Full of anticipation, I walked into The Guild's building through its heavy wooden doors.
I was wondering why they would make doors that big until I remembered there are races that are gigantic in size here.
I was kind of expecting the place to double as a tavern but it seems like this wasn't the case here. In fact, it looked more like a bank with its staff sitting behind the counters and the seating slash waiting area off to the side.
The standard quest board is also present, covering the entirety of a wall with various people standing in front of it.
It really is a Guild.
I could see that most of the staff here are Mahuns, though there were a variety of races that looked like mercenaries walking around the lobby.
Mother had given me the money required to sign up and shooed me in, stating that she would wait outside for me since she knew I wanted to do this on my own.
Walking up to one of the counters, I was greeted by the young lady behind the counter. Yes, she's quite pretty too, in case you were wondering.
She gave me a business-like smile, "Welcome to The Guild, is there anything I can help you with?"
"I'd like to join The Guild please," I told her, sliding across the two silver coins I had.
"Oh a new member I see? In that case, I will need you to fill up this form, are you able to read and write?"
I nodded which prompted her to push the paper and pen towards me.
It was a simple form that basically asked about my name, age and race. There is also a section asking about which branch of the Guild I was signing up for and the role I would play in a party in the event I am signing up as a Mercenary or Dungeoneer.
I almost wanted to write 'consumer of sweets' for the role but decided to just settle on 'arcane brawler' instead. Hey, it was the first thing that came to mind, ok?
Yes, I made that up. What else was I supposed to call myself? A magic knight? I'm not even remotely 'knightly' and I'm better with my fists than a sword anyway.
I then circled the Dungeoneer and Mercenary options for the branches before pushing the paper back to her, letting her give it a once over.
"I apologise, Miss Aster… Are you actually only ten years old?" The guild receptionist asked.
"Yes, I am. My Mother did say that I mature faster than others my age, apparently."
"I see… Umm, what is an arcane brawler?"
"Err… I don't know what else to put there but I can use magic and also fight unarmed."
She giggled, "Fufu~ In that case, I can put you down as an all-rounder, Miss Aster. This particular section is for fulfilling specific requests like Mercenary or Dungeoneer parties looking for members to fulfil specific roles in their group, or for clients who require the services of a healer or something similar. You can inform The Guild that you would like to use our matchmaking services and we will forward your Guild information to interested parties for you."
Oh? That's interesting and helpful too, although I'm not looking to do that at the moment.
I decided to change the topic, "I heard there was a test of some sort as well?"
She nodded and stamped on my paper before passing it back to me, gesturing to the door on the other side of the wall.
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"You can head through there and inform them that you are a newcomer, there will be someone there to guide you, Miss Aster."
I thanked her and proceeded to the door just as she instructed, opening it to see a set of stairs that led into the basement.
Huh… I'm not being led to some underground child kidnapping ring am I?
Pushing such nonsensical thoughts out from my mind, I descended the stairs to find myself in what looks like a training hall. Inside, there were several people making use of the space to spar and also train on the weights and exercise equipment there.
I guess The Guild also doubles as a gym of sorts?
Near the door was a bald man with a muscular frame who took notice of me as soon as I entered.
"New girl?" He asked, eyeing the registration papers in my hand.
I nodded and handed the papers to him, guessing he must be the guide the receptionist was talking about.
He eyed the contents of the paper before turning back to me with a sceptical look, "Ya ten years old? Seriously?"
"Yes, apparently I'm quick to mature, according to my Mother," I repeated to him what I told the receptionist.
He shrugged and continued reading the rest, "Going straight fer' both a Dungeoneer and a Mercenary eh? Ya sure you're up for it? Ya might need ta kill more 'an just monsters as a Mercenary, ya know?"
Like what Mother said, they weren't even going to question about a ten year old joining The Guild, the reason why they were asking about the age was because average Meslatars wouldn't have grown so large at this age.
He's more concerned that my mentality was not prepared about killing other sentient beings instead.
"That's no problem, I have fought bandits before," I informed him, thinking about that trashy asshole from so many years ago.
He shrugged, "Alright then. Unfortunately we can only do the test for ya Mercenary application as the guy in charge of that test recently retired. Aye suggest ya ta go to another Guild that has a dungeon fer' that."
I nodded to show that I understood and had no problems with that.
He looked back down again, "It says here you're an all-rounder so I assume ya can fulfil multiple roles in a party?"
I nodded again.
He then looked down at the dress I was wearing, "In that case, aye think ya should go change to your combat wear and we can start once ya ready."
"No, no. I can fight like this, you don't need to worry about it," I assured him.
He raised an eyebrow at me, "Are ya taking this seriously? The test will consist of a spar with me, ya know? Didya think it was a written test?"
"I am aware and I assure you, you don't need to worry about my state of dress hindering my movements in any way. You can say that I have been trained to fight while outfitted in unsuitable attire."
The man obviously wasn't that convinced but decided not to argue with me.
He gestured for me to follow him to one of the weapon racks which stored an array of wooden weapons ranging from daggers, swords, maces and even spears and battleaxes.
Picking up a sword from the rack, he then stepped aside to give me space, "Pick any weapon ya like and we'll have a quick spar."
I briefly considered just going in barehanded but decided against it and chose a dagger.
I could have picked two daggers but I wanted to leave my other hand free in case I needed to grapple him.
Speaking of which… Let me just check his stats.
[Name: Trey
Title: Guild Trainer
Race: Mahun
Stats:
32 Strength
64 Dexterity
60 Endurance
10 Magic
Skills:
Martial Skill-(Sword Proficiency (Tier 3), Bow Proficiency (Tier 2), Spear Proficiency (Tier 2), Unarmed Proficiency (Tier 1)), Marksman Skill (Tier 1), Hunting (Tier 1)]
…
Woah… I… Don't know what to say… Why is he so weak? Even Odeta has a chance of beating him…
Wait, no, I should remember that a bear has about forty plus points in strength, a normal Mahun shouldn't even be able to overpower it in pure strength so he's actually quite strong?
I almost pity him right now.
He guided me to an open area which caught the attention of a few of the Guild members nearby, obviously wondering what a girl wearing a dress and heels was doing here.
Trey took out a coin from his pocket, "We'll start as soon as the coin hits the ground, no need to think about defeating me, I'm just here to check your skills so ya can still pass if aye think you are good enough. Dat' alright?"
I nodded, not telling him that I was fully intent on defeating him.
He flipped the coin and both of us waited until the telltale sound of a coin hitting the floor signalled the start of my test.
I rushed forward immediately, stabbing my dagger straight at his chest at a speed that made him widen his eyes in surprise.
He managed to flick his wrist to parry the attack but that left him open for my other hand to reach forward to grab him by his collar.
Placing my left foot out to rest it against the side of his right foot, I pulled my hand with enough force to trip him, switching my grip on my dagger to an underhand grip at the same time.
I shifted my foot back until I had him resting his back on my knee, making him in the perfect position for me to place the blade of my dagger against his neck.
"Do I pass?" I asked, a sweet smile on my lips.
All I got was a blank stare in return.
Er… Did I do good?