I'm officially 14 now, and it coincided with the day I got promoted to the rank of Shadow Knight. The Dark Lord knighted me to officiate the ceremony, and... that was it. A few claps could be heard, but there was no feast nor were there any forms of celebration. Perhaps in the Viking guild, probably. It was not uncommon for adventurers to get promoted, but it was a rare occurrence for someone my age to rise to the rank of Shadow Knight.
Rick was among the small audience who attended the ceremony. He had been a Dark Knight for quite some time now and only ventured out when there were special quests assigned by the Dark Lord himself.
He came to congratulate me and I wasn't expecting him to be shedding tears. Getting all emotional seeing your kouhai getting promoted, I wonder if I'll be able to experience the same in the future.
I won't lie though. Throughout the entire ceremony, my mind was completely focused on only one thing. My main objective today is to gain an audience with the Elementalist and hopefully gain some information about the whereabouts of my grandfather and perhaps who that assassin was. Fingers crossed that I'll finally be able to meet him today, otherwise, I'll have to dig for more information from the other guilds and ask the other guilds if memory still serves me well about his description. Sigh, so much to do today. I should take this opportunity to update my quest log before I start.
Main Objective: Seek audience with the Elementalist to gain information about the assassin and grandfather's whereabouts.
Side Objective Uncompleted: Dig out the bloody golden chest for good.
Sounds about right. Time for me to head to the Elemental Guild then. I brought along my Shadow Knight badge just in case. Best to show some kind of proof to the reception about my new rank. I proceeded towards the Elemental Guild, only to find myself standing in front of their building completely flabbergasted. Pardon my language, but their building is fucking huge! Doubling the size of what the Dark Guild currently has. Is this the reason as to why Grandfather was loaded? The Elemental Guild had no problem in paying for his services, is that it?
I headed in nervously, making sure to knock on the door for safety measures. Even their main door is doubled in size from what my guild has, not to mention with fancier designs and higher quality. Felt like I joined the wrong guild after getting a good look at their building. Someone called for me to enter and I peeked in after opening the door.
"Greetings, how may I serve you?" asked the receptionist with a smile.
Ermahgerd, she's so beautiful! Hang on a minute, is this due to the fact that I barely interacted with the opposite sex these past few years, or are my hormones just acting up? Keep yourself in check before I get bonked for being horny. Wait a minute, I just realised the receptionist is an elf. Shiiitttt— am I just a sucker for female elves now? Did Lily somehow unlock a hidden fetish within me?
"H—Hello, I would like an audience with the Elementalist if that's even possible?" I asked with an awkward smile and placed my new ranking badge for her to see. She stared at my funny interaction and chuckled.
"Meeting our guildmaster on the same day you got promoted? Thought you'd be out there celebrating your new rank," she continued chuckling.
H—Huh? How did she know that I got promoted today? Do I even know her?
"I'm sorry, but— how did you know I got promoted today? Have we— met before?" I asked her.
"Oh, pardon me. The guilds always keep track of one another to have a better understanding of the members. Otherwise, some random stranger might declare himself as some high-ranking adventurer with a fake badge. Don't worry, I assure you this is the first time we met," she winked at me.
My heart thumped. Ah, damn it. I guess I really am a sucker for elven ladies. I smacked my forehead as I resigned to that fact.
"So... am I allowed to meet him then? Will he be willing to entertain this newly promoted Shadow Knight then? I'll just take this little badge and put it in my little pocket," I smiled awkwardly.
"Hehe, just wait here while I enquire with the guildmaster. I believe he had been expecting you for quite some time now," she chuckled.
Damn it, are all female elves this adorable? Am I actually falling for this receptionist now? Don't you dare, don't you dare!
I sat on their luxurious couch after she gestured for me to sit while she sought out the guildmaster. I took the opportunity to calm down and sincerely reminded myself that I'm here to speak to the Elementalist, not to flirt.
After some time, she came back and gestured for me to head in. I gave my thanks and bowed to her for her service. A member of the guild came by and escorted me. Why does it feel like I'm about to meet a king?
