Waking Up Chained? Surrounded Once More? Onward to Adventurer Guild!
[Corven Umbrovante]:
Somewhere on the frozen tundra of the same planet Corven and Celeste barely managed to defeat Pallas in and escape from, inside the very same castle that once belonged to Palalas, a secret meeting was taking place.
Consisting of 50+ shadowy forms that vaguely resembled Pallas himself, though there was one major difference — They were all much stronger than Pallas, with the weakest having comparable power to Pallas and the strongest of them possessing god-level power. There were at least 10 Peak Tier SS ranked entities, comparable to Peak Legendary ranked beings, and these were amongst the weakest present.
"The evidence is in our faces," said one off the red-eyed shadowy figures, addressing his brethren. "His castle is here, yet he is not. His treasures and riches are present but none of his subordinates are. Even his energy signature — his soul essence, his very being — has vanished, been extinguished somehow. There's no body to be found. Our brother is dead and there's no body to bury."
This caused an uproar of shouts. Shadows, both golden eyed and red, expressing their rage and shock.
"Pallas? Dread?" spoke a golden eyed shadow.
"I can't believe elder brother, Pallas, is dead," said another.
"Again," corrected a red-eyed shadow. "You mean 'again'. He died a second time. He is likely not coming back this time, though, unlike the first. Reincarnation requires reaching a certain power threshold, higher still for the more powerful of beings. He was the strongest amongst us in his first life, so the required threshold of power in his second life was higher than most. And he never did reach that threshold in this life. This means he likely won't be coming back."
"So he's gone? For good, this time?" asked another red-eyed shadow.
"Murdered," corrected the first shadow. "Our brother Pallas was murdered, his whole lineage is gone… at least, the ones who he turned this time around, anyways."
"What would you have us do, little brother?" spoke a red-eyed shadow with a powerful aura. "We don't know who did it."
"That's not entirely true. We know it was an Outrealmer," said the first. "Two, by the scent of the scene. We should find them, hold them properly responsible and kill them for what they did to Pallas."
A murmur passed through the shadowy figures. Some agreed, some argued against the thought, but none said nothing. Everyone said something on the matter. Most were for at least investigating the case.
"What does father say on the matter?" asked the new voice. "Have you spoken to him about it?"
"He is indifferent, as always, but that's because there are over 90+ of us, with some of us owning packs that number in the 10s of thousands — All of us are his kids," said the first voice. "He doesn't see us in the way a father typically would — you already know that, brother. He sees us as numbers — and he could always create more. No, he won't avenge Pallas, but we could."
"This is a matter of image, brother," said the third voice. "What will our rival races think of us when they discover we just allowed the perpetrators of one of our Progenitors to walk scott free? They'll see us as weak and think they could strike at us without consequence. We need to at least pursue these wolf killers and take their lives as payment for them taking one of ours. It is only fair and just."
The elder shadow seemed to ponder this over before replying. "What do you suggest, brother?"
"Lend me 15 of our greatest fighters and trackers," said the first voice. "I'll find these perpetrators and bring them in for the Pack to judge before we kill them. We cannot let them live."
"Do all present members of the Council of Lycaon agree?" asked the elder shadow, to which a unanimous decision was agreed on by all present. "Very well. Permission is granted. Go, gather your men, bring these wolf killers to justice — to Pack Justice. Avenge Pallas and upkeep the Lycaon family name. Dismissed."
The werewolf bowed his head in acknowledgement, before turning and leaving.
And, with this, Corven's scenery changed once more.
Next, Corven stood in the middle of an endless library — And when he said "endless," he meant it. Somehow, there were rows and rows of bookshelves that stretched infinitely in all directions — Up, down, right, left — All directions, for as far as the eyes could see. There were floors upon floors upon floors of these shelves and staircases and ladders that connect various countless stories of these shelves, endlessly.
There are interesting and mysterious artifacts that Corven had no clue about lining some study tables and shelves. There was no one around except one person, two, if you included Corven.
