Chapter 105 - Potential

"Excuse my rudeness," the room white and grey in color with lovely wood furniture screamed. An old man accompanied by the guild assistant had just rushed inside. The sound it made perturbed the peaceful and quiet room; Staxius felt at ease till that incident happened. Time was nearly noon, outside; most were taking lunch breaks. The lucky one that is, apart from that nothing else major happened.

The wizard breathed heavily, he could not say another word. "No need for an apology," Staxius stood and helped the man get comfortable on a cream-colored sofa. "Would you mind bringing this gentleman a glass of water?" the guild assistant nodded and dashed to carry out Staxius's request. "Take your time and breathe," he tried to calm the old wizard. After a few deep breaths, he gained back the ability to speak. "I-I a-apologize," he tried but Staxius rested his hand onto his shoulder. It signaled the man to not bother speaking at this instant. He nodded and waited for the guild assistant.

A few minutes went by, the man's breath returned to normal. As if by fate, the assistant came in at the same exact moment. He took a few sips, Staxius stood with his arm crossed. The aura he gave out was of a powerful yet compassionate man. "First impressions are the last impressions," it's within that timespan that the mind processes and acknowledges someone by their traits. Depending on how one appeared; some might find a gentle person aggressive if he acted irrationally. So many misconceptions about appearance have put innocents to the sword. A guy with an evil stare though he might have been someone good would have made anyone suspicious. Staxius knew that from the start; so today he decided to appear as someone to be strict and scary. Subtle intimidation so that any advantage the other party had was neutralized.

"Glad to see you are doing far better," Staxius spoke with arms still crossed. "Thank you for taking care of an old man like me," he stared up, Staxius's face felt neutral. The wizard could read nothing of him. "Well then," Staxius walked slowly, "-why were you in such a hurry earlier?" he headed for the chair. "I-I w-was b-baffled by how masterful this scroll was," the wizard got up and sat opposite Staxius. The scrolls laid on the table, the assistant remained in the corner and waited patiently. "May I enquire to where you appropriated yourself with such valuable items?" he held a small smirk, the eyes looked shady, Staxius observed carefully. "With all due respect, you may not." From a relaxed position, he leaned and rested both elbows on the table. "-I can assure you the items aren't from anything shady. That is all I can divulge at this instant," the tone felt sinister and dark. "Very well, as long as you say they're not stolen property, we haven't an issue." The old man stared Staxius as well, they both watched one another. "What brings someone like you to our humble guild?" the wizard asked. "I came in hopes of having a few items appraised and authenticated by someone credible." Two uncommon scrolls and one rare rested in the middle of the table. "I see, you wish to get the item appraised." He took a quick pause and resumed, "-I can personally help in the endeavor however the authentication will require some effort," the tone was filled with greed. Staxius knew what he wanted; coins.

Slowly, Staxius brought the scrolls closer. "I see, but isn't getting something appraised free of charge?" he softly rolled one of the uncommon scrolls with his middle finger vertically. "It is free of charge, but the authentication is something not many have access to." The tone remained the same. "Is that so, how's this authentication so precious?" Staxius now rolled two uncommon scrolls. "Well you see, I shall personally vouch for said items. It puts both my name and the name of the magical guild on the line. If someday these items are revealed to be stolen property, our credibility would be nullified." The eyes looked as if the wizard plotted something. "In that case," Staxius stopped rolling the uncommon scrolls and used the rare one instead, "-that's a quandary, though if the items are revealed to be authentic and worthy. And if by any chance you are to reject my request; the one to who I will turn to next might stand to gain more than recognition." He smirked, "you seem a man of his word. I shall vouch for you and your items." The wizard glanced at the assistant, "prepare the study and notify the guild. I'm to give this man a certification of authenticity, the scrolls he has are valuable."

Scared, the relatively young man ran to get the room prepared. "You're a tougher nut to crack as opposed to your appearance," Staxius spoke, it took the old man by surprise. "So are you," he smiled, Staxius gave the rare scroll a final push. In that exchange, what seemed to have been a normal conversation about the legitimacy of his items. Staxius was cutting a deal, the wizard had hoped for coins in exchange for the certificate. However, the way Staxius interacted with him, it became obvious that he wanted to trade the scrolls he had for said item. The price changed from two uncommon to a rare in a matter of seconds. Though it cost a lot, the return would be better forward.

"Alrighty, let's leave, Avon," the car drove. "aren't you missing a rare scroll?" Avon asked suspiciously. "Well I traded it for this," a badge engraved and signed by one of the master scholars in the magical guilds. Someone respectable and with a lot of credibility behind his name which remained a mystery. "And will that badge help us in any way?" Avon didn't bite just yet, "considering we are to sell scrolls to people who don't even know our identity. We need to have something to show our legitimacy and this badge will do just that. We can now start selling those items to shops and traders for quick cash."

