A Warlock's Ascent

Sonia and Igor were very nervous, they were sitting in a large room, it was filled with various people, probably previous city lords of Vecrus. The whole room was giving off and very creepy vibe, one of the reasons being that the only source of light was a chandelier under which they were sitting.

Just below the chandelier was a big round oak wood circular table. There were three chairs on the table, out of which two were occupied by Sonia and Igor. While the third one was empty.

"I don't like coming here," Sonia spoke in Russian. Although she avoids using the Russian language as much as she could, after all, because of it she and Igor become outcasts in the Adventurer guild. But currently, she was using Russian because she was scared the residents of this manor to hear her remarks.

"Neither do I" Igor replied in Russian.

"Why the hell did that bitch call us? Did you do something again?" She shifted towards Igor and stared into his eyes, she could tell when he is lying.

"Woah, easy there. I didn't do anything."

"Then why has she called us here? We just met a few days ago."

"There is nothing else that we can do Sonia. She is our benefactor as well as the Lord of the city that we live in. We cannot decline her invitation."

"I know that… It is just, that…. I don't like her very much."

"Me too. But there is nothing that we can do" Igor said.

"Yeah… that is right," Sonia said while sighing.

She remembers it very clearly when she came here from Earth…

When she came here, she was afraid. She knew no one. And people of this world do not trust people from other cities, while she on the other didn't belong to any, she was declared an outsider and was shunned.

Still, the news of people from other worlds coming to this world spread like the wildfire in all the cities. The lords and other people started to get interested in Earthians and started gathering them, while some maintained their distance. They did not trust them, so they refused to take them in.

The cities that did want them, took them in because of some prophecy. Apparently, the ancestors of the different great cities had left behind tomes that tell the tales of Earthians.

According to the tomes, Earthians are supposed to be powerful species that had the power to conquer the whole first floor, or Midgard as the locals call it. Earthians had the power to grow their strength to such an extent that the strength of fellow Midgardian would be nothing before their might. That is why some City lords and other powerful people started kidnapping Earthians. They wanted to train them or enslave them as their people and make them loyal to them...

Eventually, eyes also turned toward them as well. It was a stressful time for both Sonia and Igor. But the city lord of Vecrus came to their aid. She gave them a house, helped them train, and helped them settle in her city. As they were under her protection no one dared to lay hands on them.

The City Lord of the great city of Vecrus, Yureka Le Torneau, is a very dangerous woman. She likes to torture and kill her enemies and has a reputation as the worst and vilest lord of any great city in the past centuries. Her mansion also gives the vibes of eerie and despair which is why Igor and Sonia don't like to come here often. But sometimes Yureka calls them for dinner to keep an eye on their progress and their strength...

***

CLANK

Suddenly the door of the room was flung open which startled both Igor and Sonia. They looked up and there they saw that woman had walked into the room accompanied by a very old and grim-looking butler.

The woman in question was wearing dark purple robes with a purple dress. The color of her robes matched her eyes. The woman looked very pale as if milk flows through her vein instead of blood. Her hair was white as an egg, with a charming smile on her face, the lady looked charming and scary at the same time.

"Igor Sonia, I am sorry that I made you wait. You see I was preoccupied with something." Yureka said with the sweetest voice, she then sat down in the remaining chair of the table.

"Butler, leave us alone." Yureka barked, her tone suddenly changed, the butler beside her bowed and went out of the room.

"So, how is your daily life going?" Yureka asked with a wide smile on her face.

"It is going fine, Your Lordship. With your protection and the marvelous house that you have provided us, we are living happily there." Sonia replied as politely as she can.

"Marvelous. And what about you Igor, I hope you are living comfortably?" Yureka asked extra softly while looking at him.

"Of course your lordship," Igor said with a smile.

"Very well. I am very happy to hear that you guys are living a proper life. Speaking of which, I am really curious… how strong have you guys become since the last time we met?"

"My lordship, I have become a Level-49 swordsman and by my next dive in the dungeon, I would become a Level-50 Swordsman." Sonia proudly declared.

"And I am Level-35 Magician," Igor said.

"That is brilliant. Now, you guys have become a little bit stronger, I need you guys to do something for me. And I think that you guys would love the job that I am offering you." Yureka said mysteriously.

"What do want us to do My Lordship?" Sonia asked.

"Well, before giving you the task, let me tell you something that happened today. When the sun was high up in the sky, my soldiers captured some people that came through the forest. They were arrested because they thought that they were spies from other cities. But it is later that they realized that these people were very weak when compared to the standards of Midgard despite being adults. Also when my soldiers started interrogating them, they all started fumbling when talking about where they come from. Does that sound familiar to you guys?" Yureka asked.

