Chapter 18 - Shadow of a Shadow

(1st Saga - Greater Magius, The Balance | Snow Guild Entrance Exams Arc)

“Hey.”

I was no longer in the mood for talking.

“What is it now?”

“Is that how you reply to someone who just wants to make conversation?”

That question snapped me back to reality.

I was so focused on walking forwards– Focused on avoiding the eyes of everyone else there.

My only aim was to get out of that building.

I’d be back tomorrow anyway.

“Hey. You alive in there, Kaito? That is your name, right?”

I finally realized I had already made it outside.

“Sorry about tha– Ah.”

“What? Not the person you were hoping for?”

It was the same girl from earlier. The one with the common title.

“No– I just didn’t think you’d still wanna be here– Your name is Aria, right?”

She was leaning against the wall beside the door with her arms folded across her chest.

“Mhm.”

She blankly stared at the cloudless sky, suddenly seeming to forget that I was standing beside her.

“I’m hungry.”

“What–”

“C’mon. Let’s go get something to eat.”

***

“So… Aria, why exactly were you waiting for me earlier?”

Slurrrrp!

“Now that’s what I needed!”

She slammed her now empty bowl on the table.

“Sorry you had to deal with me like that. Everyone always says I can get kinda blunt when I’m hungry.”

“You’re still pretty blunt right now,” is what I wanted to say, but I decided to hold myself back.

“Anyways, back to your question. You just seemed interesting. That’s all.”

“That look you had in your eyes sure didn’t make it seem that way.”

“The rest of those guys were pissing me off. You just happened to be right in front of them.”

“I see–”

“What you did back there was pretty cool though. He deserved it.”

“Hah, thanks. Do you know him or something?”

“I know of him,” she replied, standing up and throwing a few coins on the table.

“My treat. Someone else is probably waiting for a table, so I’ll tell you more while we walk around town. It’s your first time here in Synoria, isn’t it?”

She was already making her way towards the door before I could object.

***

“So, you wanted to know about that guy, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright. I should probably do a little bit of a history check first, though. Ever heard of the Third Calamity Event?”

I nodded.

“Good. If you didn’t, I’d have to begin reconsidering talking to you.”

I silently thanked that old lady from the museum in Synoria Outlook for recommending that exhibit to me.

“Anyways, I’m gonna assume you also know about how the three guilds of Orientalis came into power.”

“The aftermath of the Third Calamity Event forced the consolidation of civilization and guilds, resulting in the strongest three acting as the pillars of the three cities.”

“Very good. Of the guilds eliminated, the Merchants’ Guild was one of the ones that opposed the Snow Guild the most. Kiel, the guy whose balls you obliterated, is a son of that guild.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry about the consequences. He was essentially disowned.”

“...not surprising with that personality of his,” I muttered.

“Right? If I remember correctly, what remains of his guild joined up with the Steel Guild in Chalytus. His older brother is currently a part of their council, but I guess something happened between them and he was kicked out.”

“The Steel Guild… What’s he doing all the way over here in the West then?”

“Dunno. Knowing him, it’s definitely not good, but there’s only so much he can do under the supervision of the Snow Guild.”

A thought suddenly crossed my mind and I froze, unable to take another step forward.

“His title…”

“What?”

“His title ability! Did you receive a system message about that too?”

“Title ability..?”

Her expression soured.

“Oh. Back when the Manaflow System thing happened, I remember seeing something about me becoming a ‘target.’”

“That early on?”

“We met each other before the new system appeared. Back when I was still with…”

She trailed off, seemingly choosing her next words carefully.

“I mean, back when I was still a kid.”

“It was called ‘Vengeance.’ The only reason I can think of to explain his presence is that he’s plotting something against the Snow Guild.”

“He might be somewhat popular and a good fighter, but like I said before, under the watch of people like the guildmaster, he can’t do much.”

“Setsuya, huh? Yeah, I doubt Kiel could land a single scratch on him.”

She didn’t reply.

After a prolonged silence, I turned around to find her staring at me with narrowed eyes.

“Wow. No honorifics. I’ve been wondering for a while now, but just what is your relationship with the Snow Guild and the guildmaster anyways?”

Ah– So that’s what was up. I was the only person who referred to him by “Setsuya” while everyone else called him “Guildmaster” or “Guildmaster Setsuya.”

Naturally, omitting his title would make it seem as if I were really close to him or just disrespectful.

“Ah– Well, I can assure you it’s not a matter of disrespect– I just got to know him a little more personally during my time in Synoria Outlook.”

“So it is true. The story about you and him fighting off Seraphim, that is.”

“Ugh. I don’t know why everyone's so focused on us two. Yukiko and Se–”

“Anyways, having confirmed that all to be true, fight me.”

“What.”

“You must be pretty strong to fight alongside the guildmaster, right? I wanna spar with you.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off again.

“Think of it as a warm up for tomorrow. Besides, I’d say you owe me for the meal earlier.”

“Well when you put it like that…”

Was this really what she had been after this whole time?

***

“Hey, isn’t that the guy that caused a scene during check-in?”

“I heard he attacked Kiel… and he was being complimented too–”

“He’s not completely at fault. I was near the front of the line and Kiel was sounding a bit provocative… but still, I think what he did was a bit… much–”

“And that girl, she’s the one with the common title, right?”

“I wonder what she’s even thinking– trying to get into a guild with such a pathetic excuse of a profile.”

“I heard Kiel once say she was kicked out of the Shadow Guild…”

“Someone like her managed to get in the Shadow Guild?”

I shot a glance over my shoulder and our ‘visitors’ quickly lowered their voices, looking away to avoid eye contact.

“You know they’re badmouthing us, right?”

“So what if they are? We either gotta deal with it or prove them wrong. Anyways, the Snow Guild offers the best training spaces in all of Synoria and I can’t be bothered to go anywhere else.”

She was right.

“Fine. 30%.”

“Hm?”

“We’ll spar with up to 30% of our strength. We can save the best of what we’ve got for tomorrow.”

“Don’t wanna reveal your hand to me or them, huh?” she teased with a chuckle before adding, “That’s good enough for me.”

“Anyways, what weapon do you wanna use?”

I was getting a serious sense of deja vu.

“...I’ll go unarmed.”

“Oh? Now I’m even more curious about you.”

She grabbed a standard wooden spear and spun it around in her hands for a few moments.

“This one’s good. Let’s get started.”

We took our positions on opposite ends of the room, the unwelcome spectators still watching from the sidelines.

With a shout, she slammed the end of her spear into the ground.

“Alright! Show me what you’re made of!”

“Glad you’re finally getting into the spirit of things.”

I opened my right palm and allowed my mana to flow out from it, then clenched my fist, causing the azure energy to rush up over my arm.

[ Your aura has reached Stage 2 ]

At the same time, she widened her stance, sliding her hand down towards the bottom of her spear as she swung it behind her in anticipation.

[ Aria’s aura has reached Stage 3 ]

“Those two are still using basic auras? Pff, get with the times!”

[ Aria has activated < Aura Ability | Alter Zone - “Shadowless” > ]

I couldn’t contain my astonishment at those words.

After all, the only other person I knew who could have wielded an alter zone was Seika herself.

[ Aria has negated the properties of her own attribute ]