Odyssey of the Guardian Emperor

Dressed in the finest clothes Alaric had ever seen in his life, each silky thread wreathed in invisible powerful enchantments no doubt preserving the immaculate quality of the threads, the girl before Alaric could have passed for a goddess in a more ‘ignorant’ setting.

Her skin was flawless and her features seemed sculpted purposely to appease the eye.

And while she wasn’t as frightening and imposing as Alia—whose face Alaric had only seen a few times—, this noble carried herself far higher than a human ought to have done so.

If it wasn’t for the fact that Alaric himself had grown up surrounded by beautiful girls, her looks would have ensnared his mind in a tight grip.

Instead of that, looking at her had made the dark-haired start to draw comparisons like how her nose was slightly longer than Darla’s or how her jawline was sharper, robbing the kindness from an otherwise beautiful face and many others like these.

To demerit her looks even further, Alaric found himself unable to entertain such fruitless thoughts.

Deep within him, an unfathomable emotion started brewing. Unknown to him, the temperature of the room grew slightly colder as he stared at the girl.

The object of his attention, Ms. Vermillion, if he remembered correctly, had just made the most daring statement to ever grace the boy’s ears.

Alaric was taken aback by the girl’s offer. Not only was she offering to take his guardian but she was also offering to compensate him with anything he could wish for.

Such was the depth of her pockets or was it her audacity that was so appalling?

If she was really that wealthy, then Alaric couldn’t imagine the size of her family vault.

Was that kind of wealth even possible? Alaric wouldn’t know.

The kind of thing she was offering just seemed too unrealistic.

What if he asked her for land as far as the eye could see or gold that could fill the unknown depths of the ocean or perhaps a mountain of diamonds so high he could hike on it?

What made her so confident in her family’s coffers?

Here Alaric was, planning a way to make enough money to give Marla and the orphans back in the Five Hills a good life and she was offering to pay him all that and so much more.

Now, Alaric was no fool to think she was offering that much money.

That’s just how much he valued his guardian. Alia was everything to him… His guardian was priceless and no amount of riches could make him give her up.

Knowing that, the boy balled his fists and struggled to contain his rage.

“Well?” the girl’s voice snapped him out of his reverie, filled with a tone of impatience that irked Alaric even more.

The dark-haired boy took a deep breath and turned away, scanning for his friends.

Calmly, he answered, “No.”

The girl’s beautiful face was suddenly marred with an ugly mix of contempt and rage.

It was an ugly look that she wiped from her face almost as fast as it had appeared, making anyone who had seen it doubt their vision.

“I don’t think you understand what I-,” the girl spoke through gritted teeth only to be stopped by another voice.

“Miss Vermillion, I’ll ask that you refrain from acts of hostility while you’re in my Tower. If you wish to discuss matters with Aspirant Alaric, I ask that you do so outside,” the old man spoke up.

This time, Elder Gregory’s voice regained a piece of the hostility with which he’d restrained the first ungrateful aspirant from lashing out after receiving a bad appraisal.

Tension rose within the room and for a brief moment, Alaric thought the girl would lash out at the old man.

Luckily, the silver-haired girl wasn’t as deranged as he thought she was. Ms. Vermillion held the Seeker’s gaze for a moment before she sighed and turned away from Alaric with a ‘hmph.’

This was far from over and Alaric knew it.

“Alright then. May I have everyone’s attention?” the room went silent, “The orbs in your hands are more than just glowing trinkets. Those are Awakening Orbs. Each one of those orbs contains aether that matches your Guardian’s energy. That’s why they are effective at appraising your class. By absorbing the aether in those orbs, you’ll be able to manifest your guardian and begin your journey.

Wherever that journey leads you is entirely up to you and your destiny.

Manifesting one’s guardian usually takes between a period of ten days to one month depending on how powerful or accepting your guardian is.

You will return to your homes for that period of time. Once your guardian has manifested, you get to decide what to do with your life.

I know you have a lot of questions but answers can only be found with time and patience.

As you leave this place you’ll be given a book at the exit. That book contains all the different occupations related to guardians of different abilities, classes and affinities.

Think it over and when one month elapses, Messenger Familiars will be sent to your residences. The Tower awaits your answers,” the man explained in detail.

Alaric took note of all this as he walked to his friends. He’d finally spotted them and now… it was time to leave.

Keeping his eyes gentle and unassuming, he did his best to maintain a calm facade when in fact his body was itching to run.

Not long after the man’s speech had begun, his senses had kicked into overdrive.

Several aspirants lingered, watching him, some with awe while others with… malice.

