Chapter 7: Which Guild? [SUN]

We made our way towards the townhouse which was smack dab in the middle of the city. But before we made our way there, I do have a few stops to visit first. Mainly a bank to get my coins changed, and then probably a blacksmith or merchant to purchase weapons and armours.

I felt really bad for having Lily pay for literally everything so far. I'll buy her a bow along with something else to make up for it. And a meal. Speak of the devil, a blacksmith store right up ahead. It had an anvil-shaped sign written 'Holly Begonia' at the main entrance. That name somehow doesn't fit a blacksmith shop to be honest. But hey, I am in dire need of a spare weapon and armour so right now any blacksmith will do.

"Guys.. and girl, shall we go there? I need to buy a spare weapon and some armour first if you don't mind," I asked them.

"Oh, a workshop! I was looking for one too. I need a new bow before I join a guild," said Lily as she scratched her head feeling flustered.

"What about you, John? Anything you wish to buy before taking the guild's test?" I asked him.

"Hm? Nah. This short sword is all I need," he smiled as he flexed his arm.

Is it really though? Is he just overconfident with his strength? Or perhaps he's just broke.

We opened the door and a loud ding could be heard above the door frame. How very smart.

Now, what do we have here? Hang on, wait a minute, is that— a dwarf? What?! I was certain there was no such species in this world. But no, I did not lie. He is not a dwarf at all. Just a short stouty human with some beard that I had mistaken for a dwarf.

"C'min lads, what can I do fer ya?" asked the blacksmith. Is he just roleplaying or is he yanking with me with the dwarf language?

"A blade and perhaps some armour please. And a bow for my friend here," I pointed my thumb at Lily.

"A blade, eh? Hm.. a short sword would suit ya better to be honest. Those skinny arms of yers looked like ye can barely even lift a one-handed sword properly. And perhaps a leather cloak fer ya. I doubt you can move around in a metal armour with that small frame of yers," he judged me while studying my body.

What is with people judging my size?! Damn it! I am going to get bulkier with more muscle. Just you wait, all of you!

"Ah, an elf, eh? I got just the bow fer ya. Here ya go, a short bow fer yer long-eared friend," said the blacksmith as he passed the bow to Lily.

A short bow? I was hoping for something far better than just a short bow after all the things she had done for us thus far. Lily held up the bow and tested the strength of the string. She seems to be satisfied with it seeing that she was smiling after testing it. I was not.

"Hey uh, smithy. I would prefer if you can give us something better, if you don't mind? " I whispered to him.

"Well, I do have better guds behind, but— do ya have enuff money in da first place?" he questioned me with a raised eyebrow.

"Will this suffice?" I asked him as I showed him three gold coins. His eyes glimmered at the sight of it and started laughing.

"Ho ho! Why didn't ya say so earlier?! Let me bring out some good stuffs fer ya. Hold up a min," said the blacksmith as he headed to an area behind the counter.

While we waited for the blacksmith to return, we continued browsing what available items was on display. John took noticed of a metal armour and lifted it. He seemed interested in it but when I asked whether he wanted it, he told me that the guild he is planning to join generally do not favour wearing heavy armour. A guild that doesn't favour heavy armour? Got to be the Viking Guild. I tried to lift the armour that John had just lifted. Holy, what the— it weighs like 20 kilograms or so. How did John lifted it with no effort at all?! Am I really that weak in this world?

I gestured Lily to come over and asked her to try lifting the armour. She was indeed able to lift it but with difficulties. Alright phew, I am fine. I am FINE~ But Lily is a girl. Men are supposed to be stronger in general. I feel so sad right now.

The blacksmith returned with a number of items in his hands. Now we're talking. What do we have here? Now that is a good looking bow. Despite not being coated with gold or silver, but it had a beautiful wooden finish and design with a thicker string that looked it packs a punch. What else? Some cloaks, daggers and short sword among the other things that I can see.

I passed the bow to Lily for her to try out. She hesitated and shook her head as she knew that it is going to be expensive from looking at it. I shoved the bow to her and proceeded to check for a cloak and perhaps a short sword for me.

Hm, leather cloak, another leather cloak, why is all of these leather cloak? I'm sure I can wear something a little stronger or better than leather, right?

