MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith

"The Three Houses?" asked Valyr in return, briefly wondering to himself whether the name Dalton mentioned was an organization of some sort.

Though, after thinking about it for a bit more, he felt that such a name befitted something else entirely. "Are you perhaps talking about the nobles of the city?"

"That would be correct." The old man nodded, glad that Valyr easily caught on. "For context, the Three Houses are considered the ruling class of Astella City, with any of the three noble clans having a major part in the city's various industries."

"Who are the Three Houses, exactly?" asked the young man, only to follow it up with another question. "And how did you find out that they wanted to recruit me?" Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

Hearing those questions, Dalton decided to answer back with a question of his own. "Remember the attendant that helped you out with the registration process?"

Valyr nodded in response, unsure why the old man would bring up someone that didn't seem to have anything to do with the tournament nor the nobles.

However, that thought immediately changed the moment Dalton brought up a certain screen in front of him.

Whoosh!

Making use of a couple magic spells, the old man allowed Valyr to see what transpired after parting ways with her, with the latter noticing the attendant bring out a talisman before sending out a message of some sort.

Although the screen did not have any capability to reproduce sound, the sight of the attendant's actions alone caused the young man to frown, immediately understanding what was going on.

"And that's how I found out that there's a spy for the nobility in my guild," said Dalton, closing the screen as he let out a faint sigh. "I may not know what kind of message the attendant sent to them exactly, but expect an invitation from them in advance."

As Valyr nodded at his advice, he then answered the young man's question, "As for the identity of the Three Houses, those would be none other than the Stelyra clan, the Fimbul clan, and the Ullvayne clan."

"Stelyra, Fimbul, Ullvayne…" murmured the young man to himself in response, getting the feeling that it would be a good idea to keep the names in mind.

After going over what the tournament was, who the Three Houses were, and why they wanted to recruit him, Valyr and the two continued to talk a bit more about the tournament.

Specifically, the prizes he'd be getting if he were to participate in the Nine Prodigies of Astella.

Once he heard what kind of rewards were up for grabs if he were to join, the young man discarded any thoughts of refusal, thinking that all of the rewards would be either useful to him or the others in his soon-to-be established guild in some way.

With that, Valyr did not hesitate to give them the green signal, telling them that he'd be willing to become a representative of Astella City's Mage Guild in the upcoming tournament.

Naturally, both Dalton and Rinea were more than glad to hear that, profusely thanking the young man for agreeing to the request amidst the misinterpretation.

At the same time, they went ahead and gave Valyr a few more perks for accepting such an offer, most of which were related to his position within the guild, as well as his level of access towards the various amenities the guild had to offer.

In the end, both Dalton and Rinea accompanied him back to the main hall of the guild, which undoubtedly caused multiple people to stare at them as Valyr received his identification badge from the guild.

Getting a notification from the system that he was now officially affiliated with the Astella City Mage Guild, the young man looked at the two with a wide smile on his face, only for the two to smile back at him in return.

With him now officially a member of the Mage Guild, the two then toured the young man around the guild across the various facilities it had to offer, giving Valyr the perk of being able to enter said facilities without incurring any costs.

Then, to top it all off, once the three had returned to the main hall once more, Dalton went ahead and pushed Valyr's position in the guild up to a True Core Member, causing many among the crowd to pay attention as they pondered over who he was.

"Just so you know, the tournament will be held exactly a month from now," the old man said to him, briefly giving Valyr a sense of deja vu. "I'll expect to see you then, right?"

"Of course," replied the young man with a nod, only to then make the suggestion to have both Dalton and Rinea in his friend list for safe measure.

After adding the two to his friend list and confirming that the three of them could exchange messages, it was only then did Valyr part ways from them, leaving the Mage Guild with a satisfied grin on his face.

'Now then…'

However, just as he had taken a few steps out of the Mage Guild, a middle-aged man in a dark suit appeared in front of him all of a sudden and gave him a respectful half-bow.

'Shall we take a look at what the nobles have to offer?'

"Pardon the interruption," said the middle-aged man in a polite tone. "But might you be Sir Ataraxia?"

"That's my name, alright." Valyr nodded, feeling a slight urge to mimic the way the man was talking to him.

Yet, in the end, he decided to restrain himself. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Well, Sir Ataraxia," replied the man. "I have been instructed by my family head to invite you to the Fimbul Plaza for a quick chat."

"The ones inviting you would like to assure you that they do not mean any harm with the invite," he continued. "Nor do they plan on inviting you without giving you a few gifts in return."

"Do you know who's inviting me, exactly?" asked Valyr in response, to which the middle-aged man shook his head.

"Unfortunately, I do not," replied the man in a slightly apologetic tone. "I am merely a messenger tasked with this duty."

Not wanting to make it any more difficult for someone who's just doing his task, the young man faintly nodded in response as he said the words that he felt the man was waiting to hear.

"Alright."

"Lead the way, then."