Are All Guilds Like This?

They didn't make it to the library the next day.

Instead, Kurai was eager to get into a guild so that he could start raiding dungeons like Lin had mentioned.

He didn't know how far ahead the other players were, but he needed to warn them about what the government was planning.

Though he also knew that he needed to be careful enough to avoid those that the government was actually contracted with, as they would reveal his existence to the government.

That brought up another predicament seeing as his hair changed color whenever he used 'Seraph's Blessing' but he found a way to channel that energy into his sword instead, making it look like sword-aura according to Hozumi, which just left hiding his hair and eyes.

The disguise was easily taken care of by buying some assassin gear that was sold all over the eastern district and strangely enough, it complemented the armor Lee had given to him.

The only problem with the attack itself was that it took a lot of concentration to activate, but Hozumi assured him that they expected it to be something like that since this was a town where many beginners started their journeys.

It didn't take long to reach the Guilds Hall and Kurai subconsciously held his breath as he waited for the guards to stop them, but no one did and so he followed Hozumi to the reception desk.

"Hi, my friend here wants to register for a guild. Are there any guilds taking in new recruits at the moment?"

The lady at the desk barely looked up at Hozumi as she reached to the side and placed a paper on the table without looking up even once, "There is, though you might be better off waiting for the next update."

With that, the women seemed to dismiss them and Hozumi pulled him out of the line to a quiet waiting area, "She wasn't kidding. The top guilds are all full because everyone is trying to join them to be able to get stronger faster. The bigger guilds can carry new recruits through dungeons that the rest would only ever see once they reach the required level."

The paper crinkled as she sighed, "These guilds, however, are made up of psychotic killers, overpowered idiots, and research junkies."

Kurai frowned as he took the paper from her, though his interest was piqued as he heard about the last one.

After all, he was quite a research junkie himself.

Three guilds were listed on the paper: Twisted Carnival, Knights of the Hidden Veil, and Abyssal Apocalypse.

He turned to Hozumi, "Abyssal Apocalypse? Is that the guild with the research junkies? Why would they name it something like that?"

Hozumi shrugged, "Apparently, they believe that the truth of the Dark Eons lay somewhere in the abyss. Though no actual abyss has been found in all the years that they have been searching for it."

Kurai froze and his eyes went wide as he recalled what his quest was, "I need to get into that guild!"

He could feel Hozumi's confusion, but his eyes were glued to the guild's name as she answered, "They aren't strong. They barely leave their guild hall, and if you wanted to get stronger and reach the higher levels faster, they aren't going to help you."

The only answer she received was a nod before she remembered why she was accompanying him in the first place as she examined his reaction, "Does it have something to do with your quest?"

A nod was all she received again, but she didn't need anything more than that as she dragged him back to the receptionist's desk, "Where are the trials for Abyssal Apocalypse taking place?"

The woman's head snapped up before her eyes widened as she recognized Hozumi, "M-my Lady! I'm sorry, I didn't know! I will contact one of the top guilds for you right away. I-"

The women's panic was cut off as Hozumi shook her head, "There is no need. We want to meet with the guild leader of the Abyssal Apocalypse."

The woman squirmed in her seat, "The guild leader isn't here, he sent a few others in his place." It was clear that the woman was worried about Hozumi's reaction, though given how their initial meeting went at first, Kurai fully understood why.

Hozumi nodded, "That is fine. Where are they holding the trials?"

The woman pointed toward a door to the far left of the hall and Hozumi pulled Kurai towards it much to his amusement. Hozumi truly hated the attention.

They made their way over and opened the door, only for Kurai to sense something so he used a weak version of 'Cyberblink' to move forward and grabbed her waist to pull her back just as a can of paint splattered on the floor in front of them.

Cheers suddenly rang out and they pushed the door open to reveal two people waving a congratulations banner around even though the rest of the room was empty.

The one on the left was a small girl with ginger pigtails, blue eyes and a purple kunoichi outfit. The multitude of colors kind of hurt Kurai's eyes so he glanced to the second person, only to be faced with an older boy in dark emo clothes and a hood over his head and his mind almost short-circuited at the complete difference in appearance.

The girl dropped the heavy-looking banner, almost taking the emo guy down with it as she rushed forward to greet them, "Welcome to the guild! Anyone with reflexes like that would be a great addition!"

Kurai sheepishly scratched his chin, "I-eh, thanks."

It was clear that Hozumi didn't think much about the test though, and given how much they had been stressing about it up until this point, it is no wonder that she finally lost her composure, "How was that a test? It was just paint! Other guilds have their new recruits fighting real battles and here you are simply playing a prank? What is this, prank col-?!"

Kurai tried to calm her down as he noticed the dark expression that formed over the girl's face with every word, but he could just barely follow the girl's movement as Hozumi's sentence was cut off by a kunai being held against her neck, the girl's words were chilling as they were suddenly spoken in the voice of someone that was used to removing obstacles in their path, "I was speaking to the one that yanked you away before you were splattered by paint. You clearly would have failed the test, so I am only letting you pass because I can sense that you are connected to him in some way."

The guy placed a hand on her shoulder and suddenly the smile was back, though the atmosphere had already been completely ruined as the girl continued her explanation, this time addressing Kurai, "You will soon find out why you need such reflexes and if you do not have them," here she glared at Hozumi before turning back to Kurai with a smile, "you learn them pretty quickly."

Hozumi looked at him, but Kurai could only shrug lightly since he needed to get into this guild to progress his quest.

They followed the two out of the hall to a door at the back, confusing Kurai, "Aren't there any other recruits that you need to interview?"

The girl shook her head determinedly, before she swung around to walk backwards, "Oh, we didn't get to introduce ourselves! I am Taya and this is Reece. We don't really go by last names at the guild because family names have power so unless there is something really important, we keep our last names to ourselves."

Kurai was about to bring up his surname for the sake of his quest, but Hozumi nudged him in the ribs, causing him to simply reveal their names, "I am Kurai, and this is Hozumi. Pleased to meet you."

Taya nodded, though even Kurai noted the way her eyes widened slightly as she recognized Hozumi's name.

She didn't say anything further though and the guy took over, "There's no point in waiting for another recruit. We've already been there for two hours, and you are the first to show up. Well, the first worthy candidate anyway."

Kurai frowned in thought, "Why is that?"

Reece shrugged, "There are a lot of rumors about our guild. Some are positive, some aren't. If you want to be a part of our guild, you need to learn that keeping the truth to yourself is the most important, no matter what they say about the guild."

Kurai's face fell slightly, "So you don't really enjoy doing research?"

Reece blinked at him in surprise before laughing out loud and Kurai even saw Taya's lips twitch in amusement, "Oh, we do, but there is a lot more to it. You'll see."

Kurai was about to say something, but then they reached the end of the corridor and the door opened, and Kurai immediately thought he'd died and gone to heaven because all around him there were books upon books.

Hozumi had to tug his arm a little just to get his attention, but when he looked back, both Taya and Reece didn't seem to be in a hurry.

Reece motioned around the room, "As you can see, we value knowledge a lot, but there is only one subject that we focus on."

Kurai looked at Hozumi, but she shook her head. Apparently, the information she'd given him was a secret, so he turned back to the duo in front of them as they reached a door at the side of the hall, "And what subject is that?"

Neither of them answered as the doors opened and Kurai and Hozumi were pushed inside.

Only to find that the room had no floor.