Lone: The Wanderer Rewrite

Lone was amused. Not by what had just happened. Sure, that was a fun thing to do, but, no, that wasn't what had tickled him. No one had even asked him why he was hiding his appearance which was surprising. What had amused him so much was the aura of this branch's guildmaster which still hadn't stopped being locked onto him.

'It makes sense. I hid my plate and I'm only a B-ranker but I made a whole room fall, including an S-ranker. Still, the guildmaster here could use some deductive reasoning. I'm hiding my appearance but my aura manifestation was a golden fox with more injuries than the years I've lived. It wouldn't take a genius to link it to Immortus the Immortal. I wonder if I can do anything about that. Guildmaster Oror said S-rankers can mould their manifestations into something useful. I wonder if that means I can change its shape... I just need some enlightenment to reach A-rank where I'll be able to physically manifest it so maybe something can be done there,' Lone thought. 'Shame I did something insane to reach B-rank. What do I need for A-rank's enlightenment?'

"Ah! It's this room," Hazel said, pulling him from his thoughts.

'I'll have to check the slate too to see if there's an easy to learn skill for hiding an aura's true appearance. Illusion magic could work too,' Lone concluded before he pushed open the door labelled 'Tutoring Room 17'.

Lone immediately spotted a tall man with flowing blonde hair wearing a suit of knight's armour with an unfamiliar crest of a glowing sword on the armour's breastplate. He had a red cloak draped around his neck which only ended at his knees.

'Yeah, capes are cool,' was Lone's primary line of thinking. "You beat us here."

"I was in a private training room of the guild's when I received notice that my tutoring session of the day had been paid for so I was nearby. Now, I felt that aura of yours. I may be an SS-ranker, but I know what I felt. Am I in the presence of a lord or a peer?" Sir Ashford asked with a testing eyebrow raise as he took his sheathed longsword off of his waist and planted it in front of him, leaning on it with his hands.

"A peer. I'm here mostly for my little sister," Lone said, gestured to Hazel who seemed to a bit enamoured by the knight's good looks. 'Teenagers. Honestly. Then again, she's still using her unique skill so maybe he has a pure mind and that's winning her over. Whatever. Not my business.'

"Of course. Well then, Mister... McCullen. Is there a reason you're hiding your identity? The guild told me you specifically requested your real name not be revealed even though you of course had to use your real plate to sign up for my lesson. I know you are a gold-silver plate adventurer but I do not teach criminals. Even if you are of good standing in the guild, my own morals will not allow it," Sir Ashford stated.

"I sense no falsehoods in your words and I have no issues with a man who has paid for his misdeeds. Very well. Let us proceed. The two of you, do you have Sword or Longsword Mastery, and if so, at what levels? And do you know anything about the active skill Extended Swing or how to imbue a blade with a magical aura?" Sir Ashford asked.

'Night and day with Cuntbag Sir Ardus, this guy is,' Lone commented while he looked at Hazel, letting her answer first.

Hazel coughed awkwardly and smiled, also awkwardly. "Um, I've got Longsword Mastery at beginner-level-five, that's all."

Sir Ashford nodded. "Lacking for your age but not horrible. And you?"

'Lacking? She's only been on this planet for, like, a year or so. She's gained three levels since we last talked about her skills, what, two and a half months ago? Weird. It's such slow progress when compared to me but I can't help feeling proud,'

Sir Ashford shook his head. "Completely different. It isn't a skill, or, I haven't earned one for my efforts yet. Anyway, those are some decent levels, especially with Sword Mastery. It's only five levels behind its child skill. Very impressive."

Lone just smiled. He wasn't about to reveal that he had a bunch of other weapon masteries that contributed to that parent skill. 'I should probably also not admit to learning Extended Swing, because there's no way I won't and there's no way it won't be sus as fuck if I do with just one training session.'

He was perfectly happy taking a backseat and letting Hazel enjoy the tutoring session to her heart's content.

Active Skill: Extended Swing

A common skill for hosts who like to use longsword but wish for the reach of a greatsword.

When swinging a longsword the blade shall invisibly grow by 5%.

