Chapter Seven

Knock

Knock

"Come in, Corey."

A door opens and Corey walks in, the room is spacious, with high ceilings and large, arched windows that let in plenty of natural light. The scent of polished wood and old parchment fills the air, at the center of the room is a large, ornately carved wooden desk. The surface is cluttered with various documents, maps, and a few glowing items, presumably magic items. An inkpot and a set of quills sit on one corner, alongside a stack of letters and reports. A bottle of wine sits right on the edge.

Behind the desk, sits the guild master Dagon Nestle. A tall and muscular man, with a broad and powerful build, he has unruly, spiky, pink hair that reaches down to his shoulders. sporting a distinct and robust face, pronounced cheekbones and strong jawline. He has a rugged and weathered appearance, with a short beard and mustache.

From where he's sitting, you can only see his sleeveless tunic, with his dark-colored cloak hung on his seat behind him. He's currently looking through a parchment.

Opposite the guild master on the other side of the desk, there are two comfortable armchairs for visitors. Displayed on shelves and in glass cases around the room are various trophies and artifacts. Different types of weapons, pieces of armor, and 'mystical' items, each with a story behind it. A large, plush rug covers the floor, adding a little warmth and comfort to the room.

With practiced motion, Corey places the documents right next to the bottle of wine. Dagon glances at the documents for a few seconds, then he rolls up the parchment in his hand before spreading a small red cloth which he then places the rolled up parchment. He picks up the first paper, going through it's contents.

He then picks up the next. Taking his time, he scans through each and every one of them.

Finished, he lays them in the side of his desk before staring at the guild clerk.

He notices the way she fidgets under his gaze. 'Am i really that scary?' he sighs.

"Bring them up." He picks his bottle of wine and retrieves a glass cup from underneath his desk.

"Right away." Corey leaves immediately as fast as she answers.

He pops off the cork of the wine, a heavy flora scent wafting into the room. He considers drinking directly from the bottle, however he changes his mind and pours the drink into the pristine emerald coloured glass. Taking a moment to himself, he stares out his window. The City of magic laying just outside. Swirling the liquor within his glass, he gazes at the multiple large buildings in view from his office, an usual sight for a non capital city. His eyes slowly scale the largest building in the middle of Furan, the Mozafari magic institute. The greatest result of Furan's brightest, allowing them to boast of forty percent of the mages in this part of the world.

He finally takes a sip, just as his door slowly open with Corey coming in. Walking in behind her are the four he's supposed to assess. A young man and three little girls.

A single look and Dagon's instincts immediately kicked into overdrive, although he didn't let it show in anyway, a credit to his years of experience.

The young man before him was strong, ridiculously so. Dagon could bet that the young man was just as strong if not stronger than he was. He could easily make it as an A Rank, and with a good enough guidance perhaps join the legends of S Rank.

"Ah yes, you four must be the new faces wanting to join our guild." He stands from his chair and extends his right hand towards the young man.

" "

" "

He notices the young man glance at the dark haired girl for a brief second. The dark haired girl then extends her hand to shake his.

'Odd, so the little girl's in charge.' Ignoring the obvious strangeness for the time being, he shakes her hand. Her tiny, fair skinned, unblemished hand makes contact with his rough, calloused hand in a gesture of good will.

Dagon was without a doubt incredibly strong. When he was in his prime, he was able to fight a drake lord head on and still survive. He had been through so many battles and fought opponents of the highest caliber, he had even sparred with a sin once and he had managed to wound them.

He had faced death on countless occasions. Many times he thought he had breathe his last only for him to push through and survive. He thought he knew fear, he thought he had conquered it, that he was brave. He believed he could stand in the face of death and smile one last time.

Her hand touched his, and his knees buckled.

Her hand touched his, and the hairs on his neck stood on end.

Her hand touched his, and his blood ran cold.

Her hand touched his, and his blood spilled everywhere.

Her hand touched his, and he watched his body melt into nothingness.

Her hand touched his, and there was only darkness.

"Hi, I'm Maple." A voice rang through the darkness.And just like that, it was over. What felt like years had only taken less than a single second. His heightened senses confirmed that he was still in his office, his blood wasn't used to paint the walls, he was still alive and the pressure was gone.

"Yes" He felt himself come to, staring at the innocent looking girl holding his hand. "I am the guild master, Dagon Nestle." To his credit, he was able to compose himself just as quickly as they had shaken hands.

"Uhm, would you like to have a seat, miss Maple?" He gestures at the seats opposite him.

"Yeah I'm." Corey starts to say just as everyone finds a seat, with Maple and Chrome seating opposite the guild master. The twins seating in the lounging chair by the wall.

Dagon turns to Corey, nudging her to go on.

"I'm gonna go." She walks backward towards the door and then closes it.

"Alright miss Maple, first let.." Dagon holds his words and stares at the door. "Corey, shouldn't you be leaving?" The next moment they hear the hurried thumps of Corey's steps as she rushes downstairs. Silence quickly ensues.

Dagon turns to Maple once again. "First I would like to welcome you to Furan. Now, here are the benefits of joining our lovely Blue Beri Guild. You get access to.." he's cut off however by Maple.

"Wait a minute." She says surprised. Her party also seems surprised with Chrome cocking one of his brows.

"Yes?" Dagon bring his hands together on his desk.

"You're not gonna test us?" Maple asks.

"Do you want me to test you? What kind of Guild master would I be if I couldn't tell how strong someone is from a single glance." Dagon pours himself another drink as he glances at the twins on the lounge chair.

"Either of the twins are presumably between B Rank and A Rank, so I'll appoint them as B+ Rankers." Dagon points at Mai and Yui as he swirls the liquor in his drink.

Mai and Yui immediately straighten up as soon they feel attention on them.

Pointing at Chrome, Dagon smiles " You, young man are a solid A Rank and as much as I'd love to push you up to S Rank, there's a test for that so you'll have to wait for one of our S Rankers to return ." Then with a sigh he turns to Maple. "Then there's you, you're clearly A Rank Material." He notices how the rest of the party flinch at putting Maple below Chrome. 'So that wasn't a fluke. She really is the strongest one here, and they're aware of it too. Hah what a pain, where's Joey when you need her."

"Oh that's great, does that mean we're adventurers now?" Maple breaks the tension immediately with a cheer.

Dagon is immediately caught off guard by her smile. "Y..yeah, welcome to the Blue Beri Guild." He can't help but smile along with her. "Maple Tree."

"For now, you'll be Known as the A Rank party Maple Tree. Since you're new, I will be handling your missions till we figure out your specialization. Until then, dismissed." He takes a drink from his glass. 'My heart can't handle stress like this. Hurry back Joey.'

"Yes Sir." Maple forms a salute with a chuckle. The members of Maple Tree then proceeds to leave the guild master's office.