Let me know if the format is okay, or if it would be better to spread stuff out more. This is the last chapter I have written at the moment, more will come soon!

Chapter 2: Hunters

The second guard dug in his coin pouch a second and pulled out a silver piece before tossing it to Scion. "I’d recommend you go straight to the Hunter’s Guild and get it some training and tags if you intend to keep it." Wow, didn't expect something so nice from an NPC. "Thanks, sir I’ll do that… but where’s the Hunter’s Guild?" The guard nodded, "At least you’re smart enough to ask for help. Go straight down this street and take a right at the city square – the Hunter’s Guild will be at the end of the street just outside the East Gate, can’t miss it." He followed the directions and looked up in awe as there was a huge complex that overshadowed the street. The building was made of a black stone that had a pattern of glowing neon blue veins running along it that were slowly pulsating. Don’t see that every day. I’m guessing that’s the Hunter’s Guild… now how do I get in? Despite finding it he couldn't see an entrance anywhere, the street just ran right up to the wall.

He walked up to where the door SHOULD be, but all he saw was the same smooth black surface. Running his hands over it he couldn't feel any seams or any disturbances in the smooth surface at all. Sighing he walked over to a nearby bench and took a seat. After waiting for quite some time, a tall strange man walked right out of the wall – appearing exactly where he had been searching for a door. Scion jumped up quickly and rushed up to the man before he got away. "Excuse me sir, this is the Hunter’s Guild correct?" The man distractedly glanced down and realized that the man was TALL. Scion estimated himself to be around 6 feet tall in his current body… if so the man must be around 8 feet tall. "Eh? Oh, yes, yes it is. Did you need something?" Scion gathered his wits and responded quickly while he had the man’s attention. “I would like to know how to get in.” For the first time the man seemed to notice the wolf pup in Scion’s arms. “Ah, I see – well go on in!” Scion just raised an eyebrow and looked back at the man. "Oh goodness me, I forgot… well getting in is the first test. But I’ll give you a hint: You must be able to see without using your eyes. Here take this – it may help you." The man pulled a few normal looking stones out of his pocket and handed one to Scion. "Uh thanks." "No problem, no problem. Now I really must be going. Good day and good luck!" With that the man hurried away without looking back.

Well, that wasn’t a whole lot of help… what am I supposed to do with this? He set down the wolf pup gently and looked down at the stone in his hand, thinking it seemed like a normal rock. Thinking it may be a key of some sort he tried waving it around where he had seen the man exit the complex. I feel pretty stupid waving this around. He stopped and tried tapping, rubbing, and even throwing the stone at the wall. Nothing. Around this time it was starting to get dark enough he couldn’t see very far. He picked up the stone and headed back to the bench to wait for someone else to come along so hopefully he could see the trick.

Startling alert, he had begun to fall asleep – but a bright white light had shone through his eyelids as soon as they had closed. Looking around in confusion, it was just as dark. Odd… it was bright for a second. He closed his eyes again and saw the same light… but this time he could tell it seemed to be coming from his hands. The stone!  By concentrating on the stone the light almost seemed to form a pattern. Eventually he could see a fuzzy shape of some sort and at the same time a minor headache developed. Opening his eyes he rubbed his head. Then he noticed even with his eyes open he could still see a dim light coming from the stone in his hands. Not nearly as clear as before, a dim shape was still emitting from the surface of the stone. Cool. He glanced around and noticed a similar glow coming from around the center of the door area. Walking over to it, he saw a single blue luminescent hand-print. Placing his hand over the blueprint it flashed and his hand disappeared into the wall. Woah. Here goes I guess.

Picking up the wolf pup again he took a step through toward the doorway. Scion’s head hit the hard stone of the wall and the wolf pup let out a whine as it got crushed between Scion’s body and the wall. Scion glared at the wall angrily. This time, while holding the wolf he placed his hand onto the wall again and this time when it fell through he followed it. After a couple steps in absolute darkness he came out into a lobby-type area where he set the wolf down again. Walking up to a nearby desk he rang a small bell that was sitting on the counter. A loud crash came from a doorway behind the counter followed by a woman’s voice. "One second, I’ll be right there."

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After a few minutes a feline looking woman emerged. Oh, so they have cat girls here too! "Sorry, please wait just one more moment.” She pulled open a drawer and removed a ring, a large quill and a small jar filled with some kind of glowing red liquid. She handed him the ring as she walked to an oversize book that sat on a pedestal along one of the walls she opened it and turned to look at Scion. "Name?" He was thoroughly confused. "Uh, Scion" She dipped the quill in the ink and proceeded to write into the book. "All set, Scion. Please put on the ring and proceed through that door there."

"Wait, what’s going on? Don’t you want to know why I’m here?" The woman looked at him in surprise. "You mean you aren't here to join the Hunter’s Guild?" Scion shook his head, “I just came here because I was told this was where I could register and train a pet.” He pointed to the wolf pup who had curled up at his feet. “Oh my, nobody outside the guild ever registers pets here – they usually just go to the town hall.” You mean I wasted all that time for nothing! A low growl escaped Scion’s throat this time as he thought of all the frustration he went through. The woman continued without noticing, “However, by passing the entrance test you've earned the right to apprentice into the Hunter’s Guild… which I've just signed you up for." She had the courtesy to look a little embarrassed at least. "What exactly IS the Hunter’s Guild?" Scion asked. "Well, it’s obviously not really a secret or anything – but it is considered highly competitive. The selections only occur once every four years and the applications close at midnight… which is in just a few hours." Hmmm, sounds like this might be a rare opportunity. Once every four years is once a year in real life. Guess I should give it a try. "Alright, I’ll give it a shot I guess." The woman sighed in relief. "Go right through there, they’ll give you more information and the tryouts should start shortly."

Scion nudged the wolf pup and headed through the door the woman had indicated. After walking down a long featureless hallway he came to a set of stairs. Shrugging, he proceeded down the long winding staircase. As he came towards the end of the stairs he began to hear clanging and shouts coming from the other side of a heavy wooden door. Hesitantly he pushed the door and stepped through into a ring around a large arena where there were two fierce-looking men fighting with long swords. Looking around the outer edge, there were several people cheering as well as a small group of robed figures on the other side of the arena. Looking a little closer at the crowd Scion realized that everybody had weapons on them, and only then did he realize even his measly branch was left behind in the forest when he ran away. I really hope I don't need a weapon to join.

The fighting figures continued their contest, moving with great speed and precision. Scion found a seat along the edge and watched as they got faster and faster. At the point where his eyes were having trouble keeping up he saw that the fighters and their swords began to emit a soft light. Small wisps of flame and sparks were appearing rapidly in the air around the pair and disappearing just as quickly. The flashes of light these effects threw off formed an aura that was similar to the aurora borealis in the real world, but with sharper contrast consisting of bright blues and red.

The speed slowly wound back down before they stopped and bowed towards each other and the crowd. Several groups began cheering and chanting. The warriors just waved then left the circle to grab some water from a table nearby. That's pretty incredible, hopefully I'll be able to fight like that someday. Scion began to head towards the fighters but was cut off by a group of human youths in fancy clothing. “Hoho, what do we have here? Looks like this weakling beggar trash thinks he's good enough to join the Hunters! In fact, most beggars I've seen are dressed better than this. Although that's a nice fur jacket he has, maybe we should take it for ourselves.”

The group started laughing at Scion who tried to master his anger. Eventually he couldn't take it and swung at his antagonizer, landing a hit on the chin. The youth looked surprised, but didn't even move an inch. “Ha, what was that? My little sister can punch harder than that. I'll show you how a MAN punches you animal.” Everything suddenly went black.

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