Cthulhu Gonfalon

On October 14, Hopes Wilder arrived at Pyrotech City.

Without caring for much rest, he immediately set out for the Mining Center without fail.

Although it was early, he felt that it was better than being late.

The Mining Center’s formal name was the Republic of Northwest’s Mining Department, but it was located in Pyrotech City as mining efforts took place mostly between the Pyrotech City and Taojincheng as well as the few villages between. The efficiency of work processing was high. A for connections with Void City, non-urgent matters were communicated through a messenger, and urgent messages were conveyed with magic.

The building was not tall, only about three floors high. However, it was firmly carved into the shape of a cube. Hopes entered through the front door and reported to the processing agent with his name and identification papers.

“Second door on the left, on the second floor. There’s no sign on the door, but it is always open,” the middle-aged lady smiled and said politely to him.

Hopes thanked her and proceeded upstairs to the room she had mentioned.

There were two people in the room. One had long black hair and looked slightly like a girl, and he looked skeptically at Hopes. The other had hair that was turning white, and he smiled benevolently at Hopes.

“I’m Hopes, an exploration worker, and I’m reporting for duty to head towards the Commonwealth of Gold Coins.”

“Oh, I see.” The older man smiled and nodded, and the younger man’s face softened.

After checking his identity and command, the older man took out a document and explained the situation in detail to Hopes.

It was roughly similar to what he had heard from Cambrona.

The expedition was to bring about tangible benefits. The area they were seeking out was a mountain range located in the northern part of the Commonwealth, and it was at least 300 miles away from the nearest city area. The nearest source of civilization was a village that only had about 60 residents, and one required two days’ walk to reach their campground from the village.

Near the campground, a group of explorers had found silver ores. They had sold this information to a small merchant union nearby who had then informed their higher-ups. To explore silver ores in such a remote place required some decent talent to do so. Once the large merchant union had heard about it, the news spread to a majority of the merchants. Thus, while they had discussed collaborative efforts with the Republic, they planned an expedition regarding this matter.

Of course, the merchants would have set off by themselves if it had been an easier task.

Hopes listened till the end before querying on his biggest worry: the dangers he would face.

“Is there danger? Of course there will be. However, it can be controlled, so you do not need to fear. Furthermore, one is bound to meet with danger in life,” the old man said.

“You’re still young and fit, if you don’t take these risks now, you won’t be able to do so in the future when you are old like me!”

The old man spoke in a leisurely way but with some degree of influence, and he managed to make Hopes smile.

After that, Hopes began to register formally for the role. The younger man was in charge of the administrative details, and he was extremely meticulous. He queried Hopes on his personal particulars.

“From the Orc Empire, no official status… This is only your surface identity. Tell me more, and don’t be afraid. I won’t leak it to anyone.”

Hopes smiled bitterly but relented nevertheless. Since the men had promised to keep his background a secret, he did not mind sharing more.

“My name is true, but my birth identity has a bit of an issue. Although I am indeed from the Orc Empire, I’m from a nameless tribe and am from the wolf Wilder tribe. My father was one of the grandsons of the tribe leader, but my mother was a princess from the rabbit tribes. ”

“Ah! You’re the one who was announced as the dead mixed-blood child by the Wilders, right?” The young man smiled in earnest this time.

“Yes,” Hopes smiled bitterly and replied.

“Don’t worry, no one here will judge you for that. If anyone dares to look down on you, come find us for help! I am the manager of the Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Animal Resource Center, Clito, and he is the Mining Center’s manager, Reif Kawat.”

Hopes was shocked as he did not expect to meet such important figures in person. The administration of the Republic was a little blurry, but there was a general rule that only high ranking officials took on solo leadership roles.

Hopes knew of Reif Kawat. He was the first miner in the country and had presided over the construction of negative energy magic crystal veins long ago. As for Clito, he had never heard of him, but from his job scope, he seemed like an important man nevertheless.

Seeing as Hopes was rather stressed, Clito smiled and poured him a cup of tea. It was sweet and fragrant and allowed Hopes to relax and explain his background more calmly.

There was not much to say except for the fact that he was relentlessly looked down upon and had reached a point of desperation where he had abandoned his family.

Reif sighed repeatedly, and Clito shook his head. When Hopes had finished his story, the two officials comforted him and told him to forget the past and concentrate on his current job opportunity.

“The Republic is your home now and so are the mining grounds. No one will bully you here,” Reif said.

“If anyone dares to, I’ll destroy him!” Clito seconded this opinion.

At this moment, another worker who had received the command reported for duty and thus Hopes bid the officials farewell.

Once their job was done, the two officials discussed Hopes’ case in detail again.

“He’s led a tough life since young, I’m sure it hasn’t been easy for him!” Reif said.

“He’s strong, though. I can tell that he possesses great internal power and magical powers.” Clit replied.

“Hey! He’s a good miner, don’t poach him as an explorer!”

“I think I would like to develop him as an explorer though. He has great strength and will do well as one.”

“When are you planning to tell him?”

“There’s no rush. I will be part of this expedition with him anyway, we can discuss it along the way…”