Chapter 602: Empires Invasion [20] (1/2)
Drunken babbles whisked into a growing tense room. Ella and Ellie ambled to Lingling's side. Her party had changed a fair bit to include the twins, herself, Kein, and Goldie. Opposite them stood Jen, Rena, Leopard, Leonard, Ila, Cole, Frost, and lastly, Anna. Their tags and hardened auras told of their progress, the adolescents with dreams grew into a fierce bunch.
'He's here.'
'How are we supposed to approach him?'
'Should I say hi or will that be rude.'
'The aura around him, I can't imagine being so careless,' these thoughts and few of the same context traveled.
Composure remained strong, Igna's idle expression made breaking the ice all that harder. ”Enough with this awkwardness,” mumbled Lingling, ”-hey there Igna,” she jumped on to stand face to face, ”-long time no see, have you grown taller?”
'What a crazy chick.'
'May her soul rest in peace.'
”Lingling. It has been quite a while,” the sudden change of tone stumped multiple expressions. Group C, a bunch who'd always been at odd ends were the timid ones. No matter the time elapsed, if people parted on a bad note, the reunion would leave an even bitter taste.
”It has been,” said she in a friendly manner, ”-Ella, Ellie, Kein, Goldie, come on guys, no need to be scared of this fellow,” she playfully pinched his cheeks, ”-see, big ol' Igna's a good friend.”
”Hey again, Igna,” whispered Kein in her reclusive persona. Her bangs grew to cover her eyes, god knew how she could see, let alone fight. The Tier-7 Sapphire tag told another story.
”What is up with you these days,” inquired Goldie. The overzealous party girl previously oozing her person felt lesser of a phenom. For once, the outfit wasn't as over the top as before, her makeup days swapped to lip balm and short ponytail. Tier-6 Emerald swung around her neck.
”Quite the jump in ranks from Tier-8,” remarked he.
”Oh please,” added Ling coyly, ”-don't compliment me too much,” the undertone was of, ”-keep 'em coming.”
”I rather not waste my breath,” refuted he coldly.
”There we go again,” she pouted, ”-back at it with the cool persona.”
”Igna, I have a question,” whispered Kein softly tugging his shirt.
”What is it?”
”What's the deal with Ardanian and Hidros ranking?”
”Oh,” taking a step back, ”-Nassie, mind explaining my friend here?”
The sudden request caught the assistant at a bad time. A mountain of unfulfilled requests toppled. ”-M-M-MY BAD.”
”Don't get so worked up,” said he, ”-go on, tell them about the ranking, I'll handle the files.” The paths crossed; he manned the counter as she manned the group of curious adventurers. Fondly enough, those inclined on keeping their distances inched closer. In the end, she stood atop a stool as if a singer about to perform. A mosh pit worth singing for.
”Hello Adventurers,” her voice changed, the face seemed fiercer and more direct, ”-welcome to town Glenda. Tis an honor for us to welcome fighters of another country. We of the Ardanian guilds have been stumped by the age of war and civil unrest. Matters in the province aren't beneficial for tourism and adventurers. People are more concerned with survival. As the ones who accepted the trying task of aiding us in our time of need, on the behalf of the guild and the townsfolk, I'm grateful,” her words charged into a lightning strike. The thunderous roar of passion and encouragement choked up the bystanders. ”Let start with the basics, guild tags. For Arda and Hidros, our standard of ranking adventurers varies. Here, it's harder to be promoted and easier to be demoted. Our ranking system is very arduous and difficult to handle. Tis because of the many races, for example, Dark-Elves are especially adept at magic, whilst Light-elves are very good marksmen. Their roles can be quite pivotal in a battle. We also have beastmen who are fighters, other healers, their abilities and strength are gauged on a merit system as opposed to one's mana and physical capability. To ensure the survival of recruits, they must choose one of the four guilds: Fighters, Mages, Smithing, and Traders. Once chosen, they must complete basic training and acquire an adventuring badge. Only then that they are allowed to accept the quest. Hard, complicated, and boring, those who drop out are most often saved from a worthless death. The strongest resolve to get better, no matter how weak one is, will be picked, the decision is up to the examiners. A culmination of those affects how Ardanian's are ranked. Compared to Hidros, the ranks held by our people are mostly grouped between Tier-9 and Tier-5.” Long as it seemed or felt, the pronunciations, the body language, and prompt intonation made the speech very much enjoyable. ”-Enough of the basics – I should get to the real matter at hand,” a glance to Igna begot a nod of confirmation. ”-the quest posted by Queen Gallienne was done so on her own volition. The Ardanian Guild will not take responsibility for the death of unregistered fighters. It's harsh and unjust, I know. We can't afford the trouble, numbers are few, the guild has been taken over by the Empire. Our Guild masters managed to escape, though, our strongest of members were captured
*Huff puff* ”-if you'll excuse me,” her feeble fingers innocently draped the stool.
”Good job out there,” winked Igna, ”-I've sorted the quests. Should be an easier job now.”
”Oh my god,” her face flushed, ”-you're an angel,” said she more content about the paperwork, ”-this'll get me home early.”