"Hey smithy, these are all leather cloaks. Got anything with more protection that I can wear? I asked him.

He put on a thinking face and gave some thoughts. A light bulb appeared above his head and he went to the back to grab something again. I continued to browse the items that he had brought out earlier. Oh hey, that is a nice looking dagger. Looks kind of elvish in nature.

"Hey Lily, come take a look at this," I called Lily over.

"What is it? W— what is this doing here? Elven weaponry are not supposed to be on sale. No less inside a human's shop!" Lily was surprised and raised her voice as though she was angry when I showed her the dagger.

"Hey hey.. some elf sold it ta me a few years ago. Sayin' sumthin about needin' money ta go somewhere. I took pity on da fella and decided ta buy it from im. Yer can't blame me fer helpin' an elf in need, can ya?" explained the blacksmith as the came back holding a black cloak which he handed it to me.

"How's it? Suits ya nicely, ain't it?" he asked as he awaited my reaction.

I inspected the cloak before putting it on. It has a silky texture but there was some weight to it. Not too heavy but not too light either. I pressed my fingers onto the silk. Woah, there are chains woven together hidden underneath the silk. Is this some sort of chainmail hidden as a cloak?

"Individual chains hidden beneath the silk. Very interesting indeed. What's the story behind this cloak?" I asked the blacksmith. I was certain that someone else made it rather than the blacksmith himself.

"Diz here is ma masterpiece. Individual carbon steel chains woven together tightly and wrapped with the best silks available in this city. This sucka' will easily stop a direct stab or a slice from a sword. Will still hurt ya though but at least ya won't be bleedin'. And probably less effective in blocking a direct strike from a two-handed weapon, so ya still need ta be really careful against large weapons," he explained.

Okay, guess I was wrong about him making it. But I am certainly liking what I am hearing so far.

"What about this elven dagger? Is it up for sale?" I asked the blacksmith while ignoring Lily. I really like this dagger.

"It is, which I why I brought it out since ya looked like ya can afford it. Won't be cheap though," he shrugged.

I unsheathed the dagger. Should I really call it a dagger honestly? It is longer than a standard knife and almost the length of a short sword. It has beautiful design with yellow hilt and scabbard. It is light-weighted albeit not as light as Inazuma which is perfect for me. I can definitely see myself using this dagger, would love it to be my sidearm.

"Are you really planning on buying that?" Lily came up and asked behind me. I turned to looked at her as I held the dagger. I don't feel like letting this go.

"May I? I won't buy it if you're uncomfortable with me using it or if it goes against your culture," I asked her.

Obviously that was a lie. I really wanted this dagger. I showed her a sad face which thankfully worked in my favour.

"Alright fine, you can buy it. At least it's better in your hands than being kept in a human's workshop. You have my permission," said Lily as she made a sad smile. Alright, she caved. Heh heh.

"How much for all of these, mister?" I asked the blacksmith.

"Hm, let's see. The bow, cloak and dagger.. 2 gold and 20 silver coins. It is ma best offer including discounts seeing as ya bought so many items so far," he said with a smile.

"In that case, equip my other friend here with a weapon to make it a solid 3 gold coins. I am in a spending mood today," I smiled back to the smithy.

He seemed delighted to hear it as he walked towards John who had been browsing the shop looking for a weapon.

"Wait, hold up. You're paying for my bow? No way. I never agreed to that, Zen. I am paying for my own bow," Lily pestered me.

"Nonsense, you paid for everything thus far. It is only fair that I, at the very least, pay for your bow. Consider this as thanks for helping me. Just think nothing of it," I told her.

"What do you mean nothing? This composite bow costs a lot! It would cost at least 10 silver coins at the bare minimum. I am not letting you pay for it, Zen. Uh-uh," she raised her head and crossed her arms.

She can be real stubborn sometimes. Cute, but stubborn. Now, how can persuade her. Hmm, I guess I should let my instinct take over. I placed my index finger on her lips. She was taken aback by my sudden actions and she started blushing a little.

"Lily, you had done so much for me and I deeply appreciate it. At least allow me to return the favour and get you something as thanks. Consider it a gift for everything you had done and for allowing me to purchase this dagger, alright?" I lifted my finger away.

