Chapter 4|Encounter
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The streets of Moonemere were lit up by street lamps as the sun had set.

Being a central hub for passengers and ships, Moonemere was quite bigger than every other town Nero's been till then. Large crowds of people were going to fro on the roads. Some carrying baggage and cargo around.

 

After asking around for a bit he found out where he could get tickets for the ride to Fiore.

 

"Hoh..even the lamps are lacrima powered." Nero marveled at the sights as he walked towards the office building.

Even though magic exists in this world only about 10% of the whole population are capable of using it. But in most countries magic is a way of life too, hence the use of Lacrima crystals imbued with magic was popularized.

 

There was a long line of people in front of the counter, waiting for a while until it was finally Nero's turn.

 

"Huh! A ship to Hargeon? Hmm, there's one leaving tonight at 8 and the next one is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9." The man sitting at the counter informed him.

 

"There one tonight.! How much is the fare for one?"

 

"Are you alone kid? Where are your parents.?"

 

"Yes. I'm alone."

 

"Then, one ticket would be 20000."

 

"20000!! They said it would be expensive, but this is too much." Nero checked his purse. At most what he could procure was about 10000, remember he also needed money to travel from Hargeon to his mother's hometown.

 

"What will I do now. Even if I chip in the rest I got it won't even go past quarter range." The person at the counter was looking at the kid irritatedly.

 

"Hey kid, if you can't pay up, get the hell off. Other people are waiting."

 

"Haha...I'm quite tight with cash right now. Can you give a discount perhaps?" He replied scratching his head, embarrassed. But right now he had no other choice.

 

"NEXT." The officer called out.

 

"H...Hey."

 

"I said NEXT."

 

And thus he was driven away from the counter. Disheartened he moved to the side of the street and sat on a bench.

 

"What should I do now. I can't continue without money anymore." He began pondering. The ride from here to Hargeon needs money as well as for the cart ride from there. Not to mention the food reserve in his hands was also running low.

 

"Should I try to join a guild temporarily?" That's it if he could get some jobs done quickly, the money problem would be solved.

A guild was like an organization where people of similar skillsets join to complete jobs and earn money. They are a lot of types of guilds. For example merchant guild, mercenary guild, treasure hunter guild and mage guild, etc.

 

[A few minutes later]

 

Nero was in the same place as before once again. Sulking even more this time. He had asked around town, but it seemed like there was no mage guild or something similar in this town. The only one they have is a merchant guild.

 

"I can't believe such a big town like this don't have anything other than merchant guilds. What do I need to do now, peddling? hahhh" He sighed. Just when he thought that a way opened up, it was once again tramped.

 

"Hey, kid.." Suddenly someone called out to him. Nero raised his head turned to look who approached him.

In front of him was a man in his mid-thirties. Dressed like a typical mercenary.

 

"What do you need sir?"

 

"I heard you were looking for some jobs to do. Do you have any interest in doing mercenary work.?"

 

"Huh? Mercenary work, are you with some guild mister?"

 

"Guild..? Ah..aa yes I am with the mercenary guild...uh.." He stuttered a bit. Seeing that Nero was looking at him suspiciously, he quickly recovered.

 

"Ah...Black wolf. That's our guild name."

 

"Hoo is that so.?" Nero inspected the man in front of him. It was obvious that something was wrong here.

 

"Hey, I heard you needed some quick money. If you're willing to work with us you'll get the money you want in a jiffy." He said taking out a bag of money.

 

"Woah really! Why didn't you say so." Nero jumped from the bench and put on his bag. Leaving the man stunned.

 

"Come on mister. Let's go. What are you standing there for." He invited the man who was staring at the boy with confusion.

 

"Ahh..ye..yes. Come on follow me." He finally snapped out and started walking.

 

As they were walking away from the docks, the man thought looking at the kid happily following him.

 

"I thought it would be way harder than that. Is this kid that retarded? He's not with someone, right?" He looked around and saw some people who gave him a thumbs up.

 

"No that's not the case. Is he really this stupid then?"

 

They continued walking away from the crowded areas and finally reached the spot, which was near a pub.

 

"Why are we stopping sir? Is this the place?"

 

"My teammates have a room in the hotel behind this building. Come on the entrance is this way." He invited Nero into the alley between the buildings.

 

"Heeh, that's inconvenient. Can't they just put a door in the front or something." Nero replied following the man.

 

[Meanwhile]

 

An old man was watching the whole thing unfolding in front of him from the very start.

"Tch...I thought that kiddo would be a little more careful than that. Going with a stranger even though it's plain as day that he's completely suspicious." He ran towards where the kid was taken before.

A group of knights followed behind him.

 

"Are you sure they went this way, sir?" The knight in front asked the old man.

 

"Ha, they must be here somewhere."

 

"Kaaaah" Just as they were passing by, a scream was heard from the nearby ally.

 

"Damn those bastards. Are they beating that kid up." the knights mumbled running towards the ally.

 

"Stop right there. Drop your weap.." the knight proclaimed but stopped midway because of the scene in the ally.

 

[Nero POV]

 

"Hey, sir where's the door.? I can't see anything here." Nero stopped as the mercenary who led him stopped and took out a dagger from his hip.

 

"Heheh...Sorry kid, there no door. Now give me all of your money."

 

It seemed like they had no intention of helping him at all. Two people came from the exit towards the road and blocked that way too. All of them had weapons pulled out, in their hands.

 

"Hmm...So there's no job for me either."

 

"Haha, you're still stuck on that? Don't you get it, kid? You've been duped." The man laughed, walking towards Nero.

 

"Two at the exit, one in front and one at the back of the alley," Nero mumbled surprising everyone there.

