In a steamy bathroom, the sound of whistling echoed as Ryoshi settled into a large hot tub, the warmth enveloping him. With a sigh of relief, he leaned back, his hair completely wrapped and concealed. His once-slim frame had grown bulkier, his muscles now visibly defined.
"Being an ice guy really makes you appreciate anything hot," Ryoshi muttered to himself, sinking deeper into the water. "I'm never complaining about summer heat again!"
From outside the bathroom, a voice interrupted his peace. "Are you done yet?" Honhab called out.
Ryoshi groaned, "I just got in—"
"So you're done," Honhab declared.
In an instant, the bathroom and hot tub vanished, leaving Ryoshi standing in his shorts in a vast, empty white void. He scowled at Honhab, who stood nearby.
"Dammit. Why would you even give me a hot tub if I couldn't even use it for three minutes?" Ryoshi grumbled.
Honhab shrugged nonchalantly. "I can't let you get too comfortable. We need to continue your training."
Ryoshi rolled his eyes. "We've been training for a good while now. My birthday has passed, and my hair..." He unwrapped his hair, letting it fall down. It was now long, reaching the center of his armpits, with a striking bright azure color. The azure mist highlights and charcoal black tips gave it an almost ethereal appearance.
"I didn't even dye it or anything. It just ended up turning blue for some reason. You say genetics, I say nonsense," Ryoshi added, shaking his head.
Honhab smiled faintly. "The mystery of your hair may never be solved." With a snap of his fingers, Ryoshi's attire changed. He now wore a dark green short-sleeved shirt with a black thermal underneath, black gloves, grey capri pants, boots, and his old jacket wrapped around his waist. He tied his hair into a ponytail, admiring his reflection in the void.
"Like dude, I can wear a ponytail now! Never in my life have I considered this."
"It looks good on you," Honhab remarked.
"Better," Ryoshi mumbled, satisfied with the look.
Without warning, Honhab snapped his fingers again, conjuring an army of various large monsters that towered before Ryoshi.
"Ryoshi, we'll be finishing off your attack range unit of training. These things are the sizes of Mother Colossals. Mother Colossals make Pluto look like a mouse."
Ryoshi smirked confidently. "I have the perfect two-step process to solve this." In the blink of an eye, he froze all of the monsters solid.
"Good, now—" Honhab began.
"Surriku No Ha!" Ryoshi summoned his sword, the weapon gleaming in his hand.
"Enhancement Magic!" His sword glowed with a powerful aura as he slashed the air, cutting all of the frozen monsters in half with a single, precise strike.
"Do that a couple hundred more times, and you'll be able to perform feats that big without the need for enhancement magic," Honhab said approvingly.
Suddenly, a door appeared in the void, and Ketori barged in without hesitation.
"Hon and Hab, it's happening again," Ketori announced urgently.
Honhab quickly split into two beings, Hon and Hab.
"What's happening?" Hon asked, concerned.
Ryoshi raised an eyebrow. "Why is there a door to this dimension?"
"We made it for Ketori specifically," Hon explained. "He has a thing for barging into rooms."
Ketori, impatient as ever, urged them on. "Come on, guys."
The four of them exited the dimension, stepping into a dark room illuminated only by the glow of a small TV. A big couch sat in front of it, where Beth, Genrugi, Demonio, and Iwi were already seated.
Beth turned to them, a grin on her face. "Come on, guys, it's about to start."
Without hesitation, they joined the others on the couch, ready for whatever awaited them.
As the TV blared on, a voice enthusiastically announced, "Guilds around the world! We are excited to announce the decennial guild war ULTIMATE!!!"
Ryoshi perked up, intrigued. "Oh, I've heard of guild wars, but not a guild war ultimate."
The voice continued, "All sorts of guilds will raise their guild banners up! Guilds will travel across the world to battle other guilds for their banners. The three guilds with the most banners will get a free invitation to the land of gods, Naofapoda, for a chance to participate in the Divination Tournament!"
Ryoshi leaned forward, puzzled. "What is that?"
Ketori quickly hushed him, "Shhhh, they might explain it."
The voice on the TV grew more excited. "Here with us now, we have the two-time GWU and Divination Tournament champion, and the strongest member of the strongest guild in the world, Saja Dal!"
The screen showed a somewhat muscular, lean man with bright blue eyes, with pupils in the shape of triple helixes. His blond hair had a striking strip of red running down his cheek. He wore a blue shirt and black pants, smiling brightly at the camera.
Saja began speaking confidently, "Hello, everybody. I am proud to announce the start of this guild war! Don't be scared to attack, try your hardest, even if you don't succeed!—"
Suddenly, the TV clicked off, cutting him off mid-sentence.
Ketori rolled his eyes. "Oh my god, I know I'm leagues older than that guy, but he should retire."
Ryoshi blinked, confused. "What? What's the problem with him?"
Iwi chimed in, "Saja Dal. The Amazacus prodigy graduate who finished with the highest GPA in the school's history. He's the same guy who created a legal guild at 15, mastered the toughest form of magic, and knows insanely difficult techniques. He won the GWU 20 years ago at 16. He's practically a cheat code."
Genrugi downed an energy drink before adding, "We haven't fought him yet, but from what we know he can do, he's a pain in the ass."
Ryoshi looked around at the group, processing this new information. "Wait, wait, wait—you guys... are a guild?"
Ketori nodded, "Yeah, a mighty small one. We go by the name 'Righteous Afterglow.'"
Ryoshi couldn't help but laugh. "That is an incredibly boring name."
Ketori shrugged. "It doesn't really matter. Unless you're the best or a notable guild, all other guilds stay unknown. We're just another filler guild."
