After telling them to follow her, the clerk slowly rises from her seat, and Sincir realizes she is moving with difficulty, limping heavily from her left leg with each step as she walks around the reception tables and heads for a pair of open double doors which leads further into the guild...

  A retired adventurer, perhaps? It’d expin her having such a good shape, and still being allowed to work here, in spite of her bad attitude…

  Sincir follows the clerk obediently, joined by Ena and Eleanor.

  Their group attracts looks, both because of him, in virtue of his age, and Eleanor, in virtue of her heritage, and while Sincir can tell the looks are mostly curios in nature, some of them are openly hostile, most of which come from non-human adventures whose existence wouldn’t have been accepted within Estrein.

  Some of them even gre at Ena, most likely considering her a traitor for being next to Eleanor.

  “Have you ever had any trouble from them?” Sincir asks Eleanor after lowering his pace a bit to match hers, as he gestures to some of the adventures giving them the ugly eye.

  “…Other than looks? No, not really… After I broke a couple of noses, they begun to leave me alone.”

  Sincir rolls his eyes; He should’ve known better. Still, being disliked at first sight is not a good feeling, and even Eleanor must’ve been bothered, to some extent… Well, it was her choice to come work here on her own, a year earlier than him, and she’s old enough to handle the consequences of her choices...

  The section of the guild they enter is some sort of training room, lined with sand and separated in many smaller sections by ropes. Other than a group of adventure’s practicing their shots, the pce is much emptier than the guild’s main lobby, though Sincir doubts it’ll remain so throughout the entire day.

  The clerk stops not far from the entrance, and he sees why once she calls out to a tall man of greenish skin currently in the process of brandishing his long sword across the air, faster than a normal person’s eyes would be able to follow.

  Considering the man is more than two meters tall, and that his sword is not much smaller than him, Sincir has to admit it is an impressive dispy.

  “Zarod!” the clerk calls, attracting the half-orc’s attention and causing him to pause his training as he gnces in their direction, “We’ve got puppies wanting to enter. They say they’re mages.”

  The man’s eyes shift from her to the three of them, and then he smiles, showcasing rge fangs. “Eager to hush to your deaths, are you?”

  The clerk crosses her arms, visibly leaning against her good leg as she takes a gnce in their direction. “Zarod is the only high ranked adventurer here right now, so he’ll be taking your tests. If he says you pass, you pass.”

  Sincir nods. Again, since he came with Eleanor, he knew it’d be something like this, though Zarod wasn’t the one to take her test, but a male, snder half-elf instead, and there were other applicants doing it, at the same time as her.

  “You go first,” he tells Ena, “And remember to take your shoes off.”

  Looking at the taller half-orc, Ena seems like she wants to protest, but then she sighs, takes her shoes off, and steps over the sand lined area.

  “G-good morning, I’m Ena.”

  Sheathing his sword, Zarod nods. “You’re a mage, you say? Risky way of life for a half-elf, Ena, but then again, so is working as a merce for the guild... Don’t be so stiff, I know mages are supporters, so I’ll go easy on you. Normally, we’d have one of our mages test you, but not a single of them ever shows up before lunch.”

  “R-right…” Ena stares at the rge, muscur man for a moment, before gncing over her shoulder in his direction. “Can I… Can I go all out? Buffing and whatnot?”

  Zarod blinks, while Sincir snorts.

  “Sure, go ahead and try to defeat him, if you think you can.”

  Having obviously listened to them, Zarod smiles, then crosses his arms, ughing out loud. “I like your spirit, elf girl! Fine, I’ll let you start. Come at me however you feel like it...”

  Ena takes a deep breath, and Sincir can tell by the mana around her the moment her buff is activated.

  Before the fights starts, he gnces at the clerk standing next to him at the edge of the training arena. Shouldn’t she be going back to her job…?

  Ena charges, visibly surprising Zarod, who probably thought she was going to cast a spell. With her speed buff active, she crosses the several meters in between in a second, though rather than striking at Zarod directly, she abruptly stops a while away from him, kicking a wave of sand in his direction.

  Sincir smiles. Using one’s environment to their advantage is the basic when it comes to fighting, and he’s proud of her for having thought of it while being so nervous…

  Though of course, blinding her enemy would have no use if she made nothing of it, and as expected, Ena immediately changes direction after her maneuver, coming at Zarod from his left side as she aims a kick against his ribs-

  Zarod grabs her leg, mid-strike.

