Cosmic Ruler - Chapter 196

Chapter 196: Explorer VIII

“Umm, where are we going?” Aiden asked, sitting atop a massive flying beast.

The beast was a Violet Jade Winger, a ferocious tiger-like spirit beast with wings. Its body was predominantly white, adorned with violet crystal-like patterns, and it had two pairs of shimmering violet wings. It inhabited Shelly’s inner world.

“It’s a surprise,” Shelly smiled.

Both Aiden and Serina were stunned by her smile, especially Serina. ‘This ice block can smile?’ she thought incredulously.

‘She looks pretty when she smiles,’ Aiden mused, then lay down on the tiger’s back.

Seeing this, Shelly moved closer and placed his head on her lap. Aiden raised his brows but allowed her to do whatever she wanted.

Serina, watching them, inwardly sneered. ‘Old cow eating tender grass,’ she harrumphed, slightly annoyed to see Aiden enjoying it.

****

In the heart of the city stood a large building with “Explorers” written in bold letters. The building exuded a cheerful and welcoming vibe. In front of it stood Aiden with two breathtaking beauties.

“So, this is the Explorer’s Guild, huh?” Aiden mumbled as he began to enter, followed by Shelly and Serina.

“I still think you should first enroll in the Academy,” Shelly said, frowning.

‘Woman, I just used a special spell to bail out from there and you want me to go back? Hell no!’ Aiden inwardly thought. “Why would I go to that place when I can defeat most of them by myself?” he sneered in reply.

Shelly was momentarily stunned but then nodded. She had already learned what Aiden could do with those colorful crystals, especially the dark ones, which had immense destructive power.

Serina, following them, nodded too. She had also seen Aiden causing vast destruction with those crystals. She still couldn’t believe a mere Spirit King like Aiden could cause so much damage; he seemed more like a Spirit Saint to her.

“By the way, why do you want to register as an Explorer?” Serina asked. She didn’t understand why Aiden would register here since Explorers were just a fancy name for mercenaries.

“Isn’t it simple? To get an ID that works everywhere,” Aiden replied with a shrug.

Reaching the door, Aiden opened it to reveal a bar filled with powerful-looking people. Some were drunk, others were dancing, and on one side of the room was a notice board with many quests and requests posted on it.

Aiden glanced around and then at the right side where he saw a reception area. He noticed many people going there after taking a paper from the notice board.

He began to walk there, with the two beauties following him. Many cast glances at him—some dismissing him as just a kid, some frowning, wondering what a kid was doing there, while many cast lustful glances at Shelly and Serina.

Serina didn’t mind, being used to such looks while working as an assistant to a great alchemist, but Shelly was a different matter. She sensed those gazes and a pressure erupted from her, directly knocking out more than 70% of the people in the bar.

Silence fell as people turned to face her. Aiden, walking towards the reception, looked around and saw the once lively atmosphere replaced with dead silence.

He looked back and saw it was Shelly causing it. He shrugged and continued to the now-empty reception. Seeing him go there, many glanced at him and, due to their similar hair colors, assumed Shelly and Aiden were related.

Many feared that Aiden might be another arrogant young master, potentially endangering their lives today. Some even began to cry as they watched him reach the reception.

“Hey! This bastard mocked me, kill them all!”

“This low-born hoe acted so high and mighty in front of me, kill them all!”

“Huh! Courting death!”

Everyone imagined him saying such things, but Aiden’s next words stunned everyone. Some even fainted from shock.

“Big sis, can you register me?” Aiden asked the receptionist. She had amber eyes and chestnut hair. Her oval face made her look cute, but her ample bosom gave her a more seductive appearance.

Olivia, who had been watching warily, was dumbfounded. Like others, she thought he would act like any other young master, as if he owned the world.

She couldn’t be blamed; most noble young men acted this way, believing that in their world, might made right.

“Right away,” Olivia nodded and quickly brought out a form.

Aiden filled it out and handed it back to her. Olivia looked through it, nodded, and then said, “Can you show us your spirit? I need to register its appearance.”

