6th of Season of Air, 57th year of the 32nd imperial era

"You will regret this!" Guildmaster Barb shouted after Newt as he left the guild proper.

But before Newt managed five steps, he saw a familiar attractive blonde leaning against the wall. He took a moment to realize she was the woman who had managed the reception desk when he had first arrived. Newt strained his brain before recalling her name was Dolorna.

Dolorna's face was the opposite of Newt's focused frown - she smiled and waved him over.

"Dandelion passed by half an hour ago. When he saw you were still taking the test, he gave me a message for you." She looked left and right before leaning closer to Newt.

"Do you know Dandelion from before?"

Newt nodded.

"Do you have any tips?"

Newt stared at her.

"Any advice for me? Dandelion finally agreed to take me out for dinner, and I want to leave a good impression. What kind of women does he like? Any food in particular? Anything I should never say in front of him?"

Newt was trying to piece together what was happening before finally speaking. "He's friendly unless you threaten him. As for women he likes, I don't know. I think he was married and had children, but I'm no longer sure."

Dolorna thanked Newt and handed him a note, which simply said, 'See you at the adventurers' guild an hour before sundown.'

"Excuse me," Newt asked her for directions politely, and headed out into the street. Even while hurrying, focused on his goal, Newt saw more different species of saurians and shops in fifteen minutes than he did in his near-seventeen years.

The streets were still bustling and crowded, with uniformed guards patrolling them at regular intervals. The air smelled of saurians, people, and grilled food, and somehow, it wasn't as bad as Newt had expected it. He ignored the large store fronts and the smaller carts pushed by peddlers, finally stopping before a three story building made of white marble.

The Guild of Honorable Awakened? Never knew that was the adventurers' guild full name. Newt mouthed the words. Sounds clunky.

The entrance was eight feet tall and fifteen feet wide, and as Newt entered, he noticed that while there were no doors, an invisible barrier blocked heat, sound, and smells. Inside, the guild was a large communal chamber filled with long, ornate tables, which could seat twelve people, lined with comfortable-looking cushioned benches.

The hall was mostly empty, only three tables had patrons, two of which were lone men, while the final one was a group of five women in identical light-blue uniforms.

Newt's mindcore told him the loners were in the third realm, while the women varied, two in third, and one in second and fourth, while the last one was a freak of nature, a void in the world's mana.

The loners sipped their drinks without glancing towards Newt, but the women all looked him over, scanning his face and dismissing him. He met each of their gazes, but his heart quivered when he met the aberrant woman's stare.

It was like abyss staring at him, her young face contrasted by eyes which had seen centuries pass.

"Which organization do you hail from?" her clear voice cleaved the silence with physical force despite the words being hushed.

"Scribes' guild," Newt answered, clutching for straws, hoping they could pass for an organization.

"Of course you are," she nodded as if everything was clear to her, before she shifted her attention back to the doorless entrance.

Newt wiped the sweat off his brow, wondering what just happened. He walked deeper into the large chamber and approached the counter in the back.

"Good day," he said to the handsome young man standing behind the counter, reading a book.

The attendant closed the book and placed it on the counter face down, hiding its title, and focused on Newt.

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"Good day, Sir. How may I be of assistance?" The clerk was a first realm awakened, his bearing relaxed and pleasant.

Newt wanted to say he wished to join, but his mouth had other plans. "Who is that woman?"

"They are not members, and I do not know their identities, but their robes are from the Everfrost Order."

Newt had never heard of the Everfrost Order, but from the clerk's respectful tone, they were a major force. He considered asking for more information, but he was within earshot, and gossiping seemed like a terrible idea.

"Thank you." Newt smiled, even though the clerk remained impassive. "I would like to join the guild. Are there any tests or requirements before registering?"

The clerk nodded and pulled a crystalline device from under his counter. Newt tried not to look like a bumpkin as he examined it, but found nothing interesting about it, save for some lingering traces of mana.

"Just push your mana into the realmer. If your realm is higher than six, please do so carefully, you will have to cover the cost of the device should you damage it."

