"Hello trainees! I'm glad you survived that…I remember my final test…and it was brutal," said a chirpy and bright voice.
"My name is Rain…I'm a healer assigned to look after your team…are there any injuries?"
"A few minor cuts and bruises…the biggest injury is her…can you help her?" Arthos said pointing to the armless trainee.
"Oh…looks like you took a beating…no worries, I will patch you up quick." Rain said with a happy tone.
A bright light filled the room. The light seemed to condense and harden into an arm. A couple of minutes later, the trainee stood up amazed at her sudden recovery. The arm had regenerated…good as new.
"Thank you, Rain…and umm…thank you?" The trainee said looking at Arthos.
"Oh, I'm Arthos…and don't worry about it…I suspect part of the test was to see if we could work together as a team despite our differences." Arthos said humbly.
"Ok! All done here. Proceed to the main room and wait for further instructions." Rain said with a smile.
[…]
About an hour later the room was partially full. Of the 1,000 trainees that had taken the test, about 600 passed. The mood had changed significantly from before…all the excitement and enthusiasm were replaced by a heavy and exhausted silence. The true price of victory.
"Class 501T3…congratulations! You are no longer trainees…for this day forward you are initiates. Continue to grow and soon you will qualify for a job change and will be full-fledged heroes." The trainer said as he addressed the class.
"Let's take an hour break and we will resume with the graduation where you will meet many guild leaders and representatives."
[…]
An hour later, the mood had drastically changed again and now resembled the morning's excitement. The room was now filled with many new faces…some famous and familiar while others less known.
"Look over there…that the guild-master of Paragon! Ohhh! Ohhh! That is the guild-master of Legion!" Wain said with excitement as he pointed out the celebrities in the crowd.
Right in the middle of the room stood Vance Arion…no introduction was needed. He was the most recognizable and famous person in the room…and he was completely surrounded by a mob of fans wanting to get a handshake or autograph. Vance seemed untroubled by the attention as he kindly shook hands and signed autographs with the crowd. He stood like a superhero in the room…6 feet 6 inches, lean but muscular build with long golden hair and honey-colored eyes. His gaze seemed to "honor" anything it touched…like the mythological Midas hand capable of turning anything it touched to gold.
Away from the crowd but near Vance, stood a beautiful girl with long silver hair and bright silver eyes. Watching her was like watching the moonlight…irresistibly primitive and like a magnetic impulse hard to resist. Arthos said nothing…he simply rested his gaze on her. To his surprise, she caught his gaze in the middle of a crowded room and held it…the two locked gazes for what seemed to be a long period of time.
"That's Nevariel Arden…she is from the billionaire Arden family…practically royalty." Wain said softly.
"What's a rich princess doing here?" Arthos asked.
"She is a high-ranking officer in Eterna guild…she is an elite fighter and skilled hero. They call her the Moonblade." Wain replied amazed to be standing in the same room.
"So, what are we supposed to do here exactly?" Kristan asked as she joined the two boys.
"We are supposed to meet and greet guild leaders and reps." Wain answered earnestly…glad to be of some assistance to the young and beautiful girl.
"Ugh…like we need to beg them to take us in? No thanks…I rather be guild-less." Kristan said with repulsion.
'Great…Wain is terrible at making a good first impression…and Kristan is more likely to kill someone before being nice to them…I really don't want to do this, but I have no choice here,' Arthos thought as he weighed his options.
"Just come…you don't have to say anything…just look friendly. Wain, you don't say anything either…leave the talking to me." Arthos said as he addressed his two teammates.
"Hi there! I'm Arthos, these two are my trusted teammates Kristan and Wain. It's a pleasure to meet you."
For the next 30 minutes, Arthos went around the room playing nice and shmoozing the guild representatives with Kristan and Wain in tow. He really disliked having to do this…but his options were limited and scoring admission into a guild was the best way to ensure success and more importantly survival.
The guild representatives were friendly, but not interested in the trio. They exchanged courteous expressions and quickly ended the conversation using any number of polite excuses.
"I'm Reva with the Crows guild…say kid, I saw your final fight with the orc a while ago. I was impressed with your leadership and cool headedness…we can use that. What do you say? Want to join the Crows guild?"
"Great! That sounds awesome! We would love to join your guild." Arthos replied with excitement as he gestured with his arms to include his two companions.
"I'm sorry…but we only have one open spot." Reva said flatly…clearly not interested in the package deal.
"Oh…ok…well that's too bad then…we are a package deal. Best of luck." Arthos replied.
"Are you seriously turning me down? You shit-faced scrub?" Reva answered angrily while attracting unwanted attention.
The crowd around them grew silent as their attention was quickly focused on this uncomfortable and dramatic exchange. Not wanting to make a scene and hurt their chances elsewhere, Arthos replied mildly.
"You are right…it's as you said…just three insignificant scrubs…no need for aggression, we are not important enough to waste a thought on."
The damage was done…and it was irreversible. The rest of the afternoon no guild representative would talk to them.
"Guys…let's get out here…looks like we are done for today." Kristan said dryly.