Chapter 8: Ouroboros
*Knock knock knock*
'Mmmmm…' I was once again rudely awakened from my precious sleep. 'Anne's probably outside again… maybe if I ignore her like all of my other problems, she'll go away…'
*Knock knock knock*
Welp, that was just wishful thinking I guess. 'Alright… number one priority: implement a snooze button into Anne's morning wake up calls.' I opened my eyes a sliver and sat up against the wall. Surveying my surroundings, I sighed confirming that I'm still in this world.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
'Alright Anne, if you knock one more goddamn time I swe-'
"Youth? Are you in here?" asked a familiar raspy male voice.
My anger instantly dissipates. "Yes, I'm here… just give me a second to put on something." I quickly reached for my shirt and tried to press down my bed hair in a feeble attempt to look presentable. I got up in a hurry and opened the door to be met with the elder from the affinity test. We stood in momentary silence as the Elder observed me. I felt my anger rising once again. 'Did this old man wake me up just to stare at me? Is this what it feels like to be in a technologically inferior world void of the internet?'
"Elder… why are you here on this fine morning?"
"Call me Boris, we'll be seeing each other more often so drop the formalities." He responded seemingly oblivious to my dripping sarcasm. "The council of Velia has offers for you regarding your future. We can speak as we go, let's head towards the Guild Hall, shall we?"
He walked out of my room without waiting for me to follow. I rushed to grab my sword and what few coins I have from my stand to match his pace.
"Elder Boris, what's this offer that you're talking about?"
"Just Boris is fine, and this is about your future. Arden, what are your aspirations? What do you want to do in the future?"
Geez, I thought I'd never get this question again after attending college but lo and behold… here we are again…
"I plan to learn the arts from master Caladan, and then potentially attend a Magic School."
"A magic school huh… it'd be a waste of your talent if you didn't, but how about another path? Why be a small fish in a big pond when you can just stay as a big fish in the small one? Stay in Velia and work for the council Arden. Agree to our contract and we can offer you an unimaginable amount of wealth"
Well, this is starting to sound awfully like a scam. I should try to probe him for more information… it wouldn't be good for me to just directly accuse this old man of being a scammer, right? I put my suspicions aside for the moment and continued. "What are the details of this contract?"
"Ah! I knew you'd be interested, youth. We can offer you additional training and schooling here in Velia. You'll work directly under the council and on top of that, we can guarantee you work for the next 25 years! We'll pay you 5 gold coins a month without fail. How about it?"
"Wait, when you say you can guarantee me work for the next 25 years, what do you mean by that? Can I not quit or something?"
"Well, why would you want to quit? The average income here in Velia is around 2 gold coins! We're offering you more than twice the average income! You would definitely live a comfortable life and your job will have more than enough security!"
Boris' voice was gradually increasing. He seemed like a completely different person than the old man of little words that oversaw my affinity test. He was also beginning to sound like a door-to-door salesman, and I don't like door-to-door salesmen.
"Sorry, but I'd have to decline your offer."
"Great! So, you can star- wait what. Youth, could you repeat what you just said for me? Maybe I'm just getting old…"
"I decline your offer, I don't want to do it."
"What?!? I saw the money beside your bed rest! Do you not understand how much money we're offering you? 5 gold is 500 silver, that's 50,000 bronze!!! You wouldn't even have to deal in bronze coins anymore!"
I made up another excuse and the conversation went back and forth as we walked towards the guild hall. I'll admit, the money is tempting. My bank account is sitting at 80 bronze coins at the moment so 50,000 is quite the raise. Back on Earth, my family was middle class so although I'd love to be rich, it's not like I grew up with a strong fixation on earning money either. There's definitely no way in hell that I'd sacrifice 25 whole years of my life for it though. Most of my regrets back on Earth stemmed from taking the financially safe route and not pursuing my passions, so how can I do the same here when I'm given another chance?
As we arrived at the entrance of the Guild Hall, Elder Boris was still bringing up reasons as to why I should change my mind. A lot of passersby were giving us odd glances. I guess our dynamic is not normal, an elder trying to persuade a newbie when it should naturally be the other way around…
As we walked into the Guild Hall building, I see Cris along with two of his friends walking out. It seemed like there was still a small dark spot where I hit him but most of the injury is already healed. It seemed like there was a limit to the healing magic here after all.
