Rick's name was called. I guess I will be sparring with him then. But he is a Shadow Knight. The second highest rank in the ranking system. He'll definitely be different from the two that I just fought earlier. Can I even call it a fight? They barely even moved when I charged at them and hit their shoulder or neck. I swear I did not hit them hard. I swear!
But— why Rick though? I was certain there were other rookies in the arena. The second rookie I faced earlier was stronger than the first, but he didn't react to my attack either. Odd.
Rick headed up onto the arena while scratching his head. He asked the Dark Lord to reconsider his decision, to which he replied, "You vouched for him, didn't you?"
Rick was speechless upon hearing that. He proceeded to pick up the wooden sword on the ground and stood ready to face me. I can see that he was reluctant, but I, on the other hand, was eager. Time to find out whether my perception was right. Can I really beat him? I raised my hand, and Rick was surprised.
"May I spar with my weapon? I'll be using the blunt side as I wished to spar at my best," I bowed to the Dark Lord. He gave me his death stare. Even while looking down, I can still feel his glare piercing into my very soul.
"You may. What about you, Rick? Do you wish to use your weapon?" the Dark Lord smirked.
Rick declined. No doubt he will surely be embarrassed if he were to actually use his weapon against a newbie. The receptionist brought over my weapons to me. I grabbed Inazuma and slotted it at my hip.
"Rick, I wish to spar with you at my best. I need to know what my strength level is and how I can improve myself. I hope you are willing to teach me as my senpai," I bowed to him. He got flustered and started rubbing his nose.
"Well— if you put it that way— Alright then," he scratched his head.
Looks like he is getting serious now. I heard the word "Begin," but I did not move. Unlike the two previous rookies, Rick was calm and emitted a dangerous aura. This must be the Fear spell that the Dark guild was infamous for. Makes you think twice before rushing in to attack. I breathed deeply and exhaled twice. Then I rushed towards him and attacked.
***
Look at this guy getting all cocky. Not to mention getting me all excited over a sparring test. This is just supposed to be an initiation test dammit! Look at him using his cute starry eyes asking me to teach him. Called me senpai too!
Ah, damn it. I must have a soft spot for this kid. I'll teach him alright. I'll teach him what it means to be in the Dark guild.
I started with the guild's signature Fear spell. This will make your opponent think twice before attacking you, and if you succumb to it, you'll lose all morale or even the will to fight. Hm? He's using a breathing technique to calm himself. What a kid. Most newbies would have cowered in fear or run away by now. You're really something else. Made me chuckle a little too.
W— what? He disappeared when I blinked? Woah!!
Pap!
I managed to block his attack that was aiming for my neck. Geez, how fast is this kid? Oh shit, here comes more.
Pap pap pap pap!
Holy shit, I managed to block them all! This kid is aiming to knock me out as fast as possible. His swings were not heavy, but his speed, along with his attack speed, is unbelievable. He's swinging his blade around like a piece of toy with those skinny arms of his. What do I even have to teach him? My agility is not that fast anyway. Oh boy, here he comes again!
I'm doing everything I can to block his attacks. I am at my wits' end here. Blocking is all I can do when he is on the offensive. If I miss even one, I will be kissing the ground for sure. Good thing he is using the blunt side as he promised. But still, damn it!
Woah!! I managed to dodge away, but he cut some of my front hair. Not my hair!!
I am panting heavily now, and so is he. Wait, is he really? No, he is just panting normally. We exchanged blows after blows, and it was mostly me defending myself. Shit, what a joke. And— he's coming again.
Bloody hell, his agility is off the charts. Not to mention he is nimble and attacks with precision. I am losing control of this fight. So much for being a Shadow Knight when I can't even beat a newbie. Damn it! I am losing my footing here. Shit, shit!
***
What's going on? Why isn't he attacking me? I thought cutting a bit of his hair would have made him angry, but he was surprisingly calm. Not bad, Rick. Not bad.