Sitting at a table, typing away on a typewriter was a being Corven couldn't really perceive. They were an energy cloud of some kind —- almighty, was the word that came to Corven's mind when he thought of words to describe this being, though he had no idea why. He certainly had never considered any kind of god an 'almighty' and that includes the primordials he has met —- and they were primordial beings. He did, however, sense an almighty energy to this particular being, something he's never felt with anyone before.
Corven instinctively knew that even for someone like Nyx, this being would be impossible to beat. They were truly almighty.
"Oh, what's this?" the being seemed to warp reality as it willed Corven's soul to appear directly before it. "You're one of Khaos' descendants, huh. Interesting. Your destiny is tied to another, pre-ordained to conflict — His is one from Chaos…Well, I suppose I did write your story long, long ago, so I am not surprised its unfolding the way it is. It is just so intriguing how time works, though, is it not? One moment, I'm writing destinies eons before they grow into fruition, and the next I'm watching it play out like a tv series from my Saved list… give or take a few hundred eons, of course. It is surprising, however, how one's own creations can oftentimes impress their creators, given time, is it not? How very interesting, how very interesting indeed."
'Wrote my story?' Corven thought, puzzled. 'Who the fuck are you, man?'
Corven wasn't insane enough to say this outloud, though. At least, not in such a vulgar way, anyways.
"Who are you?" Corven remained as polite as he could while asking. "What is this place?"
The cloud of almighty energy just chuckled, and Corven got a sense that it already heard his earlier thoughts. It seemed more amused than annoyed, something his subconscious released silent appreciation for, for whatever reason.
"Not quite ready to reveal that yet… Or, rather, you aren't strong enough to hear my true name, or the true name of this place. If I had decided to give you either, your soul would flatten like a pancake, close in on itself, up right out of existence, teehee," the formless cloud of almighty energy said, chuckling. "We shall meet again soon, though, of that, I've no doubt."
And, with a will unsurmountable, the being willed Corven away, blasting him back into his body, where he woke up, sweating, grasping for air.
The first thing Corven noticed upon waking up was that he was restrained by chains capable of restraining someone much more powerful than himself. The second thing he noticed was that he was in a cellar-like dungeon. No sunlight had access to this room and the metal cell bars were enchanted to not let anything out while closed.
Corven could instinctively sense this effect somehow, just like how he could instinctively sense that the chains that held him bound were enchanted with enough mana to keep anyone below Chaotic rank at bay and subdued. It must've been some kind of curse sense. It was an impenetrable cage.
Then again, even through the darkness, Corven could still see perfectly fine in his environment.
"Well, this is just great," Corven muttered to himself, annoyed at his predicament. "Last time I'm ever helping anyone…".
Corven wasn't stupid. He knew that Sean would have blamed what happened to Celeste on Corven, especially since they really didn't get along. Had Corven not followed Celeste through that Dungeon, he was sure he would be in a much stickier situation than he was in right now, what with even the possibility of House Luminaris coming after him — "For revenge," most likely.
No, what he did was for the best. Not only did it keep a great house from targeting him, it also allowed Corven to keep his promise to Peter Luminaris, Celeste's father, in protecting his daughter. No matter how annoyed he'd get at his current predicament, he did take the most beneficial route of choices — Or, at least, the least ill consequential one anyway.
Corven sighed lazily, dangling slightly but his restraints. He'd been like this for a long minute —- likely hours. He was held in the air by the chains that bound him, dangling over mostly concrete, the chains mana-restricting.
While he was certain he could escape —- in fact, he knew he could. After all, shadow energy, while similar to mana, wasn't mana. It was something else. Sure his mana was restricted, but not his shadow energy. Still, he did his best not to give the faction heads more reason to suspect him.
'More,' Corven thought. 'Suspect me more.'
After gods know how long he'd been dangling, the light outside his cell finally shined within it, temporarily blinding him. As he adjusted to the light, the sound of entering footsteps sounded along with the jangling of keys. It paused as it stopped before him.
Eyes adjusted, Corven watched the guard come into view — It was Master Athan.
"Tch, tch, tch, my apprentice…," Athan began, sounding amused. "You really had to make me go through work to clear your name. Maybe I should keep you here."
