***Burch's POV***
I'm sitting in a room full of the smell of coffee and fresh baked pastries. It's located in the guild hall.
People are lounging on couches, watching screens displaying the current battle going on.
Each screen followed one party. There were a few that garnered more attention and had people crowded around them.
Whenever there was a good kill, people would cheer and when one of the trainees would die their instructor would cry out in agony.
It was natural and happened every year, but it was painful nonetheless.
There was one screen in particular that drew a lot of attention.
"Well that guy's a dumbass. Why would he attack a Goblin General by himself when he's only a trainee?"
"That Lightning Bundle was impressive. Could use some work, but nicely done."
"I thought that guy was a melee type fighter, but he has strong magic to boot?!"
In the middle of it all, my are eyes glued to the screen.
Every time I hear something about Kairo, I can't stop a small smile from flashing across my face.
"The test is a little bit different this year, wouldn't you say."
A large man walks up on my left. He's covered in armor shoulder to toe, his head being the only part uncovered right now.
But I know that even without his helmet on, there would be no breach in his defense. When I respond there's not a hint of a smile on my face.
"Yeah, the goblins finally decided to attack today, so the higher up's thought it'd be a waste to not take this opportunity. After all, us two could take out that army in less than a minute, but all those goblins dying for nothing? That'd be a shame."
Even Oke, the man wearing the armor, can pick up on the sarcasm lacing my words.
We sit in silence, both of us watching the battle rage on.
Two orcs come crashing to the ground, one of them stabbed to death and the other with an axe buried in its chest.
A particular trainee was beheaded, resulting in sympathetic sighs and a cry of sorrow.
The next moment, everyone perks up.
"What speed?!"
"Too bad he's lost his cool. Otherwise he might have stood a chance."
My eyes are following the battle closely, analyzing each movement.
'It's no good, his technique is a mess right now. He needs to calm down.'
As he's kicked back my eyes widened. Pretty soon, the Chief powers through his block and buries his sword into Kairo's shoulder.
Right as Kairo's roar of pain dies down, a sly chuckle comes from my right.
"Maybe you Rogues aren't as strong as you claim you are?"
A man wearing tight fitting robes and light armor sidles up to me.
"Fuck off Servaris. Everyone knows that you Battle Mages are just bootleg Rogues. Go find yourself a nice hole to take a nap in."
My voice is colder than the most powerful ice magic.
With a serpent like glare, he slinks away, smoothly moving through the crowd.
Glancing at the screen, I can see Kairo walking up the the chief, his shoulder healed his previous anger completely gone.
'No, not gone. Just cold and sharp. But it's definitely forced. Let's see how long he can last this time.'
It takes less than two minutes.
"He actually defeated it!"
"That's a Chief, right? Shouldn't a trainee struggle against monsters of that strength?!"
I catch Servaris's eye as he exits the room, shooting me a glare before closing the door behind him.
Oke nudges me, his jaw a little slack.
"Seriously, how did he get that good in six months?"
"Honestly, I don't know. Whatever I threw at him, he just absorbed."
Oke shakes his head in disbelief.
"It must have helped that his base stats started above 90."
I glance at him, then quickly back to the screen.
"Yeah, it helped us get to basics pretty fast."
I thought back to the training with Kairo and cringed at the full month we had to take to perfect his aim.
"Honestly, he's the most talented trainee I've ever seen. Would've loved to have gotten him into the Knight's, but what's the use when you Rogues have all that money to wave around."
The grin didn't leave my face even as the screen turned black.
***Kairo's POV***
In the end, a total of 9 people died.
Six of those people were in a party that ended up being overrun.
The other three were each from different parties, Ian included.
While the orcs were a surprise, the Guild ended up making their bounty the same as a general.
We ended up earning a total of 6 silver and 95 copper, minus the acceptance fee. Since there are only five of us now, it was a pretty even split.
I pocket my money as the post quest meeting is getting under way. The same adventurer that explained the quest to us steps onto a podium at the front of the room.
"Congratulations to those of you that survived. Now that you have gotten your money and finished the test, you're going to be made into official guild members."
A buzz of excitement runs through in the hall.
"Excuse me, I have a question."
A sharp voice cuts through the chatter. I manage to pinpoint where the voice came from.
Other than his eyes being thinner than normal, he seems to be pretty normal looking, but still holds a commanding presence.
His robes are that of a mage, but he's got armor strapped to his body and a scimitar on his hip.
After a little bit, I recognise him as the mage from the battlefield.
"I forgot that this group asks a lot of questions. What is it?"
Before answering, he pushes his glasses up a little bit.
"What do the groups that lost members do? What is the minimum number of people per party, and how soon can we add people if we need to?"
The adventurer at the front shook his head and sorrowfully answered the question.
"As long as your party has five members, you will be able to take quests. After becoming a full fledged adventurer, you will be able to officially register your party at the front desks. Any other questions will be taken by your instructors, who will finish your registration after a short break in the meeting rooms."
The sound of opening doors draws everyone's attention.
A gaggle of adventurers walk into the hall, talking excitedly with a shine in their eyes.
After taking their time to finish talking to their co-workers, they each go and find a their trainee in the crowd.
Some of the instructors had obviously been drinking. A few people are straight up dragged away by their red faced instructors.
Unfortunately, Bernadette gets into a similar situation.
A large woman wearing nearly identical, but a little more fancy, equipment as Bernadette walks up to our group, managing to only stumble twice.
"Good job with *hick* the orc. That was a biiiig monster *hick*."
Bernadette just nods. She doesn't even blink when the woman puts her entire weight onto her shoulders.
With a silent nod towards us, she slowly pulls her instructor into one of the meeting rooms nearby.
'Is no one going to comment on that?'
I spot Burch in the crowd. He points towards a room and walks towards it. I wave a bit as I head over to the room motioned at by Burch.
On my way over, the mage from earlier catches my eye.
He meets my gaze for a moment, then turns away.
As he goes into one of the rooms, a man with a disturbingly similar appearance to a reptile follows behind him.
Pushing them out of my mind, I step into the room where Burch is already lounging on the couch.