Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – Guild Recruitments

"Urgh..." White, blinding light pours through my blurred vision between my half-opened eyes. 

"Easy..." I hear a voice directed at me, but it sounds distant. When my eyes finish adjusting, I'm greeted by a square light over my head from the ceiling. I can feel a shadow has been cast over me, but I'm unsure from where. My senses are still numb, including my feeling of touch and hearing. 

A simple look to my left revealed a tan-skinned woman in a hospital gown... Jade! "Hhugh..." I try speaking, but I can't even feel my tongue. How badly was I beaten to the point that I couldn't even speak? 

"Don't try speaking, you've been out for several days now. Everyone else has recovered smoothly thanks to the intervention of the [Whitelight Guild], we'd have probably died if it weren't for them." Jade sighs in relief, from what I can tell from what she said, we were all badly injured and had to be rushed to the hospital. But that just doesn't make any sense to me. The last thing I remember is that Jade was knocked out by some sort of [Sleep Ability] and the rest of us weren't too badly injured thanks to her healing before she got taken out.

"So, where is everyone else...?" I ask, glancing around the room to see that we're the only two in the room. All of the other hospital beds are empty. 

Jade chuckles at the question as if I'd asked something childish. "They're in the room across from us, of course. You wouldn't want those boys seeing you barely clothed, right?" Jade's comment gives me enough concern to look down at my appearance, and lo and behold, I was in a gown too! It wasn't exactly revealing, but I was still completely nude beneath the gown. "I guess you've got a point." Resigning myself to her reasoning, I can't find a point to argue against.

"How did we even end up in this state? I don't think any harm was brought to us during that fight with the red-haired woman, right?" 

Then, Jade explains something that I'd have never expected. "That is true, but that's just the nature of things when strong people fight."

"From what Tulod explained to me, an [A-Rank] and a [B-Rank] fighting with each other is like a natural disaster. The gap between them is huge, but the two that fought happened to be some of the strongest in their ranks. Toy Cesta and Mind Khussa. Both of them are [Reds]." My silence is the only answer that Jade needs to know that I'm utterly clueless about what the 'Reds' were.

"The [Reds] are what we call a group of powerful women with red hair, pretty simple, right? We're not sure where they came from, but some time after the first [Gate] opened, many young women inherited red hair, and some of them later became globally known for various reasons."

"Toy Cesta became known for her powerful ability that is kept confidential. Only the [Guild Master] of [Whitelight] knows about her ability, from what we all know. She rose to A-Rank within a year or so and has even become feared by some of the [S-Ranks]. Those sound like baseless rumors to me, though. I doubt a [A-Rank] can compare to the likes of that woman with white hair."

"Then, there's Mind Khussa. She is Toy's younger sister, supposedly. That woman's wind abilities are almost unmatched. As we saw, she can use the wind to block any attacks sent at her, as though there's some sort of barrier around her. And she's not even considered to be within the [Top 10] of the [Reds] that have become known globally."

"Something we've seen is that almost every [Red] mentions a woman named [Mother]. They might all be related to one another. That's the most logical thing I can think of." 

While I was interested, I also started dozing off during Jade's explanation. Hearing such a long story after just waking up after several days does drain the energy out of you fast.

"I'll keep all of that in mind, don't overwhelm me like that." I wave my hand through the air, beckoning her to cut it out. I guess this is what I get for not asking for her to shorten the story earlier. "So the [Whitelight Guild] saved us? How did they know where to find us?" There's no way that they just happened to come there with a healer. The only person who was there with us was... "Wait..."

Thinking back on Jade's words, she did mention that the [Guild Master] of [Whitelight] is believed to be one of the only people who know what Toy's ability is. "Toy's in the Whitelight Guild?" Jade starts cracking up again at my typical cluelessness. And well, if I were in her shoes, I'd probably be laughing at myself too. 

"Besides all of that stuff, you're saying we're in the hospital from being caught on the sidelines of two ridiculously strong people fighting near us, right?" And to that, Jade gives me a nod. "I've got to get a lot stronger, and fast." 

DING...!

"Huh?" Hearing the sound of a sudden bell chime, my eyes diverted around the room to look for its source. It sounded like it was right by my ear. "You alright, Roshia?" Jade is looking at me, confused as to why I'm looking around like a helpless infant.

"You... Yeah, I'm fine." I was going to ask if she'd heard that bell, but I can't keep on asking such pointless questions. She hadn't heard it, meaning that it was something that only I could hear. It wasn't me losing my mind either, I heard it too clearly to persuade myself that I was out of my mind. 

