Sneaking out of the embassy alone probably wasn't the smartest move he could have made, but he had searched for Kissea and Pauline and hadn’t found either.

  Frankly, Orion was already annoyed enough that the thought of waiting even longer, only to be told he couldn’t go because it was too late by then, was more than he could handle.

  Luckily, he’d visited the Adventurer’s Guild just days ago and knew how to get there without having to ask for directions.

  [Schr?dinger’s Defense], or at least the temporary version he could cast on the go, allowed him to step out without being bothered, and soon, Orion was strolling down the emptying streets of Valderun, where he let the spell dissipate.

  The day wasn’t over yet, since it was mid-afternoon, but the heavy feeling of anxiety that hung over the city made people try to finish their business before the sun began to set.

  It made for an eerie feeling. Walking through streets that once bustled with life, only to see merchants packing up their stalls and servants rushing from the nearby manses, hurriedly trying to buy what little was left on offer.

  In that environment, a lone teenager stood out, especially because of the fine quality of his lab coat and its distinctive tailoring. He probably could have avoided some curious looks if he’d kept up [Schr?dinger’s Defense], but while casting it through the CC made it easier to bear, it was still an unsettling piece of magic, and besides, he wanted to stay fresh for the training session.

  In the end, no one bothered him, though he wondered how much of that was due to Valderun being a truly safe city or if it was because of his distinctive looks, which clearly hinted at some magical heritage.

  The Adventurer’s Guild seemed completely unaffected by the nerves gripping the rest of Valderun. People in mismatched armor, tall and short, fat and thin, of all colors, shapes, and sizes, wandered around, laughing uproariously, challenging each other to spars, drinking, and crying together.

  It was the kind of place Orion wouldn’t have been caught dead in back in his previous life, and he had to suppress a huff of annoyance at the wall of noise surrounding him from every direction even now. But despite that, he could see people genuinely satisfied with their lives, enjoying the blessings they’d been given, and whose minds were far, far away from the constant politicking of the other major factions.

  Even the Radiant Vigil, which was mostly made up of muscle heads who only cared about martial arts and dueling, hadn’t been this laidback. After a moment of adjusting to the atmosphere, Orion loosened up, wandering through the main hall until he reached the front desks.

  Since this was the main Guild outside the Tower of Ambition, it was designed to manage large crowds efficiently. A dozen tellers handled everything, from quests for monster materials from everyday citizens to adventures returning from long expeditions, including more unusual requests like the one he was about to make.

  With so many workers managing the lines of people, Orion only took a few minutes to get to the front.

  Behind the marble desk, a pretty young girl with curled horns protruding from her forehead greeted him. “Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild, Valderun branch. My name is Isobel. How can I assist you today?”

  “Good afternoon,” he replied, eyeing her face with curiosity. She seemed to lack the scales he’d come to associate with dragonkin, but the horns were a clear giveaway that she was not fully human. A mixed blood? I heard they existed, but this is my first time seeing one. She must be a rare type, since dragonkin already have pretty low fertility rates.

  After a moment of silence, he realized he’d gotten distracted by his observations and that Isobel’s smile was strained. “Ah, sorry about that. I would like to book a training ground, preferably a private one, for the next few hours.”

  Although clearly irritated, she kept her professional smile and nodded, “Yes, we have six private rooms available on the lower floors. If you’ll pass me your Guild card, I will do the paperwork for you.”

  “Ah,” Orion said. “I don’t have a Guild card.”

  Isobel closed her eyes briefly, clearly seeking strength, but forged on with surprising calm, “We can handle that as well. Was it stolen or lost? If you’ll give me your details, I will create a new temporary one until tomorrow morning, when the Guildmaster will be able to use the enchantments woven into it to either locate it or declare it lost for good.”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “I’m not a member of the Guild,” Orion clarified, somewhat embarrassed. He’d gotten so used to everyone knowing who he was, even in Silverpeak, that having to deal with this kind of minor bureaucracy was tripping him up. “I was told it is still possible to use the training grounds even without a membership.”

  With more curiosity than annoyance, Isobel looked at him carefully for the first time. “Yes, you don’t look like one of ours. From the Collegium, I take it? I guess that with the current situation, getting out of there for some fresh air might be a good idea.”

  Then, before he could correct her about his affiliation, she took out a different sheet of paper and started filling it in. “We do rent out to non-members, but the fee is three coppers per hour for the public grounds, and one silver per three hours for the private ones. We do not negotiate on this.”

  Orion hissed softly. He could easily pay for either, but one silver was quite a lot, considering that even in Valderun, it could rent you a room in a decent inn for a couple of days.

  Still, he had come too far to turn back now. He sighed and took out a single silver coin, dropping it onto the counter.

