Chapter [RotD | B2] 12 — Krios Al Valraunt

Chapter [RotD | B2] 12 — Krios Al Valraunt

Noah stepped through the portal, feeling the flickering layers of space around him. The transportation took a long moment that seemed to stretch on endlessly before abruptly ending with him standing within a giant hall of marbled stone. Myriads of magical items and auras tugged at Noah’s attention, but he found his eyes drawn back to the man in front of him.

“Welcome, my dear guests!” the man’s voice echoed through the chamber, resonating the magical portraits hung on the wall. A ping sounded in his mind, as he noticed a new notification arrive, but his attention was caught by the man in front of him.

He wore a velvet red blazer with a white shirt underneath. Golden adornments that looked a lot like military medals hung upon his chest, with the man’s silver hair slicked back in a polished look.

Noah noticed Aurelia bowing her head, and followed along, giving a small bow. Erwest only gave a nod.

“I hope your journey did not feel unpleasant. Some of our guests don’t react very well to spacial transportation methods, especially at this distance so I was concerned,” the man, who Noah was now certain was the Lord, said, eye-ing them up and down.

“I’m used to it,” Aurelia replied.

“I’ve got Astral resistance, didn’t feel much,” Noah said.

Erwest nodded. “Not an issue.”

“Great! That is most lovely to hear!” Krios exclaimed.

Noah looked at the man, not having expected... this. He was prepared for a lot more ceremony and authority when he’d heard of the man’s stature. Even his aura felt nearly non-existent to Noah, almost like a faint whisper. He wasn’t stupid enough to think that meant the man was weak. The opposite, if anything.

“You’re Erwest, I believe? I had heard you were a paladin, but what I see tells me something else.”

Erwest kept his passive expression, but gave a small nod. “Some circumstances have made it so.”

“Very well, I shall not pry then,” the Lord said, patting Erwest’s shoulder once before he moved on.

“You, my beautiful lady, must be Aurelia Fauster. I’ve heard of your strength, and it seems the battle allowed you to Rank up as well!”

“You flatter me, Lord Krios. I’ve got much to learn,” Aurelia said. Noah glanced at her, and could tell she did not feel as flattered as she looked.

“Nonsense. At your age, your level and strength are both commendable. Especially for this region. At your current progress, you could easily match up to adventurer guild members from the central kingdoms as well.”

“Thank you,” Aurelia replied, and the Lord seemed satisfied. At last, he walked up to Noah, looking at him with an expression of anticipation.

“You must be the Outerworlder, Noah Brown.”

“The one and only,” Noah replied with a grin.

“Confident! I like it. I’ve heard quite a bit about you. I hope Erandir has been to your liking?” Lord Krios asked.

“Aside from almost dying multiple times, it’s been fun for sure,” Noah replied.

“Indeed. I heard a rumor that you attached an Abyssal Parasite to your arm, is that true?” Lord Krios asked.

Noah wondered how rumours of him had spread this far. Though, if the Lord knew enough about them, he supposed finding out something like this would not be difficult for the man either.

“It’s true, yes,” he replied with a shrug.

“Quite the adventurous choice. The church of Hellion was not pleased to hear of it,” Krios replied.

“The goddess herself did not seem to care, so I think I should be fine,” Noah said.

Krios paused for a moment. “The goddess Hellion and her church are not the same entity. Like how the Incarnation of Void is not the Abyssal cult. Or else we would ban all void magic. It would be good to keep that in mind.”

Noah snuck a glance at Erwest to see if the man gave a reaction. Not finding anything from the Paladin, he turned back to look at Krios. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Wonderful. Now, let me formally introduce myself as well. I’m Krios Al Valraunt, the lord of Heartilia and a lightning mage of some decent skill,” the Lord said, for a moment letting the grip on his Aura loosen. Noah felt the intensity of the magic coming from the man, a strong pulsating power that crackled around him that made his skin tingle from the sensation.

I wonder who’s stronger between him and Raesar.

