Imposing white marble pillars and thick concrete walls tower over the neighboring structures. A three story building, twice as wide as it is tall, stands as one of the most important structures in the city. Not only was this the home base of the local hunters, it was also a vital trading post for merchants. This was the hunters guild.
In front of the guildhall were three young teens, two boys and one girl. The first boy was dressed in a worn commoners' garb with an odd piece of cloth wrapped around the top of his head, while the other two wore typical novice hunter's gear.
"Here we are! The towns guildhall." Lance stands in front of the large hardwood doors. "Let me show you around."
He starts walking backwards as he talks, obviously trying to show off to Reid, when the door suddenly swings open.
"Oof." Lance grunts as he gets knocked to the floor. He turns his head to see an enormous bulk of a man standing over him. His face goes pale.
"Hmmm? Ohhh…" The large man speaks in a slow deep voice. "Sorry, I didn't see you there." The man reaches down and grabs the boy, easily picking him up and putting him back on his feet as if he were a teddy bear. "You alright?"
Lance tried his best to respond, but was too scared to speak up. Thankfully Anna was ready to cover for him.
"He's fine, the idiot just wasn't looking where he was going."
"Oh okay, well best of luck in there. Make sure you kids don't push yourselves too hard." The gentle giant begins to walk away when Reid notices a silver plate, about the size of a playing card, hanging from his neck.
"Huh?" Reid says with curiosity. "That thing hanging off of his necklace was the same as your guild card's, right?"
"Yep." Anna answers cheerfully.
"How come his is silver while yours are blue?"
"Oh, that's because of his rank. G to E rank hunters get blue cards, D's get bronze, C's get silver, B's get gold, and A's get platinum. I don't really know what the top ranked hunters get though, sorry."
"Oh, no worries. That's good to know though."
"Hey hey, stop with the boring explanations and let's go inside already." Lance's impatience gets the best of him as he holds the door open, ushering them inside.
"Alright, let's go in before he starts whining." Anna grabs Reid's hand and pulls him inside.
The orderly lines of hunters and merchants on the right side of the room draw a sharp contrast to the rustic decorations. On the left, groups sat around tables dressed in everything from heavy plate armor to thin robes. The variety of weapons carried by these hunters was vast, from warhammers to swords and shields, to bows and arrows. What was most surprising about the hunters was their general disposition.
"Wow, I didn't expect everyone to look so… friendly." Reid says in shock.
The smiling faces and happy attitudes were nothing like what he imagined for a hunter's guild. In his mind, he expected rough and tough hunters sipping on ale, shouting, and getting into fights. At least that was what he was always told. He was, after all, raised in an upper-class home where they looked down on professions that required physical labor; guards, hunters, and soldiers included.
"Of course, this is Alcacia after all. It's a city for merchants. The guildmaster here is really strict on hunters maintaining proper manners so they can bring in more business. What were you expecting, the mercenary's guild?" Anna jokes.
"That's true." He answered calmly, but he felt a chill run down his spine at the mention of the mercenary's guild.
There were three separate lines in front of them, one to the left for merchants, one in the middle for quest turn in, and one on the right for accepting quests as well as any other general paperwork. Anna quickly brought the group to the line on the right and after a few minutes they were finally in front of the counter.
"Hello! Welcome to the hunter's guild. How may I help you today?" A kind woman with brown hair and thick rimmed glasses spoke to them from behind the counter.
"Good morning Lilly! We're here to register our friend as an adventurer." Lance answers in the happiest tone Reid had ever heard from him.
"Hold on, I thought we were just showing him the guild today? He just got the book last night, he can't be ready for the test yet." Anna retorts quickly.
"I-I think I should be fine. I stayed up late and read the portion that would be on the test." Reid says, surprising the girl.
"If you want to register with us that's fine. There is no fee to apply, you only have to pay if you actually complete the registration. In other words it won't cost you anything to give it a try." The receptionist shows her expertise as she easily navigates their troubles.
"If there's no penalty then you'll definitely give it a shot! Right!?"
Reid nods nervously
"Very well. Before we begin may I see your identification card?" Reid hands her his I.D. and after quickly looking at his name and age she hands it back to him. "Wonderful! Now if you'll follow me I'll show you to the testing chamber." The receptionist promptly makes her way out from behind the counter as another receptionist comes to take her place. She gestures for Reid to follow her.
"We'll be waiting here when you're done" Anna says pointing at the tables on the other side of the room.
"Okay, sorry to make you wait."
"Don't sweat it, but if you're gonna make us wait you better pass." Lance gives him a thumbs up as the duo walks away.
