บท 9: CH 9: Infiltration and New Acquaintances
"Alright, you're good," said an armored soldier behind a desk. His helmet was laid before him and his expression was of boredom. "Next."
The man standing in front of the soldier happily grabbed the stamped papers and took off.
As the soldier glanced up from his desk to see the next applicant, his eyes widened in surprise. The tall and broad-shouldered man in front of him was extremely handsome with smooth pale skin and brilliant violet eyes that screamed authority and confidence.
The soldier was taken aback. Someone like this was a person with a high backing for sure. He immediately straightened his posture and put on his best smile to welcome the esteemed guest.
"What can I do for you, sir?" The soldier asked politely.
"I'm here to apply for a position in Guidance," said the handsome man with a pleasant smile.
The soldier was surprised. He didn't think someone like the man in front of him would want to be a lowly soldier for Guidance. "O-Of course, sir. I just need you to fill out some papers and I can get you a spot in the examination for new applicants."
The soldier quickly gathered several sheets of paper and handed them to the man.
"Thanks," the amethyst-eyed man said, "I'll come back once I've filled these out."
Rylen took the papers and walked to the bench toward the front of the building. He was currently at a Guidance Recruitment Office in the center of Flourant, the city near the dungeon he had just come out of.
Several people of many different races were coming in and out of the building. Guidance was very influential in Exousia. If you wanted any sort of power, you needed to become an agent and climb the ladder of authority. Then you could accomplish your dreams of ruling over people, albeit with restrictions placed by Guidance on what you can do.
A minor city like Flourant was ruled by a Transcendent agent. Their purpose was to maintain the equilibrium of the city however they chose, with whatever laws they wanted.
Rylen didn't have a lot of data on these people of power, but it was only a matter of time before he was privy.
After half an hour of making up an identity for himself, Rylen returned to the front desk of the soldier. But instead of the one he saw earlier, it was a younger soldier who had his helmet on and dealt with each person more seriously.
'There must have been a shift change,' Rylen thought to himself while he waited in line.
"Hello, I filled out my information for the application exam," Rylen said once he got to the front of the line.
The soldier took the papers from Rylen and scrutinized every detail.
"Rylen Aptera?" He asked.
"That's me."
After checking over everything again, he stamped something at the bottom of the paper and handed it back. "Alright, you're good. The examination will take place two days from now at the arena down the street. Make sure to be there at 0800. Anyone that is late will not be allowed to participate."
Rylen nodded and thanked the man, taking the papers and leaving the office.
…
Later that day, as the sun touched the horizon, Rylen was walking leisurely down the central road of Flourant. As he passed by, many couldn't help but gaze at him longer than necessary. He gave off an aura of peculiarity, someone who was a lot more important than others.
Rylen looked at every shop he passed. He noticed that the cities he had visited so far were still lacking in modernity. The architecture reminded him of old French architecture in the 1800s back on Earth.
'I have seen people with modern technology here though. Maybe other cities are more advanced,' Rylen thought to himself while observing Flourant.
On the way down the street, Rylen caught a very savory aroma in the nightly air. Curious, he followed the scent until he was in front of a rather fancy-looking restaurant. There was an outdoor seating area with ambient lighting and the clientele leaned more toward the upperclass.
"Seems interesting. I'll give it a try."
Rylen saw a hostess stand and walked up to a young human woman with shoulder-length brown hair. Once the woman saw Rylen approaching her, she immediately checked her appearance in a hand mirror and put on a beaming smile.
"Good evening, sir!" She said with a little too much excitement.
"Good evening," Rylen said with a charming smile. "I would like a table for one, please."
"Of course!" She exclaimed as she grabbed a menu from under the stand. "Right this way!"
The woman turned around and headed into the restaurant with gusto. Rylen followed behind her, excitedly awaiting a good meal.
Once seated, Rylen ordered something the waitress recommended and enjoyed a splendid meal. Apparently, the food at this restaurant was imbued with essence, giving it a lot more flavor and rejuvenating the consumer.
After Rylen paid with the money he had stol– borrowed from a generous adventure group, he left the restaurant, much to the dismay of many of the customers and staff who were using him as eye candy.
Walking down the street, enjoying the view of the nightlife, Rylen noticed multiple pairs of eyes on his back. Without a change in expression, he walked into a secluded alley and abruptly stopped.
"You have good senses for a human," said a flirtatious voice from behind Rylen.
"What do you expect, Rayla," another voice said, this one higher pitched and more playful. "Someone with that much bloodlust must have been through a lot. It's only natural that his senses are higher than a normal human's."
The edge of Rylen's lips curved upwards. "My bloodlust, huh?"
"You reek of it, human," said the previous voice.
Four figures seemingly walked out of the shadows behind Rylen. Each had curved horns sprouting from their head and thin tails that swayed from behind. Two women stood at the front of the group, each with violet hair and piercing silver eyes that glowed even in the dark. The men standing to each of their sides had short black hair and the same silver eyes.
Rylen slowly turned around and analyzed their features. A glint of recognition shone in his eyes. Derrick's memories came in handy.
'Demons.'
"I'm sorry if I was rude," Rylen said with an amicable smile. "I don't really know how to control it."
The woman to the left with a seductive gaze smiled. "You're bloodlust is quite dense. Anyone below the Ascendant stage might not be able to sense it, but we noticed it when we were passing through this backwater town."
"We just got curious as to who held this immense thirst for death," The woman to the right said with a playful smile. "Me and my sister have a thing for men like you."
Rylen noticed the two men behind the women were subservient to them, so he ignored them for now. "Oh? I piqued your interest?" Rylen's friendly smile twisted into a more amused one. "My name is Rylen Aptera. May I know the names of you two beautiful ladies?"
Rylen's words seemed to have flipped a switch in the two sisters. The two looked toward each other and nodded.
The seductive woman to the left looked back toward Rylen. "My name is Rayla Armana and my sister's name is Cerulia Armana."
"Nice to meet you, Rylen," said Cerulia.
"We are wondering if you would like to have some fun?" Rayla asked. "As you may have guessed, we are succubi and we haven't had a meal in a couple of days due to our travels. Are you interested?"
Rylen was a little surprised by Rayla's proposal. He knew they were demons but succubi? Derrick or his team didn't have any interactions with this race, so Rylen's information wasn't solid. Of course, he knew the general knowledge of what a succubus was, but he never went into anything without all the details.
"You two are hungry?" Rylen asked with a devious smile. "I'm not aware of the method of your requirements for sustenance."
Cerulia's smirk widened and she slowly walked toward Rylen, taking his arm and hugging it against her large chest. "We can give you a lesson on how a succubus feeds if you want. I'm sure you'll enjoy it very much~"
Rayla mimicked Cerulia's actions and took Rylen's other arm in her embrace. "What do you say, Rylen? Want to have some fun with us?" She asked with a seductive smile, her eyes scanning every inch of Rylen's body.
The man in the hold of the two succubus wondered aloud. "Hmm… I wonder if I should…"
After a minute of pondering, Rylen's eyes beamed with unrestrained lust and a wide grin on his face. "I've been missing some fun in my life recently."
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