New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

"I'm not sure it's a pleasure to meet you, yet, sir Eustas. I would rather know why you intervened in my combat and why you hid us from those men earlier."

Astaroth didn't doubt the man had good intentions, but not knowing them still made him anxious. What if he was after his capabilities?

There was no doubt in his mind that a mage in this high of a position, and with this much power, knew a Soulmancer at first sight. And that brought him to his next question.

"What is in it for you?"

The old man grinned.

"For me? Nothing. It was but a passing thought and reaction from an old senile man. But for you? There is much to gain from associating with me, young man."

Astaroth had shivers from his grin. There it was, the signature grin of a shrewd person.

The same grin Phoenix had flashed him when she cornered him into signing that contract in the tournament.

Violette let the grownups talk, while her mind wandered off to what she had seen of the old man's aura. How long did it take a person to reach that kind of power?

It piqued her passion for magic and the miracles it could perform, as she wondered what kind of miracle this old man could do, with power this large.

She wondered if players could reach that kind of power at all. Even if their levelling speed was incredibly faster than NPCs, from what information she had, it still wasn't easy to reach this strength, of that she was certain.

While her mind wandered off into questions about the heights of magic, Astaroth was still trying to get a read on Euclesias.

"Sir. With all due respect, no one ever does anything for free."

"Hm. A skeptical one, aren't you? You are right. It wasn't for free."

'I knew it…'

"Then what was the price we must pay?"

"That is where you are wrong, young Astaroth. The price for what I did today was paid a long time ago."

This threw Astaroth for a loop.

'What is he talking about? I've never met him…'

"I can sense the confusion in your mind. Let me clarify for you. I was simply repaying a favour for an old foolish friend of mine."

"What does that have to do with us?"

Well, you see, I recognize the staff in this young lady's hands. That is how I knew who you are associated with. That is also why I butted into your fight, and hid your existence from the council."

Astaroth looked at Violette's staff, and then it clicked.

"You know Aberon!"

The old man chuckled.

"I didn't think Aberon would teach a dense student like you one day, haha. Yes, I know Aberon. We were once very close friends."

"But that brings me back to what you said earlier. You said I had something to gain from this. Did you mean not being on this 'Council's' radar?"

"That is one thing you gained. But that is not what you will benefit most from. I have one other thing to give you."

A soft knock came from the door at that moment.

"Come on in, Claire."

The door opened slowly, revealing the woman from the counter. Her head was lowered, in respect and fear of the guild master, as she approached the desk.

"I had them made as per your instructions, sir."

"Very good. You may leave them on the desk and resume your post. Thank you for your discretion."

Claire nodded, glancing at the two youths before the desk. It wasn't often that people their age earned this privilege.

She deposited a small tray on the corner of the desk before turning on her heels and leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.

On the tray, two crystalline cards were laying. On them, it showed the names and classes of Astaroth and Violette, alongside their new adventurer rank.

Astaroth gasped lightly when he saw the rank. They were S-rank cards!

"Sir, this is too high! We will garner all kinds of unwanted attention!"

"You misunderstand the ranking system, young man. Contrary to common belief, S-rank is not the top of the chain."

"It… isn't?"

"Not exactly. Although quite a lot of adventurers with S-rank cards are considered the pinnacle of strength, that is not where their true value lies."

"I don't understand. Please explain what it means."

"The S-rank card doesn't stand for the pinnacle of ranking. It stands for special rank. It means you are an adventurer under the direct purview of a guild master. This card is protection from ill-intentioned parties."

Astaroth quickly grasped what the old man meant. The card didn't mean they were superpowers in the guild.

It meant a powerful figure backed them. This was basically saying, 'These seeds are mine, back off!'

It was a gift of greater value than he could have ever asked for. This would ease his passing into so many cities and situations around the entire world of the game.

A guild master from the adventurer's guild was sure to have some political clout, especially one that was apparently once part of the magic council in Sunpeak.

This was a 'Get out of jail' card!

"Sir… Can we even take those? I don't think we deserve such a gift."

Violette, on the other hand, was already grasping the card in her little hands. The curiosity of a child knew no bounds, and as soon as she saw the shiny card, she got up to grab it.

"Thank you!" She said happily.

The old man burst into laughter.

Astaroth was now almost forced to take his.

'This is a cursed gift if I ever saw one,' he thought, sighing.

"Thank you, sir."