Fight. Level. Survive.

The Trials are a tradition that date back thousands of years. As such, the people of Ganehfrel have made their way into the myths and legends of the neutral world.

We appear in their stories and histories as tyrants, dictators and power-hungry Monsters. The people of the neutral world have many names for the Ganehfrelian people, ‘Others’ seems to be the most common, but we have also been called Fae, Demons and several other equally ridiculous names.

In past trials, the locals haven't been much of a threat. While some do have access to Chaos Magic abilities, it is rare to find one who possesses more than a few. They haven't, as of yet, developed any method to control Chaos and remain unaware that this is even a possibility.

While there are rules in place to prevent trial participants from killing locals, a certain number of casualties is acceptable and unavoidable.

Excerpt from ‘The Trials’ Chapter four, The Neutral world.

Chapter 29 - Mayor Sparks

Mayry's father was a towering figure with broad shoulders and a rugged appearance that suggested a life of hard work and endurance despite his obvious wealth.

Mason stood there, staring at the man. The unexpected recognition left him at a loss for words. Though he couldn't place where he had seen him before, there was an unmistakable familiarity.

Julius Sparks - Mayor Level 27

???

Huh, that was strange. Why was Mayry’s father such a high level, and why was there no description?

Suddenly, a sharp pain in his rib jolted him out of his thoughts. Shaking his head, he realised that Mayry had elbowed him.

Mason held out his hand to the man and said, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I’m Mason.”

The imposing man's eyes narrowed as he reached out and grabbed the offered hand. With a strong grip, he attempted to crush Mason's hand in his own, but to his surprise, Mason's strength proved to be more than a match for his own. Despite the man's best efforts, Mason's strength stat made it impossible for him to crush his hand.

Letting go of Mason’s hand, he said, “You may call me Mayor Sparks.”

He turned and went inside the house. Before Mason could follow, he felt Mayry’s hand on his shoulder, “Everything okay? You were staring pretty intensely at my father for a moment.”

“Yeah, fine. I’ll tell you later.”

“Oh yeah, Just so you know, my mother has fallen ill and won’t be joining us, don’t bring it up to my father, please.”

Mason nodded and stepped into the house.

The home’s interior was far fancier than Mason had ever seen before, even on Earth. There were beautiful works of art hanging from the walls and ornate furniture that looked like they belonged in a museum. The floors were made of polished marble that reflected the warm glow of the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

He followed Mayry into a dining room where Mayor Sparks was already sitting at the head of the table. He gestured to them both, and they took their seats, Mayry to her father’s left and Mason to his right.

The moment they were seating, the Mayor began the interrogation. “So Mason, I’ve heard a lot about you in the week you’ve been here. Tell me, what brings you to our Town?”

Mason, who had been prepared for this question, answered without hesitation, “I was bought here by an ACT, sir,” Mayry’s eyes went wide, fearing Mason was about to tell her father the whole truth. “I appeared in the forest and couldn’t remember a thing apart from my name. I was wandering around without knowing where I was until Mayry found me.”

As he finished speaking, several people walked into the room holding various plates, bowls and trays of food. They laid them out on the table and promptly left, not saying a word.

He frowned slightly, “I see, and what are your intentions towards my daughter?”

Before he could answer, Mayry exclaimed, “Dad! We’re just friends.”

Mason smiled as he answered, “I am very grateful to her for helping me out when she found me in the forest, but as she said, we are just friends… for now. Ouch!” He jumped as he was kicked in the knee from under the table.

“Well, tell me, Mason, you know what Family Magic is, don’t you? Of course, you do. The Sparks Family Magic is especially strong, and so we are very selective as to who we allow to socialise with our daughter. For example, there is a very prominent Hunter in town, Malika. His family are minor nobles in the Elf kingdoms. He is the sort of person I would expect my daughter to interact with. Do you believe yourself to be someone on his level?”

As her father mentioned Malika, Mayry buried her face in her hands.

“Malika?” Mason asked, putting a finger to his lip. “I’m not sure I’ve come across him yet… unless he was the Elf who tried to take credit from me for killing the Basilisk, then tried to kill me in the association building, and then tried killing me again when he thought I had kidnapped Mayry, and then tried to kill me a third time where I was forced to defend myself and knocked him on his ass, that Malika?” Mason said this with a straight face and without taking a breath.

