Time To Sign Up

As the first light of dawn peeked through the tall trees of the forest, Liam, Jacob and Tina set off for the Town Jacob had talked about last night.

While they walked, Liam learned from Jacob that the Town was called Varlington. It was a town full of business and trade, especially known for its excellent mana potions.

As it turned out, Jacob was one of the merchants that sold these potions. He explained that the reason he'd been in the forest at all was because something odd was going on in the forests back home.

"Whenever someone enters the forest to collect herbs, they don't come back out", Jacob explained ,"It's been going on for about a week now and none of the adventurers at any of the guilds take up the requests we put up to find the cause of this problem"

"I see...", said Liam ,"So you came to this forest to collect herbs instead"

"Yes. I can't just sit idly by and watch my business crumble. After all-", he said looking at his daughter with a smile ,"I have a family to take care of"

'He's a good guy' Liam thought to himself. Jacob was exactly the type of person that he himself aspired to be. Someone who others could depend on when things got tough.

"Hey", Liam patted Jacob's shoulder and grinned ,"You don't have to worry anymore. As soon as I join the Silver Fang, I'll take up those requests you put up"

"Really?!" Jacob asked in surprise ,"Thank you, Liam!"

"No problem", said Liam ,"I'm glad I can help"

"Daddy daddy!" Tina cried, pointing ahead of us ,"I can see home!"

Liam looked up in front of them and gasped. He could see it. A huge cluster of buildings and stalls bustling with people. A massive grey wall surrounded the town to protect it for the occasional monster.

"Home sweet home", said Jacob ,"Come on!"

He began to walk towards the town but Liam hung back. Jacob turned back and looked him quizzically.

"What's wrong?" Jacob asked.

"Nothing", said Liam ,"I just have something I need to do first. You guys go on without me"

"Alright then", said Jacob as he raised his hand and bid him farewell ,"Until we meet next time"

"Yeah", said Liam and he waved back.

He watched them go for a few minutes. Then he sat down on a rock and looked at his familiars.

"It would probably be better if I kept only a few of you out", he said as he pointed at them ,"Ralph, Jiri, Razor, Seph, Sky and Jet, return"

The familiars he mentioned all dissolved into particles of light. The only one's were left were Blu and Kai.

"Yeah, this looks okay. Now let's get going", said Liam and he stood up. Blu shrunk himself till he was the size of Liam's fist and jumped up onto Liam's shoulder while Kai followed them on foot.

Luckily, the town's entrance wasn't guarded so they simply slipped instead. It would have been trouble if Liam had to explain why he had monsters with him.

But as they walked, Liam soon discovered that no one looked twice at Blu or Kai.

'I guess it's common here then?' Liam thought to himself.

He couldn't help gawking at everything around him in amazement. He'd never been to any place aside from his tiny little village. But this town was amazing!

The paved roads, the stalls and even the friendly looking people. They were all amazing! Liam spotted a building up ahead with a sign that read 'Momma's Inn' and he walked inside.

The place seemed to be a restaurant. There were tables and chairs set up on one side of the room, and a counter were a plump looking woman was polishing a glass.

"Oh, welcome dear customer-" she said, noticing Liam. She had short black hair and wore a maroon dress with a white apron around her waist.

"T-thank you", Liam stammered nervously.

The woman frowned at him ,"You don't look very familiar..."

"Oh yeah, I'm from out of town", Liam explained.

"Oooh, that explains it! I never forget a face after all", she said and offered him her hand ,"My name's Faelina but everyone calls me Momma"

"Momma..? Wait-", Liam sniffed the air, smelling something delicious that made his stomach growl hungrily.

Faelina laughed ,"You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"

Liam blushed in embarrassment and shook his head.

"Well then take a seat, boy", she said with a smile ,"I'll whip up something that will blow your taste buds away!"

Soon, Liam was digging into a small bowl of stew, two rolls of freshly baked bread and a cup of ale. Momma had even prepared some pieces of meat for his familiars and ,they too enjoyed the food graciously.

"Do you like it?" Momma asked.

Liam nodded enthusiastically ,"It's amazing! I don't think I've ever tasted anything as good as this!"

"Ha ha! Well, don't be afraid to ask for seconds", said Momma ,"So what are you doing in town?"

"I came to take the Silver Fang exam to become an adventurer in their guild", Liam explained.

"Oooh, I see", said Momma as she put her hands on her hips ,"Are you sure? The exams can be tough plus you're not even dressed for it"

Liam glanced at his torn and worn out clothes ,"True, but that's just another reason for me to do it"

"Well, I tried", said Momma with a sigh as she took away his empty plate ,"The guild is just down the street. And feel free to come back afterwards. I'll keep a room empty for you for the night, free of charge"

"Wow, thanks!" said Liam as he stood up to leave ,"See you later then!"

Liam walked down the street just as Momma had told him and sure enough he came to a large building. He gazed at it in awe. It was made mostly of glass and concrete and had big white letters that read 'Silver Fang' over the doors.

Liam swallowed nervously before he steeled his nerves and walked inside.

The lobby was crowded with many other adventurers, some chatting merrily on one side of the room, relaxing on some of the couches. Others stood by the counters on the other side, where some receptionists in smart green uniforms attended to some adventurers.

Liam walked over to a free counter and greeted the woman who stood in front of him.

"Good morning", he said.

"Good morning, sir", said the woman with a cheerful smile ,"My name is Hilia. What can I do for you today?"

"I'm here to sign up as an adventurer for this guild", said Liam.

"Oh, I see. Please fill out this form for me quickly while I call on one of our examiners", said Hilia and she handed him a piece of paper.

Liam took the paper and scribbled his name, class and the category of his class. Hilia came back a moment later with a large, gutsy looking man. He had a scar that ran across his left eye and he wore nothing but leather pants with a pair of combat boots.

The man glared at Liam as he took the paper from him. His eye narrowed slightly after reading through it.

"A sub class, huh?" he asked in a deep voice ,"Listen, boy, my exams are known to be the hardest in this entire guild. People in the sub class who take it either go home in tears-"

He moved closer till his face was right in front of Liam's. He smelled heavily of sweat and ale.

"-or never leave at all", the examiner finished ,"Do you still want to take it?"

Liam's expression became serious as he said ,"Yes sir!"

"Hey, check out that sub class", someone whispered behind Liam ,"He's trying to take ol' Spin's exam-"

"He's just a sub class? I figured he was a summoner cause of those two beasts", said another voice ,"All well, if he's just a sub class then, he'd better hope to come back out alive-"

The murmurs just continued as the people kept mocking and pitying him but Liam just ignored them. The examiner, Spin, walked over to one the doors leading outside and gestured for Liam to follow.

'I will pass! I have to!' thought Liam to himself as he clenched his fist and followed Spin.

The door led to a wide courtyard outside the guild. The ground was made of concrete and a wide red circle was painted in the center. Two racks of weapons were set up on both sides of the room, loaded with all sorts of weapons.

"Feel free to pick any weapon you want", said Spin who had already picked his own. Two long staffs topped with spiked balls on each of them. Maces.

"No thanks", said Liam shaking his head as he took out his sword ,"I think I'll just fight with this"

"So be it", said Spin ,"You're exam is relatively simple: Defeat me and you pass. You and your pets can fight any way you like. However I will not hold back either"

Liam nodded and unsheathed his sword. Spin followed his lead and took a stance, holding a mace in each hand as if they weighed nothing.

"Ready...Begin!"

With a mighty battle cry, Liam charged towards his foe and the battle began.