"Get me out of here, Master," Corven said, sounding annoyed.
To which, Athan merely chuckled. Instead of turning the keys inside the lock, Athan decided to rip the chains from the walls and off of Corven, after catching his falling form. There was no grace to his actions — just power.
"My apprentice…," Athan said, once Corven stood up and was free. "I showed the other Faction heads your familiar's clip. Celeste's description of events also helped in freeing your name. My apologies for taking this long to be able to free you. The other faction heads were trying to pin the blame on anyone they could, even despite Celeste's testimony and the evidence that was presented."
"It's no problem," Corven stayed calm, rubbing his freed cuffs, as he mentally made a list of the bastards he intended to victimize. "I take it this means I'm free, Master?"
"Yes," Athan nodded, leading Corven out of his cell and out the dungeons of the castle. "In fact, Faction Heads Bruce Bacchius and Tommen Rizzer played a big role in convincing the others of your innocence. They will have you under heavy surveillance for a whole, however, so be cautious of what you do in that time frame, won't you?"
Nodding, Corven made a mental note to remember these two names. The other Faction Heads, he will eventually kill them. One day, anyway. "Thank you, Master."
"You were in the Dungeon for just over 3 days. During that time a lot has happened. Celeste has gone back and forth to and from Mythos and Earth, attending to matters related to her House. No one is speaking of it, not really," Athan began, his words a slightly sombre drawl. "but House Luminaris is in the midst of a civil war. Half of its figureheads support Sean, half Celeste. Sean has taken over their manor, from what I'vve learned — All portals to and from Earth seem to have gone quiet — At least, the ones under Luminaris control, anyway. The only reason Celeste is able to travel to and from Mythos to Earth is because of her lunar travel ability, thank the gods. The good news is that over a majority of House Luminaris supports Celeste. The bad news is that her father seems to have gone down with something; he's in stasis, from what I've heard. His death is all but definite."
'So Celeste will probably have to take over her house while navigating a civil war,' Corven thought, cursing Sean Luminari. 'And, if her father truly dies, that'll only weaken her house more, making her and hers vulnerable. Perhaps I should find a way to save the old man. I mean, he did betrothed his daughter to me, after all. And this Sean…No, I cannot intervene with him too much. In the end, I'll get my vengeance eventually, but the final dealings with that guy would have to be by Celeste's hand.'
Master Athan fixed Corven with a strange gaze, likely contemplating a question over in his head. Finally, deciding to ask it, he began "Celeste said you two faced Tier S beast together?" he asked, sideyeing Corven for clarification as they walked. "Care to explain?"
"I think… that it was a recently turned Tier S beast. It wasn't too big of an achievement," Corven said, thinking back at his battle with Pallas. 'He didn't seem as durable as Master Athan, nor quite as powerful… Then again, that could be because Athan is a vampire…Or the very real possibility that Athan isn't just a 'Chaotic Ranked' cultivator. From what I've sensed on Master, I feel like he hides his true power…whatever that power may be…"
Either way, Corven decided to not think too much on these thoughts. He knew dwelling on them long enough wasn't really productive. Besides, he had a few things to do now that he was out of the Dungeon and his life wasn't on the line. That all paused, however when Athan spoke next.
"Listen, my apprentice," Athan stopped abruptly, causing Corven to do the same, turning towards his master. "I will be going away for a while. I have a few things to take care of, so I will be temporarily entrusting the continuation of your training to a former apprentice of mine. All you have to do is meet with him at the same usual time and place that you meet me for training. When I return, we will continue your training with me. Until then, he will be the next best thing."
"You have a former apprentice?" Corven, wide eyed, looked puzzled, as Athan nodded him an affirmative. "I didn't know. I thought I was your first apprentice."
Athan merely chuckled.
"I've never 'officially' had one here, so, technically, you are still my first pupil at the Academy," answered Athan, beaming brightly. "I didn't work here when I had this apprentice, plus, his situation is different from your own. Shifu Wang is one of your instructors, no? You should make decent comrades, I am certain. He can teach you things that I, a vampire, may not be able to… At least, to an extent, anyways. Meet with him when you have time. You can rest this weekend, as your private training will continue next week.