She quickly turned her head to the side with her ears turning red. I noticed she placed her hand on her chest as well. Is she alright?

"Heya kid, top-up dis here axe fer ya red-haired friend and dis short sword fer ta lovely lady and we'll call it even. Deal?" asked the smithy.

"You got yourself a deal, mister!" I replied as I passed the gold coins towards him. Lily was shocked by the sudden additional short sword for her.

The blacksmith brought the axe over to the counter which made me looked twice.

"Uh, John? Are you sure you can wield this? It looks pretty big to me," I stared at John with wide eyes.

It is an adult sized double-headed axe. It would be very awkward to see a kid holding an adult sized axe and swinging it around during combat.

"What do you mean? I can even wield it one-handed, see?" John lifted the axe with ease. What the blazes? Is this guy superman or something?!

"Hoo— yer family's bloodline iz strength-based, eh? Ya should join da Viking Guild then! They value strength over anything else over there!" laughed the blacksmith.

"Yeah that was what I had in mind! You think I can succeed in joining the Viking Guild?!" asked John with an excited tone.

The both of them appeared to hit things off and started chatting about the test and requirements for the Viking guild, among other things.

"Yer'll be fine! Just show off yer strength in front of em and they'll be beggin' ya to join! Hahahaha!" laughed the blacksmith.

While John and the blacksmith continued their conversation, Lily suddenly nudged me from behind. Seems like she wants me to follow her? But where to? We went behind one of the shelfs that was displaying some armours. What is going on? Ouch. Did she just hit me on my head?

***

This guy— this guy this guy. I was trying my hardest to get over him and yet here he is making my heart flutter like crazy. He even placed his finger on my lips earlier and smiled gently at me. What was he thinking?! Is he trying to give me a heart attack or something? Geez! My heart had been beating non-stop ever since!

Not to mention he just bought a composite bow and an extra short sword? The composite bow on its own was already expensive enough and he just paid for me. Flaunting around his wealth, is he? Gosh!

John and the blacksmith suddenly started chatting away non-stop after John showed his strength to him. Now is my chance to talk with Zen. I need to give him a piece of my mind. Alright, seems like we are hidden enough from those two.

Damn it! Why are you tilting your head all of a sudden?! You look way too cute now! Argh, that does it. Let me give him a light punch to the head for making me all flustered right now. He seems confused by my punch. Good, that's for toying with my heart. Ugh, it is still beating so hard that I can practically hear it. I hope my ears are not burning red now.

Oh shoot, I need an excuse for dragging him over here. Umm.. um… oh right. I can use that as an excuse.

"Zen, in order for you to use that dagger, there is a custom which we elves perform before we pass it to another person. We will need to perform the weapon transfer process before you can use your dagger to its full potential. The weapon needs to know that it is being transferred to a new master, which is you. Now, close your eyes please," I told him.

Can I even do this properly? My heart is still fluttering like crazy right now.

***

Alright, my eyes are closed. What's gonna happen now? Huh? Did she just grabbed my hands? What is going on?

I decided to take a quick peek. Her face was directly in front of me. Our foreheads were touching and the dagger was held in between our hands. If I were to move my head forward, I might accidentally— kiss her. She started chanting something. Probably some elven language that I never heard before. Woah— the dagger is shining! I better keep my eyes shut now.

Some moments later, it would seemed that the custom is done. She pulled her head and hands back immediately the moment it was done after. When I opened my eyes, she had turned her back towards me. Now that was something else. My heart is still beating loudly even now. I thought she was going to kiss me when she moved her face so close to mine. What was I even thinking?

John was still talking to the blacksmith. They seemed to had hit it off extremely well.

"Shall we go? We still have to visit the townhouse today," I explained to John who seem to have forgotten about it. He gasped and started running out of the shop while grabbing his new axe and waved goodbye to the blacksmith. Lily and I waved to the smithy too before we left the store. Farewell you dwarf looking human.

"Thanks for the axe, Zen. I will repay both of you someday. So, shall we head straight to the townhouse?" asked John with a grin on his face. His eyes were practically sparkling right now. I guess the blacksmith had buttered him up nicely.

