Some time had passed since Ariel had left Aron's new residence. Currently he was crouching on the floor with a peculiar brush in hand as he drew strange golden symbols on the wooden floor.
'This should suffice.' He thought to himself before standing up while showing a look of satisfaction as he looked at the countless symbols he had drawn all over the walls and floor.
These symbols soon gave off a brief glow before fading one by one as if they were never there in the first place. 'That took far longer than I expected but the night is still young, but it was necessary to ensure this place truly is secure and private' Aron thought as he turned to a clock on the wall.
It was rectangular in shape and had seventeen numbers indicated on it and only one hour hand with no minute hand. What this clock indicated by it's design was that a day in Pesia lasted thirty four hours and lacked the unit of minutes and second.
Whilst in Argos's library, Aron had learnt about the concept of time. It was only natural that every origin world varied so this didn't strike him as odd at all.
After Aron looked at the clock and saw it indicated twenty hours had passed since the day began. This satisfied the brief curiosity he had about how time worked and Pesia so he soon turned away from it and went up the stairs to his bedroom.
It was there where he decided to freshen up and leave his red hooded jacket behind and high grade chest plate. Leaving him only a neat black T-shirt and the rest of his usual gear to wear for a less attention drawing look.
With that done Aron left his residence and made his way to the bustling business district. Following Ariel's directions he began making his way down the road while keeping an eye out for any building that matched the description she had given him.
While doing so however, Aron noticed that some people still stared at him and talked in whispers as he passed by most especially women. The first thing Aron suspected was of course them remembering him from the checkpoint but this was soon dismissed as he heard one group mentioning him as he passed by.
"Is he a noble?" A young girl in battered leather armor asked but a young man next to her shook his head and dismissed the idea. "Doesn't look like it, nobles wouldn't be in the lower business district even those from smaller families." He explained before another girl in his group made a comment. "His clothing and gear could mean he is, not to mention his tremendously good looking~" The young girl giggled cheerfully causing the young man in their group to sigh as the conversation carried on.
After hearing this Aron walked a bit further before coming to a stop near a store that large windows from which he could see his reflection. It was there he saw his tall masculine yet tone figure that stood out even behind the layers cloth he wore, a bronze exotic skin tone that was like no other, a pair of cold grey eyes that reflected the many lights that glimmered in the streets of the business district, medium length black hair that fluttered melodically in the wind; A well sculpted face that wore a stoic expression that showed no emotion or rather hid it, but carried a deep mysterious charm.
Aron only glanced at his reflection for a mere moment, as if seeing what the store had to offer through its window before walking away. Aron didn't care at all for his look, each society and or race had it's own standards of beauty after all.
Humans categorized beauty according to facial appearance and body figure. Elves looked at ones affinity to mana, despite looks or body figure. Dwarves and man-beasts looked at ones masculinity. Orcs could mate with any race and only sought to spread their seed. These and many more races each had their own standards of beauty so what did it matter if one race found you attractive, in Aron's eyes only one thing seemed common to all races.
Power.
Even as Aron slowly walked on the sidewalk and saw carriages and people pass by happily smiling and enjoying themselves, he could admire how carefree and ignorant everyone was as to how fragile their lives really were. Wether they live or die dependent only on luck, this was the kind of mentality both Harald and Argos instilled into Aron growing up. Power was the one true thing Aron believed in.
'Hmm' Aron soon put aside his thoughts as he finally reached a three story noisy building that had an apparent smell of liquor lingering all around it. Aron raised his head and read the sign that said "Hilda's tavern" and new it was the right place. Without wasting a moment longer he made his way inside.
The tavern's interior was mildly lit, some areas bright while others dim; it also had a fairly spacious arrangement between the many round shaped tables and stools that could be seen on the ground floor and first floor of the building with barkeeper's area being at the center of the ground floor.
"Oie Aron!" A familiar voice called to Aron from a well lit table close to the barkeepers. As Aron turned to the direction of the voice, he saw a smiling Jin clearly intoxicated next to happy Scarlett who looked to be in the same state, whilst Evanora only concentrated on the meal before her. Jagu and Oxin however were nowhere to be seen.