"I'll be back by the time of your First Year Expedition… Hopefully," Athan said, startling Corven. He'd only just remembered this expedition when his master brought it up — he'll have to work his plans around it now, so as not allow it to ruin whatever plans he intends to set in motion. "Train well, my apprentice. I will see you soon."
Nodding his understanding, Corven watched his Master walk down a long corridor and vanish.
'Teach me things you can't?' Corven thought, wondering what he meant by that, before shaking his head, dismissively. 'Whatever Master Athan is going though, I will respect his decisions.'
And, walking down the same hall, Corven entered the double doors, and was once again surrounded…..By his friends.
"Corven!" a cacophony of voices exclaimed.
Upon entering the main school, Corven found himself surrounded by his friends — Jabari, Marxes and Celeste.
"You are.. Ok?" asked Celeste, scanning Corven for any injuries. "I have been trying to tell them what really happened for days now, but it was like they didn't even hear me, especially that Draco Jackson guy. There is something wrong with the man."
'They wanted to use me as a scapegoat,' Corven thought, knowing exactly who she was referring to — the Faction Heads. He had plans for them, though, so he was certain proper vengeance will favor him when he's ready for it to. 'Patience is key to victory. I may slow the run but I will win the race. After all, in the end, vengeance is a dish best served… cold.'
"Don't worry too much about it," Corven said, squeezing her arm in comfort. "I'm fine, really. Just a little hungry, that's all."
Celeste fixed Corven with an unreadable expression, searching his face for something. What? He wasn't sure. She must have found something, though, because she steeled her expression with an "Hmph," before nodding, her fist clenched.
Corven, thinking about her reaction, was interrupted mid-thought by Marxes, who spoke. "Good to see you didn't die in that Dungeon. It was a Red gate after all. Yet you survived it… I'm surprised. I'm impressed, as always."
Chuckles came from the group.
"Of course he did!" exclaimed Jabari, excitedly. "Both he and Celeste are our year's sharpest and most powerful. They can pretty much survive anything, especially when facing it together."
This caused Celeste to blush, turning a deep shade of crimson in the face. Even Corven had to turn away slightly to hide the redding of his cheeks on his pale face. 'Damn it, Jabari! Time and place!'
Jabari meanwhile was looking between them, curiously and confused.. "Did I say something wrong?" Jabari asked, eyeing Marxes who were straight laughing in amusement. "What"
"Kaw! Kaw!" Suddenly, a beautifully feathered black crow landed before Corven, transforming into a cute girl with short black hair, pale white skin and wearing an all black skirt, her makeup gothic and her stare, dead. "Master, you're ok! Crowrella has missed you in your absence. I feared what they would have tried to do had the ones known as Athan and Celeste not do everything in their power to get you free. One more day in the cell, and I would've freed you myself."
As the once bird familiar verballised her worries, Corven, meanwhile, was shocked.
'Well, this is new development,' Corven thought. 'Crow is a girl?'
After catching up with the others, Corven had received a call from Achlys, who explained to him what had happened regarding House Luminaris and their insurgence in a lot more depth than what Athan had explained so briefly to him. She also explained what happened at Miss Blueford's house and its attack by Joshua Allen. Corven was surprised to learn that the bastard who used to bully him as a regular, normal mortal had reached a similar level of power as even Achlys.
This new track of information was a blow to both Corven and Celeste. Celeste, who now had her claim challenged by her own brother, and Corven, who's high school/middle school bully actually turned out to be a cultivator and a powerful one at that.
Celeste had already begun speaking with her generals about possible siege assaults to reclaim the Luminaris Estate, with Corven convincing Celeste to let her generals take the lead in the planning, and to gather her strength in the meantime. It wouldn't do to die before she got the proper chance at getting her revenge.
