The Fractured Mage

Chapter 23 - The Solaris Magic Guild(Part 1)

"Are you ready to get going?" Inquired Ifeus with a smile, as I made my way down the stairs.

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess...but, uh, what's with this outfit?" I inquired in bemusement.

"That's your gear. It's made of highly durable, but still quite light and flexible, leather. You're about to be a Guild Mage, so you might as well look the part, right?" He grinned with a thumbs up.

"Okay, first off...I'm only going to register today, aren't I? So what I'm wearing really shouldn't make any difference either way. And second...I feel kinda exposed," I frowned apprehensively.

It's the next day, the 20th of April, 505 PA, which happens to be my birthday, and I was just about to head out to the Guild with Ifeus. Lilac's gonna be tagging along too, while Iris is busy on a Quest in another city at the moment.

A few minutes ago, Ifeus handed me this new outfit, to use as battle gear. So, I went back up to my room and changed into it, but, uh...it's kinda missing something.

It consists of black trousers and black boots for the lower half, which I have no problem with. It's the part of the outfit that covers the upper part of my body that I'm concerned about...a dark green coat that goes down a few inches past my waist, stopping around the halfway point between my waist and my knees.

The issue is that it doesn't have any buttons or a zipper...which means that my torso is exposed. I feel kinda self-conscious...even though I've put on some muscle since coming here, I'm still on the slender, slightly feminine, side.

"Maybe I should wear a tank top or something underneath this," I muttered with a grimace.

"Oh, you shouldn't do that...wearing a different material under this leather will make your skin chafe like crazy. I can get it stitched with buttons, if you really want. I think it looks pretty cool as it is though," Responded Ifeus with a laugh.

"Yeah, you look good in that," Came Lilac's voice, as she strolled down the stairs.

Looks like she's wearing her battle gear too. A red, sleeveless top with a black harness strapped around her torso and shoulders, she had weapons holstered on the back of the harness, throwing knives, a dagger and a whip.

She also had on a pair of black shorts, with a belt that held Elixirs and stuff, plus black boots that went halfway up her thighs, a small gap between the boots and her shorts exposing the skin around the middle of her thighs. I always get the desire to poke those spots whenever I see her in this outfit.

And she also had gloves attached to arm-guards that went up past her elbows, she hides some throwing knives in those arm-guards as well.

"I think I'm gonna go put something on underneath this jacket, it's really-...," I began with a frown.

"No time for that, we should get going now!" Interrupted Ifeus, walking over towards me as Lilac hopped off the last stair and stepped up next to me, before he chanted as he placed a hand on each of our shoulders, "[Spatial Art: Long-Range Teleportation]!"

As I blinked and opened my eyes, I found myself in a different place, voices all around me as the scent of alcohol and cigarettes wafted into my nostrils.

"Oh, good morning, Master," A young woman greeted Ifeus with a smile, as he nodded in response.

"This is probably the best part of being a Guildmaster...get some attractive women in the Guild and hearing them call me 'Master'," He whispered to me with a grin.

Sleazy old fart...but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit envious...

"Ugh, you're so gross, dad," Frowned Lilac, as she smacked his shoulder.

"U-uh, no, that was just a joke!" He defended himself in alarm.

Did he forget that she tagged along?

"Let's just get the registration over with, shall we?" I sighed, reminding him why we were here.

"R-right, yes...come on, follow me, Topaz," He nodded, before leading me towards a desk at the front.

This is a pretty big space...it's only got the one floor, but it's quite wide. There's a small bar at the back of the space, with alcohol and a variety of snacks for sale. There were rows of tables in the middle of the space, with a few dozen people scattered about and seated by the tables.

There was also a wooden staircase leading up to a balcony across the upper part of the wall surrounding the space, with more tables set up.

The members of the Guild aren't really paying us much notice, guess my outfit is less conspicuous than I thought. Or maybe they just don't care.

"Good morning, Master Ifeus. Is this the young man you mentioned?" A woman greeted him as we approached the desk.

"Yes, this is Topaz Oriole, he's under my care at the moment. Topaz, this is our receptionist, Miss Ilsa Onist. Ilsa, is his Guild Card ready?" Ifeus asked her in response.

"It is, I have it right here," She nodded, as she took out a card and handed it to me with a smile, "Welcome to the Solaris Magic Guild, Topaz, it's a pleasure to meet you."

She's really attractive...she looks like she's in her early-twenties, she's got long, straight blonde hair, dark green eyes, a fair complexion and a slender yet curvy physique.

"Th-thanks, I appreciate it, nice to meet you too," I stuttered slightly, my face heating up slightly as I took the card from her, her fingers brushing against mine...before I felt a sharp pain against my side, "Ow! Hey, what was that for!?"

Lilac just elbowed me in the ribs...

"Hmph, no reason, just felt like it," She huffed as she turned up her nose at me.

Man, what gives? What's her problem? And why's Ifeus giving me a dirty look?

I'll, uh, check out my Guild Card...hm, it displays my name, Class, level, rank and which Guild I'm affiliated with...

'Name: Topaz Oriole'

'Class: Physical - Brawler, Martial Artist'

'Level: Ascended Mage'

'Rank: B'

'Guild: Solaris'

Cool. With this, I guess I'm now officially-...

"Good morning, everyone! Nice day out today, isn't it-...?" Came a loud, obnoxious voice as the doors to the Guild swung open, and a head of fiery red hair came into sight, before trailing off as he narrowed his eyes at me, "...hm?"

Uh, he's coming this way...he looks around the same age as me, with longish red hair tied in a low ponytail, dark blue eyes, a fair complexion, with a black cloth headband tied around his forehead. He was a bit taller than I was, with a more muscular build.

He sure is glaring at me pretty fiercely...I don't have a good feeling about this...