Chapter 11 : magic (2)

That morning, Noah initially told her that Horikita had agreed to meet her at the guild.

Noah looked like he wanted to take her, but he received a message from the emperor to go see him.

Fortunately, Allen was on leave, so he took her to the guild. On the way, who would have thought that people would have such a negative view of her?

As Noah had said before, her appearance made others see her as someone who walked with death.

Tia never showed her emotions directly, but under the blatant stares of people, she herself felt a sense of helplessness.

Even so, she couldn't help but ask a random question.

"Is black always considered a bad color???"

"Not really. For me, black is a quite beautiful color. It makes the people who wear it look brighter."

The unexpected answer caught Amertia's attention. Was it honesty, or was he just showing his thoughts? Usually, he didn't engage in small talk; it was mostly Tia who asked more questions.

If you counted, they had only had light conversations once or twice. Considering Allen was an imperial general, it was clear he was a busy person with the undead.

'System, you're lying. You clearly told me I would see the undead in person.'

[Host, the probability of you seeing the undead is 80%. Even if you don't see them now, there will be many opportunities for you to see them in the future.]

[The system never lies.]

Tia finally said nothing. When Allen brought her to the guild, Horikita was already waiting for them. He waved with a wide smile.

Seeing his hair and eye color suddenly made Tia want to eat caramel.

"You've finally arrived. Come in."

The man led her to his office. It was a simple room, with ordinary wooden bookshelves, a normal sofa, and even normal decorations.

There were no signs of display, no sword accessories, or antique vases at all!

"You're more humble than I expected," Allen bluntly expressed his thoughts after assessing the room.

Horikita served tea and laughed casually.

"You're not the first person to say that. Just like your brother, the words you both say are the same."

He then immediately sat down in front of them, looked at Tia seriously, and spoke. "I've heard. Noah told me you want to learn magic at the guild?"

"May I know the reason?"

Tia, without thinking, said the same thing she had said before, "A mission from the god."

Horikita fell silent. Thinking deeply, recalling all his memories with so-called transmigrators, they always had a special "mission" to complete in order to get a reward.

"Alright. Please read this contract. It's a sign that you will train under the guild's name."

Allen took the letter from Horikita's hand and read it slowly. There was nothing wrong with it. Tia was even favored by the contract.

The contract stated that as long as Aloni could find a teacher from an adventurer or an exclusive guild member, the guild would monitor her and provide a guarantee of safety. It meant she would have protection under the guild. And when she graduated, she could work with the guild, become an adventurer, or do whatever she wanted.

In return, Tia, as a student, had to pass a test from the guild and not tarnish the guild's name.

"This contract... Are you sure?"

Horikita nodded without hesitation. Now he could keep the transmigrator closer and ensure her safety! He wouldn't die!

Tia calmly wrote her name on the contract. As her name landed on the paper, the system rang in her mind.

[Ding! Mission accepted!]

[Learn magic at the guild > progress: 0%]

[Find the god's soul fragment]

[Reward: 10 gems, 1 gold chest, 1000 exp]

[Let's go, Host!]

Tia looked at Horikita. "When can I start learning?"

Horikita smiled, making sure the contract was safe, and tapped the table twice with his fingertip. Then a magic circle appeared, and the contract became two.

Tia just stared silently.

"This table is a functional table; it can make copies of contract papers. This table can also provide paper, pens, or anything related to stationery," Horikita explained while handing her a copy of the contract.

Ah, this is like a photocopy machine, almost the same but more functional because it's equipped with magic.

Interesting.

Aloni took the contract from his hand. Then she realized, where should she store it?

Allen beside her handed her a palm-sized cloth pouch.

"This is for you. It's a bag that functions to store your things. Just drop your blood on it, and it will become yours."

"This is my gift and also my apology for previously thinking you were a spy."

Ah, she momentarily forgot the grip on her neck and took the bag. She glanced at Horikita.

"Do you have a needle? A knife?"

Horikita obediently handed her a needle. He watched Tia prick her finger and press it onto the multipurpose pouch.

The pouch immediately opened.

Tia curiously put the contract into the small pouch. She was still a bit surprised to see the small leather pouch, the size of a palm, eat the contract.

It really was multipurpose.

"You can imagine an object and change the bag into any form you want. The bag's capacity is 500 items, food, or drinks, but you can't put living people inside."

Allen's words surprised her. Wait a minute?

"Living people?"

Even Horikita looked at Allen in disbelief.

"You once tried to put a living person into a multipurpose bag???"

Allen coughed and said, "The point is, don't try it."

Tia found it amusing. Who would have thought this man also had this side to him? The woman smiled. "Thank you."

Allen's eyes were fixed on her face and he sighed. No wonder Noah was tempted. It turned out she could smile so sweetly.

She was still a "human" with "feelings," even though it was very rare for her to "express" them.

