The crowd continued to praise "Judgement" while Silas simply stood before them with a worried expression.
Looking over at Seraphina, he could see her hide her face away from him in embarrassment. It was something he couldn't help but chuckle at, yet he quickly threw the thought aside and looked at the man standing a few meters in front of him again.
"This is the last time I'll ask. I'd like to talk to your leader, who by the way, isn't judement yet." Silas rolled his eyes.
The crowd quieted down for a moment, yet it only took a second for their mocking stares to turn into ones of hostility toward him.
Their eyes were now, for some reason, filled with hatred. He couldn't really understand it, but he wasn't going to take it lightly either.
For some reason, they saw him as their enemy, and if that continued to be the case, the situation would most likely get quite uncomfortable in the future.
However, for now, what he really wanted to do was to size up his opponent before their battle. If their new so-called leader was anywhere near as strong as the commander, Silas would most likely need to create a plan.
"So..."
However, just when Silas was beginning to think that he would need to fight his way out of this neighborhood, a voice entered everyone's ears.
Silas felt a shudder down his spine, while the others dropped to their knees and kneeled before the figure.
Stepping out of the shadows, a tall figure, standing at 6ft tall, walked out of the alleyway with his head held high.
Silas could tell that the person before him was extremely prideful, but that wasn't the only thing he could sense.
The man was prideful...
Too prideful.
He had more pride in him than anyone Silas had seen on this planet before.
it repulsed him for a moment, but a second later, he understood where this pride came from.
Every hair on Silas' body was standing on its ends. The sheer power exuding out of the man before him made him feel like kneeling as well, yet he remained on his feet at all times while simply clenching his fists.
"I heard a commotion..." The man looked around for a moment before his eyes landed on Silas.
"You are not from around here. Is it you who wants to see me? What is the matter, child?"
Each word that came out of the man's mouth felt like they were filled to the brim with wisdom and intelligence, yet, the man before him was no older than 30. Actually, he looked like he might have been in his mid 20's, something Silas found inconceivable due to how he talked.
"Y-Yes..." Silas shuddered for a moment.
To the man, Silas looked like a terrified child who had met a predator he was not capable of facing for the first time in his life, yet Seraphina could not help but raise a brow at this display.
For the month she had traveled with Silas, not once had she seen him genuinely scared of something. Yet right now, he was shaking so much that you'd think he'd seen his worst nightmare come to life.
"It's okay child. I will not hurt you." The man walked forward and got on one knee in order to be at eye level with Silas.
"I am Grant Evershield. What's your name?" Grant tilted his head to the right, portraying curiosity all over his face. At the same time, Grant extended his hand toward Silas.
"G-Game Evergreen." Silas stuttered before shaking his hand.
Grant twitched for a moment, yet no one but Silas saw it.
"We have similar names, don't we? Anyway, may I ask why you have come here? I doubt there's anything here that might interest you... Or maybe, you want to join the faction.
New recruits are always welcome, though, you'll be a trainee for a couple of years before actually becoming a part of the faction. We only allow the strong to thrive in this faction, and you must become that to fully join." Grant stepped back and gave the usual speech he would give for normal recruits, however, throughout that entire time, Silas' eyes were locked upon Grant's armor.
It let off a menacing aura like no other. Silas couldn't understand any of the runes on it since they weren't actually part of the life equation, however, he could tell that it was a rank above any armor he had seen before.
Even Archie didn't have armor nearly as powerful as the one Grant was wearing. It was filled to the brim with intricate and complicated runes that could have only been created by a master forgemaster and blacksmith.
Silas even doubted that Darkless City's forgemaster was the one who created the armor Grant was wearing. Not only did it look ancient, but from what Silas had seen in the blacksmith's shop, it didn't fit the pattern he saw on the items in that shop.
Runes were like drawing or writing. Everyone had a style of rune making, whether their style was made on their own or inspired by someone else.
Sure, the styles didn't differ much in the creation of spells from tier 1 to tier 4, but the runic spells he had created, as well as the enchantment runes seen on items, both had a style that depended on the person creating the runes.
Silas' style took inspiration from the life equation runes and how they were set. Others might use their ancestor's teachings, if not their teachers or masters.
The thing that surprised Silas about the armor Grant was wearing was that the runes on it were like none he had ever seen before.
"So, what will it be?" Grant asked while the rest of the people there looked at Silas in awe and jealousy.
To be invited by their leader himself... That was an honor in all their eyes.
However, Silas took in a shaky breath and looked like he was steeling his nerves.
"No..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Whispers immediately flew around while the hostile stares only increased in intensity.
"I will not join you... In fact." Silas' voice became a little scary, but his face still looked like it lacked resolve.
"I will become the next Judgement, not you!" Silas shouted while pointing at Grant.
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