Im making out with Selena Goz. Shes so beautiful and hot. We are sharing a glass of wine in a fancy NYC apartnt, sitting on the hard, wooden floor that creeks a bit when you walk on it but in a good way.
Shes saying sothing about how Im an amazing lover between tongue lashings. I dont really have the will to listen. Shes just absorbing my full attention, and I swear, even if you dont believe , shes just so hungry for my kisses! Shes basically slobbering all over my lips!
WOOF!
I think one of my eardrums just ruptured.
My eyes pop open, and I find Grigio on top of while Im lying on a bed. Stan is standing by the bed, and soones asleep on a chair, bent towards my own bed.
Is that Vilith?
Grigio suddenly licks my face, and I realize that it wasnt Selena Goz I was making out with.
OH, GRIGIO! NOT COOL, DUDE! NOT COOL! I try to push the massive dog out of the way, but its like trying to move Godzilla. Off the bed! Off!
I push, but Grigio just sits like an unmovable monk. The goddamn bastard looks like hes smirking at my plight.
Grigio, leave him alone for a second, Stanimal says while looking at the massive dog.
The dog snorts and shoots a pitiful stare before jumping off the bed, making the floor of my room creak. This goddamn monster will cave in the pavents of my bakery one of these days.
Stanimal? Am I not in prison? I look around, surprised. I fully expected to be arrested as soon as we landed a foot outside the mine.
So friends of yours found a way to play the law for you. And it wouldnt have been put in prison, Joey. You would have been executed, Stan says with a sad smile.
My countryn love to say, here for a good ti, not a long ti, I snort. Its obvious that I do not agree with that, but Im glad I wont be hanged.
Hanged? Stan asks, confused.
Well, thats how they execute you, right? I ask, now in doubt.
Wait.
Dont tell these freaks have people go through terrifying torture before dying
We slowly stab people with thin, enchanted blades. So die because they bleed out after screaming for hours. It takes a while for your body to fail, especially because they use potions to make it last longer if the cri was heinous enough. They use potions until they are not effective anymore. This thod was born during the first wars against Humans, Joey. Its rarely used nowadays. But Im sure the Captain would have loved to rehearse it in your honor.
Stanimal, dont be so bleak, dude. Co on. Cheer up. We slew that Dungeon! Plus, Im not going to get executed. Listen, dont tell details about the law, ok? Id rather not know it.
Stan stifles a laugh and nods.
Oh.
Oh.
Wait a second.
Stan? What is that laugh?
This old man is going senile, Joey. Dont pay too much attention to .
Having said that, he slowly takes off.
Stan. Stan! STAN! WHAT DID YOU DO? STANIMAL, DONT YOU DARE LEAVE HERE!
My shouts seem to finally wake up Vilith, who has slept like a rock through the rest of the conversation. Waking up, she stirs quietly, like a cat. Her sharp eyes could cut, I swear. There is sothing about this woman that makes piss myself in fear. Its like so very hard to describe quality that encompasses her flesh.
You, she says with a determined look in her eyes.
I cant help myself.
?
You, she says again.
, I snort.
This stuff will never get old.
How you doin? I flash her a wink, and she just stares at . Theres no threat to break my teeth or anything like that.
She stands up and stretches an arm toward .
Is she going for a shake?
I tentatively move my hand out to grab hers.
When I do, she pulls out of bed, almost making fall in the process. However, she helps by counterbalancing my weight to avoid having sprawl on the ground. Theres sothing different about this woman now. Shes never really bothered with or to hang out with the others at the bakery. When I asked them what she would do all night, they said train or think about training.
She was from another continent, and her people had a weird na. And a weird naming sense.
You showed a heart of a Vanedenis, Joey. My people rarely respect outsiders. Even the Demons are barely qualified to stand to the standards of my ancestors. Nothing short of legends is worth admiration in my culture. And what you did was not just great; it was heroic.
She puts great emphasis on that word, and the entire room seems to get stuffier because of that.
