Chapter 5: Gathering.
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Name: Alseace LaRoze
Level: 1 (0.505285%)
Karma: 100/100
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Status
Strength: 4.36
Agility: 6.42
Dexterity: 5.57
Vitality: 3.91
Mentality: 4.43
Sense: 4.25
Magic: -
Stamina: 5.16
Extra Points: 0
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Skill: [Leftover] [Pain Resistance]
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Sub-Skill: -
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Achievement: [The One Who Did Nothing]
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Alseace stared at his status screen as he walked down the stairs, and it was still quiet as ever. He then went behind the counter to grab a glass of water as he looked at Elenoir and Sierra sitting next to each other. Ando and the others were standing behind them and seemed to be talking about what had happened earlier.
He overheard the convention and Sierra said something about Colliding. He wasn't sure what that meant and decided to join in and listen more about it.
The term Colliding came from when a dungeon or a field inside the portal had an abnormality that one portal was connected with another for many reasons. The most common reasons were accidents or demons that invaded the world inside the portal.
Sierra believed that there was a theory that one world was connected to others. In the same place, in the same spot in the universe but in a different frequency. A Parallel Dimension that one world couldn't see the other.
The reason Sierra believed that one world was connected to the others was because of the Dimensional Crack. A gate that connected both realities into one that happened with the will of God. That could also happen to portals where monsters lived, but Sierra believed that portals and vortexes were God's doing, but there were outside factors that could intervene. It could be an anomaly that a powerful entity, beast, or even demon.
"You're telling us that there are so many powerful beings that can match with God?" Ando looked at Sierra with a serious expression.
"Who knows," Sierra shrugged as she poured herself a glass of whiskey. "If they're indeed as strong as God, I don't believe they have to waste their time playing games with portals and vortexes. Or maybe they're trying to send a message to God," Sierra pointed out as she grabbed the glass and took a shot.
Everyone looked at each other and thought about it thoroughly, but then suddenly they heard a dripping sound. They looked at Sierra and her nose was bleeding. Her hands started to tremble, and she immediately grabbed a tissue to cover her nose.
When they wanted to help, Sierra raised her hand and shook her head. "I'm fine. I'm just a bit tired," Sierra said as she sighed. "Anyway, congratulation on getting an achievement, Al," Sierra smiled as she wiped the blood and clogged her nose with a tissue.
"Yes, it's all thanks to Miss Elenoir for helping me get this," Alseace looked at her and the tissue that soaked in her blood.
Ando and the others immediately looked at Alseace. They were curious about what kind of achievement he got since it might be something interesting.
"You got achievement? Tell us more about it," Ando sat down next to Elenoir.
"It's a..." Alseace hesitated.
Everyone laughed when they heard about the achievement he got. They were all jokingly making fun of him, but he could tell their eyes were pitying him.
"It's better than nothing though. Go get yourself a drink, it's on me," Ando grinned with his eyes closed as he crossed his arms on the bar's table counter.
The pub became lively because of that topic, and they were all trying to comfort and support Alseace. It was always a great time whenever they gathered in the pub, and it was another reason why he would never give up.
"Miracle does exist, so don't give up, yeah?" Nero looked at Alseace with a gentle smile. "We can cheers on that, a miracle," Nero raised his glass.
Everyone cheered on that and took a shot including Alseace.
"But seriously though," Ando furrowed his eyebrows with a cigarette in his mouth. "I still don't believe that you're a guy. You're too pretty for a man and your body is so slender," Ando puffed the smoke and looked at Alseace in his white shirt and sweatpants.
"You're just bad at judging people's appearance, Ando. Back then you also thought Elenoir is a man," Gratya chuckled softly and looked at Ando with her arms crossed behind Elenoir.
"I still think of her as a man. She's flat, her hips are not like you two, and her hairstyle is of a man," Ando looked at Gratya and Katya, and Elenoir wasn't bothered by it. "But she's the one I love in the world," Ando continued, and suddenly his face turned red even though he was the one who said it.
Elenoir and Ando were dating, and they had been a couple for six years even before Alseace came to Dasmein. Nobody knew about their relationship but those people in the pub. They both didn't want the attention, so they kept it a secret from the public.
