XXVI

  The walls of Sarus resembled the mountains that loomed in the distance. Huge chunks of stone made up the wall, with a walkway going along the top of it, which a few Guards stood idly, monitoring the people coming in and out of the town. The imposing gate was made of metal bars, with a crossing pattern on it, leaving very little space between the metal bars.

  Kaz joined his new group as they got in line to enter the town. He noticed each person that was trying to enter the town got questioned, a total of five guards monitoring and facilitating. Two of the Guards who stood back had long and impressive looking spears, while the three other Guards had swords strapped to their waists.

  Listening to the idle chatter among their group, his anxiety was tying knots in his stomach, time stretching as he waited for their turn. Would they know about him? Would he be able to get into the town? He fidgeted with his fingers, his nervous tick kicking into action. The group slowly moved along, until one of the Guards yelled to them, rattling him, “Dorrel! You made it back with your group!”

  The Guard strolled up to them, and Kaz noticed from his face that he was quite young compared to the others. Dorrel grinned widely, waving at him, “Percival, pleasure to see you around. How are things?”

  “Can’t complain. Quite a lot of people traveling through here these days,” the Guard, whose name was Percival according to Dorrel, replied, slightly slowing his speech as he pondered the reason behind that. The group politely nodded, and then Percival continued, “Anyways, since I know you lot, you can pass on through!”

  “Thanks, Percival, see you around,” Dorrel enthusiastically replied, the group moving by the Guard.

  The group of them began walking through to the gate, Kaz releasing his breath, not realizing he was holding it in, and then he froze as Percival spoke up again, “Wait a minute, Dorrel, who is this new member of your group, I am pretty sure he wasn’t with you guys before.”

  “He’s a Gnome who we ran across during our exploration, and he’s been a huge help for us. It made taking out the Stonerock Goblins a lot easier, who we were struggling against, prior to running into him” Eliza speaking up for Dorrel.

  Percival looked at Kaz, analyzing the Gnome before him, narrowing his eyes, the joyful demeanor he had mere seconds ago vanishing. This was a Guard who took his job seriously from what Kaz could tell, and the cold sweat started running down his back.

  “Give me a moment you lot, I need to pull him to the side and ask him a few questions. You guys can go through or wait for him if you like. Come follow me, sir,” instructed the Guard, guiding Kaz a few feet away from the group. Thankfully they decided to wait for Kaz.

  “Just a few questions lad, nothing too serious. Can I first get your name and where you come from,” inquired the Guard.

  “My name is Kaz, and I am originally from Forith,” Kaz replied meekly.

  “Alright, Kaz, what brings you to Sarus?”

  He took a second to think of what to say. Should he explain his current circumstances, what he went through, or make up a somewhat realistic story? He decided he would just give a short reply that was general enough but had provided enough to give the Guard assumptions. Kaz replied to him, trying to stabilize his voice, as his voice usually cracked when he was trying to hide something, “I needed a place to have a fresh start, and Sarus was the closest town to Forith.”

  Percival nodded, crossing his arms. He analyzed him again, searching his eyes, and Kaz felt a weird sensation run over his body. Did the Guard just use an Ability Skill on him?

  Percival nodded again, to himself, and became a bit friendlier, asking him, “What are your plans in Sarus? Going to the Academies or looking for an apprenticeship?”

  Slightly shaking his head, Kaz denied those two options, but he also paused, wondering what he was actually going to do here. He knew he had to visit the Adventurer’s Guild to turn in his crystals for Tokens, so he decided to go off of that. He explained to the Guard, “I am actually going to head to the Adventurer’s Guild to exchange my crystals, and then from there I will probably take on a few Quests.”

  A moment of stillness passed between them, and the Guard slightly tilted his head to the side. Slight panic rose in him, did he say something wrong?

  “Kaz, may I quickly conduct a quick [ Status Insight ] on you? It’s just to check your Resonance, Abilities, and Equipment. I just need to make sure you aren’t hiding anything.”

  Kaz merely nodded, not trusting his words, and immediately his [ Archive ] opened, and the following wording appeared:

  Do you allow Percival Edeniam, Sarus Guard, to view the following pages: [ Status ], [Skill Abilities ], [ Passive Abilities ], and [ Equipment ]?

