Outworld: Awakening

To the east of Dratol's eastern border, laid Targarth. A rich nation with thousands of years worth of history. Its population totaled over five million, with traders and miners making up the majority. Their infrastructure, fuel production and food production are among its current greatest strengths. A monarchy, its rulers divided the nation into four cities.

The people of Targarth lived a peaceful life, and religion held a prominent role in their lives and, if anything, had made them more proper. Unfortunately, the Awakened from the countries weren't as powerful as their neighbors.

Hundreds of guilds spanned across its lands, with a few allied to some major guilds from prosperous nations. The guilds battled and competed amongst themselves for the resources in the dungeons and hunting grounds. In Targarth, three guilds stood at the top of the food chain, Stormlight, Oleander, and Slivertop.

Oleander occupied Celsa, in the northern planes of Targarth. Slivertop established their headquarters in Sandholt the mining capital of Targarth. Meanwhile, Stormlight occupied Gido, the commercial capital.

Prior to Stormlight's partnership with Varidan Academy, the three major guilds had a similar level of influence. However, Stormlight's influence had tripled after its association with Varidan. Awakened all over Targarth trooped towards its headquarters, hoping and praying, they would one day join Varidan in some capacity if they joined Stormlight.

In a luxuriously furnished office in one of the many rooms in Stormlight's headquarters, Haider sat.

Bored out his mind, he yawned as he stared at the bubbling street through the window. Varidan Towers had sent him to Targarth seven months ago, it wasn't the promotion he expected. Although he held the title of Representative, one comparable to the assistant guild leader of Stormlight, he would have preferred to remain in Varidan Academy's registration hall. Targarth was leagues behind Dratol in everything.

'Of the fifty students assigned a mission in Targarth, only one hasn't showed up. Who is this Student 009? Does he think he can pass the dungeons with no help? Well, it's not my business. The Goblin's Lair, huh? If he doesn't die, I will see him soon. But, why is there no information on his party members?'

Haider parted his curly hair as he stared at a doc.u.ment on his table. His fingers drummed on the surface of the table.

Once assigned their missions, Varidan Students would fist locate the Representative guild in the region. Usually, Varidan's representative in these guilds would brief the students on what awaited them in the dungeons.

Over the last few hours, Haider had discussed with various students who hunted in nearby dungeons. However, of all the students, only one did not show up. He found it odd. He believed whoever Student 009 was; they had gone to the Goblin's Lair without coming for consultation.

He had seen hundreds of students like that, and a majority of them died from their overconfidence. He expected nothing different from student 009.

"I wonder what Emilia prepared for lunch today? The food here isn't as good as Varidan's, but it's at least decent," Haider murmured.

He rose to his feet. Grabbing his black trenchcoat from a coat hanger, he left the room.

Meanwhile, Adam walked along Gido's crowded streets. He couldn't help but admire the unique structures lining either side of the tarred roads. Merchants selling all manner of precious rocks and valuables lined the streets. Although hidden, through the system, Adam could detect many Awakened watching over the wares.

At the end of the road he walked, laid a massive fort-like building painted in white. Adam paused as he stared at the building, his eyes fell on the blue flags depicting the image of a raging storm.

'This should be the place. Who would have expected a small guild to have such a nice building? Varidan is quite generous with its remuneration it seems.'

Only with Varidan's support could a minor guild like Stormlight afford such a magnificent building.

Clad in his uniform, ignorant passerbys cast their probing gazes at him. They wondered who he was and what faction he belonged, because they knew trespassing on Stormlight territory attracted a stern punishment.

"Boy. You don't want the Awakened to find you loitering. Leave before they notice you."

Adam turned around, his gaze fell on an old man who motioned for him to hurry over.

"Thank you for—"

"Who the hell is this? Kid, don't you know it's a crime to loiter here?"

The old man flinched as he heard the shout, wasting no time, he hurried away. He didn't want the guard from Stormlight to associate him with Adam.

Unperturbed by the actions of the old man, Adam turned his head towards the guard.

'A trenchcoat? This guy is an Awakened, too?'

Since trenchcoats were a common stable for Awakened, Adam deduced the man in front of him was an Awakened.

That the system didn't inform him on an imminent threat only meant the guard couldn't threaten Adam no matter what he did.

"Are you deaf? Don't you hear me talking to you?"

The guard's shout attracted the attention of passerbys, they wondered who was foolish enough to cause trouble at Stormlight's headquarters.

"Ignoring me are you? Let's see if you can ignore..."

Cold sweat covered the guard's face as Adam turned around. Since Adam backed him earlier, he couldn't identity Varidan's unique uniform.

"What were you saying?" Adam asked.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't know you were a student of Varidan. Please forgive me for the error. It won't happen again."

He didn't dare meet Adam's gaze.