Katya was focused on her phone as she leaned against the counter, and then she suddenly hummed and furrowed her eyebrows. "A vortex appeared in East Dasmein 5 days ago, and five groups of A-Rank with a few B-Rank Candidates entered it but until now there's no sign of them coming out," Katya showed her phone to the others.
"Presume dead, huh..." Sierra squinted her eyes and looked at the photo of the vortex. The color of the vortex was red.
"Five groups of A-Rank? That's quite a lot and yet they failed?" Nero looked at his phone to look at the article himself.
A group composed of 10 people, and since it was five groups, that meant 50 people with a level above 70 died. It wasn't something that was unheard of, but it was extremely rare, and the reason why they were presumed dead was that clearing a vortex wouldn't take a week with that many Candidates.
"Looks like you can't join us for tomorrow's investigation, huh? But I guess we can't force you two to join since the situation there is more concerning than here," Nero looked at Katya and Gratya as he swirled a glass of whiskey in his left hand.
"So you both are going to go back tomorrow morning?" Sierra looked at Gratya and Katya since they both came from East Dasmein.
"The Emissary is requesting the Silver Talon and all the big guilds on East Dasmein to check the vortex before the situation gets worse. We're going to take a flight early in the morning tomorrow," Katya sighed as she pulled her hair back.
West Dasmein and East Dasmein were actually different countries. A conflict happened a long time ago, and so they split the continent in half. Since Gratya was from the Emissary, and the Silver Talon Guild leaned toward the Emissary, they both could freely move without restriction and without problems.
Sierra stood up and walked behind the counter. She looked at the liquor that she had collected on the shelf, and then she took a whole bottle.
"Take this with you. You should enjoy it while you still can," Sierra looked at Katya with a serious expression.
Everyone went silent and stared at Sierra and Katya back and forth, and then looked at the 50-year-old whiskey. Whenever Sierra offered something before they entered a vortex, that could only mean one thing, and that was, the vortex was dangerous.
There were so many unanswered questions about Sierra and who she really was. With her knowledge, her age, her instincts, and her origins, she was a mysterious woman.
"I guess I should take this thing seriously. Thank you, Sierra," Katya grabbed the bottle and looked at it.
"It's getting late. You all should go," Sierra grabbed the empty glasses on the counter after they took a shot to congratulate Alseace.
All of them nodded and left, but Elenoir stayed behind and was still enjoying her gin since she was known as a slow drinker.
"The vortex in my territory that appeared 3 days ago..." Elenoir paused and looked at the glass in her hand. "Can I bring Alseace with me? You said the difficulty of that vortex is only for B-Rank, so that should be okay?" Elenoir asked and looked at Sierra who was washing the glasses.
"You're going to enter a B-Rank vortex just for him? You're spoiling him too much, Elenoir," Sierra kept her hands busy cleaning the glass, and she sounded like she didn't like the idea of it. "I never taught you to spoil anyone, and I didn't spoil you back then, didn't I?" Sierra stared Elenoir in the eye.
Elenoir stared back without showing any expression, and then she stood up and grabbed her sword from the counter while she kept staring at Sierra. She left without saying a single word while Alseace stood there behind the counter with Sierra. He already knew that it would end up like that.
"How many times did I tell you to not do anything funny, Alseace?" Sierra placed the glasses onto the shelves. "I guess that's not your fault to have that kind of face," Sierra sighed as she removed her latex gloves and threw them in the trashcan.
"I tried to refuse, but..." Alseace said.
"I know, it's not your fault. I'm the one who told you to take everything for granted, but I never thought she would go that far to bring you into a vortex. You're too weak for that," Sierra grabbed a new pair of gloves from the drawer. "Let's start the training again tomorrow, so get some sleep because we are leaving early in the morning," Sierra walked past Alseace and loosened her tie, and unbuttoned her shirt.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Sierra wrapped the tie onto her left hand. "There's no more reason for you to not kill," Sierra looked at Alseace over her shoulder, and the aura around her changed. "Keep that in mind," Sierra smiled with her eyes closed, and the aura around her back to normal again.
"Is it because I got this achievement?" Alseace asked while holding a glass of water.
"Yes. I have met a lot of people, and I know about the achievement from someone. Anyway, just finish your business down here and go to bed," Sierra answered.
Alseace hummed with understanding as he listened to Sierra's footsteps going up the stairs. He then locked the door and turned off the lights before he went to bed.