That said, Corven was still ticked off by what information he had learned through Achlys, even despite his advising caution to Celeste. It seemed that his luck was truly terrible. First, there was the issue with the Dungeon, and now this? Seriously, this wasn't funny. It was like whoever was writing his story was having a fun time fucking him over, only he wasn't having any kind of fun at all.
'Fucking hells, this shit is stressful,' Corven thought, privately.
Still, he kept his cool, though. Everything will get sorted out, eventually, he was sure — all he had to do was give it time. Corven just had to be smart and play the long game. Perhaps, he'll even get something out of this situation he found himself in.
It was the weekend then, Friday, so Corven had no more classes for the week. Instead, he decided to pick up his cultivation resources for the month — the standard pills and potions for cultivating; as the current highest ranking student of the first years, Corven got 5x the base amount of resources everyone else got.
With them, he holed himself in his sleeping quarters, opening a gateway to his Shadow Space, where the Pillaging Five awaited still in their cocoons.
The Pillaging Five had yet to exit their cocoons, but Corven could tell it wouldn't be long until they did. Their power levels were rising even while still inside their cocoons and Corven could sense them undergoing significant biological changes. Corven could even sense their progress, as well. He felt they should be finished undergoing the Shadowborn transformation before the end of the month, possibly half a week from today.
He was hoping that building a new species was not like making undead — He was hoping they kept their intelligence and individuality, otherwise they would be no better than a slave or barely even a tool for him. What Corven didn't know, though, was that, because Shadowborn modeled after his own physiology and other things, they would actually receive boons to increase their own intelligence, so, in a way, they would be considered better than his shadow undeads, who had limited self-thought.
As Corven made his way around Shadow Palace, he stopped before where his shadow clones were meditating and practicing the proficiency of his skills and abilities, while some even cultivated. He had thankfully increased the number of clones he could summon the practice, thanks to breaking through to Demigod rank, which allowed him to to create 6 more additionally shadow clones in addition to the 9 he was able to summon before — this allowed him to increase the proficiency of his skills and abilities even more than before.
Corven entered the Shadow Archive, intending to learn a new skill or two. What he did find were 3 abilities to learn: Shadow Recovery, Shadow Cloak and Shadow Devourer.
Shadow Recovery utilizes shadow energy to boost the user's natural immune system, allowing one to recover from physical, external and internal damages. It requires one to possess shadow energy to perform, but Corven had that in abundance.
Shadow Cloak was a cloaking skill. It shields one from the sight of others, using one's own shadow as both cloak and fuel. It was also a Legendary ranked skill, similar to Shadow Recovery.
Shadow Devourer allowed Corven to devour the shadows of other beings, duplicating their skills and abilities but upgraded with to an effect used by his shadow manipulation. Basically, he can add a desired effect to his shadow power, but it is derived from the ability devoured from a shadow. For instance, if Corven used shadow devour on a fire wielder, he can then create shadow flames — Or, if Corven used shadow devour on an ice wielder, he can implement a freezing effect on his shadow magic. It was a Cosmic ranked ability that Corven only was even able to grasp the complexity of because he was the son of Erebus. Any other being wouldn't have been able to learn such an ability, let alone learn it at Demigod rank.
It was going to be some time, though, until he was able to actually apply this ability in active use. For one thing, learning an ability wasn't the same as actually using it in combat. He still needed to learn practic use of it and the right amount of mana to use in its execution.
Furthermore, because he was only demigod rank, he had no ability to use world laws, world essence or any higher forms of energies to go with the mana, so, even if he waas able to use the ability, it wouldn't be to its full capacity. The ability itself didn't just devour shadows to gain abilities; it devoured the shadow of being, allowing one to gain the memories that a shadow carried of the being it was attached to. And so much more, Corven realized as he read the applicable usage of the power.
But it required higher energies to use, like world essence or world laws.
'Damn,' Corven had thought after grasping the basics of the ability. 'Cosmic ranked abilities are broken, though, I imagine, this ability is best used against hordes and armies. That's probably the best way to utilize this ability.'
After summoning two more shadow clones to practice the first two skills and another third one to read and study more on the third skill in his place, Corven decided to spend the next few hours cultivating, using his cultivation resources.