"Ah… I am afraid I don't understand what Your Lordship is insinuating." Igor said.

"What about you Sonia? Did you understand what I am trying to say?" Yureka asked.

"Ah… Fumbling very weak people… Wait a minute. Your Lordship, are you telling me that your soldiers encountered more Earthians?" Sonia said with a surprised tone.

"Correct. They all are detained and I leave it to you guys to determine whether they are truly Earthian or not. And if they are, I want you guys to lead them. And make a team out of them." Yureka said with a big smile.

Hearing her proposition, Sonia was stunned for a few moments. There are more Earthians here on Midgard but she never had a chance to meet them. The other ones are under the banner of different Great cities, so they were not allowed to leave. She once heard that some Earthian did run away from the city of Cloudhold, towards the Great city of Ravenshade.

She didn't know what made them run away, but she did know that the Lord of The Ravenshade city intercepted these Earthians. And she then made an example out of them. From what she heard, the city lord of Ravenshade rip the skins off their bodies and roasted these traitors alive…

In this world, people with high combat levels are very valuable assets for each city. And losing one to another city is unacceptable. That is why the great city lords of each city could go to very great lengths to eliminate the Deserters of the city. As Cloudhold and Ravenshade are allies, Lord of Ravenshade eliminated those Earthians so that their bond with Cloudhold does not suffer.

The idea of meeting another Earthian was a very tempting offer. After all, it would be nice to meet some people who would not shun her because she was a foreigner. But this offer also came with a lot of baggage that Sonia was hesitant to pick up. She knew how hard it is to survive in this world. And she could give a lot of tips to new Earthians on how to survive. But leading them was one another thing altogether. She didn't whether she was ready for such a responsibility.

"We will gladly accept your job, Your Lordship," Igor commented. Hearing his comment, Sonia started glaring at him.

She didn't want to accept the job. Better yet, she wanted some time to think about it. But she would have never guessed that her boyfriend would accept it without even speaking to her first.

"Really? That would be wonderful." Yureka said with a very sweet voice. But it was then she noticed that Sonia was glaring at Igor.

"Sonia, do you have any problem with the job?" Yureka asked suddenly abandoning her sweet and melodious voice and speaking with an emotionless and cold voice. Hearing her voice a chill ran down both of Sonia and Igor's spines. The temperature of the room that was sitting in suddenly dropped.

Sonia's mind started working on possible answers to quell Yureka's anger. She knew and had seen firsthand, how cruel she could be. Thus she didn't want to anger her. But for some reason, she suddenly started thinking of the possibility that if she does start leading people to their death, then she would never be able to forgive herself. The thought of doing something like this made her shiver with fear. So she instantly gathered some courage and started speaking about what was troubling her…

"Your Lordship, although I am very glad that you offered us this noble task. And believe me, I am very delighted by your offer. But I was thinking that maybe Igor and I are a bit underqualified for such a task. Maybe you could find another person with a higher level than us, that is more competent. That way there will be a higher chance that the potential of other Earthians would be utilized appropriately…" Sonia said.

Hearing her remark, suddenly a smile bloomed in the expressionless face of Yureka. And then she suddenly started laughing wildly which lead to more chills running down Sonia and Igor's spine…

HAHA!

"You know the thing that I like about you, Sonia? You are not spineless, like the other morons that I have to deal with every day. And I liked that about you." Igor simply averted his gaze. She then continued.

"Anyway, coming back to the topic, Sonia, you are a powerful woman. You have become powerful despite being shunned by my people. And let me tell you another secret, you are supposed to most powerful Earthian out there. So be proud of that fact. Without any help you can climb this high, so that does means that you have something that most Earthians don't." Yureka said with a smile and melodious voice.

Sonia didn't know what to say anymore, she didn't know that she was the strongest amongst all the other ones out there, it made her happy, but she didn't know what to think of this information.

"And while we are at it, let me tell you one another secret. You guys were not my first choice either. You guys are powerful and very valuable but I know for a fact that you are the qualified teachers I was looking for. But another incident occur today because of which I have to turn to you for help. Because of the incident, I cannot waste my men to help train some dumb Earthian."

Although both of them were curious about the incident, but they didnt ask her. Yureka then continued.

"So take the job. The other Earthians are captured in the prison area. Go there tomorrow and check them. Anything you need to train them will be provided to you in the city. So started training them as soon as possible. That is an order." Yureka said with a smile. Then she got up and left the room, leaving behind both of them.