The sound of a pair of hands banging on the desk in front of her made the receptionist, which had already accepted Eric’s handkerchief, regain focus.

She then sighed heavily and continued doing her job.

‘’Sure, the fee to enroll in the entry test is 10 gold coins for each person.

You will fight against a B-rank adventurer approved by the Guild.

He will evaluate your fighting abilities and determine your starting adventurer rank. ''

Eric’s thoughts were totally relaxed.

*B, that will be fun! *

Rubra and Eve were completely focused on Rita’s, the receptionist’s eyes.

She could have been talking about socioeconomics or the relationship between physics and philosophy, at that moment, for all they cared.

The two wouldn’t have heard any of that.

They instinctively knew what sociologists proved on Earth: most information transmitted during communication between two persons is body language, not words.

Eric knew all that and contemporarily observed the usually two enemies being in perfect harmony in that short and rare moment.

Distracted, slightly grinning because of the scene he was focused on, he automatically nodded to Rita’s words and threw on the counter a little pouch with inside the right amount to pay for 3 persons to take the entry test.

The onlookers took that action as a sign of unwavering courage, polarizing the initial reactions he caused in the audience.

That impression wasn’t wrong, but the reason behind it was actually another from what could be easily guessed.

Those who hated him out of jealousy had more reasons for it, taking him for a conceited rookie with nothing good apart from his appearance.

Who felt attraction at first was even more interested in his guts, taking him for a veteran martial artist that wanted to become an adventurer after concluding his secluded training in God knows what secret place.

His actions got again the attention that was temporarily diverted by Rubra and Eve.

Rita was slightly impressed, like the other persons watching, but managed to keep control of her expression, differently from before.

In the past, she had already seen young masters accompanied by good-looking slaves trying to take the test and spending with no hesitation a sum of money that could easily sustain an average-sized family for a month.

When he took away his hood, she was so smitten by his looks, but now, knowing the identity of the other two previously hooded figures and watching the nonchalance linked to his gesture, she was turned off by it.

Her hopes of meeting a mysterious, good-looking, strong man disappeared, and now the most affection she could muster in her heart for him was hoping he would survive what would happen to him in the next 24 hours.

Those past young masters she remembered, introducing themselves similarly to Eric, had always ended badly.

Almost all of them didn’t manage to overcome the trial, not that it changed that much about their destiny.

In the industry of adventurers, those who attracted attention without the strength to back it up always had a bad ending.

In this specific case, depending on the situation, the young master would end up killed or at least incapable of reasoning in any logical manner.

The constant was that his sex slaves would end up changing masters or being directly sold for a fair price.

This was the world of adventuring: the moment the crime wasn’t seen by any authority, all was free game and could be justified as an accident or an attack of bandits.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

*As if this situation wasn’t stressful enough, this one today also paid for his slaves to take the test.

Leaving two pieces of meat near a hungry wolf would definitely be a smart idea! *

Rita was trying to overcome her stress through irony.

Usually, the adventurers attacking those rich rookies were said to be the same high-ranking adventurers evaluating them during the test.

In Zolgas, this rule wasn’t any less valid.

Those were gossips, though justified by the uncanny friendship between that infamous individual and the slave merchant in Zolgas.

In fact, in this medieval-like society, gossip was sadly the closest thing to proof.

Slavery was legal but morally disliked in the human kingdom.

War created the need for cheap labor, and those who couldn’t pay for their own survival or the state taxes had one main viable option: slavery.

The Guild's main hall was almost silent now.

As if waiting for the clue moment to make the best impression possible on the two beauties that captured his interest some time ago, a loud laugh erupted from a round table placed on a floor elevated with respect to the reception desk near the entrance.

‘’Ahahahah, someone full of shit came today! ‘’

The man’s body told his own story rather well.

If someone were to come closer to him, the first remark would be his fin-like grey hairs gaining him the nickname Shark.

The second most striking characteristic was his body odor: alcohol was mixed with strong-smelling cologne, not quite covering his nauseating sweat.

Finally, his body shape and fashion style seemed to paint the prototypical criminal old bastard.

Black sunglasses covered his eyes.

Excessive golden chains covered his white tank top together with his chest hair.

A black shirt tried hiding his overwhelming fat, but with the nocturnal atmosphere around him, he just looked like a black blob.

‘’I will have something new to eat tomorrow! ‘’

Shark’s sight was now focused not on Eric but on Rubra and Eve.

As if giving weight to his words were the visible results of his past actions.

Sitting at his round table were many beautiful girls.

To be correct, they would have been beautiful had it not been for the total absence of light in their eyes.

Their bodies were definitely well proportionate, but they were more similar to realistic dolls, more than humans.

All of them wore a grey dress, similar to a bag of jute with holes for arms, legs, and head.

That bag didn’t manage to hide the scars covering completely the limbs of the women.

Shark, showing his golden teeth, was now watching Eric’s companions with unhidden lust.

Eric didn’t know the details of Shark’s story, but honestly, he didn’t need or want to know anything more about that bastard.

At that moment, Eric had decided.

*The pig-shaped will do as an example for all the crazy persons of the Guild. *

The smile he had previously, because of the cute interaction of the two girls near him, didn’t change much, but the different intent was clear.

So clear that the two women, sensing the creation of an aura similar to the one they had experienced in the past, grabbed his arms.

Eric luckily regained control before the death aura became visible and any city senior had a heart attack.

His thought calmed easily, hugging the two women closest to him.

*I’ve got some beautiful brakes with me! *