  Seeing the money, Isobel brightened significantly, and with a quick bit of sleight of hand, took it and passed him the paperwork. “I imagine you can read and write, yes?”

  “Indeed,” Orion deadpanned, ignoring the quill she offered and grabbing one of his own pens. The form was quite simple, needing only a name, a promise not to intentionally damage anything, and agreement on the specified time.

  He signed his name at the bottom with a flourish and handed the paper back.

  “Wonderful,” Isobel said as she checked he’d done it right. Then she stood up, catching the nearest teller’s attention with a wave of her hand. “I’m about to clock off anyway. I’ll take this guy to the underground training rooms and get home. Mickey should be here within the next few minutes anyway. I saw him chatting up an older ranger earlier.”

  The middle-aged man she’d spoken to snorted and waved her off. “Go on, the big deals are already over for today anyway. We’ll probably get another couple of hours of activity and then close early after we organize the quests.”

  “Lucky!” Isobel chuckled as she turned away and gestured for Orion to follow.

  She led him down the hall and into a different corridor than the one he remembered taking for the duel he’d watched a few days ago.

  “So, was I right? You’re trying to get away from the tension?” Isobel asked, glancing at him from the corner of her eyes.

  Orion thought about correcting her impression of him as a Collegium mage again, but decided it probably wasn’t that important. And it wasn’t like he’d lied anyway. “I did have a couple of weird encounters that made me think stepping out would be better. I’m working through some new spells, and I don’t want to be disturbed.”

  She nodded along as if that explained everything. It probably did, since as a Guild receptionist, she had to constantly interact with the most colorful characters in the Magocracy. She knew exactly how strange people could get here.

  They walked down a flight of stairs into a brightly lit basement level, where numerous sturdy wooden doors had plaques indicating their purpose. Most of them bore labels like “Prvt. T. Room” and a number, but some were marked as storage and utility rooms.

  Orion eyed them with curiosity. It was fascinating to him that the Guild would allow anyone, even non-members like him, into the depths of their second most important building, but he supposed that was just how things worked here.

  It’s probably why they’re still around. Anyone can join, and to them, power is all that matters. By being open to everyone, they can likely recruit many people from strict factions with minimal effort.

  They stopped in front of a door labeled “Prvt. T. Room 11,” and Isobel turned to face him. “Alright, here’s the deal. There are strengthening spells over the walls, floor, and ceiling, so you’d really have to work hard to damage anything, but try your best not to. If you need to shoot a dangerous spell, aim at the silver wall, which is designed to withstand anything below tier three. Also, while sound is muffled, if you make enough noise, people will still notice, so try to keep it down.”

  She then opened the door for him and walked away. “Just close the door behind you when you’re done!”

  Somewhat confused by her sudden departure, Orion shrugged his shoulders and went inside.

  As promised, the chamber was empty, built from rough stone, except for a single wall on the opposite side of the door that had a silvery shine.

  Walking closer to it, Orion activated [Verification Principle], trying to glean its inner workings.

  The shield his mother made for him was alchemically treated, meaning its very structure had been transformed into an incredibly durable alloy of steel that he was pretty sure couldn’t naturally exist, but it had no magic beyond that.

  This wall was somewhat similar. It had clearly been treated in some way because he could sense that the material itself wasn’t natural, but it also had a series of strengthening enchantments that allowed mana to flow off it.

  I’m pretty sure I could damage it with a serious effort and sustained output, but it should shrug off anything I can casually throw at it.

  Satisfied that he hadn’t been scammed, Orion pulled out his journal from the lab coat’s inner pocket and flipped to the last page.

  His last success was with [Penetrate], a metaspell that boosted the potency of any magic. While he believed he could improve it and create an even more effective formula, he still had plenty of easier targets to pursue that would bring him closer to the next tier before he needed to do that.

  Of those, the one that interested him most was probably one that many might have overlooked. [Delay] wasn’t the flashiest spell, but anyone who had ever taken an enchantment class knew how useful it was to have a magical option in reserve that didn’t require extra mana to cast.

  “It really depends on how long I can delay a spell, and its cost. If it takes a proportional amount of time, then it would only be situationally useful. But if it’s a fixed amount... Well, then, things can get very interesting very quickly.”

  Orion’s goal was to have permanently charged crystals with a delayed spell cast on them. That would let him multiply his stamina in a fight tenfold.

  We aren’t batteries, since we draw the mana from the Local Field rather than ourselves, but it’s still tiring to cast complex spells for any length of time.

  The only thing that dampened his enthusiasm was that he was pretty sure it wasn’t such an obscure idea that no one else would have thought of it, and since he couldn’t remember spell crystals being sold in any market, there was probably something wrong with his idea.

  But that’s why I’m here, isn’t it? I just need to find out what it is and fix it.