Aethernea : Soulbound [Book 1]

Episode 82 - Picking up the ring

Previously:

Elaru finishes her exam. Kiel and her leave Muni and go to the city to pick up the ring Elaru left to be enchanted.

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Goddas sat on the armchair next to the tea table in his room, wiping the sweat from his unusually pale forehead with his handkerchief. The dark bags under his eyes were a testament to how hard he had been working the last few days just to meet the set deadline.

In a small box on the table in front of him stood a black and silver ring that looked elegant yet beautiful.

After inspecting the ring for several seconds, Goddas sighed and looked out of the window to the storm brewing outside. The rain was falling like it wanted to drown the entire world. The lightning sliced down as if it wanted to split the world in half.

When the lightning flashed, it was so bright that it hurt Goddas' eyes, so he looked away towards the ring once again.

However, what greeted him was an empty table and a non-empty chair opposite of him.

Goddas let out a loud screech that resembled a porkling getting slaughtered. However, the rumbling of thunder overpowered the sound.

The cloaked person, sitting in the chair opposite of Goddas, looked at him calmly, waiting for him to stop screaming.

Goddas panted for several seconds, with eyes bulging out of their sockets, before he finally managed to voice his complaints. "Motherfrakker! Are you trying to kill me?! Must you always appear out of thin air without any sound?!? Can't you knock, announce yourself or ring a doorbell like everyone else?!?!"

The person held the ring box and looked at Goddas as he was looking at an idiot. "Have you ever seen a Shadow enter through the front door?"

Goddas frowned. "No but..."

The man interrupted him. "Exactly. You don't see a Shadow. That's the whole point of the occupation. To not be seen."

Goddas opened and closed his mouth like a fish. The man didn't let him regain his bearing and continued. "Besides, why are you making such a fuss? You were obviously waiting for me, so how come you get such a scare when I actually show up?"

"It's because of the way how you appear out of thin air! I have a heart of a pechuh that is easily startled!" The fatty whined miserably.

"Goddas..." The man stated solemnly. "Don't insult the courage of a pechuh."

Goddas stared at him blankly for several seconds before he realized. "Frakk! Are you making fun of me?!"

The man waved the issue off, completely ignoring the red flush on fatty's face, and instead concentrated on the ring, scrutinizing it with both his eyes and his mana sense.

The cowardly fatty would have been shivering and hoping that the ring was to the man's taste if it weren't for the fact that he was confident in his work. He knew that the ring didn't have any flaws. His work never had flaws.

And indeed, the cloaked man nodded his head approvingly. "Thanks for your hard work."

He looked up to Goddas whose face displayed a self-satisfied smile. "Of course. I always do a good job" was written clearly all over his round face.

The man chose not to comment further and instead changed the subject. "This concludes our business. Consider your debt repaid. If you have a need for me in the future, just drop by the Shadow Lodge and ask for 'Light'."

I finally managed to get rid of you! Why would I go look for you myself?? Fatty thought, yet what he asked was: "Light? Is that your Shadow nickname?"