  He doesn’t dodge, or defends, but grabs it.

  Once the sand subsides, Sincir realizes the half-orc’s eyes are still closed.

  Heh, not bad.

  “A speed buff, but not a strength one…” Zarod says, finally opening his eyes again as he smiles in her direction, “However, without a weapon, buffing only your speed won’t help you against me. Still, I commend your fast thinking and courage… Had you used other spells in combination with your speed, I might’ve been in trouble.”

  Watching the shocked look in Ena’s face as Zarod finally releases her leg and allows her to step back, Sincir smiles. Of course, the reason Ena didn’t use other spells to fight is that she cannot. Being able to hold only one spell at a time for now, she’s still a bit far away from becoming a complete mage, and she’s going to be fighting at close range for a while.

  “D-does that mean I failed?” Ena murmurs, lowering her gaze from Zarod’s as she does so.

  The half-orc blinks, then ughs out loud. “Girl, if I was to fail you after that, we wouldn’t be accepting anyone for a long while! You pass, of course! Easily!”

  “O-oh… T-thank you,” Ena murmurs, eyes slightly wide as she bows her head in Zarod’s direction, then runs back toward them, having deactivated her buff.

  The smile in her face is contagious, and Sincir finds himself returning it as she tackles him for a brief hug, then Eleanor, who rolls her eyes, but doesn’t pull away.

  “I did it! No more serving tables! No more drunken customers! I did it!”

  Sincir ughs, shaking his head as he takes another gnce in the clerk’s direction.

  Though he is surprised to find that, with a bored look on her face, she’s all but tapping her foot impatiently.

  Does nothing phase this woman? But then again, she must see these tests every day, and strong people are bound to show up, every now and then.

  “Hey, how do you figure she’d rank, by guild standards?” Sincir asks the clerk, obviously meaning Ena.

  The woman grimaces, and although her cold blue eyes shift in his direction, for a moment he wonders if she’ll simply refuse to answer.

  “…Guild ranks aren’t simply a showing of a member’s strength, but also the amount of trust the guild pces on them,” she expins at st, “Which is why we allow A ranking members to test newcomers. That being said… In terms of strength alone, she might be able to pass as a C rank member.”

  Sincir scratches his chin thoughtfully. C rank, huh? That means Eleanor probably cssifies about the same while fighting at full strength, though she is a bit stronger than Ena.

  “Ena, come here for a second,” he calls.

  After a moment, she does so, smiling at him as she approaches. “I was cool, right?”

  Sincir smiles back. “Yeah, you were pretty cool… You were pretty cool for a barmaid, that is. You told me you wanted to win, right? Then why the fuck did you stop after he grabbed your leg? Have I taught you nothing? What are you supposed to do after a bigger opponent tries to grab you?”

  Her smile freezing, Ena blushes. “I…”

  “I don’t care what Zarod said; I should fail you for that pathetic performance. It is a good thing we aren’t going to stop our training… Hey, clerk woman, if I defeat that guy, that would make me css S material, right?”

  “Clerk woman…?” she repeats, eyebrow twitching.

  “Anyway, tell me your name if I win… It’d be hard to ask you on a date without knowing at least that much about you.”

  Having said as much, Sincir steps over the sand lined arena as he walks toward Zarod, who smiles at him, having obviously heard their talk.

  “You’re a strange kid, but you’ve guts for asking our desk dragon on a date, I’ll give you that.”

  Sincir snorts. “You seem like a nice guy, so I’ll warn you; I’m strong. You’ll want to unsheathe your sword before we start fighting, or you might never have the chance to.”

  Zarod blinks. Then, after a moment of consideration, he actually does unsheathe his long sword, surprising Sincir.

  “If you’re really the one who trained that half-elf, then most likely, there’s no real reason for us to fight…”

  No, of course there is; He wants to impress his future date. And besides that, she herself might not have noticed, but Ena’s match attracted a good deal of attention.

  Since they won’t be hiding themselves from now on, an overwhelming show of strength should have people leave them alone, for the most part… Still, Zarod isn’t that weak of an opponent, at least not in Sincir’s current state, with a small mana pool, and unable to use Shadow Magic.

