1 The Lifelong Dream

"Elliot! Hurry, they're coming!" A woman said to a child. They were on their way to a parade that currently filled the streets with bright colors and joyful sound. The crowd beside the street was cheering and hollering for the people who were wearing armor and carrying weapons.

"Mama!" the little boy called out to his mother. "What are they?"

"Elliot, they are called 'Adventurers'. They protect the kingdom from monsters and evil," the mother said. "Your father was once one of them."

"My father?"

The mother nodded and chuckled, "Yes. He was the mightiest Adventurer in the world."

The boy scrunched his mouth, "The mightiest?"

"The mightiest," his mother repeated. She carried the boy in her arms to witness the parade of the kingdom's heroes. The little boy's eyes glimmered as he saw the people in different sets of equipment waving and smiling.

A tall man went over them. "Hello, little one."

"Hello, Mr. Adventurer!" Elliot gave the man a toothy grin with his missing set of teeth. "My mother said my father was the mightiest Adventurer."

"Oh?" the man quirked his brow and smirked. Elliot's mother gave him a smile that pleaded him to go along with it and he did. "Well is he now? Was he really the mightiest?"

"He was!" Elliot argued with slurred words. "Right mommy?"

"Indeed," his mother said and smiled. "The Mightiest."

"The mightiest," Elliot whispered to himself as he saw the parading adventurers.

It had been 8 years since his mother took him to his first Parade.

What his mother told him all those years ago seemed like it was a ghost that haunted him. His mother passed away only a few days after his first Parade.

Along with his mother, Elliot lost what his mother told him after the Parade.

He tried attending each year, trying to remember what it was. Only to keep on failing every attempt he tried.

The last ranking guild finished their walk with only a single member participating. The people started dispersing. The Adventurers' ten seconds of fame was over, now for their yearly torture.

Applicants.

The Parade was just a show to introduce the top 100 guilds of the year. Each year, the top guilds would accept applicants to join their alliance. There, the test to become an Adventurer starts.

There would be 3 basic requirements to become an Adventurer:

1. Strong blood. Your blood must have at least an ounce of magic to become an Adventurer. To survive adventuring, you must be at least half magic. If not, you're lucky to live for a month.

2. Affinity. You must abide by at least one of the ten magical affinities and/or its correspondence. The four Primordial affinities: earth, water, wind, and fire. The four Basic Correspondence: electric, metal, frost, and flora. And the Dualism: light and dark.

3. Sheltering guild. An Adventurer must have a guild to shelter. Each guild will take no more than 20% of the adventurer's monthly earnings. The missions and quests of the Adventurer shall only be permitted by the guild.

Elliot was ready to take the test. He wanted to join the best guild of the continent, Pentos, but after he knew that he was only half magic, he wasn't allowed to join even the top 50 guilds.

It was also a far fetched dream considering Pentos only had 5 members ever since its creation.

His lifelong dream of becoming an Adventurer was almost shattered until the memory of his mother appeared in his mind. She supported Elliot with his training. She said his affinity would show itself through time but he's already 18 while his affinity was still unknown.

"No!"

"I'm sorry kid, you're not qualified."

"I will not take you in."

"You won't last a week."

"We're full!"

…

For 49 times, Elliot's heart shattered. Every time he would get rejected, he replays the memory of his mother in The Parade. His mother believed in him. So should he.

"Give up, kid," a man beside the bakery Elliot worked at said. "They'll never take someone without an affinity."

"Yeah," the woman from the other establishment added. "You'll only die younger."

The other woman from a further shop butted in, "You're better off working at the bakery. You're not even a good baker to start with, and you want to be an Adventurer? Just give up."

Elliot ignored their words like what he was doing for the past couple of years. It was his daily torment and he was used to it.

He knew he didn't stand a chance.

He knew he lacked affinity.

He knew he would be hurt.

Or worse, he could die.

But his promise to his mother...

He can't just let it go.

"Not in this life," Elliot whispered to himself, shaking his head and continued walking. His legs were almost about to give up but he still had to go on. This was his final chance.

Even when the thin string of hope Elliot had was slowly tearing apart, he still continued.

The top 100th guild's base was shabby and old. His knuckles found themselves knocking on the almost falling wooden door. Dust and a bit of part of the door and doorframe fell when he knocked.

