The Beginning After The End novel Chapter 284

Chapter 284

Chapter 284: Blending In

“This is the fifth outfit already. Is all of this necessary?” I groaned, stepping out of my changing room and into the viewing area.

Waiting for me outside was a plethora of employees working at the high-end clothing boutique as well as customers.

“Kid, do you know how many named bloods seek me out only to be put on my waiting list? I’m only doing this because the old coot asked me for a favor,” the bespectacled old woman that Alaric had introduced as Odile snapped.

Her heels clacked on the tile floors as she strode behind me, tying my hair with a thin string.

“Although...” Odile turned her sharp gaze to the ‘audience’ watching us excitedly. “It seems like I’m not enough since my employees also found the need to offer their professional advice.”

The uniformed employees scattered within the crowd of about twenty or so began chuckling nervously before a blonde-haired clerk spoke up. “All the guests are here as well, Madam Odile. We’re just watching out for them.”

The woman leading me toward the set of mirrors snorted derisively but said nothing as she pushed me onto the platform.

‘A once quadra-elemental Lance, now with the physique and abilities of an asura, has become...a dress-up doll,’ Regis lamented mockingly. ‘Oh, how the mighty have fallen.’

Keep that up and I’ll get you a nice flower barrette that really highlights your purple mane.

Regis let out a cackle. ‘I’d rock it.’

“Your shoulders look narrower when you’re tense like that! We’re going for confidence!” Odile huffed as she combed her short white hair back with her fingers. “Great Vritra, I don’t see what you have to be ashamed about with your face and body.”

There was a disturbing chorus of agreement from the crowd, and while I hated drawing attention to myself, I had to agree that Odile had quite a sense of style that I wasn’t opposed to.

I looked at myself in the tri-fold mirror. In contrast to the tight-fitting armor I had picked up from the Relictombs, Odile had fitted me in a white dress shirt tucked into a pair of black slacks. Rather than wearing a tie or vest, she had me put on a black sweater underneath a dark blue coat. As the final touch, Odile put on what she called a collar bar that accented my suit to give that ‘classy noble look’ she kept going on about.

I liked it. It was a bit more...modern than I had expected—this outfit could easily be something I could see in my old world. But I wasn’t a walking rainbow goose like some of the other denizens here. Honestly, as long as it allowed me to blend in, there wasn’t really more I could ask for.

“He’s a rather whiny boy, but I knew you’d want to get your hands on him,” Alaric chimed. The old drunk had also washed up, trimmed his hair and beard and changed into a completely black suit. He was currently closing the curtains to block out the audience that had formed, much to their displeasure.

“I just wish you would’ve told me in advance so I could procure an image capture artifact,” Odile said with a sigh. She snapped out of her daze and stuck a finger at Alaric. “That doesn’t change the fact that I did you a favor, you old drunk! Don’t you dare try to change that.”

Alaric raised his hands—one of which was still holding onto a bottle of rum—placatingly. “I meant to do nothing of the sort, my beloved crone.”

“You’re still drinking?” I asked, exasperated. “How’re you going to handle the hangover after all of the alcohol you’ve drunk so far?”

“You can’t get a hangover if you’re always drunk,” he said sagely, tapping his temple with a finger.

I opened my mouth to say something while Alaric stared at me as if daring me to refute his point. My words just came out as an unintelligible grumble.

After gathering the literal pile of clothes that Odile had chosen for me and taking it to the front counter to pay, I was met with a confused clerk.

“Your clothes have already been paid for by Madam Odile,” she said while bagging my clothes.

“Oh.” I looked at the amount of outfits that were strewn across the counter. “This is a lot of clothes. I’d feel more comfortable paying.”

“Don’t take it the wrong way. It’s an investment on my part,” Odile’s husky voice rang from behind. I turned to see her walking beside Alaric, toward me. “It seems like the old coot found someone interesting and I wanted to be a part of it.”

“Let’s go, Grey. Before she tries to rip me off even more,” Alaric muttered grumpily.