Saying nothing, Adam walked passed the guard. He didn't have time deal with a random nobody like him.

The guard's tensed heart calmed as Adam entered the building. He knew he had been let off easy. If it had been someone else, who knew what would have happened to him.

"What are you looking at? Do you see a play going on? Get the hell away from here!"

The gathered grows quickly dispersed. Although Adam's identity piqued their interest, they wanted to trouble with a guard of Stormlight.

* * *

'This place is really not bad. Does Bricteva and Igor have a headquarters like this, too?'

Adam's gaze shifted between the beautiful furniture, dazzling chandeliers and work of arts hanging on the gold painted walls of the guild.

Several pairs of eyes landed on Adam as he admired the beauty of the guild's interior. However, when they realized his identity—A student of Varidan Academy, they lost interest. In the last few months, it wasn't a rare occurrence.

"Hey, over here... You from Varidan."

Adam turned towards the source of the voice, and a beautiful woman in a floral purple dress beckoned him to hurry over. She stood over a counter which looked like a reception of some sort.

With a warm smile that would melt the coldest of hearts, coupled with her gorgeous looks, it would thrill anyone to converse with such a beauty.

'Damn, how can someone be so beautiful?'

She was among the top ten most beautiful women Adam had seen in his two lives. In light steps, he walked over to the counter.

"My name is Emilia. You must be here to see the Varidan Representative, right?"

Emilia smiled warmly.

"Yes. Could you tell me where I can find him?"

Adam went straight to the point, he had no intention of introducing himself.

"His office is on the fourth floor. Third door on your right. You can't miss it—"

"Thanks a lot, Emilia. Do have a good day." Adam interjected.

While he surveyed the spacious room earlier, he had already located the stairwell.

"Wait a minute... You didn't let me finish. Mr. Haider left the office a few minutes ago. He should be in the cafeteria right now. Would you like to wait for him? He shouldn't take too long."

Involuntarily, the corners of Adam's eyes twitched a little. With a nod, he sat on the wooden stool before the counter.

"I will let you know when he returns," Emilia said.

'Thank you very much."

Emilia's brown eyes lingered on James. He knew that look. It reminded him of Wallace. Those were the eyes of a talkative.

"You're so young, yet you're already handling missions, and for Varidan at that. Your family must be really proud of you."

For others, it was a great conversation starter. But for Adam, Emilio words hit a sore spot. However, he said nothing. She didn't know anything about him, so she couldn't have said it intentionally.

While Adam donning a shallow smile, Emilia continued, "So, where are you from? You don't talk like someone from Dratol or the Eastern Nations for that matter."

Adam said nothing again. No matter how beautiful Emilia was, he wouldn't just reveal personal information about himself.

Unperturbed by Adam's silence, Emilia continued, "Are you from the Northern Mountains? My cousin's father-in-law's nephew grew up in the Northern Mountains. You speak alike. By the way, which dungeon are you hunting? Is it in Celsa? Gido? Sandholt? Or, Valar? I really hope it isn't Valar's—"

"Miss. When will he be back?"

Adam couldn't continue listening to Emilia's yapping.

"Don't worry. Mr. Haider will be back soon. It's only been twenty minutes, he should be done in ten minutes."

'Is she his secretary or what? How can she know when he would return?'

Deep in thought, Emilia suddenly leaned towards Adam. Her skin gave of a soothing aroma akin to fresh apples. As her face got closer, he could feel her warm breath on his left ear.

[Ten Potential Source of Danger Detected]

"If you want my advice, ask Mr Haider to send you to the Goblin's Lair after you finish your mission. It's on the outskirts of Gido. Trust me you regret it." Emilia winked at Adam as she withdrew.

Adam donned a wry smile, not because of the useless information Emilia had give him, but for the various men who directed their bloodshot gaze towards his direction. Obviously, Emilia's admirers had not taken a liking to the previous incident.

"Thanks for the heads up. I'll be sure to let him know."

"No problem. I'm glad to be of help to you."

Emilia giggled, her index finger played with her hair. Packed into a single braid, it fell over her shoulder.

Despite Adam's hints, Emilia continued to talk about all manner of subjects. Even though Adam practically ignored her, it didn't bother her.

A few minutes later, Emilia suddenly stopped talking. It startled Adam. Her eyes lingered on a figure at the guild's entrance.

Adam slowly turned his head, and a tall man clad in black trenchcoat approached the stairwell. From Adam's point of view, he looked less than thirty.

"Right on time. That's Mr. Haider."

'Thank you, Emilia. Do take care of yourself."

Saying nothing further, Adam approached Haider in hurried steps. Who knows if he would use an hour to take a shit or something? Adam thought.

Out of the corner of his eyes, a familiar uniform came into Haider's view. He paused in his steps as he slowly turned his head.

"Hello, sir. I'm—"

"I haven't seen you around before... wait, are you student 009?"

