ã€ŠCentral Intelligence Ashitra (Isekai)ã€‹


 Prologue: New Beginnings

    The almighty god had a rather tacky office Kalden observed, he expected grand and exotic furniture, each of fascinating design and decoration, not whatever this room was, with ostentatious red lights, black walls and red couches, a pole was even placed in the middle of the room all they were missing was a scantily-clad woman dancing and copious amounts of alcohol.

    ¡°Welcome to my humble abode, Kalden Ruth.¡±

    The young man sitting directly opposite of Kalden on the armchair greeted.

    Kalden took a second to give the man a quick once over, his brain denoting anything from the person¡¯s appearance that could give a clue what he was like. Kalden took note of the man¡¯s slender physique, brown eyes, cheeky smile. Confident. His looks screamed juvenile, about six-foot-tall, about the same height as him, and judging by the clothes itself, a noble from the 17th century, with the long socks, dress shoes, breeches and puffy clothing.

    ¡°So, I take it you are supposed to be God?¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± the man laughed, ¡°the name¡¯s Redgrave, Kurogane Redgrave.¡± Stretching out a hand.

    ¡°Kalden, Ruth. Though I suppose you already know everything there is to know about me.¡±

    Redgrave expressions lit up at this, ¡°And I have to say you have a fascinating biography.¡± Two thick manila folders, similar to the ones that Kalden always used appeared on the oak table in front of the both of them. He flipped the cover open, on the first page was a picture of him, Sixty-five years old, the age finally starting to chip away at his looks, grey replacing black, wrinkles forming on his skin.

    ¡°It says here,¡± Redgrave continued, flipping through his copy of the file, ¡°You enlisted into the army at age 18, after high school, is that right?¡±

    Kalden nodded, ¡°Yeah, my grandfather was a marine, my father followed in his footsteps, I chose the Army because at the time I thought I wouldn¡¯t have to leave the states as much as my dad did.¡±

    Redgrave smiled at this, nodding with approval, as he continued to read, ¡°But then when you were 22, you decided to try out for Army Special Forces, now why is that?¡±

    Kalden shrugged, ¡°Not sure to be honest, at the time it was all about keeping up with the family tradition, both my father and grandfather were in Marine Raiders and MARSOC respectively, and I thought if they can do it, why not me.¡±

    ¡°Impressive. Very Impressive. Your subsequent performance in Afghanistan earned you a purple heart and a silver star-¡±

    ¡°That.¡± Kalden interrupted, looking away for a moment, ¡°Is not something to be celebrated.¡±

    ¡°And why is that?¡± Redgrave asked, with genuine curiosity. ¡°It says here your actions saved the lives of your squamates and a village of 200 people from Taliban attack.¡±

    Kalden averted Redgrave¡¯s gaze, taking a moment to admire his ceiling lights instead, ¡°I¡­ would prefer not to talk about it.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s about Corporal Jamerson, isn¡¯t it?¡± Redgrave glanced down at his copy of Kalden¡¯s file. ¡°It says here he was a childhood friend.¡±

    ¡°His mother was a friend of mine¡¯s. We never got fully acquainted until boot camp.¡± Kalden corrected, ¡°but, yes¡­ you could say he¡¯s one of the reasons why.¡±

    Redgrave nodded, ¡°I see¡­ So, after the¡­incident, you were fast-tracked for promotion, making Sergeant First Class at 27, then you decided to try for the Delta Force?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡±

    Redgrave smiled even wider, his tone growing more excited, ¡°What convinced you?¡±

    ¡°Action and glory.¡± Kalden immediately answered back, chuckling slightly, ¡°No, really, not exactly the glory part though, never was one for the spotlight, but CAG was an almost legendary unit when they came knocking who am I to turn down the opportunity to join their ranks?¡±

    ¡°Fair enough. But after spending ten years in there, you quit. Why?¡±

    Kalden cracked a small smile, ¡°I think you know why,¡± he said, lightly tapping the file.

    ¡°The CIA, Special Activities Division, Special Operations Group.¡± Redgrave drawled, ¡°You just could not resist, could you?¡±

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    Kalden shrugged again, ¡°When Bradford offered, it was not exactly a dream come true, never had a taste of the world of espionage until Delta, working in the grey area of international politics. But I had a knack for it, as well-being for the good of the country and all that, in addition to paying a hella lot better than the army.¡±

    ¡°Which then brings us to now, after another 15 or so years working for Special Activities Centre Special Ops and the Political Action Group, you were offered your first station chief position in Singapore, then Taiwan, then China and last but not least¡­ Japan, where you met your end.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s funny you know,¡± Kalden laughed, ¡°I thought for sure I would bite the bullet in Beijing, not the US Osaka Consulate office.¡±

    ¡°And what were you doing there?¡±

    ¡°Following up on reports that certain prominent members of the JSDF, and more worrying the Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office were colluding with the Chinese MSS, funnelling resources and the like.

    But I guess that was it for me then. I just wished I knew more of what happened. Hopefully, my comrades managed to catch the shits responsible, and find out what was going on with those officers in the CIRO and JSDF.¡±

    Kalden threw his hands up in defeat, as he sighed, ¡°Well, that¡¯s my trip down memory lane done. You can send me to hell now.¡±

    Redgrave smirked at that, ¡°What makes you think you¡¯re going to hell?¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m dead ain¡¯t I? heaven won¡¯t accept me, not after all the shit I¡¯ve done, not that I believed in it before.¡±

    ¡°But what if there is a place for you to go? A new world, where you can live a whole new life?¡±

    Kalden shook his head, chuckling. ¡°Frankly, it wouldn¡¯t make much difference, espionage and killing are all I know, it''s all I¡¯ve been doing, and I enjoy it. I enjoy it so much its like a drug to me. No matter how much fucked up things I saw, I¡¯ve done, I will still come back for more. I love it so much I sometimes scare myself. A person like me should never have a second chance. Period. I¡¯m a monster that should never have existed.¡±

    It took a moment, but a single tear slid down his cheek, before being quickly wiped away.

    ¡°There¡¯s no other place for me to go unless purgatory is a thing, that¡¯s hell in of itself.¡± He sniffed, trying to suppress his emotions once more.

    ¡°Now, now.¡± Redgrave cooed, ¡°You¡¯re too hard on yourself, you served your country admirably. You protected many lives back home, that¡¯s not what monsters do, don¡¯t you think?¡±

    ¡°Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss gazes also into you. While I¡¯m not the sort of person to quote Friedrich Nietzsche, I feel in this case it¡¯s quite apt.¡±

    ¡°And why is that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve spent too long fighting the monsters of my world, and I too have fallen into the trap and turned into one myself. You can give me all the chances you want, and I¡¯ll still do the same thing I¡¯ve done. I might be crying now, thinking back about all the shit I¡¯ve done, but I know if I weren¡¯t dead right now, I would carry on and keep on doing what I¡¯ve been doing for the past 30 years.¡±

    ¡°And what makes you think I want you to change? Or rather you should change?¡±

    ¡°???¡±

    ¡°Isn¡¯t that your job? You are god, right? Aren¡¯t you supposed to judge people for their sins and punish them accordingly? To make them repent?¡±

    Redgrave frowned slightly at that, confused before almost as quickly replaced with a small knowing smile,

    ¡°Ah, I think you have me confused with someone else. I¡¯m not that type of god, or rather should I say, those don¡¯t exist.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­¡±

    Redgrave waved his hand dismissively, and Kalden had the feeling he should shut up now.

    ¡°The way we work is simply too long and complicated to explain to someone like you, no offence, people like us are a lot more busy than it might seem.¡±

    ¡°I could imagine,¡± Kalden snorted sarcastically. ¡°But did you say ¡®we¡¯? as in there¡¯s more than one of you?¡±

    ¡°Of course! If it¡¯s only me, there will be no one to push my work to or play around with. It will get boring quick,¡± He huffed. ¡°but back to our main point¡­ what I¡¯m offering you is a once in a life-time chance. A new life in a new world, think about it, you don¡¯t have to answer to your superiors anymore, no more bullshit assignments, it¡¯s a whole new world! You can choose what you want to do, a clean slate, isn¡¯t that what people like you want? A clean slate to live a new life? Come on, take the chance, and live a little, don¡¯t you agree?¡±

    Kalden opened his mouth, only to find his well-crafted retort stuck in his throat, Redgrave was right, it¡¯s embarrassing to say it but he¡¯s right. He had been so caught up in his work that he forgot all about the other side of life besides work. His job in the military and subsequently in the CIA prevented him from engaging in any sort of meaningful relationship. Even social interactions were kept under wraps, done in the office, a measure to minimize intel leaks.

    ¡°Judging by your looks you agree with me, don¡¯t you?¡±

    Kalden slowly nodded, ¡°I guess¡­ but I have to ask, this world you want me to go, is it going to be like those fantasy Esque worlds I¡¯ve seen in Japanese media? Those, what did they call it¡­ ¡®Isekai?¡¯¡±

    ¡°Something like that. But The world of Ashitra is way past the medieval age, it¡¯s the year 11930 of the Unification Era there, or in earth terms, the early 1900s, just with fantasy-esque species and a touch of magic.¡± Redgrave explained.

    ¡°Ashitra? Unification Era?¡±

    ¡°Ashitra is what locals called their earth, apparently it''s what Earth means in ancient fairies tongue, unification era is the agreed upon notation system for the world, much like the common era you use.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ Then, are you going to give me some sort of ability?¡± Kalden was joking when he said that of course, but he did not expect to see Redgrave nodding to that suggestion.

    ¡°Naturally! It¡¯s standard procedure for any and all otherworlders to be given at least one ability of their choosing to use in life there.¡±

    Kalden¡¯s eyes widen at that, ¡°There are people from earth living in that world?¡±

    ¡°Yep. It¡¯s rather easy to spot them; actually, they moulded much of Ashitria, they or their ancestors are usually heads of states or other important individuals within the private or public sectors.¡±

    I see¡­¡± Kalden wanted to say more, but a sudden wave of dizziness and nausea took over him. His body suddenly felt wrong, out of whack, like everything was wrong, his mind screamed at him incoherently, in confusion while his breathing quickened and heart rate soared.

    ¡°What the fuck is happening?¡± Kalden wheezed, ¡°Everything feels weird like it¡¯s all wrong.¡±

    ¡°Ah. Hmm¡­¡± Redgrave pursed his lips, nervously, ¡°That. Might be my doing.¡±

    ¡°Wah?¡± Kalden slurred back, he wanted to reach out and grab the man by his collar and shake it but found no energy to do so, he doubted he could even move his facial muscles to express his rage at this point.

    ¡°It¡¯s¡­ I think it¡¯s easier to show you.¡± A circular mirror materialized in the man¡¯s hands, and he held it up, to show Kalden¡¯s reflection.

    What greeted him was not what he expected.

    He expected to see what he had grown used to seeing in the mirror every morning, a tired 65-year old man, with greying, balding hair and small shadows of wrinkles on his forehead.

    What greeted him instead was someone entirely different, still very much human, but with a face so young he¡¯s hesitant to call it a man. A teenager at best. Everything Kalden knew about his looks was gone, his greying balding hair had been replaced with a mess of brown hair, so were his wrinkles, and stubbles. The only thing that remained the same from his old look was his pair of dull, tired-looking baby blue eyes; without them, he might have mistaken the reflection for a picture of someone else.

    ¡°What the fuck.¡± the words came rolling out of Kaldens mouth like how a drunkard would as he felt more and more of what strength that remained in his body was being sapped away.

    ¡°Yeah¡­ Don¡¯t worry. It''s only a temporary side effect while your body gets used to the new body.¡±

    ¡°But why... ¡° A pause, as Kalden took another laboured breath, ¡°I¡¯m fine with my own body¡­ I don¡¯t need a new one.¡±

    ¡°Tsk-tsk-tsk.¡± Redgrave shook his head, wagging his finger as a broad, rather obnoxious grin spread across his face, not caring about the suffering Kalden splayed out on the bench beside him.

    ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, kiddo. This is a new world! You need a new body for the job. How else are you going to explore this new world? To experience its pleasures? To fight new enemies? You need a new body for that.

    ¡°You¡­¡± Kalden gave up. There was no point in arguing with him, better to let the darkness take him than fight it.

 Chapter 1. Choice

    ¡°Haaah!¡± The familiar sweet rush of air-filled Kalden¡¯s lungs and he bolted right up, his eyes readjusting to the surroundings. He¡¯s still in Redgrave¡¯s office, Kalden concluded, nothing of note had changed, besides the appearance of a cold glass of coke with large cubes of ice still inside

    Redgrave was still sitting on the armchair, reading a thick hardcover book, a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose, giving him a rather handsome, and nerdish look.

    ¡®The Journey of love.¡± the title of the book, written in flowing cursive golden letters.

    What a cheesy name for a serious-looking book.

    ¡°How long was I out?¡± Kalden groaned, pushing himself back up to a sitting position on the couch, rubbing his aching neck. His body still felt out of whack, but the feeling was milder now, disappearing with every passing second.