  “Does that mean I pass already?”

  Zarod snorts, assuming a fighting stance which has him holding his sword on a two-handed grip. “I’d be chewed off by our guild master if I let someone in without at least trying them out first, no matter how big their mouth. If you think you can defeat me, kid, then do your best. But you seem nice enough, so I’ll warn you… I’m strong.”

  Sincir grins. Rank A adventurer… Zarod should amount to one of his shadow puppets in terms of strength, or maybe a bit weaker... Maybe a lot weaker, actually. Was he in his previous form, this fight would’ve been a joke, but without his main school of magic, stuck to low tier spells, a small mana pool, and a child’s body, it might take some effort to beat the half-orc without killing him.

  Well, he still has his casting speed, and he’s able to hold three spells at once, which isn’t half bad for a fight of this level.

  “Ready?” Sincir asks, pcing his hands into his pockets as he does so; After all, a show of strength isn’t simply about winning, but about making it look as though there was never any chance for a different result.

  Zarod shakes his head. “I’ve met many people in my role as evaluator, but you might’ve been the cockiest, boy… Very well, I’m ready, give me what you have-”

  Without warning, the sand at Zarod’s feet rises around him, only to be blown away by a lightning speed swing of his sword as he dashes in Sincir’s direction, moving several degrees faster than Ena did earlier.

  As he activates both a perception (mind) and speed (wind) buff, Sincir clicks his tongue. So, a restriction spell of that level won’t work… Earth magic has always been one of his weakest schools.

  Zarod is on top of him in a second, and his sword is the first to arrive, but Sincir doesn’t panic; Abdiel moved much faster than this, after all, and he was even faster than him, during their fight.

  As such, even with only a B grade level buff, Sincir has no problem stepping back just enough to avoid Zarod first sword swing, then aside as it becomes a thrust, before bsting the half-orc square in the chest with a wind ball… Which merely causes his opponent to step back once.

  Well, had he created a wind bde instead, this fight might’ve already been over… But then again, had Zarod been wearing armor, it wouldn’t have been as simple.

  Heh.

  As it is, Varzath continues to dodge the half-orcs increasingly fast sword swings, while retreating and throwing wind balls at him, hands still deeply within his pockets as the sand is sent flying around the both of them.

  Hey, their audience won’t able to see how awesome he, like this…

  Zarod suddenly front kicks after an upward sword swing, cutting off Sincir’s retreat route and nearly grazing him with his foot.

  Sincir frowns; Had he taken that with his current body, the result would not have been pretty... Though of course, being hit by Zarod sword would probably just separate his body in half.

  Having decided he has shown off for long enough, Sincir quickly steps back, and Zarod immediately follows… Except, as he does so, his bance is immediately stolen, having stepped upon ice, rather than sand.

  For a fight of this level, a single moment of lost bance is enough to end it, and Zarod must also know as much, because instead attempting to stand after slipping, he allows himself to fall and rolls away, even going as far as to abandon his sword in virtue of being able to do so as fast as possible.

  Still, it is not enough, and an ice spike is waiting for him as he attempts to rise after finishing his roll, stopping at mere centimeters from his left eye.

  “…This much should mean I win, right?”

  From beginning to end, Sincir kept his hands within his pockets… Casting spells without making any motions is slightly harder than normal, but if it’s only this much…

  A single set of cpping attracts Sincir’s attention from his kneeling opponent to the small crowd of adventures who end up gathered to watch the show, many of whom are now whispering among themselves.

  However, the one person who is cpping stands out from the rest like a sore thumb, not only because of his appearance, but also because none of the others seem willing to approach him.

  “You know that guy?” Sincir asks Zarod, after releasing his hold over both his buffs, as well as the ice magic he used to win the fight.

  Zarod grimaces. “Yeah, that’s my partner… Though he’s usually not here before lunch, like I said.”

  His partner… Another A ranked adventurer, then. However, considering this particur adventurer’s identity, Sincir is not surprised about his strength.

  Elves, bastards that they might be, tend to be strong, after all.

  Having risen and grabbed his sword, Zarod approaches him, releasing a sigh. “It seems I still have a lot to learn… Anyone could tell you were going easy on me. Of course, you pass.”