That's right, I have a status window! Quickly opening it when Jade goes back to her bed, I'm surprised by the sudden string of announcements that begin to appear on my screen. Some of them don't even compare to the ones that I'd been seeing until now.

✦ You've met the requirements for your First Quest. Congratulations on reaching [Corruption 1]! ✦ 

✦ The [Divine Twin Spirits] have chosen you as a potential [Master]. Please grow stronger. ✦

✦ Your memories have been erased. [Do not let them know of your origin, ███████.] ✦

"Wait, doesn't that last one seem far too personal? I'm obviously being spoken to, aren't I? What's the deal with this System? Is this Anaphiel talking to me? No, that doesn't make any sense. Anaphiel's more direct when she speaks to me, she can even stop time if she wants to talk to me when other people are around."

I peek over at Jade, making sure that she was still moving. After seeing her glance back at me with a smile and wave, all of the confirmation that I needed was gathered. Time was still flowing, and the messages were still on my screen. I couldn't tell what was within that last word, though. It looks like the System tried to call my name and it got messed up or something. It's creeping me out, kinda.

After 2 hours, the doctor finally decided that I'm good to stand and walk around. With the healing abilities in the world, there shouldn't be a reason for us to stay here for this long. Jade and I are taken to a room down the hall from where we were. The room is small with naturally white and gray wall panels and decorations carefully placed about. Zaiden and Tul0d are here too, but Zaiden looks out of it.

Zaiden's head is looking down at his lap with his mouth agape, probably fighting to not let out any drool. His eyelids are half-open, they must've given him some sort of drugs. Rightfully so, as well. From what Jade told me, the poor guy was hit with the worst of the aftershocks of the fight.

"Zaiden, you alright, buddy?" I gently question, leaning a bit further down to hear his mumbles. "...great..." I hear Zaiden say through his half-exhausted lips. Though I can't tell what compelled me to do so, I pat him on his cheek gently. I've felt my own hands against myself, so I know for sure that my touch is way too soft, if I'm allowed to toot my own horn!

Finishing my checkup on Zaiden, I head over to Tulod who is sitting on the opposite row of chairs across from him. "Tulod, did anyone talk to you about what that woman was after?" Seating myself behind him, I press my knees together almost instinctively. Maybe it's because of the change to my mind that was given to me when I entered this body, but that feels so natural.  

You are reading story The Returner at novel35.com

Tulod begins to explain, "From what we can tell, that woman came here to try and recruit me for their Unlisted Guild. She said something about my potential and whatnot, though it's probably the delusions of one of those psychotic [Reds]. They're all crazy, every single one of them." I've only met two of these so-called [Reds] — all of the interactions have been pretty unfortunate — so I vehemently agree.

"For my safety, I'm going to be watched over by the [Whitelight Guild], so I shouldn't have much to worry about. They're one of the [Top 5 National Guilds], after all." Tulod certainly does have every right to be confident in his safety. For the Whitelight Guild to be ranked in the Top 5 of all Guilds means that they are not a weak force by far. In fact, it means that only the other Guilds in the Top 5 should be capable of fighting on even grounds with them!

"Heh, then I guess I shouldn't be too worried about you, should I?" Offering him a smile of relief, my conscience can finally relax knowing that none of my first Party Members were going to be hospitalized for the rest of their lives. "My guess is we're waiting for someone, right?" I then ask, noticing that we were all called to gather in this room for a reason... I hope.

Tulod only nods in response, not needing to explain any further, since he didn't know any more than that either.

On cue, the door of the room flies open, and long, blond hair flies in. A woman in a white suit with a skirt, and a black pauldron [that was decorated with crossed Ax & Sword on it] enters the room with two bland men with black sunglasses and matching clothes [granted, for men] behind her. "Children." The woman speaks, her delicate red lips pursing at the sight of us. 

Something about this woman is leaving me unsettled. In all likeliness, it has something to do with that sinister smirk she has on her face. Even when she opened the door, I noticed that she had one. Behind her, there was a sword in a sheath. It looks like a katana, which might not be out of the ordinary for this current era.

She reaches the front of the room with the two men standing side-by-side behind her, their arms behind her back. "Good morning, children! It's good to see that you've all mostly recovered!" The woman speaks joyously, despite the fact that we can see those green eyes of her piercing through us with a bit of annoyance. I can tell by the way that Tulod nudged me that he's very much aware of the distaste that this woman's giving off. That or it was because I was unconsciously gritting my teeth while she spoke.

