Chapter 79 - New Allies (4)

As Arya opened his eyes he saw two hooded figures looking at him from across the room, the unfamiliar environment putting him on high alert. He quickly reached into his pants looking for his dagger before jumping off the bed into a fighting stance.

"Who are you guys?" asked Arya as he revolved his dagger into a slicing position and was already letting mana course through his veins.

"We mean you no harm." said the shorter figure. Arya could tell she was female by the sound of her voice, it was childish but devoid of all emotion.

"Where am I?" asked Arya again, ready to cast an ice spell as soon as something was fishy.

"In our room." replied the taller figure, this time it was a man.

"You still haven't answered me. Who are you guys?" asked Arya once again, still suspicious of the two hooded figures.

"We are just passer-bys who happened to witness your fight and help you." replied the taller figure.

"Pfft. And I'm the Grand-magus's grandson. I don't buy it, if you're just a passer-by then take off your hood." said Arya as he shifted a bit back from the two hooded figures.

The taller hooded figure removed his hood, revealing him to be a man possibly in his late 30's. He had hazel-colored hair and brown colored eyes, he would be handsome if not for his tired expression.

"And the girl," said Arya, turning to look at the shorter figure.

"Can't you show a little gratitude for the effort we took to save you? What would have happened to you had we left you out there in the open, next to those thugs you beat up?" asked Calder annoyed by Arya's reaction.

"No one does things without there being something of benefit involved. I don't know what you guys had to benefit from saving me, but I'm sure I want nothing to do with it. Plus I never asked you to help anyways, you did it of your own accord. If I wanted to, I could blame you for kidnapping." said Arya as he scoffed at Calder's reply.

"This kid." thought Calder as he realized he was dealing with a sociopath.

"It's okay Calder. I would have to show him some time anyway," said Marya as she removed her hood, revealing her slimly shaped face, and perfectly placed features but most of all her long pointy ears signifying she was an elf.

"An elf!" thought Arya as he began getting excited. After all this time he had finally met one, and she looked just as beautiful as he had remembered from the manga he had read back on earth. However, his excitement was short-lived as he realized the implications of it all.

"Why would an elf help me?" wondered Arya as he looked at Marya with an expressionless face.

"Now explain why you've brought me here," ordered Arya as he scrutinized Marya's face, comparing the differences and similarities between what they had portrayed in the manga he had read and what he was seeing.

"We need your help," said Calder as he stepped in front of Marya, covering her from Arya's scrutinizing gaze.

"What do you mean?" asked Arya now confused by what was going on.

"We saw you fighting. You're a powerful variant and I need your help protecting her," said Calder as he looked at Arya seriously.

"If you look around I'm sure you will find mages more powerful than me," replied Arya, even more confused by Calder's statement.

"Me? Powerful? Aren't I only a 0-star mage?" wondered Arya inwardly as he tried to look as confident as possible.

"That's highly unlikely. From what I've seen, you're at least a 3-star mage or at the bottleneck to it," replied Marya from behind Calder.

"What is she saying?" thought Arya, now convinced that these two were messing with him.

"You can try to manipulate your mana signature to that of a 0-star mage, but it's not possible for you to be so powerful at such an immature stage. For someone so advanced in magic your logic is a bit off. You should have changed your mana signature to that of a 1-star mage at least, if you were gonna walk around showing your power in random street fights like that." replied Marya.

"She can sense my mana signature? Does that mean she is a mage as well?" thought Arya as the dark figure's voice added in, "Help her. I promise you that you won't regret it." 

"I told you I'm never asking for your help again. That includes advice," replied Arya, confusing Calder and Marya.

"Is he crazy?" thought Calder as he gave Arya a puzzled look.

"N-nevermind me," said Arya trying to look composed as he inwardly lectured himself for talking so loudly.

"It doesn't matter to me anyway. Do what you want, but keep in mind that everything I do and say has the best results in mind." said the dark figure before going silent again.

"Wait, if you can sense my mana signature doesn't that mean you're a mage as well?" asked Arya.

"Yes I am. I'm a wind mage." replied Marya much to Calder's dismay.

"You can't just reveal your strengths like that," said Calder.

"Why not? We know what type of mage he is. And plus if we are going to work together wouldn't it make more sense for him to know as well?" asked Marya.

"I haven't decided on working with you yet. I don't even know what the mission is about," replied Arya quickly.

It wasn't just because of that though. Arya had a bad experience in working with groups, he remembered how tight-knit and happy Silverfox looked together. Just for them to be betrayed by their leader. Arya wasn't planning on involving himself with a group, even if payment was involved.

"I need to get to Belgard," replied Marya flatly.

"Marya!" shouted Calder now annoyed by Marya's lack of negotiation skills.

"Belgard? Why would you need help getting there?" asked Arya, now surprised that they were heading in the same direction as him.