Chapter 196: Chapter 194: New year resolution
"I am very grateful to you for bringing my son back home, I really thought it was you until you suddenly entered into the ground" Mr Bristol said to Reinard who just came back after searching and looting the dungeon.
"Yes, it’s more of a cloning kind of ability" Rein answered him.
"Wow, you can do that too?!" Brostol asked in amazement.
"Yes I c-"
"Beautiful! Beautiful Sir Reinard" he cut in before Rein could finish and was praising Rein with all regard, "you must be a very strong person from far away, you don’t get to see strong guys like you being an adventurer!!"
"...that’s rather odd." Reinard said.
Mr Bristol calmed down and sat, "well thats because they are all in the millitary"
"The military?" Rein asked.
"Yes, the military. The military gives strong guys like you more worth"
"Isn’t the military under the control of the union?" Rein asked out of confusion.
"No, Sir Reinard don’t think like that, the military and the union are two different bodies, if the union is an organizing body, the military serves as a security body, they work hand in hand with the unions but they would never bow their heads, when the military and the union body don’t agree on a thing, there is always a blood war, but normally we civilians are not always affected, since our safety is their priority. But you see the military is a collective body, while the union is a different single-man operation with different ideologies. The military recruits strong guys and train them, resources are also adequate available, resources that even the public guild does not have the power to make available, the military pays more and they have many privileges that is far better than being an adventurer, which is why you don’t get to see many strong adventurers here, and even the ones around always get killed in dungeons. The whole system is messed up, adventurers guild would refuse to send a survey teams to dungeons just to be cost-efficient, adventurers are ripped-off of their loots, it’s all crazy and messed up, the guild needs a reform, Potram needs a reform, but more than focusing on one, the mayor is rather interested in gathering stupid plants"
’Okay, now that’s weird. Plants?’ Rein was shocked. He looked at Bristol who’s lamentation was gradually coming to an end.
"Is that why you moved to the outskirts?" Rein asked.
Bristol smiled, "well, it’s more of a racism issue. You might not have noticed, my wife is a beast-folk, particularly of the fox tribe"
"...really?" Rein asked.
"Yes, for our peace, I moved away. Though all races are legally accepted within Potram but there is still discriminations, against beast-folks mainly, just like how many humans will not welcome vampires because of their history together."
"What history?" Rein asked.
"Sir Reinard, it really seems like you are from far away. You don’t seem to know anything about this continent. Well vampires most delicious feed was humans, which brought up a racial war between the two, one that still remain till date"
Reinard smiled, "Mr Bristol you seem to know alot, is Thurber asleep"
"Ah, yes he is" Bristol answered with a wide smile.
Rein stood up, "I should leave for the guild, thank you for giving a good report."
"Do you really have to go now? It’s very late" Bristol said.
"Are you worried about me? I’m the one you called strong moments ago"
"Ah... forgive my insensitivity, shall I see you off then"
"No, you don’t need to. I’ll be back again for Thurber’s lesson" Rein shook Bristol’s hand and left.
Afterwards Rein went to the inn he booked and slept the rest of the night. The next morning which was the last day of the year, Rein went to the guild to submit the report and also filed a complaint for improper dungeon survey which almost led him to lost his life, he particularly over-emphasized based on Ariel’s advice to use this as an opportunity to maximize his profit, as thus the guild gave him a fee of 300 gold coins and gave him two ranks up as he requested, the coins were not particularly amazing to Rein who was very rich. Rein demanded a meeting with the guild master which they strongly denied afterwards Rein went out to explore and celebrate end of the year like every other person, as he steeped out of the guild building, a familiar face approached him.
"If it isn’t Sir Rein" Pashar waved from afar as he came closer to Rein.
Rein made a tired face, "No need for the honorifics" his face turned normal as he shook Pashar by the hand.
"Do you have plans for new year?" Pashar asked.
"...not really"
"Then do you want to meet my surbodinates and celebrate together, it’s been a long year and we are venturing into a spectacular one yet again"
’Well, this might not be a bad idea, since I don’t have anything to do’ Rein smiled, "I’ll be honored"
Pashar smiled, "No no, drop the honorifics you too"
Rein smiled and they walked together. As they walked Rein asked a question.
"You are an half-elf?"
Pashar stopped moving and looked back at Rein.
"I’m sorry if I shouldn’t have asked"
He smiles, "No its totally okay, it’s just weird how you noticed, I don’t have pointy ears you know"
"You do have a large amount of magical power, it wouldn’t be an understatement to say the most I’ve encountered in this city, and the blonde hair is popularly among elves, especially wood elves, but I though wood elves were specific to the Western continent"
"Wow"
"What?" Rein asked.
