Chapter 30: CHAPTER 30
CHAPETR 30
{ City of Andris, Residential area }
The city of Andris was divided into three areas:
The outskirts, where the less fortunate lived;
The mercantile area, which constituted the city's hub;
And finally, the Residential area, where most of the city's population resided.
Of these three areas, Reily lived on the streets of the first. Being a poor and, in some ways, a very free place, Reily managed to survive in that area until now.
But this was about to change.
At this moment, Reily stood in front of a building no more than two stories high.
He had a furrowed expression as he looked up above the entrance of the inn.
Above the entrance of the building, there was a sign that read, "Welcome to the Black Cat Inn."
'Black Cat Inn?'
'Is this a polite way to curse someone?' he thought, recalling the urban legends about black cats that circulated in his previous world.
He didn't dwell on it for long; after all, for all he knew, the Black Cat might have a different meaning in this world.
So, he headed towards the entrance.
Upon entering, he saw that the inn, although simply furnished, was quite orderly.
This wasn't one of the best inns in the city, but he had heard it was a good place, so he decided to choose it.
After the last hunt, his level, as well as his wealth, had increased. He now had more than 10 gold coins, quite a sum considering the average worker's salary in this world was only a few silver coins.
For a moment, he wanted to spend some money and indulge in some entertainment, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
Now that he had enough money, he could move to the capital, as he had initially planned, but then with the subsequent events, everything changed.
He no longer needed to go there, at least not yet.
In a few months, he would turn 15, and to enter the academy, he needed to be 16.
He wanted to use this time to improve himself and finish some things he had planned, so he decided to stay in this city for a while longer.
His initial plan after returning from the last hunt was to buy a small house in the residential area and live there, but after checking the prices of available houses, he had to change his mind.
Buying a house would have cost him at least 50 gold coins, an enormous sum that he currently did not have.
But even if he did, he wouldn't spend all that money on buying a house in a place where he wouldn't stay forever.
So he had to opt for inns.
Living in an inn provided a place to rest, and food was included.
Moreover, the price was low enough for people to afford it. Although inns were primarily meant for adventurers and merchants, people who came and went from the city and didn't need to stay in one place for too long, it was still a refuge for many who didn't want to spend too much on buying a house.
He decided to stay in this inn due to the low prices.
Reily quickly spotted the reception and walked towards it.
At the reception stood a young man who didn't seem much older than him.
He had black hair and brown eyes and stood behind the counter with a bored expression.
Seeing a customer arriving, the young man quickly composed himself and greeted him.
"Welcome to the Black Cat Inn. How can I help you?" he said fluently and calmly, as if he had repeated this phrase many times.
"I'd like to stay here for a while," Reily said.
"I see. We currently have 5 rooms available. 3 single rooms and 2 larger ones," he said professionally and continued.
"A single room for one day will cost 20 copper coins, while the larger rooms will cost 50 copper coins per day. Three daily meals are included, of course," he said.
'20 copper coins per day?' Although it seemed like a high price, it was actually quite low for a day's rent.
Reily had heard that some other inns in the city charged from 50 copper coins to a whole silver coin for a day's rent.
'20 copper coins per day become 600 copper coins a month, and if I extend this over a few months, I'll have to pay no more than half a gold coin for as long as I stay here.'
Reily thought for a moment about the total price he would have to pay if he stayed here, and finally made a decision.
"I'll rent a single room for a month," he said, pulling out some silver coins.
He decided to rent for only the first month. He would think about the following months later.
The young man behind the counter quickly took the shiny silver coins, hurried to get a key from the bunch of keys hanging behind him, and led Reily toward the stairs.
"Follow me. I'll show you your room," he said, proceeding up the stairs.
And so, Reily moved into his first home, if it could be called that.
Reily settled happily into his new residence, unaware of the event about to strike the Kingdom of Light.
***
{ Capital of the Kingdom of Light, Magic Academy }
In one of the halls of the Magic Academy, people were going about their usual activities.
Built with polished white marble and adorned with ornaments of precious materials, the hall emanated an ancient aura.
