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Atlas appeared right inside his bedroom and dived right into his soft bed.

"haaaa....what a good start of the day, a near-death experience and a declaration of bloody fucking war...

I hope the ladies are ok. Is Devy alright? She is the princess after all. She might get mixed into this conflict. The king should have known about this by now. Hmmm…. Even if he knew, he wouldn\'t be able to do much.

If my speculation is true, this conflict must be ranging between many kingdoms and our opponent has also the power and connection between many other countries to tackle with the "ATC". So, small conflicts might have already started in several cities and counties.

Hmmm...I want to get deeper into this but I just got here for like what, four or five days ago, not a good reason to take any part in it. I guess I will act if something happens to Bela, which is hardly possible. So staying low is the only option right now. I don\'t want to be bothered during my adventures."

He took out the black card, Bela gave him the other day. He smiled and started flipping the card around his fingers.

"Even though she is a bit control freak sometimes. She is helpful with all the connections she has."

Atlas got up to have a fresh and warm bath. His new \'specter aura\' cleansed his inner mind and body but it didn\'t take out all the filth on his body, gathered from training all night.

After half an hour, Atlas appeared within the alley near the adventures guild, with different clothing than his usual ones, wearing high-quality black reptile-scale leather outfits with a silver shoulder guard at his right shoulder tight with a small gown with his left unguarded shoulder flowing up to his waist. He also had a plane but heavy arm gauntlet for his left arm for defenses and a long spear at his right hand.

\'I didn\'t get to use a spear during the training session with Tanya with my small height then making me use a stick, but now is finally the time. I always loved the main characters in the novels using long spears and cutting through enemies and monsters like butter. I thought how awesome it would be when I use it myself and now is the opportunity.\'

It was a normal long spear but everything was made from metal, from the extended handle to the sharp blade. It was heavy and flexible but Atlas thought he could handle it with his strength.

He was also wearing a different mask, covering his whole face. The mask was a gift from Bela herself, starting his new job at the merchant company. It had many enchantments on it covering his aura, presence and with it, it also had protection from some people who have skills to identify his powers. (like all-seer)

He was really glad but, it also had other enchantments like tracking, lady hater, and much other annoying magic added on. What triggered him the most was that it contained portions of a love potion with Bela\'s smell on it.

Which already proved what she was up to but now everything unnecessary was already picked out and he strengthened all the necessary aura and presence concealing enchantments even more. It took time but it was done and ready to be used. It was fully black in color with no eyeholes and looked like a clean oval slate. It had some lite decorations but nothing much, attractive.

He was shocked at first when he wore the mask the first time, even without any eye holes, he could somehow see beyond the mask, like it wasn\'t even there. After wearing his new mask, he looked at himself.

"Mask check, weapon check, clothes, and lite armor check, now! I look like a decent yet mysterious adventurer."

He smiled and walked towards the adventurers\' guild. He looked around, it looked shabby as always with a petite number of people going in and out. There were adventurers with both lite and heavy armors. The numbers were of course low as all they had jobs were all simple like helping the citizens, guards, and sometimes even helping the king and the nobles like the other days when the princess was missing which rarely occurred.

And sometimes going out and killing goblins and other wild monsters and animals seen around the boundary and also killing some along the roads. The only problem here among monsters were hobgoblins which everybody already knew about, they were more smart and powerful than the normal goblins themselves. Their mere existence proved that human women were still kidnapped and killed on weekly basis.

The whole reason the adventurers guild got permission to establish here in this city was to lower the number of Hobgoblins as much as they could.

He walked up the wide stone-made stairs with lesser presence than usual. Most of the people saw him with his mysterious mask and long spear but ignored him right away but it didn\'t seem to work properly on some women. Some girls kept looking at him even though he already passed the gates inside the guild.

\'sheesh…..I guess this mask is not enough to conceal my lust aura. Which seems to get even more powerful than before. Increasing my aura concealing technique is an option but it will hinder me during communication.

Let\'s just leave with it. Girls won\'t just jump right at me by just looking at me, right?\'

Atlas went near the counter to do what Bela told him to do. There was a young girl standing behind the counter smiling and flirting with some young and good-looking adventurer. She was also blond and attractive with a B cup endorsement. She was wearing lite makeup with a tight green dress around her slim body with the adventurer\'s guilds logo on her chest.

As he was getting closer, he got her attention like a magnet from the start as he was close enough. The man talking to the girl saw her gazing at someone completely ignoring him so he looked at the masked man who was wearing some beginner adventurer clothing with just a shoulder plate. His confidence rose a bit and started circulating mana within him.

Atlas sighed looking at the situation. He knew what was going to happen, so he used a little of his bloodline aura directing it only to the young lad to end the early drama already. The good-looking man was going to use his fire symbol right away to burn his pants to embarrass the newcomer, thinking he would bugger off and get her attention back but, all of sudden, the moment he initiated his fire symbol, he felt a piercing pressure like never before.

He had faced many strong foes before coming here to this city but he felt nothing like this before. He felt nothing but fear and regret like he was an ant before this unknown being. He felt like he wanted to portray himself before him like a servant he is. His instincts were going haywire, alarming him to the maximum.

After a second it finally stopped. He felt like years of life shaved away just from this single second of fear-filled hell. He ran away right after, sweat all over his body. He wanted nothing but to escape his gaze, no he wanted to escape this city. He decided he would shift to another city right away and ran out of the adventurer\'s guild.

Atlas looked at the back of the runaway lad and sighed.

