Chapter 40 - Adventurer's Guild

Valentine who was listening couldn't help but praise Lucas. "Very good, kid. Seems like you have been taught well. And now, why was this tradition started?", he asked. "To quell us of our Pride and Arrogance. And to teach us that we, the royals, are nothing without our people", he said with a smile.

He had been walking for a while and stood in front of a tall building. The building had a glass finish in the front, and it extended to the top of the building. 'Adventurer's Guild', was written on the front panel in neon. He entered the building, and his heart was thumping loud. "Deep breaths", he thought as he walked past the door.

He entered the inside and he saw a counter made with the most exquisite wood. The smell of the wood was aromatic and it wafted into his nose. There were glass doors on the sides of the counter, and men in suits went in and came out all the time. Some people in gear went in too. "First time, I presume?", came a charming voice from the counter.

Lucas walked towards the counter and saw a beautiful woman. Blonde hair, hazel round eyes, and had a curvy figure. She adjusted her glasses as she scanned him from top to bottom. "Are you here to become an adventurer? Hello?", she asked. Lucas came back as soon as he heard the voice.

"Yes, I would like to become an Adventurer", he said. "Okay. Please fill out this form and wait in the lobby. The registration fee will be 10 silver", she said. He paid the money, filled out the form, and walked towards the lobby. He followed the signs and a glass panel opened in front of him, and he entered the lobby.

The lobby was a large room, and it was built in translucent glass. He was expecting to see a lot of new adventurers, and that he did. He looked around for a place to sit, and there was only one seat next to a girl who was cleaning her dual handguns.

He walked up to her and he was captivated by her beauty. She was a little shorter than him in height and had long jet black hair which was tied into a ponytail. Her round dark green eyes were alluring. She was wearing a black tee with a pair of slightly ripped jeans. A red jacket was lying next to her on the armrest of the chair. She was humming a tune as she was cleaning her guns.

"She must be a gunslinger. Man, gunslingers are rare", he thought. He cleared his throat as he approached her. "Is this seat taken?', he asked. She was just nodding her head as she was humming. He was about to touch her forearm to ask her again. As his hand was near her, she stood up abruptly. She pointed a gun to his forehead and pulled out the headphones she was wearing.

"Who are you? And why did you approach me?", she asked coldly. Even the look in her eyes turned cold. "Man, so cold that I'm feeling chills in me", he thought. "May I know if this seat's taken?', he asked once again. She looked around and saw that there was no other seat around to sit. "No, it isn't", she said, still not removing the gun.

Lucas let out a sigh as he sat on the chair next to her, and she sat down too. "Could you take that off my face please?", he asked gently. "Oh, sorry", she chuckled cutely. She then removed the gun she was pointing towards him and began to clean it again. He looked at the guns closely now that he was near.

The gun was shiny black, and it had a longer barrel than a normal gun. It was in a revolver style, with a cylinder that was slightly larger than a normal revolver. "Maybe made by a Blacksmith?", he thought. 'Blacksmiths do make the components, and then they give it back to the Gunslingers. They're the ones who assemble them", he thought as he looked at the gun.

Some lines were going to the cylinder. "Mana-Infused Guns?", he muttered. The girl that was cleaning the guns stopped cleaning as she turned her head towards him. She cocked up one of her eyebrows, demanding an answer. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm a Blacksmith myself. And thus, I was intrigued by the design. Is this your design, or did you obtain a blueprint somewhere?", asked Lucas.

The girl was stunned. "Not many people can recognize that this is Mana-Infused. If he can recognize it, that means he must be a damn good one", she thought. "Name's Emilia", she said as he extended her hand. "Lucas. A pleasure to meet you", he said as he shook her hand. She smiled pleasantly.

Lucas was captivated by her smile. "Are you new?", he asked. She nodded her head. "I am not new to hunting beasts and such. I have just been granted permission from my family to go and join the Adventurer's Guild. And as many people are experienced in hunting beforehand, it seems like they will have a test for us newbies to determine our ranks. I don't know what kind of test though", she informed him.

He nodded his head and looked at the door that just opened again. "Someone new?", he thought. The man who entered was wearing a suit. "Seems like some executive", he thought. He clapped his hands twice, and everyone stood up. "Some of you here have attempted the test and failed. While the others are new. For those of you who think this test will be the same, it will not", he announced in a loud voice.

Lucas was confused. "I thought there was no failure?", he said to Emilia. She just shrugged her shoulders while keeping her face straight. The man then nodded and smiled at the people that were standing. "Now, follow me as I take you to your first test", he said and turned around.

"They're like the military", thought Lucas as he watched the way the man carried himself. He followed behind the man, and Emilia was right beside him. They followed silently and entered a large room. It was a tall and spacious room, and it was just white. The man left as soon as he checked everyone was in. Lucas turned around, looking for anyone to lead them or give instructions about the test.

"Attention, everyone. Today, you shall be taking the Adventurer Test. We all know that most of you must have been hunting way before you came here. You will all be dropped into an illusory world and there will be beasts roaming around. All you have to do is kill as many as you can. And from the 300 of you that are here, only 200 shall move to the second test", said the announcer.

"So it's an elimination?", he thought. "There are people here who have come to scout for their guilds. So do make sure to give your best performance. And don't be fooled because of the illusory world. Every injury that you get in that world will be real. Lose a limb, and you'll lose it in real life. I wish you luck", said the announcer, and the speakers went static.

As soon as the speakers went static, Lucas felt dizzy for a moment. The room that was in front of him began to change into a forest. It was very vast, much larger than the room. "Although it is an illusory world, I must say that this is very impressive", he appreciated.

He turned around to see if Emilia was next to him, and all he saw was an empty spot. "I guess I'm going to have to find her myself", he smiled as he began to scale a tree to gain a height advantage.

After reaching a certain height, he heard another announcement. "You have three hours. Let me show you the grading of the ranks", said the announcer as a window floated above, for everyone to see.

[S Rank - 1 Demon Tier (teamwork required), 3 Demi-God Tiers, 5 Emperor Tiers, 7 King Tiers, 9 Legendary Tiers, 11 Advanced Tiers, 15 Intermediate Tiers, 20+Basic Tiers

A Rank - 1 Demi-God Tier, 3 Emperor Tiers, 5 King Tiers, 7 Legendary Tiers, 9 Advanced Tiers, 13 Intermediate Tiers, 15+Basic Tiers

B Rank - 1 Emperor Tier, 3 King Tiers, 5 Legendary Tiers, 7 Advanced Tiers, 9 Intermediate Tiers, 12+Basic Tiers

C Rank - 1 King Tier, 3 Legendary Tiers, 5 Advanced Tiers, 7 Intermediate Tiers, 12+Basic Tiers

D Rank - 3 Legendary Tier, 5 Advanced Tiers, 7 Intermediate Tiers, 11+Basic Tiers

E Rank - 1 Legendary Tier, 3 Advanced Tiers, 5 Intermediate Tiers, 9+Basic Tiers

F Rank - 3 Advanced Tiers, 5 Intermediate Tiers, 7+Basic Tiers]

"These will be the base for the rankings. The screen that hovers right to your right will record every kill that you make. Killing a player is forbidden. If any ill intent is detected towards a player, you will be dismissed, and banned from entering the test for the next ten years. Have a good hunt, and good luck to you all!", ended the announcement.

Lucas smiled as he looked at the screen. The reason, he had a new quest updated!