Dark Lord: Rise to Power

Arin looked around. The person was nowhere to be seen, lost in the crowd. He didn't mind it much and went onwards. He had more pressing matters to deal with—money and information were at the top of his priority list. He decided to talk to the Guild Officials to update them on the completion of his quest and discuss the next steps. The Guild Hall was completely different from what he had seen last time. Previously, he had found it nearly empty. This morning, it was packed to the brim. Most people were bruised, with bandages here and there. But only a few were crying in pain. Most were getting drunk, shouting, or boasting about their exploits from the previous night. It closely resembled the shady but lively bars and clubs of Arin's past world. "Only if there were some hot chicks," Arin chuckled. Memories of some short but beautiful encounters flashed in his mind, making him blush without realizing it.

Suddenly, Arin's short romantic reminiscence came to a halt when he bumped into something soft yet firm, promptly followed by a strong fist to his face that sent him flying a bit away, landing on his back with a huge thud. Amidst the uproarious laughter around him, he heard a female voice, "Where are ya lookin', ya country bumpkin?"

Arin shook his head as he slowly stood up. A maiden with an extremely fair complexion, auburn hair, and a very strong muscular build stood before him. She gave him a sudden Viking vibe.

Arin instantly used scrying to find that her level was 12. But her name, class, and stats were hidden; he probably needed a higher level of scrying to know more about her.

"Has my punch made ya brain fly further away, or do ya love to keep starin' at beautiful ladies like a fool?" she taunted Arin.

"Not only brain, but his vision must fly further away if he considers you beautiful!" someone spoke from the crowd.

"WHO IS THIS, MUD BRAIN COWARD? SHOW YA FACE!" she shouted at the top of her voice. Silence was the reply she received.

Before Arin could process what was happening and make a reply, a wooden mug full of beer was pressed against his mouth. "Drink it," she smiled as she extended the mug to him. "Ya'll feel better, chap!"

"Thank you," Arin said as he snatched the mug, which was about to break his skull from her force. "Thanks again!"

"Why twice the thanks?" she asked.

"One for the beer!" he raised the mug, then rubbed his cheek. "Second for letting me experience flying without casting any spell!"

The lady burst into laughter and patted his shoulder. Arin felt like his shoulder might get crushed. He wondered how much strength a Level 12 Adventurer should have. "Heya weakling," she extended her fist, "It's me, Ragna Stormbreaker, daughter of Rahog Stormbreaker from the Icespike Clan!"

Arin thought about how to approach the situation and decided to fist bump with all his might to impress the warrior lady. "I am Arin, Arin Drez," he said. "Son of Johan Drez."

She pulled a chair for herself and Arin. She sat on her chair and gestured for Arin to sit on his, which he followed.

"Drez," Ragna raised an eyebrow, "never heard of the surname. Well, I have never gone outside the tundra anyway!"

Arin smiled and nodded.

"Me, a level 12 Barbarian, what about ya?"

Arin choked on the beer and started coughing vigorously.

Arin had thought that these notifications he was receiving were his special power. He did not imagine that this level concept was well-known in this world. It was completely normal the way she asked him. But again, he wondered why she was asking him about his level instead of just looking at his level, like he used to do.

Arin feigned a smirk, "Well, why don't you check it yourself?"

"I am no Archmage!" she said. "Unless you let me see your status window, how can I know?"

Arin now got a clear idea. First, advanced mages could peek at others' status, not everyone. Second, people could share each other's status windows.

"I am a Level 4 warrior," Arin replied. He did not want others to know he was a mage because the only spells he could cast were Dark and Necromancy, and he did not want others to know that about him.

"Warrior?" she found it unbelievable, "Even if you are a level 2, you seem stronger than a level 4 warrior, but you are not exuding the aura of a warrior. I actually thought of you as a mage or a rogue!"

