Chapter 693: Wind of Goldwood

Arthur opened his eyes to the new day. There was some shouting outside his room, which was unusual given that he was in the innermost layer. But, as he stood up and stretched, his senses could make sense of the voices outside his room.

"What is going on here?" asked Arthur as he left his room to find Julia, Oren, Selena, and Yuran standing while looking around at the ceiling. Arthur was confused by their actions.

"I… was gathering information on the person you were interested in," said Julia while inching away from the group and going toward Arthur. "However, the shadows brought back something we didn't expect. We are dealing with it now."

Arthur was about to open his mouth when a black gale of wind stormed through the inner hall. His eyes turned golden as he followed the shadow that produced that wind. However, the others couldn't see it.

"What kind of neo-ranker is this?" asked Yuran with confusion as he tried to catch the shadow, but it was useless. The shadow bounced through the hall as if it were a ricocheting bullet. "Arthur, be careful! It might be aiming for you!"

There was a deep beastly growl in the inner hall as the shadow inched closer to Arthur. Julia tried to create a cage that blocked it, but the shadow went past her. In the end, the shadow raced toward Arthur at a speed no one could see.

Arthur smiled and raised his hand. His golden aura exploded as ethereal chains surrounded him. Then, his lips parted. "Sit." A commanding aura burst from his body, and the rest found their knees bending on their own.

Boom!

The shadow froze in front of Arthur, and its knees dented the metallic plate. Arthur and the rest finally got to see the shadow's appearance. It was a youth in animal clothing, resisting the pressure that wanted to crush him.

"I wondered what person can write that answer," said Arthur with his eyes scrutinizing the youth. "I should have expected a wild beast. Julia. You invited him into our stronghold?"

"We would never," said Julia with a sweaty face. "I called back for the shadows to report on him, and this one followed them all the way here. It is good that you caught him. Otherwise…"

"If this has been one of our enemies," said Arthur while staring at the wild youth, who was baring his teeth at him, "we would have been attacked. I made you the vice-leader of this guild. However, I didn't order of this," said Arthur as his eyes shifted toward Julia.

The four met Arthur's golden eyes, and a shiver went down their spine. Julia gulped down as she nodded. It seems she realized her mistake of acting without consulting Arthur first. As he felt Arthur's aura, the youth started shaking as his hostile expression disappeared.

"I apologize, guild master," said Julia, and Arthur nodded at them. Then, he relaxed his hand, and the aura dissipated. However, the youth didn't run away and stared at Arthur instead.

"Since you applied for my guild, you should know how to talk. I'm Arthur Silvera. And who are you?"

The youth started inching away from Arthur as he growled. It seems he recognized Arthur as a threat and was trying to scare him away. Arthur sighed and looked around.

"Call for Tiara. She should get him to trust us."

After Tiara arrived, the youth started sniffing. It might have been the unique smell an Elven Princess carried of nature that made him look at her differently. As Arthur expected, Tiara was able to get him to speak.

"This gentleman wants to know why you are here," said Tiara to the youth. "He is the leader of the guild that you wanted to join. You don't remember that?"

"I don't," said the youth while sitting on all four curled together. Despite his appearance, his speech was flawless. "I've never heard of this guild. I was going into a forest when the shadows started to follow me. After trying to lose them for a long time, the shadows took another direction. I followed."

"Julia," called Arthur with a frown. "This kid should be from…" his voice trailed to remember his origins.

"Thiria."

"You came all the way here from Thiria?" asked Tiara with surprise. The youth nodded at her. "Are you sure that you didn't apply for this guild?"

"I will never join a guild in my life." The youth glared at Arthur. In the end, Arthur smiled and walked toward the kitchen. The rest of them were looking at him with confusion.

"Guild master," called Julia behind him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm making breakfast for myself and our little guest. After all, he is either a victim or a bug." Arthur walked into the kitchen, and the sounds of cooking soon rang in their ears. The rest stared around before Tiara offered her hand toward the youth.

"You are safe here," said the Elven Princess. "He is not a man who would kill without reason. Let us understand who wanted to send you to us. What is your name?"

"My name is Gaius, Wind of Goldwood," said Gaius with pride. Tiara nodded at him and led him toward the kitchen. Arthur didn't lie as he was preparing breakfast.

"What is the latest news about our reputation?" asked Arthur. Julia took out a report from her files and started reading it aloud. It involved general sentiment and their current application number, which was soaring. "Good job. I'm sorry about earlier."

"No need, Arthur. I agreed to be here, so, naturally, I have to follow some rules," smiled Julia. "It felt nice to feel that you are a real guild master, not just a wannabe."

"Always glad to be of service," said Arthur as he lined platters in front of everyone. He used his telekinesis to move the ingredients and his cooking rune to make the food taste great. The aroma spread throughout the kitchen and the inner hall, making them gulp. "This is my apology for the earlier incident," said Arthur as he filled the table with plates. "Please, dig in. You are included, Gaius."

The youth who wore animal hides looked at the scene with confusion and then turned toward Arthur. His glare was still resentful about how Arthur caught him earlier.

"Are you mad that I prevented you from moving around?" Arthur sat down and started eating, twirling the food on his plate before placing the toasted eggs in his mouth. "It has nothing to do with speed."

"Speed can defeat everything," said Gaius with a frown. The rest of the guild members sat around while smiling to themselves. After all, the food looked delicious. It ranged from appetizers to steak. "You used a spell to win. That is all."

"A spell, huh?" muttered Arthur to himself. "You were indeed fast, but I'm faster than you are. Of course, I would have to use my spells."

"I am the Wind of Goldwood, a hunter faster than the wind. Don't claim things you are unable to back up, human."

"I will race you after we are done eating. The rest are eating too, so don't worry about being poisoned. Well, I'm sure your nose can tell whether the food is poisoned or not."

Gaius sniffed while glancing at the food, and Tiara motioned for him to eat. Then, he inched closer to one of the steaks that Arthur cooked before snatching it. Then, Gaius started ripping it apart without a knife as the others stared at him.

"Arthur, is there something you know about him?" asked Oren after placing down his fork and knife. Arthur looked at the youth and smiled.

"If we believe his story about not applying to be here, someone applied for him. Our device detects the applicants, and the shadows track them down. That's how it is. For some reason, someone in Thiria applied for Gaius without his knowledge."

"That doesn't make sense, does it?" asked Selena with a frown. "He is nothing but a youth. Is someone trying to get rid of him?"

"We are unaware of the situation in Thiria. However, since joining our guild is considered a crime in most countries, it is the perfect trap for the unaware."

"And yet, we still get thousands of applications," said Julia with pride. "If only our guild master accepts some of them…."

"The first batch is most likely criminals. There are a few exceptions, but I expected as much. We are an anti-governments guild. If anyone wants to join us without real strength, it's either a trap or a criminal."

"And that's why you got angry earlier?" asked Julia, and Arthur nodded apologetically. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I've been too eager to grow this guild, probably to make it look like a good decision that I joined."

"That's the best trait you have, Julia," said Arthur. "However, we are facing the whole world with this. To make members join, we have to filter them first."

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