"Sure, I hope there is a bank on the way for me to change my coins first," I told him.

"Um, Zen? The bank is right over there," Lily pointed her finger.

Well what do you know, it is just right by the side of the blacksmith shop. Probably expecting people to withdraw money to spend on weapons and armours. How sneaky.

I decided to change 4 of my gold coins into a mix of silver and copper coins, all the while having the receptionist glancing suspiciously at me when I showed her the gold coins. What is wrong that I have gold coins with me? I'm not rich, my grandfather is.

Counting my remaining coins, I still have four gold coins with me. Useful on a rainy day. Not to mention grandfather had left me with some extra coins at home. You're wondering why I am not afraid that people might steal it? Nah. In the first place, it's called the forbidden forest for a reason. Second, it is hidden somewhere you least expect it. Is it above the ceiling? Nope. Under the floorboards perhaps? Nada. It is actually hidden under a tree outside where we had covered the hole leaving no evidence that it had ever been dug.

Alright, coins changed. Let us proceed to the townhouse. Enough distractions for today and it's about time we choose a guild for real. As we walked towards the city centre, I noticed that there were completely no stores along the side of the street. You would think that people will be selling their goods right out in the open. Is there some sort of event or festival that is preventing them from opening?

We reached the townhouse by evening time. Glad that it's still opened. It resembled a church from the outside. Perhaps it's to show people that younglings are getting blessed from their knowledge to become better adults.

As we headed in, we were greeted by a receptionist who was waving at us. I decided to look around first while John and Lily headed towards the receptionist. There were quite a number of kids similar to our age talking to other receptionists. I guess this receptionist happened to be free which is why she was willing to call out to us directly.

"Well, hello there. Are you three applying to join a guild? Now, let me clarify first before we start. You can join any guild you like but that does not mean that the guild is willing to accept you. Our job here is to narrow down your selections so as to improve your chances in getting selected with guilds that complements your stats. Are we clear on that?" the receptionist asked us.

The three of us nodded our heads in unison.

"Alright, before I begin, each of you take this scroll and blow on it. Go on, don't be shy. Everyone does the same when they have to check their stats," explained the receptionist.

Knowing our stats just by blowing onto this? Really?

"WOO HOO!!"

I turned my head towards whoever shouted that. It was John. He seemed to be jumping for joy and showed his scroll to the receptionist with sparkling eyes.

"I can join the Viking guild with this, right? RIGHT?!" he asked with eager anticipation.

The receptionist was taken aback by his enthusiasm and smiled awkwardly. She gestured John to wait for the both of us before she explained further. Oh well, here goes nothing.

FUUUU!

Huh. Not bad, I guess? My stats aren't too shabby. I took a peek at Lily's scroll. What the? Her stats are even better than mine!

Zen

Strength - 15

Skill - 10

Agility - 20

Constitution - 10

Lily

Strength - 13

Skill - 20

Agility - 15

Constitution - 15

I hid my scroll underneath my cloak quickly. I glanced at Lily who appeared to be chuckling. She definitely saw mine. Geez, how embarrassing. What is the point of doing all those vigorous training with grandfather when my stats are still so weak?! Sigh.

I handed my scroll to the receptionist where she studied our scrolls. Then she began with her explanation about what each stats meant. Let me summarise for all of you. Strength is the most important stats you need. It determines your attack power and ability to wield heavier items. Skill are sort of useful but the adventurers in this continent rarely utilises skill stats in combat with the exception of the Elemental guild. Agility on the other hand determines your movement speed including your reaction speed while constitution is sort of like your health and resistance towards the types of damage you receive. I guess this means that I will die before Lily then. Goodbye world.

Next, she explained about the 5 guilds that are available in the city. There are the Dark, Light, Dragon, Viking and Elemental guild. Everyone will start out as a warrior no matter which guild they joined. Then the ranking is as follows.