    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Redgrave hummed, glancing down at his watch, ¡°10 minutes, give or take, rather impressive; I must say, you woke up faster than anyone else who had their entire body changed.¡±

    ¡°No thanks to you,¡± Kalden grumbled, stretching out his limbs, lifting the glass of coke, testing his motor skills.

    ¡°It was a necessary measure,¡± Redgrave explained.

    ¡°Haven¡¯t we all heard that before,¡± Kalden muttered, taking a sip of coke.

    ¡°So, what now?¡±

    ¡®Well¡­ normally, this would be the time for you to come up with or choose an ability you would like to have. There are limitations to the scope of the power I am allowed to grant you, however, but do tell me what you want, and I¡¯ll do my best to accommodate.¡±

    ¡°¡­ I¡¯m going to need to think about this.¡±

    ¡°Take all the time you need; I¡¯ll be right here,¡± Redgrave answered, holding up his book.

    ¡°Right.¡± Kalden breathed, his hands reaching into his suit pocket, searching for the familiar rectangular object, only to find, nothing, his pockets were empty. Panic began to set in within Kalden.

    Fuck. The family heirloom was in my pocket. Don¡¯t tell me I lost it!

    ¡°Ah. Yes, I suddenly remembered something.¡± Redgrave suddenly spoke, looking up from his book. ¡°Normally, after one dies, they don¡¯t bring their possessions with them.¡±

    Oh. Wait, yeah. Shit forgot about that.

    ¡°But, in this case, I couldn¡¯t help myself. I believe these belong to you.¡±

    Redgrave placed three objects on the table, one, a slim silver cigarette case where the seal of the United States was proudly emblazoned, -E Pluribus Unum- Latin for "Out of many, one", the traditional motto of the United States. The black letter still shone slightly despite the red hue lights of the room, against its yellow banner.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    The second was a zippo lighter, its dents and discolouration showing off its years of age and use. A red logo was printed on its frame. Comprising of a skull wearing a beret, above the American shield sprouting two silver wings, below the skull an anchor, just above it was the black banner with the words,

    -MACV SOG- the V joining the anchor to connect to the skull.

    Kalden picked up the lighter, rubbing the logo almost religiously, this always happens when he picks up this particular lighter. He took a moment to look at the black, slightly faded blocky letters printed on the lid of the lighter just above the logo,

    ¡°James, Anderson, Ruth. MSG. Laos. 1970.¡± on the other side wrote a different set of letters

    ¡°Honor. Tolerance. Dignity.¡±

    The family creed.

    He then turned his attention to the last item on the table; it was a second silver Zippo lighter, this one was much newer than the previous one, its frame slightly smudged by fingerprints and the edges of its lid slightly chipped by constant use.

    Like the previous lighter, this one had a logo printed on it. This time two silver arrows criss crossing each other, in the middle, a fighting knife, and a black banner below it with the words in flowing cursive, de oppresso liber, the actual translation being

    ¡°from (being) an oppressed man, (to being) a free one¡±

    But the army prefered the translation ¡°To liberate the oppressed.¡±

    It was the motto of his old unit, the United States Army Special Forces, colloquially known as the Green Berets.

    He picked up the lighter, fiddling it around his hand for a few moments, feeling the familiar cold steel in his palm. He picked up the cigarette case with his other, retrieving a stick of brown cigarette from the row, placing it in between his lips.

    *Clink.

    A bright orange flame danced around the mouth of the lighter, and he placed the flame under the tip of the cigarette. But just as it could start burning, Kalden quickly removed it, and he looked up at Redgrave.

    ¡°Ah, sorry, I am allowed to smoke here?¡± he asked.

    ¡°I suppose it wouldn¡¯t hurt.¡± Redgrave huffed with a thin smile, as a crystal ashtray materializing itself on the table. ¡°Not that the other patrons of this room ever bothered asking.¡±

    ¡°Right.¡± Kalden nodded, returning to his mission of having a smoke.

    Redgrave waited for Kalden to finish taking his first puff, letting him deposit some of the ash onto the ashtray before speaking again.

    ¡°I am curious,¡± Redgrave asked, ¡°What¡¯s the story behind these objects, and why so many logos and engravings?¡±

    ¡°Do not underestimate the power of symbols Mr Redgrave. They give a man purpose, meaning. It shapes their values and beliefs far more effectively than most people give it credit for.¡±

    ¡°Is that your belief? Or the general consensus?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Kalden took a second drawn-out puff, letting out a huge cloud of arid grey smoke before he spoke again. ¡°There are those who will disagree. But,¡± Kalden shrugged, ¡°that¡¯s what bonds us together. Disagreements.¡±

    ¡°I see¡­ so, what¡¯s the story behind them?¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s nothing much to them really.¡± Kalden huffed, letting a third puff of smoke. ¡°The case was a parting gift from my colleagues in SAD when I became station chief.¡± he opened the case for Redgrave to see, inside was the seal of the CIA, with the motto of the Special Activities Division/Centre, ¡°Tertia Optio, Third Option, that¡¯s what we were, the third option.¡±

    ¡°Then what about this one?¡± Redgrave asked, holding up the lighter with the skull, ¡°Seems rather morbid.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that?¡± Kalden chuckled, ¡°it¡¯s the Ruth family heirloom.¡±

    Redgrave crocked an eyebrow in curiosity, beckoning Kalden to explain.

    ¡°This is the unofficial patch of my grandfather¡¯s unit. MACVSOG. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam ¨C Studies and Observations Group.

    The highly classified, multi-service United States special operations unit which conducted covert unconventional warfare operations prior to and during the Vietnam War.

    I¡¯ve never met my grandfather, outside of the grainy old photographs my father used to show me. He¡¯s still out there, in the depths of the Laos jungles with the rest of his squad. My old man used to tell me stories about him.

    Before he disappeared though, the lighter was sent via mail to my father, a present for his son¡¯s 10<sup>th</sup> birthday, along with a promise he would return. A promise which he would never keep. But my father still believes he will return, walk up the steps of the old family home, pop open a bottle of beer and sit down on the old worn-out armchair reserved only for him before lighting up a pipe.¡± Kalden choked out a small laugh, ¡°That old fool.¡±

    ¡°Anyway, that lighter once served the greatest man I ever knew, passed down to the second greatest and now mine. I intended to pass it down to the next generation.¡± A laugh, ¡°But, that¡¯s clearly impossible now.¡±

    ¡°The last one?¡±

    ¡°Not much story with that one, I needed a lighter, and did not want to use the family heirloom, so I had one made, engraved it just for kicks, also to remind me of my history, and what I¡¯m fighting for, hence the mottos.¡±

    ¡°Ah. I see. Well, enjoy your smoke, and tell me when you finally decided on an ability you want.¡±

    Kalden looked down at his zippo lighter, still twirling around in his hands, the logo of his old army unit shining in the light, this was the life he chose before he died for the first time, what¡¯s stopping him from doing it all over again?

    ¡°Actually¡­ I think I might have an idea.¡±

 Chapter 2. Suit Up

    <<Login Successful!>>

    The electronic voice announced through Kalden¡¯s phone speakers.

    ¡°There. That should give you access to all functions the webstore has to offer.¡± Redgrave cheered.

    It had taken a lot of bargaining and arguments, but they finally came to an agreement. At first, Kalden wanted the ability to summon anything he wanted, including people, that would be loyal to him and him only.

    But as Redgraved informed, such a power was too great, and breached the limitations he was allowed to grant to otherworlders such as Kalden. So, after much discussion, they settled on a ¡®webstore¡¯ system.

    Kalden¡¯s would now be able to summon his phone at will, and through it purchase items from the webstore. Anything and everything was for sale on it, fictional or otherwise. An option for personnel was even available if he could afford the initial and subsequent upkeep cost.

    The only exception was magic, potions and anything else deemed as supernatural in nature as to put it in Redgrave¡¯s words, the store only sells items that have a sense of reality to them otherwise it could cause more problems than solutions for everyone, including the gods.

    ¡°Thanks. But¡­ now what?¡±

    ¡°Now?¡± Redgrave exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear, ¡°Why, now is the time to go out! To have fun! Explore the world and all it can offer,¡± as he talked in that annoying sing-song voice of his, his body was doing dramatic twirls and dance around the room, his excitement unrestrained.

    He was in the middle of a third twirl when he suddenly stopped himself.

    ¡°Blast.¡± he exclaimed, followed shortly by both his hands slapping his cheeks, ¡°It seems I have forgotten some very important things.

    ¡°Clearly,¡± Kalden muttered, below his breath. ¡°Especially in the maturity department.¡±

    ¡°For starters, let''s get you out of that suit.¡± Redgrave pointed.

    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my suit? I¡¯ll have you know this is a 10 thousand dollar suit from Huntsman Tailors.¡±

    Redgrave crocked an eyebrow at this, his expression part amused, part unimpressed.

    ¡°Must be an exceptional suit, does it erm¡­¡± he sniffed, waving a circle his finger,

    ¡°Normally come with that shade of red in the middle?¡±

    ¡°Red? This a black and white- Ah.¡±

    Kalden¡¯s eyes widened, not so much shock, but more of quiet dismay. Besides costing the eye-boggling amount of 10 thousand pounds, making it the most expensive suit he had in his wardrobe, it was also his favourite.

    And it had been ruined, by the patch of dried blood, his blood. Both the jacket and his once dry cleaned; pristine white shirt underneath now had a large crusty maroon-ish red stain patch on it. The small bullet hole in the middle of the patch was just an additional insult.

    ¡°Damn it.¡± Kalden cursed, as he began tearing off the jacket.

    ¡°I thought as much,¡± Redgrave smirked, no doubt feeling smug about this whole thing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, leave it here and I¡¯ll have it dry cleaned and repaired for future use. Just wear these for now.¡± A set of neatly pressed and folded clothes materialized on the table as he said that.

    Kalden was about to reach over and grab a piece when he remembered the fact someone was in the room with him.

    ¡°Would you mind?¡± he asked.

    ¡°Oh no, please, do continue,¡± Redgrave replied, flashing a cheeky smile. ¡°I¡¯ll just be reading my book.¡±

    It was a simple outfit, a white tunic, slightly baggy pants and a leather belt. The only notable thing was a pair of black tactical looking Kevlar gloves, it looked like the ones he used back in the military, it even included the harden knuckle strip, but it looked a lot more stripped out of padding, thinner. It felt comfortable, snug in his hands, but at the same time, they felt civilian, trying to be something it wasn¡¯t. He¡¯s not sure why he was given it, but he put it on nonetheless.

    ¡°Do you have a-¡±

    Redgrave, without even looking up pointed towards the far-right corner of the room, where a full body mirror Kalden previously had not noticed, was placed. He took a moment to inspect his new look. His lean body frame, wild, brown hair combined with the clothes provided, made him look like he was about to go back to the Berlin night-club. All he needs is a leather jacket and some makeup, and the look would be complete.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    ¡°Aww. You look absolutely handsome, you.¡± Redgrave cooed, suddenly appearing behind him, his hands running down Kalden¡¯s back, moving dangerously close towards a particular part of his body.

    ¡°Hands,¡± Kalden growled in warning.

    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Got it, you alpha male.¡± Redgrave chuckled, withdrawing his hand but not before giving Kalden a small smack on the rear.

    Kalden rolled his eyes at this but said nothing more on the matter. ¡°I need a pair of new shoes. Dress shoes don¡¯t work well with casual clothing.¡±

    ¡°Of course,¡± Redgrave replied, giving a dramatic bow, and a shoebox appeared in his hands.

    It was a pair of black, heavy-duty combat boots, Kalden almost blanched at his. Memories of boot camp came resurfacing almost immediately. The leather in the boots was so tough back then to make them pliable and fit their feet well. They would piss into it and then wear them laced up tight until they dried, so they moulded to the foot.

    The thought, however, of having to wear piss-soaked boots for hours, almost sent him towards a melt-down during his first day. Until his comrades, kindly, with a bunch of expletives and nudging attached, told him of the cleaner alternative of soaking his boots overnight in a bucket of water.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what kind of expression you are doing right now, but I can assure you these boots will not eat you,¡± said Redgrave, handing the box over to Kalden.

    ¡°Can I have a different set of shoes? Boots are not my thing.¡± Kalden said, pushing away the box.

    ¡°Why not? These boots are sturdy, waterproof, go everywhere, and you can kick the shit out of someone with this and don¡¯t even have to worry about your own feet getting hurt. Stylish too.¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­ but I hate breaking new leather boots. I have enough walking with blisters on my feet.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about this one! It will fit perfectly, no blisters, I swear. God¡¯s promise.¡±

    Kalden looked at Redgrave suspiciously, scanning his face for any sign of a lie. There was none, only unbridled excitement and almost child-like joy, which could be considered suspicious.

    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll take your word for it. For now.¡±

    Gingerly, he took the boots, securing tightly, over his feet.

    God. that feeling. Can¡¯t say I miss this.