Aron made his way to the table and took a seat next to Evanora. "Seems you're all in good spirits." Aron showed a smile and commented in what came across as a mocking manner. "Well of course we are, everyone is a ticket holder after all~ We received ours while waiting in the lounge. Oxin and I got bronze invitations whilst Jagu, Jin and this strange lass got Silver ones." A tipsy Scarlett explained before narrowing her eyes at Aron.
"So? What did they tell ya during yours?" She asked curiously but Aron chose to remain vague as said they'd only announce his rank during the entrance ceremony. "Same as us then. None invitation holders are assigned directly to rank one according to what I hear so it could be we're being allowed to miss the basic year." Jin added as he reached for another bottle whistled Aron gave a nod of acknowledgement to his statement.
"Not a bad presumption to make, but depending on how we're being rated, it could be more than a rank increment." Aron suggested but Jin only nodded before reaching to his bottle and drinking more liquor. "True enough, by the way Oxin has gone of to explore the town while Jagu is training for whatever reason that may be in case you were wondering." Scarlett turned to Aron and delivered this piece of news but Aron didn't show the least bit of care.
"How they chose to spend their time is none of my concern. For the moment we aren't working together so there isn't much reason for us to know of each other's affairs." Aron bluntly stated before pouring himself some whiskey, Scarlett took no offense from his statement as she had come somewhat accustomed to his blunt honesty and indifferent nature.
As to why Aron was like this towards them, to him they were only useful during the Journey. During that time he had observed them for strengths and weaknesses but more importantly was he took mental note of what each could potentially offer to him in the long run during his limited time in Pesia.
Oxin was who he considered the least useful and often times ignored her completely. Her strength being only slightly above average while her intelligence was nothing special either. What's more unlike the rest she had no particular field in which she excelled greatly so in Aron's eyes she wasn't worth investing in.
Scarlett was someone he categorized not too far off from Oxin. Her strength was less but her battle prowess and intelligence was greater. What's more she seemed particularly talented when it came to mana powered devices but this was something Aron was confident he could learn, her bronze invitation only served to further bring her down in his opinion.
Then came Evanora, strong but her childlike intelligence was something Aron found daunting. Unless she could be taught or controlled to some extent she was only a risk not worth taking as he neither had the time nor patience to do either.
Jagu was a unique case, strong but lacking in knowledge that didn't concern battle. This wasn't seen as bad thing in Aron's eyes as it meant he was a simple and straightforward enough person. Very prideful, self disciplined and always aiming to get stronger, all good traits for a basic subordinate in Aron's opinion.
Lastly was Jin, the only one who actively sought to try and know more Aron more and pushed for an alliance which they had agreed to on the airship, but words are simply words. He summarized Jin's character as honorable but what truly interested Aron was the fact he possessed a unique art.
So despite thinking all this of everyone, Aron still chose to come to the tavern to meet and converse like allies would because until he found individuals more aligned to his requirements these would do.
"Come on don't be so stiff, this is a celebration! We're drinking till late!" Jin exclaimed with joy as slid a large bottle towards Aron and another towards Scarlett. "I'm already starting to forget where my apartment is you bloody bastard." Scarlett cursed Jin but reached for the bottle in front of her and part took in while Aron did the same with the one in front of him.
Today they drink and celebrate together but to Aron the chances of them betraying him if a better offer was placed in front of them was basically fifty-fifty. Thus one should only ever take the actions that benefit he or her most. Of course not all people were capable of betrayal as some truly loyal individuals who put others before themselves did exist. These where the true fools in his eyes but as Argos once said to him, 'Fools make for the best tools.'
Aron raised his cup with a smile on his face. "Here's to us getting one step closer towards achieving our goals, whatever it is they may be:" Jin and Scarlett quickly raised their bottles before showing cheerful smiles at Aron's words.
"Cheers!"
A/N: Varying measurements and the like will be seen in later arcs, for now things shall remain basic.