'Does he want revenge? Will he gang up on me this time?' I prepared myself for retaliation but as he walked by me, he looked away without acknowledging me. However, one of his friends beside him gave me a threatening glare as he walked by. Elder Boris was oblivious to it all and continue to spew about why I should be taking the offer. I think he's talking about how the lady at the front desk is single now, I tuned out for a couple of minutes, how did we end up here?
"Behind these doors is the Mayor's personal office. Before we enter, have you reconsidered our offer? Surely, I've provided more than enough reasons for you to change your mind, right?"
"Mmm… no, not really. I still decline."
"Wha-"
I ignored his next sentenced and opened the set of doors in front of me and walked into the office. Upon entering, I'm met with the town's mayor sitting behind a table littered with paperwork. The room was made of stone but had an enormous circular rug that seemed to be made out of the hide of some animal. Plastered along the walls were foreign maps that I couldn't recognize. Turning my attention back to the Mayor, this time, instead of Caladan, there were two others by his side. A man and a woman both sporting similar styled glasses stood behind the Mayor. Actually, their glasses weren't the only thing that was similar between them, it seemed like their facial structure and physique were also similar.
"Hello again Arden! Has Boris informed you about our offers yet?"
"Greetings Mayor. If you're referring to the 25-year contract, I have been informed of it and I've already told Elder Boris that I'm not interested."
The lady behind the Mayor is staring daggers at Boris, and he was making an obvious attempt in looking at anything else except the eyes of the lady. The Mayor's eyebrows were also raised slightly. I was a bit uncertain, would he try to change my mind as well? Then a warm smile replaced his surprise.
"May I hear your reasoning?"
"I have aspirations of attending a Magic School but even if I didn't, I don't want to be bound by a contract of 25 years."
"So that's how you see it huh? A binding chain…. very well."
"Mayor! Is that all you have to say?" Asked the lady behind him.
"Enough, I only humored this option because you two are my advisors. That does not mean I entirely support it." His expression softened as he turned back to me. "You know, most individuals would've just grabbed the money. I can appreciate your courage. What about the second one?"
"The second one?"
The mayor gave Boris a weird look.
"S-sir, we've been discussing the first offer the entire time so… so I haven't brought up the second one yet. My apologies…."
The mayor waved away his excuse with a hand and glanced back at the lady standing behind him. "If you would, Adriana."
She gave a nod and began to explain. "The second offer will have no contract. Instead, you'll be part of a special unit that takes on more dangerous and secretive quests for the council. You'll be paid no gold for just being a part of the unit, but you'll earn a lot more for the quests that you complete. We've rewarded anywhere from 5 gold to 50 gold per mission, so it's based on your own performance. What do you think?"
"That good and all but… am I good enough to be included in this unit? I'm not sure if I'm capable at my current strength…"
"Are you doubting the Mayor's judgment?" asked Adrianna.
"Haha, it's fine!" said the Mayor, "You may be right, but with your talent, you could easily exceed a normal guard in all aspects within a month's time, especially with Caladan's training. Plus, not all the quests will be a test of strength, your loyalty is also a big factor. I've already caught a glimpse of your strength and your character is also of my preference. We can easily get you familiar with the system as you're training. It's no doubt a risk for us, but I'm confident in my own judgment of character, Arden."
So an investment huh, I guess it's not every day you find an individual with an affinity of 95 after all. I'm barely scraping by as it is, if I'm not chained by a contract then I can give this a try. Plus, the Mayor seems to be a good man. "If you trust in my abilities then I have no reason to decline."
"Good, good. Do know that the nature of the group will put you in more danger than if you're just questing, will you still accept?"
Well, if I'm literally given such an overpowered cheat, it's not like I'm going to live as a baker instead. That'd make for an awfully boring story. "Yes, it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make."
"I like your decisiveness, that may save your life one day. Well then, allow me to officially congratulate you on joining Ouroboros, Arden."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone