"Riven!" The voice came from a boy with an authoritative tone. "We've already talked about this. Stop it."
The boy speaking seemed to be the leader of the group. He emanated an aura of power. His cloak, the same color as the robes underneath, clearly marked him as a mage. His violet eyes, shining like his attire, radiated a natural authority.
"Hmpf." Riven huffed but took a step back. "As you wish."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Lira," said the girl who had helped him earlier, easing the tension with a smile.
"I'm Kael." The authoritative boy nodded, his voice calm but firm.
"And I am Alistair." A large man introduced himself, extending his hand to Jeremy.
"An ogre?" Jeremy's first thought, but he didn't mention it and extended his own hand to shake Alistair's.
"The pleasure is mine." Jeremy responded politely, immediately noticing the strength conveyed in the handshake. He was powerful, definitely.
"And next to me is Sienna." Alistair continued. "She's the one who shot the arrows at you earlier."
"Nice." Sienna only said that word, but her gaze never left Jeremy's. It seemed to assert, with her eyes, that any misstep would be the last one.
She was a predator.
Jeremy didn't dare use his Perception ability. He knew that if he activated it, they might notice him. After all, they had already caught him off guard once.
"What is a necromancer like you doing around here?" Kael asked indifferently.
Jeremy was taken aback and widened his eyes. It was incredible that they had already figured it out.
Then, a thought struck him like lightning. "The system, of course... unlike them, I don't have items that mask my status."
"I'm lost." He said without hesitation, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. After all, he wasn't lying. He had ended up in this place purely by accident, with no idea of where he was.
"Oh, really?" Riven retorted sarcastically. "How did an E-Rank like you survive alone in this area?"
A little irritated by Riven's attitude, Jeremy responded coldly. "I'm not alone."
Then, suddenly, something moved between the trees, approaching with surprising speed.
"What the hell..." Riven thought, frozen in place as he saw what appeared from between the trees.
It was a skeleton. Its bones seemed to absorb the little light that illuminated the area, making it almost invisible in the surrounding darkness.
Lira and Alistair also seemed surprised.
Kael and Sienna remained impassive, but a furtive glance between them revealed a silent understanding: they had both realized the same thing.
"That skeleton is incredibly powerful."
"I present to you Drae'mon." Jeremy smiled, gesturing to the skeleton.
The skeleton didn't make a sound, but the defiant look in its eyes was clear: anyone who dared harm its master would pay a heavy price. In particular, its gaze fixed on Riven, who returned the look with a grimace of challenge.
"A mere skeleton dares to look at me like that?" Riven yelled, furious, ready to charge at the creature.
But the skeleton wasn't alive, and thus had no fear.
"Can you explain why you're always so quarrelsome?" Alistair raised his voice, addressing Riven. "Can't you stay calm for even a minute?"
After talking for a while and getting to know each other, everyone welcomed Jeremy, except Riven.
They intended to take him to their city, Solmare.
Jeremy, surprised by the city's name, decided to ask more about it.
Everything he discovered made him realize one thing: he was no longer anywhere near the academy. Everything felt unfamiliar.
"What's the rank of the strongest in the city?" Jeremy asked with pure curiosity in his eyes.
From what he knew, only the headmistress of the academy had reached the infamous Rank S. All the others were between Rank B and Rank A. Once you reached Rank B, advancing became immensely difficult.
"There are many experts in the city," Alistair stated. "But only four have reached Rank S. We are not considered a high-level city."
"What?" Jeremy exclaimed.
For him, Rank S was unreachable, yet here it seemed much more common.
"Surprised?" the big man replied. "You'll be even more surprised when you go to the capital of the empire. There, not only Rank S, but there are many experts above that rank, though not much is known about them."
Jeremy was stunned. He hadn't expected to end up in such a dangerous world.
After discussing things for a while, the group set up camp, wanting to rest before heading back to the city.
They all had spatial rings from which they took out tents and small beds. They even had extras for emergencies, so they offered them to Jeremy. Not only that, but they also gave him a set of new clothes. After all, his clothes were in tatters.
Jeremy, to repay them, offered to stand guard, or rather, he would leave Drae'mon to watch over the place. After all, he didn't have the concept of fatigue.
And so, about six hours passed, during which the skeleton remained vigilant. It had only noticed movements in the distance once.
It was a pair of Rank E Ailurus. Needless to say, they were brutally slain by Drae'mon, with no escape.
After recovering and storing everything, the group set out.
Apart from a few scattered beasts, the group proceeded without issues, and after traveling for about ten hours…
"Finally, we're out," Lira said, looking at the sky. They had been trapped in the forest for days, killing monsters, and they were mentally exhausted.
And it was also the first time Jeremy saw the light of the star that illuminated this place.
"The sun?" Jeremy thought absently. "Clearly, it can't be... what am I thinking?"
An ironic smile crossed his face.
There were still a few hours left until they reached the city, but from a distance, the walls were already visible, at least ten meters high.
They were imposing, after all, Solmare was very close to the Nyx Forest, the place they had just left.
Once they reached the walls, a huge semi-open gate appeared before the group in all its grandeur.
"Documents," Two guards, dressed in silver armor, blocked the group.
The group didn't seem surprised, they were used to these formalities. Kael pulled out some kind of golden badge from nowhere. It was his identification, marking him as a member of the Adventurers' Guild.
"Please," without further issue, the guards stepped aside and allowed the group to enter.
"Well, we part ways here," Kael said calmly. "We've told you enough about the city, have a pleasant stay."
"Thanks for everything," Jeremy replied.
They had already said their goodbyes before entering the city, no need to say more.
"Alright, first thing," the boy said, "I need to buy clothes for myself and Drae'mon. His appearance could cause too many problems…"
"Poor guy, he's waiting outside, hidden somewhere. I wonder what he's thinking…"
"But before that, I should register at the guild, so I'll have an identification."
The city wasn't huge, and he found the guild easily. After all, it was one of the most imposing buildings in the city.
Once he arrived, a massive palace stood before Jeremy.
The walls were smooth and white, with dark veins running through them. It looked like marble. The edges were finished in a golden material.
Huge statues made the air even more imposing.
As Kael had advised, Jeremy didn't dare use any perception abilities or the system to identify people. It would be considered rude. Unless the other person was obviously stronger, it was bad manners to inspect them.
Once inside the building, the atmosphere changed completely.
If before Jeremy had felt like a fish out of water, here he felt at home. People of all kinds were talking to each other, some eating, others offering drinks to women, still others looking for people to go hunting.
It was chaotic.
However, Jeremy's entrance into the guild made all activities stop, but only for an instant. New faces were rare, as it wasn't a commercial city; however, the ongoing event was attracting many people. Mostly young adventurers, with power up to Rank D. They had to compete in a tournament established by a nearby kingdom to win prizes.
Many adventurers were traveling for the event, and Solmare happened to be a midway point between the nearby villages and the kingdom.
Jeremy approached the guild counter, where a young receptionist with brown hair observed him with curious eyes.