Kestria’s POV
My gold armor clanged as I walked on the red carpet of the Adventurer’s Guild, my white fur cape was trailing behind me. Adventurers surrounded me at my sides and bowed as I headed towards the Guildmaster. After much time was spent to convince my mother and father to allow me to be an adventurer, the day had finally arrived. This was my chance to shine and bring victory to Azuria, to help my brother, the supposed hero of our nation, and my parents, the king and queen of Azuria. I kneeled down in front of the Guildmaster, Detlas Wembleye, who was seated on a wooden throne that was gleaming with jewels.
“Kestria Warwicke, daughter of Ranulf and Celestina Warwicke, King and Queen of Azuria, and sister of the hero, Lukius Warwicke, will now be taking the crescent trial in order to become an adventurer,” the Guildmaster announced.
The room seemed to shiver along with the people in it as the six grand evaluators stepped forward from behind the Guildmaster’s throne. “Kestria Warwicke, please accompany us to the crescent trial’s evaluation room. For all those who wish to view the performance, you may seat yourself on the stands where it is safe,” said an evaluator sternly.
My parents had already warned me that the crescent trial was going to be arduous. Even the strongest adventurers in Azuria had to take the test at one point, it was inevitable, and the world out there is said to be dangerous. I ogled at the gold helmet in my hands, the crest of blue plumes on it being a sign of my sworn duty to our nation. I tied my silky black hair back and tucked it beneath my helmet as I put it on. It was a little claustrophobic and humid, but protecting myself was important. I nodded to the evaluators, they reciprocated the action and led me towards the trial room. We stopped in front of a set of towering doors that was being guarded by dwarves at the end of the room. I looked back at my parents one last time, their eyes gleaming with excitement and pride. I turned back to see an evaluator mutter to the dwarves, and all at once, the colossal doors disappeared into the ground. Only for a split second, I was able to spot the mana particles of the earth element in the air. The doors had seemed so luxurious, could dwarves really have built that? I admired the dwarf race’s power, to sink a lofty gate into the earth in a matter of mere seconds was truly a grand display of power, I wondered what else they could do. Beyond the doorway was a blinding light, I shielded my eyes and followed the sound of the footsteps of the evaluators as they marched forward.
This was not what I had expected the training room to be this time. It was simply a giant room the shape of a hexagon, the walls were made of some sort of ore that was reinforced with mana. Of course, this was all an illusion, every aspiring adventurer must go through different trials unique to themselves in order for the results to be consistent. If the training room were to be the same every time, it would become far too predictable. There were windows on all six sides where hundreds sat and watched with anticipation. The evaluators were standing at each corner of the room, I dug my heels into the terrain of dirt and eased my nerves, the eerie silence of the room left an uncomfortable feeling in me.
“The crescent trial evaluation for the title of adventurer for Kestria Warwicke will now be held,” announced an evaluator, his voice booming throughout the room as he pushed his glasses up.
That man is the evaluator renowned for being a user of air and sound magic. If he can manipulate his voice to be that loud, I’ll have to watch out for him. I readjusted my helmet and unsheathed my iron sword, it wasn’t light, nor was it too heavy. It didn’t quite fit in my hands, but I had to make due, I wasn’t going to let any more of my wealth affect my reputation as an honorable adventurer. This is going to be easy, I just need to do what the evaluators tell me to, and then I can get my own perfect weapon from the Labyrinth. I am going to get my very own Stardust Exilia, one of the hardest swords to craft in all of Azuria. I awaited my instructions and prepared myself. There was no way of telling how strong the evaluators could be because of how they use their powers so little, so I had to be cautious.
