Chapter 36: No Rest For The Wicked[2]
The children got out of the car alongside Xior and Becca. Xior was supporting the old caretaker of the shelter to walk.
Becca and Xior had spotted the house the day before and Xior instantly bought it, it’s the next day as he brought everyone to move into their new house.
The children were excited, they hurried inside while Becca and Xior slowly walked with the caretaker.
She became a widow before she could have children of her own. And after the fall, she started taking in children like Becca and Xior off of the street.
And for that both of them respected her, she stopped in front of the door and glanced at both of them. She had taken them in when they were about seven, now they were twenty.
Silent tears streamed down her face as she remembered their early days. "Xior...Becca, thank you." She said as she wiped away the tears.
Becca’s expression softened and she leaned in and hugged her from the side, Xior did the same from the opposite side.
"No need to thank us, we should be the ones thanking you." Becca said.
"Yeah, this is just us trying to pay off our debts to you. Thank you for all the hard work you’ve done for us." Xior continued.
She didn’t protest and stayed quiet, since she didn’t have any children she yearned for a child of her own but years passed and she couldn’t get any.
Only the newer orphan kids she took in called her mother, that made her overjoyed but there was still something missing. Xior and Becca were among the oldest ones among the shelter kids.
They’d been with her for a longer time yet both never called her mother, it was yearning for them to call her mother. But then Xior supposedly died and Becca became distant and moved out shortly.
As if both understood her, they looked at each other and nodded.
"Let’s go inside, mother." Both said in unison.
Hearing them call her mother was enough to make her legs weak, what she had wanted to hear all these years finally happened.
Her silent tears turned into hitched sobs, Becca and Xior hugged her sides as the swarm of other orphan kids came running outside and joined in on the group hug.
*****
It was noon yet the sun hid behind clouds in the sky, the breeze was pleasant and refreshing. Xior and Becca had just arrived at the Dragon Guild building.
Maria was sitting near the reception waiting for them. As soon as she saw them, her ears perked up and she got up from the couch.
"Welcome back my third and fourth favorite Hunters." Maria exclaimed as she hugged Becca and shook hands with Xior.
"Third and fourth...hmm?" Becca pouted
"Yes third and fourth, second favorite is obviously my trouble maker Rain. So that leaves you two to be the third and fourth." Maria replied pointing at Becca for three and Xior for four.
Becca chuckled and side-eyed Xior with a smug face, indicating the difference between their likin. But Xior ignored her.
"Are there any gates under our jurisdiction?" Xior asked.
"What? Come on Xior, stop being workaholic. Go back to being lazy Xior." Becca said as she shook Xior’s arms.
"I’m still lazy, but not more than you." Xior replied.
Maria chuckled at the comment and coughed. "Yes, Xior. We have seven gates under our jurisdiction. Do you want to clear one?" She asked.
"Yes I want to and I want to do it solo. No one would be helping me." He said as the trio sat on the couch.
Maria thought on this and checked through the gate list she had, she had found a suitable gate for Xior.
A red gate of strength II, it was more than enough for him to easily solo it.
"Now then, you both can go to accounts and get you salary. Xior you’re getting a lot of small bonuses. Thank you for working hard."
They nodded and Becca lead him to the accounts office of Dragon Guild. Both of them waited in a short line and finally received their salary.
With all the bonuses Xior got, his salary became equal to Becca’s who has been an employee for three years now.
*****
Xior stood in front of the gate alongside Becca. While he was going to solo a gate, she too was going to solo another.
She wouldn’t let him have the fun, Xior wore a black tracksuit with the Dragon Guild logo, his long white hair tied into a bun as he had a sword on his hip.
He preferred to fight with fists but wanted to try out other weapons while he was at it. He stretched a bit and entered the gate.
His surroundings changed and he found himself inside a cave of sorts, or an underground building. Fire torches lit up the hallway he was in.
He used his fire rune to make a fire ball and illuminate the path in front of him more. Not far away he saw four goblins sleeping.
Small, green and barely covered by a piece of small cloth. Xior hated goblins the most, five years ago much more ferocious goblins had attacked them.
The fireball increased in size as he shot it towards the goblins. As soon as the fire made contact with them they screeched loudly.
And from not far away a dozen more goblins woke up and saw Xior standing with a fireball in hand.
They charged him as the four burned to ash, Xior grabbed his sword and swung it horizontally. He cut five of the goblins with one strike.
The rest had weapons which they poked at him but he blocked them with his sword. He slashed one, beheaded another and slaughtered them all.
As soon as the last goblin fell, in the distance he saw a wall opened up a pathway leading downwards. He grabbed all of the runes dropped by the goblins and walked towards the entrance.
He looked down and threw a fire ball inside, it went quite deep before it hit the ground and dispersed. He understood what this gate was. It was a dungeon type gate. He’d have to beat all the floors and the boss to actually solo clear this gate.