    ¡°Is it good?¡±

    ¡°I guess? We shall see. If I club you over the head with it, it''s a failure. So, anything else I need?¡±

    ¡°A few more.¡± Redgrave hummed. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to think up a few ways to assist you in your adventure without violating the rules imposed on me.¡±

    ¡°I assume you have an idea now?¡±

    ¡°Kinda.¡± Redgrave shrugged, ¡°kinda proud of it, though.¡±

    ¡°Oh? What is it?¡±

    Redgrave produced a black wristwatch, ¡°I noticed how people from your world seem to like using these, ¡®smartwatches¡¯ as a way to monitor their health, or do what they usually do on the phone, so I gathered, why not get you one too?¡±

    ¡°No. You did not.¡± Kalden breathed, his eyes widened in surprise as he slowly picked up the watch. On the surface, it looked like an ordinary digital smartwatch, but the faint orange glow and logo of a white phoenix said otherwise. This was a replica of the exact watch worn by the player character in his favourite third-person shooter ¡®lost division.¡¯

    Kalden felt like a kid receiving the gift he always wanted on Christmas. The smile on his face had been stretched to the absolute limit, yet it still wanted to grow wider.

    ¡°How did you know? I have been trying to get a replica just like this for so long!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a god. It¡¯s what I do.¡± Redgrave boasted. ¡°This is not all of course, besides monitoring your health, the watch works in tandem with your phone to act as a guide, download the smartwatch app from the app store later, there should only be one, it syncs up with your phone to allow the use of its various functions without having to take your phone out.

    ¡°This is one nifty piece of kit.¡± Kalden quipped as he strapped it securely onto his wrist with an almost childish glee.

    ¡°Now, on to our second item, to prevent you from getting stabbed the moment you step out of here, I would like to give you this.¡± A black cotton hooded jacket appeared in Kalden¡¯s hands.

    ¡°A jacket?¡±

    This was a significant downgrade from the watch, but it would be a useful piece of clothing, nonetheless.

    ¡°It''s not any ordinary jacket.¡± Redgrave huffed, ¡°you should know that by now. This is a jacket specially enchanted by me. Stab-proof, fireproof, waterproof, bullet-proof too, rated level II, stops anything up to .357 magnum rounds. Needless to say, still quite painful when hit. Does not protect you from internal bleeding, so do watch out.

    Also, despite its thin look, is climate controlled, it can keep your body warm at -50 degrees environments but at the same time cool in 50-degree weather, of course, you still have to dress appropriately, the jacket only covers your body, not the entire body.

    Next up, this one is rather simple, a pair of wireless earpieces, you don¡¯t have to worry about charging them, it runs off the latent mana in the air. It acts as earplugs too automatically. So You can hear people and soft sounds no problem.¡±

    ¡°Last two items on the list. Nothing special. You should recognize them easily. Just something to get you started.¡±

    A pistol holster and a knife in a sheath.

    ¡°An Hk Mk23, with all its attachments, and an S&W M9 bayonet. Hm.¡± Kalden nodded with approval. ¡°This will work wonderfully.¡±

    ¡°Glad you like it. With that, I think we are pretty much done¡­ Oh yes, one more thing. I need your phone for a moment.¡±

    ¡°What for?¡± Kalden asked, handing it over.

    ¡°My number, should you run into any trouble,¡± Redgrave explained, punching in the numbers into the phone. ¡°Here, I will try to help as much as possible without angering the others. Good luck!¡±

    ¡°Thanks. But I have to ask, why? Why me? I mean sure it¡¯s nice to have a new life, and this sweet ability, but I¡¯m not like those protagonists in those stories, I don¡¯t have a motivation, a goal to work towards.¡±

    Redgrave smiled at that, ¡°It¡¯s natural not having motivation, just live your new life, explore the place, I¡¯m sure you will find something or someone to work towards.¡± He paused, ¡°Ah, yes, I almost forgot.¡±

    Two thick envelopes appeared on the table, and Redgrave slid it towards Kalden.

    ¡°What is this?¡±

    ¡°5,000 denarius. The Remulan Kingdom¡¯s local currency and your wallet.¡± Redgrave explained, tapping on the first envelope. ¡°Should last you for a while, while you sort out what you want to do.¡±he opened the second one, revealing a stamped metal card with Kalden¡¯s new face on it, as well as a small booklet with some papers sandwiched in between.

    ¡°Of course, a new life means new identity papers, to prove you are a Romulan citizen. You¡¯re going to need an ID for practically everything here, if you lose any of these items, feel free to give me a call, I can whip up a replacement, for a fee of course.¡±

    ¡°And how much would that be?¡±

    ¡°2,000 denarius for each article. Steep I know, but that¡¯s what you get for losing your papers. Anyway¡­ A new identity and a hefty sum of money, the dream for every spy ain''t it?¡±

    ¡°Quite. But I¡¯m no spy, just an officer.¡± Kalden grinned slightly as he palmed the notes, stuffing them into his jacket pocket. ¡°Anything else before I leave?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ not really¡­¡±

    ¡°Are you sure?¡±

    ¡°Well¡­ there¡¯s just one thing, more of a suggestion than anything else.¡±

    ¡°Which is?¡±

    ¡°For a man of your skills, a relatively fast way to make money is to sign up in the adventurer¡¯s guild hall.

    ¡°Adventurer¡¯s guild¡­ Thanks, I¡¯ll keep a look out.¡±

    ¡°Good. Well, run along now, just step out of that door, and you can begin your adventure.¡± Redgrave gestured to the door behind him.

    ¡°Right. See you later?¡±

    ¡°Of course.¡± Redgrave beamed, ¡°Have fun now! Don''t hesitate to call me if you run into any trouble!¡±

    ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Kalden muttered softly, still not too sure about that as he stepped out, into a dark alleyway. That¡¯s when he remembered something important, he turned around to head back inside, but he was too late, he watched as the door slowly disappeared, replaced with dirty stone bricks.

    Shit. Now how I¡¯m, I supposed to get to the adventurer¡¯s guild?

    Kalden wondered, stepping out of the alley to join the crowd in the main avenue. His eyes caught sight of his solution almost immediately. The large neoclassical marble building is just directly opposite from him.

    The words ¡°Remulus Imperial tourism board.¡± Were chiselled out into the base of the steps of the building.

    Well, that was convenient.

 Chapter 3. Adventurers Guild Hall

    The Adventurer''s guildhall. Situated at the south end of the city, it was a much larger building than Kalden had imagined it would look like. The mock-up in the tourism board building did little to show off the scale of the building.

    A large neo-Baroque style building, its pillars and walls made of marble and stone. It still had some uniquely roman touches, a fountain with two statues of two exposed ladies pouring out water from their jugs and in the middle a giant statue of what looked like a roman soldier, armed with a short sword and shield.

    Kalden was sure there¡¯s some sort of special meaning behind this design, but it was lost on him, a single, ¡®nice.¡¯ was all he could think up every time he walked past the grandiose structure to get into the building.

    The interior of the building was as grand as the exterior itself. Carpeted floors, exquisite paintings hung from the wall, a few potted plants and flowers dotted the room, giving the place some colour and the all-important chandelier in the middle.

    But as eye-catching as the halls were, nothing could compare with the radiance emanating from the young white-haired elven lady walking towards Kalden. Her skin was so pale; the light was practically reflecting off her figure, Kalden had to squint his eyes slightly to read the name tag clipped onto her Voluptuous breasts properly. That if not the sunlight, he would¡¯ve been able to sneak a peek at the exposed part of her cleavage.

    ¡°Welcome to Reme¡¯s branch of the Adventurer''s guild. My name is Aspen, are you new here by any chance?¡± she asked, giving a curt bow in conjunction with the welcome.

    ¡°Ah, yes...¡± Kalden nodded, it felt unreal, talking to someone in a different world, not to mention an elf, in a new language.

    ¡°You¡¯ve come to the right place.¡± Aspen beamed, adding more brightness into the already blinding scene. ¡°Please, follow me.¡±

    She led him towards the large counter situated right in the middle of the room, in between two massive flights of stairs that led upstairs.

    ¡°Watch out for any puddles of water; we¡¯re doing some repairs on the dome.¡±

    She pointed out.

    ¡°Oh.¡± Kalden looked up, staring, in quiet amazement at the size and scale of the dome, it was one thing to see from outside, another inside. It was decorated with stained glass, wall paintings and iconography as well as swirling patterns and some small statues at the ring of the dome.

    A section of it, directly above him had been tarped off, with wooden scaffolding lining the surroundings. A figure could be seen climbing up.

    ¡°What happened to it?¡±

    ¡°One of the adventurers could not properly control their fireball a few days ago. Sent it flying.¡± Aspen explained matter of factly.

    ¡°And that is why, Usage of magic is prohibited in the guildhall.¡± A blond-haired female sighed, suddenly appearing from behind the counter, locking eyes with a surprised Kalden for a moment.

    ¡°Hello, you must be new here, the name¡¯s Tina, I¡¯m the receptionist of the guildhall. You?¡± She greeted with a wide smile.

    ¡°Kalden Ruth.¡±

    ¡°Well, Kalden, I hope you won¡¯t be as careless as that mage. A two-hundred-year-old mural was ruined by her rash actions. It¡¯s going to cost a hundred thousand denarius to restore.¡± Tina laminated.

    ¡°Right¡­¡±

    ¡°Come, ignore her, Tina¡¯s just bored, Rush hour does not start for another hour.¡± Aspen said, quickly leading Kalden up the left-hand stairs before Tina said another word.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    He was led up to one of the many rooms along the corridor, a simple office, a desk at the end, a lime green sofa set and wooden coffee table in the middle.

    ¡°This is my office; make yourself comfortable,¡± Aspen explained, in a warm but professional tone, ushering Kalden towards the sofa as she walked towards a small table placed at the side of the room where a tray of porcelain cups and a teapot sat.

    ¡°I have Tea, or would you prefer coffee? It¡¯s a new drink from La Plata. Silver country.¡±

    ¡°Do you have milk?¡±

    ¡°Fraid not, condensed milk is hard to come by these days, the current trade war with the Alverchest Empire is causing problems.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have some tea then.¡±

    ¡°Excellent choice.¡±

    Kalden watched as she spooned two teaspoons of tea leaves into the pot.

    ¡°Ah.¡± She paused, turned back towards Kalden, looking embarrassed.

    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we are out of sugar as well.¡±

    Kalden nodded, ¡°it¡¯s okay. Trade war?¡±

    ¡°Trade embargo actually. The federation traitors.¡± she practically spat as she brought over the tray, placing on the coffee table in front of Kalden. ¡°It¡¯s going to take a while for the bottle to boil, so while we wait, let¡¯s get your registration in order.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡±

    Wait, where did she get the water? And how is she supposed to boil it?

    Kalden¡¯s question was shortly answered when Aspen opened the teapot. With a few beckoning movements with her fingers, drops of water began to form, a few millimetres away from her fingertips, dripping down into the teapot, the drops turned into a steady flow, increasing with intensity every second, quickly filling up the pot.

    ¡°You look surprised. Never seen summoning magic before?¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ No,¡± Kalden shook his head, ¡°An acquaintance of mine knows how to. I just didn¡¯t know you do too.¡±

    ¡°Water summoning is a rather basic spell.¡± Aspen explained, chuckling, ¡°It¡¯s a surprise you have never seen it.¡±

    ¡°Living in the forests has it¡¯s downsides.¡±

    Aspen crocked her eyebrow slightly, with a curious smile. ¡°I see, then let me show you how people in the city boil their water.¡± She held a bright crimson red rock, ¡°this is firaium. Watch.¡± she held it over the teapot a moment, dropping it in the moment it began to glow slightly. A few moments later, the water around the rock began to bubble.

    ¡°Won¡¯t the firaium boil away all the water?¡±

    ¡°No, it shouldn¡¯t, firaium of this size only have about five minutes of charge, before I have to run mana through it again. Just enough to bring the water in a pot this size to a boil.¡±

    ¡°Fascinating.¡± Kalden mumbled,

    ¡°that it is.¡± Aspen nodded, ¡°but we have to get back to the matter at hand.¡± She said, sliding over a piece of paper, ¡°Fill this in for me, then I will need your Identity card and .¡±

    This!

    Kalden¡¯s eyes widened slightly in surprise, not enough to attract the attention of Aspen however. There wasn¡¯t much on the form to fill in, only requiring a name, the date, which a quick glance from his watch, showed it was 30th Junius 11929, RE, and some checklists to fill in, asking if he¡¯s over fifteen. Which he promptly did so with the fountain pen provided.

    It was not what was written on the paper that surprised him, but the language. There were two languages, the local language, which was a mix of Italian and Latin, and more importantly, Japanese.

    ¡°This¡­ this is Japanese, isn¡¯t it?¡± Kalden asked, sliding the paperback.

    ¡°Yes, yes, it is,¡± Aspen replied excitedly as she poured out two cups of tea. ¡°Here you go. Fresh leaves from the far eastern legation cities.¡±

    ¡°Thank you,¡± Kalden replied as he took a sip, white tea, its distinct light and slight taste spreading itself out in his tongue, there was an aftertaste to it, slightly bitter, and flat as well as some other strange tastes, Kalden could not precisely put his finger on.