My mind could not process everything all at once, there was no warning, before I could even bother to react, I could see spells being launched towards the middle of the room where I was. Thankfully, I was able to get out of the way, I could feel the reverberations of the explosions that erupted from the six conflicting spells of different elements. I pushed myself up and faced the evaluators, none seemed to show any emotions on their faces, rather, they seemed quite bored. I gritted my teeth in frustration and crouched, this wasn’t how I expected the crescent trial to go. I knew that each trial was different for everyone, but still, is this how it’s normally supposed to go? I guess I shouldn’t be complaining, it’s not like the evaluators used major spells, anyway. My arm twitched. Should I try using magic myself? It seems that I have no choice, if I want to help my brother, I need to win this. But is that all there is to the trial? Do I have beat these people who were handpicked as evaluators by the Guildmaster himself? Forget it, there’s no use worrying about it now. I imagined an orb of water forming in my hands. It took an immense amount of concentration because of my nervousness, but I managed to expand the sphere enough to encase my entire body. This was my ultimate defensive technique, it took me around a year to perfect, but this was my chance to show it off. The only problem is that I have to hold my breath in it. Once again, the evaluators seemed unfazed by my trick, my blood boiled from anger, but before I could bother to attack any of them, a volley of spells were already sent in my direction, I could tell that they were going easy on me. My giant bubble absorbed most of the magic, but an ice spell managed to freeze it. I cursed as the frozen bubble shattered into hundreds of shards, I took a gulp of fresh air and charged towards an evaluator. I swung my sword blindly, I was done with this stupidity. The evaluator sidestepped out of the way, the momentum from my swing left no room for me to change directions. I slightly hesitated and twitched but I let go of the sword and conjured another orb of compressed water magic in my hand and struck the evaluator on the ribcage. There was a groan, I could hear a thump as something or someone fell onto the ground, I fell to my knees and gasped for air. That small attack had taken a toll on me, too. The evaluator had managed to lessen the blow by conjuring a ball of fire herself, but even then, the explosion caused both of us to fall. My gold armor managed to take most of the impact, but even then, I knew that these evaluators were just testing me, I knew that they were capable of doing much more. I got up and looked at the other evaluators through the large cloud of steam , they seemed slightly surprised, I grinned beneath my helmet. My body ached, but I wanted to continue to fight. I walked towards the middle cautiously.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“The crescent trial for Kestria Warwicke is now over, please wait in the guild hall for further information,” an unknown voice echoed throughout the trial room.
What?! Did I fail the trial?! I questioned desperately, I gazed around and realized that even the spectators seemed confused. I bit the inside of my cheek and made one more request, “Please let me keep going!”
There were no responses, the evaluators walked out of the room nonchalantly, the woman I thought I had hurt before appeared to be unharmed. My shoulders slumped, I was sure that I failed, even after all that training, I wasn’t fit to be an adventurer. The adrenaline that rushed through me started to fade away, I cradled my shoulder as I walked out of the trial room.
I was greeted by hundreds of people who were lined up in the guild hall, my parents were nowhere to be seen. I knew that my brother was in a dungeon, but I had still hoped for him to be here. I looked down in shame, the six evaluators stood in front of me with their hands behind their back.
The Guildmaster’s voice pierced through the air, “Kestria Warwicke has now earned the title of adventurer.”
I looked up in surprise, confusion took control of the rest of my emotions as the audience applauded after hesitating for a couple seconds. But why? I was sure that I had failed. I peered behind the evaluators and took a good look at the Guildmaster, he was thin yet tall, his hair was gray and he had an ice cold gaze paired with his forest green eyes. I shivered, everyone knew that the Guildmaster was strong, but he rarely showed his power. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him use magic or anything of the sort, I also don’t recall him being this intimidating.
“The results will now be announced,” an evaluator said. She was the one I had thought I had hurt.
“Why did it end so quickly?!” I asked in disbelief. “I could’ve scored higher!”
The crowd murmured in agreement. There was no answer to my question, the evaluators ignored it and stepped forward once more. The Guildmaster returned to his seat and released his aura to silence the room, I fell to my knees from the pressure, even the evaluators nearly stumbled. I gasped as the aura was retracted, the rest of the people in the room appeared a little shaken up but recovered faster than the average person. I guess I shouldn’t have expected any less than that from adventurers.
“Adventurer Kestria Warwicke’s proficiency in combat, magic utilization, and psyche will be ranked out of 100,” an evaluator stated, he had long lustrous white hair that fell to his shoulders. He is also the second strongest adventurer that is currently in this guild hall, the stronger ones are all in a dungeon or the Labyrinth. The crowd shifted on their feet, I could feel a chill go down my spine. The evaluator licked his lips and straightened his suit, “In combat, Kestria Warwicke has achieved a score of 76, in magic utilization, a score of 92, and last but not least, in psyche, a score of 63. This leaves Adventurer Kestria Warwicke’s overall score at seventy-five, the absolute minimum required to become an adventurer.”
I could hear a bit of murmuring, but most of it was cheering. I was disappointed at my results, even though I became an adventurer, I underestimated the crescent trial and was only able to make it in by the bare minimum. I must be an embarrassment to the royal family itself. That was one of the worst trials I had ever experienced in my entire lifetime, but even then, I managed to become an adventurer. My next stop is the Adventurer’s Plaza, where I could get the proper teammates to enter a class one dungeon. I have to show everyone that I have more to offer, or I’ll never get anywhere. I stomped out of the hall and didn’t look back, I knew that if I did, there would be no pain for me to gain from.