Game World's Awakening-Chapter 147: An old acquaintance in Agora

As they both watched the car disappear into the distance, Anna glanced sideways at Steward.

"Is it true that you’re afraid of the Path of Strengthening?" She asked, curious.

Although it had nothing to do with what they were seeing, it did have something to do with what they were talking about. And since she had only heard it once, she was curious since it was uncommon.

Though Steward was initially surprised by her sudden question, he eventually sighed.

"Looks like the leader went overboard again." He said, smiling, but nodded. "Well, sort of." He finally acted a little embarrassed.

Her eyes widened slightly. "So it’s true, then? I heard that you originally had the talent to reach Hero Rank. You had at least a 30% chance of reaching it, but you decided to block yourself. Was it out of fear?" She asked.

He scratched his head in a gesture of discomfort, but nodded gently.

"I am not like those who want to reach the world’s top. The Path of Strengthening is a path of death and danger. Only those who are not afraid of death can become stars. But I..." He shook his head with a sigh and looked up at the stars.

"I am not that one. Death scares the hell out of me."

Anna chuckled, finding that counterproductive. If he could reach Hero Rank, he would live much longer, and death would come to him much later than in his current state.

But everyone had their own preferences. It was just curious.

Among the Awakened Ones, who were afraid to walk the Path of Strengthening and rise through the ranks, were rare.

Usually, Awakened Ones want to level up and get stronger with every step, even if it might kill them.

"Well, it’s not bad either. Thanks to that, we have a reliable man here." She smiled.

"This time, I was sent with the intention of leaving you some gifts strewn about. Collect them little by little. In your hands, I think this branch will succeed. But keep in mind that we are raising a possible God. If the situation changes after the Leveled Leagues, you will have to return to the Kingdom." She said as she turned around.

"Are you leaving already, Lady Anna?"

"Yes. Entering an enemy kingdom without authorization could trigger diplomatic problems. I don’t intend to go through those hassles, so I must return."

Steward nodded. "Thank you for your help, Lady Anna. I will vote for you in the upcoming ballots and campaign on your behalf." He spoke.

"Haha, things have gotten complicated for it. I’ve been looking for other frontiers lately, " She said, and disappeared.

--

After a long journey, Elliot and Jenna arrived in the city.

Although Agora is smaller in land area than Loen, it is considerably larger in built-up area.

It is also very beautiful, and its construction is more prominent. Somehow, by architecture alone, it is a city that instills respect and fear.

Large buildings here are more common, revealing an astonishing wealth.

From outside the city, you can already see a large building near the center of the city, the largest of all. It is painted in the characteristic white and red colors of the House of Fire.

It was the headquarters of that guild, and its building was much larger than the building of Angelic Wave or any guild in Loen or even this city.

There was only one building taller than that, and it belonged to the Agora Awakened Association.

After arriving in the City, they rented rooms in a hotel and visited Jenna’s parents, who were waiting for them.

"You’re already here, and Agora is big. Do you have any ideas about what you’re going to do, any plans in mind?" Jae asked.

Elliot nodded. "I have a plan. But for that, I need to know the current movements and what they are doing, since that might change some things or speed things up."

"Hmm." Jake thought for a moment. "Wait for me here." He spoke.

He got up and went to his office. There, he grabbed some documents from his desk and came back.

"I think this might give you an idea of what they are doing. I asked my assistant to do some research. He couldn’t find much, but it’s better than nothing."

Elliot grabbed the documents and started reading.

Apparently, right now, they were organizing a clandestine tournament, presumably to launder money but also to scout talent among the underworld. They tend to do this with some frequency, and it was just about to start these days.

That was good information, but right after that was the main information everyone should know about the House of Fire: What is this guild, and why is it so respected despite not being the strongest in the city?

Elliot already knew that, but it was not put there to inform him but rather to remind him.

