Chapter 738: The Clans
CHAPTER 738
Back then, Ryan had reacted outrageously because he was called a crappy son of ice.
Northern had thought the issue was the "crappy" but Ryan's response addressed the fact that he was not a son of ice but a son of cold flame and did not seem concerned about the "crappy."
Now hearing about his family's ties to a strange chalice of cold flame, it just made so much
sense.
Although he could not entirely ascertain the genuineness of the information, it seemed more like a rumor. But he knew a semblance of it was true.
He continued to listen to Aster.
"The sixth and seventh are not much big deal; they all joined different kingdoms and became part of their nobility system. I suspect that even Kejar and Beason would most likely join another kingdom or form one of their own."
Northern gave Aster a deep, serious, and confused look.
"You suspect?"
Aster glanced at him and let out a strange laughter, scratching the back of his neck.
"I just go off saying nonsense sometimes. I guess I really am a chatterbox like you say. Ha ha."
He laughed for a couple more awkward minutes but Northern's deep eyes did not let him off the hook; they seemed to be digging beyond his eyes.
Before he could say anything however, Northern averted his eyes.
"So, these guys... they are from the Kejar clan... who are they exactly?"
Aster was silent for a bit. He began to tear his steak with the fork in his hands.
"They are twins and are referred to as the prodigy twins of the clan. Although they are just Nomads, their combat experience and talent class alone places them on a different level amongst the whole school. It is understandable why someone of their caliber was the second to finish. Even though they were not able to kill the rift guardian... of course."
"They were not able to kill the rift guardian?"
Northern's tone betrayed a bit of disappointment.
Aster waited until he had done chewing before he responded, gesturing with the fork in his hands.
"Of course they were not. I am sure none of the instructors expected us to actually defeat the rift guardian. Usually, to defeat a rift in total, it will take no less than a week."
He paused abruptly, thinking for a bit.
"What am I even saying? A tier V rift would have caused no less than three weeks. And you finished it in thirty minutes. Think about it Rian, isn't it crazy?"
Northern indeed thought for a bit.
The chatterbox was kind of right. His first rift had not come that easy, and he spent a lot of months in it. Moreover, it was tier V.
'But there was a problem with that rift; it wasn't like the others.'
The Kingdom of Red Mines was leaked to other rifts, which caused territorial war every now and then. It was defective but still, a rift of tier V cannot be easily defeated in thirty minutes.
It was very difficult for any experienced drifter to believe.
A Paragon can of course solo a tier Vrift if they tried, but not in thirty minutes. And monsters were a very volatile phenomenon; calculating the odds were not enough an unexpected variable could rise from nowhere and turn the tables around.
This was the main reason why Paragons and Ascendants don't go around soloing rifts even though they probably could.
And to do so would take no less than one week, because they would need to rest, replenish their strength, and strategize to fight only with their advantage.
But none of that was applicable to this phenomenon called Rian.
Aster stared at him for a few seconds, prompting Northern to frown uncomfortably. "What?"
He shook his head, taking another bite of steak into his mouth and speaking with it.
"I really don't understand you. What are you?"
Northern did not respond to the boy's curiosity. Instead, he focused on his food. After he was done, he put away his plate and decided to take some free time to himself, stepping out of the mansion to see what the main city actually looked like.
Taking permission to go out was a long process; the instructors wanted to have full oversight over the safety of each student.
But for some reason, it was relatively easy for him. At first, they started whispering to each other's ears. Northern did not know what the deal was but it looked like the instructors recognized him of some sort.
'It wouldn't be because of that, would it...?'
If he knew it was going to cause this much hassle, maybe he would have pretended to stay a little bit longer in the rift.
However, Northern detested the thought of pretending. His days of pretense were over.
Now, anyone that was uncomfortable with his strength could just scram. Besides, it was not like he was going to go after everyone and have them at their throats, or demand their heads.
To be honest, he didn't even consider them in all of his plans.
After the need to deal with one single person, the next agenda on his mind was Reimgard. After Reimgard, the underworld.
Except if threats beyond mortal dealings were to suddenly reveal themselves. Even at that, he was not some hero; if he didn't need to, he wouldn't.
At last, they gave him permission, but not without a curfew. Northern was to make it back to the mansions before 9 PM or else there would be penalties waiting for him.
And so he departed to the city.
***
The capital city of Verulania was a beautiful place to behold. Of course, the high roofs and spired edges gave the city a common religious edge.
But the thing about them was that they weren't that religious. Of course, every nation was committed to a constellation body.
And in the center of Sertlia street, Northern could see a small statue of a bird-like creature that resembled an eagle...
'Isn't that a griffin...?'
It had fore limbs and hind limbs, eyes sharp as if piercing into one's soul, the sculpture perfectly smooth and clean, almost looking too realistic.
Beneath the eagle-like creature was a fountain. Two ladies were seated on the round edge of the fountain's basin, discussing casually, the soft luminescence of the day star falling on their
amber skin.
From the looks of it, they were undoubtedly nobility.
The water was clear, softly radiating the glow of the day star's light as it poured.
Northern could clearly see the coins that had been tossed into the water at the depth of the
basin.
He drifted his head back to the eagle, muttering.
"Metynnis."
Then he continued his walk, turning to the right of the alley to lead him to another street.
Somewhere behind the alley, two men pressed themselves against the wall and watched him go forward, their eyes glinting with a wicked light and they smiled eerily through the corner of their mouths.