Chapter 163: An Odd Reaction

Early Afternoon - Early Spring : Morva Asari, Siratha

As we continued down the bridge, Bjørn gave me an odd look but never said anything.

Unlike what I expected, he didn't take what I said as a joke at all. -I wonder what he's thinking..- 

Only a short moment later, we finally made it to the bottom and were met with an older demihuman man.

"Are you strong sirs new around here?" His intentions seemed pure for the most part.

"Ah, no. I live here so I don't need a tour. Thank you for the offer." Bjørn gave him a blunt rejection before walking right past him.

The man was quick to turn to me though. "How about you, young Sir?" He seemed quite desperate but it just made me uncomfortable.

"Ah, I'm alright. I'll be able to figure things out on my own." 

With my denial, the man looked a bit dejected. "Ah, no worries. Please come tell me if you would like a guide at any point. I will always be here.."

"S.sure… Thanks for the offer.." Making my way past him, I quickly met back up with Bjørn. "Are people like that common around here?" 

"Hm? Oh. It's not uncommon. He's one of the unlucky few who got down here but didn't have enough money or have a pass to get back up." He glanced back at the man with a look of pity. "Good guides here do make quite a bit though, so I can understand why he's doing it instead of manual labor."

-Does that mean tourism is common here?- It seemed a bit odd since there weren't roads connecting towns to the city, but I decided not to question it much. "So where are we headed to now?"

"The Morva Asari Hunter Guild. You need to get a medallion to use the bridges. Plus, you need some identification."

-Sweet, I should grab a regional map if they have one too..- Not being able to find my way around on my own was a real pain. 

As I was thinking to myself, we made it to the edge of the actual city.

Its layout was quite similar to cities from Earth with family homes on the outskirts, large commerce districts a little farther in, and a bustling downtown with a large town hall at the center. But even beyond general layout, the city itself felt as if it was designed by someone who seriously knew what they were doing. -There's even plumbing for sewage… Was this city's designer someone who reincarnated for earth or something?!- 

Continuing deeper into the city, we finally got to the edge of the commerce district and made it to a large wooden building with the character meaning 'explorer' on it.

"Do you mind if I head across the street to grab a bite to eat while you're inside?" He pointed across the street to a restaurant of some sort.

"Yeah, go for it. I can handle everything from here. Thanks for showing me around!" A gave a friendly nod as I turned to walk inside.

"Ah, if you ever need me for anything, you can find me at a messenger center on the north side of the city!" Quickly straightening up, he gave a deep bow. "Thank you for everything, Sir!"

His voice caught the attention of everyone in the area but I didn't pay it mind. "Haha, dont worry about it." -You saved me so much time that I should be thanking you..-

Turning back to the guild building, I pushed open the large wooden doors and walked inside.

The massive room behind the door was bustling with people, but I couldn't deny that it felt weird seeing only elves and demihumans around. -It's more similar to some of those western guilds than I expected though.. (Ones on the Western Continent)- 

Within the room, there were several tables for a tavern section and then receptionists area with a billboard for quests.

The board was divided into sections as well, labeled 'Village', 'Town', 'City', 'Cleric', 'Priest', and 'Apostle' from the bottom up, but every single quest was city rank or below. [1] -So these must be the adventurer ranks... But why are there 3 whole ranks without a single quest in such a huge city?-

Although it seemed extremely abnormal, I didn't think much of it. -Its probably just that those quests were already taken.. right?-

After second guessing myself for a second, I shook off the thought and continued towards the front desk.

Walking past people and between tables, I winded my way towards the receptionist desk where a woman with a forced smile sat.

-She's quite strong for a receptionist..- Her aura was quite strong and tempered, not nearly as much of a monster as Lawton or Adrian, but nonetheless, she was well into the nation rank.

"What can I help you with sir?" She acted polite but it was clear she didn't want to be there.

"I'm new around here so I'd also like to see if I could use this as an ID and if not, get a new one." Pulling my mythril ID out of my pocket, I casually set it on the table.