The inside of the guild was remarkable. It gave off a rich mansion vibe. Marbles filled the floor, while the ceiling was decorated with exquisite designs. You can see plenty of statues and busts decorating the walkway and throughout the building's interior. The area I was being escorted to was on the ground floor. It seemed that only members of the guild are allowed to head up to the higher floors, which is where their personal quarters are. Is that why I hadn't seen Lily for the past three years? She had been secretly living in luxury all these while? You can literally spend all your time here, and you wouldn't get bored! Damn it, I should have tried my luck in joining the Elemental guild when I had the chance.
The escorting member gestured me to proceed into a room after he knocked on the door. I headed in and was immediately confused. Isn't this—a dining area? A really small one too. There were only two chairs facing opposite one another, with a rather small rectangular table in the middle of the room, filled with food and fruits. I was fully expecting to meet the Elementalist seated at the top of a flight of stairs, asking me to bow to him or something. Isn't that what guildmasters do? Perhaps it's only the Dark Lord and his ego. I was certainly left stumped by the unexpected venue until someone spoke.
"Please, be seated,"
What a soft and gentle voice, yet it felt authoritative. Strangely soothing to hear without you realising that you're actually following his bidding. Not something I was expecting from a guildmaster.
I took a seat and out came a well-dressed man who seated opposite me. The table was small, so we could literally see each other's facial features from this distance. He was an elf with greenish eyes and brownish hair that was long enough to reach his waist. What a fabulous man. He stared at me for an uncomfortable amount of time before he squinted. I felt goosebumps all over my body as I was not used to being stared at, especially by such a pretty man. Please don't awaken another weird fetish in me, please… I still like women. PLEASE!
"I was expecting you to meet me earlier. Yet, it took you three years to finally seek me. May I know as to why exactly?" he asked with an annoyed tone and continued squinting his eyes at me.
Is he annoyed at the fact that it took me this long to meet him? It's not as though I can just stroll up here and demand to meet with him when I was just some random newbie who had just arrived in the city.
"I didn't know who the Elementalist was since my grandfather only mentioned him in one of his letters. I only confirmed that you were the guildmaster of the Elemental guild after I did some research of my own. And I got no idea whether you knew about my existence in the first place," I explained to him honestly.
He sighed and dropped his head. Is this—fella really a guildmaster? He acts so differently than the Dark Lord, who always acted dark and gloomy.
"As expected of him. Richard was getting old for his age to remember what he needed to tell you. No doubt he had forgotten to inform you to never speak of your last name to anyone. And yes, he does speak often about you since he trusted me," he sighed.
"R—Richard? Who's Richard?" I stared blankly at him.
"Richard Hawthorn, father of Jack Hawthorn, who in turn is your father," he explained.
How strange to hear the names of someone you knew when you only addressed them by their title. Those names sounded so foreign to me. Not only do I not know the names of my parents, I didn't even know the name of my grandfather either.
"Wow. I never knew any of their names. Thank you for letting me know about them. But should you really mention the "H" name so blatantly here? Isn't the Queen's order to capture anyone at the mere mention of that particular name?" I asked him.
"Not just capture, mind you. Direct execution where you stand. But have no fear, there are none of her spies here. Contrary to what you see outside of our building, our perimeters are well-guarded. Very few beings can escape the ears of the many elven members inside and outside of this building. But enough about that, let us continue with the topic at hand. Your grandfather is an extremely reclusive man. He went into hiding right after the war with the Demon King and the announcement of the desecration of the Hawthorn family. I was not expecting him to live with you in the edges of our Elven forest, however," he explained.
"Elven… forest? I thought it's called the Forbidden Forest?" I asked since I was confused. I've been staying all these years at the Elven forest without me even knowing about it? So Grandfather must have scratched those scribblings on the signboard after all!
"Well… your grandfather certainly made "that" up but I can assure you there's nothing "forbidden" about it, due to the fact that it's only at the edges of our forest. Venture deeper, however, that word will ring more truth," he smirked as I kept silent. So many pieces of information he's telling me that I had zero knowledge of. It's a miracle that no elves hunted us down, but I suspected that Grandfather knew what he was doing. Or perhaps he had some unknown pact with them, seeing that even the guildmaster thinks highly of him.