Eventually, he did leave the Shadow Space, deciding to meet up with Marxes in the R & D Faction dorm building — A futuristic looking mansion made of steel, iron and marble, illuminated by a neon of cyan and green lining that gave it an even more sci-fi, futuristic aesthetic on top of its architecture.
After asking around, Corven found Marxes' dorm — On the top floor of the manor, covering 5x the area of a normal student's form, was Marxes' dorm — It was basically a penthouse!
It had multiple bedrooms, baths and lounging areas, though most of these spaces were littered with techno-mechanic material and wire, like a workshop of sorts. There were strange machines lining the work tables, some complete, otters not. Corven saw a scarab-like machinery that seemed to follow his every move even though more than half of its body was only connected by wire and incomplete plating.
Blueprints of things Corven wouldn't even have been able to dream up dotted spaces in tables and the walls. Corven noticed some of these blueprints were of armor – some futuristic, others were more traditional — He saw that others were of buildings and architecture that even Corven, who knew nothing about the field, could tell were impressive.
Walking over to the half-wired scarab machinery, Corven reached out to touch it. He was right up on it, however, before he was able to, a voice stopped him. "I wouldn't touch that, if I were you… unless you want to get duped with 800 million volts of pure, unfiltered electricity that is. Even with your healing factor, friend, I highly doubt your chances of making it out of that alive."
Pausing, Corven pulled back his hand in reaction and turned to see Marxes in airily overalls that were much dirtier than Corven would have thought the noble boy would ever wear. He had on heated-resistant, shock-resistant gloves that were just as dirty and goggles over his eyes. Even his orange hair was tied back in a man-bun, out of his face. His muscles bulged and covered in sweat. The faint scent of heated metal wafted through the air, to Corven's nose coming from the direction of behind Marxes.
"You have a Forge up here?" Was what Corven started off with, taking in the genius blacksmith and technopath. "On the very same floor you sleep on? Don't you ever get hot?"
"My family are descendants of Ilmarinen, Corven. We have a natural resistance to heat and fire," Marxes chuckled. "Plus, yes, there is a Forge on this floor, though its enchanted to regulate its temperature to stay within the Forge, so, even if I wasn't fire resistant, I can still sleep with the AC without worry."
"Cool," Corven muttered, eyes returning back to the scarab. "What is it? The scarab, I mean… what does it do?"
In response, Marxes released a heavy sigh. Taking off his gloves and placing his goggles from over his eyes to the top of his head, Marxes fixed his gaze on the scarab. "That is an experiment I've been working on — 'Scarab Security,' I'm thinking of calling it," he began, puffing his chest out proudly. "I mean, I haven't come up with a proper and fitting acronym yet for SCARAB….but I'm a literal genius with a 270 IQ — I'll figure something out eventually.
"It's just one project in a long line of projects I've been personally developing. Should it work out, the bridge between magic and science would be blurred incalculably. In one of the other projects, I've even found success in a prototype superarmour that boosts strength, speed and sensory perception by…well, a lot., even for cultivators…. But I imagine that is not why you're here, is it?"
"Not particularly, no," Corven smiled. "I've brought some beast corpses — They're decently preserved enough to sell them. You want to see them?"
Corven was, of course, referring to a few corpses of the beasts he killed since he last saw Marxes weeks prior — Namely, the unicorn and wolves corpses from his time in the Dark Forests — And, of course, there were the bodies of the werewolves he'd racked up in the Dungeon with Celeste — Or, at least the ones he had managed to get his hands on; Pallas' corpse seemed to have been swallowed by…something else, before Corven could even turn the beast into his shadow undead, sadly.
'I wonder if that was the will of a god… It had to be, possibly even a primordial,' Corven thought back to how the corpse of Pallas was swallowed in green flames and darkness, like from an abyss. 'Primordial… Abyss…Don't tell me… Well, shit. I'll have to do research on Tartarus later, maybe figure out why he rushed to get my corpse. That bastard owes a progenitor werewolf now!'
