Chapter 2: The City of Metal

After spending a considerably quick time reading the whole of Merlin’s book, she closed the book and let out a long sigh of relief. “That maggot.- Always taking matters into his own hand. Tch.”



It seems many things have happened during her slumber. The great continent that she resided in that was formerly four countries, has turned into seven. The Great Council Conglomerate and the Serpasci Empire have both fallen.



It seemed she was wrong in her deduction. Merlin had actually put her to sleep for more than 100 years. Thus far… 200 has passed.



She wondered how Merlin was able to live so long. That was indeed something worthy of praise. She remembered the runt when he was just a kid, he could barely utilize magic and seemed to hold zero aptitude for it. To think that that level of growth was something he was capable of.



He encased himself in a timed capsule, a sheet of ice. The insanity. As she read the passages, she couldn’t help but view it as recklessness. In order to be still living at a time when humanity required his help most, he froze himself within this capsule for 70 years. He must have extended his time on this earth by at quite a lot. Re-emerging in the later half of this century. But like all beings, spares no one.



“As the years went by, I began to realize the presence of something -This malignant energy at the far edge of the northern deserts. By the time I had arrived at its source, the Serpasci Empire which sat atop the sea of golden sand , had all perished. So silently did such an event happen, that the world had not known about it.



The beautiful temples and architecture were all reduced to ash and rubble. And it’s desert structures scorched to glass.”



Oh? It could be the work of “him” … though I’m not certain. To turn a whole desert into glass, there can’t be many in this world capable of such a thing.



She continued to read on.



“Make no mistake, it was not Aias. This creature was not even human. It was one of the demonoid races. Though unlike the Howlers or Reapers, I’ve never seen or heard of this kind mentioned in any of the books. He referred to himself as a Demon Lord.



I engaged him in battle before he could amass too much power, and suffered many great wounds to vanquish it. However, I feel that it will resurface. I have only postponed the inevitable.”



Lusha closed skipped over many pages, stopping by at the next piece that caught her interest.



“As I had guessed, the energy is still there. I sense small faint traces of it here and there. It seems to be masking its energy with great effort. However, I’ve already made preparations.

I believe with these preparations, I can solve the problems of the demon king… and also the problem that ails you.”



Lusha’s eyes widened. Now her interest was captured for certain.



“When mortals are pushed continuously with an ever reaching goal in mind, they strive to get stronger and eventually many will. I realize this after much consideration with my increased abilities. To make a space for talented and non talented alike to strive for greater heights, I’ve created the perfect solution to harboring talent and the skills necessary to surpass threats of this world. To it, I dubbed the name…-”



“Adventurer’s Guild”



Lusha’s smile was now almost menacing. Was there truly an answer to her problem as simple as that? It seems after the guild many talented individuals have gathered there, and where Merlin was merely known as the greatest mage, there rose individuals that outshine his power by multitudes.



Individuals came from all over the world to partake in the Guild’s heroistic tales. And over God-Platinum Heroes had arisen since its creation.



For sure if she were to face one of these heroes, she can finally attain what she so desired. This was. . . This was . . .



“Marvelous!”



She shut the book as she had said those words. If there ever was someone she would be eternally grateful to, it was her student.



She discarded the book into her [Unexpendable Pocket] and prepared to set off. For once, she had set out to this world with a new sense of vigor. She arrived at the exit door and smiled enthusiastically. The two giant doors were composed of the same runic material as the pillars in her treasury room.



Veins outlined the doors in an intricate symmetrical manner, with a giant cyan orb resting in the middle. In order to open the doors, one would require a lot of aura. One that has been deemed unattainable by normal standards. This requirement was the same from entry to exit.



Unable to contain her excitement anymore, she pressed her hand against the door and released a portion of her Aura.

For any creature that was unlucky enough to have been within a 300 meter range, death was certain. The sheer concentration, and energy was enough to make even skilled warriors tremble and shiver.