"I know why you're here. You wish to figure out who that man was, and whether your grandfather is still alive," he asked, and I nodded.
"I would suggest that you give up on that endeavour in taking revenge for your grandfather. That man, is known for being notorious in his line of work. He's known as the "Silent Assassin". One of the best assassins and bounty hunters in this world to date," he sighed.
"He's also part of the group known as the Four Great Powers. Are you aware of this title? It only belongs to certain individuals who have accomplished great deeds around the world," he continued. I shook my head as I had never heard of such a title before.
"Sigh, then I would suggest that you visit the library and seek more knowledge about the Great Powers. You would need to understand for yourself that you're no match for him. Even I daresay that I might not be a match for him myself. In a fair fight, perhaps. But his specialty in silent killing is troublesome to handle, and even many elves have fallen prey to him. A coward was of fighting; some humans really go to extreme lengths just to gain their fame," he sighed.
I sighed in return. Guess I need to pay a visit to the library one day. It seems like this is all the information that the Elementalist is willing to provide me, so I decided to take my leave as not to disturb him any further. I bowed in respect and proceeded to exit the room.
"One more thing, Mister Zen. As for the whereabouts of your grandfather, you don't have to worry. I'm doing everything I can to gather information about where he could be. Richard is—a good friend of mine. I will do anything within my powers to ensure his safety," he assured me as he gripped his fist. I can sense anger in his tone. It seems like the two of them were in good terms.
I bowed once again and gave my thanks, to which he returned it. I was taken aback that a guildmaster would actually bow back to me; I don't think I can ever get used to this.
Elves have earned a rather sour reputation of being arrogant and selfish, often viewing humans as lesser beings for having such short spans. Which led to me being so cautious in meeting him in the first place. But having met a number of elves now, this might not ring much truth after all. Or perhaps I've not met those types of elves yet.
I sighed once again when I made it outside. While I certainly did obtain information about my grandfather and the assassin, I still need to gather more. Time for me to update my quest log again.
Main Objective Updated: Visit the library for more information about the Four Great Powers
Side Objective Uncompleted: Dig out the bloody damn chest!
Alright! Time for me to head back to the cave and dig out that golden chest for good! I have a good feeling that today is gonna be the day. Only a few more centimetres of solid rock, and I'll finally be able to open it.
I ran as fast as my feet could towards the cave, carrying about a dozen pickaxes to ensure I have enough. There's no way I'm leaving the cave empty-handed any longer. I must open it. My obsession with this damn chest will finally be over.
***
In the beginning, I've always been careful whenever I returned to this cave. I constantly made sure to inspect the interior to ensure there weren't any new goblins or creatures inhabiting it while I was away. But after many months, I've concluded that there's barely anything that wishes to live here anymore. Good news for me as it eliminates my time in inspecting the cave every time I came back.
I reached the so-called dead end of the cave once more. Seeing this exact view for the past few months, constantly chipping millimetres of solid rock day after day, I must end it all, TODAY.
Whenever I leave the cave at the end of the day, I always make sure to cover the chest with rocks to prevent any potential looters from finding it. This means I'll have to push all the loose rocks aside every single time before I start my manual labour. Less than a quarter of the chest's flap is still covered. This will only take a few more hours of hard labour before I remove all the solid rocks. I can do this!
The sound of clanking resounded throughout the cave as I burned through my reserves of pickaxes. These rocks are extremely solid and they blunt the pickaxes or outright break them way too fast. I continued to toil and labour with blood, sweat, and tears. After a couple of hours of digging, I finally, FINALLY dug out all the rocks that were covering the flap of the chest with about five pickaxes to spare.
I threw my pickaxe aside and hugged the chest. Tears were flowing from my eyes as I could finally lift the flap. A whole bloody year of manual labour and it's finally done. I prayed to all the Gods above that this is not some fluke. It better not be an empty chest or contain some shitty item that can be bought from merchants.