Aiden nodded and invoked his spirit. From him rose a black dragon with piercing red eyes that scared Olivia and caused many around them to shiver in fright or faint outright.

Aiden glanced at the fainting people and thought, ‘If they are this weak, how can they be mercenaries?’

Olivia, gulping, held up a round crystal and pointed it at the dragon. Soon, a lifelike 3D image appeared inside the crystal ball. Aiden curiously looked at it, amazed by the details.

He then called back the spirit, sparing the others further terror.

“Everything is recorded. You can come back in three hours, and your Explorer card will be ready,” Olivia said.

Aiden nodded and then instructed Serina and Shelly to register as well.

They nodded, and one by one, they got registered too. Aiden had already seen Shelly’s spirit from her memories: an ancient-looking book with many rune-like patterns all over it. The book’s cover seemed to be made from leather of unknown origin, and the same goes for its pages. Overall, it looked more intimidating than beautiful.

As for Serina’s spirit, it was a beautiful snake-like entity called the Burning Venom Jade Serpent. It possessed a unique flame, Burning Venom, which was both poisonous and hotter than some special Heaven and Earth flames. The spirit itself was white-pink with many beautifully carved scales all over it.

Once they were all registered, Shelly suggested, “Why don’t we go to Wind Pavilion? They have tasty food and music too.”

Aiden nodded, and the trio left the Explorer building, heading towards Wind Pavilion.

As they left, discussions erupted in the once-silent bar.

“Who the hell was that brat?”

“Shut up! What if they are hearing us?”

“Anyway, he was accompanied by such powerful seniors. He must be from a Duke or higher house.”

“Not to mention his spirit. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Yes, that lizard with wings was so scary I pissed myself.”

Hearing this, many moved away from the speaker.

“I know what it is. It’s called a Dragon.”

“Who are you fooling? It was too small for a dragon. All dragons are over 10 meters long. It was nothing like a dragon.”

“No, it was. Remember the S-rank Explorer Red Storm? His spirit was the same, just red. He called it Flame Dragon Lord.”

“Are you talking about Red Storm? Is that true?”

“Yes, very much. I think we should call his spirit Black Dragon Lord.”

“Why don’t we ask Olivia? She has the name.”

Many stood up and reached Olivia, trying to inquire about the name of Aiden’s spirit.

Olivia nodded and told them the name of the spirit, as it wasn’t a secret. One can publish their spirit’s name but not its capabilities.

“Death Dragon of Infinite Darkness.”

Hearing the name, everyone fell silent. They couldn’t help but think this name definitely suited that monstrous spirit.

Soon, the talk of the white-haired devil pair began to spread, and within a night, it reached all parts of the kingdom.

Though Aiden and his party would only learn of it many days later, they had quickly made a name for themselves. After collecting their Explorer Guild cards and taking on a quest, they chose a Ruin Exploration Quest. While the Explorer Guild has a strict policy that everyone starts at level zero, Shelly upgraded their cards to A-level within an hour by completing 60 quests in that short period, setting an unprecedented record.

Due to this rapid advancement, Aiden and Serina had to demonstrate their capabilities by defeating other A-rank members, which they did effortlessly. Most A-rank members were only at the Spirit King level, making them easy opponents for both Aiden and Serina.

After proving themselves, they formed a party, which Aiden named “White Devil Emperor.” Shelly was unusually fascinated by the name and kept mumbling it continuously, seemingly in a daze.

Serina, on the other hand, looked at the pair of white-haired individuals and thought, ‘Why am I even with them?’ She felt a mix of curiosity and disbelief at the unusual dynamic within their group.

Nevertheless, Serina didn’t want to leave this group, or Aiden specifically. She was curious about Aiden’s limits and had already seen many interesting things. She now believed that following Aiden would allow her to surpass even the Alchemist she used to work for, before Shelly beat him senseless and essentially kidnapped her to be Aiden’s nanny, the role that she now sees as life time opportunity for her.