Arthur gently closed the door behind him, blankly staring at Tucker, who was eavesdropping on the conversation from the hall.

"Carl, that jerk!" Tucker gritted his teeth and stared back at Arthur before smiling to himself with an evil idea. Soon, he held out his hand towards Arthur and said. "Just so you know, only old people drink tea to help with their aging body. If you don't want to suffer the same back pains as the Captain, then don't drink any since you're still young, and it's not good for you."

With no reason to believe that Tucker was lying, Arthur accepted his advice and glanced at the extended hand before grabbing it. "Okay, I'll be in your care."

"Don't worry; you're in good hands." Tucker curled his lips upwards, revealing a bright smile, knowing that the anti-tea measures had been implemented. Once they shook hands, Tucker gestured for Arthur to follow him back the way they came. The wooden steps creaked as they made their way down the stairs, and with a gentle push, the door opened.

"Alright, introductions are due." Tucker gestured at the three guards sitting on wooden crates playing cards. "Welt is the one to the left with green hair, black eyes, and freckles. He's short, and there's nothing special about him."

"What the hell?" Hearing the disrespectful description caused Welt to stare daggers at Tucker, who smirked before shrugging it off and casting his gaze on the next guard.

"Nice to meetcha. I'm Cain," Cain said while waving to Arthur. His black hair swayed in the wind, giving off a carefree ambiance as he rubbed his chiseled jawline.

Cain stood up and towered over Arthur. He bent both knees and stared directly at Arthur with his obsidian eyes. If one were to watch from the side, they see Cain squatting to make eye contact with Arthur.

As Tucker continued to ignore Welt, he pointed at Cain and said, "As you can see, his height is the only thing going for him. Besides that, he's as dense as a brick."

"Honestly, at least my description is slightly better, so I'll take it," Cain said while grinning at Welt, who was fuming in his seat.

"Now Arthur, the person I'm about to introduce you is probably the worst of the three. Don't look behind me and listen very carefully," Tucker said while holding onto Arthur's shoulders.

Arthur immediately stared at David but was soon stopped by Tucker as he grabbed onto his head. From a quick glance, Arthur could see the messy amber hair and sharp green eyes that gazed off into the distance.

"Listen to me. He is a man with countless bad habits. In fact, it's a miracle he even has a job," Tucker emphasized each word with great detail.

"Are you stupid? I can hear you," David slurred and tossed the metal flask at Tucker's head. A soft thud rang out, and it bounced off his head.

"Like I said, David is a bad example of what to be, and worst of all, he's an alcoholic," Tucker declared and pointed to the clear pile of wine bottles that were carefully stacked behind him.

David clicked his tongue and leaned back against the stone wall, placing his feet on the wooden crate that used to be Tucker's seat. He was familiar with Tucker's usual antics and, at this point, didn't want to be bothered by them.

"It's alright. I won't need it because I have to show this kid around." Tucker placed his palm on Arthur's head and ruffled his hair before asking. "Where did the other two go? They were just here guarding the door."

"Those guys went to the field to train after we closed the gates." Welt flipped a card on the table, revealing two of the clubs. Then turned over another card, revealing an ace of spades.

"It's definitely better than playing cards with you." Cain flipped two other cards on the table, revealing a three of clubs and then an ace of spades. "That's some bullshit luck."

"Guess it's my win again." Welt grinned and grabbed his staff as a magic circle formed near the end. Soon, a faint gust of wind began flipping the cards one at a time, revealing matching pairs one after another. "Alas, you really do have rotten luck."

Arthur watched in amazement as the wind carefully lifted each card on the table until it finally revealed all the cards. "Is Welt a mage?"

Upon hearing Arthur's question, David snickered, raising a new metal flask to his lips and taking a swig of his alcoholic beverage. Cain watched as Welt's smile slowly faded into a frown before smirking. Soon, they both burst into laughter and watched as Welt's hands trembled in anger. Even Tucker, who was standing beside Arthur, did his best to conceal his quiet giggles as the corner of his lips curled into a broad grin.

"Did I say something wrong?" Arthur looked at Tucker, who patted Arthur on the head.

"You assholes are just looking for a beating." Welt rolled up both of his sleeves before grabbing onto Cain and David's collars. After firmly holding onto their collars so they couldn't escape, he stared at Tucker. "You're next once I'm done with these idiots."

"Sure thing, Mr. Mage." Tucker chuckled once more and spoke mockingly before grabbing Arthur by the shoulder and leading him to the training area. Once they were out of Welt's view, Tucker quietly whispered into Arthur's ear. "We joke around with Welt not being a mage, and I know you just met him, but try not to bring up the topic of being a mage around him."

"Why is it something bad?" Arthur tilted his head in confusion.

"Well…not exactly. To be classified as a mage, you need to reach the fourth circle, and Welt only managed to create three circles. It's also a bit of a sore spot for him," Tucker explained while walking to the courtyard. "If only Welt wasn't sabotaged by his family, then he wouldn't be stuck here with us."

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"What did his family do?" Arthur asked.

"They gave him a flawed mana circle technique that, once created, would constantly leak out mana when casting spells instead of retaining it." Tucker couldn't help but shake his head in disappointment, letting out a deep sigh at the same time. "If you want to know more, you should ask him yourself. It's not my place to tell his story."

"Understood, sir." Arthur gave a firm nod while walking down the gravel path.

"You can drop the formalities. None of us really like that nonsense; just make sure to call Carl Captain, and you're good." Tucker quickly corrected Arthur.

