"Here, you can get a room for the night with this." Rex handed us money. "But if you plan on staying in Fayha, better start working for it. I expect good news from the two 'prodigies' of your family." Rex hung that word out and turned to teleport away.
"Wanna explore the town a bit? I heard Fayha's capital is something you'd never expect to really see." Stella asked, smiling more than earlier.
"Sure, let's check out the best place for adventuring."
I smirked walking out of the church and into the capital of Fayha, Festival, at night. Leaving my home town felt better than I'd thought. I wouldn't have that nightmare anymore.
Tall black lampposts trailed the street. The stone of the sidewalk looked purposefully cracked to add detail to the street but never too broken to walk on. Bunting held buildings together and tangled with lights. Buildings that on the outside looked haunted or evil, had bright and lively families eating within them. There wasn't a law for what cars you could drive here but almost all were black with some white or orange every now and then. It kinda looked intentional with the color scheme of halloween.
"Wooow! It's a random night in the beginning of summer, yet all these guys look like they are celebrating something!"
Stella shrieked looking and waving at people dressed up in pajamas, costumes, and knight armor. All of them, decorated with some bunting or stars. The smell of cinnamon, candy, popcorn, and food filled the air, something you'd need to look for in Mila.
"I just couldn't ever imagine that all the festivals I thought I went to were really just a cheap imitation of this country."
I turned and saw a tall castle in the distance that looked like it was eating the sky around it. Constructed with a dark grey brick that shines slightly with a blue aura. The castle held multiple towers around it but left space for the main tower that climbed up the clouds like a ladder, then shining a hot orange with the change in bricks to a dark red. Small groves in the castle are layered with lights. Small and big windows seem to open up into a bright room. As the main towers changed bricks it also seems to change style of architecture throughout its climb. I'd say it was the architect dying before finishing the giant tower but the seamless way it changes competed to the change in the bricks.
"Nothing could compare to that masterpiece." I said accidentally.
"I'd agree, but, well I heard that Hiddid might have one and Kalmic too."
"I would say let's check those out…" I didn't need to finish the sentence.
I started off in a random direction, totally not following my nose, as I was tugged back bu Stella. She still held my hand for the rip I had torn in it. Before I could ask her to let go she followed next to me on the road.
The flag of Fayha flowing on a house next to us. The symbol was recent with the new queen to represent the adventurers that took care of the country after the neglect from the last king. It was a black sword with a magic staff and gun through it, with two black triangles pointing away from it. The sword bisected the dark blue and dark red colors on opposite sides of each other. Then simulating the connecting towers to the giant castle were three sharp rectangles.
"Why are they all staring at you, Heo?"
"Probably because I'm not dressed up."
"But I'm not?" Stella replied confused.
"Dumbass, you're a pirate."
"Ohh, yeah, heh he." Stella dusted her pirate jacket off and continued to blend into the culture here.
"Haha, It would make sense if you were born here. Are you sure somehow we aren't cousins, you and your parents are from Fayha, and you aren't an Estellé." I asked jokingly.
"No I'm pretty sure your dad and my dad are siblings."
"You sure." I say nudging her slightly in the rib.
"Hey, stop."
"I didn't do anything, what are you talking about?" I replied, nudging her again. A second goes by before we erupt in laughter.
The next day we walked to the guild. We didn't buy gear to wear, mostly because we were broke, so I walked with a tank top and shorts. Stella had on her pirate jacket but had thrown on a shirt and pants while the rest of her outfit was dirty. The guild here in the capital of Fayha was way more lively than the one in Mila where we lived. I heard people talking and laughing, and it smelled like burgers and fries. The adventurers here were way more properly dressed than we were. They had on expensive armor and cloaks, along with other good gear.
"A high rank weather eater has appeared in northern Mila." The tv stated.
"Wow, who would have guessed that weather eaters would show up when the seasons are changing."
I glanced at the giant long creature being shown on the tv. Its body was like scales being rested on top of each other and head a different shaped scale with six protruding rectangles to it three in each side. The middle rectangle had a hole in it that went through the head, and at the end of the head scale was a long flowing bright blue and dark blue-green color strand.
"I guess most countries besides maybe, Hiddid, experience seasonal weather eaters, it's more rare for them to show up where the climate barely changes." She whispered Hiddid when bringing it up.
"Thankfully it's easy to spot one of them." Stella says while she tries to find the quest board. "What should we do to make as much as possible right now?"
"Obviously the one with the most numbers." I swipe my hand to grab the quest with the biggest reward, but someone else grabs it before me. "Hey…"
"Oh sorry, did you want this one?"
A woman with four eyes and three sets of horns stared down at me. Two horns slashed down from the top of her head to her bright blue eyes, two carved out from behind her ears and into her face, while the other two were wavy forms of water that looked to have small images of fish in them. Her hair was dark blue and the back half of it was bundled behind her. Her armor looked shinier than the other people in this guild, and a cape draped down between the plates. She looks like a water dragon, hell she's a full dragon with those four eyes. My face started to heat up thinking about how strong she probably was.