  Sincir accepts the half-orc’s handshake with a smile. For a mortal, Zarod is strong, and he also seems like a good guy, so it’d be stupid of Sincir to act disrespectful, at this point.

  “I’ll guess we’ll be seeing each other from now on, Zarod,” Sincir tells him, “I’ll be counting on you to teach me about the guild if I have any doubts, and in return, don’t hesitate to look for me if you ever need some help, or a sparring partner… Let’s use a wooden sword next time, though; Those swings aren’t a joke.”

  Zarod ughs, then nods as they release of each other’s hands. “I might take you up on that… And don’t worry about Hagas, he might be a bit eccentric, but he left his people a long time ago, and as far as I’m aware, he doesn’t care much for their outdated ws.”

  Sincir gnces at the elf, who has now approached Ena and Eleanor, and seems to have begun talking to them, expression friendly in spite of the obvious hesitation of the girls in talking to him…

  Well, Eleanor’s gaze cold freeze a campfire, and Ena is all but hiding behind her.

  Sincir sighs. In terms of social skills, they both still have a long road ahead of them. You’d thinking working as barmaids would’ve help them, but in Eleanor’s case, if anything, it might’ve made things worse…

  Sincir walks back to the kids as he searches around for the clerk, now nowhere to be seen. Realizing she must’ve run away, he clicks his tongue.

  Hagas, Zarod’s partner, is tall, slim, and his skin is a shade of gold resembling Ena’s, but slightly darker. Furthermore, his ears are pointer and bigger than Ena’s, his clothes are green, loosen robes, and his long, straight bck hair goes down to his thighs… All in all, he’s an attractive man, as are most of his people.

  Once Varzath has left the sand arena, all three of them turn to stare at him, though Hagas is the only one smiling, strangely enough.

  “Hello,” Sincir greets, evenly, “I don’t believe we’ve met, but your partner told me you’re called Hagas, right?”

  The elven man smiles. “Earth, wind, and ice magic… A speed buff, and some mind magic… All of it while under the pressure of a half-orc charging at you straight on,” he comments, while studying Sincir from head to bare feet, “If your mana pool wasn’t so small, human friend, you’d be a force to be reckoned with. Tell me, do you know any high tier spells?”

  So, he noticed. This is why elves are a pain in the ass… After his fight with Zarod, which sted about three or so minutes, Sincir’s mana pool is already mostly depleted. In spite of his constant training, it has become clear as of te that he drew the short stick when it comes to magical talent in this life… But he’ll make do. Although it is an unpleasant way to fight, he will rely on mind magic, if he must.

  “I know a few,” Sincir admits, since the elf isn’t likely to believe anything else.

  Hagas smiles again. “Is that so? In this case, lets exchange words at some point; I’m rather curios as to how a young human came to achieve such magical mastery, and I bet there’s things I could tell you about the job that’d make your party’s life easier... Now, even I can tell when I’m being a third wheel, so I’ll leave you to your commemorations.”

  Having said as much, Hagas winks at Eleanor, who grimaces, then walks past Sincir, to meet with Zarod.

  “…Was he bothering you?” he asks Ena once the elf is out of hearing range (hopefully; who knows how far the non humans pick up on things).

  To his surprise, Ena shakes her head. “He was curious about you, and he’s a bit weird, but he was polite enough… I think he was hitting on Eleanor, though it was a bit hard to tell.”

  Sincir snorts; That would expin her grimace, then.

  “Where is she?” Sincir asks.

  “If by she, you mean the clerk, she has gone back to her desk,” Eleanor says, “She told us your badges will be ready by tomorrow morning… And also, that she doesn’t date anyone who doesn’t reach up to her breasts.”

  Sincir smiles. “She’s just pying hard… And she told you something else, didn’t she?”

  “…Mary,” Eleanor says, after a moment.

  “Good. Let’s go... This took a bit less time than I anticipated, so I’ll be able to accompany you two for a while, after all.”

  Ena cocks her head. “We aren’t going home from here? I thought we were still training today…”

  Sincir shakes his head. “From tomorrow onwards, we’ll be full sledged adventurers... We can’t exactly send you to battle wearing rags, right?”

  Ena blinks. Then, she smiles widely enough to make Sincir think she might cramp her face.