    Kalden was not sure where that strange aftertaste came from, from his years of experience

    from casual tea brewing at home and abroad, bitterness indicated the tea had

    been steeped for too long, it¡¯s flat taste due to lack of oxygen in the water. But it might be some sort of new tea.

    ¡°How¡¯s the tea? Is it to your liking?¡± Aspen asked.

    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. This is my first time drinking it,¡± Kalden calmly lied, ¡°Is this how it

    normally tastes?¡±

    ¡°Yep. The one made by the tea shop in del Corsa tastes a lot better than mine, though.

    Must be the leaves, hers does not have a flat taste to it.¡± Aspen replied, her voice suddenly softer than usual, her cheeks growing a slight shade of red.

    ¡°I see.¡± Kalden nodded, taking another sip, ¡°I must try it sometime.¡±

    ¡°After we¡¯re done with this. We could um¡­ you know, go? Together?¡± she stammered,

    tucking her hair behind her ears, showing off its pointed ends.

    Kalden raised an eyebrow at this.

    Is she trying to hit on me? She was so professional earlier. What the hell happened? She is rather beautiful though¡­ can¡¯t deny that¡­

    ¡°I¡¯ll¡­think about it.¡± Kalden calmly answered as he fished out his ID card from his wallet, hand it over to Aspen.

    ¡°Huh.¡± Aspen hummed curiously, flipping the thin piece of cardboard in her hands as she inspected it. ¡°Where did you get this?¡±

    ¡°From the interior ministry of course.¡± Kalden lied, ¡°Is there a with it?¡±

    ¡°Oh, no, no problem.¡± Aspen thinly smiled. ¡°I just pegged you for an otherworlder, that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Ah¡­ I see, What made you think that?¡± Kalden asked.

    Damn¡­ I how did she guess, though? Rightly as well?

    ¡°Your demeanour, confident, yet wore an expression like a fish out of water and when I showed off my magic to you, though it was only a simple water conjuring spell, you looked surprised by it, you hid it pretty well but I¡¯ve seen many otherworlders before, their reaction to magic always surprises, though most of the time it¡¯s always in a rather dramatic fashion.

    ¡°I see¡­¡± there was a part of Kalden which wanted to tell Aspen that he indeed came from another world, but at the same time, he could imagine the publicity that would stem from a revelation like this, and right now, Kalden could do without attention.

    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not one Kalden? I can understand why you don¡¯t want to reveal such information, but its for your own good.¡± Her eyes narrowed, as if in warning that he should not lie.

    ¡°No, I¡¯m not, It¡¯s just my first time in the city that¡¯s all.¡±

    ¡°Well.¡± Aspen breathed out, ¡°Then I see no reason to hold you back any longer.¡± She said, standing up, as she handed the ID card back to Kalden, ¡°Now all we need is to go back downstairs to get your tags. Unless of course, you have any further questions.¡±

    Kalden shook his head, eager to get this over with. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡±

 Chapter 4. Out on the Range

    The lobby was starting to fill up with people when Kalden and Aspen emerged out of the office, men and women of all sizes, old and young, wearing all sorts of attire and armour, all very fantasy-esque. Their weapons too were very reminiscent of Dungeons and dragons. The only surprising thing was the lack of at least from what he could see, any traditional types of mages, those with the pointy hats and long stick. There were a few, but only a handful, so far, only 2 from the 50 plus people he could see as he walked down the stairs.

    ¡°Message boards show our current listings of available missions. You can take a look over there while you wait as I process your application.¡± Aspen pointed towards a giant corkboard that was plastered with paper in a neat uniform fashion, a first for any corkboard Kalden had seen before as she headed behind the counter once more.

    As Kalden looked at the board, however, his eyes scanning through the litany of requests, all generic ones, bandit hunting and the like, his ears picked out the not so hushed whispers between Tina and Aspen.

    ¡°So how did it go?¡± Tina asked.

    ¡°Fine, village kid from Versun.¡± Aspen sighed,

    ¡°Ahh¡­ What a waste. Here I was hoping he was an otherworlder.¡± Tina groaned

    ¡°Yeah I know right? He checks all the boxes! Good looking, confident, fish out of water look.¡± Aspen all but huffed. ¡°Here was I thinking I could finally hook up with an otherworld and all the fame and glory it would bring.¡±

    Seriously?

    Kalden was not sure whether to feel offended or proud of what he¡¯s overhearing from the two guild employees, but right now, they are definitely on his ¡®to avoid¡¯ list.

    ¡°Yeah, I know, right? Alica from the Toubonne branch got herself one just like this too.¡±

    ¡°But, how did you know he¡¯s a local? Did you ask him?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, kinda? He had the ID cards and passport ready, otherworlders don¡¯t have that right?¡±

    ¡°No... unless they were born here, but those ones are almost unnoticeable. Or at that point already has a party of girls with them.¡±

    ¡°Sigh¡­ Yeah, I know right¡­ Sigh¡­ when will my hero ever come I wonder¡­¡±

    Hopefully never.

    ¡°Ah, I forgot, I asked him out for tea, should I still go? I¡¯m not sure¡­¡±

    ¡°Why not? He¡¯s good looking, you never know. He might be good for you. Or maybe he¡¯s secretly one of those reborn ones.¡±

    ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t think so, look at his place of birth Vesun! That¡¯s farming country, out in the boonies. I doubt he even has a denarius to his name.¡± Charlotte huffed.

    Instinctively, Kalden¡¯s hand ghosted over the pocket where his wad of money hid.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    If you can¡¯t decide, let me do it for you.

    Kalden looked up from his mock inspection of the missions¡¯ board,

    ¡°Ms Aspen, is the processing complete?¡±

    Aspen looked momentary startled for a split-second, but quickly regained her professional smile,

    ¡°Oh yes, just give me one moment.¡±

    *Clank.

    ¡°Here you go, with this adventurer tag you are a certified adventurer. I wish you the best of luck.¡±

    Kalden looked at the tag, memories slamming back to him like a wave. The tag was made of steel, with a steel chain, in a style that was reminiscent of a dog tag, no, it was a dog tag. Kalden thought. Its purpose is the same. Information too, name, general description, he had held on to too many of them to know what it looked like and the weight it brought with it.

    ¡°Is something wrong, Mr Ruth?¡± Aspen asked.

    ¡°Oh no,¡± Kalden shook his head, just suddenly remembered I got to go somewhere after this.¡± he looked up at Aspen, with a faux apologetic smile ¡°Sorry but I won¡¯t be able to join you for tea.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay. Some Other time maybe.¡± Aspen looked more relieved than disappointed.

    ¡°Yeah, maybe¡­¡± Kalden wanted to leave, but he still had a few more questions he needed answering before leaving.

    ¡°With this tag, does that mean I¡¯m free to use whatever weapon I like?¡±

    Tina answered this, ¡°Pretty much yeah, except for guns, you need to go through a course here for that. Nothing too serious though, just some basic fire safety, cleaning and how to use it. Those are pretty expensive, however, so it¡¯s unlikely-¡±

    ¡°Oh, how do I sign up for that?¡±

    The two elves¡¯ eyes lit up in surprise.

    ¡°You have one?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, does this count?¡± pulling out the Mk 23 pistol, he slid out the magazine and ejected the round from the chamber just in case as he held it up for the trio.

    ¡°Oo¡­ that¡¯s definitely a gun, I haven''t seen one like this before though. What is it?¡± Tina asked.

    Kalden shrugged, ¡°A Heckler and Koch Mark 23,¡± he answered, quickly following up the answer with a question of his own, ¡°So where do I get my certification.¡±

    ¡°Ooh¡­ well, old man, Sivle is out back by the firing range practically all day, he¡¯s free most of the time since most people don¡¯t use guns. You¡¯re free to go find him at any time till 7.¡±

    ¡°Got it thanks, one last thing, ¡°Do you have any other missions besides those on the board, I see mostly bandit camps and gathering missions, they say they need a party of at least two? I want something that can be done in the city itself.¡±

    ¡°Hmm¡­ oh, yes we do have one. It¡¯s on a separate list. The missing/wanted person list.¡± Aspen pointed to separate board on the opposite side of where the mission board was tacked on. This one was messy, papers stapled on with no regard, it also looked much fuller than the missions board.

    ¡°We put up all the wanted people and missing people in and around the country on that board. The reward is stated in the paper.¡±

    ¡°Right. Thank you.¡± Kalden gave a curt nod and quickly left before either elves could ask any more questions.

    ==================================================================

    Despite the size of the Guild Hall, navigating it was straight forward, with signs plastered or hanging on every corner of the building, as well as a map, showing where one¡¯s current location and where everything else is.

    Which for a building as large as this was absolutely necessary, getting from the front desk to the courtyard at the back took Kalden 5 minutes of walking, having to put one eye on looking at the appropriate signs and another on the winding corridors least he walks down the wrong one.

    The courtyard was mostly a large outdoor training yard, as wide as the Guildhall itself but stretching out even further, till the edge of the forest in the distance, fenced off by a large chain link fence.

    A map of the courtyard had been helpfully placed on the entrance. Essentially, the yard split into several sections, the middle had several courts for sparring or other forms of hand to hand combat training, the left consisted of a single large target range and the right was made for more recreational activities with a pool dominating much of that area.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    As tempting as a dip in the water during this warm day sounds, there are more important things to do right now, he was here for the firearms qualification as there was no point in having his gun if he¡¯s going to get into trouble with the law for having it.

    There were several people already at the range, a group of about 10 people, huddled close together practising shooting with what looks like lever-action rifles. Their whoops and cheers every time one of their peers fires a shot sounded like a bunch of college frat boys that had too much to drink in a party.

    It was easy to identify old man Sivle, being the only one not huddled together in the group and clearly, being old. He was also the only one in the range wearing hearing protection. He was at the back, surrounded by gun parts, a disassembled bolt action on the wooden table.

    Kalden approached him and asked, ¡°Old man Sivle?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not old!¡± Sivle snapped, ¡°I¡¯m only sixty.¡±

    Woah. Younger than the past me but already lost his hair. That must have sucked.

    Sivle took a glance at Kalden and grunted, ¡°Huh. Guns must be getting cheaper if people like you can get one. I take it you are here for the gun certification?¡±

    Kalden nodded his head, ¡°Yeah, Aspen, the lady from the front desk said to see you?¡±

    ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m about the only one in this goddamn branch that can properly shoot a gun.¡± Sivle grumbled, his eyes glancing over at the group of adventurers as he got up from his chair. ¡°Did your gunsmith father give you one? Or are you here to get the certification to get one?¡±

    ¡°I have one,¡± Kalden replied, producing his pistol for Sivle to see. Whose eyes lit up at the sight of the gun. ¡°Can¡­ Can I have a look?¡±

    ¡°Sure,¡±

    Kalden handed the gun over to Sivle after making sure the gun was indeed empty, he¡¯s confident Sivle will be careful, but one could never be too sure.

    Sivle took the gun, slowly and carefully, as if inspecting a rare artefact, gave the gun a once over. Rubbing the black metal finish, peering into the barrel itself.

    ¡°A semi-automatic pistol. It¡¯s rare to see it ¡®round these parts, of excellent quality too¡­is your father from Almain by any chance?¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Kalden shook his head, ¡°I¡¯m from Vesun. Where¡¯s Almain?¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know where Almain is? ¡­ Oh right, Versun, farmer¡¯s country.¡± Sivle stood there a second, debating whether to say more, ¡°The Empire of Almain is not a place, it¡¯s a large country just across the Bergen mountain ranges to the north of us. They are known for their weapons. They made a gun like this too, so I thought your father might be from there too.¡±

    ¡°Ah, I see¡­¡±

    ¡°A Remulan gunsmith made this¡­ Vesun¡­.¡± Sivle muttered, something inside Sivle suddenly then clicked. ¡°What¡¯s your name boy?¡±

    ¡°Kalden Ruth?¡±

    ¡°By any chance¡­ is your father named Phillip?¡±

    Kalden nodded, it was a lie of course, but that was cover story Redgrave had provided him, the information written on a scrap of paper previously sandwiched in between the pages of his passport.

    The supposed son of Phillip Ruth, a famed gunsmith in the empire for his eccentric designs whom lived in the forests of Versun for the latter part of his life, and just recently, a week ago, died of pneumonia.

    Sivle looked stunned by the admission, and for a second, he stood there, his eyes staring blankly at Kalden before his hands suddenly shot out, grabbing roughly onto Kalden¡¯s shoulders, shaking it.

    ¡°What! That piece of shit had a kid and did not even bother telling me??¡± he practically shouted. ¡°How¡¯s your old man doing?

    Kalden looked away, lying about being the son of someone left a rather bad taste in his mouth, but it was a cover story, and he would have to stick to it unless he wants his status as an otherworlder to come to light.

    ¡°He¡¯s¡­ he¡¯s gone, illness took him.¡± Kalden replied, applying just the right amount of emotion behind the voice to express his sadness, but not too much to appear forced.

