It was early morning when Daniel's group arrived at Phyrri's gates.
They entered the city from the southern walls, and once in, Daniel bid farewell to Garth and the rest, and headed towards the Hotel. He really wanted to see his sister.
Once in front of the building, Daniel stood with his jaw wide open.
The amount of people lingering in front of the building's entrance, was incomparable to the one he had left behind. In fact, there were so many people that, weren't they all young men in their early twenties or late teens, he would have believed that the old man had reopened the hotel.
Daniel tried to push his way into the building, when..
"Hey! Don't skip the line!!" Said a young man in tight yet refined clothes.
Slightly annoyed, Daniel tried to explain himself "Actually, I liv-" but he was interrupted by other voices.
A girl in her late teens which was hugging three sheathed short sword, said sourly "Actually what?! We've been here for hours! Even if you were the long lost children of the previous master-at-arms, you still have to wait for your turn!"
Daniel gritted his teeth in annoyance, he then tried once more "I was just saying that i-" but he was interrupted again.
"To the back of the line!" Said another young man which wore refined clothes.
Each of these young men and women, were the geniuses that came from the groups placed outside the city of Phyrri. The first group that had managed to secure a place within the old master-at-arms building, were members of the powers within the city. Which, whereas they lived nearby, they had arrived earlier. The rest needed more time to arrive.
Daniel was slowly pushed on the borders of the crowd, and at the back of the line.
"Fine.." He wasn't willing to wait in line to enter his own house, so instead of waiting, he located an opened window on the frontal wall of the building, and started to walk towards the wall.
The people who were patiently waiting in line, noticed Daniel walking towards a wall with conviction. Their puzzled looks rapidly turned into ones of mockery and derision. From their point of view, Daniel had gone crazy.
Daniel kept walking, until there were just 5 meters between him and the wall. He then lifted his leg, as if walking over the first step of a set of stairs, and before his foot could touch the ground, a stone stair rose from the ground, then another, and another.. Daniel walked over this set of stairs, which disappeared as soon as he moved onto the next.
He kept going until he reached the opened window, crawled inside it, and closed it.
The people on the ground looked at one another in silent confusion. The first to talk was the young girl which was embracing the short swords. "Is.. is that allowed?"
-----
On the other side of the window which Daniel had entered from, was a messy room. Daniel wanted to make a b-line for door, but as he heard laughs and giggles on the other side, he had no choice but to hide in a dark corner of the room instead.
In front of him a young couple appeared. The young man and woman were embracing each other, and crashing against every piece of furniture within the room. From the verses and mess the two were making, Daniel wasn't sure if the two were kissing, or trying to kill each other. Needless to say, Daniel was embarrassed beyond words. He could only try to reduce the space he occupied, and stay as quiet as possible.
The two started to take pieces of clothing off of each other, throwing them around randomly. Daniel was trying to find the right way to sneak out of the room, when suddenly, an indument landed on his head.
Daniel stood as still as a statue, then, after making sure the couple hadn't noticed him, he slowly raised his hand and pinched the piece of clothing that was resting over his head. He felt the soft fabric, and for a moment, he thought that a soft pair of female's undergarment had landed on him.. But when his eyes landed on the item, he noticed the familiar shape of the piece of clothing.
They were a pair of men's undergarment.
"FUCK! THAT'S IT!!" Shouded Daniel loudly. He then threw the young man's underwear on the ground, and while covering his face with his large sleeve, he stormed out of the room in rage.
The couple had been scared to death. The two quickly rose up from the bed, as their eyes rapidly explored the room. They then noticed the figure dashing towards the door. When the young man noticed Daniel, he said "Hey! Hold on a m-" but before he could finish, a small fireball flew in his direction and exploded right in his face.
The girl covered her face by instinct, but all she heard was the sound of the door opening and closing. She then looked to her right, and noticed the shocked look in her boyfriend's face.. And his slightly burnt hair.
Daniel ran through corridors as if a demon was chasing him. He had no intention of being seen there, when the rumors would start to spread.
-----
The first thing Daniel did, was to go back to his room and change his clothes. He then walked out, and went to knock at his sister's room. Unfortunately, nobody answered.
He was about to walk away, when a sweet sounding voice reached his ears from behind. "You are back.." Daniel turned around, and saw Mea. She was as beautiful as ever, and if compared to the state she was in when he freed her, she seemed to have even recovered a bit of her personality.
Daniel smiled at her, then said "I am. How have you been doing?"
Mea still felt a bit of embarrassment when talking to Daniel. He had done a great favor to her, and had never asked for anything in return. Behaving naturally with someone to whom she owed so much, was extremely difficult to her. "I am doing great, I love this place." She responded just as politely, then added "How did your hunting trip go?"
"Fruitful.. I went to t.."