“Haha, I’ll be sure to let the chefs know their work was appreciated!” Krios said.

“Can’t these be used in place of potions?” Aurelia asked. “This is clearly magical cooking, so it seems like it’d make sense.”

“It can be, and sometimes is. But food is a lot less intense in effect than a potion with equivalent effects, so mostly it is just a thing people enjoy for pleasure,” Krios said.

“If it were up to me, I’d pick this over potions any day,” Noah said, as he bit into what looked to be a chicken wing, but had turned out to have an almost sweet flavour. More notifications popped up in his vision, informing him of his boosted health, stamina and mana regeneration.

“I certainly know of people who do. But the shelf life is not nearly as long. These things lose their magical abilities quickly, unlike potions which stay good for a really long time.”

Noah listened, before wondering if he could just store all of the food in his dimensional pocket. He already knew time did not pass for any items stored there, and he enjoyed the idea of being able to eat a meal like this wherever he wanted.

“Can I know who the chef is?” Noah asked.

“I’ll send you his information if you’d like. He has a famous restaurant open within the city, though I sometimes ask him to take time off for me. If you wish to meet him, I can make the introductions,” Krios said.

Noah nodded in thanks, as he continued to devour his meal.

After stuffing himself as much as he could, and slipping a few plates from Erwest’s portion into his dimensional pocket when he thought no one was looking, Noah sat at the chair, feeling content.

Aurelia had eaten less, but even her lips had a smile lingering upon them. The meal came to an end soon, and the servants took the plates away as Noah watched them with eyes of longing.

Erwest let out a cough, glancing at Noah for a moment before turning towards Lord Krios. “Pardon me, but I believe there must be a reason you have summoned us so quickly all this way?”

Krios looked at the man, raising an eyebrow. “One reason was indeed to meet the three of you, and thank you for what you did. My people and I, we are both grateful for this tragedy that you brought to light. But you are indeed correct. I do have something I wish to ask of you three.”

Noah straightened in his chair at the Lord’s words. The food and the sights had made him forget for a moment just why he was here, and that this man was someone with far more authority than all of them.

“What could adventurers like us do for you, Lord Krios? Surely you have far more powerful people at hand,” Aurelia said.

The Lord paused, before raising a hand. Noah sensed multiple shadows move around the room. His hair rose on his back as he realized they’d always been present in the room, just outside his awareness. The servants left as well, closing the door behind them.

“I do indeed. But they are not people who I can trust with this work. My men have raided an Abyssal cult near the city, just beyond the old city walls. In this cultist hideout, we’ve found an Astral Rift. But the rift itself is unstable, and anyone over D rank walking inside will likely collapse it. I need adventurers who I can trust with this task that are also capable enough,” Krios said.

“What’s inside the rift?” Aurelia asked.

“We think it is a vault, or a hidden dungeon. Possible outside Erandir and in a pocket dimension,” Krios replied. “I have other people I can turn to, but you three seemed the most suited to me for this task. I will of course reward you handsomely as well if you accept, and put in a good word with the guild should you succeed.”

Noah hummed in thought, before glancing at Aurelia.

To his surprise, it was Erwest who spoke up. “We would like some time to consider.”

“Of course,” the Lord nodded. “In the meantime, I have prepared chambers for you three to rest. Feel free to utilize them, and even if you decide not to take the quest, I will not hold the choice against you.”

“Thank you for your understanding,” Erwest replied, and got up silently to leave.

Noah looked at the lord, nodding once, before he joined Erwest, Aurelia getting up with him as well.

The three of them walked outside the banquet hall, before a guard began to escort them to their rooms.

Many thoughts played in Noah’s mind, about the Lord and the entire situation, but he kept quiet for the moment.

His gaze went to the notification he’d gotten upon arriving at first, and he opened his notification box to check. What he saw made his eyes widen in shock.

Quest: Shards of [???] updated!

There is a Shard of [???] near you. Find it, and obtain it for yourself.

Difficult: Extremely Hard

Reward: Unknown