Hostess of Fertility
As the duel ended, Zephyr and Tiona were met with a loud applause as their fight amassed quite the audience.
"Not bad, rookie." Gareth spoke first, he was apparently intrigued by their bout that he couldn't help but watch, and oh boy was he impressed.
Their fighting destroyed some parts of the floor of the training ground, a floor that was made to withstand heavy blows and attacks, yes it wasn't the best but, it could withstand attacks from Peak Level 3 adventurers.
That means their duel was comparable to a battle of two Peak Level 3's
'We've got a lot of talented individuals in this batch.' Gareth thought, 'The expedition is in 2 weeks, which means Zephyr will also join us.' A smile formed on Gareth's face, the anticipation of being able to witness their growth growing stronger.
Zephyr and Tiona walked through the crowd as they were both raring to wash off the dirt and sweat off their bodies.
"You've almost surpassed me, Zephyr." Tiona put her hands behind her back as she walked besides Zephyr.
"I just have an edge over technique is all, not to mention, I have [Aura] a very versatile ability. You shouldn't feel bad about it, just improve." Zephyr looked at her with a smile.
"Yeah, I will."
The both of them separated to reach their own separate sections of the Manor.
—————
Night quickly appeared as Zephyr, Tiona, Tione and Ais, as well as the executive members walked together with Loki.
Their destination? The Hostess of Fertility. A pub in Orario that serves great food in Alcohol.
The Pub functions as a lunch eatery in the afternoon for Civilians, and then a Pub for the Adventurers when it's night time.
As they step foot into the large doors of the Tavern, they were immediately met with the lively atmosphere of the Hostess of Fertility, adventurers were enjoying their drinks and food.
"Welcome!" A girl greeted them, the person was a person from the Cat People race. Her name was Anya Fromel.
"Oya, if it's Loki-nyan!" The beast human greeted the Goddess.
"Heya, can you fetch us a table for eight?" The Goddess seemed to be in a great mood as her tone was more jolly.
"No problem! Mama Mia, the Loki Familia is here!" Anya called for the owner of this tavern, Mia Grand.
"Back again? Well you guy's spend a lot of money on my tavern so I ain't complaining." Mia Grand spoke from behind the counter.
Anya guided them to a big table at the center of the tavern, the other adventurers greeted them with tipsy and loud voices.
Zephyr sat besides Riveria, "What would like to order?" Anya asked them while taking out a notepad and a pencil.
"What do you want Zephyr? Order anything you want. This if for you after all!" The Goddess encouraged Zephyr to order anything he wanted.
"Hm, let's see here.. wait, Ramen?" When Zephyr said the word a sense of familiarity sprouted out.
"Ramen is it? Okay and then what about all of you?" Anya then proceeded to get their orders, which went from a assortment of meat for most of them, Vegetables for Riveria and then Jagamarukan for Ais. But Loki didn't forget her usual order, a fuck ton of alcohol.
As their meals were served, Zephyr dug in to his ramen, with a skillful motion he used a spoon to taste the broth, relishing in the great flavor. He then proceeded to use chopsticks to try out the noodles, as he slurped up the noodles, Zephyr felt like he was in heaven. A sense of nostalgia washing over him as he continued eating his large bowl of ramen.
"Damn Zephyr, you're good. Even I can't eat with chopsticks." Loki said as she observed how Zephyr ate his ramen.
"I'd say that's a skill issue, Loki-sama." Zephyr continued eating.
—————
"So that's him huh.."
"Yeah.. the record holder for the fastest level up of a week and a half.."
"Also did you hear, apparently he singlehandedly defeated The Goliath. The Monster Rex of the 17th floor all on his own..!"
Whispers sounded in the tavern as they gossiped about Zephyr, well it was natural. An anomaly like Zephyr suddenly appeared and broke the Record like It was a normal Tuesday activity.
In short, it was ridiculous. Many people were skeptical but they didn't have no choice but to accept it if the Loki Familia, the strongest familia in Orario said it. The Guild also confirmed it to be true so they just accepted it, Monsters like Zephyr Bladehart and the Sword Princess were on a league of their own, they didn't need to stand side to side with normal people like them.
As Zephyr was enjoying his Ramen, he suddenly shivered all over his body, the feeling of being watched slightly jolted him.
'What the hell was that?' Zephyr looked around the tavern in confusion, trying to find the source of that eerie gaze.
———[??? POV]———
This boys soul... It's beautiful.. A pure and untainted white soul, protected by an ever changing vortex of colors and shapes.
The colorful spectacle caught my eye at first, but the more I dig deeper into the boys soul, the more I get mesmerized.
That pure white soul reminds me of my beloved, oh so pure and untainted, and in the center of that soul, is a sword, is that his ambition? His driving force? The path of the sword? Is he a hero destined to wield the blade and save the world? I'm curious, I want to know, I want to keep him for myself. But that accursed Loki got to him first.
But it's strange, why does it feel incomplete, what is it missing? I should go deeper.
As I peer deeper into the boys soul, I got stopped.
What is that..? I see a singular eye, looking at me, it's gaze feels like I'm getting stripped right in front of it. It's divine presence immediately washed over my soul, I feel a tremendous pressure as the eye focused on me, on my soul, I feel a tight grasp on my very being, as if I'll get crushed.
I tremble at the sight of that eye, it's clearly trying to warn me, it doesn't want me to do any deeper than that. No it doesn't want me to look into the boys soul ever again, if not I'll...
Perish.
———[Chapter End]———
A/N: I really need to work on my skills when it comes to First Person POV. It feels wonky for me, but I did it to encapture more of her emotion so I can't really complain.