Chương 42: 1.2.20 - It's Mister, Actually

I pushed on the big wooden doors to enter the guild hall. The smell of cheap beer was the first thing I smelled, followed by faint woodsmoke and oiled leather.

"Great, smells just like the bar near my old apartment" I took in the guild hall in its entirety. Heavy oak tables with mismatched chairs in the middle, a fireplace by the back wall — unlit for now, and a bar with wooden counter tops along the left wall. The bar keep was not around this early in the morning. The right side held a reception counter, with who I presumed was a receptionist standing behind it. She had short dark brown hair and looked to be about my height, if not slightly taller.

Further along the right wall was a board with all sorts of paper pinned to it. Ah that must be the good ol' mission board. This early in the morning, there were only a few people around lounging at the tables in the middle, and a few looking through the mission board. I walked towards the reception counter, the receptionist looking up as I approached. My heart started to beat faster, afraid that my cover would be blown.

"Hi, is this the reception?" my voice came out higher pitched than normal due to my nervousness. FUCK! What a dumb question to ask, no shit Sherlock. I chastised myself at that rookie mistake. It was a good thing I was wearing a mask so no one could see the face of agony I was making.

"Yes Miss. How can I help you?" the receptionist perked up at my question. What? Did she just call me a Miss.

"Uhh-hmm" I cleared my throat, trying to deepen my voice a little.

"It's Mister, actually. I would like to register as an adventurer" I said while trying not to sound like a nervous wreck. Dammit, why didn't my voice grow like my height.

"Ah of course, it's a fee of one small silver to start the registration. We'll need to do some tests, and if you pass then we'll take some time to process the application and prepare your adventurer plaque." the lady explained with a smile.

"And if I fail?" I asked.

"The fee is non-refundable. It's to discourage everyone from just attempting the test when they don't have the right skills."

"Alright, here's one silver" I placed the coin on the counter.

"Thank you" she swiped the coin behind the counter.

"Before we begin, are you familiar with the guild rankings?" I probably left a bit too fast in my eagerness, should have grilled Garrick more.

"No, do you mind explaining?"

"Of course not. The ranks starting from lowest to highest are Bronze, Steel, Silver, Gold, and Mithril. Each rank roughly corresponds with the combat strength of a corresponding grade of a mage's mana core. Bronze being Orange and so on." I was tempted to ask what comes after Yellow but I didn't want to sound stupid and I had a hunch based on all those books I read. I just nodded my head.

"Of course that's not always the case. There are cases where mages of a lower grade are able to achieve a higher rank if they have exceptional combat strength. And vice versa, if a high grade mage has poor combat strength, they won't automatically be granted the guild rank. There will be a combat assessment before each rank up."

"Why are the assessments primarily based on combat?" I couldn't help but ask.

"That's because most missions issued by the guild involve some sort of danger, even if the task itself is not combat oriented. We want to prevent unnecessary deaths if possible, though it is not always avoidable." the receptionist was kind enough to explain but I swear I could see a vein popping up by her forehead. I decided to keep my questions for later.

"Last thing. Everyone starts with the Bronze rank, even if you have higher than required combat strength for Steel. You'll need to prove you're trustworthy by accumulating enough merit through missions of the appropriate rank. Now if there's nothing else, please follow me" she stepped out from behind the counter and led me through a corridor, and then down the stairs into the basement.

I did not realize this building had a basement as it was not apparent from the outside — but I supposed that it was only logical as I did not see enough room to do any tests in the guild hall above. The basement was deeper than I had expected, enough room for a tall man to jump and not hit his head. In the middle of the basement was a simple sparring pit made from packed dirt and sand. There were benches placed around the perimeter, with oil lamps mounted with brass reflectors.

There were only two lamps lit at the moment. The receptionist asked for a moment as she went about lighting another few lamps so that it would be bright enough for us to see clearly.

