The Guild Training hall was a lot larger than Alaric was used to spanning further than the average eye could see. Alaric’s eyes were sharper than average, able to see much further and that didn’t come particularly handy in this situation.

He didn’t need to see that the Training Hall had more space than the orphanage he’d grown up in even if that space was tripled.

‘Spatial Magic,’ he groaned. Why hadn’t Sister Marla thought of this when building the orphanage?

[ And supply that magic with what aether. You need an aether source to keep the spell running ] the guardian replied.

Knowing he’d been defeated in this argument, Alaric shifted his attention back to the Training Hall.

Fitted with makeshift weapons placed on racks as well as various other pieces of equipment Alaric had never seen or heard of, the Training Hall was the ideal facility to hone one’s fighting abilities.

As he looked around, he noticed a contraption made of a combination of leather, straw and magic stones hanging from a hook.

A man stood behind the weird bag and kicked it with all his might. A massive shockwave blew through the training hall and yet, the bag remained unmoved. Unsurprised, the man attacked the bag again and again, delivering one devastating blow after another.

With each blow, Alaric noticed the gemstones embedded in the straw held by the leather started to glow just a little brighter. The hook holding the bag also shivered with each attack.

On another side of the room, a pair of women were sparring in a ring, sweat glistening off their bodies. Alaric peeled his gaze away from them and continued towards what appeared to be a gathering of aspiring adventurers.

Of course, he didn’t know if these were the people he was looking for… but his intuition told him a thing or two about what he should have been looking for.

For starters, they were the only group that looked uncomfortable and out of their element. They carried all the signs of people who were here for the first time… just like he was.

A girl who was roughly his age stood alone, branding an impressive staff, her hand unconsciously twirling her braided white hair.

A boy stood off to the side, checking out his sword and giving it a few swings, a wicked grin blooming on his face from time to time.

A woman, probably in her early twenties if not, nineteen was leaning against a pillar with her eyes closed. Weirdly, Alaric was not fooled by her act. He could feel her awareness even without trying to provoke her.

Lastly, a man who appeared much older than the three flashed Alaric a warm smile as he watched the boy approach.

“Is this where the Adventurer’s Exam is going to be held?” Alaric asked casually.

“You’re in the right place. You look a little young to be an adventurer, lad?” the man asked Alaric.

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard that. The name’s Alistair,” Alaric gave a weak smile and held out his hand.

“William’s my name, Adventuring’s my game. Actually, I’ve never done this before. Always had the heart for a good adventure but never really got… the grit to pick up the sword, you know what I mean,” the man explained with at least five hand signals which was five too many for Alaric to keep up.

Alaric didn’t let it show on his face but he could tell from the man’s soft hands after shaking them that not only was he of the lower Glass Temper Ranks, but he also lacked any signs of callouses.

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He wasn’t putting it lightly when he said he’d never picked up the sword. He barely had any training with the sword, “You’re trying out for Vanguard?”

“Oh yes. My aether reserves simply won’t cut it as a Mage, I’m afraid,” the man responded, “And well, the other jobs require other qualifications.”

Alaric nodded knowingly, “Doesn’t Vanguard require one to know how to wield a weapon though?”

“Well, if you can cut things well, I think that’s passable for a Vanguard, don’t you think?” William answered, confident in his words.

Alaric gave him a withering smile, “I… wouldn’t know. I don’t exactly know how the guild works.”

To some degree, Alaric could understand where this man was coming from. While Vanguard also required one to have the skill to handle a sword, becoming an Archer, Healer or Priest usually required someone to have something extra.

Of course, melee fighters also needed some training but everyone seemed to think it was not so hard to just swing a blade at the enemy.

Alaric wanted to turn to the others but a voice interrupted him before he could do anything, “Great, you’re all here.”

The other four applicants bowed instantly, “Guildmaster Schiller!”

“Bah! Lift your heads. I’m a human just like the rest of you. I’ll be overseeing this Exam so just do your best,” the man waved them off as he walked off to stand at the far end of the empty section of the training hall they were going to be using.

A few people had come with him, five to be exact: one for each Adventurer Class.

A woman dressed in light armour and a sword hanging at her hip stepped forward, “Since most of you are here to apply for Vanguard, I’ll be doing most of the talking,” the woman spoke, “My name is Daphne. I will be assessing the Vanguards. We’ll assess your guardians first. I don’t need to tell you why since that’s obvious.”

Alaric’s heart sank.

“Summon your guardians.”

As soon as the command had been given, the air around the applicants began to shimmer and before they knew it, four otherworldly beings stood in the training hall, drenching it in a variety of auras.

Shooting out a tear in space, the room’s temperature climbed as a creature of flames flew high into the air, screeching loudly. The magnificent bird was made entirely out of flames and seemed to have a great affinity to the wind as the very still air in the room seemed to stir in favour of its flight.

Naturally, this was something Alaric could tell, having copied SwiftWind’s abilities. The being flew around them before landing on the shoulder of the woman Alaric had noticed not too long ago.

Her armour glistened even more in the presence of her phoenix guardian and her aura became more dangerous as though a crucial piece to her destructive potential had just clicked into place.

The light show by that guardian had distracted everyone from the other ones to emerge from the rifts in space. Alaric, however, found himself observing them more intently.

One of the guardians resembled a scorpion with legs cast out of polished steel and a metallic stinger at the top of its high curved tail hovering above its large body.

Its pincers were no less deadly as they snapped from time to time, punctuating a deadly rhythm that came from its grotesque mouth. It stood beside the overly energetic boy, mirroring his eager attitude.

‘Someone’s just itching to get out there, huh,’ Alaric thought to himself.

Another was a wraith whose body was translucent, covered in a robe with two blue lights where its eyes should have been. This being, unlike most guardians Alaric had read of, emitted more aether than normal. The wraith floated above the timid girl, calming her down drastically.

‘Right, the last guardian is a… is a… What is this creature?” Alaric blinked. Not only was the creature small and insignificant but when compared to the other guardians around, it also had the smallest presence.

The fact that this guardian was the nearest to Alaric made it even more apparent how insignificant it was. Either that or the guardian had some kind of cloaking ability. In any case, this creature was quite easily the cutest, slowest and sleepiest guardian Alaric had ever seen. Its movements were slow and yet, that seemed perfectly natural to it.

‘I didn’t think guardians came in… sloths,’ he thought to himself.

“Don’t look at him so much. It makes him nervous,” William snapped at Alaric.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. He just looks sooo…”

“Weak?”

“…Cute,” Alaric completed.

William blinked a few times, “Did you just call my guardian… cute?”

The boy laughed a bit, “Yes, I did. Have you seen the others? They are scary.”

“We’ve all seen the others, boy. What we haven’t seen is your guardian,” the examiner’s irritated voice filled Alaric with so much dread that he practically shivered. How had he forgotten this part?

Daphne continued, “This is not a competition of waiting to see who reveals their guardian last. As you should know, I don’t get biased.”

Alaric’s heart sank at these words. Part of him wished he could afford to be as petty as he’d just described. Even that would have been many times easier than the words that came out of his mouth next.

“I… won’t be summoning my guardian,” he said, then bowed his head deeply, “I’m sorry.”