A week later, Seifer stood in front of the War Guild. It was on the outskirts of the city, an enormous fortress made of dark grey stone. The fields surrounding it were covered in thousands of spears fixed to the ground, their sharp blades extending to the sky.

It’s so dramatic...I love it thought Seifer with a grin, thinking about the time he had installed a giant Golden Cauldron on top of a Potions Guild during his brief stint as Guild Master in his last life.

The interior was just as dramatic. The ceiling was over a hundred feet tall and the stone walls were covered with all sorts of weapons. Orion was already there and waved Seifer over.

“I don’t know what you said to convince me to drink that much but I don’t remember anything from last week” said Orion.

“Excellent, I would be in a lot of trouble if you did” said Seifer honestly.

Orion laughed, he had been a bit concerned when he sobered up to realize he remembered nothing. But if he had revealed something he shouldn’t have, why would Seifer agree to join the mission and continue to associate with him on top of that?

“So, are you going to join the Guild?” asked Orion.

“If I am eligible, Lord Harkes” replied Seifer.

“If even half of what father told me about you is true then they’ll be begging you to join, And call me Orion.” muttered Orion as the two of them walked over to Assessment wing. At the sight of the Adjudicator, Orion’s jaw dropped.

“They’re actually letting you work as an Adjudicator, Thaddeus?!”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked the sandy haired man in annoyance. He was of average height and very muscular, with fair skin and blue eyes like most others in this region.

“Uh, nothing. Anyway, this is my friend Seifer Nox.” said Orion.

“What’s up, bro!” said the sandy haired man. Seifer glanced at the ceiling in confusion, not seeing anything unusual. Orion sighed next to him, wondering what Seifer thought of the War Guild at this point.

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“I extend to you my greetings?” tried Thaddeus.

“Hello” replied Seifer. Thaddeus smacked his forehead, wondering why he hadn’t thought of that.

“So, why did you ask what was up? What did you see above us?” asked Seifer curiously.

“Well actually it’s just a different way of saying hello that I invented. I think it’s going to catch on” said Thaddeus proudly, as though he hadn’t just stated the stupidest thing Seifer had ever heard.

“Let’s just begin the test, alright?” interjected Orion.

“Yeah alright, follow me you two” said Thaddeus, leading them to a windowless room. It was entirely lined with draconian steel of 80% purity, making it ideal to test the strength of War Guild applicants.

“Protocol states that I should give you an introduction to the War Guild but you don’t actually need that, right?” asked Thaddeus.

“Honestly, who did you bribe to get this job” muttered Orion.

“Alright I’ll do things properly!” said Thaddeus with a scowl.

“The War Guild is an organization of warriors, joining our Guild requires one to possess combat skill at a much higher level than the average of whatever step and stage the Transcendent is. Any Transcendent at the second step or higher may join, as long as they pass the combat proficiency test” said Thaddeus, robotically.

“You didn’t have to change your entire way of speaking, you know?” said Orion snidely.

“What does it take to please you, Orion?!” shouted Thaddeus.

“Can we begin the test?” asked Seifer with a sigh.

“Oh right, you just have to attack me” said Thaddeus as he brought out a halberd.

Seifer nodded and drew his blade, stabbing at Thaddeus who only barely blocked it. For the next few minutes, he casually danced around Thaddeus, dodging each and every one of his attacks. It was like Octavian all over again.

Thaddeus could barely believe what he was seeing. Normally, he would hold back to test out the applicant but right now he was fighting as hard as he could and still losing. Orion watched it all with a smile, inwardly growing a bit apprehensive.

Facing an opponent with a higher spirit level, Seifer wasn’t able to fight Thaddeus straight on but could dodge slowly weaken him. Over time, the minor wounds he was able to inflict added up and Thaddeus had enough.

“What the fuck, I yield! It’s like you know exactly what I’m planning to do. If I didn’t have a higher spirit level you would have won in seconds” said Thaddeus.

“Pass with distinction” he announced.

“That’s not a thing, it’s just pass or fail.” said Orion.

“Shut up, Orion. I’m the Adjudicator” said Thaddeus.

“Whatever. So shall we head out to the Dungeon, Seifer?” asked Orion

“Absolutely” replied Seifer.

“Come talk to me at the Dragon sometime ay Seifer? I know two twats who’d love to meet you” said Thaddeus. Seifer didn’t say anything but he knew he wanted to see more of Thaddeus and his antics.