The door opened, and an adventurer slumped out of the office. "I got rejected."
The couple next in line after him looked at the man as he walked dejectedly towards his friends. They looked at one another. "Looks like he is rejecting everyone." "I mean, they were not anything special anyway."
The two smirked as they entered the office.
Raghav looked at their file, pushing his glasses higher with his left thumb. "That was applicant number one-hundred-sixty-eight. He is skilled, however, his character and motive are questionable."
Aurelia sat on his left, looking down at the list before looking up at the couple and smiling. "Next up are. Oh, already here, welcome, Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Please take a seat."
She gestured towards the chairs as the couple sat down.
They looked at Raghav, who was flipping through the pages, scanning them briefly. "Your record as adventurers appears to be clean, working as private investigators, bounty hunters and specialising in ruin and dungeon exploration."
He placed the file on the table and looked Mr. Smith dead in the eye. "Tell me what does being private investigators, bounty hunters, and explorers entails?"
Mr. Smith chuckled and leaned back slightly. "Let's start with private investigators. We receive an assignment to investigate cases, whether it be a private affair or an official investigation from the crown. Most of the cases we deal with are corruption charges, and we are hired by the Bureau of Justice. When they lack proper evidence to convict the suspect in court."
He gestured towards his wife. "Once we have enough evidence that can be used to convict the suspect, we hand it over to the Bureau of Justice and let them do the rest. But why would you ask this? I mean, were you not a private detective in your world? I mean, we do not have detectives here, but I've heard it's the same thing."
Raghav stared blankly at his face. "Just because I ask a question, does not mean I do not know the answer."
He then placed the file down on his right and picked up another from the table. "As I said, your record 'appears' to be clean. You mentioned everything that you do as a private investigator, except the part where you offer to sell the evidence to the suspect."
Mr. Smith gulped as he chuckled, while Mrs. Smith leaned forward, placing her right hand on her husband's left thigh and resting her left forearm on the table. "Those are some serious accusations. Hero."
The way she dragged the last word made it sharp as she attempted to cut at Raghav using that word.
Raghav was unbothered as he began reading the next file. Not once looking at Mrs. Smith. "Not accusations, this is the truth, you know it, I know it. No need to pretend, I know you two crave wealth over anything else, be it justice or morals. Money is the only thing sacred to you. You take bribes, you kill more than half of your bounties and take their treasure. You murder your party members and make them look like accidents to gain a bigger cut from dungeon raids."
"That is why you want to join me, to gain access to the king and his council through me, all the while you will make money on this quest."
He paused reading and looked at Mr. Smith. "Turn yourself in along with the evidence you hid in exchange for the money. I know you kept it as insurance, in case the wealthy suspects decided to tie up loose ends. Do this before sunset, or you will find out the next bounty will be on your heads."
Turning his eyes back to the file, he gestured towards the door. "Now, please, leave this office and do as I have said."
Mr. Smith laughed as he tried to speak. "You could use our talents, we know you are going to look for some ancient weapons of power to save the world. Our skills as explorers are unmatched in the entirety of Istreid."
Silence fell over the room as Raghav kept reading the file in his hand, while all eyes lay on him. "I see that you have spoken all you wanted. I do not care what skills you have, but I do care about your character, and I do not like where it is right now. So as I have said, leave and surrender."
Mrs. Smith was fuming as she took breaths through her nose. Her hand reached for the dagger behind her back.
While her husband formed two Mana blades in his hands under the table.
They lunged forward, attempting to strike Raghav, but their faces were grabbed by hands covered in white gloves, and the two were slammed into one another.
Their limp bodies dropped to the floor as Aurelia stood on the table. Raghav looked up from the file and at Aurelia as she looked back at him.
The two smiled at one another. "So, I take the knight General Temis was telling Vonreid about was you." Aurelia nodded. "Indeed. I possess more Mana than even General Temis. I just lack the proper control over it."
Raghav stood up, extending his hand to her as she took it and stepped down from the table. "I can teach you how to control it, and among other things. I can turn you into a Master Rank warrior before I leave this city."
