Cait Shelter

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

Qing was walking alongside Roubaul through the forest, and it had been only around ten minutes or so since they had begun making their way towards Cait Shelter. Which was supposedly the guild that Roubaul was the master of. Along the way, Qing was getting as much information as possible about the place he had ended up.

He had only asked the simple things and refrained from going too deep into the world, that being because he'll just get more information in books whenever he could. He had learnt that the land he had ended up in was called Fiore, that being the kingdom they were in. He couldn't ask what planet he was on since that would be a ridiculous thing to ask.

It would raise suspicion.

Aside from that, Qing had also learnt a bit more about these guilds as well as the power system here within this world. Magic was similar to Qi, but he really didn't have too much information on it. He was honestly shocked to hear the various types of magic that could be learnt, especially when he had heard that some wizards had learnt to used incredibly rare forms, such as manipulating space.

The potential of these wizards was pretty scary if he was being honest. Cultivators would require to rise up to the Immortal stage before being able to manipulate the laws of space and time to a certain degree, and that wasn't much control over the laws. The fact that some wizards may have the ability to manipulate space and time, in the beginning, was truly terrifying.

Though, he wasn't certain how much control over those laws that those wizards have. Strong cultivators who have managed to rise up into higher realms and have gained some control have proven to hold the capability to breach universal borders and traverse through them, as well as a few even being able to temporarily freeze time completely and more.

It also was quite apparent that these wizards were probably quite a bit more versatile compared to cultivators in terms of different kinds of abilities. Though, he wasn't certain. Aside from that, he had also gotten some more information regarding these guilds. They apparently granted work for its members as well, allowing them to take on issued tasks for income.

It was basically a workplace for wizards.

The more he learnt, the more he found that these guilds could be compared more to those of The Pillar Alliance. Which was a group of top powerful cultivators who protected and defended the world against attacks from the countless Spiritual Beasts that appear, being their job to subdue them and protect the citizens.

Knowing this, he did approve of his decision to come along with Roubaul. He pondered whether to join this Cait Shelter or not while he was here, to which he ultimately decided to do so. The reason being that it was a way of making money in this world. He needed to buy food and also other things that he may be interested in, so getting this world's currency was important.

As they walked, Roubaul took notice that Qing was still guarded despite how relaxed he looked. Not only that, he noticed how the boy would keep his eyes trained not only on him but also on the surrounding environment, seemingly making sure to keep an eye out on everything around him. This truly impressed and surprised Roubaul.

'Whatever environment this boy had grown up in sure has matured him, far greater than others his age...' Roubaul thought as he glanced to look up at Qing. Qing had slightly sharpened eyes, as well as them having a bit of a dull look. 'The look in his eyes speaks of experience, the experience of being in battle and more. Just where did he come from...'

"A guild mark?"

"Yes, it's a type of brand that is placed on the individual using magic. It signifies that you are a member of that guild." Roubaul explained as they were now exiting the thick forestry area and were now coming into a clearing. When they did, Qing was greeted by an interesting. "Welcome to Cait Shelter, Qing. I hope you like it."

Qing shifted his gaze all around the area with interest. While he was always used to seeing modern buildings like skyscrapers and such, it was a bit of a refresher to see what he was seeing now. If he were to describe it, the Cait Shelter guild was based on those tribes he had read about in history books from foreign continents.

The buildings here looked pretty similar to the designs that those tribes build long ago in the continent of Interantal. Along with that, he had noticed a number of similarities between this place and Interantal, one being the naming sense, Roubaul was certainly not a name originating from his homeland.

"It looks nice, quite peaceful as well." Qing nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest. Roubaul smiled and nodded his head in appreciation. Qing then looked down at the rather short old man before asking. "So, how is it that I join this guild of yours, Senior? You did say something about this guild mark."

"Just follow me, we shall arrive in the main building and proceed with the process." Roubaul explained simply as Qing nodded his head. Roubaul had taken notice of how Qing addressed him, though he didn't really mind. He had guessed that it may be some kind of custom or something from where Qing lived, or maybe not, he wasn't sure.

Qing then proceeded to follow Roubaul as they calmly walked through the area, and Qing took notice of all the people that were doing whatever they were doing. Qing narrowed his eyes though, they were all similar to Roubaul. While they had a physical presence on the world, he notice that all of them were composed entirely out of energy.

However...

'No sign of Qi... Just this Ethernano.' Qing frowned slightly. Much to his words, the other people differed from Roubaul because he could feel absolutely no Qi at all within them. Even if someone doesn't cultivate, everyone had Qi, it was their life force after all. But, these people didn't. They were entirely composed of Ethernano, which was the source of power for these people from this world to utilise magic, according to what he heard from Roubaul. 'Projections perhaps...?'

Qing wasn't going to raise any questions just yet, but he did make sure to keep it in mind. He could tell these people weren't actually real or alive, though they all did appear realistic. Both in nature and appearance. They weren't just acting like dead puppets, he noticed they all seemed to hold their own personalities.

Qing glanced down at Roubaul with a slightly narrowed look, though quickly made sure to turn away as to not catch the man's attention. Roubaul might be the reason for these people, and he didn't mean it in a bad way. If Roubaul was the one creating these projections, then why? Was there a reason for why he was doing so?

His gut was telling him that Roubaul wasn't a bad person at all, but he'll need to ask at some point.

It didn't take them long before they arrived at the decently large main building within the area, the building itself seemingly being based off of a cat. Qing just smiled in amusement at the design, finding it pretty cute. He then walked in beside Roubaul, to which he saw that the room had a wooden floor along with frabic walls that were sustained by wooden frames.

Qing took notice of the furniture as well, all of them being made of wood and crafted expertly. They were also sometimes covered by carpets which all beared ornamental patterns. Finally, Qing watched as Roubaul walked on over to the throne-like chair at the centre of the building before taking a seat as he reached over the side and was seemingly searching for something.

"Are you sure it's okay for me to join though, Senior? As you could already tell, I am not a practitioner of your magic arts. From what you have told me, guilds within this continent are for wizards to join, which I am not one of."

"Pah, who cares. Even if you don't use magic and practice whatever it is you do, nothing like that is going to stop me from allowing you to join my guild." Roubaul gave a hearty chuckle. Qing blinked before giving a small smile as he shrugged. Roubaul then pulled out what appeared to be a wooden stamp. "Come over here, Qing. Allow me to officially welcome you to the guild."

Qing just nodded before walking over calmly to Roubaul.

"What colour and where would you like it?"

"Hm? Oh, I suppose just make it silver and place it on my hand." Qing shrugged. He didn't really mind where it was, unless it was on a very ridiculous place that is. Qing held his hand forwards as Roubaul then gently pressed the stamp down onto the top of Qing's right hand. Qing watched with interest as a glow occured before slowly fading.

'Interesting, this is a small taste of magic, huh?' Qing thought to himself as he watched the process with interest clear in his eyes. When Roubaul removed the stamp, Qing could now see the silver brand now on his hand. The mark looked like a cat with a singular eye along with a tail that was oddly shaped into an 'X' shape.

Qing could sense that the mark was composed entirely out of this Ethernano as the people here called the foreign energy. He detected no harm at all from it, so he didn't do anything or feel suspicious at all towards the mark. Sects had their own marks as well, though they didn't really come in the form of a tattoo, just placed on clothes and stuff.

"So, I'm officially apart of Cait Shelter now?"

"Of course! Welcome to the guild, Qing!" Roubaul grinned in delight as Qing just nodded and gave him a sincere smile. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't at all concerned about his family, they were very strict, but he did still love them. Though, he had a feeling he was going to like it in this world. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad before he could find a way home.

"I suppose I can't just call you simply as Senior now, can I?" Qing chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "It's a pleasure working in the guild here with you, Sect Lead-... No, Guild Leader Roubaul."

"Guild Leader?" Roubaul repeated in his mind before giving a chuckle. "You don't need to call me that. Just call me Master."

"Afraid I can't do that, Guild Leader Roubaul." Qing shook his head. "Where I am from, people like me only refer to our teachers who train us by the title of Master."

"I see, then I shall happily be referred to as Guild Leader then. Haha~! I am very much glad that Wendy will have someone here her age that she will be able to socialise with."

"Eh? Who's Wendy?"

"Oh, of course, you don't know!" Roubaul slapped his forehead lightly with a flustered look as he then explained. "Wendy is one of the members here at Cait Shelter. In fact, aside from myself, she is truly the only other wizard along with Carla, though Carla is a bit of a special case. You'll understand when you see her. Wendy is also around you age, so I hope you can get along."

"Ah~, I see. Don't worry, I'll try and become friends with her and this Carla."

"Hahaha~! I sure hope so!" Roubaul laughed cheerfully as he then added. "They're both currently out on a job, they should be back after a few hours though since they had actually left a few minutes before I found you. Anyway, why don't we go ahead and get you settled in? Would you like something to as well?"

"Yeah, that would be much appreciated. Am kinda feeling hungry."

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