Arrival

"Prepare your disguise, we are departing soon," Zeid spoke as Aqueshia began to shift her appearance. With a worn-out leather bag hanging behind, Zeid handed the scroll to Aqueshia.

Acqueshia appeared languid from all the love-making they did yesterday night. Zeid woke her before the sun could even rise. They had to move when he noticed people passing by the distance. The group seemed to be dressed for battle as he saw them wielding weapons. The manner to which they appeal gave Zeid a feeling of what a game character would look like. "Adventurers…" Zeid recognized as they skulk away.

While waiting for noon to arrive, Zeid found a way to break the tedium. Aqueshia sat obediently below a tree while Zeid conversed with Altair in mental messages.

"Lilie asked of me to save her but days have passed and I still haven't seen her nor know her whereabouts. Do you have any idea where she is?"

"She is definitely hiding from the claws of the hunters and the church. But I do not know where exactly she might be concealing herself."

"Can you not sense her?" Zeid questioned. Altair seemed hesitant to reply, fearing that it might disappoint him but she finally retorted, "No, master. It seems that she had concealed herself thoroughly that even I could not sense it."

Zeid felt incomplete and aimless after knowing that he knows nothing about the witch's whereabouts. But instead of brooding over the fact that he can't, he simply concluded that the witch has hidden herself until she was sure that Zeid was strong enough to escort her to safety.

To him, it only made sense that Lilie would keep her position to herself. It was done to avoid risks especially that Zeid had yet proved his strength to be worthy enough to face the hunters who are hunting her. He had been warned by Altair that Witch Hunters should not be underestimated by him since these people are high-leveled adventurers with experiences that Zeid is nowhere near to contend with.

As of now, Zeid's goal was to follow through his system's quests and survive for as long as he can. With only a small amount of knowledge of this world, he wasn't fully prepared for what would come. The world around him felt and worked similarly to a game he had previously played. With only a small head start, he wasn't so sure if he could see himself achieving his goals in the long run. Even his daily quest rewards that gave him extra status points to allocate had already been changed into ten bronze gems.

The only quest remaining that would give him status points was the quest that can be completed upon registering himself as an adventurer in a local town or city. Arriving there became much easier now that he had obtained scrolls from a dead man's belonging.

Seeing noon had arrived, Zeid nodded to Aqueshia and both prepared their scrolls. Zein unrolled the scroll and crude characters were written on the surface with ink. Below the seeming rabbles of characters which slowly deciphered by Zeid, was a drawn magic circle at the size of a thumb. The characters seemed impossible for Zeid to understand if not for his system which helped him comprehend the characters.

"A magic incantation for teleportation."

Zeid placed his thumb on the magic circle and the tip of the scroll began to flicker in blue flames. The flames shook calmly and harmless to his hand. When the flame died and the scroll was no longer what it used to be. Zeid felt a tingle and in a blink of an eye, found himself outside the walls of Capital City. While still within the canopy of Freedom Forest, the city was only twenty meters away. Zeid continued on the dirt path which is commonly used by the locals and headed straight to the entrance with Aqueshia on his side.

There were people going in and out, horses, carriages, and wagons. The guards that stood by took tolls from time to time. In which Zeid recognized those who paid a fee were merchants and traders. When Zeid neared the entrance, he gawked upon the wall that stood 6 meters tall. In between these massive stone brick walls stood wall towers where rangers and knights standby and defend the walls of the city.

Zeid fell in line and posed a rather calm behavior. Within his conscience, he was troubled. He didn't know if he could pass through without the guards questioning him about his identity. With every step, he remained as calm as possible. Aqueshia walked beside him with an apathetic appeal. It was natural to see tamed monsters pass through here, but most of them looked rather worn-out, sick, or bruised. There were some exceptions especially those pets who had strong owners, they were conditioned and treated with care.

