Alonzo appeared inside a tavern. He luckily didn't catch the attention of the loud crowd. He sat down on a chair next to the bar and said:
"One glass of red wine, please!" said Alonzo nonchalantly.
"Hahaha, you look younger than my son, yet you want wine. Here, take some milk!" said the bartender as he placed a glass of milk on the table and left. Alonzo smelled it, realizing it was not poisoned. He drank it; milk splattered on his face, after which he wiped his face clean with his sleeve.
"Hello, my name is Isah. What is a kid like you doing in a place like this?" said Isah as she sat down beside him. She tried to get his hood off, but her hand was slapped away by him, and Alonzo made sure his hood was still on.
"Don't touch me!" said Alonzo aggressively.
"Whoa, I didn't mean to hurt you; I was trying to help you!" said the woman, trying to clarify the situation. Now that he looked at her, she looked like a knight. She had armor, a fit physique, and blonde hair.
"I don't need help. I am trying to find a way to become a knight!" said Alonzo. He thought he could get some information from this woman. He couldn't enroll because of his race, so he was in a dilemma.
"Hmm, I am a knight. Why not become my apprentice and join my adventurer team?" she said, smiling.
Alonzo thought for a little but declined. "Sorry, I don't know who you are, and so I cannot trust you!"
"Hey, don't be so fast! We are a team full of adventurers. Also, I know you're a Luminari, meaning you aren't safe!" she said while trying to look innocent.
Alonzo frowned. "So you want to use my identity as a bargaining chip?"
"No, you got it wrong. As I was saying, I want you in my team. I am a full-fledged knight. You cannot follow a knight school since Luminari people are discriminated against. What do you say?"
Alonzo seriously thought about it. "Is this a trap? But she could teach me something. She's a Gold Knight, after all!"
"Why did you approach me? Did you have any ulterior motives?" said Alonzo suspiciously.
"Kid, you must be really paranoid. If you truly desire to know why I approached you, it's because of your luck and aura. I can sense them; they're special!" said the woman with a shrug. "Do we have a deal?" she continued as she stretched her arm, waiting for a handshake.
Alonzo was still skeptical about this, but he decided that if people like Seraphine or this woman in front of him could recognize his race even when he was disguised, he needed a backer and, most importantly, strength to protect himself.
He reached for her arm and shook it.
"Great, right now I declare you my official student. Come, we need to register you in our guild. But before that, how should I call you?" asked Isah.
"You can call me Alonzo!" he said, not minding introducing his real name.
"Alonzo, let's go, there's no time to waste!" said Isah as she got up and led the way toward the guild hall that looked similar to the bar he had previously been in. They reached the front, and as soon as they opened the door, someone flew through the air, landing on top of a table and breaking it. Inside were many people drinking, fighting, or chatting.
"Don't mind them, that's how they like to have fun!" said Isah, embarrassed. Isah went to the lobby, and Alonzo followed behind her. Behind the lobby's table was a black man with a very gentlemanly mustache.
"How can I help you, Miss Isah, and who's your new friend? Isn't he a little too young for you?" said the man as he put his hands on the table to support his weight.
"What? There's nothing like that between us! He's my apprentice, and I want to sign him up and add him to my team!"
"All right, what's your name, race a—" Before the person could finish his sentence, he gasped in shock. "I see, just your name will do!" he continued as he regained his composure.
"My name is Alonzo!" he said as he scratched his head.
"Mike, I trust you, but please don't spread the word about him!" said Isah uncomfortably.
"Don't worry, Miss, I guarantee total privacy!" said Mike as he pumped his chest in pride.
Isah turned back to Alonzo and said:
"Welcome on board. My team's name is 'Overwatch.' I will have you meet them later. Now I need to find you a place to stay!"
"If I could intervene," said Mike as he joined the talk, "why don't you rent a room at the motel on the other side of the guild?" he continued.
"Good idea, but the one who owns the hotel is a little… how do I put it… weird!" said Isah with a laugh.
"I don't mind where I stay, as long as I have a roof over my head and a place to rest!" intervened Alonzo.
"Okay, just be a little careful. The owner is not a normal being!" warned Isah.
Alonzo and Isah made their way toward the motel opposite the guild's position. The motel itself wasn't anything fancy; it looked like any medieval building. Before they could enter, they heard screams. As they opened the front entrance door, they saw a woman picking a knight up by the collar and yelling in his face.
"Did you think I wouldn't notice you not paying rent for two months? Let's see if you like this!" she yelled as she started rotating with the knight in her hands and suddenly let go, making the knight fly out of the window.
"That will teach you a lesson!" she said with her hands on her waist.
Isah coughed, attracting the motel owner's attention.
"Ah, it's you, Isa. What can I do for you?" the owner said as she took a beer from a table and gulped it down in front of them.
"It's Isah, and I want a room for my friend here," she said as she pointed at Alonzo.
"Hmm, all right, that would be two silver coins!" she said with a poker face.
"Two silver coins? Are you insane? With that kind of money, I could buy this entire motel!" said Isah angrily.
