Chapter 8: Sorcolaze
Satisfied with his intense preparation, Ian stepped forth out of the moonsprite's cave as a much stronger man. His awakening started him out at a meek level of power, where if he was the slightest bit more unlucky, only death would be at his doorstep.
Artemis met back with Ian's familiar face, feeling a slight hint of some sort of an oppressive aura from him. This caused her to be wary of him and his hidden thoughts. Only with more information on who he was would she feel safer.
"So you've returned… What could have taken such a long period?"
When faced with this intruding question, Ian chose to simply lie. Having people know of his abilities already could get dangerous. If someone wished to nip him out of existence before he became a threat, then they would have an easy time doing so.
"I had to go figure out how stats work since I'm still a bit new to this land. I'm deeply sorry if I became an inconvenience."
The lie Ian constructed on the spot seemed sincere to Artemis, but it couldn't explain the rare critical hit he was able to inflict on the boar and the faint oppressive feeling that was omitted from him. However, she wasn't planning on wasting any more time on such small matters as these.
"I understand. Now that you're back, we must head to the village of Sorcolaze quickly. This grassland will be full of dangerous beasts that only Experts can defeat."
With that, they began the journey to Sorcolaze, the land of nurturing heroes to fight against even the most fearsome armies. Along the way, several parties of people could be found roaming to fight off weak Novice rank beasts. It seemed as if the concept of grinding1 was not foreign in the Afterlife. There were no short amount of people that wanted to be the strongest, and Ian became jealous of these adventurers who were able to begin their path to ultimate power before him.
In the distance, European-style houses could be seen along with large crowds of both men and women completing their casual activities such as buying and selling goods. Among all the buildings, one seemed to stand out the most. Artemis noticed Ian staring at this specific building for a prolonged time, and decided to at least inform him about such buildings since he'd be spending a decent amount of time in Sorcolaze.
"That golden, large building is this town's Adventurers Guild. Those guilds can help you increase your power exponentially and give several other perks. It wouldn't be a bad idea to sign you up there after visiting the Forge, which is the true hidden treasure of this town."
Ian's interest was immediately piqued. It seemed as if those adventurers he was viewing before were simply doing work for the Sorcolaze Guild. It'd certainly make it a lot easier for him to have a guild give him quests instead of having to find his own.
After Ian made his plan to live life to its fullest in this village, they eventually arrived at the doorstep of the Forge Artemis seemed to enjoy quite a lot. Before they even entered, however, shouting could be heard from inside, along with panicked voices.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
low_STR
low_STR Make sure to add this story to your collection, everybody! I sincerely appreciate any support put towards EPA.
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