The House of Fire belongs to the Fire Castle of the Capital, a powerful organization, whose status is even more astonishing among the awakened.

This place is ruled by an extremely powerful political figure: the Minister of the Awakened, who has a permanent seat at the Table of the 12+1, which are the Leaders of the Country, inside the Central Palace.

The Fire Castle is essentially not a guild but rather a Governmental Castle. It is the Governmental Palace that leads part of the Associations of the whole kingdom, which is why it is so important.

The Minister of Awakened is not weak. His nickname is the Duke of Fire, and his rank is Hero.

He is at the top of the pyramid of the Kingdom.

That is why it is an organization from which it is very difficult to take revenge.

All that Elliot already knew, so he wasn’t that surprised.

He would step into the lion’s den, but he was sure his plan would work.

And more so, seeing the last line: The House of Fire are the leaders of the Misfits in the City.

That made it somewhat easier, though possibly dangerous.

Elliot handed the parchment back to him and stood up.

"If the Misfits work for them, they may have secret warehouses to keep contraband. Can you help me find them, Mr. Jake?"

"I can do that." He nodded. "But I’m from the government. Getting too much into the Misfits will be suspicious, so it’ll take me a few days."

"That’s fine. It will also take me a few days to prepare for it."

"Okay, then. Are you planning on doing anything today?"

"I’ll visit an acquaintance."

Jenna, who was listening from the side, stood up. "Can I come with you?" she asked.

But Elliot shook his head. "It’ll be dirty in that place. Try to find out who those bastards we saw earlier were."

"Fine. Then go carefully."

-

Elliot went out into the city for the first time, but moved deftly about it, using a map he had purchased on his way in.

He was headed for the Misfits area, and it didn’t take him long to get there. As he knew, it was dirty as usual.

But he went to a half-abandoned or dilapidated house and knocked on the door.

A person from inside opened it and let him in with some fear.

"Is no one following you?" he asked.

"Haha, relax, old friend Erick. I haven’t seen you in a while, but you seem more nervous. No one followed me, feel at ease."

The man sighed. "It can’t be helped. I didn’t expect to see you around after so long. Did you decide to come to this town?"

"I just came to settle accounts with someone."

"Accounts? Have you made an enemy other than the Clarks?" he asked, in shock. But then he found something odd and looked at him suspiciously.

"You shouldn’t be able to leave Loen, should you? Did you take advantage of an oversight by the Clarks? Did you find a loophole? They used to watch you day and night."

Elliot shrugged. "Things aren’t the same now. Haven’t you watched the news or TV in this time?"

"TV? I haven’t. I had a daughter a few months ago, and I had to sell everything to take care of her and my wife."

"Oh? You had a daughter? Congratulations!"

"Put that aside. What happened? Did the Clarks go down or something?"

"They will soon." Elliot replied. He then grabbed a pencil from the table and casually tossed it toward the wall. The power was powerful enough to drive this one firmly into the wall.

Initially, Erick was stunned.

"Shit, that was the only pencil in the house." He spoke. But suddenly...

He abruptly flipped backwards and looked at the pencil stuck in the wall. ’Huh?’

He looked at Elliot again and then at the pencil, about four times in a row, until he stood up with a start.

"You’re an Awakened One!?" he shouted.

To which Elliot signaled him to be quiet.

"Don’t get too upset, old friend. You’ve got a daughter to look after now, it’s not good for you."

"You..."

"Sit down. I came because I want to hire you. I’ll pay you enough to live comfortably away from here and help you get out of here."

Erick looked at him in shock and frowned shortly after. He sat back down and put his hand over the glass of coffee he was drinking.

"Do you need information?"

"Yes."

"From who or what?" he asked and sipped coffee.

"From the House of Fire." Elliot replied.

PUFFF*

All the coffee he’d had, he suddenly spat out towards Elliot. Still, he quickly shook his head to avoid being spit out.

"A-are you crazy? Y-you want to buy information from those guys?"