Newt touched the cold, smooth crystal and sent a trickle of energy inside, not because he was being careful, but because a trickle was more or less all he had after taking the test at the scribes' guild. The way he severed the connection with the maze artifact cost him most of his mana.

Three thick lines topped by two dots appeared on the instrument, and the attendant nodded.

"Second layer of the third realm. Your name, please."

Newt completed the registration in five minutes, then stared blankly at the attendant, his jaw slack.

"The annual membership is a second realm manarium piece? I don't have that kind of money on me."

The clerk took it in stride, his professional mask not cracking a bit. "You are free to pay your membership out of the first mission you complete, but until you do, you are forbidden from using guild amenities, such as the baths, sleeping quarters, and meals, unless you wish to sign a slave contract."

The man drew a fine scroll made of processed leather from beneath the counter, and Newt's stomach churned. He had no intention of signing over his freedom in exchange for meals and boarding.

"No, thank you." Newt's voice quivered as he shook his head a bit more forcefully than necessary.

The man gave Newt a long look before putting the runic contract away.

"You may have the status of a probation member until you pay your membership. You are free to select suitable missions and upon completing one, we would deduct your membership fee from the reward. As a third realm awakened, you are eligible for third realm missions, up to the ones labeled as sixth layer or any below. You may take more dangerous missions as a part of a larger group. The guild is not responsible for the accuracy of mission details, nor for any wounds and damages you may suffer."

The clerk paused and leaned over in the first show of friendliness. "Personally, if I were you, I'd stick to initial third realm missions and work my way up. As I said, whatever wounds and damages you suffer, you have to pay for treatment—"

The words died on the clerk's lips as he paled, and a chill akin to a frozen dagger ran down Newt's spine. He turned around, realizing the sensation wasn't fear or instinct, but an actual bodily reaction as the moisture in the common room's air condensed into ice and his breath grew visible. His skin stung from the unnatural flash of frost, which had already frozen his sweat.

"Are you Dandelion, once called Blackfist the Brigand, the former townlord of Hailstown?" A familiar, frigid voice slashed the air.

"Greetings, I am Dandelion, and I was once called by the titles you just mentioned. May I have the pleasure of knowing who is asking about me?" Dandelion's voice was smooth, his smile calm and natural, as if ice was not prickling at his skin and the weight of a mountain was not pressing down on the room so hard that both Newt and the seated loners shuddered.

The terrible silence drew longer and longer, lasting nearly half a minute, yet Dandelion remained relaxed, his smile casual. Finally, the woman spoke.

"I am Iceflow Frostgrave. Three moons ago, three rogues assaulted my granddaughter in the streets, and you fended them off all by yourself."

Dandelion shrugged. "I help lots of people. Beautiful women, especially, are my weakness."

Iceflow Frostgrave shot him a glare, but Dandelion remained relaxed.

"That is not empty bravado. You genuinely don't fear me," she said, perplexed.

"Why would I fear a senior knight of a chivalric order, whose descendant I saved in passing? Not to mention we are sitting in an establishment sponsored by the imperial family itself?"

The chill weakened. Newt could almost feel Iceflow Frostgrave's confusion, probably something everyone experienced the first time they met Dandelion.

"Did you cooperate with the attackers to get some benefits out of me?"

"No, I am not and was not related in any way with those who wished to harm you, your organization or your family."

Iceflow Frostgrave paused. "Did you pay them, or hire someone else to hire helpers."

"I did not. Nor did I in any way instigate the matter or make it happen. I recognized the uniform and believed I would get some reward for saving an initiate of the illustrious Everfrost Order."

"Lie to me," Iceflow Frostgrave commanded.

"I would never lie to you," Dandelion said, and a laugh escaped Iceflow Frostgrave, shocking the four ladies keeping her company.

"You really are sharp," she said, and Dandelion smiled back.

Iceflow Frostgrave stared at Dandelion, slicing him into thin strips with her eyes and devouring what she saw. Newt took a while to realize she was observing the former townlord with her mindcore.

"You are not Dandelion Blackfist." The air in the room turned solid. The nebula of ice crystals solidified into a swarm of icicles, which swam like a shoal of piranhas, and Dandelion's calm facade cracked for the first time since Newt had met the man.

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