As they left the guild and began walking towards the beast catching experience Hazel has wanted to fish at, his sister asked him, "Did you understand anything about the mana stuff? I couldn't make heads or tails of what he meant when he said 'it's like how we take in air despite being whole, the sword too has a sort of lung that can hold and absorb magic instead of air like we do.'"

"What? It's pretty straightforward, no? I'll probably be able to do it in a few weeks if I put my mind to it. Maybe a couple of months for my tails since they ain't swords, but the principle shouldn't be too far off," Lone replied. "He wasn't being literal, if that's tripping you up. Think of it like a video game. The weapon has the capacity for the magic, like, uh, I dunno, an enchantment slot or something. Did you play many video games?"

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Hazel shook her head. "Considering the example you set? Nope. Kinda wish I had now though..."

"I wonder what happened to my online friends. I mentioned them to you on the phone occasionally, didn't I? Never seriously since it was embarrassing, but I was pretty close to one of 'em," Lone confessed.

Hazel raised an interested eyebrow. "Well, you didn't get along with the other teachers, right?"

"Not that we hated each other or anything," Lone answered, "just, yeah, work was work. None of 'em gave a fuck that I was being bullied by some of the kids and I was pretty young compared to them, so they might have just seen me as another kid. Who knows. But yeah, I was only really close to Neon - real name Nico. Good guy. I hope my disappearance didn't bother him too much. He was a gaming addict like me too."

'I kinda do wanna check up on him. He wasn't in a great situation himself. I guess there's another reason to find a way to reverse engineer hero summonings,' he thought.

"I, uh, I'm sure he's fine. Oh! That's the place there! Where we can fish," Hazel said.

Lone thanked her mentally and scolded himself for bringing down the mood. 'She's worried about Mum after both she and I disappeared and here I am reminding her of that. I really need to learn not to speak my mind so often.'

He took a closer look at the building Hazel had pointed out and he whistled in appreciation. "Now that's a cool building. Defs had space magic attached to it if it's a whole ass monster catching experience. Bet it's regulated out the wahzoo too to be in the city walls instead of in the middle of bumfuck nowhere."

The building was large being roughly the size of a modest museum or perhaps a high school. It was made from a combination of stones and metals unfamiliar to Lone and his Enhanced Vision let him know the thing was covered in magic that was supposed to be hidden.

A big sign reading 'Zelda's Zaphari' hung over the entrance and that very sign gave him a feeling of foreboding. 'It is infused with aura or something? Either way, that's pretty cool.'

"Zelda? And Zaphari instead of Safari?" Lone asked as the two of them approached. The place looked pretty popular since there was a small line even just to get in.

"The owner's name is Zelda Zaph, so it's a pun, I think. I also thought the name was kinda funny. Recognising Zelda is what made me read up on the place when it was featured in the newspaper I'm subscribed to. I hear the owner is a monster herself, but a sapient one. Uh, like Lord Mezro'nan. He is a monster, isn't he? We've never had the courage to ask," Hazel admitted.

"That's an ignorant take. Monsters aren't, like, a biological thing. It's a category of those lacking sapiance but that have the capability to grow stronger. Like, uh, animals, but of a higher order," Lone explained as they got into line. "Mind you, there is some debate about the topic because some goblins can speak but fuck me if they ain't monsters through and through."

The two siblings discussed the topic of monsters and which ones both of them had encountered thus far while they waited for the queue to progress.

Hazel had seen a lot more monsters than Lone had first assumed. Most of them she had encountered on her journey from Milindo to the topsider entrance of Krieg Moor. Her former companion Ben's unique skill had allowed them to evade all but the easiest of encounters with what they assumed was the help of Alisa's boosted luck.

'I wouldn't be surprised if it was somehow Sofia's Luck that helped them. I obviously wouldn't want my sister and former students to die. Sofia wants what I want in most cases, so maybe her Luck decided to offer a bit of protection to the kids. Who knows. Maybe they just got genuinely lucky or Ben's skill is even more powerful than I think. I should try to track him down at some point,' Lone thought just as the two of them entered the main lobby of Zelda's Zaphari.