    Sivle stopped his shaking, briefly turning his head away, and sighed. ¡°Pestilence.¡± He tsked, ¡°Can¡¯t say I¡¯m not familiar with it. What a shame, our country has lost an extraordinary gunsmith, and she doesn¡¯t even know. What a shame.¡± He sighed again, ¡°No point thinking about it. Back to the subject at hand, your certification¡­¡±

    The certification was a rather simple affair, it was as Tina described it as. The same old basic firearms safety talk he had back in basic. Sivle used a revolver to show off how to clean it, the works. He even showed how to properly shoot a gun and the postures, Kalden felt like he was back in basic training again, just without a shouty drill sergeant by his ear.

    ¡°Well, that¡¯s the basics down. All that¡¯s left is for you to do is to shoot off a couple of rounds for me to judge your accuracy. Will you be using your gun or one of mine?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll use mine.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± Sivle led Kalden towards the range where a traditional paper target had been laid out. ¡°50 meters. Take your time. It¡¯s okay if you don¡¯t land your shots.¡± Sivle said, giving an encouraging pat on the back.

    The gun felt familiar in Kalden¡¯s hands, it¡¯s his go-to side-arm for much of his career in both the army and CIA after all. But this was a new body, and Kalden was not sure if his skills had degenerated after the last couple years of no practice.

    Oh well. That¡¯s what the range is for after all.

    With both hands steadying the gun, he took aim at the target and squeezed the trigger twice, loosening two rounds in quick succession.

    ¡°My, you are by far the best shot I¡¯ve seen in some time, this is not your first time firing a gun is it?¡± Sivle whistled when he came back with the results, two rounds, just slightly off centre with a small gap between shots.

    Kalden shook his head, ¡°No, I practised regularly back home.¡±

    Damn. I¡¯m growing rusty.

    ¡°Of course Phillip would train his son on marksmanship.¡± Sivle grinned, ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to get your certification approved, you can continue practising if you want.¡±

    Kalden waited till Sivle was away before slipping out his watch from under his jacket sleeve, tapping on the device to bring up the webstore app, purchasing four more magazines and a box of 50.45 ACP 185 grain JHP rounds for a grand total of 500 denarius.

    With a new paper target up, Kalden began putting rounds into it, practising his reloads, aim speed and accuracy. Hopefully, he would be back up to how he was back when he was in Delta by the end of the week. Doubtful he could, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to aim high, figuratively speaking of course.

    He was in the middle of sliding a fresh magazine when he felt a tug on his jacket behind him.

    At first, when Kalden looked around for the culprit he did not see anyone, it was on the second tug did he think to look down, it was a boy, at least Kalden thinks he is, his face was rather androgynous to say for sure, the top of the head had been covered with a hood, only allowing strands of greyish white hair to peek through.

    ¡°Hello?¡± Kalden greeted politely, bending forward slightly to order to come face to face with the boy.

    ¡°Erm¡­ Hi¡­ hello ¡­¡± the boy stammered, grinning nervously. ¡°My name is Rosen.¡±

    Kalden smiled softly at that, returning the greeting, ¡°Hello Rosen, my name is Kalden. Can I help you?¡±

    Rosen slowly nodded, his face flushed with embarrassment, ¡°This might be a weird request, but can you teach me how to shoot?¡±

    Kalden blinked, and then for the second time in surprise, he never had a kid ask him something like this before and he was not sure what to say, the few times he had seen kids at the range they were accompanied by their parents who themselves would be teaching their children the ropes.

    Rosen must have seen the apprehension in Kalden¡¯s eyes as he quickly fished out adventurer tag that was hanging around his neck, showing it to Kalden, ¡°I am sixteen.¡± He said.

    Despite his height and looks, if what the tag says is true and Kalden had no need to dispute that, Rosen¡¯s sixteenth birthday is only three months away. Making him only just two years younger than Kalden and also, the tag says he joined the guild last year, making the boy his senior in terms of work experience.

    ¡°I see¡­ Do you have a gun?¡±

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Rosen quickly produced what looked like a copy of the Colt Single Action Army revolver.

    ¡°Ammo?¡±

    A handful of brass rounds were fished out. ¡°Enough?¡± Rosen grinned.

    ¡°We shall see.¡± Kalden replied, returning the grin.

    He had to admit, it was rather fun, teaching how to properly shoot to someone in a much more casual setting, without the added worry of being shot in the back, unlike the ANA idiots back on earth.

    ==================================================================

    As it turns out, teaching someone basic fire drills, posture and how to properly shoot a revolver quickly while away the hours.

    Kalden had to admit, it was rather fun, teaching how to properly shoot to someone in a much more casual setting, without the added worry of being shot in the back, like the ANA idiots back on earth.

    ¡°Thanks, Kalden.¡± Rosen bowed, as he prepared to leave, it was getting late, the sun was starting to set, projecting the last of its golden rays of sunlight on purplish-pink clouds.

    ¡°No problem,¡± Kalden replied as he waved goodbye, he had elected to stay behind to continue his practise slightly longer. Old man Sivle had come and dropped off the certification earlier, which gave Kalden the added benefit of being allowed to use the range till 8 pm, two additional hours.

    As he watched Rosen¡¯s small figure disappear behind the frost door, Kalden wondered if he would ever see the boy again. Adventuring is a dangerous business, and from what he had heard from Rosen¡¯s own experience does not pay off at all at times.

    He shook away the thoughts, it¡¯s only his first day here in this world, no need to think too much about his current line of work yet.

    Another 100 denarius was spent for another box of ammo to fill up all five of his empty magazines later, and he returned right back to shooting, he was on his second magazine when he heard the collective shuffles of several people.

    Not a good sign.

    But Kalden ignored it, concentrating on counting the number of bullets left in his mag before needing a reload. He was just sliding in his third when what he desperately did not want to happen happened.

    ¡°Hey, kid. Nice gun, you have there. Mind if I borrow it?¡±

    Someone behind him asked, arrogance and juvenile cockiness dripping off him.

    Kalden all but rolled his eyes, people asking to try out someone else¡¯s guns in the range is not a rare sight, neither is it frowned upon, but they don¡¯t usually ask with an ¡®I¡¯m better than you attitude¡¯.

    ¡°How about no?¡± Kalden answered flatly, without even looking back, continuing his shooting spree.

    ¡°Now why not?¡± the voice sneered, jerking Kalden¡¯s shoulder¡¯s back, causing him to miss his target.

    That was dangerous, you fuck.

    Kalden turned around to face his assailants, as predicted, it was the ¡®college frat boys¡¯ they¡¯ve surrounded Kalden in his booth, every one of them being slightly taller than Kalden, were staring down at him with mischievous eyes.

    ¡°Because you guys will break it. Now buzz off.¡± Kalden warned, stuffing his gun back into its holster, zipping up his jacket as an extra layer of protection, before turning back around to gather all his loose rounds and magazines.

    ¡°Oi, look at me when I speak to you.¡± One of the guys in the group snapped, yanking Kalden back around by the hoodie.

    ¡°Now, now, be nice.¡± The one Kalden assumed to be the leader spoke up, wearing one of those broad fake smiles usually seen on TV.

    ¡°Can this get any more fucking clich¨¦?¡± Kalden cursed under his breath.

    ¡°You see¡­¡± the leader begun to speak, and Kalden pictured himself rolling his eyes, he can see where this was going, he¡¯s not going to agree of course, and this is going to be annoying as hell to deal with.

    ¡°¡­ my gun is not working, and yours looked rather special-¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Kalden replied, ¡°I can see where this is going, and my answer is no, fix your own damn gun.¡±

    ¡°Hey! Show Maita here some respect. His father is a senator!¡±

    ¡°And is that supposed to mean something?¡± Kalden huffed, ¡°he can be emperor for all I care. Just leave me alone.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s also the chairman of the Melarini gun factory.¡± Maita boosted.

    ¡°What does that got to mean?¡±

    ¡°It means that gun of yours is made by my father¡¯s company. So technically it¡¯s mine.¡±

    Kalden stared at the spoiled adult baby incredulously, as he jotted down his almost featureless features internally, deciding not to even grace the ridiculous statement with a response, Kalden climbed over the booth into the range, away from the pretentious group of people.

    ¡°Why you!¡±

    ¡°Oi! What are you guys doing crowding over there!¡± Sivle shouted, forcing the group to part.

    ¡°Tsk. The old man¡¯s back. Let¡¯s go guys. No point staying here anymore.¡± One of the group members cursed. Mutters of agreement rang out and they quickly slithered away, out of the range.

    ¡°Did they hurt you?¡± Sivle asked, concerned, as he gave Kalden a quick once over when he climbed back over.

    ¡°I¡¯m good, thanks, Mr Sivle,¡± Kalden replied.

    ¡°Mr Sivle. It¡¯s been a long time since anyone called me that anymore, they just call me old man nowadays. I like it.¡± Sivle grinned, ruffling Kalden¡¯s hair warmly. ¡°Sorry about this, I wish I could do something about Maita and his gang. But his father-¡±

    ¡°Is a senator, and the owner of a gun company.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I guess you already heard of them.¡±

    ¡°I have now.¡± Kalden huffed, ¡°Someone should teach that dick a lesson.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I wouldn¡¯t recommend that, as much as I would love to see that happen.¡± Sivle said with a cheeky smile, ¡°The Melarini family is obsessed with appearances and prestige, even the reason why Maita was called Maita was for prestige reasons.¡±

    ¡°What kind of prestige could even be garnered from that?¡±

    Sivle shrugged, ¡°Beats me, but the name is supposedly Japanese, and everything Japanese is considered prestigious to the idiots up in Capitoline Hill.¡±

    ¡°Ha. I¡¯ll like to see what they could even do to me.¡± Kalden laughed sarcastically, ¡°You got my certification?¡±

    ¡°Oh, right, here you go. Congratulations.¡± Sivle beamed, handing Kalden a second stamped tag. ¡°So¡­¡± Sivle looked up towards the gradually darkening skies, ¡°It¡¯s almost time for dinner, would you like to join me? My treat.¡±

    Kalden shook his head,

    He¡¯s most likely going to ask about my ¡®father¡¯. Best not chance it.

    ¡°A tempting offer, but it¡¯s been a long day, I just want to rest for now. Do you happen to know of any good inns nearby?¡±

    ¡°The guildhall offers rooms for its members, it''s cheap, but comfortable enough, a touch too cramped for my liking, however.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take it, where do I book one?¡±

    ==================================================================

    Sivle helpfully, with the help of the map, pointed Kalden towards the front desk of the Inn wing of the Guild Hall, which so happens to be where the tavern/restaurant was located. They walked there together in relative silence, with a few words of small talk exchanged, luckily, none about Kalden¡¯s supposed father. He¡¯s going to need to give Redgrave a call soon. But not know, with so much happening today, he just wants a good night sleep.

    When Sivle said the room was small, Kalden did not expect it to be this small, with about 12 square meters of space, excluding the bathroom, the large king-sized bed dominated much of the room, leaving only space for a small wardrobe in the corner and a desk.

    On the plus side, however, the bed was soft, and blankets comfortable, it was also long enough to fit his frame with plenty of space to spare. The room even had climate control, he¡¯s not sure how it works, but from a switch on the wall, he could set the temperature in four different modes, the higher the number, the colder it was. He then set the A/C to full before burying himself under the covers, drifting off to sleep.

 Chapter 5. The meet

    It''s another usual night in Redgrave¡¯s club, the heavy beats of electronic dance music reverberating through the halls, even with the added sound-proofing Redgrave could still hear it through his office/bedroom door.

    He was expecting another relatively quiet night, he had paid his dues to the head of the praetorian guards, his men would be more than enough to police any rowdy patrons tonight.

    At least until he glanced over at the CCTV camera footage outside and saw a familiar figure stomping down the hallways.

    ¡°Ah, fuck.¡± he cursed, deflating slightly, bracing himself for what¡¯s to come as he reached over towards his box of cigars, he¡¯s going need a distraction in his mouth, not wanting to slip up in front of what was arguably one of the most powerful women in the world.

    The door to the room burst open, and a young woman with flowing red hair wearing a regal peach dress barged in, storm clouds raging above her head, her high heels clicking loud with each fuming step she took.

    ¡°What did you do Redgrave?¡± the woman shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Redgrave.

    ¡°Nothing that would concern you. Hale.¡± Redgrave replied flatly, with a nonchalant shrug, he didn¡¯t even look at Hale, remaining hunched over at his couch, depositing some loose ash into his ashtray.

    ¡°Summoning a human very much concerns me. It concerns all of us.¡± Hale hissed, grabbing Redgrave by the collar, ¡°You know very well what could happen if HE gets wind of this.¡±

    ¡°Phew.¡± Redgrave blew out a cloud of acrid smoke into Hale¡¯s face, causing her to release her grip on him to cover her face to prevent any more of that horrible smoke, while she hacked the ones that did get in out of her lungs.

    ¡°You dick!¡± she raised her leg, about to stomp down onto the man below her when she stopped herself. She stood there for a second, composing herself, blew out a long-frustrated sigh before sitting down onto the couch opposite of Redgrave¡¯s.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you hit me, Hale?¡± Redgrave gloated, plopping himself down onto his own seat.