Aurelia's lips parted as she smiled at Raghav. "You will?"
With his eyes closed, he nodded. "I will."
The door to the office swung open as Guild Master Erich and Sarah entered the office, bowing down. "Your Highness. I apologise for not introducing myself. I am Erich Yrictor, the guild master of this branch of the adventurers' guild."
Raghav sat back down in his chair as Aurelia looked at them, frowning as she pointed at Sarah. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Erich; however, I remember Sarah introduced herself as the master of this branch."
Erich laughed as he stood up, and his eyes landed on the Smith couple on the floor. He pointed at them with his mouth open.
Aurelia brushed it off with his hand. "We will address them, but first, tell me why Sarah would introduce herself as the master?"
They both looked at Sarah, who was looking away at the wall. Erich shook his head and turned back towards Aurelia. "She wants to succeed me as master of the guild, so she is trying to manifest this promotion by introducing herself as the master. I will admit, this girl works day and night and manages things so well."
The couple began to stir as everyone except Raghav looked at them. Aurelia gestured towards them. "They attempted to attack Raghav, and I stopped them."
Erich went over to the two and picked them up, throwing both of them on his shoulder. "I will get them arrested on charges of attempted murder."
"Oh, and some other charges, such as tampering with evidence in exchange for bribes as private investigators, intentionally murdering bounties to take their possessions and stabbing their party members in the back to acquire a bigger share in a dungeon raid."
Erich looked at the two and back at Raghav. "How do you know that?"
"I could sense their ill intentions, so I read their mind."
Aurelia turned towards Raghav, surprised. "You can do that? How?"
He nodded as he stood up from his chair. "I am a Grand Master. Of course, I can perform complex spells and magic. As for reading minds, it is called Telepathy, and there are multiple types of telepathy."
Picking up a pen from the table, he drew on a blank paper.
"Type one utilises mental waves, invisible waves which are emitted by your brain and can be used to project your own thoughts into the brains of other people and communicate with them, extract information, plant it or just control them. They can work on anyone as long as they are not actively protecting their mind, or someone else is doing it for them, or they are wearing elements with the properties of blocking said waves. Even then, if you possess greater power than them, you can overcome the mental barriers."
"Type two utilises Mana or any other energy source, to be injected within the target's body and harnessing information from there and transferring it to your own body. This only works if the target is weaker than you, to the point they do not feel or notice your Mana or your energy mixing in with their own. If you are both equals, then it becomes a fight for dominance and becomes painful."
"The other types are based on artificial technology, so I will not be covering them today. Maybe some other time."
She opened her mouth and closed it as she chuckled. "Thank you for telling me, will you be teaching this to me as well?"
Raghav nodded. "As I said, I will teach you everything. I may have only been a Grand Master for a day, but I do possess the power of that level along with the knowledge, instinct and talent to use them."
He then looked down at his watch. It was now 11:18 PM "Mrs. Sarah, how many applicants are remaining?"
Sarah sighed and shook her head. 'He has not looked at me once since the day we met.'
Pushing her thoughts aside, she responded. "None. After 10:00 AM, the adventurers at the back of the queue began to leave; they did not have the patience to stay, and as time went by, more and more left. These were the last who remained."
"I see. Did they get the lunch on time?" "They were well fed and taken care of as you had asked."
"Good." He paused for a moment, closing his eyes. "I need two other founding members to be able to form the party, yes?" "Yes, that is all you need." "Thank you, Mr. Yrictor. Now the question is, who is emitting this much Mana?"
"What?" Aurelia and Erich both spoke simultaneously, looking around. "We do not feel anything."
In Raghav's mind, he could see and feel that he was knee deep in a pool of dark blue Mana. 'To evade the senses of a Great Master. There is only one explanation then.'
Raghav walked past everyone and outside the office, walking towards a couple sitting on the couch nearest to the entrance in the lobby.
He kept his eyes on the clean-shaven middle-aged man with slightly grey hair, among his neck long black hair. The man was muscular and tall, easily as tall as Reinhardt and just as muscular as Raghav. He wore a dark brown cloak, beneath which he wore a white Lenin shirt and a brown vest with black pants.