Alaric and I were back out on the busy streets where the sun was beginning to set. A courier would be delivering our new clothes to the inn, which only left us with one last stop for the day.

“Listen up, my lovely nephew,” Alaric began, sauntering beside me as we made our way out of the shopping district. “If we’re going to get you an ascender’s badge as soon as possible without having you affiliated with any sort of institution, here’s what we have to do...”

The old drunk proceeded to explain his plan. Basically, Alaric would pose as my uncle who had been teaching me to hone my magic and survival skills ever since my bestowment since I had no intention of being a merchant like my father. Now that I was of age and had been thoroughly trained, he would be the one to vouch for me in order to take the assessment.

I raised a brow. “So anyone can just vouch for you in order to take the assessment?”

“Don’t be silly. It’s because your uncle is a retired ascender himself that he’s qualified to vouch for you,” Alaric said with a cheeky grin. “Unfortunately, passing the assessment won’t be enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll have to participate in—and survive—one ascent by tagging along with an experienced party,” he explained. “Only then will you get an ascender’s badge. Thankfully there’s an Ascension Chamber right here in Aramoor, which I assumed you were planning to visit since you’re here.”

I shook my head. “I had no intention of going to the Relictombs in this city.”

Sylvia’s message had given me memories of the four ruins within the Relictombs that I needed to get to. I had already visited one of them, and while I didn’t have an exact map of where the rest of these ruins were, I knew they weren’t in Aramoor City.

“As both your uncle and your partner in crime, may this one ask where it was you were planning on going?” he questioned, staring at me with that glassy gaze of his. While he still looked drunk, Alaric looked much more reliable now that he’d cleaned himself up.

“I’m looking for ruins within the Relictombs. They weren’t in the Relictombs here.”

“You really aren’t from around here, are you?” he sighed before leaning closer as we walked. “I’m sure you’ve noticed this by now from the last time you were inside, but the Relictombs don’t have a conventional structure that you can travel through. You’ve heard of simulets, right?”

“I have,” I replied, the memory of Daria offering one to me still fresh in my mind.

“Most of the deaths within the Relictombs happened before the development of the simulets. Before then, even if you crossed an entrance together at the same time holding hands, you would most likely be transported to different zones.” Alaric let out a sigh before continuing. “You say you’re looking for these ‘ruins’ within a specific zone, but the truth is, it doesn’t really matter where you enter the Relictombs, since you never know where you’ll end up.”

I had a feeling this was the case but I had hoped that entrances in different areas would lead to different parts of the Relictombs.

“So I just have to blindly wander around the Relictombs before I stumble across what I’m looking for by chance?”

Alaric took another sip of his rum, letting out a loud burp before answering. “Some say that the Relictombs has a will of its own, left behind by the ancient mages.”

Ancient mages, or ‘djinn’, as the entity that had left me with the keystone referred to himself. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Relictombs did have a mind of its own, but it still didn’t help me in my case. I hated how so much was still outside of my control.

I rubbed my temples. “Fine. It doesn’t seem like I have much of a choice.”

“Good.” Alaric patted my back. “I have no idea how strong you are, but remember that, while trained, you definitely should try and at least act like you’re having a hard time. Once you’ve gotten your ascender’s badge, it might not be a bad idea to accumulate experience with other parties if you really don’t want to draw attention to yourself.”

‘You should just ‘summon me’ and let me take the test,’ Regis chimed in.

“Are solo ascenders that rare?” I asked, ignoring my companion. Trider’s surprise when I mentioned it came to mind.

“Very,” Alaric answered as he weaved deftly through the crowded street filled with pedestrians. “The Relictombs are much too unpredictable even today, when we have so many records of different zones. It’s why experienced sentries are as important as—if not more than—battle mages.”

“What sort of mage were you then?” I questioned, looking at the old drunk. He looked about fifty at least, and although he sported a large beer belly, it couldn’t mask the warrior’s build that he once had.

Alaric turned to face me, cocking a brow. “I thought our deal here was that we don’t pry and ask questions that are unnecessary.”