Dark Guild

Swordsman > Fighter > Shadow Knight > Dark Knight [Dark Lord Guildmaster]

Light Guild

Paige > Crusader > Templar > Paladin [Paladin Lord Guildmaster]

Dragon Guild

Spearman > Lancer > Dragon Warrior > Dragon Knight [Dragon Lord Guildmaster]

Viking Guild

Axeman > Great Axeman > Twin Axe > Great Viking [Viking Lord Guildmaster]

Elemental Guild

Trainer > Fire Warrior > Shock Trooper > Blitz Knight [Elementalist Guildmaster]

She continued in explaining about what each guild is specialised in. Dark guild focuses on instilling fear and de-buffing their enemies with spells. Light guild, on the other hand, focuses on buffing your allies and yourself. Dragon guild focuses on utilising range attacks with their spears or halberds combined with their athletic abilities. Viking guild favours strength and uses axes majority of the time. Elemental guild is more of a specialised guild that focuses on using elemental damage such as fire or electric. Hence, the reason why many people are not qualified to join this guild is due to the controversy of those spells. Based on this, she returned our scroll to us with a stamp at the bottom, signifying which guild suits us more based on our stats.

Zen > Dark or Light guild

Lily > Elemental guild

John > Viking guild

I took a quick peek at John's scroll to see what is his stats distribution are. Oh my lord, his stats favours strength heavily. No wonder he is fit to join the Viking guild.

Strength - 30

Skill - 5

Agility - 5

Constitution - 20

"So, are you satisfied with our explanation?" asked the receptionist.

"I'm— qualified to join the Elemental guild? What are my chances of succeeding in joining this guild? I thought it was a specialised guild?" asked Lily. I was surprised as well that she was recommended to join the Elemental guild over the others.

"Your skill stats are certainly high enough to join the Elemental guild. Elves are generally skilled beings since they practice using bow, throwing spears or daggers when they were young. All three items requires some level of skill to use properly. Which is why your skill stats are so high. However, you will need to be discipline in using your spells. Many houses were destroyed in the past due to some of the members playing with their fire spells. Due to this, the guild decided to impose a strict requirement in order to join them," she explained to Lily with a smile.

Lily seemed to be contemplating on whether it is a good idea to join the Elemental guild.

"Excuse me, you gave me an option. Does this mean I can choose either of these two guilds? Do I need to make a decision now?" I asked the receptionist.

"You can decide whichever you wish to join later. Just head over to the guild that you had chosen and pass them the scroll. They will check your stats along with our recommendation stamp," she smiled.

Guess what Rick said was true. I am suitable for these two guilds. Oh well, sorry about that Luke, Darth Vader calls for me. Heh heh.

We gave our thanks and bid farewell to the receptionist lady. Lily was quiet after she was recommended to join the Elemental guild. She must still be contemplating on whether she should join the Elemental guild. Is there a reason as to why she doesn't want to join the Elemental guild?

"Are you alright, Lily? You seems to be awfully quiet," I asked her.

"Yeah, you don't seemed to be interested in joining the Elemental guild, I take it?" John asked her too.

She kept quiet. Is she crying?

"If— if we joined our respective guilds— we won't be able to see each other much, won't we? I don't want us to separate when we had just met with each other," she sniffled. Ok, she is really crying.

"W— we can still meet up every once in a while. The 'Sleeping Daisies' will always be there. We'll meet there every now and then to talk about our adventures. Won't we, John?" I poked John with my elbow.

"Oh definitely! This is not goodbye at all, Lily. We will still be meeting each other often. Then we will have plenty of stories to talk about. Don't worry, our friendship will always stay strong!" said John as he petted Lily's head.

She pushed his hand away after a few pats.

"Hmph! I'm going to be stronger than the both of you the next time we meet. Then I'll tell you all about my grand adventures," she said while folding her arms.

There were still a bit of tears at the edges of her eyes but at least she was smiling now. Great, I never knew what to do to comfort women when they starts to cry, aside from being completely silent. Lily is literally the first female that I had ever interacted in my life.

"You're on!" shouted John as he flexed his arm.

Lily held out her pinkie and we responded to her pinkie swear. The three of us made a promise to be friends forever and meet often to talk about our adventures. Sadly, the latter did not come true.

We headed back to the tavern as it was nighttime now. Another night of lounging and dinner at the 'Sleeping Daisies' it is. Rick was here as he promised. I informed him that I will be taking the test to join the Dark guild tomorrow. He cheered happily and seemed eager to see me in action for the test.