Dark Blue Mana leaking from his feet as he kept chatting with the woman by his side, whom Raghav did not look at even once.
"I know, I was always lucky in gacha games, but meeting two Grand Masters in two days is pushing my luck. Congratulations, you have my attention. Fellow Grand Master."
The man paused and smiled as he looked up at Raghav.
Raghav's narrow eyes met the man's obsidian black eyes as he stood up, towering over Raghav. "So Octiv was not lying, there is indeed another."
Aurelia arrived behind Raghav and looked at him standing before the man. She shifted her gaze towards the mysterious woman as her sky-blue eyes met the woman's grey eyes.
Which blended perfectly with her clear and fair skin and white hair covering her ears, reaching down to her waist. She wore a black cloak.
Underneath the cloak, she wore a short sleeved blue dress, reaching down to her ankles. Upon which she wore breastplate armour engraved in a red vest that covered her torso and shoulders.
Sliding over on the couch, she made room for Aurelia to sit beside her. "Greetings, sweetheart. I am An Exter. It is a pleasure to meet you, Aurelia Reid."
An's eyebrows gestured towards the man before Raghav. "That is my husband, Eldrain Exter."
Aurelia looked back at the man and Raghav as everyone gathered in the room.
Pat Pat
She turned back towards An, patting the couch.
The gentleness of the gesture beckoned Aurelia to accept as she took a seat by An's side.
Every soul in the room observed the two men as they stood there in utter silence.
Erich returned after locking up the Smith couple in the holding cells.
He saw Raghav and Eldrain there, and everyone's attention was drawn to them. "Alright, everyone, it is about to be closing time, so please leave for now."
The Adventurers began gathering their items and left the lobby.
Leaving behind Raghav, Aurelia, the Exter duo, Erich and Sarah.
"Sarah, lock the door."
Sarah rushed towards the door. "Yes, Guild Master."
Once the door was locked, she walked back and stood behind Erich, who extended his hand in front of her.
Raghav's lips parted as he nodded. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Eldrain Exter."
His hand extended forward as Eldrain's gaze shifted to the hand before looking back at Raghav, smirking as he shook his hand.
"Oh, the pleasure is mine. Raghav Suryanshi. Your arrival has taken from me the tag of youngest Grand Master, and for that, thank you. It was tiring being the junior of the group."
"As per Octiv's words, there has not been a Grand Master for a few centuries. Now, you are no Vampire, you do not have elf ears, I can sense that this is your original form, so you can not be a mystical beast in human form. You are half-elf and half-dwarf."
Eldrain laughed as he clapped, looking back at everyone present. "Damn, Kid, you're good, to be able to discern my biology with a glance. No wonder, Octiv left it to you."
"Excuse me, what do you mean Grand Master Octiv left it to Raghav?"
Pulling a letter from his vest, Eldrain handed it to Erich. "This is a letter from Octiv."
Erich took the letter and opened it, and began reading it out loud.
"Raghav Suryanshi,
Talking with you has brought me to confront a truth I had once long looked away from.
I am leaving to find the truth and break free.
The Adventure guild has always worked independently and never required my interference.
However, the teleportation network will require oversight, and someone will need to hold the authority of Grand Guild Master.
I have sent the title of Grand Guild Master as well as the authority of my pocket dimension to you through Eldrain.
I ask of you to take over and keep the adventure guild running and operational.
This will prove to be useful in your journey across Paneria.
Be not afraid, your title as Grand Guild Master will be unknown to anyone except for the guild masters and those who are made aware by you.
Similar letters have been sent to other branches.
Thank you for saving my soul.
With Regards,
Octiv Krand."
Erich's hands fell to his side, and he took a deep breath and began falling backwards. Sarah rushed to support him. "Master Yrictor, are you alright?"
He raised his hand and steadied himself. "I am fine, just got lightheaded for a moment."
Eldrain turned towards Raghav and snapped his finger, opening a portal connecting to the grey void that belonged to Octiv.