"Before we begin, let me explain how the test would work. The assessment will consist of four components. You just need to pass two, as we do recognize that different affinities specialize in different aspects. Of course the more the better, and you can try all four if there aren't any two you're confident in" I nodded in anticipation.

"One thing I would like to add, ours is a small branch so our testing methods are limited. Some tests might seem unfair depending on the affinity you have" she further explained.

"The test will involve testing your Offense, Defense, Detection, and Mobility" the receptionist said it like a rehearsed speech. Probably said this exact same explanation hundreds of time before.

"Offense will require you to destroy a target which we'll prepare. Defense will require you to block an attack which we'll fire at you. I suggest you skip this one unless your affinity is suited for it. Detection will require you to evade 10 balls which I'll throw at you while blindfolded. And Mobility will require you to dash across the sparring pit in less time than it takes for the ball to fall to the ground when I throw it to the ceiling." I looked at the sparring pit that looked to be almost 20 meters across.

"Now which one would you like to do first?" she asked with a gleam in her eyes. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"Can I take a moment to think it through?"

"Sure, but don't take too long" Ok, Defense is definitely out. It said I can't avoid. Offense is preferably the last option as that would give away my affinity immediately - Ah but if the mana signature device also captures element then it doesn't matter. I guess that can be my back up. Which leaves me Detection and Mobility"Can I go with Mobility and Detection first?" I said after a while"Oh sure, interesting choice though.

Most people usually go with Offense as most people always seemed to be overconfident in that" she chuckled, probably at all those people who had failed it.

"Ok please walk to the left end of the pit. You can only start running once I throw the ball, and you need to reach the other end before it drops to the floor. Watching for the ball is part of the test as well, since it's meant to test your reflexes and your ability to run from danger" I got into position and watched her right hand. However, I suddenly saw a ball flying up from behind her back. That sneaky girl, she hid her left hand and threw it from behind her.

Bet she caught many people unaware with that I activated Lightning Infusion and burst forward, my feet slipping a little on the loose dirt but shooting forward the moment the dirt compressed beneath my shoes. I made it to the other end in two short bursts, the ball halfway down its descent by the time I arrived.

"Very good! Most people get caught unaware and fail to react. You pass the Mobility test!" she clapped, though it felt more like she was mocking me.

"Err, thanks? Can we get started on the Detection test?" I asked. She went to a corner and took out a basket filled with hacky sacks.

"Sure, let's start. Put on this blindfold" she took a piece of cloth out from her pocket and handed it to me. I cast my Electrolocation spell but kept the automated movement in my instructions list off. I still could not fully trust it yet and I wanted to be able to react to any surprises she might throw at me. My current range was about 10 meters and she stood outside the sparring pit, which was outside my current range.

The moment I had my blindfold on over my mask, I could see one of the hacky sacks enter my spell range, flying straight at my face. I tilted my head to one side and barely dodged it. The receptionist let out a low whistle "Impressive. You dodged that." I was beginning to think the receptionist was not just a simple receptionist. Was this one of those where the receptionist was secretly the guild master of the branch? But she's way too young.

I did not have time to linger on that thought as more hacky sacks started flying at me. Some I could dodge regularly but there was one that came too fast and I had to use Lightning Infusion to dodge to my right. The hacky sacks suddenly stopped. I was sure I only counted eight, maybe this was one of her tricks to catch me off guard like the Mobility test earlier. Suddenly a hacky sack flew at me at much higher speed towards my left shoulder. I had to use Lightning Infusion to dodge right again.

Mid motion, I saw a hacky sack appear to my right, flying straight at my body. Shit, I am jumping right at it! THWACK The hacky sack hit my ribs and fell to the ground.

"You favor your right you know." I heard her explain out of nowhere. I took off my blindfold and she was standing in front of me again. Huh, how did she get there that fast? I was expecting her to stand where the last hacky sack came from.

"What? How did you...?" I was baffled.