Our meals arrived and the three of us sat at a table together. We shared a drink to signify our friendship and soon after, retired to our respective rooms which I paid for this round. It was a tiring day today.

As we made ourselves comfortable in our room, I called out to Q in hopes that he can hear me. I was genuinely surprised when he poked his head out of the ground. I did my best to explain to him about what happened to grandfather. Seemingly understanding every word I just told him, he started crying as though he knew that grandfather might no longer be in this world. I hugged and comforted him; telling him that he can continue with his duty by serving me instead. Seemingly cheered up a little, he burrowed away; not before making a "kew" noise as though he agreed to serve me.

I had always wondered, if John or Lily happened to saw me talking to Q, would they think I've lost it? Not to mention I was comforting him when I was feeling sad myself. It would certainly be awkward to explain to them about Q's intelligence.

Before heading to bed, I thought that I should perform some meditation to sort out my troubled feelings. Grandfather always told me that having a clear mind before bed helps with your sleep, which in turn makes you more effective in combat.

"Finally decided to clear your mind, I see," said a figure in front of me.

Huh? Who is this? Or more like, why is everything white? Did I fell asleep?

"I understand that you are confused. After all, this is our first time meeting each other," he continued.

Oh, it's the blurry looking horse that I saw the other night. Hang on, is it even a horse? It has a horn.

"Are you— a unicorn?" I asked curiously.

"H— how dare you! I am Kirin! Not some western mythical being that shoots rainbow from the rear!" scolded Kirin.

His voice rumbled the entire world that I am residing in now. I immediately sat on the floor seiza style.

"I am sorry, please forgive me," I apologised and bowed my head to Kirin.

The world suddenly changed to a grassland and I ended up kissing dirt as I was bowing to him. It was but grassland which can be seen for miles. Is this world created by Kirin?

"More importantly, you lost control, boy! You allowed your bloodlust to consumed your mind!" he shouted.

Gah! This horse is scolding me right in front of my face! Stop shaking this world any further!

"B— bloodlust? Is that what everyone was talking about?" I asked him.

"Hmph. You are still too young to be using State of Mind effectively. You need to more experience before you start using it. However, you should not be using Bloodlust if you wish to wield me. I favour a calmness over the destructive path. You must learn to control your emotions from now on. Do not forget this," he explained to me with a puff from his nose.

Is it just me, or is this Kirin acting like a Tsundere?

"Wield you? Are you inside Inazuma? You, who is a mythical being is living inside my kodachi now?" I asked him with genuine curiosity. I thought it was just a plain kodachi in the first place.

"I am Inazuma. And I am a Celestial Being. What you are wielding is a legendary weapon. I came to this world in hopes of seeing what it have to offer. I decided to become a weapon to see whether there was any worthy being capable of wielding me. Your father, was the first and he wielded me effectively. He was a genius. Capable of achieving greatness before he fell at the hands of the Demon King," he explained. I detected a hint of sadness in his voice. Is he sad that my father died?

"Can you tell me more about my father? I barely knew him. He was a Hawthorn, right?" I asked him. Kirin might be my only chance of getting answers about my parents.

"I wish I can tell you more but time is short. Your basic meditation only granted you a short amount of time to talk to me. You need to improve yourself in controlling your mind, only then you'll be able to speak more to me," said Kirin as he started fading away.

"Hey wait! I am not done yet.....," I shouted but everything was starting to fade white.

***

I opened my eyes abruptly. I glanced at Inazuma and decided to poke it. Is it going to zap me? I guess not.

Dawn was approaching. Seeing that it was pointless to fall back asleep, I decided to perform some basic exercise and sword training. I decided to use the elven dagger for my sword training as Inazuma practically weigh close to nothing. I swung the dagger to test the weight. Not bad at all. I am starting to like this dagger even more now.

After I was done with my training followed by a quick bath, I knocked on John and Lily's room, telling them to meet me downstairs for breakfast. We will be going our separate ways to our respective guilds after this to take our test. We gave our last 'kanpai' and headed out. Lily bowed to both of us which we gladly returned. She suddenly rushed towards me and gave me a hug. I was stunned that she was daring enough to hug me in public but I understood her feelings. I petted her head and told her that everything is going to be alright. She smiled and gave a light bow once again before proceeding to her guild.