  At his mental approval, his [ Archive ] disappeared, and he saw Percival reading something ahead of him, which he assumed was his [ Archive ]. The Guard frowned and constantly side eyed Kaz, and after a few moments, he saw the Guard sigh, nodding his head at him.

  He spoke up, “I must say Kaz, you are quite the abnormal Mage. But you are very strong for someone your age, as I am assuming you had your Awakening recently.” Kaz nodded, not knowing where this was going. Percival continued, “But I see nothing wrong with your person. Just to explain, we have had an increasing number of Bandits who have been claiming to visit the town in order to turn in their crystals. So, I had to make sure you weren’t a Bandit or was becoming one. You are free to go, and may your Calling inspire you well!”

  With a pat on the back, which almost caused the small Gnome to fall over, Kaz briskly walked back over to his group, and they finally made it past the gate into the town. They all beamed at him, and Kaz expressed his gratitude, saying, “Thank you all for guiding me to Sarus. If I could ask one more thing of you all before you leave, can you show me where the Adventurer’s Guild is?”

  Helenesta nodded first, replying to him, “Of course. I can guide you there if everyone else needs to head back to their Academies.” The group nodded, saying their goodbyes, and Eliza told him with a smile, “If you ever want to form a group to go out to take out some Stonerock Goblins or something else, let us know. You can come to one of our Academies or meet us at the park outside of the Academy of Defenders. We usually meet up there after our classes to head out.” Kaz simply nodded and thanked them all again and took off with Helenesta into the deeper parts of the town.

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  The town of Sarus was similar and yet vastly different to Forith. It was similar in the sense that it was busy on the streets with activity and people. Various people strolled the streets, entering shops and approaching street vendors selling goods or food. The biggest difference that Kaz noticed right away was all the buildings. Where Forith’s buildings were a mix of wood, stone, and thatch, Sarus’s buildings were primarily constructed out of stone. The houses and shops were primary built using stone bricks, with various sizes and colors, resulting in each building looking different. Wood and thatch were used sparingly, more as accents and design flares. And the roads were more of stone brickwork, instead of the cobblestone he was used to. Overall, he much preferred the way Sarus looked to him, it felt more appealing and comforting to him personally, and he didn’t understand why.

  Helenesta and Kaz made small talk as they roamed the streets, and they soon reached the Adventurer’s Guild building. It was extremely different in its appearance but still had the same idea of the layout. This stone brick building was a lot taller than the previous Guild building, this one looking to be two stories tall, with generous ceiling heights. Instead of being a circle, it was more of a hexagonal shape, with the middle of the building being open to the sky, with an arena style feel to it as it sunk below the main level. They walked through the main entrance, through the grand, heavily engraved stone doors, rivaling the ones that were in the Library in Forith. Helenesta took a quick look around the room, and turned to Kaz saying, “Well, here is the Adventurer’s Guild. Looking forward to seeing you soon!”

  He nodded, and wished her well, making sure to not make any promises of seeing them again. He really wanted to join their group, but he knew they weren’t the right ones for him to join at the moment. They were still attending their respective Academies, and in turn, were going through their tiers of Resonance at a slower pace and couldn’t commit themselves to longer journeys. It deeply upset him, as they filled the void in his heart, but he had to climb through the Ranks as quickly as possible.

  The Guild Clerks weren’t as busy, so he didn’t have to wait and approached a wooden counter, which had a step on it for small Gnomes like him to reach over the top of the counter. The female Elf Clerk, who’s nametag said Laelara, smiled at him, and greeted him, “Welcome to the Sarus branch Adventurer’s Guild. You must be new around here. How could I help?”

  “Hello, I have a few things if you could please help me with. I am new to this town, and I want to get set up with the Adventurer’s Guild here. I also have a few crystals that I have looted from monsters, and finally I have a few questions about general stuff,” Kaz winced, as he started rambling of everything he needed, hoping he wasn’t overwhelming the Clerk.

  All he heard was slight giggling from the Clerk as he lowered his head to hide his embarrassment.

  “I would be glad to help you out! Let’s first get your first step on the Mantle of the Adventurer, as I am assuming you haven’t committed yet?” Kaz partially nodded, slightly confused, and Laelara continued on, “Alright, so I will bring out a piece of parchment, and we will begin the Rite of Binding.”

