A dwarf sitting at a lounge table playing some card game looked over at Peace. He was the first to have noticed the odious elf's presence.
"What the…"
It didn't take long for a small rippling effect to occur, and the reaction spread…
Sadly for Peace, there was one big difference between the everyday people on the street and the battle-hardened Divers — most seasoned Divers' first instinct wasn't to scream in confusion but instead to equip themselves for battle.
In a fraction of a moment, nearly half of the people in their room had drawn their weapons, while others were trying to pry theirs out of whatever subspace item they had.
It was the start of an awkward standoff…
Peace instinctively raised his hands, one hand was an open palm and the other holding up the ID.
'Seriously…'
Thankfully, nobody attacked the defenseless Night Elf, but this was truly messed up…
All around the room was a diverse array of people of different races... some of whom were his own. There were other Night Elves. But sadly, they too held either a blade or a terrified look toward him.
It seemed it wasn't just other races that scorn his appearance, but his own, too. Not just that, the looks in their eyes were much more ardent, more venomous, more… vindictive.
All of a sudden, a huge crash sounded from behind Peace, accompanied by a rush of wind.
A booming, yet awkwardly deep childish voice sounded.
"Hi friend. You're in my way."
Peace turned and stared upward, dumbfounded.
A Barbarian had just barged in, wearing only his leather trousers and a sash that tied an axe to his back. His longish brown hair was matted and tied back with specs of peach fuzz forming on his face.
His hulking figure towered over the petrified Night Elf.
Peace fumbled a little and then replied:
"Oh, uh. Sorry."
It wasn't the first Barbarian he'd seen, but it was definitely the closest he'd been to one.
The Barbarian's serious face instantly twisted into a boundless smile.
"It's okay, friend!"
'Huh?'
The barbarian scooted around Peace, then looked toward the crowd that had formed, all staring toward Peace. Then, he stopped and cocked his head to the side. Then, as if having a eureka moment, he hit his hand into his open palm.
"Oh! You're all impressed by my muscles!"
The Barbarian began to flex, hitting different poses.
The initial dwarf, whose reaction kicked off this whole shebang, sighed and stood up.
"Muscles, kid? What do you know about muscles?"
The dwarf shot up and ripped off his shirt, revealing his burly, hairy body. He, too, started flexing as if challenging the young Barbarian.
As he did, he addressed the crowd.
"I've heard rumors of the one over there… he only looks like them, he's not one of them. I was just surprised when I seen him is all." The Dwarf began tightening his muscles, groaning as he did. "But more importantly… let me show you real muscle."
Veins started to appear all over the Dwarf's body, almost pulsing.
The young Barbarian looked down at the dwarf, then, without a word, hit another pose. He raised one of his arms to the sky with two of his fingers curled and three outstretched, then the other arm was upturned as he flexed his bicep.
The tension in the crowd immediately collapsed when other Barbarians, who didn't know how to read the room, began to strip down and join in on the battle of muscles. Soon, most of the tension dissipated and was replaced by a shirtless men in an orgy of flexing their muscles.
Of course, most everyone was still intently watching him, but all had sheathed their weapons and hid their malice behind eyes of laughter.
Peace sighed and walked forward to an open teller. A young girl with long, black hair, who looked as though she wanted to cry at the very sight of him…
***
The process took a bit, but Peace eventually accomplished all he set out to do. He had set up an account and registered as the Diver under the codename 'Peace' — not to hide his name, as his name would still be listed as Pax in whatever database they used, but some Divers had their own codenames/nicknames they registered under for various reasons.
His personal goal was to leave a trail behind for his sister to follow. If he couldn't find her, hopefully she would find him. After all, there probably wasn't another Pax Garnier who went by Peace.
'God, I hope she's here…'
Peace held on to his selfish desire and treasured it. As for everything he did with the Diver's Guild…
He obviously couldn't do it all for free.
There was a membership fee as well as a fee for the tag. So, to much chagrin, Peace immediately took out a small loan and used it to buy the tag and cover the outstanding membership fee.
He was now officially in debt!
A whole two silver and ten copper coins in debt!
The interest rate was quite high, so it would be in his best interest to pay it back as soon as possible. Hopeful, he lived long enough to do so…
The clock struck 4:00 in the afternoon, and the whizzing sound of a blue portal filled the populated plaza of the Ophiuchus District's 7th Precinct.