36 The Blue Phoenix Guild

Before setting out to the guild to get tested, Noah handed Leo a new sword since he broke his other one. "Good luck Leo and remember that the guild is rather rowdy so be prepared to be ridiculed and possibly tossed out. The guild master is respectful towards those that show strength, just do not go overboard unless provoked!"

"I understand that teacher. You should prepare our lunch while I am gone. No matter what, I will be returning here before heading out anywhere even without the acceptance of the guild." Responded Leo while winking at Noah in a casual manner. After training for one year under him, Leo felt very close to Noah.

"If you are accepted, I will give you another gift, so you better get going while you have the chance to take that test." Noah replied as he started to gather some firewood to throw in the firepit. On special occasions, Noah and Leo would eat a meal around a nice fire instead of in the house.

Without wasting anymore time, Leo quickly left the alliance's borders and arrived from within the city square. There were countless commoners within this square and it was the fastest way to navigate through the rest of the city. This square was within the center of the city and held neutral factions which were made up of almost all commoners.

Seeing a beautiful looking girl sitting alone on a bench, Leo decided to approach her before going to test himself at the guild. Casually pulling out a flower from his inventory screen discreetly, Leo started to stroll past everyone in these crowds and sat right next to this girl on the bench.

"Um. Who are you?" looking at Leo just sitting on the bench next to her without saying a word, the girl was startled and started to blush a little bit out of embarrassment.

"Oh me?" Leo said as he slowly put his left arm on the bench close to the girl's neck as he held out the flower with his right hand. "My name is Leo and I thought a beautiful girl like yourself deserves a nice flower that goes with that dress."

"Well, Leo, I think you should leave me alone. My father is very protective and is close by and if he sees you, that will cause you some trouble." Replied the girl as she pushed the flower and Leo's hand back onto his chest before standing up.

"Trouble? Now I am intrigued! What father would not like his daughter having a nice flower?" Leo continued but chose to not get up from the bench. Rather, he remained there in a calm and composed manner which made the girl feel less threatened.

"Buttercup daddy got you something spec- "walking over from a merchant shop nearby, the girl's father strolled over with three followers. They all looked like very formidable warriors but looked rather battle worn. When the man in the lead saw his daughter with a random boy, his face filled with happiness started to switch to rage and anger!

"Oh, I can explain. You see…" trying to explain the situation to the girl's father, Leo seemed lost for words. Within the past year, Leo was able to learn a scan type ability from his current inheritance which allowed him to see individual's levels around him. When he scanned this group's levels, he saw that they were all between level twelve and fifteen!

After training for a whole year, Leo went from only level four to level eight. What was worse, was that even though Leo maxed out all his attribute points he earned organically by training, he still couldn't see anyone else's attribute points with this skill. This meant that it was possible for him to be overpowered by even the weakest member in this group!

"Very good, I am glad to see that you understand the situation now. Buttercup come over here to daddy, so I can take you back home with your mother. There is no need for you to waste anymore of your time talking to this boy." The man in the lead said as the daughter ran into his arms before the group left.

"All of the girls I've met back at the alliance's headquarters were all very fond of me. Since I am not officially with the alliance though, these commoners will continue treating me normally as well. Good thing they let me go, I would've hated to potentially get injured before taking my test at the guild!" thought Leo as he ignored the small crowd that formed hoping to see a fight break out as he left towards the guild.

Finally arriving at a medium sized building which was standing alone without other buildings around it was the guild Leo was searching for. The name of this guild was "The Blue Phoenix Guild". The reason for this name, was its founder many years ago was a warrior that would use blue flames as his wings as he chopped down monsters with his sword.

The founder was a commoner who reached the executive level without the help of any households and so he chose to open his own little guild instead. Many schools, sects, and guilds within the city were created in a very similar way by independent commoners who wanted to help other commoners independently from other large factions.

Though majority of the warriors who showed enough potential were taken by the larger factions, there were still enough who chose not to join them and instead create their own faction instead. Over the hundreds of years that this city has existed, these neutral factions would be able to slowly gain more and more power as their foundations grew.

"Hey kid, it seems like you want to enter into this building, could it be that you are here to request an audience with the guild master?" one of the two guards at the entrance asked Leo as he approached the guild's building.

"Actually, I would like to take a test so that I can join you. I've heard from a close friend of mine that it would be wise of me to check you guys out." Replied Leo as he lowered his walking speed as he continued to approach the entrance of the building.

"Join…. us…...?" the other guard said as he turned to his side towards the other guard standing next to him. After locking eyes, both guards started to laugh uncontrollably before allowing Leo to pass them. A hint of regret was felt in their hearts as they watched Leo enter the guild.

"If it wasn't for a random kid earlier hitting on his daughter, Gorg would probably have gone a little easier on this newcomer. I hope for this kid's sake that when Gorg tests him a little later, that he calmed down a bit." The guards finally stopped laughing and started to compose themselves as proper guards after the thought of Gorg reprimanding them for being so casual while on guard duty.

Unfortunately for Leo, Gorg was exactly the man he had encountered earlier and that he was the reason that Gorg was so upset!

"Please wait here until Gorg arrives back to the guild. Gorg just got back yesterday from a small quest with his squad members and is a little worn out. However, today is his day to conduct any and all tests for warriors who want to enter our guild, so he should be back at any moment.

"Thank you so much for your help." Leo responded to this secretary as he casually sat on a small chair to await this Gorg individual.