"And with that you failed the Detection test. Do you want to take the Offense test still or would you like to try again some other time?" she said in a mocking tone.

"I'll take the Offense test." I said through gritted teeth. I was annoyed at this point and I felt that she was definitely making it harder for me — though she could not see it as my face was hidden by the mask. She left without a word and went to a side area to wheel out what seemed like a training dummy with some armor put on it. It was mostly leather with some metal plates placed on some vital spots. She wheeled it to the middle and placed it there.

"You just have to destroy the target with one spell" I looked at the target suspiciously. This was a test of Orange cored mages? I doubt most mages with a common affinity could destroy this target with a single cast.

"How much time do I have to prepare?" I asked, trying to figure out what the trick was this time.

"Take as much time as you need. No tricks this time, I promise" she smiled. I was quite annoyed at this point, and charged up a Lightning Bolt spell before promptly firing it at the training dummy. CRACK The lightning arced across the sparring pit and struck the dummy, blowing the leather armor apart and setting part of the wood on fire. I looked at the receptionist, waiting for her assessment. Her eyes were bulging wide and if she was made of rubber like Luffy, her jaw would be on the floor.

She clearly did not expect that to happen.

"Well?"

"Uhh hmm. Yes, you pass. If you would follow me back upstairs" she quickly corrected her expression, turning to head upstairs.

"Errm, shouldn't we put out the fire?" I asked out of concern. The building was made of stone but the floor and roofing were still made of wood.

"Oh yes right, we should" she was clearly rattled by my last spell. We scooped some sand from the sparring pit to put out the fire and headed upstairs. Once we were back to the reception counter, she took out a heavy stone device with half an orb attached to it. I could see some runes etched into it, inlaid with what seemed to be gold.

"We'll also need to take your mana signature for making your guild plaque" I looked at it suspiciously, while she had already known what my affinity was from the last test, the device still reminded me of the evaluation orb the Royal Inspector used. I promptly placed my right hand on it, feeling it pull on the mana from my core. I didn't fight it this time and let it take some mana before the sensation faded. Some runes on the rectangular part of the slab lit up and the receptionist took down some notes.

"I'll also need a name" Ah crap, I hadn't thought about that!

"Damian" I blurted out quickly, deciding that if I took too long it would seem suspicious.

"Any household name? Clan name?" she added.

"Just Damian" she scribbled it down.

"And where do you hail from Damian?" Ah yes, Garrick at least told me about this.

"High Moors" I said confidently. Her quill stilled when she heard what I said.

"High Moors you say..." It was only a moment and she continued writing into some parchment.

"Yes, is there a problem?" I asked, worried that I might have blown my cover.

"No problem at all. Come back in a week's time. We just need to do some paperwork and we'll have your plaque ready" the lady said with a smile.

"That long huh?! I guess I can make some preparations. I'll come back in a week then" I said, glad to be done with it. Though I still think that she was intentionally making my test that hard. Sennika POV Sennika placed down the parchment after the young man in the mask left. In truth, the normal test only required the applicant to destroy a wooden block to pass the test. She had intentionally added a few more tests and made it especially difficult.

When he had walked into the guild hall earlier, everything about him felt wrong. The young man had muscles as if he had years of training or combat experience. However, his gait and the way he carried himself were all wrong, it was as if he had no training at all — his voice also sounded way too young. Her instincts though were telling her something else, that this young man was dangerous. She thought maybe he was some rookie agent and came with bad intentions.

She intentionally added a few more tests and made the assessment especially difficult. True enough, his last offensive spell was very destructive. The most suspicious was the name he used, and claiming he was from High Moors.

"If it was anyone else it might have worked. Unluckily for you, guild master is from there and that's not a High Moorian name. I'll need to bring this to him" She gathered her notes and headed upstairs. Author Note: This is the work of Josh Shoniix. This work of fiction will only be published on Royal Road and Space Battle for free. If you're reading this on another site or paid through Google Books, this work has been stolen.