Anyway, changing his train of thought, Corven knew he still had more werewolf corpses. He wasn't intending to sell all of his corpses, as consuming them gave him huge boosts in his cultivation and strengthened his physical abilities at base — He did, however, put a handful inside a storage ring he'd gotten from the Mystery Shop in town — He handed the ring over to Marxes, with the condition of it being returned to him after use.
"'Decent'?" Marxes muttered, eyeing the inside of the ring. 'These are amongst the most well-preserved monster corpses I've ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on, but he calls them 'decent'? This guy is…'. "I'll need to calculate their price, but I think this is at least a few million golden quarts. I can make some top gear from this as well as do some solid research on the corpses. I've never dissected a unicorn before. This'll be fun."
Marxes went and did his calculation after paying Corven a down payment of 1.9 million golden quarts for the corpses and also promised to make him something from the corpses — New gear, he promised. Plus, because of their deal, Corven would still get some share from the sales, so Corven wasn't too worried about getting the bad half of the deal too much.
Corven decided that he'll head to the Adventurer's Guild to undergo a mission or two. He figured it was the weekend and, since he needed the practice, he would boosts his Adventurer's standing by undertaking some missions. Currently, he was a Blue ranked adventurer — the lowest of the lowest in rank as an adventurer. He needed to fix that, especially if he wanted to gain renown and start his own Guild Squad one day.
'It's not like I'll fall behind in my studies,' Corven thought, thinking to the two clones he has always doing his homework and studying. 'Thanks to every experience my clones undertake naturally adding itself to me, the original, I am unmatched when it comes to multitasking. After this mission, perhaps I'll be able to breakthrough again, even if it may be minor — Every step forward is one towards power. I maybe even will one day be able to send my clones on adventuring missions in my place. Maybe I should try that later next…'.
Upon entering the Adventurer's Guild building in the quiet but large town of Lucid Dreams Meadows, Corven's appearance caught a few eyes, namely a handful who remembered what happened last time he entered the place. Murmurs and whispers followed his every step, but Corven merely ignored them.
Instead, he made his way over to the Mission Board, eyes scanning over its content.
'Hmm…,' Corven pondered, eyeing the board with an inquisitory gaze. 'There are five available missions for Blue rank adventurers, but, of those five, only two fit my fancy, i.e, combative in nature.
'The first is a beast culling mission, deep in the Dark Forest. The other is a 'Capture or Kill' mission, concerning an irritating group of illegal Poachers, also in the Dark Forest, though these are further westward than the first, and is closer towards a settlement near House Gaetir territory. They're both time sensitive — A week and a half, is the time given to have them done. Pay would be in prestige and silver flats[i.e, silver coins], 700 per mission. Hmm…'.
Corven didn't really care about the money; he was already quite wealthy from his inheritance of his family's vault and with his and Marxes business deal, and whatnot. No, what he needed most was the prestige points, as those can be used to rise through the ranks and, eventually, purchase an official Guild Squad License Certificate. He wanted to register his Shadowborn as his subordinates when he did create a Guild Squad, and, to do that, he had to gather more prestige points — That, and they had to wake up from their cocoons.
Corven turned to the receptionist. "Am I allowed to take 2 missions simultaneously? Or is that against some kind of rule?"
'He's quite attractive…,' the receptionist thought passively. 'I wonder just how powerful he is. Last time he was here, he was a Demigod ranker — that I know he is, so he must be nobility, at the very least. Would he go for someone like me?'
The receptionist, who had been silently watching Corven from her desk, discreetly, blinked a few times before answering. "It isn't against the rules per se, but it is ill-advised, especially amongst Blue rankers. Most Blue rankers just aren't skilled enough, or lack the power, to complete both missions at once. Plus, should they fail both missions, they get double penalties for both missions. That said, you are nobility, no doubt, and quite skilled; I am sure you would be able to do it — Or, at least, not fail both missions… whatever they are."
"Hmm…,"Corven chose to ignore the receptionist's attempt at flattery. He pickled the two mission request cards that he wanted to take, checked out and left the Adventurer Guild building without another word.