Ryoshi looked puzzled. "Why don't you try to get new members?"
Ketori sighed, "It's not that simple. Recruitment is tough, especially when you're not a top-tier guild. People want to join the big names, the ones with a chance to win these massive events. We're just... here, doing our thing."
Iwi nodded. "And besides, we've got a tight-knit group. We don't need a bunch of new faces messing with our dynamic. But... it wouldn't hurt to have a couple more people on board."
Beth leaned in, her tone earnest. "And that's why we want you."
Ryoshi chuckled, shaking his head. "Nice offer. Hell no."
Ketori looked surprised. "Why nephew?"
Ryoshi crossed his arms, determination in his eyes. "I'm only here to get stronger, so I can defeat M.A.G.I.C and pursue my own dream."
Ketori raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"
Ryoshi grinned. "World peace?"
Ketori burst out laughing. "Don't make me laugh. World peace? That's a pipe dream. There will always be violence in the world."
Hon chimed in, his tone serious. "As long as living beings with intelligence exist, there won't ever be a world full of peace."
Genrugi, still sipping her energy drink, asked, "How do you even think you can make world peace?"
Ryoshi puffed out his chest, confident. "I'll just beat up all the bad guys!"
Everyone in the room, except Demonio who remained silent, laughed at Ryoshi's naive declaration.
Ketori shook his head. "It's not that easy—"
Beth cut in, "Kid, if it was that easy, many people before you would have done that!"
Ryoshi remained undeterred. "Well, it's that, or I wish for it to go away at the Negative Point."
Ketori's interest was piqued. "The Negative Point wish, you say."
Ryoshi nodded. "Yeah, and once I get strong enough to prove myself, they'd let me get a wish."
Ketori smirked. "Oh, interesting. If they're impressed enough, they might even let you have two wishes."
Ryoshi's eyes widened. "Really?!"
Ketori nodded. "Yeah, but it's rare."
Beth suddenly looked thoughtful. "I wonder if our son has made a wish yet."
Ryoshi froze, staring at Beth in shock. "You have a son? I HAVE A COUSIN IN THE NEGATIVE POINT?! YOU'RE MY AUNT?!!"
Ketori placed a hand on Ryoshi's shoulder, trying to calm him down. "Kid, calm down. Yes, I have a son, yes, Beth is your aunt, and yes, you do have a cousin in the Negative Point."
Ryoshi's mind was racing. "I used to connect with a cousin using letters... Could he be that cousin?"
Ketori shrugged. "I don't know. We put him up for adoption; we didn't even name him."
Ryoshi looked puzzled. "Why have him in the first place?"
Ketori sighed. "Well, we had him with the intention of adding another member to the guild, but then we learned that to do that, we'd either have to become an illegal guild or wait 16 years for some kid to be legally able to get a magic ID."
Ryoshi blinked. "Okay, what are the types of guilds again?"
Ketori explained, "Guilds can either be legal or illegal. The legality of guilds depends on one thing: if all the magic users in your guild have a magic ID."
Ryoshi looked intrigued. "I always wanted a magic ID. I believed I could have the highest stats in all categories."
Ketori nodded. "Mhm, criminal or not, if all magic-using members of your guild have a magic ID, your guild is legal. If not, your guild is illegal."
Ryoshi leaned back on the couch, his eyes narrowing slightly as he considered the question before him. "Does legality really matter?" His voice, though calm, carried an edge of defiance.
Ketori, sitting beside him, didn't miss a beat. "Illegal guilds have bounties," he explained, his tone matter-of-fact. "They're pursued by the governments because they're not legally recognized. They shouldn't even exist."
Ryoshi tilted his head, a wry smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "So even one person in the guild not having a magic ID and using magic makes your guild illegal?"
Ketori nodded, his expression serious. "Exactly. And to elaborate further, all guilds fit into one of several categories: Evil, Battle, Government, Casual, Basic, and School. Evil guilds are filled with criminals and evildoers. Battle guilds exist solely for fighting and battling. Government guilds are owned and operated by the state. Casual guilds are the opposite of battle guilds; they have no fighters and usually focus on having fun or taking up basic jobs. Basic guilds have a mix of both fighters and non-fighters. Lastly, school guilds are run by college students or children under sixteen, authorized by a school or the government."
Ryoshi's gaze sharpened as he locked eyes with Ketori. "So you guys are a battle guild, right?"
Ketori straightened, pride flickering in his eyes. "Right."
Ryoshi's next question, however, caught everyone off guard. "Why didn't you just keep your kid and become a basic guild?"
The room fell into a stunned silence, every member staring at Ryoshi as if he had spoken in an alien tongue. Ketori, usually quick with a response, stammered. "W-Well, we're not the smartest bunch out there..."
Ryoshi waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, right." His voice was laced with sarcasm. "I'm not staying here to join your guild. I need to leave soon."
Ketori's fist clenched reflexively at his side, his knuckles turning white as he struggled to maintain his composure. "Oh, is that so?" he asked, his voice deceptively calm.
Ryoshi's eyes flickered, sensing the tension, but he nodded. "Yeah..."
Unexpectedly, Ketori's face broke into a broad, almost cheerful smile. The sudden change was disarming. "Okay, we're not gonna stop you. You can leave anytime!" His voice was light, but there was something unsettling about the way he said it.
Ryoshi blinked, taken aback by the shift in tone. "I—I'm just going to stay here for a couple more weeks, maybe..."
The words came out almost involuntarily, his resolve faltering under the weight of Ketori's unnerving friendliness. As the room relaxed, a faint tension still lingered, an undercurrent that none of them could ignore.