It was early in the morning, and feeling defeated, Jay had been wandering aimlessly throughout the kingdom. Eventually, however, he had come across crowds of young, armed people in armour that appeared to be adventurers, and looking ahead of the crowd, he saw the entrance of a very large, pronounced building.
And soon brimming with curiosity, Jay walked past the door, entering into another thin crowd of people. He then noticed a couple of bulletin boards holding many pinned documents, also spotting a woman standing by a counter across the entrance.
Slowly gazing back into the crowd of unfamiliar people, he soon noticed an ominous-looking girl with long, black hair and teal highlights. The ghostly and transparent look of her within the crowd easily caught his eyes. She then turned her head and looked at Jay, frightening him as the girl appeared to be faceless. With one blink, the entity was gone before his eyes had opened again.
"The hell was that?" He thought.
"Was that person even real...? They just ... vanished."
With a somewhat scared and confused expression, he scratched his head, taking a second to process what had just happened.
"I think I'm just going insane..."
Someone then emerging from the crowd approached Jay. He seemed to be a little older than him, and was tall, with short, curly brown hair and dark green eyes which laid behind a pair of rectangular glasses.
With a soft voice, he asked Jay, "Hey, are you alright? You look a bit disturbed."
"Yeah, I'm alright. My head just hurts a bit." He said as he rubbed it.
"What is this place?"
Pushing up his glasses, the boy replied, "This is the guild application center. Adventurers are able to form a guild or enlist in one they prefer. You can talk to the lady over there who's the guild center's organizer. You could also go over to the board to pick up a guild application.
Many have requirements that you need to meet in order to join them, though, such as an element, high combat skills, and other necessary stuff. However it costs quite a lot to make one. But hey, you wouldn't mind joining mine? It doesn't exist yet, but I was intending on making one right now."
"I'm okay with that." Jay replied.
"Guess it wouldn't hurt to hang out with this guy." Jay thought.
"Guilds also need names to be recognized." The boy stated.
"Ours will be called, hmm…" He said quietly, scratching his head.
"'Storm Chasers', since my element is wind." He said, then smiling a bit awkwardly as he rubbed the top of his head.
"...How does that sound?"
"Good enough." Jay responded.
"Anyways, I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name's Ben, it's nice meeting you."
"You can call me Jay. Good to see you too." He replied.
"Alright, I'll go and make it now. You can come with me."
And with Jay following after, Ben went up to the guild center organizer, who was a young lady that stood behind a tall counter. After greeting each other, he made his request to create a guild. The woman then reached out to a shelf and handed him a document.
After filing in some information and giving it back, he then gave her a handful of gold coins. Ben was soon given another document which said "Certificate of Ownership", and under that title was the name of the guild Ben had stated earlier.
"Well then, let's head off to the Guildhall now." Ben said, then teleporting away.
"What…? Where did he go?" Jay whispered to himself, full of confusion.
In an instant, Ben appeared back in front of Jay.
"Sorry, I forgot you can't do that yet." He chuckled.
He then placed his hand on Jay's shoulders and closed his eyes, and before he knew it, he was in an entirely different place. They both stood on a large, round slab with a blue, glowing magic circle on it. In front of them was the guildhall, which looked like a small castle.
Jay looked around, and he noticed clouds which floated under the edges of the grassy land. He started walking towards the edge, and the more he approached it, the more he realized that they were on top of a small floating island with just enough size to carry the guildhall.
"Welcome to the guildhall of the storm chasers!" Said Ben as they entered.
Jay was in awe as he observed his surroundings. The area was bright, and the tall white walls were decorated in ornaments and pillars. The marble floor shined under the light brought by a large chandelier. Across the massive doors that led them inside the guildhall was a pub which was between two large, round stairs that led up to a balcony. There were also a few wooden tables which laid in the center of the room, making it feel as if it were a tavern.
"I know, this place is a bit big. We can do a lot here. However, the more reputation we get as a guild, the more we can improve the place and our floating island entirely."
"How exactly can we improve them?" Jay asked.
"Magic." He said along with a wink.
Sounds a bit corny, I know, but there are actually locked spells placed all over the guildhall and the island, and with a spiritual energy threshold, they can be unlocked in order to atomically rearrange and develop the guildhall." Ben stated.
"Spiritual energy threshold...?" Jay asked.
"Basically, the stronger we become, the more the ranks of the guildhall improve. Also, as the ranks increase, all representatives of the guild will eventually go through an advancement test, and if we pass it, we will be able to increase the rank even further. As for how those tests are conducted, we'll have to find out when the time comes" Ben said, shrugging.
"Also, there's seven ranks, from F to S, and we're on F for now." He added.
"What was your purpose for making a guild?"
"Well, y'know, I've always wanted to help the world and make an impact somehow, if I can."
"So you want to be known or something?" Jay asked.
"Yes! B-basically ... I want to be a hero..." Ben said as he looked down and nervously rubbed the back of his head.
"I know ... it sounds dumb and outrageous..."
"Not to me. You can do whatever you want, I don't mind." Jay said.
"Thanks ... you know, I've also been wanting someone to have adventures with." Ben stated.
"So Is that why you came to me?" Jay questioned.
"I-I guess so. I'm a pretty big introvert, and being alone sucks. Although, I've been trying to be more social." Ben said, slightly blushing.
"Anyhow, this place should have a conference room, some bedrooms and a training area. The bedrooms and a few other rooms are on the second floor. There's also the registration room for people wanting to join the guild. Come with me, I'll help get you registered."
Jay then followed behind Ben as he walked up the stairs. He headed to two wooden doors in the center of the balcony and went through them. Inside were eight tall black marble pedestals with large blue crystals. Only one of the pedestals, which was on the far left, had a glowing crystal.
