Chapter 64 - Guild Master

“Heaven’s Gate…? Never heard of it!”

Once again Arga’s blunt response caught me by surprise but I wasn’t the only one. The man’s eye twitched as he tried to work out a response, it was clear that this had never happened to him before.

He mentioned it before, that they were the third pillar of Istoria.

The term ‘pillars’ was something that came about shortly after the larger guilds settled into their ranks. They were called that because much like an actual pillar they acted as support for the city. When becoming a larger guild, you’re given a lot more responsibilities and quests. Of course, it wasn’t for nothing. In return they received certain privileges and credibility.

It was a give-and-take relationship that acted as an unspoken rule but everyone was aware of it…well, I thought everyone was. Apparently there were people out there who didn’t even know about their guild at all.

I knew it looked familiar, that emblem on their shields. A golden shield upon a bed of clouds, basically the staple of their guild—their gimmick!

I heard that the leader of their guild doesn’t even use a weapon, only shields. It would be suicide for any regular person but that wasn’t an issue for him. There was only one thing that could explain a style like that, a unique skill!

His was quite popular or at least the knowledge of him having it was. I don’t think I’ve actually heard much about what it did…

I leaned in and whispered to Arga.

“They’re a big deal. The question is, why are they here?” I muttered under my breath and Arga bobbed her head up and down with comical whips as she listened.

The man who had announced himself moments ago watched it unfold and grew tired of waiting. He tilted his head to the side and let out another bellowing command.

“Oi, show some respect! We could have you arrested for refusing to aid an official quest from ASH. Now tell us what you know!”

“What we know, could you be a little more specific?”

“D-ra-gon! We’re looking for one around here.”

This is bad, how did a massive guild like theirs even hear about Alice?! If they find her now, there’s nothing we can do. We’re not in any condition to run…fighting’s out too.

“Ahhh a dragon…nope! Sorry, we haven't seen any here. You guys should check deeper into the Floor.”

He didn’t seem too convinced by Arga’s words but to be fair she didn’t sound all too convincing. Even an idiot could tell that she was lying.

“What rank are all of you, you don’t look like Silver’s?”

My heart began to race, the fear of being caught out echoed inside of me like a tireless drum beating down on itself over and over.

I cut in before Arga could say another word and covered her mouth with my hand.

“We’re rust ranks. We wandered too far ahead and ended up losing all our supplies! By the time we escaped the monsters, we had already entered too far deep to turn back.”

I just hoped that he would believe me, if it convinced them we didn’t know anything then maybe finding a way home wouldn’t have been impossible. I put my hopes on it and waited for his distrusting smirk to turn unperturbed.

I stared at the man with a stern expression, placing all the hopes of my plan into my stare. His eyes faltered for a second but then his posture softened.

“Aagh why are there so many newbies nowadays!”

Their spears lowered and shields fell away and then disbanded the barrier around us. My heart wasn’t any closer to settling down but at least my nerves got a break.

I let out a deep sigh as the sharp tip of the spear in front of us fell away.

“If you’re not equipped to enter the higher floors then don’t venture further! Geez…isn't that basic knowledge? What’s up with these new kids lately?” He said while shaking his head disapprovingly.

He waved his hand in the air and a moment later all the armoured guild members behind him lowered their weapons. One by one they fell back in line, ready to move out again.

They didn’t waste any time, their group moved efficiently and without any struggle. With a single wave of his hand, that man was able to command their ranks into formation and disband it just as quickly. They moved in unified motions, like trained soldiers on their way to war.

Their armour all sort of looked the same from a distance, up close I could tell between the finer details. Some had bulkier armour or added accessories but overall it looked the same, like a proper guild. I don’t think I saw a single rust rank out of the group, the majority of them looked to be Gold-ranked or at the least silver.

Such a large group of powerful adventurers, it made me wonder what they were doing so low in the Tower. A strong group like that could easily take down some of the higher levelled monsters on the top floors.

“Who’s that, she looks a little young doesn’t she?” He asked with a finger pointed to Alice.

She pulled down her head and tucked her face away. The small yelp she released raised the man’s brow.

“Take off the hood, something’s fishy about this.”

“She just gets a little shy around large groups. It’s nothing, really!” I ran in between her and the man but he didn’t seem to like that.

He placed his hand on the sword hanging from his waist and glared.

“I won’t say it again, take off the hood.”

Without a chance to answer, someone approached from behind and yanked off Alice’s hood. The eyes around us widened into glaring daggers as her curled horns came into view.

“It’s really a—d-dragon!!”

He drew his sword and triggered a row of spears to drop from their vertical rest, towards us.

Not good—not good at all! We have to make a run for it, where could we run?

I reached for Alice’s hand and pulled her to my side. It was no use, the guy behind us was blocking our way off.

“Don’t move kid, you’re not going anywhere!”

It was the person who unveiled Alice, he didn’t look that much older than me yet he called me kid. He had a larger build than me, really muscular but not so big that he would look like a boulder. From the large gear he was wearing, I figured that he must fill the position of a tank in their team.

I don’t know many attackers who would have carried such a massive shield on their backs after all.

We were surrounded by both spears and large armoured men in every direction. I’m sure that if I used Rush I could have gotten out of there but who could say if Alice would make it too.

It was too risky, especially since Arga wouldn’t be able to escape.

“Look, she isn't dangerous. She’s a—”

“A monster.”

A demanding tone separated a line in their ranks. His voice carved a pathway between the many armoured men, it gave him a large path to walk through.

He wasn’t there before, this guy must have arrived a few moments ago. He seemed important though, everyone seemed especially rigid around him. It took two words, two words was what it took for him to silence their angst.

The spears lifted and the men holding them stepped aside, the man behind those two words trodded forward.

A tank.

That’s all I could describe him as, he was massive after all. Heavy-duty armour covered his body, and a pristine white glare shone off of it. It had a subtle design with thin red lines running across the edges and a small orb at the centre of his chest plate.

The true spectacle was the two objects hanging from his back, shields. They looked like they were made from the same material as his armour but a lot sturdier. I’m not even sure if a meteor would be able to break them.

All that weight would crumble a regular person, I would have needed several skills just to lift it all. The longer I stared, the more I wondered how a single person was capable of shouldering all that weight.

“Show some respect! The guild master is stepping forward.”

The shielder imposter behind us forced us to the ground with a grip on the shoulder.

So that guy’s the guild master, the one with a unique skill?

A smirk formed out the corner of my mouth, not out of confidence but from the uneasiness that settled over me. It was almost blinding, that golden glare that resonated from his aura. I wondered how everyone else seemed unfazed by it, was it possible they didn’t see it?

“So tell me. What are you doing with that monster?”