    Hale¡¯s eyes narrowed in further frustration, ¡°As much as I would love to, I still abide by the rules, I¡¯m not going to be like ¡®Him¡¯, I will not break the Accords just so I can strike a fellow god. Besides,¡± she combed her slightly frazzled hair, ¡°I¡¯m the wife of a Duke now, and I should act like one.¡±

    ¡°Oh right,¡± Redgrave chuckled, ¡°I forgot about that, congratulations by the way. Pity I could not attend.¡±

    ¡°You were not invited anyway.¡± Hale huffed, ¡°Now, answer the damn question. Who did you summon? And why did you not inform us?¡±

    ¡°Tsk.¡± Redgrave¡¯s expression darkened, ¡°How did you know it was me?¡±

    ¡°Everyone used up their available summons for the century. You were the only one with one left. Until now. You know what ¡®He¡¯ will do right?¡±

    ¡°Will you just stop referring to Nagumo as He already?¡± Redgrave snapped. ¡°It''s not like his name is cursed. Nagumo Touya is one of us, or at least was one of us. And I, for one, have enough of him lording all over us in our supposed vacation world.¡±

    ¡°And you think this one guy you summoned can help? Have you forgotten the last time we tried to put Nagumo back in his place? One man, against Nagumo¡¯s army, not to mention the ¡®hired help¡¯ he got. And that¡¯s if he does not betray us like that other one you had.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Redgrave clenched his teeth tightly, holding in his anger. He couldn¡¯t fault Hale, as what she said was unfortunately true. And despite her bitchy behaviour, she did have the group¡¯s best interest at heart. If only she was less of a bitch, Redgrave might even consider her a friend.

    ¡°He won¡¯t betray us.¡± Redgrave assured emphatically through gritted teeth, ¡°He won¡¯t even know the existence of us, of the group until I am confident, he can be trusted.¡±

    ¡°Hmpf.¡± Hale huffed, glancing at her watch, ¡°For your sake, and the group he better be. I have to go now.¡±

    Without a second glance, Hale left the room, slamming the door behind her, leaving a deathly silent Redgrave alone, with his thoughts.

    ¡°That damn bitch.¡± Redgrave chuckled weakly, leaning forward, reaching for his bottle of red wine, pouring out a large glassful.

    If she knows, Nagumo knows. They don¡¯t know exactly who the person is, but I¡¯m sure Nagumo is already searching for him. It¡¯s only a matter of time.

    ================================================================

    Lady Aubrite¡¯s tea shop, tucked in the corner of Del Corsa street was always a treat. The brew here was excellent, and the little pastries and steamed snacks heavenly, showcasing the skills she managed to pick up during her years of travel in the far east.

    It was just a shame for Aspen that she had to share the most loutish and uncouth man she had ever met. One would think dealing with Adventurers with huge flaming egos and insecurities would make her used to such behaviour, but Falsone was a unique one.

    Barely five minutes into their meeting and his lewd remarks were already leaving a bad taste in her mouth no amount of Jasmine tea or cake could wash away.

    ¡°I hate to stop your tirade on how jeans from Japan spoil the look of modern women Sir Falsone, but my work in the guild takes precedence,¡± Aspen said flatly, stirring her cup of tea in a slow bored fashion.

    ¡°Right, Right.¡± Falsone cleared his throat as he leaned in closer, his eyes fixated on one thing, and it was not Aspen¡¯s eyes. ¡°You said you had something new to report?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± A brown file was placed on the table, ¡°This is a copy of the file I have on an individual named Kalden Ruth, the guild¡¯s newest member.¡±

    Falsone raised an eyebrow at this, a small grin forming as he wrapped his fingers around the brown paper, ¡°An otherworlder?¡±

    Aspen nodded, ¡°He denies it, but I have my suspicions.¡±

    Falsone¡¯s grin faltered slightly, ¡°The department needs more than just suspicions Aspen, we are swamped with enough false claims as it is. Do you have proof? Something to justify spending resources on. What did your friend in Customs say?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s clean, no birth records, but he¡¯s in the system.¡±

    ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing more to say is there?¡± Falsone said, finishing his cup of tea as he got up to leave.

    ¡°Sir!¡±

    ¡°Until you get something new Aspen, this is going on the slush pile.¡± Falsone was about to leave but suddenly stopped in his tracks, without even looking, he whispered, ¡°Adelchi speaks highly of you Aspen, don¡¯t make me think its for another reason.¡±

    The grip around Aspen¡¯s teacup tightened, she waited till the heavy shuffling footsteps disappeared before finally letting out a long breath she herself did not know was holding in.

    Who does that grey, balding, fat, bag of skin thinks he is! Aspen¡¯s mind screamed hysterically, as she stuffed her mouth full with tea cakes and tea, in an effort to repress the sea of rage boiling inside and to prevent any compromising curses currently stuck inside her throat.

    I¡¯ll show him. I¡¯ll fucking show him. Just you wait.

    ===============================================================

    After making sure she wasn¡¯t being watched for the umpteenth time, Aspen inserted a denarius into the public telephone and lifted up the receiver, all the while her eyes scanned the streams of people walking past her closed-off phone booth.

    ¡°Number please.¡± The Operator, always a lady, asked in the same fast but polite manner that all call operators seem to have.

    ¡°Melarini 641.¡±

    ¡°Alright,¡± there was a short pause, quickly replaced with the ringing signal as the call connected.

    Mid-afternoon¡­ Aspen thought, as she glanced down at her pocket watch, Might still be asleep.

    ¡°Hello?¡± The voice of Maita Melarini asked, sounding hungover.

    ¡°erm¡­ Maita? This is Aspen.¡± She said in her softest voice.

    There was a loud banging sound on the other end, and some shuffling. ¡°Ms Aspen!¡± Maita all but shouted into the receiver. ¡°What can I do for you today?¡±

    ¡°Oh I just want to thank you for yesterday on the matter with the newcomer.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, No problem, anything for Milady.¡± Maita breathed.

    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear,¡± Aspen replied in her soft sultry voice, a small smirk forming on her lips. ¡°So, listen, about the dinner I promised you¡­¡±

    There were significantly more banging noises from Maita¡¯s end. ¡°Yeah? What about it?¡± Maita asked, it was apparent he was trying to play it cool, no matter how much his voice is saying otherwise.

    ¡°Would it be fine if we do it today? I know it¡¯s a little rushed but-¡±

    ¡°Today is good, no problems at all! What did you have in mind?¡±

    Aspen thought about it for a moment, ¡°How about, you choose the place, Maita?¡± She cooed, ¡°I¡¯m sure I will like whatever place you choose.¡±

    ¡°Then¡­ Then how does Atelier¡¯ La Cron at the foot of Capitoline Hill sound? They serve killer lobster.¡±

    ¡°That would be nice Maita, I¡¯ll see you at 7?¡±

    ¡°Of course! Of course, See you there!¡±

    Aspen hung up the phone shortly after.

    That was easy. She thought. It was nice, having the son of one of the Kingdom¡¯s wealthiest families pining after her, it made her job so much easier, not to mention the ability to dine at the most exclusive of restaurants, something her paltry guild and service payroll could never afford.

 Chapter 6. R&R

    <h1>Chapter 6.</h1>

    << Contact Left, Contact Left! >>

    <<Taking fire 9 o¡¯clock 200 meters!>>

    The all too familiar ¡®Flack Flack Flack¡¯ sound of bullets racked the UP-Armoured Humvee Kalden was in which he quickly answered up with his own dish of .50 cal machine gun fire from his M2 Browning mounted on the top of his Humvee.

    They drove over a small bump, and the Humvee lifted up, and for a split second, Kalden felt like he was floating, he was thrown out of his turret seat for a moment before he fell, back into the Humvee itself.

    <<Alpha 2-1, Alpha 2-2, Bravo team¡¯s victor just took a hit! I say again: Bravo team¡¯s Victor has been hit!>> His radio crackled.

    Kalden¡¯s eyes snapped open, the front of the Humvee was pratically gone, black scorch marks and small flames licking the crumpled hood, parts of the engine sticking out, his eyes turned to the driver side seat and widened in shock. There was blood, a lot of it, too much, mixed with burnt flesh and clothing.

    ¡°Wretch!¡± Kalden screamed, and the next thing he knew he was bolting out of bed, gun in hand, as beads of cold sweat formed little streams down his forehead, soaking his already drenched shirt.

    ¡°Fuck.¡± He silently cursed, his voice coming out hoarse and dry as he wiped away any stray tears, tearing off his shirt in the process. When he stepped into the bathroom, he stopped by the sink to briefly inspect his puffy red eyes before splashing some water on it; hopefully, they will return to normal after breakfast.

    ¡°Knock. Knock.¡± Two soft but firm knocks knocked against his room door. At first, Kalden though he was just hearing things and ignored it, but a series of heavy raps soon after the brief silence proved him wrong.

    Shit. Who could it be?

    Suspicious filled Kalden¡¯s mind immediately, none good. Quickly, he put on his discarded shirt, ignoring the icky damp feeling against his equally sweaty skin and grabbed his pistol, taking a moment press checking it to make sure it was loaded.

    With his left hand clutching the gun behind his back, Kalden gingerly opened the door slightly.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± he asked, keeping his head away from the opening, ducking slightly behind the door.

    ¡°Take a guess.¡± The same obnoxious silky-smooth voice from yesterday said.

    ¡°Redgrave? What are you doing here?¡± Kalden asked through the door, still debating whether to come out or not.

    ¡°What do you think? We need to talk.¡±

    Kalden was not particularly eager to talk to Redgrave, at least not at this time, call it paranoia, but the way he behaves just rubs him the way. His happy-go-lucky attitude felt like a front, a means to hide something darker behind it.

    Regardless of Kalden¡¯s own feelings for the god, he opened the door, gun still hidden behind his back just in case. What good it would do he did not know, at least he could say he went down fighting.

    Redgrave stepped into the room, staring down Kalden, ¡°Bad night?¡± he asked,

    ¡°I slept good enough,¡± Kalden answered dismissively, with a soft sigh, tucking the gun into his pants, disguising it as a tired back scratch.

    Redgrave stared at Kalden for a moment, and grunted disapprovingly, ¡°well, you look like a mess. Get yourself cleaned up and a change of clothes, we¡¯re going out for breakfast, my treat.¡±

    ¡°But you said we needed to talk?¡±

    ¡°That can wait,¡± Redgrave replied, flashing his signature smirk as he made himself comfortable on the small chair, propping his feet on the equally tiny desk at the same time.

    Not needing to be told twice, Kalden rushed into the bathroom, it was a good thing he forgot to take off his watch last night since his phone still inside his jacket on the bed. It allowed him to buy a new set of clothes, a towel and some basic toiletries.

    The water from the shower was cold, which though should not be that surprising in a world a century or so behind Kalden¡¯s old world, he still found it strange that despite the having air conditioning provided freely in its rooms, it could not provide a hot water function for its bathroom.

    After putting on his new change of clothes, discarding the old ones in the sink for now, and tucking his pistol into his pants, covering the outline with his shirt as best as possible, a temporary solution until he could put it back in its holster. This was one of the disadvantaged of the HK Mk23 pistol, made for the US SOCOM as an offensive handgun, it was large, making it hard to conceal, and as Kalden found out, very uncomfortable stuffed in between his thigh and pants.

    He took one last look at the mirror, making sure his eyes were no longer puffy and red, before emerging out of the bathroom, putting on his jacket and bend over to put on his boots.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    ¡°Where do you have in mind?¡± he asked, as he tied the laces uptight.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking Trattoria Lino. It¡¯s just a few blocks away from the guildhall, they serve some of the best traditional Remulan breakfast.¡±

    Kalden nodded, standing back up, ¡°Well, lead the way.¡±

    ======================================================================

    Breakfast in Reme is very much similar to a traditional Italian breakfast Kalden had back when he was vacationing there, a light breakfast consisting of a cup of coffee and pastries or for Kalden¡¯s case, a cup of hot Kawa, this world¡¯s version of Coca and Brioche, a puffy bread which he dipped into his cup of Kawa before consuming, letting the rich buttery taste of the bread mix with the bittersweet Kawa in his mouth.

    Redgrave, on the other hand, had opted to load the table full of food, piling the table with all sorts of local Remulan pastries and a type of breakfast skewer Redgrave called Birochi made up of Brioche bread, scrambled eggs and sausages. And he was consuming them with a kind of fury, relatively quiet, but fast and violent.

    Though Kalden did not show it, he was both amused and fascinated, with a dash of intimidation with the way Redgrave ate, especially when he bit into the biscotti like it was nothing without even dipping it into his cup of espresso first. The first and only time Kalden did that was during his first morning in Italy, afterwards. He thought the inside of his mouth had been shredded.

    The two ate in silence, making occasional glances at each other or at the street outside that was gradually filling up with people and vehicles, neither wanted to be the first to start.

    This went on for about twelve more uncomfortable minutes, by now Kalden had finished his share and was nursing his cup of luke-warm Kawa. Back on earth, he would¡¯ve without hesitation whipped out his phone to occupy himself, listen to some music or a video, but not here, that would just be inviting more uncomfortable questions.