Guess I'll have to push the attack since he is being so defensive. So far, all he's done is blocking my attacks. Aiming for his vitals to knock him out cold isn't as easy as I thought. I just have to keep pushing until an opportunity arises. There! He's about to lose his balance. Now I just need to aim for his…
"Shadow Strike!" Rick shouted all of a sudden. His parry became heavy, and it pushed back my attack with force, causing me to be exposed mid-air. Damn it! I fell to the ground, landing on my shoulder as his heavy parry caught me off-guard completely. I tried to get up as fast as I could, but Rick was already pointing his wooden sword at my face.
Alright, I'll admit defeat. No point in continuing any further.
Loud applause could be heard from the spectators' seats. Since when did so many people come to watch? I must have been so focused on this fight that I hadn't noticed them. Rick held out his hand, which I gladly accepted as he pulled me up.
"Geez, kid, you're crazy! To force me to use Shadow Strike in an initiation test, you're going to be stupidly strong in the future. Ah, damn it," said Rick while panting heavily.
I just fought at my best. Am I really that strong when I still lost to you?
"Where did you learn how to fight?" asked the Dark Lord.
"My grandfather was the one who taught me. Today was my first time sparring with someone else," I told him.
Was that… a smile? Did the Dark Lord seriously just smile? That was the evilest smile I had ever seen in my entire life!
"Initiate Zen, I welcome you to the Dark Guild. You will start out as a warrior rank until I deem fit to rank you higher. Miss Angelica, please escort our new warrior initiate to his room," ordered the Dark Lord.
Ah well, everybody has to start somewhere, I suppose. Rick seemed to disagree though. He went towards the Dark Lord trying to convince him of something. The receptionist came to me and handed back my things, which I gladly received.
"Miss Angelica, I take it?" I asked her.
"Yes, that is correct. Do follow me so I can show you to your room," she gestured for me to follow her.
And so I did. All the while praying extremely hard that I do not have to live with a roommate, or if I really do, one that is not annoying, filthy, or hard to live with.
To my genuine surprise, I do have a room of my own. While it is smaller than the room I stayed in at the tavern, but hey, as long as I have my own privacy.
"This will be your room. It looks small, but everyone starts somewhere, am I right? Rank higher, and you'll be able to get a bigger space of your own," she smiled.
Higher the rank, bigger the space. Time to climb up the ladder in order to get a bigger room. New side quest unlocked.
Side Quest: Rank higher for the glory of a bigger room.
"Any rules that I should know of?" I asked her.
"No visitors allowed. I'm sure you know what I mean," she winked at me. Um, okay? I am not 'that' horny yet, but good to know.
"Alright, anything else? Will visitors be allowed when I climb up the rank?" I asked curiously.
Just something for me to know when the possibility arrives. She paused and stared at me. Is she assuming that I am hitting on her? No, it is just a genuinely curious question. And by visitors, I meant John or Lily coming to visit. Not bringing women over for naughty stuff. Although Lily is technically a woman. Damn it.
"If you reach the rank of Fighter, you can bring over visitors to your room. But don't think about inviting me as I'm already taken," she winked at me.
I stared at her bluntly. She certainly mistook what I meant earlier. But hey, just need to rise up a rank and I can invite my friends over. Sounds easy enough, I hope?
"In the meantime, you can wait in your room for someone to come over to escort you on your first quest. You can leave your belongings here. This room belongs to you now until you shift to another after you rank up. Then you can get to inviting "visitors" then," she chuckled. Her sarcasm is on another level.
"Understood. I guess I'll just wait here until someone comes. I'll be alone until I get promoted then. Maybe after that I can personally invite you over for perhaps some wine?" I said jokingly.
Two can play at this game. Huh? Why is her face turning red? I was just kidding. Seriously.
"I… I'll take my leave then!" said Angelica as she rushed out of my room. I guess she is weak at getting teased, perhaps. Oh well, time to check out my room. Let's see, a table, bed, and some cupboards. That's about it. No bathtub to soak in or a place to wash up. I doubt it would fit in the first place, as the room was pretty small but comfortable enough for a solo guy like me. I guess I will be showering with the others then. Is there even a bathroom inside the guild, or do I have to find a public one outside?
It took me about a minute to finish my room tour. As there was nothing much for me to unpack in the first place, I decided to lie on my bed. Not as comfy as the tavern's one, but it'll do.
