The Dark Cats Guild

Location: Rakham City, Kingdom of Slevia

Al and his friends have arrived at Rakham City. They rushed over to The Dark Cats Guild to join as an Adventurer.

"Finally we arrived at Rakham City," said Marc.

"The city is huge," Lia was amazed to see a very large city.

"This city is still nothing compared to the Royal Capital," says Serena.

"So, where is your Guild?" Al asked where The Dark Cats Guild.

"Our guild is in the middle of the city. You see that tower?" Aqua pointed to a tower in the middle of the city.

"What tower is that?" asked Gray.

"That tower is called Holy Tower. The tower has been standing for a long time. Our guild is near the tower," Serena replied.

"Then, let's go there immediately," said Al.

They all went to the Guild through the bustling city. Along the way, they were all surprised by the various things that existed in the city such as magic shows, tall buildings, various kinds of food, and other things that they had never seen during their stay in the Leefside Village. They arrived at The Dark Cats Guild's Base.

"This... Is the place?" asked Al.

"This place is small, but you will love it," Serena replied.

The base of The Dark Cats Guild is a small two-story building that is not much different in size from the size of the orphanage Al and his friends in the Leefside village.

"Master! We're home!" Serena enters and screams for her master.

"Serena! Aqua! Glad you got home! How's your adventure?!" asked a girl who ran towards Serena and Aqua.

"Lucy!" Serena hugged the girl named Lucy.

"Introducing everyone, this is Lucy. She just got her fantasia a few weeks ago," Aqua introduced Lucy to Al and her friends.

"Nice to meet you!" Lucy greets Al and the others.

"She's still fifteen years old?!" Marc is surprised to hear that Lucy joined when she was fifteen years old.

"She joined because I was also a member of this Guild," said a man who walked towards them.

"Brother!" Lucy ran towards the man who was her brother.

"My name is Lucas, Lucy's Big Brother," Lucas introduced himself.

"My name is Al. These are my friends, Gray, Marc, Leo, and Lia. We are here to become Adventurers like you," Al introduced himself and his friends.

"Becoming an Adventurer?" an old man came from outside the building.

"Master!" Lucy called the old man Master.

"Master?" Al was surprised to see the Master of The Dark Cats Guild.

"This is Master Gorou. He was the Guildmaster of The Dark Cats Guild. Master, these are Al, Gray, Marc, Leo, and Lia. They want to join our Guild," Serena introduced Master Gorou to Al and his friends.

"Master, we want-" Al's words were cut off by Master Gorou.

"No," Master Gorou immediately rejected Al and his friends who wanted to join The Dark Cats Guild.

"But, Master. We need new members to participate in the competition held by the Kingdom," said Serena.

Master Gorou was silent in front of everyone.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with adding new members to our Guild, Master," Lucas suggested.

"Lucy agrees!" Lucy also approved of Al and his friends to become members of the Guild.

"They have also helped us while carrying out the Quest at Mt. Esval. They have pretty good fighting skills against the bandits who captured Aqua and me," said Serena to convince the Master to accept Al and his friends in the Guild.

"Is what Serena said true?" asked Master Gorou.

Al, Gray, Marc, Leo, and Lia were silent when Master Gorou asked them the truth of what Serena had said.

"Looks like they don't want to admit what they did. In that case, I won't accept them as members of The Dark Cats Guild," said Master Gorou as he walked away from them.

"Wait!" Al called Master Gorou.

Master Gorou stopped and turned around because he was called by Al.

"Is there anything you want to say?" asked Master Gorou.

"Master, everything Serena said is... Not true," replied Al.

"What?! What are you saying, Al?!" Serena was surprised to hear Al's words that didn't confirm her words.

Gray tapped Serena on the shoulder to let Al talk to Master Gorou.

"Then I will reject you to enter my Guild," said Master Gorou.

"Please listen to us first," Al asked Master Gorou not to immediately make a decision.

"Al..." Lia is a little worried about Al.

"What Serena said is not entirely true. We did try to save them from the bandits. But our strength is not as strong as they say. We lost to the bandits. And the ones helping them are the Adventurers from the capital," said Al explaining what happened to them against those bandits.

"Is it true?" Master Gorou asked Gray, Marc, Leo, and Lia.

"What Al said is true. We can't beat the bandits. We are very weak and we still have a lot to practice. Therefore, we decided to train to become stronger in this Guild," replied Gray.

"Unfortunately, this Guild is not a training ground. If you just want to practice, you can do it elsewhere," said Master Gorou.

"B-but... what we train is not just our strength," said Lia trying to help Al and Gray.

"Lia is right. Grandfather told us to join this Guild as well because we have to get to know the world we live in better," said Marc.

"I hate to say this. But this stupid Marc is saying the right thing. We are not only looking for strength but also looking for knowledge about life," replied Leo.

"Hey! What do you mean by stupid?!" Marc was offended by Leo's words.

"Haha~" everyone there laughed at Leo's words.

"Guys..." Al was glad his friends helped him to talk to Master Gorou.

"So, Master? Are you going to accept Al and his friends?" Aqua asked.

"You guys are quite interesting. But I still can't just let you in that easily," said Master Gorou.

"Are you still not going to accept us?" asked Al.

"I will accept you as members of this Guild on one condition," replied Master Gorou.

"Really?!" Al was surprised to hear Master Gorou's answer.

"Criss and Valerie are carrying out a quest from me to find an object. I want the five of you to go help them. If you guys manage to get that thing I will accept you as guild members," said Master Gorou.

"Of course! We will accept the requirement to be a member of this Guild," said Al.

"This requirement will be fulfilled," said Gray.

Leo just nodded and Lia only smiled because they had hopes of becoming a member of The Dark Cats Guild.

"I hope nothing troublesome happens when we become those things," said Marc.

Al and his friends accepted Master Gorou's condition to look for an object so they could become members of The Dark Cats Guild.

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To Be Continued...