Chapter 86: The Black Swans

The guild hall was an impressive room. It was even bigger than the mailroom and had a number of wooden stalls. The wooden stalls reminded Villin of the ones he had seen after the cross-school tournament, the only difference was that not all stalls were the same size.

Some only had enough space for one person to stand inside while others had enough place for dozens, sometimes even having some sorts of equipment.

Villin was surprised to notice many of the people within the stalls were working on one thing or another. Many were sitting down working on their web while others were playing games with each other such as chess.

Not all stalls were made out of wood though, Villin noticed there were a few made out of smooth stone as well.

There were about fifty stalls in total of various sizes. Above each stall was a wooden sigh depicting a name and a crest. Villin happened to spot the stall of 'The Shielding Lions' who they had fought before. It was a middle-sized stall that could fit about five people, there were currently two people outside.

"This is the guild hall. Every guild that has qualifications to exist in this grade has a stall here. During class hours you'll see most of these stalls deserted with only a few guards moving about." The bald professor pointed toward a few stalls as he explained.

"As I explained before every guild has their own thing they do. For example, the stall to our left, over there, focuses mainly on enchantments, more specifically the enchanting of clothes. There are guilds for all sorts of things. Most have their own companies outside of The Academy but, of course, there are also newer ones." As he was talking they were passing by a rather large stone stall with a dozen people inside, most of which in the middle of enchanting.

"You will be expected to join a guild within two weeks, this is mandatory. There are multiple guilds that just leave their members be doing nothing but exchange information occasionally. If you don't join a guild within two weeks you will be put into one of the guilds led by The Academy itself." after speaking of this the professor pointed at a few points on Villin's map and stated.

"I suggest you go to these locations next. The mission board will only be applicable after you join a guild but I still suggest you have a look at. The training grounds are over there, challenges can be freely made there and no fines will have to be paid. Of course, deathmatches are not allowed, anyone who kills a fellow student can expect to be expulsed. I also suggest you go to the grade holder's office to decide on your classes." The professor looked thoughtful as he was thinking of what else to say "The full extent of the rules were in your crates so you already have those, everything else is pretty self-explanatory, you'll figure it out in a bit."

After saying his piece the professor disappeared again after a short cast.

And so Villin and company were left alone in the room, left to explore on their own. After looking around for a while the group got a better feel for the room, they also walked up to a few stalls asking what the guild focused on and what they offered.

After spending a bit of time here, they decided to go to the mission board the professor had pointed out on the map but just before they did someone approached them.

Villin recognized the boy coming toward him with his silver hair and red pupils. It was the same boy they passed then they entered the mailroom. The crest on his robe depicted a black swan. When the boy got close enough he looked at Villin, who seemed to be the leader of the group, and spoke "Hello there! Welcome to the second grade of The Academy." The boy spoke in a very business-like manner.

"My name is Hawk, I am one of the members of The Black Swans. Who might you all be?"

Villin found his tone of voice to be pleasant, he didn't act disrespectfully so Villin released a smile and replied. "My name is Villin Gray and they are Kayley Alius, Amelia Blackwood, and Rein Bellua. We were transferred over from the first grade."

Villin noticed a glint in Hawk's eyes as he finished his sentence but decided to ignore it. "Since you all are new, allow me to introduce The Black Swans' services. We are a newly founded guild who focus on information gathering. There are two other guilds with the same purpose here but both are less reliable, their methods are outdated and members crooked. If you need any piece of information we always make sure our information is accurate." the boy flashed them a smile.

Villin eyed him with interest, information was indeed always useful "In that case mister Hawk, would you have any information on Elinoire Decorus? We can pay with crystals or other information you wish to ask."

Hawk's eyes flashed once more as he looked Villin over again. "In that case, please follow me to our headquarters, we conduct all business there to avoid people listening in."

Villin nodded and the group followed Hawk as he left the room. After a good five minutes of walking, he stopped in front of one of the classrooms.

Without hesitation, Villin walked up and opened the door. The classroom wasn't large, Villin expected about fifteen students could be seated if sufficient chairs and tables were brought up. Currently, there were three people in the room. Close to him sat a girl with silver hair and golden eyes that were looking right at him, they looked very intense. She was sitting at a table with five chairs across from here in a half-circle, clearly, they were supposed to sit there.

The other two people in the room were sitting together and were busy with some pieces of paper with text on, Villin decided to ignore it. Looking at the room overall Villin didn't see anything special and so he quickly went to sit down.

"Hello my name is Ruby, I am the founder of The Black Swans, it is a pleasure to meet you Villin." Ruby gave a business-like smile as she spoke her words.

Villin didn't mind the fact she already knew her name, since they were an information network they probably had a way to instantly transfer information, that wasn't much of a surprise "Founder you say? I thought only fifth and sixth graders made guilds but I supposed I might've been told incorrectly."

Hearing his words Ruby smiled a bit more as she explained: "Usually you would be right but I have special qualifications allowing me to be allowed the privilege that is creating a guild."

"Is the information as for what this qualification is for sale?"

Villin's question pleased Ruby as not everyone realized the value of information but she had to decline "I apologize but any information about members of our guild is not for sale."

Villin nodded, it was a good rule to make "Alright then, I wish to ask about Elinoire Decorus, any information you have about her and her character. I can pay with crystals or information about us."

Villin's words were clear and to the point, something that made Ruby appreciate him more.

"Very well then, payment always comes first. I have two questions I would like to ask in exchange. Firstly, what chain of events brought you to join the second grade at the beginning of the fifth month, and secondly, what is the spell one of you used earlier to restrain the people from The Shielding Lions.

Villin thought for a moment and decided to share the information she asked for. Obviously Ruby would be getting more out of the exchange but that was natural since the information she asked for might not have any value to them if nobody else asked.

"As for the first question. When The Academy was under attack three months ago, we managed to escape. We were stuck in the mortal world for three months and only managed to get back to The Academy when the cross-school tournament happened. There a teacher recognized us and two days later, today, we were allowed to enter the second grade."

Ruby's eyes widened as she nodded, this information was obviously more valuable than what she expected even if she could feel some things were omitted.

"As for your second question, the spell was Vinea Tenura, but at that time we all used it at the same time causing a greater effect. We had a decent bit of time to practice our spells lately." Villin smiled as he finished his answer.

Ruby nodded once more as she got her head back into the game "Very well then, let me tell you what is known about miss Decorus." After saying this Ruby paused for a moment as she thought about the information. "Elinoire Decorus was a top student in Decorus, performing well in all classes, from what I heard she holds interest toward enchanting but Decorus's enchanting classes aren't exactly up to par. This is one of the events that led to the decision of letting her transfer."

"Only one day of class has passed but the students' attitude toward her is very clear, she is hated within the school, her looks are often a source of ridicule and insults. But of course, the main reason is her heritage."

"One thing that confuses us still is her bloodline, she should have a bloodline since she is the daughter from the Decorus headmaster but the test put her into class B, even though this information isn't confirmed and probably won't be, we have suspicions she might not be the actual daughter from said headmaster."

"As for her character, so far she's taken the insults without a problem, she seems to be minding her own business but we haven't had enough time to properly test this."

Villin nodded as Ruby finished her words. "Thank you for your time, I should be leaving now.", he said after which he left the room. The information they got about Elinoire wasn't what they were after but still worth the information they gave up. Villin sighed. Rein and Kayley decided to go have another look at some of the other things the school had to offer while Villin and Amelia decided to go apply for their classes and then just go toward the room.

Little did they know of the situation that would play out in said room.