Chapter 1024: Meeting of the Marked
Chapter 1024: Meeting of the Marked
After briefly scaring Claire with his newfound strength, the two made their way to Alfaera’s office, only for Alfaera to congratulate the young man for ascending to Rank 4.
Then, after talking about a few things for a bit, he then left the hall alongside Claire, who was curious as to what might happen if he were to meet up with Damian.
Along the way to the barracks where Damian and the other guards stayed, the two made a detour to the Blacksmith Guild, prompting Valyr to meet up with Tristan.
Unsurprisingly, Tristan congratulated Valyr as well for ascending to Rank 4, joking about how he now had the strength to kill the Greater Tidemother they fought in far less time than before.
At the same time, the man introduced Valyr to a person the latter never thought he would eventually have… which was a girlfriend.
Briefly shocked that Tristan had gotten a girlfriend while he was away in the inheritance, Valyr politely introduced himself to her before heading out with Claire sometime later, continuing to walk through the streets of Astarto after that.
Walking alongside Claire all this time, Valyr had been waving and smiling back at everyone he’d come all this time, considering that many of them were greeting him as the Eternal Tidebreaker.
“Will they ever get tired of cheering for me?” muttered the young man under his breath, his tone soft enough only for Claire to hear it.
In response, Claire let out a bit of laughter. “Well… even though Astarto has enough strength to clear the monster tide, we would’ve probably suffered from casualties if we fought against the Greater Tidemother on our own.”
“With you taking the helm on the last two waves that involved the Tidemother, you’ve basically removed the possibility of casualties appearing.”
“Sure, we may have some who’ve suffered injuries from the tide, but that’s tons better than having people die because of it.”
“I see.” Mulling over Claire’s words for a bit, Valyr eventually nodded in understanding, deciding to continue waving and smiling at those that greeted back at him.
With that, it took longer than usual for the two to arrive at Astarto’s barracks, which had expanded in size by a couple times now that it was protecting an entire town.
“Valyr! You finally came!” Surprisingly, even the guards within the barracks were excited to see Valyr, considering that he singlehandedly brought the recent monster tide to an end.
Seeing that the trio that had become guard captains were at the forefront of the crowd, Valyr smiled back at them as the four felt that now was the right time to catch up on what the others have been doing.
Noticing that Claire left for the town hall after seeing Valyr with the town guards, the young man inwardly thanked her for accompanying him as him and the crowd made their way to the barracks’ cafeteria, where Valyr shared some of the experiences he’d accrued so far.
Of course, Leon, Louie, and Jonas, as well as the other guards within the barracks shared their own stories as well, bringing a cozy vibe as everyone felt connected at that very moment.
While everyone was still sharing their stories of struggle and victory with the others, Leon took the opportunity to move closer to Valyr as he asked, “So, what brought you here to the barracks?”
“Is it what I think it is?” asked the man not long after, realizing that there was another reason for the young man to come here.
Knowing Leon’s train of thought, Valyr faintly nodded in response. “Yeah. I plan to meet up with him at the very least before I head back.”
“I see.” Though Leon briefly went silent in response, the man soon nodded back as he made up his mind. “Let me accompany you to his office, then. After all, the barracks underwent a couple of expansions while you were away.”
“I could see that.” Laughing as he accepted Leon’s request, the two eventually made their way to Damian’s office as a lively atmosphere covered the entire cafeteria.
…
With Leon taking the time to imprint a rough map of the expanded barracks on Valyr’s mind as they moved through various corridors, it took around 20 minutes or so for the two to appear in front of the door that led to Damian’s office.
“I’ll be heading back to the cafeteria, then.” Seeing as they’d arrived at their intended location, Leon soon bade farewell to the young man, telling him that he’d be at the cafeteria with the others as they continued sharing stories.
Responding back that it won’t take him long to return, Valyr watched as the man’s silhouette disappeared from his vision.
Returning his vision to the door before him, the young man soon took a few steps forward and knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Hearing a familiar voice respond to his knocking from the other side, a faint sense of relief washed over the young man as he opened the door, finally allowing the two to meet after 10 months.
“Long time no see.” Initiating the conversation, Valyr sat down on a nearby chair as he brought up the things Tristan and Alfaera told him about Damian in his mind.
“It’s been a while.” Nodding in response, Damian’s expression remained taciturn as he continued looking through the documents on his desk. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been doing well,” said Valyr, his expression briefly that of confusion as he felt that Damian hadn’t changed like what the two told him.
Looking at the man before him for a bit more, he soon noticed a familiar pattern on the back of the man’s right palm.
With a slightly grim expression, Valyr finally had an idea regarding the cause of Damian’s change, as well as the possible conversation he would now have with the man.
With that, the young man decided to wait in silence as the man before him eventually put his documents to the side.
“I don’t know if Tristan told you this, but I have something important to tell you,” said Damian to him, looking directly at Valyr in the eyes.
Though, just as the man was about to bring up the topic of the mark, Valyr surprisingly took the initiative, temporarily placing his chestplate in his spatial bracelet before taking off his
shirt.
“I suppose it has something to do with this?”
“…?!”
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