The receptionist leads Reid down a long hallway to the right of her counter. At the far end of the hallway they come across a pair of doors.
"The one on the right is for the rank up exams." She opens the door to show him a large coliseum just past the entrance. "We use this space to check if you're physically able to perform at the next level." She closes the door before opening the one on the left. "In here is where we give briefings and perform all written examinations." The large room had rows of desks at increasing heights, much like a college lecture hall. "Are you ready to begin?"
Reid answers with a quiet "Yes" before finding a seat in the first row. Lilly goes to the front desk and pulls out a paper and quill pen from the top drawer. "Oh dear, I forgot to ask but are you able to read and write?"
"Oh, yes, I can."
"Great then lets get you started! You'll have 20 minutes to complete the test. Once you're done hand it back to me and I'll let you know how you did." She puts the paper, quill, and ink down in front of him. "Begin!" She said with a happy giggle, obviously enjoying this part of her job.
Reid looks down at the paper in front of him.
'Question 1: According to guild rules how many quests can you fail before you risk demotion or suspension.'
Reid had absolutely no idea what the answer was, but he knew someone who did. *Ahem* He fake coughs, trying to get his attention.
Nothing.
*AHEM* He fake coughs even louder.
"Are you alright?" Lilly asks.
"Yeah, just had something caught in my throat."
'I guess he's not paying attention… Great, the one time I actually need him, he won't answer.' Panic starts to set in as he scans the rest of the test to see if he knew any answers. He knew none. 'I guess there's only one thing I can do… Focus on the connection. Focus. Focus. Focus.'
"AMADEUS!" Reid shouts in his head.
"Oh hey Reid, I see you finally figured out the telepathy. Good job."
"Not now! Remember the test?"
"Oh right, sorry I got distracted testing the practical applications of color changes in mana. It's fascinating stuff! Anyway, how about we switch real quick? I'll take control and finish this test for us. It should be faster than having you copy the answers I give you."
"Fine, but make it quick." With that Reid was forced into the mental plane. He looked around only to find himself surrounded by hundreds of papers, all with different colors, hues, and shapes printed on them. "What is all this?"
"An experiment on how different rune structures affect the outcome of a spell. Now then, time to ace this test!"
Lilly began to worry as the boy had yet to write anything down. Just as she was about to say something, the boy changed right before her eyes. With a single quick glance at the sheet, he began writing at a furious pace. Less than a minute later the boy proclaimed he was done and handed her the finished test. "Um, you're finished?"
"Yes."
"O-Okay, let me take a look." She quickly grabs an answer key from the desk drawer, occasionally stealing glances at the boy. She starts comparing the answers and to her shock, not only was every answer correct, but they were written perfectly word for word. She had never seen anything like this in all her time as a receptionist. "Amazing! Are you some kind of genius?"
The boys suddenly changes again as he answers bashfully. "No… I'm just good at remembering stuff." Reid answers, back in control.
"Well congratulations, you pass. Now, we can finish your registration here or we can go back to the front."
"We can do it here?" He asks excitedly.
"Yes, that way we can ensure your privacy."
"I'd definitely rather do it here. Why would anyone want to do it in front of everyone else?"
Lilly's eyes look off into the distance as she answers the boy. "Well some people want to have their family present when they register. Others… well there are some jerks who just like to brag about their talents… Anyway enough about that, it'll be 100 tiss to complete your registration."
"Of course." Reid reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small leather sack containing the 2000 tiss he had stolen from his fathers study before running away. "Here you go."
Lilly takes the money and puts a shining white slab on the table. She then places an odd silver slab and metallic feathered pen in front of herself "Go ahead and tell me what kind of class you want to register as."
"Class?" Reid was confused by the unfamiliar term.
"Yes… Your class." The receptionist gives him a dubious expression.
"You idiot, information about classes was on the test that you just supposedly aced." Amadeus chided the young fool.
"Crap! What should I say then?"
"Would you rather use a spear or a sword?"
"I'd rather to use a spear."
"Then tell her you want to be a magic spearman."
*Ahem* Reid clears his throat. "Sorry it looks like my joke didn't quite land. Hehe… For my class I'd like to register as a magic spearman. Although I may want to change my weapon in the future." He tries his best to save face after his mess up.
"Okay, quite the interesting choice! I don't believe I've ever seen one before. And switching weapons is perfectly fine, its actually pretty common. I'd say at least half of the adventurers I deal with switch their primary weapon before they hit D rank" Lilly quickly adjusts her glasses before continuing. "Before I can register you as a magic based class, I need you to show me some of your magic. If you need more space for your demonstration then we can move next door."