I took a deep breath to calm myself and with a feeling of excitement, opened it. Golden light shone out of the chest, which had me squinting. I reached in and grabbed whatever it was inside the chest. Hm... feels like—gloves? Gauntlets perhaps since it's rather cold to the touch. I held it up with both of my hands and hugged it. It glowed with a shiny, dull emerald colour, separated by layers of protective materials atop one another. The build quality was superb. It felt indestructible after I knocked it a couple of times. This is definitely a legendary item. Hell yeah! All my hard work had actually paid off! I can't wait to try these gauntlets on, pull this strap here, now over and under...
*Thunk!
Huh? My right arm instantly touched the ground. It feels so heavy. Am I—not strong enough to wear it? What's going on? But... I can lift it up earlier with little to no effort. Does it only take effect when I wear it? That's weird... perhaps I should get it identified first. I unfastened the gauntlet and hid it in my back pouch. I proceeded to close the chest and hid it with rocks, making sure to leave it visible enough for any unsuspecting fools that thought they scored the jackpot. Heh heh heh, yes, I'm evil. I didn't waste a year of my life on digging without letting others feel a little of the suffering I went through.
I hurried back to the city and to seek out my favourite blacksmith. It was late evening when I finally made it to 'Holly Begonia'. I quickly opened the door before he decided to close up shop for the day.
"Wow, what can I do fer ya?" spoke the blacksmith, but he was nowhere in sight. Is this his new way of welcoming customers now? I waited at the counter and after a short while, he showed himself from the back area.
"Oh, hey kiddo. Ya rarely come at this hour. How can I help ye?" asked the blacksmith as he wiped his hands with a rug.
"I was hoping you can help me in identifying these gauntlets," I showed him. He inspected the gauntlets rather quickly and gave an instant response.
"Woah! No can do kiddo. Yer gonna need an item identifier fer this. Where did ya even get this? It's beautiful an' the design iz out of this world. Light-weighted too," he explained as he inspected the gauntlets further.
"I found it in a cave. Is there any item identifier that I can find?" I asked urgently.
"That's all yer gonna give me, huh? Hm, the closest one iz at the edge of the city. Ya might be able ta make it if ya start runnin' now," he shrugged.
I bowed to him and ran with all my might towards the shop in question. It was getting late and the idea of standing in front of a closed shop is stressing me out. My feet ground to a halt the moment I realised that I had passed the shop with the name 'Tiny Bittersweet' at the front. I knocked without hesitation before heading in. Glad that it had not closed yet.
"Well now, how can I help you, young one? Rather late for you to visit at this time of the hour," a middle-aged lady appeared from the darkness. Uh, lady—or some witch? The shop had an eerie atmosphere due to it being dimly lit. There was only one candle on the counter top that was illuminating the entire shop.
"I—was hoping that you might be able to help me in identifying these gauntlets," I took out and showed her.
She lifted and inspected my gauntlets, even using a magnifying glass to check on minute details that the naked eye couldn't see. This wait is killing me with anticipation and all I can do is stare at her, hoping she can give me good news, or even just... news or anything. After some agonising minutes, she finally talked to me.
"This will cost you a bit of money, kid. Perhaps a gold coin or two. But it's definitely a legendary item that you have here. Congratulations, for someone so young to actually discover such an item, you should be proud," she smiled as she handed me back my gauntlets, expecting me to earn my ass off before I can afford to get it identified.
"Make it happen. I need to know what these gauntlets are about," I placed two gold coins on the counter.
She was definitely shocked when I pulled those coins out so casually, especially from someone so young. Fairly certain there aren't many people that carry gold coins in their pockets so casually like me.
She complied after making sure that those coins were real and took out a jewel or some sort of gem before she began chanting. She rubbed the gem on the top of my gauntlets as though she was trying to stimulate it. A rather strange "ritual" from my perspective.
She proceeded to spread a scroll across the counter and slammed the gem onto it. The scroll started glowing brightly when the gem made contact, and after the whole endeavour was done, the gem vanished, seemingly absorbed into the scroll. The lady read the scroll thoroughly and sighed before passing it to me.
