"This town sucks", said Kenos hopping off the wagon onto the muddy swamp floor.
"Let's get this over with, then'' replied Doza, tugging Noir's reins. "I'm not keen on staying in this town too long either, the cart's already starting to rot."
The duo walks into a shady looking town, coming up to the city's entrance. Kenos stops to read the town's name off of the molded sign, "The Kelyn Swamplands".
"Quit wasting time," Doza snaps, hitting Kenos in the back of his head. "Let's hurry and find a place to unload all the food we caught."
Kenos scrunches his face rubbing the back of his head as he continues walking again, "you don't have to be an asshole about it."
Doza looks to the sky as Kenos walks ahead, hmph, this reminds me of when I would hunt with Aeolus. Everything was simple back then, he sighed.
Kenos and Doza continue forward moving through the cold yet humid town until they come across a sizable building with two stone bears standing at its entrance.
"This is the hunters guild", Doza announced.
Kenoses' eyes light up under his cowl, "So this was the project I heard mother and father discussing all those years ago.
Doza smiles in approval, thinking of Kenos as sharp for remembering something that would be so trivial for any other child, "Well it's really just one of their locations. To be honest I've lost count of all the guildhalls I've walked in and out of by this point. You're old enough to register now so I'll let you take credit for today's catch."
Doza tosses Kenos the spatial ring and begins walking away. "I'm grabbing a drink."
"You're not coming with me", questioned Kenos?
Doza chuckles, "I'll be back by the time you finish up in there."
As Doza continues to walk away Kenos slips on the subspace ring.
"O yeah", spoke Doza turning around. "Whenever they ask for your name." Doza motions his finger to his mask covering where his mouth would be. "Shhhhh, reply using the family's maxim. A majority of hunter guild locations still serve the Umbrage clan, although they are a lot more lucrative about it now. Either way, whoever's in charge of this location will be someone we can trust."
Kenos cracks a smile under his mask "So even now, the clan still has people who support us. "As a kid, I couldn't understand the magnitude of what mother and father were trying to do with their project."
"Of course you didn't, Doza laughed. "It'd take an idiot like you all the time in the world to understand something that massive.
Kenos grits his teeth, "well it's pretty irresponsible letting me do this alone I mean you are supposed to be my guardian."
Doza continues walking away waving Kenos off, "Ehh you'll be fine as annoying as the guild is they won't let anything happen to you inside their halls."
Kenos watches as Doza walks into the bar down the street, Ughh, out of all the people who followed my father I ended up with Doza's lazy ass. How the hell does he even drink wearing that mask in public. Whatever, I'll get it over with so we can leave this cruddy town already."
Kenos walks towards the guildhall's entrance and pushes the heavy door open. What he saw inside was a bustling building filled with a variety of people of different races and species. Many of which were doing tasks or lounging around sitting in groups planning out their next objectives. At the center of it all, Kenos could see a woman hastily working at her desk.
"Hey", said Kenos walking up to her desk. "I'm here to register and turn in my ca-.
Kenos is abruptly stopped by the lady working the desk, "What was that?" She replied in a southern accent, still not stopping what she was doing. "Hold on sugar I need you to wait while I sort out all these requests."
After waiting patiently for 15 minutes. Kenoses' annoyance gets the better of him"Are you always this busy, '' He questioned slightly agitated.
"Unfortunately I am, living in swampland is hard enough but the fact that so many different creatures inhabit this land make it extremely hard for regular people to traverse it. We get a couple hundred requests daily", she sighed, sorting through the last stack of papers. "Now," said the young lady taking a deep breath. "How can I help you baby?"
"I'm here to register as well as turn in some game I caught", said Kenos as his eyes began drifting around the room, intrigued by all the paintings and the rare animals that decorated the wall.
"You seem like an eager one", she chuckled. "Welcome to the guild, you can call me V. Go ahead and show me what you brought in. I'll open up your account and have the Marx transferred to it as soon as you're back with it."
Kenos admires the ring slightly raising his left arm, "I have it all with me", he chuckles.
A miniature black hole appears above the ring's gem. Kenos begins concentrating until he could locate the area he placed the dead birds in and releases them from the ring's space bringing them all out onto V's desk.
"Oh wow!" she gasped. "These are sprigit's! The hunter's catalog gives them a B ranking and you managed to shoot down this many. That's some first hall sug," she continued. "They're real nimble and incredibly fast so not many of our lower rank hunters can hunt them."
Kenos scratches the back of his head awkwardly smiling, "really? I started shooting these down because they looked like they would taste good."
A majority of the people casually sitting in the hall begin to look at Kenos. He could hear them start whispering amongst each other,
"Who's this kid? "I've never seen him around here before. "Must be some type of nobility, his armor looks expensive."
Kenos began feeling a cold and unsettling aura as if everyone was suddenly targeting him. Without thought Kenos began releasing zen, countering the predator like aura.
V finishes counting the sprigit's and takes notice of Kenos chuckling to herself. "Don't mind the meatheads sugar, there's absolutely no fighting in the guild halls! Now I counted 136 Sprigits that translates to about 500 Marx. What's your name sugar, so I can finish setting up your bank and transfer the Marx over."
Kenos pauses for a moment, "it's uhh. Those of us who fear death cannot wish to escape it"
V stares at Kenos with a blank face before remembering to pull out a big book from under the desk. The book was old and worn out but was in decent enough condition.
She flipped through the book until finally getting to the right page. "Ahh, so your family has some ties to the guild. Welcome to the guild Kenos Newdawn, She announced putting in the final touches on his bank account.
"The book says I'm supposed to take you to talk with this branch's director, said V looking up from her desk. "I've already notified him and he's expecting you. If you could just follow me this way I'll take you to his office.
Kenos follows closely behind V as she escorts him to the guildhalls director.
How the heck, my name, how'd she find it out? Nah she couldn't have had. The last name she told me isn't correct and I don't remember ever hearing it before. Hmm, "Hey V how could you tell I was Kenos."
V chuckles, "there were only two valid accounts labeled under your clan's code and you being the recruit I assumed you were the holder of the unopened account.
Kenos lets out a deep breath, "that was a good assumption."
V leads Ken into a glass elevator overlooking the deep swampland.
"Beautiful sight isn't it? The wetlands are a playground to those of us in the hunters guild.
Many of us spend weeks in the swamp training and stalking our prey. It's a pretty good place to sharpen your skills and push your body to its limits."
*ding*
"Here we are", said V walking out the elevator into a nicely decorated hallway.
"The director is right behind those doors. If you have any more concerns I'll be at my desk. I'll have your ID and paperwork ready for you by the time you're ready to depart."
V walks back to the elevator and leaves Kenos alone in the hallway.
Doza said the director will be someone I can trust. I wonder what type of person they'll be.
Kenos slowly walks to the end of the hallway and opens the door.
"I was told you wanted to speak with me your guild lord-ness"
Kenos hears a familiar chuckle as the guild's director spins around in his chair.
"Welcome to Keylin, master Kenos.
Kenos was left completely paralyzed, for this was something he could never imagine.
"It's you!", he shouts as tears form in his eyes. "I can't believe it."