27 ...Master

Ray barely got any sleep after the events that happened the day before.

Still, he woke up super early and even managed to dress up in the cleanest clothes he had.

His goal was simple- Get into a Hero guide.

It was the only way his current lifestyle will change considering the fact that he barely had three square meals a day and looked as thin as a twig.

The tips of his hair had turned a dull grey and even his clothes didn't fit him since barely any skin remained on his bones.

It was so bad that If he roamed around in the dead of the night with both his arms in front of him while dragging one leg behind him, he could be mistaken as a ghost.

Still, from the powers he had seem his minion Argo display the day before, he was convinced that any one of them were more than enough for him to get in, regardless of how he currently looked.

With hopeful eyes, he carried nothing but a small bag containing all the money he had before walking out of the common room he shared with about twenty people in the red house district.

He wore a blue top, and black pants coupled with an oversized black jacket that made him look even smaller than he was.

Flipping through his workout wallet, he noted the three hundred silver notes there, which was his life savings, checking to make sure it was there before stretching out his hand on the side of the street to stop a street car.

He would have taken a speed train but those were even more expensive and he had only ever taken it on the day of his exam.

The street car Ray stopped was a tiny one that could only carry one person, and the car had barely stopped when Ray quickly walked up to the side of it.

"Hero Guide Z- S class," Ray said in a clear tone, not at all surprised to see the driver he was talking to through a tiny hole in his window do a double take and look at him extra hard when he heard him before the driver went ahead to respond.

"77 silver notes," Ray heard the driver respond even as his eyes instantly widened out of shock, while he did his best not to gasp in alarm.

"77 silver notes??" he asked almost like he was confirming to ensure that he didn't mistakenly hear the seven twice.

"Yes. It's far and it's also a very expensive area with security and all. The most I can give you is 70," he replied in a largely impatient tone, that made it seem like he was ready to drive off if Ray took too long to think about it.

Almost like the price he just gave him was one he wouldn't be able to find anywhere else.

"Thanks…but you can go," Ray said shifting back as he spoke.

"Suit yourself…" the driver hissed, shrugging his shoulders before driving off sharply in a clearly annoyed manner.

"That's a quarter of my life savings…how am I going to visit the other guides then?" Ray thought going ahead to step close to the edge of the walkway he was standing on, stretching his hand out a second time to stop another tiny taxi that was passing by.

"Hero Guide Z- S class," Ray said and he had only just finished speaking while doing his best to ignore the eyes of the driver which were already gliding over his body when he heard him respond.

"80 silver notes. Don't try to haggle. With the way you look, I'll have to pay extra for them to let us in through the gate,"

This greatly shocked Ray, but he would be damned if he refused a 70 just to accept an 80.

"70?" Ray asked, and the words had barely left his mouth when he watched the driver shake his head and simply drive away.

Not in any way discouraged, Ray went ahead to try three more times. After another 80, 82and 83 Ray couldn't help but come to the conclusion that the street cars probably had a secret way of communicating which was why the price kept increasing the longer he stayed there.

As he stood there, watching out for other tiny street cars that could be passing by, when he heard "Argo," his minion's voice beside him speak to him.

"Master…" Argo began but he had barely gotten a word out when Ray yelled back at him more out of surprise than anger…

"WH…WHAT? Tell me you're currently invisible to everyone,"

"Of course Master I am," Argo replied in a serious tone before he continued speaking.

"I was unable to tell you what I wanted to say yesterday since you didn't want to hear me speak but what I have to say…"

"STOP! I can't do this right now. Tell me whatever you want to tell me when we get to the guide," Ray sighed mostly out of tiredness.

He was still speaking and answering Argo when he flagged down another tiny street car that was passing by, only to be greatly shocked to see the driver slow down with a wary expression on his face, before he sped up and drove off.

"Lunatic," was the look the driver's face conveyed before the street car disappeared after taking a right turn to his destination.

"You're the one with the crazy face," Ray thought right before ignoring him and trying again to get a street care that would take him to his destination.

"75 Silver notes, that's the…"

Ray didn't even allow him to finish before he jumped right in.

"Once they accept me, I won't have to think about the money I lost," Ray thought knowing deep within his heart that regardless of how he looked at that moment, no guide would reject someone that had an A-grade power of "Spatial teleportation," no matter how little.

Beside him was Argo in his invisible form. He didn't have to read his master's mind to know his thoughts.

Maybe I really should try again, he thought. But just as he opened his mouth to speak, he watched Ray lean back in the car, prepared to take a nap.

"I'll just tell him the instant we get there…" Argo decided, since they were already in the street car.

It took a good twenty minutes before Ray was suddenly shaken awake by the driver, who called out in a slightly anxious voice.

"Wake up! Sit straight and try to look like a good citizen," The driver said and the slight panic in his voice was enough for Ray to do as he was told.

He was beyond shocked to look around and see Glittering skyscrapers on both sides of the road about 100 meters away. Directly in front of him was a high gate with a lot of judges standing in front of it.

"Is security usually this tight?" Ray asked out of curiosity.

"Yes, and you better hope every one of them is satisfied with your reason for entering," The driver said as he rummaged around his car until he fished out what seemed to be his street car ID.

"Name…Destination and why?" A burly judge dressed in a black and blue uniform asked, his questioning gaze sliding from the driver over to Ray where it finally settled.

The driver also did the same looking at Ray instead of meeting eyes with the Judge standing on his left side of the car window.

"Ray Lewon. I'm going to Hero guide Z- A class to register," was Ray's reply, not surprised to see the incredulous look the judge threw at him.

"You…you of all people think you can get into the best guide in the city. Look at you," Was what Ray felt he was thinking in his mind and he wasn't far from the truth.

"You can enter…you have an hour," The judge said with a small smile on his face, passing an hour card over to Ray before gesturing for the driver to go in, which the driver quickly did before the Judge no longer found the situation funny.

The moment they entered through the gates, it increasingly became obvious to Ray that he had entered a world, that he didn't look like he belonged to in any way.

Looking at the people on the streets, the fancy cars, and even the street itself, made Ray feel largely inferior.

"I know exactly how you feel," The driver muttered under his breath for Ray to hear even as he continued to drive at a leisurely pace until they got to their destination.

Squinting his eyes slightly in pain, Ray brought out the 75 silver notes and passed them to the driver.

"I wish you luck…" the driver said the second he collected the money, thinking that Ray probably had something up his sleeves, since if his power was amazing, they would have taken him the second he awakened.

"You're going to need it," The driver thought right before he turned around, driving out of Ray's sight.

Standing In front of the huge skyscraper, Ray looked up at the huge sign board in front of it.

"HERO GUIDE-Z( S class)"

He was still taking it in, staring at how big it was in slight wonder, completely forgetting his hate for heroes, when he unexpectedly heard Argo's voice from beside him jerk him back to reality.

"Master…I need to tell you something now. It's something I wanted to…"

"Later...," Ray harshly whispered under his breath, not wanting to be caught talking to himself for the second time that day.

"I really don't want to talk to you. Truthfully I don't even want us to communicate. For now, I fon't trust you. You're my minion and you'll do as I ask. That's where our relationship starts and ends," Ray recalled yesterday's conversation and still didn't trust Argo enough to want to get attached to him.

After being yelled at, Argo still unseen in his invisible form, obeyed not saying a word, as he simply stared forward watching Ray begin to walk forward towards the double doors of the Guide building.

"Oh, Master…Master…master," he sighed to himself.

"You're going to wish you didn't say that,"