    ¡°How¡¯s your new life being coming along?¡± Redgrave suddenly asked.

    ¡°Huh? Oh, fine enough.¡± Kalden grunted, shrugging, ¡°that cover story you gave me worked fine. Someone recognised the name however.¡±

    ¡°Ah.¡± Redgrave smiled, ¡°I thought it was the perfect cover, obscure gunsmith, with the same surname that recently passed.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not. Old man Sivle from the Guild Hall reconisged the name, seems to admire his work. What if he asks about my ¡®father¡¯?¡± Kalden snapped.

    ¡°Then you will just have to come up with something.¡± Redgrave shrugged, ¡°That¡¯s your specialty isn¡¯t it? Lying.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Kalden averted his eyes momentarily, ¡°Why the sudden visit anyway? Aren¡¯t you busy doing your godly stuff?¡±

    Redgrave¡¯s smile disappeared at that instant, the faintest of a frown replaced it instead.

    ¡°Well¡­there has been a problem I need taken care of¡­ and I was wondering¡­¡±

    ¡°No.¡± Kalden immediately replied.

    ¡°But you haven¡¯t even heard me out yet!¡±

    Kalden raised an eyebrow in surprise at the reaction, it was the first time he had seen Redgrave like this and his suspicion in the problem grew.

    ¡°I know a shit mission when I see it Redgrave, and I¡¯ve been in enough to last me two lifetimes over, the answer is no.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s just one target Kalden.¡± Redgrave sighed, running his fingers through his greyish hair, ¡°100 million dollars. Just one guy. That should make it worth your while, right?¡±

    ¡°At its peak, UBL (Osama Bin Ladin) was only worth half of what your guy is, yet it took an entire intelligence agency and years to find him. I¡¯m only one guy, in a foreign land I yet to even know how to properly navigate through. Find someone else, thanks.¡±

    Kalden replied coldly, he slid a ten-denarius bill. ¡°I know this is your money, I¡¯ll pay you back soon, with interest. Thank you for breakfast.¡±

    With one last curt nod, Kalden got up from his seat and quickly left, a part of him wanted to turn around and look, to see what expression Redgrave was putting on, but another part of him urged not to, he highly doubted the god would take kindly to refusals. But it was the right move, the job he was about to offer sounded too sketchy, the price too high for just a mere person.

    As morbid as that sounded if what he saw on the dark web was true, an average human life was worth only about ten thousand dollars, and if the reports from insurance companies are true, 50,000. If his experience in hunting UBL said anything, obtaining useful intelligence on the target will cost more than the reward itself.

    ==================================================================

    Since Kalden was already out and about in the city centre, he decided to do what he had been planning to do when he first arrived here, route familiarization. In Kalden mind, any good intelligence officer worth his/her salt needs to familiarize themselves with the layout of the city they are in within the first week.

    He might not be an intelligence officer anymore, but getting to know the city more wouldn¡¯t hurt, it¡¯s also an excuse for him tickle his inner history geek, it had already been salivating at the mere thought of exploring more of this roman-esque city. Reme was everything Rome should''ve looked like if the roman empire had not fallen. Even from where he stood, Kalden could see the bright white marble structures reminiscent of the ancient Roman temples up on the hills that dot the city.

    The wide avenue that cuts across the city was jammed packed with a mix of horse-carts, bird and lizard-like mounts as well as motor vehicles of varying shapes and sizing, one of them Kalden noticed looked very much similar to a Toyota Century, a very rare luxury car, back on earth in terms of design. He wanted to take a closer look, but the police bikes that were escorting the car managed to force an opening in the gridlocked avenue, allowing the car to escape from view.

    A wasted opportunity, but there was plenty more to see in the city, if the pamphlet he snagged from the Reme Tourism centre was anything to go by, there were so many landmarks, historical sites and museums dotted all over it was impossible to visit all of them in a day.

    Regardless, Kalden attempted to do so, with the aim of visiting every single historical landmark and monument in the city. It was more than just sightseeing of course, Landmarks are one of the important tools for any intelligence operative when it comes to mapping out a location, and throughout the entire stroll, would take short breaks in the maze of alleyways, away from prying eyes to mark every landmark he saw, be it a major historical site or just a fountain at the bottom of some steps, they were recorded down into the digital map via his smartwatch.

    This would be a good first step, once he¡¯s done with marking them all, he would have to start route familiarization, navigating the city without the use of his map. Enchanted by a god or not, Kalden always believed the fallibility of technology, it always fails when you need it the most.

    By the time Kalden reached the last major landmark designated to visit by the tourism pamphlet, the sun was already starting to set, a quick glance at his watch showed it to be 6.30pm.

    But it was just as well, as in the middle of the square where Kalden stood, was an impressive marble statue of a young boy, staff raised up high in one hand, the other wrapped around the handle of his still sheathed short sword.

    Due to the way it had been built, the reddish-orange sunlight splashed across the white marble, giving it a sort of soft glow to it, with the help of the sun reflecting off its staff, the statue looked like it was about to cast a spell, a giant ball of light to this darkening world.

    ¡°In Honor of the great Hero who saved the City of Reme.¡± The words were chiselled into the marble at the base of the statue.

    Kalden could not help but spend a good few seconds staring at the statue, he never thought a statue could ever make him feel something, but here he was standing before one, trying to figure out what was that feeling swimming inside him.

    Pride? Joy? Sadness? Kalden figured he didn¡¯t care, and just simply enjoy it, not everything needed to be meticulously dissected and deduced after all. Sometimes it was best to just let it be.

    He approached closer to the base of the statue and was pleasantly surprised to find out a small pond had been made right in the base of it, together with two small fountains, each depicting a little girl, barely clothed, pouring water out of her jug, into the pond where a colourful gasp of Koi fish swam around, children and elderly alike stood at the sides, tossing bits of bread, and other edibles into the water. The children watching with particular glee as the fishes fought over each other for a bite, thrashing up a shower of water.

    As lovely as it was watching Koi fishes form masses of white, red and gold Kalden was more surprised by the fact the Remulans had Koi fishes since it was a fish that originated from Asia. Kalden was under the impression the world here had roughly the same geography as earth.

    It was until he looked at the small plaque to the right of him did he get his answer.

    ¡°The City of Reme is grateful for the Amura generously donated from by our Japanese friends.¡±

    Well isn¡¯t that nice, they have their own japan here. I guess that explains why the adventurer¡¯s guild had it.

    Kalden then found an empty bench, and that¡¯s where he sat for the next hour, till dusk, simply taking in the atmosphere of it all, letting it all soak into his weary bones. This was going to be one of the few times he reckoned he would be able to rest, best to make the best of it.

 Notice: Overhaul of Story

    To all who read my story, first of all, thank you! It means a lot to me that you actually took the time to read my sorry excuse of a story!

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Source: ParkGee

    Second: I have spent the last week overhauling the previous chapters, adding some new stuff and changing parts of the story. I would highly encourage you to reread them and of course, tell me what you think! Thank you again, and have a good day! :D

    Do note that all chapters have been pushed back by one, starting from chapter 4 onwards sorry :/

 Chapter 7. The smell

    A week had passed since Kalden came to the world of Ashitra. A sort of routine had developed, wake up, change, freshen up, snag some of the complimentary sandwiches the Guild Hall prepares in the cafeteria, then dump the last night¡¯s laundry into the dry cleaning desk, along with the payment of 10 denarius. Then it was training in the Guild Hall grounds, for the next four hours, with an hour reserved solely for shooting training.

    Afterwards, lunch, which was whatever street food looked nice at the time while he was out in the streets of Reme, familiarising himself with the city. After an hour or so of wandering, it was either to visit one of Reme¡¯s numerous museums, of which entrance was free for Citizens of the Empire, or the grand library situated right in the city centre, a grand marble structure rivalling that of the Remulan Senate building situated just a few blocks away to read about more about the Remulan Republic and the wider world as well as its history and cultures.

    With marble statues and fountains seemingly a theme for the city, it was no surprise that the grand Library had one in front of its steps as well. It depicted a giant bird, rising out of a pile of books, its wings outstretched, casting a shadow on the people below.

    Every evening, at about 7 o¡¯clock, when Kalden is leaving the library, he would pass by the statue, and offhandedly deposit some loose change he had into the strongbox installed into the marble, a donation to the library¡¯s A-Book-A-Day programme, set up to create a culture of learning especially in the rural areas of the country.

    It was when he was depositing his day¡¯s loose change when he finally noticed, he was running out of money, the week¡¯s expenses had left him with about 3,000 denarius. Without any source of revenue, Kalden estimated he had only about two to three more weeks with the way he was spending his money. With ammo expenses taking the largest chunk, spending a hundred denarius each day just to keep his magazines topped up.

    It has always been a given that he would have to get a job sooner or later, the plan at first was to take two weeks to explore and familiarise himself with the city and the local culture, but with the rate he¡¯s been spending, Kalden came to the conclusion to get himself a job, one that paid well enough to cover his expenditures for the month.

    Which brings him to now, standing back in front of the missions¡¯ board in the guildhall, scanning through the plethora of request, and they did not look good. Majority of the jobs posted were either low paying security jobs, courier to some far-off land or worse, catacomb/sewer clean-ups and while Kalden has gone through his own fair share of sewers during his younger days, he had no intention of going back in there if he could help it.

    ¡°Hey there kiddo, how have you been doing lately?¡± Sivle suddenly appeared behind Kalden, placing a hand on his shoulder.

    ¡°Just fine Mr Sivle.¡± Kalden politely replied, ¡°Starting to get used to living here.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Sivle nodded, ¡°So, found a job you like yet?¡±

    Kalden shook his head, sighing, ¡°Not really, the bandit hunting request looks interesting enough, but having to look for them on the Reme-Almora highway is going to be tedious. And it''s not like the pay is great too, 700 denarius is too low for a job like this.¡±

    Sivle grinned, patting Kalden¡¯s back sympathetically, ¡°That¡¯s the life of an adventurer for you. The best jobs normally won¡¯t be posted here, they would have already gone to some famous Adventurer¡¯s company or adventurer. You do have to keep in mind, the Adventurer¡¯s Guild Hall, is here to facilitate agreements, nothing more nothing less.¡±

    ¡°Of course, they do.¡± Kalden sighed, rolling his eyes.

    ¡°You know, I¡¯ve seen you shoot, I¡¯ve also seen you fighting the dummies out in the middle court, you are a good fighter, why not join one of the companies? I heard the Ansar Company is hiring, rumour has it they snagged a big contract in the Kingdom of Usea, that place is always a money-maker for adventurers with skills.¡±A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Kalden thought about it for a moment and shook his head, ¡°Sounds too constricting for me. Besides, I would like to stay in Reme for the time being.¡± He answered, omitting the fact back on earth, he had worked with Private military contractors before, while most are fine, professional even, the bad ones had and still gave him nightmares till this day.

    ¡°If that¡¯s the case¡­¡± Sivle hummed, deep in thought for a moment, then his face lit up, ¡°Why don¡¯t you come with me? I¡¯m heading out to the town of Silmar tomorrow, I¡¯ve been asked to help with the establishing guild operations there.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s there at Silmar?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard?¡± Sivle grinned from ear to ear, ¡°A new dungeon was recently discovered there, and the Vitchiny Mining Corporation had just bought the mining rights. They are opening the dungeon up to adventurers tomorrow. Every adventurer without a job is flocking there in anticipation.¡±

    Kalden had read about the Dungeons before in the library, having been referenced in various books, and texts. The discovery of one usually being seen as a blessing, for the Dungeons brought with them tremendous wealth in two forms.

    Soulic crystals, crystals made up of pure mana, the key ingredient in producing potions and medicine, it also has many industrial uses, such as serving as this world¡¯s equivalent to a light bulb.

    And Sciontine, a highly efficient ore commonly used as a fuel source which while could be found naturally in deposits deep underground, the dungeons offered the highest purity and concentration of it. Sciontine was also found to be highly explosive in nature when liquefied and appropriately refined, making it the go-to ingredient for making things explode.

    To extract the Sciontine from the Dungeon, however, one must be able to traverse the entirety of the dungeon, and destroy its core, only then would the dungeon transform itself into one large cave full of nothing but pure Sciontine and Soulic Crystals.

    There is, however, a downside. Dungeons would continuously generate more and more wild animals and monsters, leading them to inevitably spill over to the surrounding areas, it¡¯s one of the reasons why the Remulan Republic has been continuously battling with aggressive wildlife and monsters, eight, now nine, of the world¡¯s twenty dungeons were located within the republic.

    But to Kalden, all that meant one thing, Money. The books have frequently gushed about the fortunes made by adventurers who worked in these Dungeons and Kalden was not about to let an opportunity like that slip away.

    ¡°What¡¯s the fastest way to get there?¡±

    ======================================================================

    From his vantage point on top of the hill, Kalden could see the town of Silmar just below, blanketed by a veil of smog from the nearby half-built factories, already in the process of belching out more smoke and just beside his boots, is the contents of his breakfast, deposited onto the ground due in no small part by the stench the cool morning wind brought with it.