"No forgive me..." Pashar began to laugh, he soon pauses and talks, "your face... you are looking like you successfully blew my cover or something and the wariness in your expression. You have nothing to be wary about, all your guesses are right but I do not intend to harm you, it’s just the dungeon raid together and we may even path ways if you want."
"Which dungeon are you talking about?" Rein asked.
"Well it’s a vampire dungeon, particularly called Kazimir’s lair, our sources mention that there were alot of relics in that place, it’s far but I promise you it will.be worth the journey"
’What?’ Rein was surprised but showed no signs of it, ’...now thT they mention it, I took all the relics there except the three I was not able to defeat because of time. And I have not even gone back to wake Ben’s master... I should use this opportunity to do that’
Rein sighed, "okay" he continued with Pashar and finally arrived at their house, it seemed like a collective apartment for all of them.
’...they seem to be group of really close friends’
Pashar called everyone out and began his introduction.
"This is Dylan, he’s a player as you can see his dark skin, he’s he’s very good gunslinger"
Dylan, a tall black dude with braided hair smiled to Rein and shook him by the hand.
"This is Gretta, a player also, she’s a warlock, unto the next per-"
"Nevermind, I’ll talk myself" the pink-colored short hair and soggy eyes girl said, "I’m an arachnid...my name is Jihi"
"Sorry, what’s an arachnid?"
"Jihi noo-" Pashar tried to stop her but she already sprouted two spider legs behind her back.
Rein wasn’t scared or showed no signs trying to hide it like the others suspected instead he was deep in his thoughts.
’There’s still alot I don’t know about this world, there’s too much...’
After a while of Rein’s thinking he finally came to a decision in order to gather a lot of information.
"I’m a player also"
"What?!!" Pashar opened his mouth wide. "Seriously?! You look so much like us, the white skin... how exactly?"
"Let me guess you are a Caucasian?" Dylan asked.
"No, I’m not. I’m from Africa, but I had an American mother, this happened to me after some evolution of sort", ’since I can’t particularly tell them I changed race...’
"Wait did you change race?" Dylan asked, immediately throwing him off his balance. "With your reaction, I think you did, wow... I have a lot of friends that did also, but it felt to me that changing race was like giving up on going back home"
"Wait...it’s possible to change race?" Rein asked, even more surprised than he was.
"Yes, isn’t that what you did. Since the progenitors had made an upgrade and enhancement to this thing called system"
"Wait. Who are the progenitors?"
"What? You don’t know the progenitors, have you been living with dwellers all this while, do you even make use of the system at all? The progenitors are the ones that watch us, you know like spectators, they even create a ranking board with votes, ranking the strongest to weakest players, right now an individual called Arthur is the strongest, a level 400 player, I really can’t fathom how powerful that guy will be, his combat power is in millions, not to talk of the rest too, the leading 100s are equal to catastrophic class monsters"
Rein’s mouth was wide opened as Dylan began to tell him of the changes that had been made while he was away from the player’s vicinity and away from the system.
Even Dylan was surprised with Rein’s reaction, "don’t tell me you don’t actually know of these things, even a kid-player knows this. How come?"
"...I don’t know anything, I have been isolated for a very long time..." Rein said.
"Well I guess you have your reasons, but alot have changed especially in the western continent, I heard there’s a particular player that became king"
"What?!!" Rein was yet again surprised.
Dylan laughed at Reinard’s continuous surprise spree. The rest of them which were, Yasmine, a fire-mage and a dweller, Arley an archer and Lot, an elementalist.
Rein and the party bonded throughout, at night they also went to the city Square and shot fire works, then they all took a paper boat and wrote all the goodness they wanted the coming here and put it on the stream, the whole city watched as the thousands paper-boat rode off and the a new day and new year dawned on them, with tat everyone began to jump and jubilate.
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!" Rein smiled and looked at everyone, "it’s barely been two months, yet it seems I’m already missing them"
It was Rein decision to stay back and progress on the quest so he could get a job and finally get started with something also during his stay at the great sage’s place and fee of his conversation with Lewis, Rein was beginning to have guesses, that things won’t be too peaceful for long, the world already has its disaster but Rein feared a greater disaster might befall it, a disaster even the deities might not be able to handle if they were alive.
"I have to get stronger real quick" Rein said to himself and tightened his fist.
