Chapter 2 — After the Gates Closed
After receiving Agatha's blessing, the eight-man squad tasked with conquering the C rank dungeon, departed for the expedition.
Snow stood silently among the thinning crowd, his blue eyes fixed on the great iron gates of Riffy Cliffs as they slowly began to open. The thick metal groaned in protest, its frozen hinges resisting movement after days of remaining shut.
Beyond the gates lay nothing but white.
An endless, violent white.
The eight riders mounted their icebreed horses(the large, thick-furred beasts bred to survive the lethal cold of the Amada Mountains). Their breath came out in heavy clouds of steam, their hooves stomping impatiently against the frozen ground.
They could feel it too.
The danger that awaited them.
Rolland, the captain of the squad raised his hand, signaling for his companions to take off.
Without hesitation, the riders spurred their mounts forward and the icebreed horses surged ahead, their powerful legs cutting through the snow as they galloped toward the storm. The wind howled louder, as if trying to swallow them whole.
Within seconds, the riders were partially obscured.
Then within other additional seconds, they were nothing but faint silhouettes, until eventually they were nolonger visible.
Swallowed completely by the snowy maelstrom beyond the safety of the town.
Snow stared at the empty horizon long after they disappeared.
The gates began to close behind them until..
CLANG.
The sound echoed heavily across the central plaza.
It was over.
The expedition had begun.
Around him, the townsfolk began to disperse quickly. No one lingered and they returned to their homes, while others tended to their jobs and duties.
Soon, the once crowded plaza was empty.
Only three figures remained.
Snow, Chief Edward and Lady Agatha.
The Chief of Riffy Cliffs stood tall, his expression calm but heavy. Across from him stood the elderly lady Agatha, her white robes swaying gently despite the violent winds. Her blind eyes faced forward, unfocused yet strangely precise.
Snow remained several steps behind Edward, his hands buried deep within his coat pockets.
Edward spoke first.
"Lady Agatha," he said respectfully.
Agatha inclined her head slightly.
"Chief Edward."
Her voice was calm and gentle strangely untouched by fear.
"You are certain?" Edward asked quietly.
Snow frowned slightly.
Agatha remained silent for a moment before answering.
"The path ahead of them is shrouded," she said. "But the outcome remains unchanged."
Edward's jaw tightened faintly.
That wasn't an answer.
Not a real one.
Agatha continued.
"Whether they succeed or fail… today was necessary."
Snow scoffed quietly under his breath.
Necessary.
It was always easy for people like her to speak in vague words. Easy to speak of necessity when it wasn't their lives on the line.
Agatha turned her head slightly.
Her blind eyes landing on Snow.
Even though her eyes were blind, it felt as if she could see him clearly.
"Snow," she said gently.
He didn't respond.
"I hope you are well."
Snow's expression didn't change.
He said nothing and he simply looked away.
His silence was deliberate,intentional and contemptuous.
His reaction caused Edward to sigh.
While Agatha only stared at him with a soft expression.
After a moment, Agatha turned back toward Edward.
"I will return to the church," she said.
Edward nodded.
"Thank you, Lady Agatha."
She gave a small bow.
Then she turned and began to walk away, her steps calm and unhurried despite the violent storm around her. The wind did not seem to touch her.
Snow watched her go, his eyes cold.
He hated her.
He hated her calm.
He hated her kind expression.
Most of all—
He hated the power she held over this town.
Because of her words, eight people had just walked toward death, and among those eight people was someone who was dear to Snow.
After the blind seer left, Edward remained standing beside Snow for a moment longer.
The plaza was empty now, and only the storm remained.
Edward glanced down at him.
"…You shouldn't antagonize her."
Snow didn't look at him.
"She's the reason they left," He replied coldly.
Edward didn't deny it.
"She warned us."
"She doomed them."
Edward sighed quietly.
"It's not that simple."
Snow finally turned toward him.
"It is."
Edward met his gaze.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then Edward placed a hand on Snow's shoulder.