Mason realised he had done it again and allowed his mouth to act without his brains say so, but he figured in for a penny… “Yeah, I’d say I’m probably on the same level as him, if not higher. Since I’ve been in town, I’ve killed a Giant Drake, a Basilisk, a load of giant spiders and a Crack Chicken. My family aren’t nobles, but I think that’s pretty impressive. Not to mention I saved your daughter from the oth- ouch! The people who kidnapped her.” He had been kicked again when he had been about to mention the ‘Others’.

Surprisingly, the mayor didn’t immediately order his execution at his little outburst. Instead, he smiled at Mason, “Those are some big claims. If what you said is true, then I have to admit you seem to be a pretty impressive young man.”

Mayry’s hands came away from her face to reveal that she was looking at her father with jaw agape, shocked. Apparently, the Mayor wasn’t usually so easily impressed.

They started to eat the food that had been laid out. As they ate, the conversation was mostly between Mayry and her father, with Mason offering his opinion every now and then, mostly on less serious topics like Hunter’s current leaderboard and the sighting of a wyvern flying over a neighbouring Town.

As they finished the food, the Mayor casually asked, “Mayry, would you mind going to get the dessert?”

She hesitated as she suspected her father was up to something but did as he asked and left the room.

Speaking in a whisper, the Mayor leaned in, “Mason, I’m going to get straight to the point. I invited you here for two reasons. Firstly, I am very protective of my daughter and like to meet the people she spends time with.”

“Of course, sir I-“

He was cut off as the Mayor continued speaking, “Secondly, I invited you here to offer you a job of sorts.”

Mason leaned forward, suspicious but intrigued. "What kind of job, sir?"

The Mayor hesitated for a moment, then spoke in a low voice. “A large group of bandits have made camp north of Town. They have been raiding caravans killing any traders and travellers who try to make it to Sparksford. When you appeared out of nowhere and started spending time with my daughter, I feared you were one of them. When she disappeared, I had thought you had taken her to the camp.”

Mason listened intently as the Mayor spoke, suspecting what the favour would be.

“If everything I’ve heard about you is true, I was hoping you could deal with the problem. Of course, you’ll be compensated. I also need you not to mention this to anyone else, not even Mayry. Not many people know of the threat, and I need to avoid a panic.”

“I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to do against an entire camp; how many bandits are there?”

“As of the last report, there were 13 of them. I’m sure any man who slays a Basilisk will have no problem with a few bandits. I’ve sent guards to deal with the problem, but they haven’t returned. I can always offer the job to Malika if you don’t think you’re up to it?”

Mason knew he was being baited, but like a good little fish, he swallowed it up anyway. “I think I can handle a few bandits.”

“Perfect, the bounty is currently set at an iron piece per bandit you kill.”

*DING*

Quest Accepted!

You have been tasked with clearing out a camp of bandits who have been a menace to local trade and travellers. Seems simple enough… what could go wrong?

Reward - 1 Iron per Bandit

Mayry returned with dessert; she was giving him odd looks until they had both finished.

“Ok, dad, I’m going to walk Mason back to his Inn.”

“Fine, It was nice meeting you, Mason. I hope we run into each other again soon.”

Mason shook the man’s hand and once again felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity with the man as if they had met before.

Leaving the house, he didn’t even wait for Mayry to ask. He told her everything her father had said about the bandits and the job he was offering. He decided to omit the strange familiarity he felt toward the man as well as the strange description.

She looked thoughtful, “I hadn’t heard of any bandit attacks. This is weird, I’ll go with you.”

Mason hesitated before replying. “I would love the help, but….”

“No buts, I’m coming. You keep running off without me, having all the fun. Don’t worry, I won’t tell my father.”

Not wanting to start an argument he knew he’d lose, he relented, “Fine. I have to turn in a contract at the association, we could check out the bandit camp after?”

“I think we should really come up with a plan first. How about we go in the morning?“

“We’ll take a look at the camp tonight, come up with a plan and then hit the camp tomorrow?”

“Sounds good. We need to be careful, though. If the bandits were able to survive an attack from the town’s guards, they must be a pretty serious group.”

“Eh, I killed a Basilisk. How hard could a few bandits be?”

Pretty fucking hard, it turned out.