"Listen, Isy, either pay or leave. This is my establishment, after all!" she said, not backing down.
"Fine! And it's Isah!" said Isah, finally giving up. She got two silver coins out of her pouch and gave them to the owner.
"Thank you for using our services. We promise you won't regret it!" said the owner. "My name is Leia Orgum, and your room is on the second floor, room number thirty!" she continued as she gave the keys to Alonzo.
"Go rest for now. Meet me at dawn in front of the motel!" spoke Isah as she left the building.
Alonzo didn't stay still for too long. He went to his room upstairs, opened the door, and to his nonexistent surprise, it was a casual room — one bed, a sofa, some furniture, and a bathroom. Those were good enough for him. He wouldn't rest now; he wanted to see his spoils of war he got from the armory. Suddenly, a small pile of books appeared before him. All of them had a chroma color because they were space-affinity spell books. But one stood out among them — it was a rank 5 spell book. This one was bigger than the others and more colorful. Its name was Warp Travel. Alonzo got flashbacks from what he saw; it was the same thing the scientist Galen had been experimenting on him with. He finally found a connection between both worlds. He got closer and closer to his objective — revenge. But now he needed to take it easy. He didn't browse through the book. Instead, he wanted to do two things: first, reach full yellow moon core; second, master short-range teleportation and use it without chanting.
He started meditating. He felt his core — it was colorful, larger, and more powerful than ever. Then he started pumping his mana inside. The moon core got even bigger until it halted. "That's it? It was easier than expected!" he thought. Next, he started trying to use the spell without chanting. He just focused on the feeling of being teleported and the destination where he desired to go. After three hours, he didn't achieve much success, but it was normal — space is a hard element to master. He would take his time; there was no need to rush.
Alonzo looked out of the window and realized it was already dawn. He should meet with Isah. He got up and walked outside. After he left the motel, he saw Isah waiting for him.
"There you are! What's that smell? You smell like a donkey!" said Isah while grabbing her nose.
Alonzo realized he had expelled impurities from his body and forgot to shower.
"I was training and forgot the notion of time. When I looked outside, it was already dawn, so I rushed here to meet you!" said Alonzo with a shrug.
Isah sighed and said: "All right, just please shower after we're done training. Follow me!"
Isah and Alonzo went outside the city to the fields surrounding it. They stopped walking as soon as they reached an abandoned farm.
"This is secluded enough. You can take your hood off. I'll teach you how to become a knight first!" said Isah as she threw her sword on the ground. "Defend yourself using your physical capabilities and instincts!" she continued as she lunged at him with a kick.
Alonzo barely dodged the kick. Isah kept coming at him faster and faster. After a few dodges, Isah grabbed Alonzo by the foot and threw him through the farm walls.
Alonzo was all bruised, but he still got up and tried to dodge. This time he closed his eyes and tried to use his instincts. Isah saw this and sneered but didn't say anything.
She came toward him fast. Alonzo didn't dodge but took a defensive stance. She didn't attack from the front — it was a diversion so she could sneak attack him from the back.
Alonzo felt something lingering behind him and turned around with a head kick. This shocked Isah. She didn't dodge but parried the kick head-on. To Alonzo's surprise, the kick moved Isah a few steps back but didn't deal any damage. Isah applauded him.
"Congratulations for becoming a full-fledged Bronze Knight. If you wish to advance, focus more on your instincts and have more fights to get more inspiration for a breakthrough. But be careful; don't fight blindly!"
Alonzo looked at his hands. He could feel a power different from his magic yet similar. Mages use the magic that surrounds them to form spells, while knights use the force within themselves to use techniques. Yet mages also adapt to the magic that surrounds them — they absorb mana, forming their own mana pool, aka the moon core, which strengthens their whole body. Knights have similar effects. His moon core was situated in his solar plexus, while his entire body had been enhanced by the process of becoming a knight.
"I'll keep that in mind!" said Alonzo.
"Also, before we finish, I want to give you this!" As soon as Isah said this, she threw a paper scroll at Alonzo.
Alonzo opened the scroll and had a look. He asked, "What's this?"
"It's the Saber Tooth Sword Technique. Try to read it. Tomorrow I'll introduce my team and help you practice this technique. Now go rest!" Isah said as she picked her sword from the ground.
Alonzo wanted to leave but was interrupted by Isah's call: "I forgot to tell you, I used to know another Luminari person some time ago. He was very dear to me!" Alonzo could hear the sadness in her voice.
"My condolences," he said.
"It's all right. You just need to be careful in the city!" she warned him.
Alonzo went back to his room. He didn't sit down; he went over the Saber Tooth Sword Technique and practiced the short-distance teleportation spell without chanting. He finally saw some progress. He didn't know if the knight physique helped him, but he didn't mind it. He was able to teleport within a two-meter radius without chanting, but the mana cost was astronomical. He could only do so four times before running out of mana. "Pff, what a disappointment!" he thought, but he wasn't discouraged. Quite the contrary, this gave him more ambition. After inspecting his body one more time, he went to sleep. After all, he needed to be fresh for the next day.