After several minutes of walking, they arrived at another structure deep within the compound.
It was large—easily one of the biggest buildings in the area—but that wasn't what made it stand out.
It was the security.
Throughout the guild grounds, adventurers moved freely—training, talking, hauling equipment. Aside from the main gate, no other building was guarded.
Except this one.
Armed personnel stood at every entrance. Multiple checkpoints lined the path inside. Identification had to be verified.
Because this was no ordinary facility.
This was the Zone Testing Area.
The sun hung high overhead as the male candidates trudged forward, fatigue from the earlier sparring evident in their slower steps.
One by one, they passed through inspection.
Once the final candidate was cleared and the heavy doors sealed shut behind them—
Scarlet stepped forward.
It was time to explain what this place was truly for.
The candidates couldn't help themselves. Their eyes wandered—scanning the reinforced walls, the layered barriers, the strange mechanisms embedded into the structure.
"Stop looking around like this is a field trip," Scarlet snapped, her voice echoing through the chamber.
The murmuring died instantly.
"Listen carefully."
She stepped forward, boots striking the marble floor with measured authority.
"As some of you may know, this facility is called the Zone Testing Area. Under normal circumstances, civilians are not permitted within these walls."
A subtle shift passed through the group.
"The Guild Master has granted you a rare exception. Not only to see it—" her gaze sharpened, "—but to enter it."
A heavy silence followed.
There was a look of gloom on all the candidates faces, because everyone could already guess what Scarlet was about to say.
"For now, all you need to know is this: your final examination will take place here."
A few swallowed nervously.
"As for how the exam will be conducted—"
"My, my."
The interruption drifted lazily across the hall.
A man stepped out from one of the side corridors, scratching at the gorilla-face tattoo inked along the back of his neck. A cigarette rested between his fingers, smoke curling upward.
"You've always been so strict, Scarlet," the examiner said with a crooked grin.
Scarlet stiffened.
"S-Sir."
Her posture straightened instantly—but there was the faintest hitch in her breath.
After all… Boros's tests had been going a little too well.
As the examiner stepped forward, an attendant quickly moved into his path, holding out a glass ashtray.
"Sir."
"Tch… what?" the examiner muttered, already knowing.
The attendant didn't answer. He simply extended his arm further.
The examiner took one final drag, letting the smoke linger in his lungs before exhaling slowly.
He crushed the cigarette into the ashtray with deliberate pressure, the ember dying with a faint hiss.
Then he resumed walking toward Scarlet.
Halfway there—
His grin returned.
"Scarlet," he called lazily, "they've made it this far. Might as well tell them what this place really is."
Scarlet's lips parted to object.
But the look on his face—the sharp amusement behind it—stopped her.
He stepped past her and clasped his hands behind his back.
"We meet again," he said loudly enough for the entire hall to hear.
But his eyes weren't on the crowd.
They were locked on one person.
Boros.
Boros held the stare, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "This guy…" he muttered under his breath, barely suppressing a laugh.
Neither looked away.
After a moment, the examiner shifted his gaze to the rest of the candidates.
"How have the tests been so far?"
Silence.
"Good," he chuckled. "I'm surprised this many of you are still standing. I figured most of you would've dropped out after the stamina trial."
A few stiffened.
He straightened slightly.
"Zone Testing Areas. Every guild has one. Generally, they're called ZTAs… but each guild has its own name for theirs."
His smile sharpened.
"And the only way to learn that name… is to belong to that guild."
The room grew quieter.
"A ZTA functions as a guild's research and assessment division. If a party returns from the north with a live Draken, it's the ZTA's responsibility to extract the core and analyze it."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"It's also their job to study regional Nexus points and assign proper threat levels. That way, the right rank of adventurers is dispatched."
His voice lowered slightly.
"Because when lower-ranked parties are sent on missions beyond their capacity… they die."
The weight of that statement settled over the room.
"So now," he finished, folding his arms across his chest, "you understand how important this facility is."
Several candidates nodded unconsciously.
He let the silence stretch.
Then his grin widened.
"And just in case you still don't grasp it—attacking or spying on a guild's Zone Testing Area…"
His eyes flickered briefly.
"…is enough to start a war."
The massive doors at the far end of the hall swung open.
Bootsteps echoed across the marble floor—measured, unhurried.
"Huh?" a voice called out. "Why the hell are we talking about starting wars?"
A man with a dragon-wing tattoo stretching along his neck stepped inside, a crowd of female candidates trailing behind him.
"Rovan," the examiner said flatly. "You sure took your sweet time."
"It took a while to get here, idiot. We were on the other side of the compound," Rovan replied, irritation plain on his face.
An attendant quickly stepped in front of him, holding out a glass ashtray.
"Sir."
"Tch." Rovan pulled the cigarette from his mouth, crushed it into the ashtray without breaking stride, and continued forward toward the examiner and Scarlet.
"Just like before," the examiner announced, voice carrying through the chamber. "Separate yourselves."
The female candidates moved to the opposite side of the hall, forming a line parallel to the male participants.
"Shiro."
Boros' head snapped slightly. "What?"
No one near him had spoken.
"Must be nothing…" he muttered, folding his arms.
"Shirooo."
His eye twitched. "Tch—what the hell is th—"
He looked to his left.
Akeno stood among the female candidates, waving both arms like an excited child.
"Can you see meeee?" she stage-whispered loudly.
"Of course I can see you—you're right there!" Boros shot back.
Several heads turned toward him.
"What?" Boros said coolly to the onlookers.
The crowd immediately faced forward again.
He glanced back at Akeno. She was still grinning and waving. Beside her, Kinuko offered him a small thumbs-up.
Boros returned it with a subtle nod.
'They look fine… Guess I was worried for nothing.'
"Alright," the examiner's voice boomed, reclaiming the room.
"Now that everyone's here, let me explain how this final test will proceed—and why it's the most important one you'll take today."
The air shifted.
"So important," he continued, "that if you fail this stage… it won't matter how well you performed in the others."
His grin widened slightly.
"You will fail."
A pause.
"And you will never get the chance to enter this guild."
Silence settled over both lines of candidates.