Refining the Heavens (炼天)

B2, Chapter 20: Adventurers Guild

For Kairos, the Orcs' disappearance is a major cause of concern. When the Orc army previously retreated after losing their target of vengeance, Calculus, it was Kairos that prevented the others from chasing. Now when he heard of the ill-effects happening here, he felt... guilty for it.

As someone who had fought against those creatures, he knows precisely how formidable they are; therefore, he did not regret to give up the chase against these magical beings. Not only are they superior in number, but in rank as well. All the students will likely be killed should they pursued.

Of course, at that time despite having the advantage, the Orc King's decision to fall back is understandable. They were close to human settlements and ran a terrible risk of being exterminated. But things became far more dangerous when the orcs not only vanished from the training grounds but are also disappearing from sight even as far as Tiny Town.

There's little doubt that the same incident could be happening across the empire. And this information only confirms one thing for Kairos. The Orc King is not merely laying low, but also mustering his army.

He felt as if a cold metal of a blade is touching his neck. If things escalate, it might turn into a race of survival of the stronger species, but for now, he must focus on finding Jones.

The very next morning, the group went together to the Adventurer's guild. Because all of them have to register as members, they would stick out like a sore thumb no matter what. When they through the wooden gates of the building, every pair of eyes looked at them.

"Whoa, what's this huge amount of kids doing here?"

"Look, there's an adult among them. Must be some students and their Martial Teacher are here for sight-seeing?"

"Sight-seeing just what? A bunch of stinky old men like us? Hahahaha!"

Ignoring them, Kairos made his way across the crowd to the counter and spoke politely to the girl. His head barely made it above the tall wooden table.

"Hi, we would like to register as adventurers."

The room immediately silenced, then a short moment later, everyone in the place burst into raucous laughter.

Noticing their laughter, Vouno went forward and sharply rapped the table, silencing the room. Then he spoke sternly, addressing the room while talking to the attendant, "I am from the noble Astroire house, and I bring these lads here today to begin their training. Tarry not, good fellow, and let us be on our way."

He flashed the jade ring given by the Emperor and gestured for them to continue with a nod. The laughter died immediately, replaced by curious questions.

"Ahh, they are guard trainees of nobility!"

"I've thought that they looked rather important the moment they stepped in."

"Bullshit, you laughed the loudest."

"Which family is the Astroire, have you heard of them before?"

"That's not strange. They are probably some border noble, coming all the way here to train the more talented guards during this time."

"Oh yeah, I nearly forget that we have a flood of monsters. It's no wonder they chose to sign up here!"

It is a common thing for nobles to bring talented trainees to the Adventurer's guild for missions. Training them this way not only quickly give them experience, but it also helps alleviate the costs for a family, and sometimes if a trainee luck-out those nobles could even acquire a rare artefact.

It took merely a moment for the attendant to create personalised tokens for each of them. Vouno gave the excuse that as overseer for this group, it is his first time leaving the Astroire compound, and he also forged a token for himself.