 

"How did the kid know there was one more in the back.? It's so dark, even I can't see him from here." The ruffian leader thought.

 

"Well, this was a waste of time. I'll be going then." Nero turned around and started walking out.

 

"Oh you ain't going anywhere" The man tried to sprint towards the boy in order to incapacitate him.

 

"I don't want to fight you, Mister. But..."

 

*Earth bind*

Nero tapped the floor with his leg. The next second, the ground beneath the charging man's foot started wrapping itself around his feet. Causing him to fall.

 

"Tch, what the hell! You morons, don't just stand there get that kid." He commanded the lackeys while trying to get rid of the binding on his feet.

The two men blocking the entrance charged at Nero hearing the Leader.

 

Nero on the other hand stopped walking and got into a defensive stance. As the attackers were closing in he swiped his right leg on the ground, moving the ground beneath one of the men's feet to move away.

 

The sudden movement disoriented the man, tripping him. Followed by the earth bind just like before, his legs and hands were sealed.

By this time, the other man had already reached Nero. Without wasting the chance, he swung the dagger towards the kid.

 

Sidestepping the incoming dagger he stomped the ground, bringing up a block of earth. As the man was too close to him the block hit his chin, knocking down the attacker.

Now that the ones in front were taken care of, Nero turned around to face the man in the ally's back.

 

"Shit..this kid's a mage." the man cursed as he saw the boy had knocked out all of his buddies.

 

"You idiot.. don't just stand there. Put him to sleep." The leader shouted from the ground. Still trying to break out of the confinement.

 

"Ohh...so you're trying to make me sleep." Nero spoke, casting another earth bind on the leader's arms to stop the struggling.

 

"Damn you..take this.." The man threw a knife at the kid and tried to escape by climbing over the wall behind him.

 

"That should at least distract him. I can get out of here by that time." He thought.

"Sorry.."

 

*earth wall*

A wall made out of earth sprouted in between the knife and Nero, blocking the attack.

"You're not going anywhere, mister."

 

*Earth bind*

Nero casted the spell one last time. Trapping escaping man on the wall.

 

"Sigh...that was intense," he mumbled looking around at all the men on the floor. Dusting off the dirt on his clothes he walked to the exit.

 

"I better call someone to take care of them." The men were still struggling. Trying to break free from the shackles.

 

"It's best to stop resisting Mister. They won't come off that easily."

 

The man looked at him with anger in his eyes.

"You damned brat. Let me out this instant. I'll kill you."

 

"Now, why would I do that. As I said, I don't want to fight you. Unless it's an utmost necessity."

 

"Look, we're sorry. We won't do anything like this anymore. Please release us." Since it seemed like intimidation wouldn't work, they changed the strategy and pleaded with him.

 

"Really? You won't do anything bad from now on!" Nero said in a surprised tone.

 

"Of course. Just release us."

 

"Mmmm...Nope, I think I'll just turn you to the knights." He turned around and continued walking.

 

"Money. Kid you need money, don't you. I'll give you everything I have on me. Release me." The leader shouted out in one last attempt.

Nero stopped in his tracks hearing the word money. Indeed he really needed money right now. If he could get the bag of money that man had on him, it would be definitely enough for the travel money.

 

"Really! You'll give me that money?"

 

"ya..yeah. Here it's right in my side pocket. You can take it. And only then, do you need to release me." Looks like he desperate to get out of there anyhow. After all law against crimes was quite severe in Caelum.

 

Since a lot of merchants went through the place, the crime rates were high. Therefore heavy punishments were imposed on anyone found with crimes.

That's he was desperate to get the hell out of there somehow. In the first place, they only targeted Nero since he seemed quite easy since it was only a single kid. But they didn't expect him to be a mage.

 

The leader of the ruffians looked at Nero with expectant eyes soon to be disappointed by his words.

"Well, the money would certainly help. But no thanks. If I took that money from you, I would be no better than you." After turning down the offer he walked off.

 

"Stop right there. Drop your weap.." A loud voice was heard from the streets along with a group of knights running towards him.

 

"Aahh, mister knight you came at the right time. Please take care of these people." Nero pointed to the fallen men.

 

"They're all restrained.! Did you do this kid?" One of the knights asked Nero.

 

"Yes. I'll lift the restraint on them. Please catch them before they run." He replied nonchalantly.

 

Afterward, the four men were taken in by the knights. Nero was also summoned to the knight's office to take a statement from him. For catching the ruffians he was rewarded 5000 coins too.

"Thanks for your time kid." The knight commander thanked him, giving the bag of money.

 

"Oh no no, It's me who should say thank you." he replied storing the money into his bag.

 

"By the way, you should thank that person too. he's the one who reported the incident to us."The commander pointed at an old man sitting in the visitors' area.

 

"Is that so. I will then."

 

It was a short, old man with thick light-brown eyebrows and a small mustache that reaches halfway to his mouth. Seeing Nero approach him he got off the chair.

"Hello sir. My name is Nero. The commander said you called them to save me. Thank you for that." Nero bowed towards the old man.

 

"It's nothing grand to be thanked off kiddo. I just did the right thing." He inspected Nero before continuing.

 

"But it seems like you had everything under control."

 

"Ah, I just defended when they suddenly attacked me."

 

"Nevertheless it was an impressive display of earth magic." he said stocking his chin.

 

"You're a mage too, sir?" Nero had stars in his eyes. After all, he had never seen another mage other than his mother till then.

 

"Ho ho I used to be, back in the days. Now I'm just a regular old man."

 

"I see. Are you from around here?"

 

"No, my home is in Fiore. I just came here for some business."

 

"Fiore..in that case, can you do a favor for me.?"

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