"Sorry, kid, guess it was rather pointless for you after all. I'll charge you half-price since this is the first time I've met such a strange legendary item with such specific requirements," she sighed as she held the scroll in front of me along with one of my gold coin.
Huh? What does she mean by that? I grabbed the scroll and quickly read through the contents.
Item Name: Hand of the Lightning God
Requirements > 25 skill points
Hidden spell 1 > 30 skill points
Hidden spell 2 > 35 skill points
Hidden spell 3 > 50 skill points
Nani, da fuck?! I need skill stats to use this?! But—I barely managed to increase my skill stats throughout my life. Damn it!!
I asked the lady whether she had any stats scroll in hand. She did, and I immediately bought it from her, despite the fact that it was pricier than what was available outside. She took the chance to earn more, but I didn't really care. I quickly blew on the scroll and crossed my fingers.
Zen Hawthorn
Strength - 25
Skill - 20
Agility - 40
Constitution - 20
Damn it. If only the requirements were strength-based, then I could wield these gauntlets now. I'm gonna need to find a way to increase my skill stats should I wish to use them. No, I must. I'm not wasting an entire year digging this item up only to end up selling it.
But—how am I even gonna start? Hmm... I need more information on how to increase my skill stats, even though they are rarely used in this continent. There must be people that know how to increase them. Should I ask the Elementalist or perhaps Lily? The guild is known for their specialty in utilising skill stats for their elemental spells. I can already imagine the Elementalist brushing me aside and telling me to seek the information from the library. Alright, fine. I'll visit the library tomorrow then.
Sighing to myself, I decided to call it a day and returned home. Let's look at the bright side, I accomplished all of my objectives today and a brand new room awaits me back in the guild. A bigger and more spacious room, baby~ Today is definitely a good day despite the—setback. I got promoted, spoke to the Elementalist, and finally dug out that damn golden chest which contains a legendary item inside. Rather bumped out that I can't outright use it, but I will make it happen. Curious to see what the three hidden spells are. I will unlock all of them one day.
***
As I was strolling back to my guild, a rather loud commotion could be heard up ahead with a small crowd seemingly curious as to what was going on. I approached closer as curiosity got the better of me.
A door swung open and a small human girl fell to the ground.
"You're useless! You can't do anything right!" shouted a lady that came out of the door.
Woah, scary mom alert. But c'mon, you shouldn't call your child useless. That's not right.
"You can sleep outside! Don't come back for all I care!" she continued with her shouting, ignoring the commotion that she had created. Typical Asian parents. Hopefully, she'll be able to head back in after her mother has calmed down.
"Why are you still crying? I'm the one who should be crying having to deal with the likes of you. You can die for all I care! I've had it with you! You need a beating to learn your lesson!" she held up the glass bottle that she was holding in an attempt to beat the girl. Alright, that's it.
I rushed in and stopped the lady by the wrist. She was taken aback by my strength and speed, that she was speechless for a couple of seconds.
"W—w… what do you think you're doing?! Unhand me or I'll call the soldiers! This is physical assault!" she shouted as she struggled to free her wrist.
"Calm down, lady. You shouldn't beat your child, not to mention out here in the public. You're causing a scene here," I explained to her.
I have had it with this lady. She shouldn't be treating her own child this way. It's practically abuse.
"She's not my child! Just some stupid orphan that the administration decided I should take care of. I would have been happy if she could at least help with the house chores, but nothing she does is ever right. She just can't do anything right!" she shouted at the girl again, and she curdled herself on the floor.
I couldn't see the expression of the girl as her long pink-reddish hair was obstructing her face. I would assume that she's crying as I heard the sound of soft sobbing. Hmm, is there something I can help to ease the situation? Maybe make her realise that she shouldn't treat her child this way, or someone might take her away?
"Would it satisfy you if I bought her? Keep her away from you? Is that what you want?" I threatened her.
