Free Web NovelChapter 6: Level 5 Summoner
The next morning,
Ethan woke from his sleep slowly, his body heavy and strained
He sat up.
The ache coursed over him immediately, pressing in from his shoulders, his sides, his arms. Cuts that still bled . Bruises that hadn’t finished darkening.
Without thinking about it too much he walked to the bathroom.
It was was cold as He stepped inside and turned the water on, letting it run over his head and trail down across his back and chest.
Pain wasn’t something Ethan had ever thought of as a feeling.
It was a response. The body’s way of marking where it had been damaged. He understood that.
But it couldn’t be left too long.
’Or I’ll just buy some vials of healing potions.’
He thought in his mind as he shut the water off after a long time and stepped out, reaching for the cloth hanging near the door.
He dried himself slowly, careful around the worse spots.
When he walked back into the room, he stopped.
Standing in the corner, near the window where the morning light came through in pale strips, was Lady Victoria. Her hands were folded in front of her. Her eyes moved over him the moment he appeared and something in them shifted, just slightly. Relief. And behind it, something quieter. Something close to happiness, though she didn’t let it reach her face fully.
"You didn’t tell me when you came in yesterday." Lady Victoria said with a trace of calm.
Ethan looked at her for a moment.
She was right, He hadn’t. He had come in late, moved through the dark without stopping, and gone straight to sleep. It hadn’t crossed his mind that she would be waiting.
"Sorry. I was tired."
His voice was flat. Not really dismissive, just honest.
Her gaze moved over the cuts and bruises visible on his arms and collarbone but She didn’t comment on them directly.
"The lady from that night came looking for you specifically." Lady Victoria said. "I don’t know why, but it’s probably a payday. Go to the White Tower in the middle of town and hand them this letter if you want to make some money."
She held out an envelope with a small seal pressed into the wax.
Ethan took it.
Lady Victoria exhaled quietly. Kids his age would push themselves into the hunter path no matter what she said. There was nothing she could do other than try to help him when the opportunity arrived.
Ethan nodded once and set the letter down on the edge of the table while he dressed.
He took care of himself methodically. Changed his clothes. Secured the cuts that needed it. Checked his bag. By the time he was done the morning had already moved on past the early hours and the street sounds outside had picked up.
He picked up the letter and left.
But he didn’t go straight to the White Tower.
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The beast market was loud even this early.
Traders moved between stalls, calling out weights and prices, buyers examining materials with practiced eyes. The smell was thick in the air, a mix of raw flesh and dried hide and the faint metallic trace of old blood.
Ethan moved through it without slowing.
Ordinary beasts weren’t rare. They were the most common trade around the stronghold by far, and the market reflected that. No haggling needed. The system was simple. Flesh sold by the pound. Claws by sharpness. Other parts case by case depending on the beast.
He went through it all without rushing.
When it was done, he counted what he had.
One thousand gold coins.
Ethan stood there for a moment looking at the number.
Since coming to this world he had never had this much at one time. Not even close. The brothel keeper would probably go silent seeing it. The kind of silence that came before a reaction.
The corner of his mouth pulled slightly.
’It’s my flesh and blood after all.’
He thought in his mind, a quiet amusement in it. Several nights in the forest. Every wound on his body had a price attached to it now. It would have been disappointing if the return hadn’t at least reached this much.
He pocketed the coin and let his gaze drift across the rest of the market for a moment before turning away.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,
The White Tower stood at the center of the stronghold.
It wasn’t the tallest structure, but it was the most deliberate. Built straight, with clean lines, nothing unnecessary in its design. Outside the city lord and the families that guarded the stronghold, the White Tower was its own authority. A kingdom-wide association that handled missions into beast territory. Where the strongholds held the line against the beast hordes, the White Tower pushed into the heartland, taking the fight to the beasts and their kin on their own ground.
Ethan approached the entrance and stopped in front of the guard stationed at the door.
"Good day. I have a request letter."
He bowed slightly and held out the letter with the seal facing up.
The guard looked at it.
Then stepped aside and pointed him toward a desk near the front of the interior, where a receptionist sat with a stack of papers in front of her.
Inside, the air was cooler. The ceilings were high. The floor was clean stone. A few people moved through the space with the quiet efficiency of people who worked here every day and had stopped noticing it.
Ethan walked to the desk.
The receptionist looked up as he approached, her eyes moving over him quickly. Plain clothes. Nothing that marked him as anything. A commoner by every visible measure.
"You are?" ƒгeewebnovёl.com
Her brow lifted slightly.
Ethan didn’t react to her tone.
"I have a request letter." He said, holding it out with a cold, neutral look on his face that said he didn’t particularly care what she thought of him.
She hesitated for a moment before taking it.
She opened it. He watched her expression move through several stages of surprise, each one slightly more pronounced than the last, before landing somewhere close to shock. She looked at the seal again.
Then she stood up.
She led him across the floor, past the main desk, to a staircase at the back of the building. They went up. Past the floors where the regular staff worked. Past the level where the association’s senior members kept their offices.
All the way to the top.
She opened the door.
The room was large and quiet. High windows let in clean light. Behind a desk at the far end of the room sat a young woman. White hair that caught the light in faint flashes. An ice-cold demeanor that filled the space around her without effort. Her eyes moved to Ethan the moment he entered.
"High Regent." The receptionist bowed deeply at the threshold.
Ethan’s mind moved quickly.
He went through everything he knew about the White Tower, about its structure, its ranks, the titles attached to each level.
High Regent.
His gaze settled on the woman across the room and didn’t move.
’That’s a level 5 summoner?’
He thought in his mind.
What was a level 5 summoner doing here?!!