Haider's brows creased as his beady eyes fell on Adam.

'Why is he looking at me like that? Did I do something to him?'

Adam could sense malice from Haider's gaze, and it left him puzzled. He wonder what he did to offend someone he hadn't met before.

"Yes. I'm student 009. I'm here—"

"I know what you're for. Now that you have failed, you decided to come back here like everyone else. If you had shown up earlier, I would have given you vital information on how to clear your mission. Now, look at you. Arrogance doesn't take you anywhere. Where are your party members?"

Since Haider didn't suppress his voice, it drew the attention of the guild members. They pitied Adam, because they all knew Haider's personality.

"Aren't you going to answer me? Suit yourself. You can f.u.c.k off then. Come back when you manage to complete your mission. That's if you're not dead already."

Haider chuckled. Lashing out at Adam had brightened his mood.

"Who knew Varidan would send an asshole to a place like this. I don't know if you're actually a moron or you're just trying your best to piss me off."

Haider paused in his steps. He slowly turned around. He couldn't believe what he heard. The Awakened too could believe Adam had said those words.

"What did you—" Before Haider could finish his statement, Adam threw an object towards him which he caught on reflex.

Haider's eyes bulged as he stare at the bronze scepter, ornamented with two glistening purple crystals.

'Is this what I think it is?'

Haider's eyes shifted between Adam and the scepter, he need answers.

"That's the scepter of the chief of the red-eared goblins. I have completed my mission, and I would like to request another."

'My mission? Doesn't he mean our? Did this brat choose the solo option? A rank E Awakened eliminating the red-eared goblins alone? How is that even possible?'

Just like Haider, Adam's words left the other Awakened slack jawed. They had only heard rumors about the scepter of the chief, but they hadn't seen it themselves. In fact, only two parties from their guild had completely eliminated the red-eared goblin tribe. And they suffered tremendous losses.

"How did you do—?"

"That's none of your business. Tell me if I can accept other missions or not. If not, open the portal. I didn't come here to satisfy your curiosity."

Haider's countenance darkened. Tongue lashed in front of several Awakened, he felt embarrassed.

"Follow me to my office. We will discuss further there."

Under the probing gazes of the Awakened, Adam and Haider walked towards the fourth floor.

Those who had initially wanted to beat him up for flirting with Emilia cowered in their corner. They thanked their lucky stars they didn't act rashly.

* * *

Adam and Haider sat opposite each other in the latter's office. Haider's eyes shifted between the scepter and Adam's body.

Adam, however, totally ignored him. Instead, he focused on perusing the mission files Haider handed over to him.

A few seconds later, Adam smirked as he passed his selected mission to Haider.

"Huh? Are you sure you want to pick this? Unlike—"

"Please, prepare the portal. I have made my decision."

Haider said nothing further. He retrieved a blue gemstone from his pocket, before smashing it on the ground. And, a colorless portal opened out of thin air.

"If you're able to complete this mission, you will be eligible to accept a graduation mission. You must return to Varidan Academy before you can proceed though. Good..." Haider's words trialed off as he watched Adam step into the portal.

'What an arrogant prick. So what you got a mere scepter. If I was an attack class Awakened, I would have gotten it, too. He picked the toughest mission in Targarth. That bastard will definitely regret his decision.'

Haider reclined on his chair as he arranged the scattered doc.u.ments. Just then, someone opened door of his office.

Before he could react, a familiar voice reached him, "Haider, where is the student that came in just now?"

"Augustus, what's gotten into you?" Haider retorted.

Augustus, the guild leader of Stormlight ignored Haider. Instead, his eyes scanned the interior of the room, searching for someone or something.

"Mr. Haider, I apologize. We—"

"Let's go Johnathan. He isn't here." Augustus interjected.

"Augustus, what is the meaning of this? You barge into my office, and now you want to leave without an explanation?"

"Forgive me, Haider. It won't happen again. I'll leaving you to handle your business."

Saying nothing further, Augustus and John's left the office.

"Johnathan, is what you said true? That student cleared the Goblin's Lair alone?"

A foot taller than Johnathan, Augustus focused his gaze on Johnathan. He couldn't hide his apprehension.

"Would I lie to you, brother? I don't know how he did it, but he eliminated all the goblin tribes. And, he took everything of value from the dungeon. That kid is a monster in his own right." Johnathan explained.

Augustus stroked his beards but said nothing. It wasn't everyday one heard such a news.

"I will try to get the details of the student from Haider. Tell Emilia to come to my office. Haider is a sucker for her. She is the only one we can trust to pry the news from him. Tell the others not to speak of this matter again. We must do everything to recruit that kid."

"I understand, brother."

Wasting no time, Johnathan hurried to execute Augustus's order. Time was of the essence, especially when they didn't know Oleander and Silvertop's intentions.