"No this should be fine." Reid quickly turns away from the receptionist. "Crap! What should I do?"
"Relax, just point your arm at the open space in the room and I'll send a rune of fire through."
"Okay good." Reid relaxes as he lifts his hand to be parallel with the floor. "Wait, rune?"
Before he could finish processing that thought in his mind, a glowing crimson rune appeared in his palm. The circle was quickly saturated with mana, causing it to ignite. A large ball of fire, the size of a pumpkin, grew from center of the rune. The powerful heat could be felt even by Lilly, who sat over five meters away.
"Wow! This is so cool!" Amadeus could feel Reid's excitement as he spoke. "So how do we turn it off?"
"Oh we don't. I haven't figured out the spell enough to adjust the duration, so for now we just have to wait the default 30 seconds for it to burn out."
Reid's smile now took on an uncomfortable twist. "Umm, the spell is going to have to wait a little longer for it to finish. Is that fine?"
Lilly, still in shock over seeing someone casually using rune magic, is slow to reply. "That's… fine. Since you can use rune magic you can qualify for magic spearman as you wanted. However… I would recommend against it."
"You don't think I should be one?" Confusion filled his flame illuminated face.
"Yes, though I should clarify that what I'm suggesting would be more of an adjustment to your class then a replacement. I would recommend the runic spearman class."
"Runic spearman. Ah y-yes, I've heard of that."
"Oh, have you now?" Lilly gives him a taunting look.
"Whatever that class is wasn't in the book, there's no need to try to lie here." Amadeus quickly cuts in.
"Okay I don't know. Sorry I just didn't want to seem stupid." Reid answers with a sad look on his face.
"So there are things even geniuses don't know. And I'm only teasing no need to look so sad." She tells him as a smile returns to her face. "Now a runic spearman is the exact same as the magic spearman class, the only difference is that it lets people know you have an affinity for runic magic. You see even among magician classes, rune magic is extremely rare. So when people hear about a new runic spearman, you'll be the talk of the town!"
Lilly sees Reid's expression tense up at the thought of being the center of attention.
"I can see that you're a bit shy, so you might not like it, but trust me, it'll help you in the long run. With a class like this it'll be easier to find parties, you can rank-up faster, it will be easier to receive personal quests, and if you ever wanted to go to a Mages College you would pretty much be guaranteed enrollment. It would be like you're on the fast track to success!"
"I-I'm not sure."
"What are you not sure about you fool! This is the perfect chance to pursue your goal! You'll start getting recognition from the start. This should be exactly what you wanted."
"Yeah… I guess so." With Amadeus endorsement Reid's hesitation faded. "Alright. I'll do it. I'll be a runic spearman!" He declares as his ball of fire finally fizzles out.
"Excellent! I'll go ahead and etch that onto the tablet for you." She takes the metallic quill and begins running mana through it. The special quill begins to glow as it easily carves into the odd silver slab in front of her. She delicately writes out 'Runic Spearman' on the block before placing it onto the Divination Tablet. The glow of the tablet intensifies as the words written on the silver slab had completely disappeared. "Okay, now I just need you to place your hand onto the slab and we'll be done."
As soon as his had touched the tablet it started recording his information. It wrote it down as:
NAME: Reid
AGE: 13
GENDER: Male
RACE: Beastkin, Human, Elf
ABILITY: Dual Soul, Enhanced Senses
CLASS: Runic Spearman
RANK: G
PARTY: None
As he looked over the information provided, he noticed something new. Something he never thought would happen. He got a new Talent.
Meanwhile Amadeus attempted to use 'Analyze' on the slate.
'Hmmm, I see. According to analyze, I am unworthy of analyzing a relic of the gods and should piss off… What? Is Kalkan's spell somehow interfering with my analysis? Damn that petty god!'
"Okay, looks good."
After he removed his hand from the slate Lilly pushed two blue playing card sized pieces of metal onto the slate. All the information written on the tablet transferred to the blue cards. She handed him one while keeping the other for guild records.
"Here you go! And that completes your registration, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me or any of the other guild staff."
"Thank you so much! I'd better go let Lance and Anna know."
"Go right on ahead, I'm sure they'll be thrilled to know you passed. I have to stick around for a bit to clean up, can you make it back on your own?"
"Of course! Goodbye Lilly." The boy waves as he opens the door and walks out.
As the door closes, she lets out a deep sigh as she leans back in her chair. "With that many… irregularities… I'll have to let the guildmaster know. I'm not sure he'd believe me though."