Luckily, the guards that stood by looked tedious. They never checked who passed through and would only stop people with carriages and wagons to collect the fee. Ten guards are manning the entrance. Two outside the gate and two inside the gate, the other six sat on the ground or leaned on the wall and waited for their shift under the shade of the eaves.

Zeid passed by without encountering troubles.

"First, we find the Guild Hall."

Aqueshia tugged on the sleeve of Zeid's long cardigan. She averted her gaze yet her face was facing him. Her eyes were murky yet she did her best to hold them back.

Zeid who saw how some monsters who were tamed were poorly treated, understood how Aqueshia must have felt. She feared that eventually, she would be treated the same way. Zeid grabbed her hand firmly and curved a smile on his face.

"As long as I am your master, you will never face such treatment. You are my pet but still, you are my woman."

Aqueshia nodded and continued to walk with him.

Capital City is governed by the King and the Holy Priest. The city was vast and bustling with people and full of unprecedented things that Zeid had yet seen in the real world. The city is divided into three walls. These walls also divide the people by their social strata and status. The outside wall serves as protection for the low-class, specifically who toils in the mines and tills the land for crops. The inner walls are then identified as King's Wall and the Wall of Lunes. The Wall of Lunes that comes after the outer wall, is where the wealthy locals live as such as where merchants sell their goods and to where the Guild Hall is found. The King's wall is where the King, nobility, and their servants live and where the Seven Seraph's Cathedral is located.

Zeid passed through the Wall of Lunes with an excuse of him applying as an adventurer. Aqueshia said the same and both of them reached the Guild Hall that stood lavishly. Aqueshia gawked at the eloquent structure. Zeid pulled her from her trance and went inside. The place was bustling with people who appealed the same way as those which Zeid identified as game characters. While the locals in this city dressed commonly, these people stood out more with their unique appearances. Zeid's fantasies were filled when he saw young beautiful mages chattering.

Zeid approached the lady who seemed to be supervising the place. She had a youthful face and a bodacious body that caught Zeid's attention. Her appearance could contend with Aqueshia but he didn't plan to be bewitched any longer. Her long flaxen hair draped over her shoulder with a cheerful expression painted on her face as she filled her attention with loads of paperwork.

"Excuse me, miss. Where could I register myself as an adventurer?" Zeid asked in a calm voice.

The lady who seemed to drown herself with her work raised her eyes. Without fading her smile, she replied: "Oh, I'm sorry, we only do application during the morning. You can pay silver and become a registered adventurer, but you won't be able to do quest immediately without undergoing Magic Potency Test during the day."

"That's fine." Zeid pulled out a silver gem and handed it over to the cheerful girl. "I would like to register."

The lady grabbed the gem and took a quill from her drawer. She asked for Zeid's hand and he extended it to her. She began to write a spell on his wrist near his pulse then ended with a magic circle. The ink began to emanate a soft glow then it permeated through his skin. Zeid panicked at first but the lady told him its normal. Soon, a magic circle appeared like a tattoo on his pulse.

"Done! Come back here tomorrow for the test!" She smiled then drowned herself again in paperwork."

Zeid returned to Aqueshia who seemed to be cornered by a group of men.

"I-I-m sorry, I'm not available…" Aqueshia tried to excuse herself but they showed no signs of relenting.

"Come on, lady. We just want to have f-"

His words were interrupted when Zeid grabbed Aqueshia's hand and pulled her away. The group was definitely displeased and annoyed. The leader of the group grabbed Zeid's shoulder firmly and pulled him back only to find that he couldn't. Zeid's current physique was not something to be taken lightly.

"What's with this kid? Hey! I'm not done talking to that girl ye-ulk!"

Zeid turned with a deathly gaze that stopped him in his words the second time. His eyes revealed wrath yet concealed to the extent that the leader was only able to perceive it within seconds. The leader released his hold and Zeid left the premises with Aqueshia. Drenched in sweat, the leader fell to his knees.