"Apples, Honey, Mushrooms, flour, S&S—oh!"
Valtor pushed the small bag of items bought on one hand, to squint his eyes to the list he held. "S&S? I wonder what's that? I should probably ask the Trader..."
After a rigorous training, closely related to that of death. Valtor finally had the opportunity and chance to breath the air of a crowded town.
Unlike in the morning, when he first came to the Capital, it was far much more lively now when the Sun would be almost setting.
'I wonder what it would be like during Nighttime,' Valtor mused to himself, heading to a Trader, before handling the item list.
"Oh! S&S!," The Trader said after looking at the list, searching through his stuffs, before bringing out a small bottle of salt and Sugar. "That would be nine coins."
This made Valtor feel stupid. Of course, the list consisted of ingredients for some sweets making (exception being the Mushroom.)
"Say!" The Trader spoke up, breaking Valtor from his thoughts, "You are part of the gods' chosen?"
"Huh?..." Valtor had to look behind, before pointing to his chest, "Me?"
"Yes! You!"
"Well, I guess so?.. kinda... How did you know?"
The Trader smiled, "I was a god chosen, and when I accessed my rank several years ago, I was the lowest E-rank," he arranged some items in position, at the same time, minding Valtor's look which had no hint of discrimination.
He however continued, "I didn't want to spend the rest of my time, cleaning up Gates from the battles, or joining the squad as the weapon carrier, so I quit! Found a nice trader job, had the love of my life, and finally, we got a son..."
Valtor nodded with each pause. He didn't know why this man started a conversation with him, but a simple nod allowed him speak his mind.
"... We had a son, Dash, he checked his rank, and low and beyond, he is an E-rank as well, you got to say failure runs in our family, right?"
Valtor didn't nod here. He only formed a sympathetic look. His brows softened from the frown.
"I am sure you both would meet in the Academy next month. Whether you're high ranked or low, please be nice to my son. He definitely won't have enough friend with such low rank.."
When the Trader spoke, Valtor did listen, but something felt strange from the Man. So, he asked, "How did you know I was—"
"An Awakened?" The Trader pointed towards his eyes, "Well, one of my ability would be the ability to read energies."
A nervous sweat formed on Valtor's face, when the Man said, "And you seem to have a little hint of dark—"
"Okay, thank you for the items, I'm sure your son would find friends real quick at the academy." Valtor didn't wait for the Trader to say another word, before he quickly paid, took the items and walked away with wide strides.
'... How did he?.... How can he read my energy when he's an E-rank? I know something is wrong with that Trader!' Just before he walked towards the alley with this thought, the atmosphere subtly changed, and Valtor frowned.
He quickly detected a drop in temperature, and his ears picked up a low pitch sound...
Not a sound, a pulse of energy.
In the middle of the town, a small wavelength sparkled through.
Then it stopped.
The air became breathable, until a familiar sound, similar to the violent clash of a thunderstorm, disrupted the calm of the environment...
Panic Spread.
"A Shadow Gate!"
"By the gods! Why did it open here? And now?"
"Take heed!"
"It's much more scarier that what's said in the stories!"
The sound of commotion, led Valtor rushing straight to the scene, and towards the already cleared area.
His pupils dilated.
He could feel the darkness expelling through the portal of a Gate, and knew now, it wasn't called a Shadow Gate for no reason!.
-----*(That Same Time at The Divine Academy's High Rank Lab)*----
A blonde man with a serious expression marched through the hallway. He adjusted his glasses several times, before cleaning the lens, then wearing it back on.
His lab coat freely let loose, and he didn't mind, something else was on mind.
"Mr Ken—" a young woman, the assistance, rushed to his side. Her black hair whipping to different direction, as she came to where he stood.
"Speak! Quickly!" He again adjusted his glasses. "What's the energy output?"
"Erm... Well...," She cleared her throat, "Moderate-Risk! Sir."
"A Moderate-Risk?" He asked, pushing the door open to his office, here, he ransacked through the shelves, before finding a large folder of paper, this he read through, "Is there any other information?"
"No Sir—"
"Good! You may leave!."
The woman nodded, before closing the door shut, leaving him to ponder on a thought, 'It's been five years since a Moderate-Risk Gate opened! I'm sure a boss-level Shadow monster would not be present in this Gate... I hope.'