Chapter 152: New regulations

Aiden deactivated the metallic device by touching the gemstone again and stood up. He walked back to the girl with the brown, curly hair who was already blushing as she noticed the approaching boy.

His handsome face curved into the same friendly smile that caused Mary's heart to race for some inexplicable reason, and with a calm tone, he spoke.

"Here you go, I filled it out. What's the next step?"

"Uhm… The next step…" Mary had some trouble gathering her thoughts. For some unexplainable reason, she had a very hard time keeping herself calm and collected. Those mesmerizing golden eyes caused her little heart to thump faster, with much more ferocity than ever before. She didn't know what this feeling was, but she knew that she never felt it before.

After a few moments of blabbering nonsensical phrases, she eventually managed to gather her thoughts enough to continue to the registration process.

"The next part is the test. Uhm, I would ask one of the examiners to test your skills. He or she will decide based on your abilities that you wouldn't just be rushing to your death. Uhm…" She checked the top section of the form he just handed over for the name." Aiden, could you please take a seat and wait a bit? I will be back as fast as I can."

Having said that, Mary quickly bowed and rushed to the back and entered the door where her figure quickly vanished. 

Seeing her ran for an examiner, Aiden turned around and went back to his seat, where Cole was still waiting. Looking at the boy, Aiden still couldn't figure out, why was he sticking to him so hard. Was it because of him testing the barrier surrounding that old, supposedly 'haunted' mansion? 

'Was I too excessive there?' He thought to himself as he sat down on his chair.

"Be careful with the next part Aiden! The examiners are tough, and some of them are very cruel as well! If they don't like you, they will torture you!" Cole's worried voice sounded from next to him as he took his seat.

"What do you mean? Never mind that… Instead, tell me: Where do they come from? My sister who registered a bit more than a week ago didn't mention any tests during her registration. She only mentioned some sort of meet-up…" Aiden asked.

"Well…" Cole began but stopped after a word. He nervously glanced around the room, checking if anybody would be looking at them, then with a lowered voice he continued in a hushed tone. 

"I only know that they came from somewhere outside the city supposedly a couple of days ago. The new local branch leader was suddenly changed to Sir Michael, and this was the first change he immediately made. He reasoned that the adventurer's power was way too low and pathetic, we couldn't serve the city properly and let such an atrocious establishment take root in our little city. "He said." "This is necessary to root out the unwanted weeds and accept those that have the potential for growth."

"That doesn't sound that bad, to be honest…" Aiden spoke with a thoughtful expression. "But then… why are you so worried about them?"

Cole sighed, placing his right hand above his heart to calm himself, he answered.

"It does sound good, but then, the group that arrived supposedly from the main branch looked nothing like the usual people the guild would work with. They all wore black clothing and covered their faces with black veils. Their leader, the only caster, was even more mysterious, she hid her entire face with a silver mask. She never said a word. Since then, many that tried to take the ranking tests became crippled. The passing rate is below ten percent…"

"That still doesn't necessarily mean they are evil at all, they could just be strict. Anyway, let's not talk about them anymore, I will see it for myself soon. Tell me about Adventurer's Guild a bit more… My sister only told me the basics…"

Aiden asked. Cole sighed hearing this, but didn't force the topic any longer, Aiden will experience the hellish torture soon enough anyway. He took a long breath and started his long-winded explanation about how the guild was built up, how the ranking system worked, and then about the mission board and difficulties. 

"So, when all of this is completed, I will be officially recognized as a Rank 1 or 1-star adventurer." Aiden summarised the last fifteen minutes in a sentence. Then, his eyes lit up as he remembered something that Lily mentioned.

"What about that meet-up? I heard it is a weekly event where you are forced to meet the other newly registered people and form parties. Do I need to attend to that?"

"Well…" It used to be an optional event, but the new leader made it a mandatory thing for every newly joined. The event itself changed a bit, it's not just a friendly gathering anymore but supposedly there's a small tournament that is held in it as well. I-I don't know much about it, but it is said to be organized tomorrow, so if you pass the test, you can check it out. You will need to come back for your card anyway."

"I see. Thanks for all the info Cole. I still don't understand why you are so friendly, but I appreciate it." Aiden spoke with a friendly smile on his face looking at Cole.

"Ehrm… No problem, Aiden." Cole replied with the same friendly expression. "If you are not against it, would you like to party up with me from tomorrow?"

"Huh? Don't you have a group for yourself already?" Aiden asked with an innocent stare.

"No. I told you… I don't have that many friends, and joining an established group is very hard… Nobody accepted me…" Cole replied with a dejected look on his face.

Looking at the sad look on the youth's face, Aiden reached out with his hand and patted his back.

"In that case, let's team up together then!" He said with the same friendly smile as before. He didn't have any doubts about him after this. He looked honest, his words sounded true, and the system didn't mark him as a hostile entity either. Besides, he didn't know many people in the city, and Cole was just the right person to show him around.

"Thanks… Aiden." Gratitude could be seen in Cole's eyes as he looked at the long, black-haired, golden-eyed boy next to him. He himself didn't know why he decided to approach him, he just had a sudden feeling… He couldn't explain it to himself, but he felt an unexplainable pull, something deep inside his head told him that he could help him with his problems… But he had to be careful, he couldn't just bring the matter up now. Not yet anyway.

They continued talking for a while before, eventually the back door was opened, and Mary came back with two figures garbed in black clothes. They both wore a painted steel chest plate with matching steel legplates covering their entire bodies. The guild's logo, the insignia of the sword hitting the shield was painted with gold paint on top of their hearts. They both wore similarly painted, black steel helmets, hiding their faces completely.

They looked fearsome and masculine, but you couldn't be certain, the armor they wore hid all curves and characteristics. The one on the left had a huge broadsword on its back, while the one on the right had a large, towering shield that easily matched the figure's height, with a long sword hanging on its right.

Mary discussed something with them, pointing at Aiden's direction. In turn, they took a glance at him, then expressionlessly left through a second door that was on the right side of the hall.

Mary quickly rushed over to where Aiden and Cole were waiting. Panting for a few seconds, she spoke. Her voice wasn't happy anymore, it carried worry with a tinge of fear and agitation mixed in. 

"Aiden, you will be tested by two examiners. I'm sorry, I don't know why but they said that they both wanted to be present." She gulped before she continued as she pointed towards the same door on the right side. "If you are ready, go through that door."

Aiden nodded with the same friendly smile and stood up from his seat before speaking in a calm manner.

"Thank you for the help, Mary. I will be back shortly, and then we can finalize the process."

With that said, he calmly left the two, approaching the door.

However, he didn't even take three steps, when Mary called out once again, with even more worry in her voice.

"Aiden… be careful, okay? They are both immensely powerful… and they seemed weird when they read your profile. I… don't know why."

Aiden turned around, and with an even brighter smile, he nodded.

"I see. Thank you for the warning, but don't worry. I can handle them."