Rise of the Devourer

Noah looked at his mini-map, his [Party] tab showing Aurelia’s location. Walking through the city’s upper layers, he stood outside a tavern for a moment, checking to make sure he had the right place.

Opening the tavern door, Noah was barraged with a myriad of smells. Various scents of sizzling meat, ale, dirt accompanied by conversations, laughter that mingled within flooded him all at once. Having spent nearly a week within a dark room strapped to a bed, Noah found the sounds and smells overwhelming his new and far more sensitive body. Taking a moment to adjust, he scanned the tavern, before his eyes found Aurelia seated by herself in a corner, nursing a drink.

Walking with his footsteps subdued to not make any sounds, he made his way to Aurelia.

“Excuse me, is this table free?” Noah asked.

“Sorry, it’s not free—“ Aurelia froze as she saw who she was speaking to. “Noah?”

Noah smiled, taking a seat across Aurelia at the table. “The one and only.”

“Should you be walking already?” Aurelia asked, glancing at him. “The Doc told me it’ll take you some time to recover.”

“Clearly he underestimated me then,” Noah replied, raising a hand to stop the tavern maid before ordering a drink for himself. “So, how do you like my new look?”

“It makes you stand out,” Aurelia said, taking a sip of her ale. “White hair, red eyes. Neither are features you find easily,” she glanced down at his left arm, holding the cup the tavern maid delivered to him. “At least your arm is back to normal.”

“Yeah, that’s a shame. I liked that arm. Can’t say if I can transform it again or not till Tony wakes up,” Noah replied. Turning off Lifeblood, he took a sip from his drink, staring at Aurelia in an uncertain silence where neither spoke up for a long minute.

“Are you alright?” Aurelia asked, looking into Noah’s eyes.

Noah stared at the woman, before looking down at his ale as he began to chug the drink down in a single go. Letting out a breath as the alcohol poured down his throat with a burning sensation.

Taking a moment to look down into his mug, Noah stared at his reflection in the liquid sheen left behind before looking up to meet Aurelia’s eyes. “I don’t know,” he replied quietly.

Aurelia extended her hand, grasping Noah’s. “If I’d known how difficult the process would be, I would’ve never brought you to the Doc.”

“It’s fine,” Noah replied, looking up. “I would’ve needed to do this sooner or later if I wanted to keep progressing like I have. Which I do. This world is dangerous, and… I need to grow stronger to live here. A week of torture is worth the price. I’m just glad it’s over.”

“Have you eaten anything?” Aurelia asked.

“Not in a week, no. Came here straight away from the Doc’s place. Not in the mood to eat anything, not sure it’ll stick inside,” Noah replied, before looking up at her.

“Did you… were you there, during the week?” Noah asked.

“I was. A few times, not too often. You were sleeping most of the time,” Aurelia replied.

Noah stared at her, feeling a question fill his chest. “Did I say anything? About… my home?”

Aurelia looked at him for a moment, and Noah couldn’t read the expression that passed across her face. “You didn’t,” she replied.

Noah let out a breath, before giving her a nod.

Tossing three mana stones on the table she got up, before grabbing Noah’s hand. “Come with me, I have a gift for you.”

Noah raised an eyebrow in question, but let Aurelia pull him along. Walking alongside her, he followed behind Aurelia through the streets.

“Where are we going?” he asked, as they made their way through the streets, before arriving onto the central road.

“The guild,” Aurelia replied. “You’ll see soon.”

True to her word, Noah found himself in front of the guild, being pulled along with his hand grasped by Aurelia like a mother walking her son, as she led him into the building. Nae stood behind the reception counter, noting their arrival with a raised eyebrow.

“Is that Noah?” she asked, walking out from behind to take a better look. “By the stars, it is! What happened to you?”

“I decided to shake up my looks a little. The old one had been with me for quite a few years now, I figured it was time to change,” Noah said, smiling at the small woman.

“That’s… not merely a cosmetic change in my view. But if you don’t want to share then don’t,” Nae said.

“We’re here for the thing,” Aurelia said to Nae.

“So he’s ready then? Good, I was starting to get worried. Follow me,” Nae said, leading the way.

Noah stared at the two, wondering what all of this was about. Following Aurelia, who for whatever reason still insisted on pulling him by his hand, he made his way deeper into the guild. They made their way to the elevator, Noah walking inside, before he saw Nae standing near the buttons for the floor.

Blue mana shimmered on her fingertips as she began to press multiple floors one after another, as if entering a pin code.

The elevator shuddered, shaking, before the doors closed as the device began to slowly make its way down.

“There’s an underground floor?” Noah asked, watching as they sank beneath the earth, dirt and stone walls taking up their view.

“Multiple,” Nae replied, glancing at Noah. “What? You think we’d keep all the secrets above ground so that anyone and their mothers can barge in?”

“No. Just surprised,” Noah replied, watching the elevator make its way down multiple floors before coming to a stop.

As the doors opened, he stared at a pristine chamber made of what looked to be polished marbles. A giant stone gate resided in front of him, with crystal light lamps lighting up the inside of the chamber. Cool air washed over him as he stepped outside the elevator and he looked up to see vertical slits cut into the stone tiles with runes carved behind them to ensure air ventilation.

Nae walked up to the door, before pressing her palm upon the spherical crystal set inside it. The crystal lit up with a blue glow, runes flaring and spreading out in a web-like pattern all across the door, before with the hiss of escaped air, the giant stone door lifted itself up.

“Just so you know, I’m using Raesar’s authority to allow you two access to this place for our quest. Normally this is a place only the guild master can access,” Nae said, as they walked further in.

Noah glanced around, noting various chambers leading to rooms filled with rows of items of all kinds. He walked around, noting various elixirs, skill books, tomes, weapons of different kinds, all present inside.

There were two more doors in their path, each one requiring a more intricate process to unlock. As the final door opened with a hiss, Noah found himself standing inside an armory lined with weapons and gear everywhere he could see.

“Whoa, this is… are all of these legendary grade items?” Noah asked, looking at the nearly hundred if not more items lying around.

“Yup. All legendary. You two can pick two each for yourself. But a lot of them are cursed, so don’t touch anything without my permission. Once you’ve made your choice, tell me and I’ll let you know if I can authorize you taking the items or not,” Nae said.

“This seems extremely generous,” Aurelia replied, looking at Nae.

“It is. But you also don’t own these items. The guild is merely lending them to you. If you do a good job on your quest, we may let you keep them, but for now, they are entirely for the purposes of this quest.”

“An incentive to ensure a good job, is it?” Noah said, finding himself grinning as his eyes made his way across the chamber, scanning the many items giving off powerful magical auras.

“You can consider it that, yes. Do a good job, and whatever you pick can be yours. I’d say it’s a fair deal given the difficulty of your quest,” Nae said.

Quest updated!

Quest: Abyssal Reconnaissance

You uncovered the secret of the Abyssal Cult, but more remains hidden in the shadows. Join them under a guise, infiltrating the cult to find out the truth that lurks within the Abyss.

Difficulty: Very Hard

Reward: Legendary Gear from the Guild.

Noah looked at the quest update. “Alright, I admit, I’m feeling motivated now.”

“Good, now go pick something,” Nae replied.

Walking further into the chamber, he began to go through the many items, grinning like a child in a candy shop.

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