    This was worse than the smell from the sewers, the air here smelled like human waste, rotting flesh and sulphur all rolled into one giant concentrate. Breathing the air alone felt like breathing in acid, each breath burning Kalden¡¯s throat and lungs. It was so bad that Kalden was tempted to get himself one of those full NBC suits with its own oxygen supply and he would¡¯ve if the weather was not so damn warm today. Which most probably made the smell worse and the fact the suits and oxygen tanks cost upwards of a thousand Denarius to run daily, made it a non-starter.

    ¡°Got it out of your system?¡± Sivle laughed, patting Kalden¡¯s back roughly, he looked completely unaffected by the stench, breathing huge lungsful of the corrosive air as if they were nothing.

    Kalden nodded weakly, still leaning against the tree for support before finally gathering enough strength to stumble back to the truck.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it eventually,¡± Sivle said in an attempt to reassure his passenger as he started up the truck¡¯s engine.

    ¡°I sure hope so.¡± Kalden croaked out softly, as he leaned into the truck¡¯s horrible excuse of a cushion to an attempt to make himself as comfortable as possible while they cut through the source of the smell, steeling his nerves and nostrils for what was to come.

    ==================================================================

    The guildhall here in Silmar was new, built only two weeks ago, when the dungeon was first discovered, made entirely out of wood, resembling an oversized cottage, a far cry away from the massive almost palace-like building back in the capital.

    At the back were where the public facilities were located, there were no proper toilets, just rows of outhouses, showering would be done by splashing cold water self-serviced from the only well with a small bucket in a small bathing booth outside. All that was left to do was to remove the picturesque rolling green landscape with rocky, dusty Mountains, add some sandbags and machine guns and Kalden would be right back at base, in Afghanistan, suiting up for his next assignment.

    He could not help but break out a small nostalgic smile at that, not so much the smell, that can die in a ditch for all he cared, which he supposes, was what the smell is in the first place, rotten caresses in the warm sun.

    With what¡¯s left of last night¡¯s dinner quickly covered up with some loose soil and gravel, Kalden promptly made his way inside the Silmar Guildhall.

    The inside was functional, a hodgepodge of whatever wood the builders could get their hands on, a small staff counter at the side, with the rest of the first floor was taken up by the pub which even in the middle of the afternoon was already full of adventurers, drinking, chatting and brawling.

    Old man Sivle had already found a table with a tankard full of what Kalden presumed to be ale in his hands. Kalden debated whether to join Sivle, or just head straight for the dungeon.

    He was leaning towards joining Sivle for a drink and was about to make his way towards the table when he saw a lady dressed in a guild uniform with a similar tankard in hand sit down beside Sivle and begun chatting.

    The dungeon it is.

 Chapter 8. Memories

    Kalden was not going to get used to the sound of the heavy steel bar doors anytime soon. The rattling produced by the dungeon gates made him feel like he was back in a certain prison in Iran. The air smelt the same too, dry, stale, with hints of foreboding attached to it, so is the lighting, dim, only slightly illuminated by the glow in the dark mushrooms, Sorooms, they were called, found only in dungeons, growing in the walls of the Dungeon, feeding off its energy. They reminded Kalden of the light bulbs that lined the hallways of Nhahriake detention centre.

    Kalden regretted coming alone, having to sit and talk with a stranger now seems like a much better than option that descending deeper into the dark abyss in front of him. Kalden briefly considered heading back up, but no, his ego would not have it. He¡¯s not going scared of just a little darkness.

    A groan. A low rumbling groan echoed into Kalden¡¯s ear, and he immediately tensed up, his gun already in his hands raised and ready with the safety thumbed off.

    ¡°The fuck was that?¡± Kalden asked aloud, his eyes scanning the darkness in search of the source of the groan, only able to see as far as the flashlight of his Mk23¡¯s underbarrel LAM could shine.

    Slowly, Kalden sidestepped towards the left wall of the Dungeon to where a bunch of small Sorooms grew on the floor, all the while the right side of his body tensed up in preparation for something to jump out of the darkness.

    So, numbed by the adrenaline for a brief moment, Kalden did not notice himself pressing his entire back against the wall. He took several more tense seconds of careful sweeping his surroundings, confirming there was indeed no one around before slowly, with his gun still up making his way deeper into the dungeon, using his flashlight to slowly sweep the darkness in front of him.

    ¡°It¡¯s just the wind. It¡¯s just the bloody wind.¡± Kalden whispered to himself. He knew that was not true, wind does not groan; also, there was no wind in the dungeon, but he clung on to the reasoning still, not wanting to think about it.

    Cold sweat clung onto the back of his neck, his hair stood on their ends, his eyes and ears were like an Aegis radar system, on full alert, looking out for anything out of place.

    The sound of iron bars rattling in the distance echoed through the dungeon, ¡°Please, let me out.¡± A voice choked out in Arabic to the left of him.

    Kalden¡¯s snapped to the source but was only met with the stone walls of the dungeon.

    ¡°What the fuck¡¯s going on?¡± he muttered.

    ¡°You got the wrong man. I¡¯m a tourist, a businessman.¡± Another voice in Chinese, this time behind him. Kalden turned, and immediately froze.

    The voice came from none other than himself, the old him, dressed in the same dirty, ragged white button shirt from that botched attempt in contacting an Iranian Monarchist group in Qom.

    He had been forced to squat on the floor, a board had been put between his arms, a stress position, meant to push his body to the breaking point. Standing in front of the blindfolded man was an Iranian revolutionary guardsman. Through his thick facial hair, Kalden could see the guardsman was bruised, bloodied and looked absolutely pissed off as he stood over the old him.

    Must be from the time I tried to escape.

    The guardsman was shouting, spit and froth spewing out of his mouth, but no sound came out.

    ¡°Like I said, you have the wrong guy.¡± The old him croaked, exhausted, and Kalden cringed as the boot of the guardsman impacted the side of his old head, sending him tumbling across the concrete floor, groaning and muttering hoarsely in pain.

    The guardsman then turned his attention on him, his blood-shot eyes locking onto Kalden, and a feeling of dread filled Kalden¡¯s stomach as he began to saunter towards him.

    Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°This wasn¡¯t how I remembered it¡­¡± he whispered, as his strength was suddenly sapped from his body. The music that had always been playing in the background via his earpieces suddenly stopped, and the much-dreaded silence filled the void.

    His gun slipped out of his grip, clattering uselessly onto the ground. Kalden wanted to pick it back up, but his body was no longer obeying him, he remained pressed against the wall, staring.

    For a brief moment, Kalden lost eye contact with the guardsman, and when he looked up again, the guardsman was gone, replaced instead with the bloodied, lifeless body of Cpl Jamerson ¡°Wretch¡± Lincoln, his BDUs blackened from the flames, burnt flesh could be seen at where the fabric had burnt away. His face was a blackened bloody mess, he used to sport a beard, but that had been burnt away.

    ¡°Wretch.¡± Kalden breathed.

    ¡°Kal.¡± He croaked, shuffling closer towards Kalden, like a zombie. his mouth twisting into a creepy, droopy smile, ¡°Are we home yet?¡±

    ¡°No¡­ it can¡¯t be¡­¡± the dread within Kalden was quickly replaced with guilt. ¡°You can¡¯t be¡­¡±

    Wretch¡¯s smile flattered, ¡°No? ¡­well that sucks,¡± disappointed. He staggered even closer, ¡°I really wanted you to try my mother¡¯s dim sum. Her store makes the best Xiao long bao in New York City. You love those don¡¯t you?¡±

    Tears began to well up, ¡°Fuck Wretch. Why here, why now?¡± Kalden¡¯s voice begun to crackle, as what strength remained in his legs disappeared, and he slid down onto the floor, his eyes never once breaking eye contact with Cpl Wretch¡¯s lifeless ones, despite the tears blurring his vision.

    The memories were flooding back to him, sitting in the closed restaurant, several bamboo steamers piled on top of one another, filled with piping hot Xia long bao. They smelled absolutely divine, but the atmosphere was anything but.

    Sitting directly opposite of him on the table were Wretch¡¯s parents, Mr and Mrs Lincoln, their eyes red and puffy from the tears shed. Mr Lincoln gripped the case which held Wretch¡¯s purple heart tightly as he shoved a dumpling into his mouth, more tears pouring out as he chewed.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Kalden whispered, as his body curled up into a tight ball, his head burying deeper inside. The guilt wrecking every fabric of his body and mind.

    A part of Kalden knew this wasn¡¯t real, someone was most likely fucking with him, making him see things, Redgrave being a prime suspect. But the floodgates were open, nothing could stop the tidal wave of guilt washing over every orifice of his being.

    A hand touched Kalden¡¯s shoulder, ¡°Hey-¡±

    Kalden looked up and saw the blurred figure of the Iranian guard once more. His body acted instinctively, and before he knew it, like a coiled spring, he lunged at the guardsman, pinning him down, as his S&W M9 bayonet, previously strapped to his ankle flashed against the figure¡¯s pale neck.

    ¡°Wait!¡± A vaguely familiar voice screamed.

    Kalden¡¯s hand froze, and his mind quickly retook control over his body as his tears were quickly wiped away.

    ¡°Rosen?¡± Kalden sucked in a deep breath, his entire body freezing in shock.

    ¡°Kalden?¡±

    For a moment nobody moved, neither did they breathe, they just stared into each other eyes, light blue meets dark green.

    Then something within Kalden clicked, and he recoiled away from Rosen, pressing himself against the wall, the knife in his hands disappearing off to the darkness with a loud clang.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Kalden said frantically, pulling Rosen back to his feet, squeezing him into a giant apologetic hug, ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry. I wasn¡¯t thinking straight, I thought you were¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine.¡± Rosen choked out, patting Kalden¡¯s back vigorously, ¡°Now let me go before I die for real.¡±

    ¡°Ah, right.¡± Kalden released Rosen from the hug, and an awkward silence now filled the two of them.

    Rosen looked like he had a million questions, but after a few seconds of intense staring, something beyond his eyes softened, and he gave one deep long sigh.

    ¡°Do you want to party up?¡± he asked.

    ¡°You want to party with me?¡± Kalden asked in astonishment, ¡°But¡­¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t.¡± Rosen cut him off, raising a palm, ¡°I have a million questions, but I¡¯ve seen enough people like you back home, there¡¯s no time for you war stories right now, I just want to go in there, collect some soulic crystals and get out. It¡¯s a dangerous job, and I would much prefer to have someone with me, even if he seems a little unhinged.¡± he said matter of factly.

    Kalden stood there, a part of him was taken aback by Rosen change of attitude, this was not the same innocent-looking 16-year-old he met back in the Guild Hall in Reme a week ago, he sounded more like his uncle, a grizzled steelworker whose only goal in life was work before fucking off back home.

    ¡°Yeah sure,¡± Kalden nodded, ¡°I¡¯ll party up. Thanks¡­ for not asking.¡±

    Rosen shrugged, ¡°Its fine, all I ask of you is to accept me for what I am.¡± He flipped down the hood that had been covering the top of his head, and a pair of cat-like ears emerged out of Rosen¡¯s brown half of his hair.

    ¡°!!!¡±

    Kalden was not sure which to be more surprised, the fact the boy had cat-like ears, or his hair having two colours, dark brown from the roots, white from the midsection down to the tips or the cat ears that complimented his human ones.

    His eyes went for the ears in a heartbeat, Rosen¡¯s hairs were a dime and dozen, regularly seen on social media, but actual cat-ears on a human, that was a different thing entirely. A Felihoma, part human part beastman, one of the many ethnic groups that made up the larger Hybrid race, they had been mentioned extensively in the history section of the Grand Library.

    Though already armed with the information, Kalden still could not help but stare in awe at them, his mind still trying to come to terms with the fact that yes, he was not dreaming, nekos are a thing here in this world and damn, does he want to touch those fluffy ears.

    Rosen quickly noticed however and he flipped the hood back up, using his hands to press his ears back down once more so they won¡¯t jut out of the fabric. He glanced over at Kalden, mumbled something below his breath and turned away.

    ¡°Never mind, you would never work with a Felihoma like me.¡± He muttered softly.

    ¡°Now why would you think that?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve seen that look before, that dumbfounded look.¡± Rosen hissed. ¡°You think I am a freak, don¡¯t you? A product of the demon lord.¡±

    ¡°Do you really believe that? Are you really a freak?¡± Kalden asked, ¡°Because, I don¡¯t.¡±

    As Kalden spoke, he closed the distance between two of them, placing a hand on his head, slowly pushing the hood away, letting the ears pop back up, massaging them. ¡°Your ears are fine Rosen.¡±

    Rosen snapped up in surprise, his cheeks flushing a tinge of red as he brushed Kalden¡¯s hand away, ¡°Stop that¡­ it tickles.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, couldn¡¯t help myself.¡± Kalden chuckled slightly, he held out a hand, ¡°Since we know each other¡¯s embarrassing sides already, what do we say we be partners? At least for the duration of this exploration.¡±

    ¡°You are the only human I¡¯ve ever made that actually does not find my ears disgusting.¡± Taking Kalden¡¯s hand, shaking it vigorously, ¡°I accept your offer.