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Edge of apocalypse 98
🕑 Added 2023-07-28 18:59:23 +0000 UTC98 – All talk
[Kainen Robertson Druimer. Level 32 (damaged foundation) Guild Master. While his true power level is unknown, what you can glimpse with Appraisal is enough to not classify him as a threat to your life – at least for the purpose of what you want to do next.]
Albert dismissed Bullet Time and simply stared at Kainen, the guild master, who in turn stared at him with a complex expression on his face. One moment he was frowning, the next – when the wave of appraisal washed over him and he felt it – his face contorted into a sick smile that would have drained the blood out of anybody’s face upon seeing it.
But not Albert’s. He just met the gaze, wearing his fake smile from earlier.
“Oh. You’re not very strong, actually.”
“Ah,” The guild master rose to his feet and paced around his desk, towards Albert. Albert did not flinch. “The spineless brat grows a spine. But what makes you think I am not that strong, huh? The power disparity is there for all to see. You must have seen it when you oh so rudely appraised me.”
Albert shrugged. “You’re lower levelled than Tom at the fucking reception, come on! And if I extrapolated from his stories correctly, you at level 30-something cannot even compete with a single application of one of my stronger spells. It would kill you, which is not ideal, but I’m hoping that the threat of mutually assured destruction will deter you from being irrational.”
Kainen scoffed, his threatening aura deflating in one blink of an eye as he crossed his arms and plopped his ass on the desk.
“Not from around here, are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You talk like them. All strange and weird, like you come from a place different than our own. You laugh in the face of conventional power rules. Your magic is unusually strong while your… how did you call it, level is low. The sole concept of level screams outsider. Or crazy. Some would consider you crazy, of course, it’s the easy answer. But you aren’t, are you?”
“I come from a faraway place, that’s all.”
“Fine. Whatever you say.” Kainen said, unexpectedly letting go of the matter. “Tell me about the elves, then, what did you learn?”
***
Quest: Daily Challenge – The guy wants to see Attributes complete!
· It’s time you actively worked towards your actual goals, instead of wasting time. Fortunately, your forest run was not totally useless. Return to the Guild Master and tell him about your findings, and about the Arcane Equilibrium guild/cult.
· Reward: Attributes will become visible in Status.
“…Arcane Equilibrium.” Kainen said, echoing Albert’s words. “Still doesn’t explain why you killed the huntress.”
Albert froze at the mention of the name. This was quite the emotional bomb.
“You knew?”
“Now, now.” The master said, sensing that Albert was about to blow up the guild. “No need to overreact. It’s fine. I’m not going to rat you out. Who would I even tell? I’m the guild master, the highest form of law around here!”
Albert’s shift in gears allowed the guild master to regain control of the conversation, once again making a fool out of Albert by exploiting this newfound weakness.
“Of course, I knew. I’m curious. Why did you kill her, brat?”
“I didn’t mean to!” Albert almost yelled before he managed to silence himself to a whisper. “She jumped me, out of nowhere. She saw my ears, she must have thought I was with them.”
“Hahahaha!” Kainen laughed, throwing himself back on the chair. “The fucking ears! She thought you were one of them!”
“It’s not funny.”
“No, well, you see… it is. Because I also would have thought you were one of them, if I wasn’t sure that you were a world hopper.”
“What?”
“Don’t like it when you’re not in control, do you? Yes, I suspected. I’ve seen my share of shit before ending up crippled in this cesspool of a city, brat. Seen my share of world hoppers too.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“I needed to be sure you had at least half a spine. A spineless brat has no chance to even get close to the core you seek. See, I might not be able to help you find a portal, but I know where you can find the Kirkesis core you are looking for.”
“Why do you care if I have a spine or not? And why would you ever help me?”
“Funny, isn’t it? You ask me the same question I asked you at the beginning. It’s always strange when someone does good deeds for no reason. Well, I care because I want you to take me with you.”
“You would abandon the city?”
“Immediately. It was my punishment, and I bear no love for it.”
“Now it makes sense.” Albert said, massaging his temples. A headache was coming, but not from the contents of the conversation rather from his emotional state. Something would need to be punched soon, so he could blow off some steam. “You knew what I did, but said nothing so you could blackmail me.”
“No need to blackmail you anymore now, is there, boy?”
Albert snapped. “Don’t call me boy!” He yelled. Since when had he become this violent and short-tempered? Surely it must be because he was tired and the day hadn’t been easy.
Plus all his guilt. He knew he was unconsciously transforming his guilt into rage, because rage was easier to handle.
“Sorry,” Kainen said, laughing. “You offended? Too bad, boy. In any case, I only wanted to blackmail you at the beginning, but now I know I have some information you need. Consider covering up the murder thing just a freebie, to ease our business deal. I could have had you killed on the spot for it, still can. But I won’t. Besides, I saw what you did to the huntress, and I know you could do it to me if you wanted. Which is why I took your threat seriously. I wouldn’t have otherwise, brat. You need to work on your threat delivery, or you will end up dead, or a murderer.”
“Fine. Deal. I’ll take you with me, and in exchange you guide me to the core and let me keep it. Or is there anything else you want from me?”
“Nope. The chance to travel along with a world hopper, and reap the benefits of all that will happen to you, is more than enough.”
Albert didn’t like the phrasing, but if there was something to learn from the many cliches in the novels he read over the years, was that world hoppers didn’t have a very tranquil life in fantasy worlds. And that their sidekicks or helpers, while they didn’t get as many powerups as the isekaied person, were still much better off than they were before becoming sidekicks.
What Kainen wanted made sense, especially considering he was ‘crippled’, or at least had a damaged foundation that didn’t allow him to grow in power anymore, and had been at the end of his journey until he met Albert.
How he knew that Albert was a world hopper, and how much was known about world hoppers remained to be seen. But Albert didn’t want to press the issue, not until there was at least a modicum of trust between them.
For now, Albert was offered a room to sleep the night. Tomorrow he would have to see what to do. Kainen said they could leave immediately, the guild be damned, and while Albert did not really care about the guild either, it did not sit right with him to just pack up and leave.
“Whatever you say, brat. I’ll take care of Tom and the others.” Kainen said, annoyed but smirking at Albert. “Meet you tomorrow morning at the gates. Don’t be late.”
***
Morning rolled over with no sign of Kainen at the guild. Tom was there, and Albert quickly approached him to ask him what was going on. The whole guild seemed to be in a fever, and he wanted to learn what Kainen had done.
Turns out Kainen had made Tom the new guild master, announcing it to everyone and then disappearing before he could be stopped for questions. Nobody had seen it ever since, and they had all turned to Tom for answers he did not have. Eventually the commotion died down, leaving the poor man quite confused.
“I will do my best, lad.” He said. “Don’t worry about me, okay? You have a journey in front of you, and this was but your first stop.”
“Actually, I can come visit whenever I want with teleport.” Albert said, pulling out of the hug. Ever since the two shared their stories, a bond had formed.
"Oh. That's quite handy." Tom said. "You don't need to bother with me. I'll be fine!"
"You better be fine when I come check up on you! Goodbye Tom. And thank you for sharing your story with me."