Daniel hadn't spent much time with Mea, but his opinion of her was that of a sweet girl, which had lead a difficult life. She had also been the first person whose life Daniel had saved., so he couldn't help but feel responsible for her.
The two talked for a bit, then Daniel, unable to find his sister, went to see the building owner.
He arrived at the building owner's room, and heard talking coming from the other side. He knocked.
After a few moments, he heard an old voice saying "Come in"
Daniel opened the door and entered the building owner's room. Inside it, he found two two old men sitting at the table and drinking tea, like they often did.
"FINALLY!" Exclaimed the old alchemist loudly. He then sprung up from his chair and dashed towards Daniel. His hand moved before Daniel could react and grabbed his wrist. "HA! The brat is at the peak of spiritual connection!.. There is no way he is a martial cultivator" Said the old alchemist at the old master-at-arms, as a scary smirk grew on his face.
Daniel retracted his hand and looked at the old master-at-arms with an inquisitive look.
The old master-at-arms placed his tea cup on the table, and said "This is the vice leader of the Golden Cauldron.. You saved his granddaughter a week ago."
Daniel's eyes narrowed. He hadn't received a proper thank you from the old man, but he still couldn't afford to act rudely. He bowed his head slightly, and introduced himself "Greetings sir, my name is Dan Hiel."
"Hey hey, don't be so formal.. I'm here to thank you for saving my beloved granddaughter. Haha" Said the old alchemist with an oddly friendly attitude.
Daniel looked at the two old men and said "I came here to thank you for sending a rescue party to find me." He then bowed once again.
"That's the least we could have done!" Responded the old alchemist promptly, then added "I've heard from my granddaughter that you have a talent for spiritual cultivation.. Say, would you like to join my Golden Cauldron, and become one of my students? Might not look like it, but i'm a powerful mage myself! Hehehe"
Daniel had expected such an invitation. He had doubted that such a prominent figure like the vice leader of one of the biggest groups within the Karalis kingdom, would order for his rescue simply to thank him, so he had prepared an answer in advance.
"I'm honored by the opportunity, sir.. But I haven't decided yet which cultivation path to take. I just.." He then made a saddened expression, and shook his head as if cursing his unlucky fate.
The two old men, within their minds, scoffed at Daniel's pitiful attempt of swindling them.. They knew exactly what Daniel wanted, but still, they feigned ignorance. The old alchemist asked with curiosity "What's the matter?.. You can tell us"
"I just wish I had learned more about the two types of cultivation.. So that I could choose my path." Responded Daniel with a voice full of self-hatred.
The old master-at-arms was the first to talk this time. He said "How about this.. We'll teach you martial arts and magic for a week.. You'll then decide which path suits you better." He let the words sink in Daniels mind, and then continued "Then, after you breakthrough to the fourth rank, you can take one of us as your teacher."
The three were all aware of the hidden meanings behind the others words, just as they knew that the other parties were acting, but for some reason, none of them interrupted the charade.
An enormous smile grew on Daniel's face as he took a deep bow, and said "Thank you sirs!"
On the faces of the two old men, a faint smile grew. The moment Daniel straightened his back, the old master-at-arms said "Don't worry about it.. You can go now, go see your sister, she is waiting for you in the lobby.. Oh, and try to stay out of other people's room.. Train starts tomorrow.."
Embarrassment and a bit of anger appeared on Daniel's face, as he bowed slightly and left the room.
"I like the brat.. It's been awhile since the last time a kid his age didn't puke his guts out when meeting both of us at the same time.. Remember the brat of the Trikli house?.." Said the old alchemist right after being once again alone with his old friend.
The old master-at-arms remembered when that happened, and a nostalgic smile appeared on his face. "I recall the reason for that being your previous invention of the High Wolf Repellent.. Honestly, I still don't know how I managed to avoid puking myself.. You smelled like a sewer.."
"Uncalled for.." Retorted the old alchemist.
-----
When Daniel reached the lobby, he sighted Reila sitting at a coffee table. Next to her, were a few young men and women.
Daniel recognized these people. They were Riri, the girl with the folding fan, Nilo, the martial artist in leather armor, and Finn, the handsome looking rapier wielder.
The four were chatting happily, while drinking tea.
Reila was enjoying looking at how casually the other three treated each other. They were all proud children of powerful groups within Phyrri, and aside from Nilo, whom they met later, they had grown up together.
At first, Reila felt a stranger amongst this small group of friends, but in the past ten days, she slowly became friendly with Riri, The most friendly amongst the two disciples of the Folding Crane School.
The many interaction with Riri had lead her to meet and interact with Nilo and Finn more often. And in the end, she had managed to befriend them as well.
The four's chatter could be heard through the entire lobby, until a voice interrupted them. "Sister.."