Her most unique feature, save for her massive breasts that stuck out of her suit, was her accent. For the world was flipped onto its head, she had an accident that's easily identified as an English accent. 

"My name is Alice Slater, I am a representative of the Whitelight Guild's [Vanquishers], the prestigious, powerful, and glorious unit of Madam Cesta!" Judging by that last part, it looks like she's one of Toy's men. Just by saying Toy's name did the woman's face light up to bright pink, I swear I can see her squeezing her thighs together for a moment. "What an oddball..." I barely stop myself from saying that out loud.

"I like to make things short and sweet." Gathering her composure and clearing her voice, Alice gets back on track.

"You lot have been selected by Madam Cesta to personally join the [Vanquishers]. Madam Cesta has said, and I quote: 'those kids have some great potential to have survived more than a second, regardless of Mind's intentions. I want them in my group so we can groom them to become our personal monsters.'" 

"Seriously?!" My seat can barely keep me held to after the sudden outburst from across the room. Looking in its direction, I see a bright star reflecting light into my eyes, and a massive grin that'd make a man's mouth seem like it could devour a ship whole. 

The one behind this expression is none other than Zaiden, back to his feet, as though his vegetable state weren't an issue before. "I'll happily take you up on your off—ERRRRR!" Before Zaiden can finish his sentence, a mysterious force has dragged him to the back of the room, launching him through the wall in a matter of seconds.

"...Eh?" I turn and look back to Alice, who has a vein sticking out of her forehead. Isn't this escalating way too quickly?

Before Alice continues with what she was about to do, one of the men leans over and whispers something that I cannot hear into her ear. Whatever he whispered actually calmed her down, as things begin to... undo themselves. "My apologies, I seriously dislike loud outbursts." Before I knew it, Zaiden was standing back where he was before being thrown, a confused expression on not only his face but all of ours.

"What did you just do, ma'am?" Jade is the one who speaks the question on all of our minds, what a brave girl!

"What did I do?" Alice repeats the question, placing a hand on her chin as if she has to think hard about the actions that she'd done on her own. "You don't deserve to know my ability yet, so I will leave you with the basics of it. [Cause and Effect], now, shall we get back on topic?"

We spend the next thirty minutes discussing the Guild matters and when we were going to be able to actually work with the group.

---

Since the four of us are all low-level — low enough to the point where we don't even meet the requirements to join the Guild — we were going to become special cases and work under Alice directly. I can't tell you how much pain I felt in my heart when I found out we were going to have to take orders from that psychopath.

Luckily, they gave me a fresh pair of clothes since the ones I had before were utterly demolished. This pair is... expensive, to say the least. I don't know half of the clothes that they gave me, it was merely a tracksuit. In fact, they gave all of us white tracksuits with black stripes going along their sides and a few other convenient places, like the normal ones! Yet, for some opaque reason, I can't figure out why they feel so luxurious. Maybe it's because I'd never had the money to afford something like this in my previous life.

From now on, the four of us were going to be working for the [Whitelight Guild] under their team known as the [Vanquishers]. As the name implies, they are a group of powerful combatants, the most powerful in the guild in fact, second only to the Guild Leader's own. My only complaint is that from here on out if we don't grow at the rate that they expect us to, we're undoubtedly going to be met with death.

Finally making it back home, I immediately feel comforted. Home sweet home, I guess. "This house is actually a lot nicer than the one that I lived in before, even though it's pretty small. How am I even paying for this? Is someone paying for this house?"

"Of course, the house is paid for by us [Moderators] in secret, silly!" Ah, thank you, inconspicuous voice...

"Woah!" I jump off the ground and turn in the direction of the voice I'd just heard. There, floating in the air is Anaphiel, who I hadn't seen since before I went into the Dungeon. "Anaphiel! Christ, you almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Don't be such a baby, even if you have a heart attack, it isn't like you'll stay dead, right? In fact, you might come back even stronger, immune to heart attacks!" By now, I can tell that this girl is teasing me, or at least I hope, so I just roll my eyes. "What do you need, Anaphiel? It isn't like you to come and see me like this, you usually have something important to tell me."

Anaphiel frowns in response to my words, flipping her body upside down in a playful fashion. "You're no fun, you know that?" 

I don't give her a response, so she just continues. "Right, I've been tasked to tell you this by one of the [Administrators]... You're in danger, Roshia Qinlen. The [Red Mother] has become aware of your existence." 

---

You can find story with these keywords: The Returner, Read The Returner, The Returner novel, The Returner book, The Returner story, The Returner full, The Returner Latest Chapter