So of the great [Heroes] who had shaped us into who we are today started from ager jobs. [Gardeners] took down one of the most terrifying empires after diving hundreds of feet in the darkest waters known to the world. And thats the standard I hold myself up to. The greatest of the greatest stopped world conflicts and defeated bothparties. My heritage might be unknown in the present ti, Joey, but I just want you to understand that certain things are not thrown around lightly.
She speaks with so much tension in her words that I find myself sweating.
When I say you were heroic, I an it. I have never seen anyone do what you did. Not even among my kind. You are going to make a great [Hero] one day. And I want to ask for your help to reclaim my continent from the hands of those filthy
WOAH! Ti out! I make a T with my hands, and I start inching backward toward the door. Im no [Hero], hero, Hero, or whatever you want to be. I ca to rescue you because I like Gaius and the others. We are buddies. But Im not getting roped in any legendary quest to save an entire population or anything like that. Im not even sure I want to visit anywhere outside Amorium yet! So, thanks but no thanks!
I almost bolt for the door when sothing she says turns my feet into bricks.
Now that you have been certified as an adventurer, you will have to.
I stare into the womans pupils, hoping she made the first joke of her entire life and that it was a good one.
Co again for big fudge?
She raises an eyebrow.
Julia bent the rules for you. But I testified under oath and truth stone that you slew a Gold-rank threat ant for more than one group on your own. Thats why you are not going to prison. You are an adventurer. And if you refuse to take quests, your license will be removed after a while. With that, Drusillus will take you to court to litigate the fact that you were never an adventurer, to begin with; and if he can prove that, you will be court-martialed for treason. I thought Stan told you. You have been sleeping off your Mana exhaustion for two whole days. The paperwork is already filled in and all, and Stan has apparently got your approval for him to sign on your behalf. Weve already put everything in place to save you from the law. You were a hero, and now you are a Gold-rank adventurer.
Am I having a stroke?
I think Im having a stroke.
I cant have heard right.
So, I start slowly, making sure that every word of mine is comprehensible and clear, you tell that I beca a Gold-rank adventurer. And not just that, but also that the title ans I have to take on missions, otherwise, the Watch will literally kill ?
Exactly. It was all Stans idea, she smiles kindly.
Huh, right. Ok. Huh, you know what? Just give a second.
I get out of the door, clear my voice, and shout.
STAN! YOU CURSED OLD GEEZER! YOU DID WHAT?!
I find him chatting with a bruised Gaius and his teammates around him.
Joey! Our Gold-rank adventurer is finally showing his face to us, poor Silvies! Gaius crackles and raises a mug filled with sothing alcoholic.
Stan smiles warmly at , and Im considering my chances at strangling the old man right here and now. Looking at the smug beast by his side that is still grinning like a goddamn Hyena, I presu that my chances are pretty low.
It was the only way to prevent your death, the old man says in a leveled tone.
Stanimal, you goddamn traitor!
Im desperate.
What am I going to do?
I cant die because soone wants to kill so stupid monsters!
Good news is that you wont even need to move from Amorium. The mines Dungeon got bumped up to Gold, and Im sure you can just take so simple extermination quests there. You could even join a team and
My ears start ringing while I stare at Gaius with the willpower of a man whos about to get shot.
How did it co to this? What the hell have I done wrong to deserve such fate?
I sit down at the table and rest my head on it, closing my eyes.
[Luxmancer Level 22!]
[Luxmancer Level 23!]
[Skill Aura Lucis Acquired!]
[Skill Light Overcharge Acquired!]
God, please, give a break.
I wish I were that strong, one of Gaiuss n tells his leader.
Our favorite baker was hiding his capabilities all along! Gaius slaps my shoulder and forces to raise my face to the guys.
Joey! Viliths voice cos down the stairs together with her.
Here she goes, Gaius removes the hand from my shoulder and gives a wide berth.
