An Owl's Rise

Evelyn carefully looked over the mercenary licenses she had just received.

It was similar to the identification cards they had purchased in size, but far less complex.

The license was a deep red color with a white trim, had her name and the name of the city she registered in, and that was it.

Of course, the card was a magic tool and could be used for certain functions within the association, but Evelyn cared little for any of that. This was all just a means to an end.

"The color of the card denotes your rank, and the white outer edge is to identify all of you as first-class citizens." Callen said.

He then explained that the ranking system of the association followed the colors of magic crystals. Green was the lowest rank, while gold was the highest.

"Thank you for that clarification. But is it really alright to start us off at such a high rank? We haven't done any work yet to prove our ability's." Lucia said, her eyes upturned and an innocent expression on her face.

Callen blushed for a moment we he saw her looking at him that way, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Yes, I have the discretion to award up tot eh red rank on my own. Seeing as you are all at the mage rank and first-class citizens, this is not unusual. In fact, Miss Lucia, I believe you are probably qualified to be a rank higher, but I unfortunately don't have the authority to give it to you immediately.

However, I'm sure that all of you will soon be the rising stars of the association." Callen said, laying on the flattery incredibly thick.

After receiving a short rundown of the association's rules and services, Callen asked if there was any specific mission that they wanted to take, but Lucia turned him down.

"No, we only came to register today. We are from the south of the federation and are tired from our journey. We will be back in a few days once we have gotten used to the city." Lucia said, before turning around and walking towards the exit.

Evelyn and the others were a bit slow to react and stood around confused for a moment before following after Lucia.

"I thought our objective in doing all this was to get a job that would allow us to slip into the Tyrannis Union without arousing any suspicion. Wasn't that the perfect chance to get that guy to find one for us?" Evelyn asked once they had left the building.

"Yes, I'm sure that he would have been enthusiastic to assist us, but it would have been too overt. We don't want anyone to know our true objective. Asking to immediately receive a job that will take us to the Jaigi Sect would give away our intentions. I understand your desire to move straight to the goal, however, we need to tread carefully. One misstep and it's the end for us."

Evelyn could only grit her teeth and accept Lucia's reasoning. All of the pent-up emotions she had been holding in were screaming at her to rush off and take revenge on the people that had killed her parents and Otis. Still, the logical part of her brain knew that doing so would be a one-way ticket to death or being captured.

'Just a bit longer. We're close to getting started.' Evelyn thought, suppressing the violent thoughts that were always in the back of her mind.

Having completed their first objective, their group headed back to the hotel they had rented rooms at and got some rest just like Lucia said they would. While none of them were physically tired, there was a buildup of mental fatigue from their long flight and being in a human city for the first time.

…

For the next few days, Lucia instructed each of them to go about the city on their own and familiarize themselves with human culture. Right now, she was using her own experience to lead them around like a mother goose, but they needed to be able to get comfortable blending in on their own.

To this end, Evelyn did the only thing that was of any interest to her within the city and paid a visit to several alchemy shops.

Most of them were only selling things that were useful for a novice, but in the upper-class area of the inner city she did find a single alchemy shop that carried some rare items.

"Ah, you have a keen eye miss. That is the tip of the tail from a mountain axolotl. From what I've heard, it is a monstrously large tyrant rank beast that can use both earth and nature magic. It's also said to have impossibly powerful regenerative abilities."

Coming up to Evelyn as she was pursing the stores wares, was a man with slicked back red hair in lavish robes and wearing all manner of ostentatious jewelry.

From a single look, Evelyn was certain that he was not one of the store's employees, but the way he had approached her was not like what any other customer would do.

"It did catch my attention. But why is the store's owner spending his time on me? There are plenty of wealthier clientele around." Evelyn responded, a wary look in her eyes.

"Ah, figured me out did you. Yes, this is my store. The names Bazan. And while you can spot good ingredients, I've developed an eye for exceptional alchemists. It did not take long for me to realize that you are far better than most of my normal clientele."

Bazan gave Evelyn a toothy grin and told her that he had other rare items not on display that he only sold to individuals that would actually be able to make use of them.

At first she was hesitant to follow him, but the allure of obtaining some rare ingredients won out and she went with him towards a back room to see what sort of stock he had.