Should I take a nap first while waiting for whoever it is that'll be coming? I am feeling a little sleepy after that sparring. I need to get in better shape to increase my stamina and endurance. Oh, speak of the devil, someone is knocking on my door. Let's see who it is then. I walked towards the only door in the room and opened it.
"H— hey. I guess I really am your senpai now," said Rick as he scratched his head. Is he going to be my supervisor? Well, I guess it's better than someone I don't know. At least I can banter with him if things go unfairly.
"Nice to meet you, senpai. I will be in your care from now on," I bowed to him.
"S— stop that. You don't have to be so formal with me," said Rick as he rubbed his nose.
"What about your mercenary job? Won't your party members miss you?" I asked him.
"Oh, them? It is just a side job that I do every once in a while. My main income is still from the guild's quest board or from the Dark Lord himself. And since you gave us a gold coin, we were able to split it nicely among us for a favourable amount. You really shouldn't be flaunting your money like that," he warned me.
Guess I shouldn't tell him that grandfather gave me twelve of those and possibly way more back at home.
"So— when do we meet the other members?" It's supposed to be a party of four, right?" I asked him. If my memory served me right, that was what grandfather told me.
"Ah, you see. You're kind of a special case. It's just you and me. You will be doing the quest assigned to you while I will be— supervising," he made a pause at the end.
"Are you seriously telling me to do the quest alone? Is that even proper for a rookie that just joined the guild?" I asked him with my mouth agape. It felt like they were sending me to my death rather than being a "special case".
"Oh, don't worry. Rookie's quest usually doesn't involve you hunting or killing monsters. It is usually some trivial quest within the city borders," he explained.
"If you say so. Alright, when do we start? Anything else I need to know?" I asked him.
"It starts now. Let us head downstairs to check the quest board. Keep in mind that I am pretty harsh in judging my subordinate's performance. So, do well or the Dark Lord will be giving me a shit ton of shitty quests if you screw up," he puffed up his chest and crossed his arms.
"In that case, I should screw up more often then. Let's go, can't wait to see what my first quest is going to be," I chuckled.
***
"Alright, the 'Sun' story ends here. You need to go to school, and I will be heading out on a guild quest after that," I told my daughter.
"Ehh— what?! It was just getting good! I want to hear more, please, Daddy?" she showed me her pitiful, adorable face. She really follows after her mother.
"The story will only continue after you get back from school. Now, get ready to head out while I speak to your mother," I told her.
"Oh— kay," she resigned herself with a sad face. Education is important, my sweet summer's child. I headed into the kitchen to search for my wife.
"Dear? I'll be sending Daisy to school and then head off on a quest," I told her.
"Okay, what is it you need to do this time?" she asked.
"Hunting a yellow dragon not too far from here. It seems like something is triggering dragons to attack settlements and villages outside of the city. We might need to investigate this eventually," I told her.
"When that time comes, then we'll do it together. Until then, do take care. You're probably not as spry as you were last time— even though it seems like you had stopped ageing," she placed her hand on my face.
I held her hand that was on my cheek. Ah, my lovely wife. You were always understanding and were always by my side. Sadly, you can't see her as all of you are looking through a window from the outside. You can see her hands, though.
"You looked exactly like you were when you're 20," she stroked my right cheek.
That is true. It would seem as though I had stopped ageing somehow. I still do not know the exact reason as to why this happened, as I was sure that I do not have elf blood flowing within me. I might have stopped ageing, but that doesn't mean I can live longer. Only time will tell.
"I'll be heading off now and hopefully will be back by evening along with Daisy. Otherwise, can I trouble you to pick her up instead?" I asked her.
She nodded and gave me a kiss before I headed out. Alright, first stop, send Daisy to school. Then to hunt a yellow dragon.
You're probably wondering as to why I cut the story short. Truth be told, I am quite embarrassed to tell my daughter about my first quest. Not even my wife knows about it, as it was an extremely silly quest. I am still embarrassed to recall it even after all these years.
Well, it also marks the end of the Sun story. The next one will be called Star. Stay tuned.