"What do you want?" a husky man's voice answered inside.

"Excuse me sir but, can I please join your guild?" Elliot asked.

"No," was the man's answer. His voice was cold and filled with conviction.

"But this is my last chance to become an Adventurer, sir. I really need to–"

"I said, 'No!'," the man was shouting from the inside. His loud voice made the old shack shake.

Elliot stepped back, thinking the guild's base was gonna collapse. "Sir… I really need to become an adventurer."

He heard a low reply. The man's voice was faint and was hard to catch. Elliot was about to speak again when a soft cough made him snap his head back.

"Excuse me, do you want something?"

Elliot's jaw almost dropped at the sight. A woman with shiny black locks and a lovely blue dress was in front of him. The person's face looked like it was carved by angels with eyes glistened under the sun like it was the sea.

"U-Um, I wanted to join the guild, but the man inside wouldn't let me," Elliot answered.

The person nodded and was about to say something when a voice from inside the guild house said, "There you are." The wooden front door creaked, and a figure erected from the open door. "Where have you been, Midnight?"

A man so tall and full of muscles appeared. His dark brown locks were dull and sprouted from every part of his head, but he still looked good even in his ragged state.

"I was the only one who attended The Parade," the woman said. "How embarrassing. We're the last ranking guild and we only have one member attending."

"It's the last city the Parade goes, why does it matter? Where are the others anyway?" the man asked, ignoring Elliot. It was as if he disappeared in the midst of their conversation. Elliot wasn't able to say anything even after the woman dragged him inside the collapsing guild house.

"So, what's your name?" Midnight asked as they passed through the large man.

"E-Elliot. Elliot Max," the boy answered, scratching his nape in embarrassment. He was told to sit on one of the tables inside the empty guild house.

"Okay, Elliot. And your affinity?" Midnight asked again. This time, Midnight went to the counter and returned with a paper and quill. Midnight wrote Elliot's name and waited for the boy to answer.

Looking up to see why the boy didn't respond, the Midnight's light blue eyes met with a pair of teary-eyed ones. "What's wrong?"

"I don't have an affinity," Elliot answered, his tears were threatening to gush from his eyes. "But I really want to be an Adventurer."

"An Adventurer without an affinity?" Another voice sounded from the entrance. A man with red hair came in. He wore a black and red harlequin jacket that he hung over his shoulders, a white dress shirt, and a tight black pants. "Don't make me laugh."

"But s-sir–"

Elliot wasn't able to finish when the paper Midnight was writing on started burning. The scorch was instantaneous but powerful. The paper became ashes within seconds.

"You'll die on your first mission, kid. Just live a normal life," the man said. "Becoming an Adventurer is not for you. It's not safe."

When Elliot didn't answer, the man nodded, "Good."

Thinking that the boy had given up, the man turned around and tried to walk away. Elliot ran as fast as he could and lifted his fist towards the man. The red-haired man sensed the presence of the boy, tilting his body sideways and letting the frail boy trip and fall.

Even when he's still on the ground, Elliot glared at the man.

"You don't know how long it took me to train. Even when I knew my progress was inexistent, I still pursued," Elliot yelled. "You don't have the right to say that I cannot join this guild! You're just another one of those dreamwreckers.""

The man returned the glare and sat to reach Elliot's level. "Actually, I can," he said.

"Guild Master Frederick, please stop," Midnight said and got in between the two. "Let the boy join, sir. Just… for me. Let him join."

Elliot could only gulp as the smirk appeared on Frederick's face. If he was the guild master, then he has all the power to reject Elliot.

He felt defeated.

"Please don't do this, Midnight," Frederick said and sighed. "You're weak when it's daytime, I can't really decline when you're being vulnerable like this."

"That's why I beg of you, let Elliot join the guild. He's kind and pure. Give him a chance," Midnight pleaded. "Please guild master."

"Okay," Frederick finally gave in. "Kid, if you get into Level 10, I'll let you join the guild officially. If you die– wait, you'll have to sign a waiver beforehand–"

Frederick wasn't able to finish when Elliot tackled him with a hug.

"Thank you, sir!" Elliot grinned. "Thank you."

Elliot didn't care if he still had to level up to officially become a member of the guild. What matters to him the most was that he's officially an Adventurer.

His mother would be proud.

And he was proud of himself