A bipedal avian man wearing a white suit approached Lone and Hazel with a smile on his beak. He looked like a humanoid brown eagle but with two sets of wings instead of one, which Lone found fascinating. The avian was also a B-ranker.

"Welcome to Zelda's Zaphari!" the man greeted. "Do you know what experience it is you would like to purchase or would you like to me detail them for you?"

Lone noticed that four other groups or individuals were also being served so he wouldn't be holding up the queue outside of he asked a question or two, which was good.

"We're here to fish. What do you have in that regard?" he asked.

"Ah! Of course. Well, we have a variety of experiences geared towards the catching of aquatic life, but there are requirements based on your skills. May I please know what skills, if any, you two possess related to the catching of aquatic life? Also, may I please know is either of you possess a membership card? More experiences are offered to members among many other benefits, you see," the employee asked.

"I have Fishing Mastery at beginner-level-four, she doesn't have any applicable skills. And no, we're not members," Lone answered honestly.

Hazel nodded, confirming his words.

"Beginners both I see. We have three experiences available that would be perfect for you. The Beginner's Fishing Course. You will be taught how to fish the calmest of aquatic lifeforms we possess by a talented member of staff. This course lasts for two, four, or six hours."

'That doesn't sound bad,' Lone thought.

"Then there's Free Fishing. This is available to everyone. You will be given common to epic grade fishing and protective gear and access to the Simulated Ocean. This course is quite dangerous if you cannot protect yourself so I do not suggest taking it given your present strengths, but your life will be saved by staff when possible if you insist."

'So there are sea creatures in there that can easily kill B-rankers? Interesting,' Lone mused.

"And finally, The Beginner's Fishing Competition. You will need to verify your skills' levels to partake, but the prizes vary from a free membership of the business for a decade, all the way up to a legendary grade fishing rod," the avian man finished.

'Interesting but doubt I'd win,' Lone thought.

He looked at Hazel and asked, "Beginner's Fishing Course?"

She nodded. "That sounds fun."

"Beginner's Fishing Course for six hours, please. I trust we're allowed to leave if we get bored though, right?" Lone asked.

The employee nodded his feathered head. "Of course, though refunds, partial or full, are not granted regardless of circumstances. Would you be interested in purchasing memberships as well?"

"We'll see how the course goes before that," Lone replied.

"Of course. Now, our business has a fixed fee that is individual to each person based on a number of things including what species they are, what their rank is, their skill level, etcetera. Haggling is not allowed and any attempts to coerce an employee into giving you a discount will be met with a lifetime ban. I apologise for my rudeness, sir, but may I ask if that if you true species?" the employee questioned.

"Yeah, I was born a human. I'm her big brother," Lone said with full honestly as he pointed at Hazel. He was of course being sure not to obscure the truth in any way shape or form. No, not at all.

Hazel struggled to hold back a laugh.

The avian glanced to the ceiling before returning his gaze to Lone with a smile on his beak. "Thank you. Well then, Six silver coins for an H-ranked human, and Six gold coins for a B-ranked human, please."

"Pricey," Lone winced, though he of course didn't care about such a small sum. "Here ya go."

"Excellent. Please take these wristbands and enter the door behind me. It will take you to a private marina with an instructor waiting for you," the employee explained.

"Hmm?" Zelda Zeph raised an eyebrow as she focused on one of the thousands of magical projection that showed her what was happening in her many businesses. This one is particular was for the lobby of one of her business's located within Golden Pass City. "It's been a long time since anyone has managed to trick the truth-detection enchantments in one of my stores. The methods to figure out he tricked them almost didn't get triggered either. He wasn't even using magic. How interesting."

She put a claw to her chin thoughtfully before nodded. "I'm not very busy right now, so, sure, let's go see what you're up to, shall we?"

Making money hand over fist was fun and all, but finding and playing with something new and interesting was the very meaning for existing for many of the incredibly powerful beings that littered Teresta, and Zelda would like to think of herself as one such being.

With that decided, she leapt from her chair right through a portal that had appeared as if to catch her mid-jump.