25 The City of Spirits

Axel smiled awkwardly with his dimples slightly curved as he chuckled quietly. He was trying not to laugh, as he had never expected that Baxtor would misunderstand his teleport skill as a sign of a master mage.

"Ah, it's okay if you don't want to tell me. Everyone has some secrets after all." Baxtor said as he waved his hand forward.

"It would be too difficult to explain a few words...." Axel replied unwillingly.

"Alright, the fact is that you saved me after I tried to create a chance for you to leave back then. We will forever be brothers that will have bonds stronger than those of blood kin!" Baxtor fervently exclaimed as he put his arm around Axel's shoulder.

Axel smirked in accordance and they set out for Emain Macha to the west.

...

Upon entering the portal that led to the south entrance to Emain Macha, a beautiful waterfront expanded before their eyes. Walking over the long bridge that extended until the watchtower of the city, the water in the lake seemed to be sparkling like gemstones. Many fish could be seen swimming joyfully, and the cool air left an relaxing atmosphere as one gazed upon the scene over the bridge.

The bridge was a long walk, and the sun had set when they had reached the entrance of the watchtower. Before the gates, two infantry soldiers guarded the entrance and one of them put their hand out to ask,

"Stop! What is your purpose of visit to Emain Macha?"

"We're both adventurers that have returned from Sen Mag Prairie. I have some news for the city council. A Field Boss has been summoned in Sen Mag Prairie, and all the bears have run amok and gathered together as one force." Baxtor quickly explained.

Upon using a mini-orb like magic tool to scan both of their bodies, the soldier said stoically,

"You may pass, and many thanks for the Field Boss information."

Both of them swiftly entered the town and Axel asked,

"What's that mini-orb the soldier used on us?"

Baxtor looked at Axel with a strange face and replied,

"You must have lived in the sticks to not have seen the holy orb before. It's a small version of the elemental orb, but imbued with the blessings of the Holy Water of Lymilark. It is soaked in the holy water for 49 days before it becomes usable to examine the mana pools of travelers. If the orb turns grey in the process, it means that the person is most likely a Fomor as their mana pools have a impure composition compared to that of humans."

Axel licked his lips back and forth. He was thinking why the mini-orb wasn't able pick up any abnormalities about his mana pool? In a sense, he possessed the powers of a Fomor, was even wearing an Anti-Magic Robe on top of that which was not all purpose if it meant hiding the purity of his mana pool. Krofer the invisible imp had even said that he felt like a human at first glance. At least for the very moment, his dangerous identity had not been exposed yet, which Axel thought was a great relief for now.

"Alright, let's stop idling here and turn in our request so we can hit the bar to grab some drinks!" Baxtor said as he pushed Axel forward.

Upon walking towards the central plaza of the city, Axel was mesmerized by the fairy like architecture of Emain Macha. The water fountains were divided into four equal quadrants, each housing grass and a small tree inside of it. The center of the fountain seemed to be an intricate design, with one large and small semi-circle cup like shapes stacked upside down for the water to flow into the fountain below.

The central plaza was bustling with people. There were many adventurers gathering together to make a party for a quest, countless merchants setting up their shop in tight spaces on the ground, and also many beggars with their hands out to receive gold. This was largely different from the scene Axel had seen in the game of Mabinogi, where Nele the bard, and Del and Delen, the florist sisters resided in the space.

"Let's keep moving ahead to the request board near Sir Aodhan is." Baxtor said.

Aodhan? Axel would have forgotten this name if he hadn't come to this world. Aodhan is the Captain of the Royal Guards that protects the royal family of Emain Macha. Aside from that, he is also in charge of the protection of the entire city of Emain Macha. He would be the person to talk to when it was time for Axel to learn the skill 'Final Hit'.

When they got to the request board in front of the royal manor, there was a few female attendants stationed at each counter, dealing with the many adventurers that came to turn in or start a new quest. Baxtor took Axel to one of the open counters and asked,

"I'd like to turn in this request for 1 Grizzly Bear fur and collect the reward for the Field Boss Summoning information I submitted earlier to the soldiers at the gate." Baxtor said.

The guild attendant took out the Elemental Orb and Baxtor and Axel took turns measuring their levels and adventurer rank. Baxtor went up from 3 star to 4 star Silver rank, and Axel soared from 1 star to 6 star Iron rank. Next, the guild attendant brought out a bag of gold.

"1 Red Grizzly Bear Fur amounts to 1200 gold. Along with providing the Field Boss Summoning information, here is 11200 gold in total. Please check it over carefully." the guild attendant replied.

Baxtor took the 11200 gold in hand, and passed 10000 gold over to Axel. In a hurry, Axel tried to return half of the gold back but was rejected.

"This 10000 gold isn't even enough to express the gratitude for my lifesaver. Just take this much for now since I don't have anything else on me at the moment. I'll definitely return the favor another day when there's a chance." Baxtor cheekily said.

"Thanks! If you don't mind, I want to run by the bank before we head out to drink!" Axel said.

Baxtor nodded and they headed towards the bank.

Axel currently had roughly 13000 gold, which was a dangerous amount to carry while adventuring outside. As the development of this world was most likely still in the early phases of the game of Mabinogi during Generation 1, the value of each gold piece in terms of currency had more buying value than the gold that would be used later on in Generation 22 of the game. Even 10000 gold was considered a sizable amount for normal citizens in this world to live off of.

As they entered the bank, a mature, low-pitched voice asked,

"Are you here to deposit your belongings or gold pieces today?"