Aura had a strange way of interacting with the atmosphere, though it is an ethereal compound, when density is strong enough, one can quite literally suffocate under just the pressure alone.



When the doors blared open, she was greeted by scores of deceased birds, deer, squirrels and shriveled plants.



But that was okay, the sun was out.



Her deep blood red hair was now at its full color. Though unfortunately, her features did not seem any kinder in the sunlight. Her eyes held an intense gaze to them that seemed to only portray three different expressions. Exhaustion, Anger, or Sadness.



It’s clear that she had not laughed, truly in quite a while.



She stepped out for the first time and opened the map that Merlin had provided her in the book. According to his statements, the Adventurers Guilds should have several offices and since it became a world-wide endeavor, they are centralized in every city.



“Let’s see. . . the nearest city would have to be Carthage, Part of Alzanabia." It has been a while since she had been awake. Prior, these forests had been uninhabited since their dawn. The only people that frequented the forests were often the beastkin from the eastern country Ahil’Ra.



Carthage was about 30 miles due east. She could simply teleport, but that just wouldn’t quite express her delight at the moment. With a running start, she leapt off into the sky.



One could see her tiny frame all the sudden explode outwards several meters into the air. Dust kicked up behind her leaving clouds of debris in its wake. It was hard to believe that a girl of 5’4 could produce that much power behind her. Surely a torrent of strength resided within her body.



As she launched herself up and got up to her peak, she spread her arms, flying through the air like a hawk. Her black cloak fluttered in the wind behind her. It was refreshing to try and regain her movements.



As she glided above, she could see that certainly the world had changed tremendously. The existence of structures she had never seen before surfaced. If she were to estimate the amount of time since Merlin’s death. It was about 30 years ago. His last note was of some sort of demon army amassing in the southern continent. It seemed he had been keeping up with the events for a while, and so far only the upper echelon of the Adventurer’s Guild are aware of the details.



Regardless, they have been largely successful in their suppression of the demon armies. With the help of the adventurer’s guild.



‘So it seemed he created something like this to deal with threats to humanity. Then no doubt, there are adventurers that are aware of Aias as well.’



Surprisingly, detailed within the book, Aias has been largely silent. Though she knew deep down that was not the case.



200 years . . . That man could not possibly rest easy for 200 years. He’s surely been doing many things behind the scenes. It would not surprise me if he’s had a hand in this new demon uprising.



15 minutes went by before Lusha abruptly stopped. It seemed she was here. The city called Carthage.



Her eyes widened at the state of things. The creativity and imagination of humanity had most definitely advanced beyond its primitive stages. Buildings towered to the heavens, and lights were used to spell words.



The city of Carthage was completely made of metal. Steam and smoke fled their surfaces. What kind of magic . . .



She lowered herself down, catching the attention of many bystanders. They all gasped as the arcanist descended.



She tried her best to ignore everyone looking at her and simply continued forward.



“Stop right there.” She was relieved at least the language had stayed much the same



She turned around to find oddly dressed men accosting.



“Hm? Is there something you need?” Her sharp piercing glare met the eyes of the man in the middle. She was slightly unsettling, despite not looking too intimidating at all. She kept her voice calm and nonchalant.



The man in the middle approached her, giving a signal for the other two to fall back.



“You were the one flying just now weren’t you?”



She figured the best way to answer that question was with another question.



“And what of it?”



“Well? If we’re not mistaken, you came down here from west of here?”



“Aye.”



“Very well, we’re going to need you to come with us then. I do hope you have your registration papers and documentation.”



“Tch. This is bothersome. I don’t have time for all of these questions.” Truthfully, if anyone had time, it was her. She was merely impatient.



“Miss, you do not want to make a scene. Our Task force is extensive. We also happen to have quite a renown adventurer happen to be in the city.”



“Hmm . . . in that case, I suppose there’s nothing I can do.” Her expression was completely sour. But she decided against causing a scene. Besides, the talk of a renown adventurer had piqued her interest.



Perhaps she can be led right to him