"Would you like to start looking for a teacher now, Miss?"

Tia thought for a moment. She decided to bring up the matter of her sword first, after all, it was their artifact. Would it be okay if she had stolen it?

"You must have seen me with that sword before. I want to apologize for pulling it from the church. Would you like me to return it?"

Horikita didn't expect her to bring up that incident. At that time, no one dared to approach Tia to reclaim the artifact sword, not because they didn't want to, but because they had the "ability" to touch the sword.

"... It's no problem, although the sword is our guild's artifact, actually, the reason is that no one was able to pull it out and take it away," Horikita immediately explained the sword's origin. Recalling the previous incident, when he had initially chosen that church as a "gathering place" for adventurers.

"Initially, the ancient Eldebaran imperial city worshiped the Goddess of Death, but slowly, when the Goddess weakened and disappeared, our belief all wavered. That small church was the abandoned church of the Goddess."

"No one had taken care of that church for years and no one cared about the building. I saw how strategic the place was as a gathering place. I finally decided to make that place a meeting point, where some people who still supported the Goddess could pray there. So I could kill two birds with one stone."

So he used it because the building was free. Tia fell silent, she continued to listen to his explanation.

"The sword itself was found by accident. Initially, everyone tried to pull it from the stone, but when they tried, darkness would cloud their eyes, and some were even thrown out."

"You could say the sword is very wild."

"Maybe all this time it was waiting for you."

Tia was speechless. Is that true?

[Host, you can call it. The sword has a name.]

[Feel it in your heart... And call Him.]

Tia closed her eyes reverently, imagining the sword's form in her mind. Her lips slowly uttered a name.

"Aconitum."

Allen and Horikita watched a sword appear in the air. It floated towards the woman and fell onto her lap.

"Ah, so that's its name? Aconitum." Horikita curiously looked at the sword over and over again. The more he looked at it, the more confused he became. Why did the sword look like the sword the god once held when he fought the transmigrator who defied him?

No, maybe he was overthinking.

Horikita immediately got up from his chair and said, "Let's start choosing a teacher. I'll show you some good mages in the guild."

Tia followed his steps and left his office with Allen. He brought her to the archives room.

Horikita opened a drawer and sorted through the papers inside. He carefully read the list and showed it to Tia.

"Look at it and you can choose which one you like."

Tia read the list in her hand. One by one, the abilities caught her eye. Fire, water, wind, there was even a necromancer. Oh, what's this?

"Leo?"

Allen raised an eyebrow. "You still have our files?"

Horikita scratched the back of his head, which wasn't itchy, and smiled like a hippie. "Don't royal knights sometimes also need a guild permit to make your travels easier?"

It was true. Because administration in the empire took a long time, it was not uncommon for them to use permits from the guild. Given Horikita's great influence in establishing the guild over the years, people already had a reputation outside the empire and even had permits from two empires.

It could be said that Horikita had great capability.

But he was very humble.

Still preferred to look poor.

Horikita: He wants to become rich! It's not his fault he always feels like he's going to die every time he receives money!

Tia read Leo's abilities with interest. Who would have guessed? Leo had three elements.

Fire, water, and the most interesting one was that he had darkness magic.

"I choose him."

She pointed to Leo's file, once again stating her choice firmly.

"I want him to be my teacher."

In an unknown place (???????)

The man in the glass coffin slowly moved and opened his eyes, revealing beautiful silver eyes. His enchanting figure slowly got up.

He opened his lips and called his adjutant.

"System... Ah, no... Gabriel."

Gabriel immediately appeared obediently. He looked at the god with full of worry. It was not yet his time to wake up. Why was the god pushing himself?

"Yes, my lord, is there anything I can do for you?"

The god bowed his head; his expression was difficult to read. "Is she alright?"

Gabriel could guess the identity of "she."

Gabriel, as an angel created by the god, took out a crystal fragment. He channeled a little of his energy. The crystal shone, displaying the figure of a girl with the Sword of Death in her hand.

"... She... This time it's her..." The god looked enchanted. His fingertip reached for the holographic screen.

"My lord... It is not yet time."

The god's hand stopped.

That's right. It was not yet time. 

The man glanced at Gabriel. "At that time, did she feel better?"

Gabriel nodded. "Yes, her emotions are more stable now."

The god let out a soft sigh. He slowly lay back down in his glass coffin. He closed his eyes calmly, imagining his wife's face.

"I miss you."

That gentle energy came out of his body every time he fell asleep.

Giving blessings with his remaining energy, keeping the world from being completely destroyed.

Because he would return to her.

He couldn't let her stay in a destroyed world.

Gabriel looked at the god. He sighed. How could everything have become like this?

The path of heaven was very cruel. Even gods had their own destinies. And tragically, one of them refused the destiny to be separated from his beloved.