  Once she noticed Kaz nod his approval, she reached under the counter and pulled out a thick high-quality piece of parchment. He waited for her to bring out a writing tool, but she just looked at him, and smiled at him, explaining, “Please place one hand on the parchment paper. Your [ Archive ] will ask you for permission to begin the Rite of Binding. Once you accept, the [ Seal of the Adventurer’s Guild ] will bind to your own [ Archive ], which will essentially be responsible for guiding you through your journey of your Calling. I will answer any questions you may have after this,” she interrupted Kaz, as he was about to speak up, mouth already open, because he was deeply confused. He quietly nodded, shutting his mouth. The Clerk closed her eyes, and he felt a pulse going through him, and then his [ Archive ] rolled out in front of him, with the following text:

  Do you take on the responsibility of the Mantle of the Adventurer by the Rite of Binding between your [ Archive ] and the [ Seal of the Adventurer’s Guild ]?

  It was almost word for word what the Clerk said, so Kaz sent the mental command, committing to the Mantle of the Adventurer. A light ding and pulse when throughout him, and his [ Archive ] disappeared, and then reappeared to his [ Status ] page. He noticed that under his Resonance, which was 15, there was new text. It read:

  [ Mantle of the Adventurer ]

  Wood

  What was Wood? Was that his element for his mana?

  “Wood is just your Crest. There are Crests related to your Resonance, which also, like your Abilities, Rank up whenever you have a Revelation. The Adventurer Crests are as follows, Wood, Stone, Copper, Silver, Gold, Diamond, Solarium, Meteoric, Scarletite, Mythril, Orichalcum, and Adamantine. Once you reach Copper, it will also include Tiers, from I to III, but you shouldn’t worry about that,” Laelara informed him, as if reading his mind.

  “And no, I do not read minds, it’s just most people have your reaction, so I just explain when I see the confused expressions on their face when they see the update on their [ Archive ],” she interrupted him again, playfully grinning at him. He was at a loss for words and just simply stared blankly at her. Kaz quickly shook his head, chuckling at this turn of events.

  Laelara reached again below the counter, and pulled out a small wooden badge, putting it on the thick high-quality parchment. It glowed gold, and then his Badge floated up, to which Laelara grasped in her hands. She closed her eyes, and Kaz felt a pulse exiting him and entering the badge. Laelara opened her hand, and handed Kaz the badge, to which he awkwardly held, unsure what to do with it.

  “That is your badge, bearing the Crest of Wood, Kaz. I know your name and your Calling, which is Mage, very nice, as this object is a record of your information and acts as a form of identity. Whenever you enter a new town or city, you will present this badge to the Guards, and they will know everything they need to know about you, and most of the time they will give you quick passage through without many questions. For now, it is in the form of a badge, so you can attach it to your robe, put it on a string around your neck, or put it in your bag or pockets. In the future, you will be able to transform the badge into an accessory you have, be that an earring or ring, as the Crest materials are easily identifiable. This is unavailable to you until you reached the Crest of Copper, unfortunately.”

  After the lengthy explanation, he felt like his brain was going to dissolve into a mess, so he just stuffed his Badge into his pocket for the time being, and decided questions could wait for another time. Kaz reached for his bag, and brought it up on the counter, taking out his crystals.

  “Thank you for all the information, but I am reaching my limit for the amount of information I could handle for a day, sorry. Could you please let me know how the process works for trading these crystals in for Tokens,” he asked her politely.

  “Sure thing, and for your information, I will be here tomorrow if you have more questions you want to ask. So, for crystals, these are drops of loot from certain monsters, which you already know. The crystals vary depending on the Resonance of the monster, the crystals could get larger, denser, or become more vibrant. Most of the time it is a combination of all three. I will put them on this tray here,” to which she pulled out an oddly colored black and gold tray, “and I will be able to give you an amount of Tokens for the crystals. The amount is non-negotiable, as the [ Archive ] calculates the amount the crystals are worth in Tokens,” she explained, putting the crystals on the tray.

  Laelara finished putting the crystals on the tray, and closed her eyes, activating one of her Skill Abilities he assumed. He saw the gold parts in the tray glow brightly, and she opened her eyes, and looked as if reading a message from her [ Archive ]. She then started speaking, “This was an impressive haul for someone of your Resonance. According to the [ Archive ], these crystals combined are worth a total of…”