Her whole demeanor changed and eyes widened as she saw it. "W..where are you from?" She shakily reached out and turned my ID over, revealing several nations crests. "Ahem.. Please forgive my prior informality." Her posture immediately straightened up and she wore a bright expression.

-Whats with this sudden change..-

"If you could, could you wait a moment for me to speak with my superior?" She seemed both excited and oddly nervous.

"Y..yeah, sure. That's fine."

Thankfully, it only took a moment for her to return with an older gentleman.

"Is this the young man you spoke of?" He spoke fairly formally. "I find it hard to believe that-" His voice stopped as he looked at my ID on the desk.

It was the same look that the woman made. -Is there something special about my ID?-

Hastily coming up to the desk, the old man activated a silencing artifact and leaned in. "Sir, would you happen to be.. from the outside?"

"Uh.. yeah. This is my first time in Siratha. Why?"

A pure, yet ecstatic smile immediately popped onto his face as he gave a deep bow. "Please forgive my prior rudeness, it seems I failed to recognize your majesty." His voice was calm and smooth even though he was practically shaking from excitement.

-What is wrong with these people..- "That's fine and all, but can we finally figure out the situation with my ID?" Everyone in the room was watching the scene with curious looks even though they couldn't hear us.

A gleam appeared in the man's eye as he heard my request. "Right away sir!"

After that, I ended up spending quite a while gathering general information and getting the situation figured out.

As for my ID, they told me to carry a specific crest, but instead of taking their medallion, I just carved it into my mythril ID like the other insignias and carved the rune for the brides as well. -This ID is one hell of an artifact now, isn't it..-

As for what they were freaking out over, when I asked, they only glanced at the insignias on my ID and didn't say anything. -Could they have recognized one from somewhere?-

It was totally possible but I wasn't totally sure. -It probably doesn't matter anyways...- "Do you guys happen to have a map of the surrounding area?" 

"A city, town or region map?"

"Region."

"Yes, please give me one moment." Quickly getting up from the desk, she ran to the back table and rolled up a piece of paper. "Here you go, Sir Whyte." She handed it to me with a bright smile.

"Sweet, thanks." -This'll make things easier..- "I think that will be all for now. Thank you guys for helping me learn the ropes."

"Haha, it's our pleasure. Please keep in mind that you can use your crest to pay for general pleasures like inns, food, or anything in the.. 'eastern market' including personal pleasures."

-Man.. isn't that a little too convenient?- Although something felt off about the mountain of privileges I was receiving, I just rolled with it. "Awesome, thanks for everything!" As I got Ilios up and left the guild, I wore a wide smile. 

Not wanting to waste any more time, I hastily made my way outside and started exploring some of the city. The instant I left the guild though, I noticed people following me.

-3 decent A ranks?- It was clear they didn't have good intentions but I was in a good mood so I acted as if I didn't know they were there.

After a decent while of them not making any moves though, I turned down a dark alleyway.

"Uwaahh.." Trying to give an opening, I let out a big yawn.

Almost immediately, the strongest of the 3 following me uncloaked himself right behind me and gripped onto my sword. "HAHA, maybe next time you'll stay on gua-" His voice was cut off as he tried to unsheathe my sword and noticed it wouldn't budge.

His face slowly paled as I showed him a playful smile. "Pfft.. you'll need to be a bit stronger to pull that out."

He was frozen in place as I turned around and set my hand on his shoulder.

"You and your two friends over there aren't quite fit for crime, you should really find new occupations." As I pulled away from him, I glanced back at his friends and turned to walk out of the alley.

The man quickly fell to his knees and his 'friends' disappeared shortly after

As I walked back out into the street, I wore a comfortable and satisfied smile. "Hmm.." -Lets see what this city has to offer shall we?-

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[1] - The tiers (ranks) from bottom to top are:

-Village

-Town

-City

-Cleric

-Priest

-Apostle