The marble columns, weathered by time and marked by cracks, stood majestically around the room, supporting a ceiling adorned with golden arabesques that seemed to give under the weight of the centuries.
At the center of the room, like a fulcrum of magic power, a large blue sphere hung suspended a meter above the floor.
The sphere, composed of an ethereal blue glow for 90%, was surrounded by an intricate structure of gold and other precious materials.
The remaining 10% of the sphere's surface depicted a detailed miniature of the continent.
In the hall, a frenzied atmosphere reigned, with countless individuals busy with various tasks.
Some approached the floating control screens near the sphere, manipulating runes and magical symbols with consummate skill.
Others hurried between shelves overflowing with magical items and ancient scrolls, frantically searching for crucial information.
One of them, who was monitoring one of the floating screens, noticed an anomaly on it.
"Hmm?"
He moved some runes on the screen, as if to check something.
At that moment, his expression turned serious.
"Wait, this could be a…"
As soon as he understood what it was, he didn't waste time. He captured the screen with an object and hurried towards a door leading to another room.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
He knocked on the door hastily and waited a bit.
After a second, a voice came from behind the door.
"You may enter."
The attendant quickly entered, and before the person inside the room, who was sitting behind a work table, could ask him the reason for his interruption, he spoke:
"Sir, we have a problem."
***
In another part of the capital, a man was filling out a few forms.
He was a middle-aged man with gray hair at the temples and an expression of seriousness etched on his face. His office was tidy and well-maintained, reflecting the rigor and precision of his work.
The man paused for a moment, contemplating the importance of the documents before him. They were requests for authorization to send reinforcements to the northern regions of the kingdom, areas notoriously vulnerable to Nightmare attacks.
"It will take time to reach the region, and more time to explore the various areas of the region," he murmured to himself, as he sealed one of the documents with the royal seal.
As he was about to put away the last form, the door to his office suddenly opened. A young messenger entered, his face pale and eyes wide with urgency.
"Mr. Valen, urgent message from the Magic Tower. They have detected an unusual concentration of mana in the north."
"A code black…" Valen muttered, his eyes reflecting his weariness.
"Prepare a reconnaissance team and send them to examine the area," he said, as he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something on it before handing it to the young man.
The young man took the paper and quickly left the room.
Seeing that the young man had gone, Valen, still seated, turned his chair and looked out the window behind him.
Outside the window, a training field could be seen, where many people were training.
Some were young, no more than 16 years old, others were adult men, whose faces showed they were long-time veterans.
As he watched this scene from his office window, Valen couldn't help but lose himself in his thoughts.
"This is the fourth one this month…" he said, thinking about the cases of portals opening.
"Why is there a sudden increase in appearances?"
The opening of portals that brought with them these cruel creatures was not a rare occurrence.
Indeed, it was normal to find one or even two opening in a month, but lately, the situation had started to get out of hand.
In recent months, cases like these had exponentially increased, and although they were still manageable to some extent, Valen knew that if it continued this way, they would reach a point where it would no longer be possible to contain them with their own forces.
He turned his chair and got back to work.
He took a piece of paper and wrote on it for a few minutes. After rereading it and checking that everything was in order, he folded it and put it inside an envelope.
He dripped some sealing wax onto the envelope and sealed it, finally imprinting it with a stamp depicting a dragon.
"Let's hope those bastards take the situation more seriously this time," he said, calling someone to pick up the letter.
END OF VOLUME 1: Where It all Began.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
the_Penguin
the_Penguin Finally finished the first volume of my first novel.
I should be ecstatic, but I’m not. So many things have happened in the past month, and many times I had to pause to reassess the story's plot.
A volume that was supposed to be over 50 chapters had to end much sooner. It’s a shame, but so be it. I am improving, albeit very slowly.
Hopefully, the next volume will go as planned.
Before starting the next volume, I will be putting the novel on hold for an indefinite period.
I will let you know in advance when I resume writing this novel, but rest assured, I will.
Thank you for reading and for your support.
,___,
[O.o]
/)__)
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Gifts
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received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone