Madman’s Retirement

And we're back!

As you've noticed, I went on a hiatus recently, due in part to school and a high number of finals. It was exhausting to say the least. 

Glad to return to writing.

They're over now, so I'm back, and I'm hoping to go back to a weekly schedule now that summer has opened up. 

So, yayyy!? 

By the time the guildmaster found Grant, he was quietly sweeping the ruins.

"Where is he?" The guildmaster asked calmly, showing no signs of confrontation.

He'd be stupid to.

"Who?" Grant asked innocently, causing the guild master to roll his eyes.

"Don't bother, your progenitor already gave it away."

Dropping all pretense, this time Grant asked genuinely. "You know about progenitors?"

The other grunted. "I'm nearly a thousand years old. As a living demigod, one tends to notice signs of divinity within a person. But I'm sure you knew that, didn't you? My status?" he asked, sure that Grant had already identified what he was.

"Indeed. A little weak for a demigod, but considering you're up in the years, that makes sense." The demigod huffed, but did not deny it. He was far weaker than he had been in his youth.

"Hmph. Just tell me if the paladin is dead. I need to know how much paperwork there is to do." he grunted dismissively. Everything had finished up rather cleanly, all things considered, but the real mess would be the paladin. The death, or heresy of a paladin often led to the greatest amount of paperwork, thanks in no small part due to the outrage of the church, sometimes even churches.

Grant shrugged. "What paladin? All I saw was a greater mimic wearing the skin of a paladin." he said, tossing a shriveled up corpse, one that was humanoid in shape, but looked nothing like the paladin.

The guildmaster deadpanned him, his eyes indicating he clearly did not believe the adventurer's bullshit.

"Grant, that won't fool me. I knew Peter, and I'd known if it was a fake I saw. It wasn't. That was very much Peter, flaws and all." He paused. "How many of these do you have anyway?"

Grant chuckled, shaking the shriveled up corpse. "Enough to cover up a controversy like this. Between you and me, the paladin is dead, yes. But officially, I'd suggest saying he died honorably in battle, before a mimic took his place and lead a group of heretics out here to the borders."

A frown appeared on the guildmaster's face. "Bold! To so blatantly suggest such a thing, to lie to the entirety of the empire!"

Grant rolled his eyes behind the mask and snorted audibly. "Oh come now, the only ones being fooled are the common people. I'm sure the gods know the truth, and so do the higher ups of any organization, and the shadow intel groups probably long knew this was coming."

"And you would suggest I lie to the public?"

"I mean, yall managed to hide the fact that the dungeon under Hfil city happens to contain the progenitor Nidhoggr who not only controls the dungeon, but could leave at any moment, no?"

sigh

He really does know everything, bemoaned the guild master, unable to make a proper judgement on the power level of the man before him. He would really have to report this one to the guild, and the empire.

"How often do you do this?" He asked, already exhausted by the day behind him.

"Not often, if you'd believe it. I'm not one for subterfuge." Grant admitted honestly.

Maybe once he had been more subtle, but that was then.

He'd come to learn that hiding could only do so much for you.

Better to force others to work on your terms instead

"Fine then, we're going with greater mimic then?" The guild master said, agreeing to compromise on this matter.

"We could go with a demonic skinwalker, but I feel like that'd insult the demonic community." Grant said thoughtfully. The demon community wasn't huge in the empire, but deflecting the blow to them would merely cause more unnecessary trouble.

"Whatever. No matter what story we go with, it'd be easy to see through for the higher ups, but it will do." To fool the average person.

"Glad to hear it. Now, if we're done here-"

"Wait!" the guild master exclaimed, causing Grant to turn unnaturally towards him.

"Yes?"

"I haven't had a chance to thank you yet."

"Thank you recieved, distant acquaintance-"

"In my office, with tea."

"You mean an interrogation."

"An interrogation implies I have any power over you." The man retorted. "Consider it a conversation over some tea and biscuits."

"Fine then. A conversation then." Grant acquiesced walking over to the guild master. "But not tea and biscuits. Beer and chicken. "

The guild master cracked a smile. "Much better"

"Much better" The adventurer agreed.

"It's weird." The guild master commented as he watched Grant eat, the food passing through his mask."

"They all say that." Grant commented simply

crunch!

The sound of fried chicken being chewed on was a bit unnatural as it simply disappeared into the mask, before a visceral crunch could be heard.

"At least take off the mask." complained the old man. "It's rude to eat with a mask on."

"..." Grant mulled over it over for a moment, before eventually complying, taking off the helmet.

He had caused a good deal of trouble for the man. The least he could do was show his face.

His old one of course.

No way he was going to show him his current one.

As he took off the mask, he warped his face back into a younger version of his face from his time as Grant.

But much to Grant's surprise, the guildmaster's face stiffened.

"You..." He was speechless for a minute.

"ARE YOU MOCKING ME!" He roared in anger.

"What in the lords name are you talking about?" Grant responded disdainfully. "This has been my face for a very long time!"

"NO! NO, YOU CANNOT JUST LIE LIKE THAT! WHAT KIND OF SICK JOKE IS THIS!?" He exclaimed , genuinely offended.

But he was not the only one, and soon the guildmaster was forced to his knees by the sheer weight of Grant's killing intent.

Even on his knees, the guildmaster glared him down.

"There is no joke here."Said Grant as he observed at the man. "This, this has been my face since the very day I was born. I don't care what you think." he said coldly.

The guild master glared at him as he said the name.

"Grant Thorsten."

"And?" Grant said confused. What was his name doing popping up now?

Seeing that the Grant before him was genuinely confused, the guildmaster loosened up, but still remained stiff.

"He was an old friend of mine, the founder of the current Thorsten family. He was like a teacher to me." The last words were said stiffly, as the pain of age could be heard.

Grant was distracted with something else.

Grant Thorsten?

He existed in this world?!

System.

[Looking...]

[Looking...]

[Found!]

[Grant Thorsten- Born over 1000 years ago, was a nordic warrior who sided with the empire and led his band of warriors to take over the lands under the emperor's name. Using the hammer of Thor, he quickly took over, becoming the Marquis of Thorsten.

Ancestor to player 15- Richard Thorsten]

Grant could hear the nervous edge to the system's voice, as she could feel the swirling emotions flowing through Grant.

'System, who did he marry?' The question was asked mentally, yet even still you could hear the wavering in the voice.

Grant asked quietly i his head, and she did not answer, silently affirming his question.

Ha...

Were he not in the company of someone else, he'd have laughed bitterly right there.

Was this some form of sick joke?

To send him to a world where he got to live out the happy life? To have gotten everything he desired?

Or was this Flamel's way of delivering him a family?

Did he give off such single vibes!?

That married bastard...

Grant had many thoughts, but pushed them down.

As for the guild master, he could tell that the mood had soured from the man before him, as he became gloomy. It was subtle, and yet familiar, reminding him of his old friend too much again.

The mood changed suddenly once more, as if the mood had been purged from the man's body.

" I assure, you I am not your old friend, and I'd rather you not mention this again?" Grant said calmly, and the guild master agreed.

Grant quietly put the mask back on.

The mood was awkward, yet business waited for no one.

"Did you do it?"

"Hmm?"

"Make all these new monsters?" The guild master asked as he threw down the files, the files that Grant had helped him arrange and fill in a few days ago, the drows included.

"Oh? How did you come to that conclusion?" Grant asked, tilting his head.

The guild master grunted. "Intuition. That salamander- no axolotl creature looked like those axoboldls you described, but evolved, and the ones behind him a little moreso. And those two drows." He paused for a moment. "I suppose one of them was the progenitor?"

"I thought you said you knew one when you saw one." Grant teased, and the guild master did look embarrassed.

"I didn't notice it, but in hindsight, I realized something was off about your birds."

"Well, you're right, one of them is a progenitor, and I am the one who made those species. What of it?" Grant said calmly, making such an outrageous statement.

"How?"

"Not why?" The man dressed as a bird asked.

"We all have our reasons for power. I'm more curious how you've managed to push such things to such high numbers already. The divinity on the progenitor I saw wasn't high, but it was high enough that the species has to have reached 100,000, minimum. That's a lot to breed out of nowhere." The guildmaster said as he ate his wings.

"Of course, if you don't feel like sharing, that's fine too."

Grant giggled. "Oh no I'm all for sharing, for the little good it'll do you."

