I became a legion lich

195 Avant

The two stared at each other for a while, until the armored man started to shake, unable to contain his laughter.

“Pfft, hahaha! I can’t be serious when you make that expression, Aunt.” The man started laughing as he hugged her.

“You have to grow a lot to reach my level.” Florence also hugged him while ruffling his hair, as if he were still a child instead of an adult.

The man in front of her was actually her nephew, a young man barely in his 16s. The two had an inside joke that whenever they met, they would insult each other and the first one to laugh would buy the other a drink.

Until now, Florence was undefeated.

His nephew worked as a guard in the city-state across from him, as did several of the young men who were born here. The city offered training to young warriors and mages free of charge, on the condition that they worked as soldiers and city guards for a period equal to their training time.

Many of the young mana users in the city participated in the project, not only could they receive free training, but they would also be guaranteed jobs after it ended. Furthermore, if they decided to join the guild after finishing their mandatory work, they would receive advantages compared to other normal adventurers.

The city-state in front of them was called the Avant, or as it was better known, the birthplace of adventurers. It was the only self-governing human city and was on the border of the three kingdoms, close to the mountain range in the center of the continent.

Avant was governed by the adventurers’ guild, or more precisely by the guild’s founder, Kian Avant. He was the guild’s supreme master and Florence’s direct superior, as well as the man who spoke on the call with her moments ago.

.....

“What brings you to town, Aunt? Work?” Her nephew asked as he broke away from the hug and escorted her into town. He was working on patrol when the alarms detected the teleport and he went to investigate what it was.

“Work, but I can’t go into detail as I don’t even know what it is. I just know it’s urgent, so I won’t be able to say hi to the family right now. But I promise I’ll when I’m free.” Florence spoke and said goodbye to him as soon as they reached the gate.

Florence headed towards the guild headquarters where Kian Avant should now be, watching the city as he walked. All the people she passed carried weapons or wands at their waists, as expected in a city of adventurers.

There were more than one guild building within the city, as a single building was not enough for the number of adventurers in the city. The guild in the center of town, served more as a government building than an actual guild.

Florence walked quickly to the main guild, easily passing the guards and entering the building. She greeted the employees as she passed and went straight up to her boss’s office.

A secretary tried to run in front of her to warn the supreme master of Florence’s arrival, but her steps couldn’t match a twelfth layer warrior like her.

Florence didn’t even knock on the door, she just barged into the guild’s supreme master’s room as if she owned the place.

“I’m already here, Kian. Now tell me what’s so urgent that you made me teleport here.” Florence sat on a sofa in the middle of the room as she looked at the man behind the desk at the end of the room, who didn’t even react to her entrance and continued reviewing the documents on his desk.

He was a 1.93 meter tall man with short brown hair and green eyes. His skin was tanned from years of exposure to the sun and his body was covered in muscle that his clothes had been unable to hide.

Kian had a huge scar that started just above his left eye and went down to his neck, a scar he refused to fully heal. It was an old scar that he refused to tell how he acquired it, so its origins are a mystery even to those closest to him.

His actual age was unknown, but his appearance was that of a 40-year-old man. The adventurer’s guild was formed centuries ago and like its founder, he was at least a few centuries older than any human being should live.

Rumors said that he had reached the maximum limit of his core and achieved immortality, others said that he had bathed in so much enemy blood that his body had absorbed the life force in the blood and become immortal, but no one knew the truth.

“Sir, I’m sorry I didn’t notify you of Miss Florence’s arrival, but she moved too quickly for me to keep up.” The secretary came soon after and apologized, but neither Florence nor Kian was bothered by this.

“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m used to her attitude, so you can leave. Tell the other two they can come in as soon as they arrive.” Kian continued reviewing the documents and dismissed the secretary, who bowed in thanks and closed the door on her way out.

“You’re not going to say anything and just stand there being mysterious?” Florence asked as soon as the doors closed, looking over at Kian.

“The situation is serious, but I will wait for the other two to arrive before explaining the situation we find ourselves in.” Kian looked at her for a second before turning back to the documents on his desk.

“Tch, attacks my anxiety.” Florence clicked her tongue. “But thanks for letting me see my nephew on the way here.”

“I do not know what you’re talking about.” Kian feigned ignorance, but Florence didn’t fall for her act.

“Please don’t try to deceive me. My nephew was out on patrol alone when you called me. Is what you’re about to tell me so serious that you wanted me to have a family moment to calm my nerves before listening?” Florence questioned him and Kian nodded in the affirmative.

“I’ll take advantage of the fact that the other two are taking their time and make my report. The destruction of House Mifar was a success and the territories were annexed to nobles who agreed to laws that favored adventurers.” Florence started to report, but Kian cut her off.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Small disputes like this are irrelevant in the current situation.” He was serious but refused to explain anything until everyone had arrived.

The door opened without warning and two people entered, interrupting the conversation.

One was a 1,80 meters man with fair skin and straight shoulder-length black hair. His eyes were the color of honey and his body had a leaner build compared to Kian’s despite still being muscular.

He was wearing a black mage robe with gold embroidery and light armor underneath. He was Zulu, the guildmaster in charge of the kingdom of Belaster.

The other was a black woman with curly hair and dark almond eyes. She was approximately 1.70 meters tall and her body was covered in strange tattoos and symbols.

She was wearing short shorts and a sleeveless T-shirt. The woman’s name was Elish, the guild master of the Belaster kingdom. Half of the territory in the Belaster kingdom was made up of several islands, and the climate on the islands varied greatly depending on the island.

Spring was almost here, but the weather had already warmed up in the northwest islands.

“Was Florence the first to arrive? I think it really is an emergency for all of us to be brought together.” Zulu spoke as he sat down on the sofa across from Florence.

“Close the doors to start the meeting.” Kian spoke to Elish who was still standing by the door.

As soon as the doors closed, Kian pressed a button under his desk, isolating the entire room and preventing anyone from entering, before placing a communication cube on top of his desk and activating it.

The communication cube conjured a hologram above itself, showing the shoreline of a beach and the ocean. The hologram was not real-time, but a recording made by the order of magic.

“The scenery is beautiful, but I don’t think you’d gather us here just for that.” Florence spoke and Kian nodded.

“As you may know, apart from the five main continents, there are several islands scattered throughout Elbon.” Kian explained and everyone nodded, already aware of the information. “Many islands are uninhabited or inhabited only by monsters and small tribes of intelligent species, but the order initiated a colonization project and occupied several of these islands to exploit their natural resources.”

“We already know all this, Kian. Cut to the chase.” Zulu spoke.

“Exactly 15 hours and 46 minutes ago, this recording was made on the island of Mawala, which is in the middle of the ocean between Caprio and Doravon.” Kian stopped talking and looked closely at the recording.