Arin felt a strong urge to check her stats for what she just told him, but it would give her the opportunity to ask him to share his status window with her as well. So, he curbed his urge and replied, "I know that class division, but I consider Rogues as Warriors as well. Just because we don't wear armor or wield heavy maces or great swords does not mean we are not warriors!" Arin tried to fake it but instantly realized he had committed a blunder. He did not have any Rogue-specific skills like trap setting, going invisible for backstabs, or others (which he felt Rogues do, as per his knowledge in popular media from his past world). Arin felt the need to change the topic as soon as possible. Before Ragna could say anything, he said, "I do not want to be a Rogue hiding in shadows, lockpicking or backstabbing. I just want to fight with my daggers, not being encumbered by armor or shields!"

This answer seemed to amuse her. She laughed again and patted his shoulder. "I knew it, you have a real warrior's spirit. I used to think we Barbarians are better than Warriors because, unlike them, we do not hide behind heavy armor. But you have a real Fighter's Spirit; you want to enjoy the thrill of fighting on the edge." She pulled her chair closer to him, wrapped her arm around his neck, and said, "Let's go adventuring together, Arin. I will help you level up fast!"

This was what Arin wanted to avoid. "Thank you for your offer," he said, "but I just finished a quest and am waiting for its review. I need to do some personal tasks before resuming adventuring."

"Don't worry," she laughed, "I too have a quest tomorrow, and I am already in a team. I was referring to next time in the future!" She looked over at the door and waved at three people entering. "Hey, over here!" she whispered to Arin, "They are my team for tomorrow."

Arin looked behind to notice a very tall guy with black hair in leather armor approaching their table. He was accompanied by a girl in heavy armor. Her pointy ears and sharp facial features screamed of her elven blood. Then there was a Dwarf in a white robe with a book in hand. Arin felt he must be a priest or paladin or something similar.

"Who is he?" the tall guy asked.

"Arin," Ragna replied, "my new friend."

"Is he tagging along with us tomorrow?" the Elf lady asked.

"No, Miss, I am not," Arin replied as he stood up from the chair and vacated the place for them.

"See you later," Arin told Ragna and waved at the three.

They did not reply, but the Dwarf looked at him suspiciously.

Arin quickly left the table and went to the counter where the Guild Official Ladies were sitting.

As he approached them, he looked back and tried to look at their levels. To his surprise, he got notifications:

[Scrying Skill Failed]

[Scrying Skill Failed]

[Scrying Skill Failed]

Not only that, but the Dwarf also suddenly looked in Arin's direction with a fierce glare. Arin quickly hid behind a big burly man and hoped the Dwarf had not seen him. He realized that there were methods to stop high-level beings from checking others' status without their consent, and some people could even realize if they were being targeted by scrying.

Arin made a mental note of this and approached the lady at the counter. She was the same lady from yesterday.

"So, you are abandoning the quest?" she taunted.

"On the contrary, I have finished it," he taunted back. "The captain informed me that, given the current scenario, it would take one or two days for him to arrange the cleaning team, and until then, I have to wait!"

The lady gave him a suspicious look. "Alright, the Guild Hall Master will look into that matter. But we cannot let you have another quest unless you finish this one! So…"

"It is okay," Arin replied. "I just want to sell the things I found in the sewer."

"That can be done!" she said. "As you seem to be new, you may not know, but in Drihan, Adventurers have to sell their loot to Guild Merchants only. Anyone selling things to merchants outside will have their license revoked forever. As we do not charge for quests, this is how our Guild meets its expenses. But we pay a fair price, no haggling or negotiating!"

Arin nodded, "Got it."

"As expected," she smiled, "you are really new to Drihan!"

She pointed her finger to a door behind. "Go though the door, go straight, and you will meet a Fox named Finnian Vulpestra. He will appraise your goods and buy from you at fair price."

"Fox?" Arin was surprised, "That too with such strange name!". "Must be some magical Fox with appraisal skill" he thought and opened the door shown by the lady. He was lowkey afraid of the magical fox finding out his real identity. But if he did not go now, it would lead to more suspicion. So, he steeled his mind and opened the door, and started walking towards the magical fox at end of the alley.