Aimless Ascension

"Senior Gale, are you coming to the inn after this?" Xiaolin asked.

"Not after this, but I'll be there in the afternoon," Gale said. "I have to attend the prosecution in the enforcer's office after this."

"By the way, Mister Gale," Wang Li asked as they went inside the guild. "Why are you playing as a lowly copper ranker from the first day?"

"Playing?" Gale frowned. "I never specifically mentioned I'm a copper ranker, did I? I think you assumed as much because my natural aura is restrained most of the time."

"Still, I'm sure you knew I and many others have wrongly assumed that of your rank. You can clear our assumptions easily."

"I could," Gale agreed, "but I saw no point in it."

"You saw no point in it," Wang Li repeated. "Anyone else would beat their own trumpet if they were in your position. Anyway, if it's not too delicate to ask, what rank are you? Although I'm terrible at it, I have enough common sense to know no low ranker can fly."

"You're right about that," Gale agreed. "No lower ranker could fly without a trick. Only a Gem-heart rank expert could do that, though they as much defy gravity more than fly. But I don't have a gem-heart."

"So you use a trick to fly?"

"Yup, one of my fate locks let me have some power of winds."

"Still, it's amazing," Xiaolin said from the side.

"It was a real pain to get hold of that fate lock," Gale remarked, "of course, it's amazing."

"Mister Gale, you seemed to have ignored my earlier question about rank. If you don't want to answer it, it's fine."

Gale halted, unsure how to answer her. "It is a delicate matter," he said eventually. "But I don't like how it affects the relationship. Like you're going to treat me differently finding out I'm some supreme master."

"Are you one?" Wang Li perked her brows.

"Nope," Gale laughed. "Though it won't hurt to mention, I have three fate locks."

'So silver ranker,' Wang Li thought. 'The same as Grandma and Sun Ziang.' He must be a genius wherever he was from to reach this rank when he was just about her age. Her sister should be around the same rank now as well, and she had all the privileges she wanted in her sect.

"I know that look," Gale said, staring at her. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing here, farming, right?"

"That's a given," Wang Li said with a sigh. "Wayshire hardly has a couple of dozen silver rankers, and half of them were old folks, retired off their duty. Of course, I was wondering about your purpose in this town."

"That's a long story. I'll explain later if I can," Gale said. "Though I assure you, it's nothing profound like comprehending dao or whatnot.

Gale gestured towards the guild man he was familiar with. He was probably the chief's apprentice, if she's remembering correctly.

"Let's go on with your business here," Gale said and addressed the man. "Guo Zong, please show these ladies the kinds of fate-locks your institution deals with."

"Come this way, Gentleman and Madams."

Guo Zong brought them to a hall where all kinds of stuff were showcased for display. Most of them were fate locks in different forms, from small gems, and fist-sized beads to different weapons like swords, bows, spear, hammers. For each of the items, there was a paper stamped on the back of the wall, imprinting the specification of the item.

"Browse as you like," Guo Zong told them. "Feel free to ask anything you aren't sure about, though with Master Gale there, I don't think you'd need this Guo's help."

"What's your relationship with him for him to treat us like this?" Wang Li whispered after Guo Zong stood in the back.

There was no way she would be treated like this on any normal day. Although her grandmother was a respectable figure in the town, they probably would have to stand in line or fill out a form to get an assistant to help them with their choices.

The guild was a foreign institution, after all. Their reach was all over the plane.

"Let's just say I'm a valuable customer," Gale answered and led them to view the fate locks.

There were about a couple of hundred fate locks showcased in this room, each with distinctive features.

Wang Li first saw a black sickle named Shadow Claw. It was a weapon-type fate-lock, which also gave a shadow element as an auxiliary function. Wang Li didn't even read the discretion of the sickle and moved on to the next item.

It was a bead that seemed to be condensed from lava. A fire element fate lock. Unlike the sickle, it was an artificial fate lock. Still, it was much more preferable than the sickle, though she still moved on to the next item.

However, all the fate locks that were there didn't come to her fancy.

Wang Li was sure she would've wanted half of them when she was young, but her priorities changed as she grew up.

"Madam Li," Gale asked, eventually, "is there some type of fate lock you have in your mind? I can't help but notice your uncertainty."

"All of these are related to combat," Wang Li said. "Yes, some of them could be used to do other things not related to combat, but they aren't their primary function."

"Ah, I think I understand your dilemma." Gale scanned the whole hall. "What is your preferred type?"

Wang Li explained what kind of fate lock she wanted. Well, she wasn't very knowledgeable on this topic, but still, she managed to get her thoughts across.

"Something to boost your day-to-day life," Gale muttered. "You brew alcohol and grow herbs, right? Would you like a fate-lock that would help you brew superior quality alcohol and grow herbs better? Or some healing type?"

"I'm interested."

"Master Gale, I don't think you can find anything of that type in here," Guo Zong said immediately, noticing Gale's gaze.

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