73 Black Butterflies

"Take off your mask, kid." Within the already silent hall, the words seemed to bear down on everyone. Adding on Marcel's earlier taunt, the twins would have to be brain dead to not have realized that one of the opposing women was the exact person that Rykar nearly bumped into after the auction.

With a chuckle, Marcel wrapped his arm further around Rykar's shoulders while using his other hand to stroke his hood with mock affection. "Now, now. Why are you always like this? Are you forgetting that one of the rules of the training is to stay anonymous? Jheeze, listing to you, I almost mistook you for the guild leader."

"I'm not going to repeat myself." With her having crossed half the distance by this point, Rykar began to ready himself to break free from Marcel's grip before escaping in any possible direction.

"After years of training, I once again find you throwing your weight around in front of children." A bored voice cut through the tension before causing everyone's eyes to fix on the large seat towards the end of the hall. Without anyone knowing when, its vacancy was occupied by the hooded figure which everyone in the room was familiar with.

As if having been through this too many times before, the guild leader continued without giving them any time to refute. "Level 3 punishment. Now shut up and stand to the side." Two black butterflies exited his sleeves before fixing themselves onto the necks of the arguing parties.

With the heated event having come to an abrupt end, the guild leader didn't waste any time before beginning his speech to this latest batch of applicants to The Guild. Looking around the room, he nodded his head slightly after counting the people present. The hall now contained over 200 figures all dressed in cloaks with masks and hoods, giving off a weird impression to anyone unused to the scene.

With his heart rate still elevated, Rykar did his best to push back his stalled anxiety in order to pay attention to the what was being said.

"It's good to have so many people joining us today." He began by giving a dry welcome to the youths before him. "I'll start by introducing you all to you to those who will be leading you for the duration of the training. Along with myself personally leading the way, there will be Marcel, Nyra and Arwen. As they are the three who caused the commotion earlier, I have no doubt that you are all familiar with who they are. If not, you'll have to observe and figure it out.

"For the most part, the rules of this training are the most simple they have ever been. You will follow us until told otherwise. Make sure to bear in mind, this test exists in order to measure your self-sufficiency, adaptability, endurance and ability to learn. It will not be short, and it will not be easy.

"There will be no verbal communication of any kind allowed between you and anyone else, even us.

If I, or any the other invigilators, have something to tell you, then we will. If you have a question you want to ask, don't. If you have an issue you need help with, keep it to yourself. If there is something you don't understand, think about it yourself until you do. As soon as you speak, your trial will be considered forfeit and I recommend you make your own way back immediately."

A small wave of whispers spread through the crowd at this point, yet the guild leader didn't prevent this, instead continuing to deliver his concise instructions unperturbed. "In a moment, butterflies similar to those attached to the previous two will attach themselves to you all. This is in order to monitor your speaking and keeping track of anyone who can't keep their mouth shut, they will not restrict you in any way. They will also keep track of your location in the case of any unforeseen events.

As mentioned in the guide, any belongings you wish to bring with you are fine, however no mounts, forms of transport or external methods of lightening the load placed on yourself are allowed. Anonymity is also necessary. As you won't be speaking anyway, there shouldn't be much of a need for you to reveal your identity to others. As such, once your face is exposed, you fail.

"Communication will be restricted within the next five minutes, so if you have anything to say to one another, use this time well."

While the hall burst into conversation, Rykar and Loki stood next to Marcel in silence while still digesting the information. Listening to the excited chattering of the other participants, it seemed that this year's trial was different from others due to the lack of specific rules. The duration of the test seemed to weigh on their minds too, as the only hint towards to the time was 'It will not be short'. But who knew what the hell 'short' was?

Loki then turned to Marcel to ask "Other than the rules that he said, everything else is fine? Like, if we fight with someone else, it's all fine as long as we don't speak to them?"

"Well, as long as you didn't hear that in the rules, you're free to do whatever you want. However, I can tell you that we, as moderators, will not be interfering in the results in any way." Marcel chuckled before resting a hand on either of the twins' shoulders. "So, you can rest easy, her bark is oficially worse than her bite."

'For now at least' he added internally.

The next five minutes passed by uneventfully. With the majority of the information having being told to them beforehand, they didn't learn anything new apart from the reason which Marcel and the two sisters were so hostile to each other.

Marcel was actually the most promising follower of the guild leader. For over a decade, he had been developed somewhat as the pseudo leader of The Guild. Although there were many members who were more senior in terms of age and experience, none could compare to Marcel in terms of trust and position. That was with the exception of Nyra and Arwen. These girls were similarly a set of twins with an origin which even Marcel didn't have enough knowledge about to speak on.

After being brought back with the Guild leader around eight years ago, they rapidly progressed with flying colours. If there was something asked of them, it was never whether they would do it, but whether they would do it amazingly or… well, there were no other results from them. It was to the point that if the leader asked them to dig a hole, they would probably spend the rest of their lives digging it unless they were told otherwise.

Aside from their die hard loyalty to the leader, The only thing that Marcel really had to say about them was that Nyra had a temper like a raging bull yet her sister, Arwen, was the complete opposite, calm and composed while being a person of few words.

Without elaborating in the slightest, Marcel chalked Nyra'a aggression as being due to 'just a bit of friendly competition'. This raised the eyebrows of both twins when they thought about how bad of a situation they might be in and exactly what Marcel could have meant. 'Surely this kind of hatred can't be normal around here' They thought while taking a step away from him.

"So why are you dragging us into this?" Loki asked while considering the awkward situation he was being thrown into.

"I didn't put you in any situation. I recruited you and she decided to get mad." Marcel raised his hands while dismissing the accusation before nodding his head in Rykar's direction. "Anyhow, it was him that walked into her and pissed her off. Besides, am I supposed to just stay lonely and without friends just because she will throw a bitch fit?"

By the time they got this bit of information from him, some of the surrounding participants began to approach Marcel, as an invigilator, in order to ask for advice on the upcoming trial. Without the chance nor the patience to refute his claim, the rest of the time whisked away from them in this fashion.

Not a second after the five minutes ran out, the guild leader was back on his seat at the front of the hall while Marcel, Nyra, and Arwen stood at his sides.

"We begin immediately." With a wave of his hand, a black cloud of butterflies spread through the room, fluttering soundlessly before seemingly disappearing when coming into contact with the ears of the participants.

As this was happing, many of the people in the crowd flinched or subconsciously tried to dodge these shadowy forms however it all proved fruitless. Much less dodging them, they couldn't even feel when they attached to them. It seemed as though from start to finish, they were caught in an illusion which finished almost as quickly as it had begun.

Nothing else was said before he stood up from his seat and walked through the crowd of participants. Unsure of his actions, everyone cleared a path directly in front of him, allowing the group of four to pass through the crowd and through the arched entrance unhindered.

As the group left the hall, people seemed to begin coming back to their senses as they quickly followed after them.

"What the hell was that?" One person mumbled under their breath while nervously scratching the side of their neck.

Just as soundlessly as the butterfly had merged into his neck, it peeled itself away under the surprised gaze of the people close enough to notice. Rising above the crowd, the butterfly broke into a cluster of particles before fading away entirely.

"Trash. Find your own way back." The voice washed over everyone. Not a single person had left the hall, yet there was already someone who had lost the opportunity which had been presented to them.

"I didn't even say anything!" The person shouted in denial as he felt his heart drop but there was no reply to the injustice he felt.

Despite no one hearing whether this person spoke or not, they buried the event in their hearts before marching out behind the group of four which were leading them towards the unknown.