I squinted at her armor looking for any extra limbs, another bonus from being a full dragon.
"Oh no, sorry we're new. Didn't mean to take it from you." After failing to find another set of arms I looked up into her face again. "You are a full dragon right? Four eyes?"
"Yes, not too long ago I achieved that, heh heh." She laughed, blinking her second set of eyes before looking back at me and Stella. "You guys must be really new to not even read the ranking for the quest, huh?"
"What?" I rubbed the two closed slits under my eyes.
"Yeah you guys need to be a high rank for this one, they want strong monsters captured. It's for the tournament in a month."
"We heard of that tournament, that's why we're in Fayha, we'll actually, we are here currently because Heo burned her sword away."
"Hey, I said I thought it would be cool, I didn't know it would melt on the spot!"
"You guys are really new, must have been scammed by the sword you got huh?"
"Actually it was a really good one from a well known shop in the capital of Mila. I just... well I guess I easily burned that metal."
"Oh" The water dragon stepped back slightly. "So you guys aren't from Fayha. It must have been a long time of working to get here if you spent money on a good sword."
"Actually-" Stella cut me off.
"Yeah it was but now we are broker trying to get her a hellstone sword."
"Well, my name is Baydí. Some call me a local hero here. Well actually I'm one of the highest rankers in the guild worldwide. Just call me Bay if you'd like." Stella and I both took a double take at 'hero'.
"I'm Heo Estellé and this is Stella Estellé. We're cousins." I fist bumped Stella.
I'll just pretend she didn't say that for her own good. Stella's thinking the same for sure.
"Now where have I heard Estellé before?" While Baydí thought her four eyes landed on my scar. "Wait, aren't you that kid that came back to life? Who would have thought they'd grow up to slay the same monsters that did that to them." Stella shivered hearing her mentioning me 'coming back to life.'
"Yeah I can't believe someone would remember something on the news like fourteen years ago." I slid my hand across the scar that showed through my outfit clearly.
"Oh sorry, is that something I shouldn't bring up." Baydí apologized. "Most guild members in Fayha actually saw you as an idol. Rising back from the ashes. You have a nickname here."
My face grew hotter. Wow I have a nickname.
"Really, I already have a title and haven't even started yet!" I yelled excitedly, and used the status skill.
"Hah, you must really be a noobie, you wouldn't get a title from just a nickname at a bar." Baydí laughed to herself before glancing at my other skills. "Huh you are pretty stacked for just starting. What's that skill under your hand." Before I could continue to cover it she moved my hand and said the skill out loud. "Universal being?"
Baydí exploded with a scream of fear and dropped to the floor. Tears welled up in her eyes and the water horns she had rippled. The whole guild went quiet and stared at their legend shrieking on the floor uncontrollably until it passed, and she stopped.
"What the hell did you do to her!" A man came up and grabbed me by my shirt.
"Sorry it's.." before I could explain myself Baydí stood up and made the man drop me. The guild was quiet, the tv volume was off and everyone stared at me and Stella. "It's just some weird thing that happens when you see or read the skill."
"Could you please explain it better, Heo." Baydí asked, catching her breath from the screaming.
"She can't explain more than that. It happened to her too when she first saw it. I also reacted the same, I couldn't help but grab my chest trying to breathe after seeing it." Stella came to defend me.
"How did it happen, Heo? Just reading it?"
"I think just the mention of the skill or acknowledging it has the effect."
"Could you show us." A person asked.
"Yeah I don't think I believe that."
"Someone check her karma she's probably a liar."
"Fine I'll show you again just don't get mad when it happens." I reopened my status and showed the skill. Like clockwork and with a reaction I was used to seeing at this point, the whole room screamed and dropped to the floor. After they all calmed down they started laughing.
"Oh so you are the Phoenix?" An adventurer asked, the same one who was just doubting my reliability. My face still flushed at the nickname though. "Nice to see you getting back at those monsters." He patted me on my back and then took a bite out of his burger.
"Wow that's a real unique skill if just the acknowledgment of it does that." Baydí said, complimenting me. "What does it do?"
"If you think that's scary you don't know the feeling of reaching for it." I shivered remembering every time I wanted to try it. "I can't even get an inch of a thought near activating it before screaming like a baby."
"Oh so we sounded like kids to you?" Baydí's tone switched.
"Yeah, you heard it, didn't you?" I said.
"Haha, I like you a lot Phoenix. How about I let you join me on this quest and I can give you some pointers?"
"Sure, you down Stella?"
"Absolutely." Stella gripped her staff and said a quiet prayer to the blackhole gods. "God Ocky, and Goddess Toky, please watch over us..."