Alright, time to head out. To the Dark guild it is. I am going to hold back in visiting the Elemental guild to search for the Elementalist. I doubt he will even bother to see me as I had not made any name for myself. A little fame is all I need to ensure that I can meet him.

It was not long until I reached the guild. I stood in front of a huge dark coloured building that can perhaps fit thousands of people. Definitely Dark guild material with that colour scheme. Hopefully, I will have a room of my own *fingers crossed.

I knocked on the main door and peeked in. There was a receptionist waiting to greet anyone who comes in. I greeted her with a smile and handed her my scroll as per the townhouse receptionist's advice. She opened and read the contents.

"Are you sure you wish to join the Dark guild instead of the Light? You have an option to choose here," she smiled.

"Yes, I am sure. Please let me join your guild," I bowed to her. She continued to smile at me.

"With your word, I will process your application. Please wait here while I submit your application and inform the Guildmaster," she gestured me to sit down. I guess there are paperworks to be done before my test.

After waiting for a time, she came back and gestured me to follow her. We passed through an area that looked like a cafeteria of some sort. I guess there is a kitchen here for members to eat. As we headed further in, we came to a stop at a small open arena. This must be where I will be taking my test.

"Do you wish to change your clothing before taking the test? Your cloak is not allowed but your dougi is fine," she informed me.

"What about my weapons? Am I allowed to use them?" I asked her.

"You will be using a wooden sword. But if possible, try to avoid hitting your opponent badly. The Dark Lord favours those who can control their strength over beating their opponents excessively," she explained to me.

"Alright then. I'll just put my weapons at the side here? I'll remove my cloak too," I said to her.

"You can just pass them to me. I'll hold onto them until your test is done," she smiled.

I passed my cloak and weapons to her and headed into the arena where Rick greeted me on the way in.

"Yo, give it your best. I will be watching you," he said while tapping my shoulder. Now that is some minor encouragement there.

I continued into the arena. It was not grand per se. I can see that it is mainly used for training purposes. Not a lot of people watching which I am grateful for. But what stood out the most is the glare coming from someone sitting above the arena. That must be the Dark Lord. He certainly lives up to his title, alright. Black armour, check. Dark glare, check. Evil aura, triple check!

I stood alone in the arena as I waited for an instruction. A moment later, someone came out holding two wooden swords. He was wearing training clothings. He tossed one of the wooden sword at me which I managed to grab skilfully. Not a moment later, I heard the word "Begin" coming from above.

***

Rick's perspective

I am so glad that Zen had decided to join us. I can see that he has potential to be strong. I've even spoken to the Dark Lord earlier telling him that a special kid will be joining us soon. I hope my expectations does not fail me. Otherwise I'll be in trouble for sure. The Dark Lord will be giving me terrible jobs for the next few months if Zen ended up failing the test!

Oh, he's here. I hope I look cool when I gave him some encouragements earlier. That should persuade him to fight harder. Well well, this guy will be fighting him, eh? Heard he is the strongest rookie we have this year. He is at the rank of Swordsman and is ready to become Fighter rank soon. I wonder how will Zen fare in sparring with him? Ain't no shame in losing though. The Dark Lord pays attention to many other aspects rather than just winning or losing.

Huh? What the hell just happened? The strongest rookie is flat on the ground now? When did Zen even hit him? A referee went up to check on the rookie. I guess he is out cold. Woah, that is— amazing. I'm a Shadow Knight and I can barely saw what happened earlier.

"Next" said the Dark Lord.

Seems like he wants to test Zen's potential even further. Wait a minute, this guy is a Fighter rank! Is the Dark Lord seriously asking a Fighter rank to spar with a newbie? For real? Next thing you know….

Pap!

The fighter rank fell to the ground. What the— hell is going on? Did Zen just seriously defeated a Fighter rank with just a strike? The whole arena was dead silent as the members figures out what just happened. This boy is crazy!

The Dark Lord seemed to be contemplating on what to do next. Surely the Dark Lord is not stupid enough to— "Rick, how about you head in?"