Chapter 39: Fiery

Chapter 39: Fiery

The next morning, the early sunlight painted the sky with a gentle red hue, casting a beautiful view from the window of Hans's flat.

He stirred shortly after, the allure of the sunrise quickly fading as Hans sipped his coffee and took a shower.

By the time he finally left the apartment, the sky was covered in gray clouds and a chilling wind swept through the few people that stood in the lonely streets.

Hans was one among these few people and step after step, he boarded on the city bus and settled on the uncomfortable seats.

Despite having already taken the written exam and applied for it, his driver's license was yet to be issued and he still needed to pass a practical test.

So for now, he had no option but to go around like this.

The bus speaker announced: [Next stop, "Greenfield train station"]

This was one of Chicago's largest train stations and also the district that housed one of the three big guilds: the Blaze Guild.

Hans got down from the bus and walked a bit before finding himself in front of an imposing building. Unlike the Vortex guild's towering structure, this building sprawled horizontally, its size more pronounced than in height.

Entering the building, the young man was once again greeted by an incredible sense of tranquility and despite the occasional cluster of people gathered here and there to watch a battle or a duel, it was still harmonious.

But what truly stood out the most and captured his attention was high up above Hans's head, the rooftop.

The ceiling was built entirely out of glass panels and it wasn't in just any plain shape like normal roofs, instead, it was unique, crafted in such a manner that it resembled the shape of fractured waves.

The sunlight filtering through this strange roof's structure created the enchanting illusion of being underwater.

It was truly a sight to behold.

The moment he arrived at the gate, an assistant approached to greet him and guided him directly to the Guildmaster's office.

It seemed like even for information from the inside of one of the three guilds, it would be difficult not to reach the ears of the other two.

Rumors of his visit to the Vortex guild had likely reached the Blaze guild's master.

The assistant who had escorted him until then stopped before a dark wooden door with a golden tag on it.

Written in black on the golden tag was: [Sophia Lewis]

"Come in."

An authoritative female voice came from the other side.

Hearing the response, he grabbed the door's cold handle and pushed it down, opening it.

As he did so, Hans was greeted by a woman, reclining on a low chair.

The woman's hair was bright red and so were her eyes and was dressed in a top and some trousers, revealing a portion of her abs.

Although she could not be called particularly young, she definitely was not old.

Her muscles were neatly toned and defined, showing a body that belonged more to a man than to a woman.

Even if relaxed, she gave off the feeling of being a predator.

She took a moment to process what she had just heard before finally coming up with a proposal.

"Me and my guild won't butt in your business, but under one condition," she stipulated.

"You see, my fighting style just happens to be centered on fire and it seems to me that you are in possession of something really... special."

Her greedy eyes traced Hans's hand, more precisely, his blood eye ring that shone as bright as a star in her mind.

"Are you planning to rob someone in broad daylight?!" Hans asked, hiding the artifact with his other hand.

"No, no. I'm not going to request it, but I'll bet with you, how about it."

Hans didn't respond, letting her speak, "If you win, I'll just promise to take your side without receiving anything in exchange, but if you lose, I'll take that beautiful piece. Are you in?"

"Can you first tell me about what we are going to bet on?"

The woman grinned, "Oh it's nothing much, as the new branch leader, you must be pretty formidable, right? How about proving it?"

Her aura expanded even more, becoming on par with that of Benjamin's.

Though Hans had already experienced it, this time felt different. The first time, he felt as if he was about to die from a sudden slash, but this time, he felt like his body was slowly melting under the aura, akin to being placed in pure magma.

"Don't tell me that... I'll have to fight you," Hans muttered under his breath.

[Name: Sophia Lewis

Age: 37

Lvl: 229

Class: Fiery Fighter

Strength: 383

Agility: 209

Endurance: 255

Wisdom: 31

Class skills:

{Fiery Greatswordsmanship (Rare)

Description: Fiery swordsmanship which allows the user to embed their great sword with fire, enhancing the blows' power and damage, if not resisted, the target hit by this skill will be under the status effect: {Burn}}

{Fiery Path (Rare) (PASSIVE)

Effect: The user's mana mutates to the fire attribute, becoming more violent and hot, melting whatever comes in its path.}

Description: A strong-willed woman who revels in combat, currently too formidable for the host to confront.

Evaluation: high Rank-A.]