Holy hell, Gaius, you sneaky little raccoon. I an, you giant, fat raccoon. Why do you act like you dont know when Vilith cos down? Whos the boss here, you or her?
Vilith, Gaius says somberly, have you already told him about your proposal?
I can see Gaius trying his best not to laugh.
Oh, so they are in cahoots!
Lets see, should I start blasting people with my magic now that I
Wait. What about Lucillus and Antoninus? my brain finally catches up with reality.
The fact that you are a Gold-rank adventurer now justified their actions too. They were here until a few hours ago. However, they are both out of jobs right now. I took the liberty to tell them youd hire them both. Please, correct if I was wrong.
I stare at Stan, tired. He knows Id agree to that without batting an eyelid. At this mont, I still ignore our finances, but the old guy knows what hes doing, or I like to think so, at least.
I look around, taking in the crowd of chatty people around . Vilith still wants to take on so weird crusade for her people. But Gaius and the others are laughing and joking about everything and nothing. Maybe, even if this is the start of my life as a part-ti adventurer, I could still have so fun.
Sothing cos to my mind.
Oh, Stanimal, listen. I need so help with a thing later. Ive been working on a very complex spell to carry ssages across great distances. So far, Ive not figured out much more than playing my voice through a light construct. I wanted to send a parting ssage to Lucinda since shes never given the opportunity to reply. I have sothing important to tell her, and I need so closure. If you help get so range, I can show you the spell Ive been working on!
Lucinda
Three months after her arrival at the Nine Towers Academy
It was deep into the night when Lucinda got back to her room. She opened the window to breathe so fresh air, tired after spending all this ti segregated in the personal library of [Archmage] Titus. She had earned his favors after sharing her research and had got a fast-tracked apprenticeship. Everyone at the Nine Towers Academy was more than jealous of her.
She was already the star-pupil, the [Mage] you should keep your eye on and not slight because one day she was fated to join the ranks of the [Archmages].
Plus, she had also got a nice suitor among Tituss other disciples, Atticus.
Who knew what was going to happen in the future? But one thing was for sure; hers had never looked brighter.
Sotis she felt little pangs of guilt for how she had treated Joey. But when he explained to her the insane theory he had co up with, the gears in her head started spinning unstoppably. She had to flee Amorium and bring what he told her to an [Archmage]. It had cost her a lot to get an audience, but the gamble had paid off.
In the end, even if Joey had made a crazy deduction, it didnt an they had a future together. He was funny and easy-going, but that wasnt part of the world Lucinda was going for.
To this day, she still wondered how Joey managed to create the spells he had displayed in his bakery the day they had kissed. Lucindas ears flared a little after diving into those mories, but she tried to calm down, nonetheless.
The rose had been an insanely difficult [Light] construct, but that had been as far as Joey had gone with his magic. And Lucinda suspected he would never go further than that because of his laziness. A rose was complex enough to be impossible for him to break that ceiling.
Just as her thoughts hit that note, sothing appeared in her visual field.
She was now staring at a butterfly made of pure [Light], with minuscule junctures recreating the complex structure of its wings and shedding motes of light in the night as it fluttered its body around.
It was a celestial vision, sothing so stunning that Lucinda felt her throat go dry. Instantly, she ruled out it could have anything to do with Joey, for obvious reasons. She wondered if it was one of her masters great creations.
It was clear that it was a spell, probably an illusion, though. It would be too hard to build sothing like this from a simple spell matrix. It would have too many parts to visualize properly, and it could never produce such smooth movents could it?
The butterfly stopped on the edge of her windowsill, and Lucinda felt a flicker of magic vibrate through the air. Then, the butterfly spoke.
Yo! This is Joey speaking! Joey Luciani! Sad you had to go do your archmagery stuff; I will miss those buns!
Lucinda gasped and waited for several seconds to hear the rest of the ssage.
The butterfly took off and flew into the night, flickering and disappearing right after.
Turns out that was the whole ssage.
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