Once they arrived at the training area, they could see multiple targets made of tall wooden stumps lined up around the edge of a square arena. The arena floor was covered in sand, and in the center were two figures wielding spears. Unlike the other guards on patrol, they didn't wear iron armor sets; instead, they wore white tunics and brown pants with no protective equipment.

Tucker clapped his hands, causing the two guards at the center of the arena to turn towards him. "Alright, alright, introduction time. The clown to the left with the mean-looking face, red hair, and black eyes is Mark, and the other clown with blonde hair and brown eyes is our deranged priest Paul."

"Great, it's the troublemaker." Mark turned his head to the side and spat on the ground. "What the hell did you do now, and why is there a child still clinging to you."

"I'm not a troublemaker!" Tucker protested as he grabbed both of Arthur's shoulders. "I'm a savior. My noble spirit has recruited some fresh blood for us."

"I don't think any noble savior refers to someone who's imperiled as fresh blood." Mark rolled his eyes at Tucker's explanation.

Arthur could feel his feet leave the ground as Tucker lifted him to the sky. Mark and Paul watched unamusedly as he was several feet above the air.

"Arthur, introduce yourself to these hooligans!" Tucker proudly proclaimed, shaking Arthur to the syllable of each word.

"Hi, I'm Arthur, and I've been assigned to clean the top and inside of the walls." Arthur blankly stared at them, and they did the same.

Tucker frantically shook Arthur and shouted, "Say more, Arthur! They aren't impressed!"

"Also, I'll be living in the barracks with some other children and will make sure to keep the area clean." Arthur quickly added as his body swayed left and right.

"Put the poor kid down, Tucker. You'll make him puke, and then he'll have to clean it." Paul sighed at Arthur, who was being shaken like a potato sack, and asked, "Is this how you introduced him to the other guys as well?"

Arthur looked over his shoulder once he heard this and looked Tucker in the eyes before asking. "Do we have to do this again?"

The sudden question made Paul and Mark glare at Tucker, whose figure slowly shrunk as he hid behind Arthur. In the heat of the moment, he had completely forgotten to introduce Arthur to the other three. But in his defense, he just wanted to get the introductions over because they were a hassle.

"There's no way you introduced the other guys to this kid but didn't tell them his name, right?" Mark frowned at Tucker, who slowly lowered Arthur back onto the ground.

"I…was in a rush and forgot." A small bead of sweat fell from the top of Tucker's forehead down to his jawline. "I just wanted him to meet the team; there's nothing wrong with that, right?"

"We're here to work. Not to babysit." Mark harshly criticized before firmly planting his spear into the ground and leaning on it. "We aren't a daycare or an orphanage."

"Don't be like that. The child, no. Arthur said he was here to work so he would earn his keep. There is no need to be so hard." Paul curled his mustache with one hand and flexed his arm, revealing his biceps. His spear was firmly planted into the ground as he stared at Arthur. "It doesn't take long to clean. He probably has to do that in the morning or evening, which means we have a new training buddy."

"Hell no. You think a kid like that can spar with us?" Mark complained and protested the idea. "Can he even hold a spear?"

"I can hold a stick." Arthur calmly replied.

"Good enough, boy!" Paul walked over to the side of the arena and placed his spear in the weapon rack. Then he grabbed two wooden spears propped against the wall and tossed one over to Arthur, who quickly caught it with two hands. "These sticks have dull spear tips at the end, so realistically, we won't really be hurting each other, just a couple of bruises and maybe some broken bones."

"Oh right, just some bruises and…wait, broken bones?" Arthur stepped back when he heard this and quickly took out a folded piece of paper, revealing a map. "I can't train with you guys. Captain said that Tucker would show me how to read a map."

Mark was already sitting on a wooden stool at the side of the arena before pitifully glancing at Arthur. "Oh...you poor bastard."

Arthur gazed at Mark in confusion, unable to understand his words. But once he looked behind him, Tucker was nowhere to be seen. Not even footprints were left behind. In a startled voice, Arthur desperately called out, "Tucker?"

"Yeah, he does that." Mark let out a small laugh at the familiar scene. "Those three at the gate laze around, but at least they do their jobs. Tucker, on the other hand, is a completely different story. He's the first one to disappear whenever something happens."

"Huh?" Arthur tightly gripped the training spear with both hands while taking several steps back.

"Are you ready, Arthur?" Paul asked while pointing the training spear at Arthur with a bright smile on his face. But before Arthur could respond, Paul already began charging towards him with a carefree laugh, causing Arthur to scream in fright. "Ah, music to my ears. I never thought I would hear this again since our budget was cut."

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Carl stared out his window once more and watched the three figures in the training area before smiling. "This is a pleasant change in scenery. It's been far too quiet these days, so having a few new faces around isn't so bad."

He continued to watch Arthur run around the training arena with Paul chasing after him and quietly thought to himself. "I should also break one of Tucker's legs when I see him for leaving that kid behind. After all, I should be merciful to my subordinate for at least trying to help others even if they have bad tendencies."

It was a refreshing change in scenery for everyone at the western gate; each day felt dull as not much had happened. There were concerns about the number of guards being reduced within the city. However, despite the recent drafts, the worry was unnecessary. Most of the predictions were wrong, and overall, the amount of criminal cases has decreased significantly compared to the past.

Carl took out a pen from one of the drawers on his desk and a registry of names for the current guards at the western gate. Soon, he moved the pen and began filling in the details for Arthur's employment, but he froze once he reached the part where he had to write Arthur's name. "...That idiot didn't tell me the kid's name."

The pen was soon placed to the side as Carl felt his blood pressure rise. "I changed my mind. I'm going to break both of his legs."