I would have assumed that she would think twice since a random stranger was attempting to purchase an underage girl. Any normal person would have called me a madman or some pervert, but I guessed I was wrong about this lady.
"You want her? Take her for all I care. But you'll need to pay a pretty penny for her. She's still young and a virgin. I bet someone like you would be having your way with her as she screamed for help. Hahahaha!!" she laughed loudly.
Something snapped inside me when I heard her response. This lady doesn't care about this girl one bit. All she cared about was her greed and nothing else. I'm not leaving this girl with this greedy ass bitch if I can help it.
"You want money? Here's a damn coin. Now scram! Back to your house and stop causing a scene!" I threw a gold coin at her face.
I reached out to pull the little girl's hand, who was still curdled on the floor, and pulled her along away from the scene.
The lady laughed and celebrated at the sight of my coin, seemingly unbothered that the child was being taken away. I brought the little girl as far as possible from that place to calm her and maybe somewhere quiet to converse.
As it turns out, I'm the one who needed to calm down. What the fuck did I just do?! I smacked my head recalling my actions. I bought her in a rage, but what am I gonna do with her? I have no idea how to raise a kid properly. Damn it, what am I supposed to do now?
We stood along some fence facing towards a small river as I pondered on what I'm supposed to do with her. She was still crying softly with the occasional sobbing. Is she sad that I bought her? Or is she gonna that lady who she thought was her mum? Maybe I shouldn't have bought her in the first place, curse my impulse in randomly buying things.
"Are you—hurt? Can you speak?" I asked her calmly.
She continued crying as she wiped her tears with her rather dirty rag.I hugged her and petted her head hoping that she might calm down and thankfully it worked. Seemingly holding back her tears, she took a deep breath and glanced at me. Even in the darkness, I noticed that her legs had marks of being beaten. What a rough life she was living. Maybe I did the right thing in bringing her away from that place. Might not be such a bad idea after all.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" I asked her once again with a smile.
She nodded after wiping away the remaining tears, seeming prepared to talk now.
"Yes. Thank you, Mister, for helping me earlier. I really appreciate what you did for me," she bowed her head to me.
I was taken aback. She appeared to be well-mannered and speaking the human tongue fluently. Is she really as bad as what the lady said?
"Tell me, are you comfortable with me taking you away from that lady? If you wish to return, I don't mind bringing you back. I did rather purchase you on a whim," I explained to her.
"No, please. I don't wish to return to that horrible place. That lady is a greedy alcoholic that doesn't care about any of us. All of the funds from the administration, she spent them all on gambling or drinking. I don't want to go back, please don't take me back—" She trailed off as she gripped her arms, seemingly shivering at the thought that I'll send her back.
I petted her head once again to calm her. Her long pink hair was unkempt and obstructed most of her facial features. I took out a string from my hip pouch and tied up her hair into a ponytail to get a better look at her face.
"What's your name? If you wish to follow me, you'll be staying at my place and helping out with the chores. Are you okay with that?" I asked.
"I—don't have a name. But yes, I don't mind helping you with chores. Contrary to what she said, I'm able to do them properly and cook as well," she answered.
"No name, huh?" I pondered out loud.
Hm—no name… What would I name my own kid if I ever have one? I unconsciously put on a thinking face.
"How about—Rose? Since your hair colour is rather pink with a hint of red and so do your eyes. Let's call you Rose as your first name," I told her.
What about her last name then? Does she even remember her family name? I stared into the sky above and an idea came to mind. The moon was shining rather brightly tonight.
"How about—Rose Starr? With a double R. Are you fine with that name?" I asked her as I pointed towards the star that shone the brightest.
She stared at me with starry eyes. Tears filled her eyes and she started crying again. Despite her impressive vocabulary, she's still a young girl. I patted her head to calm her once again yet she continued crying while thanking me constantly.
After she had calmed herself, I introduced my first name to her. I also told her to call me 'Onii-chan' instead. I'm not old enough to be 'mister' nor am I fit to be her father. I guess being her older brother would be more appropriate. Hence, on this very day, I found Rose and welcomed her into my life. My one and only little sister, Rose Starr.