\'I forgot to adjust it a bit, poor fella. He must have seen a nightmare taking the brunt of my aura like that. Can\'t blame him, I haven\'t used it in a while, need a bit more practice.\'

The receptionist didn\'t even care about the runaway and kept her gaze at him. She felt something special about him, something so endearing that she just couldn\'t define.

"Hello, may I help you?" asked the receptionist with a cute voice.

Atlas didn\'t say anything and slid the black card towards her. Atlas thought she would take it right away but she seemed distracted. Distracted from looking at his mask or rather \'him\' with dazzled eyes.

Atlas was going to say something when he felt a hand on top of his own. Of course, it was hers. He kept waiting if she would take her hands off but she was still looking at him, grabbing his hand which was slowly getting tight.

"Excuse me miss, your hand." Said Atlas acting confused.

"oh!...aa…umm…sorry for that, haha…. Didn\'t know why I did that." Said the girl embarrassingly.

She covered her face in embarrassment trying to hide her red face from what just happened before.

\'Why didn\'t he react. Most men would just melt from my touch. Does he thinks I\'m a creep now...haaaa...control yourself. He just got more charm and manliness, that\'s all.\'

Knock!! Knock!!

Atlas knocked on her desk, he knew it was his fault in a way but he didn\'t want to waste any time as he already did.

"oh, sorry again, how can I help you?"

Atlas only pointed at the black card he put on the desk near her. The girl looked at the card and took it to have a look. When she closely looked at the card, her mind went blank from surprise for a second. She slowly turned to the masked man her hand lightly shanking.

"aaa…umm..where did you get this and may I know your name please?"

"People call me Mr. Prince and a friend gave it to me, name \'the devil\'s witch?\'."

"oh...OOH!!!…..please wait a moment."

She hurried off along the stairs to the upper floor. Atlas waited for a minute and a half until the girl came back again and came closer.

"Is it really the devil\'s witch?" asked the girl with a whisper.

"aaaa..yaaa…" Atlas said in confidence.

The girl again went back to the first floor, now with a hurried pace.

"What the hell?"

Atlas was confused, he didn\'t know he had to say the reference twice but what else he could do but wait. Atlas wanted to just wait and be a proper newbie adventurer but the curiosity got the better of him.

He used his advance "all-seer" with an x-ray symbol and gazed through all the walls blocking the receptionist. He saw her walking towards a room that was made from a different material than all the pillars and walls the guild was made of. It hindered his vision a bit turning the girl and the big gorilla-like person inside a bit blurry but they were still visible.

\'Improved hearing would be better right now. I guess I have to manage with their body language.\'

As he was watching what was happening, the girl showed her right hand showing the card. After a few seconds, the gorilla-like man reacted shocked and fully surprised putting his hand on his forehead.

\'Is he stressed or something?\' Atlas thought.

The man started to walk around the room, his both hand at his head looking more panicked every second. The girl was just standing there, her head still down. The man kept walking round and round until his head turned in his direction, shocking Atlas for a second but the man only looked for a second and gestured something to the girl. The girl bowed and started walking towards the way back to the ground floor.

Atlas stopped using "all-seer" and waited, feeling a bit of doubt.

\'Did he looked at me a second ago?\'

As he was thinking the girl had already come near him.

"um, Mr, you are called at the guild leader\'s office."

"ok.."

\'so he was the guild leader huh, so he might have seen me, gazing at them. Have to apologize if he gets angry.\'

He started walking up the stairs, leaving the girl behind. The girl got confused watching him go confidently towards the upper floor.

"Ah, excuse me? Do you know the way to leade….?"

"Don\'t worry, I know." Said Atlas with confidence.

"ho..how…o..ok take care."

She bowed a little doing her usual job. She wanted to say something but she didn\'t know if she should. Her fingers snuggling each other. At the last second, she decided to say it and she ran to his back and grabbed his gown.

"Excuse me, ca…can I see your face for a second?" asked the receptionist in a small voice.

She didn\'t know why, she had an intense desire to know him and most importantly see what was beneath the mask. She knew, some adventurers wanted to keep their identity hidden and she didn\'t care about them at all. Not until, now.

He looked back at her without saying anything. Her heartbeat was rising every second, her cheeks getting redder and redder. She kept clutching his end of the gown in hopes he wouldn\'t just leave.

Atlas smiled looking at the girl and her red face making her even cuter. She looked like a child, so he didn\'t want to get much involved.

"haha….I would ask your name but circumstances lead me to ask your age first. So how old are you?"

"aa….umm… I will be sixteen next month."

"Too early…." Atlas said

"Excuse me?" the girl said in confusion.

"Too early missy. Grow a bit more and I will show you my face."

"..."

The receptionist was still silently standing, on the stairs looking at his back. She didn\'t know how to reply to that. She was young, yes but she had confidence in her beauty and her figure. Most of the men would ogle her all day and flirt with her most of the time. She didn\'t like it much but it was good for her young ego.

And now, her ego was just shattered to pieces. She was still dazed even now looking at the empty stairs, he was already gone not even taking a single glance back crushing her confidence.

Tring!! Tring!!

She came out of her shock when she heard the receptionist\'s bell and went back to her station in a dark mood. The young adventurer who rang the bell, saw her coming and looking at the beauty she is, started flirting right away.

"oh heeelllloooo there, I was wondering if.."

"shut up"

"w..what?"

"Shut!!!...Up!!!" the girl said in anger.

The man fell back down from her aura alone and started shivering. Yes, yes she had a higher bloodline. Higher than any adventurer walking around the hall, maybe even the entire city.

*****

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