In that manner, Staxius walked into places of interest. He negotiated and mainly sold the items for gold coins. The empty wallet began to fill once more. The demand for his wares was a bit overwhelming. Though it had a price tag that would make anyone run; it surprised him when people happily accepted to pay his price. In most situations, he gave out the price and got what he wanted as opposed to bargaining. All and all, he sold fourteen uncommon and nine rare which brought the total to five hundred and ninety.  The time now was around three, the sun's blazing heat let up slightly.

"A very good day of work," they sat under a tree. The place felt familiar for it was the same garden as before. "People do waste an awful lot on healing scrolls don't they?" Avon added, his gaze turned to the people walking back and forth. "Scrolls are magical; they have the power to heal any illness. It doesn't care what deadly disease you have, the strong mana from the spell is sufficient to cure it. Given that healing magic alone can't hope to save anyone, not one who is mortally injured. The immense quantity of mana in those items can just about cure anything. Sadly, it can't bring back the dead, or can it? I know not, maybe a Relic classed scroll can be a resurrection spell instead. The possibilities when dealing with magic is endless." A smile shone on his face, he truly was passionate about the subject.

"father, Father, FATHER," The voice echoed, Eira awoke suddenly. "What is it?" The nurse beside her woke as well, they were both as equally shocked. "Eira Haggard, you've finally regained consciousness, let me call the doctor," she left. 'Where am I, my head feels heavy…' flash images of her father helping in calming Goliath got her to wake. 'Father is here, my memory never lies.'  The door opened, "good afternoon, Eira," she recognized the loud voice, "greetings master," she mumbled. "No need to feel ashamed about the last battle, it happens. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," he cared not about results but her health as well.  

Despite this, Eira tried her hardest to move and leave her bed. "What are you doing?" Josiah rushed to her side for she nearly fell. "We need to go train, master," she regretted not having enough strength to win that supposedly easy match up. "I respect the will to grow strong, but there's a fine line between insanity and genius. You're about to fall into the former. Given that genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration, it doesn't mean that overworking to the point of death is going to do any good. From today forth, I shan't be your master." He replied with regret in his voice. "What do you mean master? Did I do something wrong," her face changed to scared. "No need to worry about that," he sensed what she thought about. "-I'm not leaving you just yet. You are still my apprentice, however, from today forth, I've called in someone else to help train you for the next two versus two." The face regained its composure, "have you found me a partner?" she asked but his reply was, "you'll find out soon enough," her body felt sore all over to which it put her right asleep.

'These people never remain quiet,' Staxius walked into the central guild. He spotted a few familiar faces from earlier. They were back from their quests; the notification table had changed.

[Protection from the Dark Guild – Tier 7(Completed)]

[Emissary from God – Tier 9(Completed)]

[Goblin infestation – Tier 10(Completed)]

[Potential Dragon spotting – Tier X]

[Escort for Trading Routes – Tier 8]

[Slavery & Torture – Tier 7(Completed)]

People worked fast, only two remained. They cheered and smiled and as usual, the one who completed the hardest quest had rights to brag. A few minutes later, all grew less chaotic, adventurers came frequently but fewer in numbers. They came to exchange Qaisar and report on the previous quest they might have taken. The guild assistant caught a glimpse of Staxius and rolled her eyes once more. He seemed unaffected but wanted to rip her neck. "Good afternoon Melisa," he chose to approach the other assistant instead. "Good a-afternoon," she bowed. "I'm here to register as an adventurer," the other girl chuckled. "Diane, don't be rude," Melisa quietly mumbled. "I'm sorry, but someone like you registering as an adventurer is a joke. Have you seen how frail you look? Not to mention it costs ten gold pieces." *Clang,* he dropped a bag of gold on the desk, "I'd like to politely say that you should not judge a book by its cover." The aura around him turned violent for an instant, "WATCH OUT," the whole guild got out their weapons subconsciously. "What happened, I thought I sensed a demon," some cowered behind their companions. "Probably something to not worry about," they returned to their usual chatter. "Did you just…?" she tried to ask but her feet shook. Staxius winked, "this way please," Melisa spoke, she wasn't affected. 'Who is that man, I thought I felt something so ominous I saw my life flash before my eyes.' The air remained confusing.

"Did you sense that?" a deep voice spoke," yes I did, it was that man who just headed inside with Melisa." A feminine voice replied. Their necklace shone with a silvery color. "Do you think it's an illusion?" the deep voice asked once more, "probably not, however it reminded me the aura of a demon, forget that, stronger than a demon." They rested their hands on the bal.u.s.trade and forgot whatever happened.

"All you need to do is place your hands onto the globe there," he walked to where the object was. "Ready," he spoke, "alrighty, so am I" she replied. The machine turned on, his hand placed onto the globe. It oddly reminded him of the time he tried out for Claireville academy.