Finn punched Alaric’s shoulder when he reached them, flashing a bright smile, “S-class! What have you been hiding?”

“I’m just as surprised as you,” Alaric responded, a little shaken.

“I expected it,” Darla said indifferently, “Alaric’s always been strong so it only seemed natural.”

“There is nothing ‘natural’ about being S-class, Darla. Didn’t you see the over-equipped ice princess get B-class?” Finn chuckled.

“Finn’s right. A-class guardians are supposed to be absolute monsters. I don’t even know what makes my guardian so powerful,” Alaric answered.

[Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?] Alia yelled into the boy’s mind.

“I hear you. So, where to next? Can we grab a bite to eat?” Finn asked.

[No, wait, don’t agree with him… and don’t change the subject. Why are they all agreeing?] Alia continued to argue within the boy’s head.

Alaric chuckled, [Focus, Alia.]

[Fine. You’re all wimps! Tell them that… and also tell them that there is no time for meals. We need to leave now] Alia lamented.

“Do you guys always refer to Alaric before you do something?” a blonde boy interrupted the group.

Following Aiden were the two girls they’d come with. From his expression, Alaric could tell he still wasn’t happy about what had just happened.

Finn turned to the new arrivals. The Great Hall had buzzed to life and most aspirants had started making their way out of the Tower.

Of course, Alaric didn’t let his guard down for a second, keeping his eyes scanning through the masses for any potential threats.

More times than he would have liked, his eyes locked with malicious gazes that quickly dissolved with the crowd… lurking.

“Alaric! Hell no. Why would we listen to him? What gave you that idea?” Finn smirked.

Alaric rolled his eyes at the sandy-haired boy, “We won’t have time for a meal. Let’s get back to SwiftWind.”

[They are all wimps… Say it…] Alia’s reminded Alaric mentally. Alaric’s expression remained unchanged despite the guardian’s constant nagging.

“You’re not the boss of me,” Aiden scoffed.

“Suit yourself,” Alaric shrugged, turned and led his friends away.

Unfortunately for the dark-haired boy, they didn’t get too far. The room had been thrown into a careless commotion now that the appraisal was complete.

Amidst that chaos, a platform descended in front of the retreating group, “Aspirant Alaric. Might I have a word?”

Surprisingly, Alaric was not shocked by this turn of events. Out of the hundreds, if not a few thousand Aspirants that had come to be appraised, the old man had singled him out.”

“Can I come with my friends?” Alaric asked.

The man looked at him in amusement, then nodded with a shrug of his shoulders.

The three aspirants approached the flat platform and mounted it, their eyes wondering what part of a floating slab of decorated black stone was safe.

As soon as they were ‘securely’ standing away from the edges, the platform rose up.

Alaric could still feel the eyes of many watching as they ascended higher above the crowd.

The group continued up until they reached the sea of countless multi-coloured orbs.

The orbs parted and where Alaric expected a ceiling, he found that the tower was only still going.

The great tower was large and imposing from the outside, so large in fact, that Alaric’s country mind was stuck trying to understand how such a massive structure was ever built.

Now, however, the inside seemed to defy all laws of logic, boggling his innocent mind even further.

Not only was the inside far bigger than the outside had been but it was also enchanting in all sorts of ways.

Rising all around the cylindrical chasm of what should have been a grand staircase was an empty space illuminated by glowing crystals set in walls.

Embedded in those walls were doors with no doorsteps running from the very bottom of the tower to the top.

“This platform works as the stairs,” Alaric mumbled.

“Good observation. But not entirely complete. The platform also restricts access to those that don’t have clearance.

For example, I would never be able to use this platform to reach the female lounge no matter what I tried.

And a woman would never be able to make it reach the men’s lounge,” the man explained.

“Which makes the female lounge the only place you cannot go in the whole tower,” Alaric mumbled.

“What makes you say that?”

“You’re the Master of the Tower. I doubt you planned on sounding perverted,” Darla intervened with the slightest hint of animosity.

The old man narrowed his eyes at the boy and his group for a short moment before nodding his head, “Sharp as the rumours say. I am Elder Gregory, Master of the Eastern Tower of Seekers. I have been Master of the Tower for twenty years now. Now that we’re no longer in the presence of prying eyes, I’ll ask the question that’s currently on my mind.

Do your friends know about your guardian?”

“Yes.”

As the platform neared the high ceiling of the colossal tower, a grand door carved with gold and rich hardwood greeted them. The door knob twisted on its own, as though sensing their arrival, opening to reveal what should have been the Master of the Tower’s office.

“Let’s talk in here.”