monsters who roam the lands. Tsaindorcus obviously avoided gaming terms like [level-up], [grinding] and the like, instead he worded his reasoning in a way that basically said "the druid circle that Rhemurus joined is one that forces the apprentices to take the life of other living beings, for said taking of life is the only way for druids of that particular circle to properly bond with the land".
Erodel obviously wonders how and when the platinum dragon obtained that information, and why wasn't he informed about that back when they met in person, but the human chieftain doubts that the just dragon lord would lie about something like that, and the rest of the contents of the letter also gave Erodel a sense of urgency which Tsaindorcus made his best to explain without giving away too much sensitive information, so for the time being the only thing Erodel could do was to trust the platinum dragon in hopes that everything will be revealed to him soon enough.
Instead, Erodel's suspicion was directed towards Rhemurus himself. Why didn't the refugee inform him or Aerodus about the violent nature of the druid circle he joined? Was he afraid of how they would react? Did the refugee really believe that the humans of Breizen were so close-minded? Finding roaming monsters to kill was far from an unreasonable request.
Quite the opposite in fact; finding monsters to kill en mass is arguably one of the favorite activities of the council state citizens that live in this particular part of the country. Such a thing is virtually a sport at this point, all nearby cities - including Breizen and Vairekhor - come together at this time of year when the local beasts are at their most numerous and join forces to cull out as many monsters as possible.
Originally a task that the standing army had to do, this part of the country has always been plagued by a particular monster that breeds at an alarming speed, but the citizens eventually grew bored at the sight of army soldiers getting all the glory for themselves, so they toughened themselves out and began to request to participate in the culling, a request that the soldiers at first accepted reluctantly, but after seeing how competent and efficient the local citizens were, the army decided to let the citizens cull out the monsters themselves, saving lots of military resources.
And thus, this yearly activity became known as the hunting games, an event that has enjoyed increasing popularity each passing year. Even citizens that are relatively far away travel all the way here to witness and sometimes even take part in the hunt.
"I see...that's quite the unusual request. But if the Platinum God requests it, then it shall be done."
"It's settled then. In order to not rouse too much suspicion, only you and I will be looking after the refugee, weaken as many creatures as we can so Rhemurus can deliver the finishing blow, as requested by the grand councilor."
"I do hope this doesn't sounds blasphemous or heretical, but why does the Platinum God have such an interest in this refugee? A human from some unknown land, what type of knowledge is being hidden from us?"
"I wonder that as well, old friend. But just like you, all I can do is just have faith in our ruler."
A sentiment that Tsadok wholeheartedly agreed with.