As Ben walked up to the pedestal second to the left, he turned around to face Jay.
"A guild can have as many members as it wants, but only eight can be officially registered and become guild representatives. Once you place your hand on this crystal, your information will be sent to it through mana circuits, and you'll be recognized as an adventurer and representative of this guild. So go ahead, place your hand on the crystal, and keep it there for a few seconds."
"Alright." Jay said, afterwards placing his hand on the crystal.
Soon after, it began to glow, and the voice of a young female appeared in his head.
"What is your name?"
"Jay Blue." He said in his head after having closed his eyes.
"Jay Blue, you have been successfully registered." The voice said as it began to leave his head.
He then removed his hand from the crystal.
"There, you're all set!" Ben said.
"You're now officially a part of the guild. Now then, I'll show you another room where you can show off how much mana you have."
Jay asked, "Does everyone have mana?"
Ben replied, "Yup, but that can vary. Someone out there could naturally have tons of it, and others might not have much. It's quite rare for humans to have as much as other races, though. There's also Blessings or Curses. Blessings are elements mostly imbued with divine energy, and Curses are elements mostly imbued with malevolence."
He then raised a finger.
"For example, and angel's element is a blessing, but a demon's element is a curse. Having either of these is very rare, especially if you're a human. Luckily, I happen to be an angel with the blessing of wind. Also, each particular element has their own rarity. Do you know what you have?"
"I'm not so sure." Jay uttered.
Ben chuckled and answered, "Really? Maybe you don't have one, then. A good amount of the people in guilds usually do."
"I'm new to all of this element stuff. I've never tried using it before." Jay replied.
"Well let's get going, then. We'll find out soon enough."
They both then headed down in to the guildhall's basement level. They soon went hrough a door and entered a large room.
"Here's the magic training grounds, which should have enough space to train in here." Ben said.
"No need to worry about the room; The floor and walls should be protected with enchantments. There's also a few dummies on the side for target practice."
By the other end of the room laid a pedestal with a crystal ball embedded in it, and Ben soon approached it.
"I.f you place your hands on this ball and channel your spiritual energy, it will reveal the color of the it which corresponds to the element you have. Just lay your hands on the ball and think of flowing energy into it. This will determine your element and how much spiritual energy you contain. As your energy flows into the sphere, it should glow. If it doesn't, then you might not have an element. Give it a go!"
Jay then did as he was told as he placed his hands on the sphere, and he soon closed his eyes to focus channeling his magic. Momentarily, gusts of wind began forming from the sphere, gradually becoming more intense with each second as he struggled to hold the sphere. Suddenly, a bright glow of an electric blue light started to shine from it. Ben's eyes were widened as he was in awe.
Jay then let go of the crystal and took a few steps back, and the wind and the crystal's blue glow gradually weakened and disappeared.
"Wha — What the hell…? How big is your mana pool?! And that color … I think your element is water."
Then, Ben placed his hand on his chin.
"But allthough ... the color would normally be of a darker blue."
"Are you an angel by any chance?" He questioned.
"I am." Jay responded, showing his wings, then hiding them.
"I guess that makes a bit more sense, although the reaction was still pretty intense. I'm also am angel, but the ball would react nowhere near your level...
Had you kept your hand on it any longer and I'm sure it would've broken..."
"Anyways ... since you've never used blessings before, I'll try to teach you. When using them, it all comes down to the thought. If you think of it, it usually happens — that is if you're capable of doing so. The easiest way to do it is by thinking of releasing elemental energy and coating it around your body." Ben said, and as he finished speaking, weak gusts of wind started to blow around him.
Then, the wind eventually died back down.
"Try it out, now." He added.
Jay then closed his eyes, and after a few seconds of focusing, bright blue electricity instantly bursted out of his body. However, due to his lack of control, the electricity almost went all over the room.
"Stop!" Ben shouted.
The electricity then disappeared as Jay opened his eyes.
"Hmm?" Jay asked.
"I thought your element was water! When the hell did you get such a rare blessing? Also, you really need to learn how to control your energy, I seriously could've died a second ago...!"
"My apologies. I intended on letting everything out, but I didn't think I'd be capable of that much."
"I should've known something like this would happen, but I wouldn't have expected you to have electricity out of all things. That element is very dangerous." Ben said.
"I'm assuming It'll take a while for you to control it, especially since you have something as wild as that. Anyways, the tour is over for now. I suggest you keep using your magic for better control of it. I'll head back up and make something to eat now, spend as long as you want in here." Ben said, then exiting the room.
Jay replied with a short nod.
And soon, he then proceeded to practice getting a better hold of his electricity. He once again closed his eyes and released powerful bolts of electricity that arced around his body. He slightly raised one of his hands, focusing most of the energy to it.
Jay then quickly sent out his hand, and a small bolt of electricity instantly shot out from it, dispersing as it hit the wall from across the room. Then looking at his hand, he brought it back and looked forward as he clenched them.
Still emitting electricity, he started sprinting. He was quite nimble, but his weak control of electricity wasn't able to enhance his speed. He darted across the room and attempted to run up the wall, but unfortunately, Jay slipped and fell on his back.
"Maybe ... let's not try anything flashy like that for now." Jay claimed, relieving the pain as he rubbed his back.
"Despite that, I've already made considerable progress. Once I get a hold of this electricity, I'll be able to defend myself. I'll train as much as I can to fight off monsters, and maybe I could prevent others from losing their lives from my stupidity." Jay said, then feeling guilty.
"...I'm sorry, Lisa. I'll make sure something like that never happens again." He said, clenching the jewel hanging from his pendant.
"For now, I'll continue to explore the rest of the world and experience the unknown as I reclaim my memories. The more adventures I partake, the more I'll learn of my own self, hopefully."