Chapter 47: The Magicians
After a while, Stroph came to his senses and decided to approach them and ask what had just happened or otherwise he would just die of curiosity.
The man and the girl immediately noticed him heading their way. They figured that he had been waiting until they finished fighting and got tired and then he would attack them right away, like some kind of vulture.
So they prepared for another battle, but to their surprise, the young man walked toward them very relaxed and there was no hint that he had any ill intentions.
As soon as Stroph got close enough, he said, "Don't worry, I'm just looking for a company, I don't really feel like spending the night alone in a place like this, but that's not the point." Stroph pointed to the girl and after a slight sigh continued: "What was that? You didn't do anything, but in an instant, the book opened and the monster turned into a handful of embers, I've never seen anything like it."
He was sure that the girl had some secret, so he expected to hear a lot of excuses after his question, but it turned out to be exactly the opposite.
The faces of the people standing in front of him were rather surprised and seeing that Stroph began to feel a little insecure.
"Hi, my name is John and hers is Karen, we wouldn't mind if you joined us. About the open book and the lightning, Karen has a special kind of Spirit, she's not a fighter like most who awakened Spirit. Such people are called magicians, there are fewer of them than fighters, but it is pretty easy to meet a magician, it`s strange that you've ever seen no one before."
Hearing John's words, Stroph was slightly surprised, but quickly came to his senses, he understood that the world was large and there were many things obvious to others that might seem miraculous to him.
"My name is Stroph, is there some kind of transit point in this stone forest or may be something like that?"
"What? How did you even get here? I've never seen anybody who didn't know that there`s a town in the "Water Demon Stone Forest" before." It was Karen and unlike John, she was still on guard and didn't trust Stroph and his words only made it worse.
Stroph saw no point in hiding anything and answered honestly, "Well, I didn't want to waste any time so I just jumped off a cliff and landed next to a giant dandelion, then I heard the sounds of fighting and came to you."
"What?! You jumped? But how did you escape? Almost everyone who wanted to take a shortcut and landed in front of the dandelion was killed by the monster guarding it." Hearing Stroph's words, Karen was greatly shocked; they could barely handle an ordinary monster of the third rank. And the man in front of them, claimed to have been able to survive facing an incredibly powerful monster.
Stroph looked at the girl in confusion and said: "What do you mean, escaped? I killed it, the opponent wasn`t the weakest, but it`s a monster of the fourth rank and it makes no sense to me to run away from such opponents."
After his words, Karen simply didn't know what to say. John was just as taken aback that the young man in front of him was so strong.
"Sorry to be indelicate, but could you tell me what rank do you have?" John was absolutely certain that Stroph was a fighter.
Hearing John's question, Stroph wasn't the least bit embarrassed and answered easily, "I'm a fighter of the fifth rank and I take it you two are the magician and the third rank fighter, is that correct?" Stroph hadn't awakened Spirit yet and his stats made him look like the second rank fighter, but because of the Negative Energy he could defeat opponents who were much stronger than him, so that wasn't partly a lie.
Once Stroph said his rank Karen just didn't know what to say.
"Yes, that's right, we just recently awakened the Spirit, if you want you can come with us to the "Granite City." John remained as friendly as ever, but Stroph's power shook him to his core, so he couldn`t address to Stroph without respect.
"All right, I'll be glad of your company, how far is this "Granite City"?" Stroph didn't react in any way to John's slightly different attitude and with a light smile on his face agreed to go with them into the city.
"We'll make it before the forest plunges into darkness." Stroph nodded slightly upon hearing his answer and then they stopped their conversation and walked along the river.
…
About forty minutes later they reached "Granite City".
It was called so because two enormous granite rocks were crossed right above it and there was an incredible amount of granite around the city itself.
Stroph was happy because very soon they would enter the city, but for some reason John and Karen were not happy at all and with each step, the anxiety on their faces only increased.
"What's the matter with you? Why do you look like we're going to jail?" Stroph didn't understand why they were worried, but just in case, he decided to find out more in case there really was something wrong with the city.
"There's one problem, the city is run by the "Anarchy" and they let in only "theirs" or those who pay a fee." Hearing John's words, Stroph was worried too, for he had no money at the moment.
"Damn, this is a serious problem, I don't feel like sleeping among the cold rocks at all, I shouldn't have come here light." Stroph began to ponder what he should do and where he could get the money right now.
"Mr. Stroph, there is one more way to get into the city, besides "Anarchy" members and those who have paid, anyone who can defeat one of the guards one-on-one is allowed inside."
"Аh? Strange kind of conditions for getting inside, I have to cripple the guards, won't the "Anarchy" get their revenge on me later?"
"The head of "Anarchy" considers strength to be the most important thing in the world, so if you're strong enough, you can not only get into "Granite City", but you can also join "Anarchy" by breaking into their headquarters, knocking down several people in the process.
But it's because of the head's worldview that every "Anarchy" member is very powerful." While John was explaining everything, a little light flashed in his eyes, so Stroph easily realized that John wanted to join the "Anarchy".
"I take it you want me to defeat the guard and thereby get you into the city." Stroph understood all too well, but he didn't really mind. He wouldn't know the location of the city without them.
Though he had bought information about the "Water Demon Stone Forest", it included only what and how strong monsters he could find here. The map trivially wasn`t sold, Stroph didn't know why, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Hearing his words, John and Karen bowed their heads; they knew they were brazenly trying to take advantage of Stroph.
"Well, I don't mind walking you inside, dinner's on you." After these words, Stroph headed straight for the entrance and a bright smile appeared on his companions` faces. John and Karen didn't say anything back and just quickly followed him.