24 First Quests 1 (1/2)
Inspecting dozens of travelers daily was a normal part of the duties of a gate guard at any city, not just Lightwood Fortress. Merchants, Adventurers, hermits, and all manner of people passed through the gates regularly, making most of their jobs not very exciting. Every so often, a smuggler or bandit would get caught and either end up arrested or killed. Such was the norm, to which nobody would bat an eye at. Today, however, an unusual traveler intended to enter.
The western gate of Lightwood Fortress was likely the one used the least, with no more than a dozen a day. Still, compared to the southern and eastern gates, they had the longest track record with strange characters. 40% of the criminal activity caught at the gates was from the western gate, and the criminals at the gate tended to be the more severe. As such, some of the best soldiers were stationed here on a rotation, to ensure that there was always someone capable enough to handle any situation.
The not often heard sound of boots crunching dirt roused the attention of one such soldier, who swiveled his head slowly to focus on the source of the sound. Wearing a long grey hooded cloak that hid their face in shadow, a small figure tread towards the gate. Most of the soldiers at the western gate were mid-to-high-level second-grade Fighters, and their senses were much more attuned than those of civilians due to their regimen. Still, no energy fluctuations came from this figure, and all attempts to inspect his energy made it seem like they were a complete black hole, impossible to fathom. This prompted the five men on duty to heighten their senses, just in case the figure meant ill.
When the figure was five paces from the gate, the guardsman who had reacted first said, ”Hold, sir. I'd have to ask you to present some identification before we can let you pass, as per standard procedure.”
The figure silently walked over and stood before him, an interesting thing considering the figure was only as tall as his chest. Though the hood did not move, the soldier felt a gaze from the figure that was rather unnerving. This only served to disturb him more as the figure's sleeve rose to hand an Adventurers Card to him, but it was quickly changed to confusion upon seeing the youthful hand that held it.
The soldier took the card and checked it over before coughing, ”The card is real, that much I am sure of. However, I'd have to ask you to provide more sufficient proof. Killers and bandits have tried to use the cards of their kills to enter before, so we must be cautious.”
As he finished his words, the guardsman watched the hooded figure use only the power of magic to create two nearly solid elemental daggers, formed completely from magic energy. While the level of control was far beyond a third-grade Magic, the spell that the figure had used was still considered one of the most important ones of a Spellblade, [Summon Dagger]. While it was nowhere near as effective as an actual magic dagger, it was good enough for quick skirmishes, the Spellblade's specialty. It was automatically learned upon choosing the job, so it was easy to get, but the spell itself couldn't be taught to non-Spellblades due to some heavenly restriction. This alone proved that the figure was, at the very least, a Spellblade of high grade.
”Your card says your job is a Spellblade, and you have used its base spell, so that much is proven. However, it is not enough to allow you in.” The guard looked over the card again and zoomed in on the name, which he made sure to read repeatedly before asking, ”Unless you have real proof that you are this particular adventurer, I cannot let you pass.”
A vague sense of amusement came from the figure, which was rather odd to the five men. However, they noticed something wasn't right... what happened to all of the noise?” They looked back at the city and saw everything seeming to be frozen, like time had fully stopped. To silently use such a powerful time spell, the figure was extremely powerful, which further raised their wariness. The first guardsman was prepared to speak again when the figure simply held up a hand to stop him.
A very youthful voice came from the figure, one of a very calm young man that held a hint of mirth in it, ”It's good to see that the guards of the Lightwood Fortress are more thorough than the last time I came here. Things have changed quite a bit. Ah, you don't have to worry about anything, I've just temporarily slowed time as much as I can without stopping it, since it's much easier. Considering my identity, if one of you happened to shout it, I wouldn't even get past the gate, let alone to the Adventurers Guild.” The figure's hands moved to lower his hood, revealing a young man with snow white hair and playful purple eyes, a smile on his youthful face. ”Sorry about being tricky. I wasn't hoping to get in this way in the first place, I was just testing you guys. You seem very talented, but I wanted to see if your minds were as tempered as your bodies.”
Relaxing their heightened wariness, the guards let out small sighs of relief; they were thankful that they didn't have to fight him, as he was far more powerful than they could handle. The first guardsman handed back the card to the smiling boy, saying, ”People who do that tend to cause trouble, but... I'll take the benefit of the doubt this time. I'm pretty sure that someone of your status wouldn't do such things. If I may, are you traveling for business or leisure?”
”Well, both, technically. I need to change jobs now, and I really need to start taking quests to rank up. I've been busy and only recently am I able to start my adventures.” He shrugged casually, ”A slow start is better than nothing, right?”