"Take it."
Raghav looked through the portal at the expansive grey void.
A brilliant White glow emerged from within his body as he stood at the edge of the two dimensions.
His eyes closed, and his arms were spread out.
The white glow began to flow through the portal and began seeping into the grey void, turning it white.
A flash of light occurred, spreading throughout the void and the lobby, covering everything in a blank white expanse.
And just as soon as it had come, it receded back inside Raghav as the glow surrounding his body also retreated.
The portal now led to a white void, and it closed as Raghav walked back.
"There, that takes care of what Octiv had asked of me and you. Now, shall we discuss what you want? Mr. Exter."
"Umm."
Raghav smiled and turned towards Aurelia. "Yes, Aurelia?"
Aurelia pointed towards where the portal was. "What was that?"
Raghav walked over to the couch and sat beside Aurelia. "So yesterday, I met Octiv Krand, a Grand Master, who is a vampire and fought alongside Istreid in the Great War. We talked yesterday, and he appears to have decided to turn a new leaf. Leaving me to take care of this institute and his friends."
"Friends?"
He nodded and held his hand out for Aurelia. She took his hand and the two stood up, walking towards where the portal once was, and it reappeared. "Please, join us, everyone."
They all then entered the portal and found themselves in Raghav's white void.
Eldrain looked around, taking a deep breath. "You truly conquered this dimension. You could have taken it over with a drop of your power; Octiv was not resisting the takeover. Then why did you pour in so much?"
Raghav looked down and smiled. "I wanted this place to be impenetrable. As you said, one drop was enough to override Octiv's authority; the rest went to reinforcement of this dimension's wall."
Down below were the undead soldiers carrying out the gathering and shifting of the items being teleported. The soldiers were no longer corpses, but had been transformed into wooden statues that resembled their appearance when they were alive.
His gaze then moved to the right as Istreid's chamber appeared inside the void.
Aurelia recognised the structure and pointed at it as she looked at Raghav. "Is that?"
"Yes, it is. I transported it to this dimension; it is safer this way."
"Raghav." Aurelia tilted her head, looking at him.
Raghav nodded as he smiled. "Right. So this was Octiv's dimension, which can be called a pocket dimension as it acts like an endless pocket. If you have a pocket dimension, you can enter it from anywhere in the world and exit it anywhere. You can create items or pouches that allow others to access them. This is the science behind those storage pouches. Which, as you know, are the rarest of magic equipment."
Eldrain stepped forward, spreading his arms out. "There are an infinite number of dimensions in the universe. Think of the universe as a building, where the rooms are dimensions. Now, a lot of them are just empty, so if you can access them, you can release your power within the dimension, and it becomes connected to you. You can open doors to it at any moment and place."
Raghav began walking back towards the lobby. "Come on. It is getting late."
The rest of the group followed, and the portal closed behind them.
With his back to the group, Raghav crossed his hands. "So, Mr. Exter, what brings you here other than delivering the letter, of course?"
"I wanted to meet the newest member of our Grand Master league. Currently, there are only four of us. King Vardenia, Octiv, me and you. I would have met you sometime later, if Octiv had not come and told me you were forming an adventure party."
Eldrain walked past Raghav and sat on the couch, and An joined him. "The three of them. I am talking about Istreid, Octiv and King Vardenia, who had their adventure during the Great War. They are the old Grand Masters. You and I are the new generation. I wanted us to have our own adventure, so I came here to join your party."
An looked at Raghav. "So, young man, do you have a name for this party?"
Eldrain leaned forward, raising his hand and stopping Raghav. "Tell me, it's something along the lines of. 'Raghav's Party, The Hero's Party, The Hero's squad, The Saviours of the world or The fellowship of Raghav/Hero."
'That last suggestion reminded me of The Lord of the Rings. I guess I will show it to Vonreid, before leaving.'
Raghav's gentle smile retreated back to his normal self as he shook his head. "No. This party is about something more than just me; this party will be saving the world from evil. That makes each member of this party a hero in their own right. Hence, I have decided to call this party The Band of Heroes."