"We do what we must to survive," he said quietly.
Snow didn't answer.
Edward removed his hand.
"Come," he said. "It's freezing."
Snow almost laughed.
Freezing.
He barely felt it, but he followed anyway.
The pair of father and son walked toward the their house.
In a few moments they reached the house.
Their home was covered in a pile of snow like the rest of the houses in the Riffy Cliffs.
Edward went foward and opened the door, and snow treaded behind him.
As they entered, Edward went to prepare dinner while Snow went to sit by the couch.
He removed the large coat that he was wrapped with.
Now that he was away from prying eyes he didn't have to put a front on wearing warm clothes.
Eventually time passed, and Edward finished preparing dinner.
Snow was called into the dining room by Edward who was serving the hot bean soup with rice balls.
After taking a seat, Snow digged into his food.
While he was eating he noticed Edward acting weird, perfoming the action he would usually do when he wanted to bring something that Snow didn't like.
Noticing his father's weird actions of opening and closing his mouth Snow frowned and asked with a annoyed expression.
"What?"
Edward at this moment cleared his throat and sighed before he eventually spoke.
"You are turning fifteen tomorrow"
Snow frowned and then asked even though he knew why Edward was asking this question.
"So?"
Edward sighed again.
"So it's time to get your apitude tested, and about high time you start your hunting training. "
Snow coudn't help but click his tongue.
"l would rather die than be tested by that self proclaimed seer "
Edward revealed a tired expression.
"Well either way, you have to get tested soon."
Snow scoffed.
"And what if I fail, wouldn't l become the perfect monster child for the people to mock"
Edward shook his head.
"You won't fail_"
Before he could finish though, Snow interrupted him.
"And how do you know that?"
Edward was silent for a moment.
"Your mother was a mage and l am qi warrior, which means means you inherited both of our aspects. Since you failed your qi test, l assume that you inherited her genes, which is already good news "
Snow when he heard this couldn't help but roll his eyes.
In this age humans had two paths they could take inorder for them to progress in strength.
One was the path of qi, were warriors managed to master the flow of energy in their body meridians to enhance themselves be it in strength, speed or endurance.
The other path was the path of magic, were one was skilled in manipulating mana ( world energy) to bend world elements to their will.
Ofcourse there were also those who didn't manage to gain either path and remained , ordinary.
But those people were rare, and were even known to be rarer than mages (who were already considered to be rare. )
Snow and Edward took a long moment at the table, arguing over the matter of his apitude testing, until eventually Snow gave in.
After he agreed, Edward was relieved.
He then proceeded to eat his food.
After finishing his meal he bade Snow a good night sleep before heading to bed.
Snow was left alone in the dining room with his thoughts.
His expression turned adrift as he pondered over tomorrow's apitude testing.
"So it's finally happening huh?" He muttered to himself.
"l wonder_
"Whether l will pass or not?"
Although Snow had acted like he was disinterested in the matter of his apitude testing, the truth was that it was all a front.
In truth he had been looking foward to this day, ever since he learned that he had terrible talent in qi mastering.
And now that the day had finally arrived, he was sort of apprehensive.
After all although the statics sayed that, when one had both parents as mages and knights, the child would inherit either one of his/her parent's path with absolute certain.
There was no guarantees that the child wouldn't inherit neither path of both parents.
And this was what worried Snow.
If he were to somehow be unlucky to not inherit either path of both parents, then he was damned for a lifetime.
Not only would he be unable to earn a living, but he would further solidify his nickname as the cursed child when the townsfolk learns of the news.
After sighing for more times than he could count, Snow tended to his dishes, washing them by the sink, using the warm regulated water, that was supplied to the town by a D rank elemental mage, who infused both water magic and heat magic to provide water that did not freeze instantly once supplied to the town.
Once Snow finished washing the dishes, he then went to sleep.
He entered his farmiliar room and went straight to his bed. He slept facing the ceiling and after a few moments he fell asleep.
And when he woke up he was in another world.