The guildmaster raised an eyebrow.

"The Earth recognized them as species. And thus it spawned them in the appropriate zones. " Grant hand waved it all away.

"Who?"

"The earth. Best I can tell you before you start attracting the nosy eyes of "them"." Grant said ominously choosing not to elaborate.

And wisely, the guild master chose not to follow it "I don't suppose you'll be making more?" he asked worriedly.

Unfortunately, to his misfortune.

"Oh, tons. Just so many more. How else does one pass the time?" Grant asked innocently, as a vein swelled on the guildmaster's head, before he sighed the sigh of a man who had already resigned himself.

"Fine, just tell me when you've made a new one so that I know."

"Really?" Grant said, genuinely surprised.

"You control at least 2 progenitors from what I've seen, yes?"

"At least, yes."

"Well in that case, you are already treated as a God level threat.The romana empire already has a policy of appeasement when it comes to entities of your level. And you probably won't stop just cause I ask."

"Yeah, I will not stop" Grant said firmly.

"-Then it's better to know all their statistics than to go in blindly."

It's clear the guild master is resigned, but still.

"Really?"

"Yeah, last time that went poorly."

"Alrighty then" Grant said calmly.

"Yup. I will be sending a report to my superiors, obviously, but other than that, done." He said, before resuming the consumption of fried chicken.

And like that, the rest of the meal was filled with conversation of conquests and hunts, to drown away the awkward negotiations from moments ago.

Mistress Trenee sighed as she looked at the walls within the temple.

For there stood a familiar shield, one that had belonged to an old friend, and then to a child she had considered one of her own.

As an elf, she had witnessed the lives of many.

Perhaps one of the greatest tragedies was how often children strayed off the path or died on it, but perhaps one of the most painful was this one yet.

Too pure for this world, corrupted by the corruption within the church.

She had known this day would come, the day when the child couldn't bare it anymore. She had merely expected it would erupt to greater fanfare.

SHe didn't care how it'd affect the church, but rather how it broke the Goddess' heart to see her child's name be sullied by corruption.

Perhaps then it was their blessing that the man named Grant had seemingly recovered Peter's reputation with the story of a mimic

It was an obvious lie, for the shield would not return without the death of its master, and Isis had told her of Peter's fate after death,but what mattered was that Peter's life's work would not be ruined.

She decided to go.To go thank this kind man.

"My child"

Came the soft motherly voice, one that few could hear, yet all could feel the warmth of.

"Go, go and meet the man named Grant. For he has done much for us, and will continue to do so."

She said, much to the elf's surprise, and the next part truly surprised her.

"I wish to meet the man who forms the roots to our new system."

 

In the imperial palace

The emperor looked at the report carefully, sent to him by the guildmaster sent to watch the paladin Peter.

Despite being part of the guilds, which were neutral in all affairs officially, the guildmaster had long been a devoted soldier of the empire, and also worked as an important gear in the empire, even in his old age.

It was this very same old age that caused the emperor to worry that perhaps he'd sent the senior on too many missions.

Created multiple races? 2 progenitors seen? Single-handedly defeated one of the greatest paladins to ever live.

It all sounded fantastical.

If it were correct however, then there were serious implications. Implications that required investigation.

He would have to send people from the Pheme Nyx guild no doubt-

"Your majesty!" Came the panicked voice of the new imperial butler. His last one had died in another of the Jorvus temple's tests, and the new one was relatively experienced.

Regardless, he was capable, if only a little less so than the last.

"What is it, Sir Toppin- Cap?" He asked patiently, only to lose all patience when he heard what the butler said next.

"The young prince has ran off! I believe he's gone to a place called "york outpost!"

Oh no,

"And what makes you think that?" The emperor asked as he felt his blood pressure go up.

The butler frantically pulled out a scribbled note, which was easily read.

It was a rather neatly written note, courtesy of his tutor's efforts, indicating his desire to go out and explore, and that he read his father's report, and thought it sounded absolutely fascinating.

A shadow came over his face as he realized his son had managed to get his hands on the report first.

Should he say he was proud of his ability to sneak and steal, this crown prince of his?

No, what really bothered him was that the crown prince was running away from home.

Dear lord.

Was he this much trouble when he was younger?