In front of Zulu and Raya was a massive stone brick building with large glass windows. The main entrance was a large church-like door made of dark stained wood with large metal handles. In the middle of the five meter tall doors was the symbol of a silver wolf surrounded by a circle. Inside, the echoes of conversation and clanging mugs could be heard.
"Safe to say this is it," Zulu said, pushing open one of the doors.
As the large door creaked open, all conversation ceased, and countless eyes watched the hooded Zulu and Raya with interest; However, the vast majority of eyes scrutinized Raya intently. Their gazes greedily made trips across her body; It was obvious what all the men in the room were thinking.
Raya was not oblivious to the fervent gazes and looked away with a smug smile, folding her arms. She seemed used to this kind of attention, reveled in it even.
The guild hall was filled with many circular wood tables and chairs. On them sat regular men of varying ages. Most were holding glass mugs with a single hand while others napped in folded arms, having passed out from their overindulgence in alcohol. They looked ragged and worn, a far cry from real soldiers.
In the back of the room was a long counter, attended only by a pretty young woman with long blue hair, green eyes, and pale skin. She seemed wholly unaffected by the lecherous stares of the men in the hall. She wore only a blank face as though she were uninterested in life itself.
Zulu and Raya walked up to the counter and Zulu spoke, "I'd like to join the guild."
The blue-haired woman was taken aback by Zulu's feminine voice and her stern expression immediately softened, displaying a warm smile instead.
The woman observed Zulu and Raya for a short second before replying, "It's rare that women try to join our guild," The woman said before pulling out a sheet of paper from below the counter, "Joining is simple; You just need to sign here and you're all set."
Zulu scanned through the paper before his gaze fell on an empty field which read "Place of residence."
'Why is this necessary? Don't tell me…' Zulu thought.
"Um- actually, I'm not from around here. I can't fill in this space," Zulu said with an awkward expression.
At his words, the woman's face returned to being stern and aloof, "Oh, I see. An outsider then… I'm sorry, but this won't do at all," She said, crumpling the paper and dropping it into a small trash bin beside her.
The woman continued speaking, though, her tone was anything but friendly, "If you want to join the guild, you must kill a Rank 3 creature in the Reinheld Woodland and bring back proof of your success. No exceptions."
Zulu only watched her with an astonished stare.
'What a change of attitude! Did I kick your dog or something?' Zulu thought.
Raya couldn't contain her irritation and shouted with a piercing glare, "What the hell! What kind of prejudice is this! How can we be expected to kill a Rank 3 creature? Are you out of your damn mind?!"
"These are the guild rules," The woman said coldly.
"The hell they are! You showed us the actual way to join a minute ago, don't pretend otherwise! You're just trying to make it hard for us because we're outsiders!" Raya yelled.
"What nonsense. This is the way it has always been. Comply with the guild rules or leave. You are disturbing the peace," The woman said dispassionately.
"What peace? Everyone here is piss drunk or unconscious!" Raya retorted, "How about I give you a piece of my mind? How about that, bitch?"
'Fight, fight, fight!' Zulu thought eagerly, 'No wait. This isn't the time for a cat fight, Zulu, as fun as it would be to see. My life is on the line here. Either I travel a week and hope to find another light mage, or I try to kill a Rank 3 creature. Neither of these options sound appealing. One is boring, while the other is needlessly reckless. So the question is, what do I value more? My safety? Or my entertainment?'
Following this train of thought, Zulu easily reached a conclusion.
'I'd rather die than be bored.'
Before Raya could continue her verbal lashing of vitriol, Zulu stepped in front of her and said, "Done. I'll be back."
The woman snorted and diverted her attention, doubtful that he would defeat a Rank 3 creature. In her disdain-filled eyes, he was as good as gone.
Raya tried to protest, "What, Zulu? We can't just let her-"
"Let her be insolent; It matches her revolting troll-like appearance," Zulu said, forming a wide grin and turning to leave.
Raya laughed and walked away from the counter where the blue-haired woman was seething with anger. Her red face contrasted perfectly with her blue hair.
The men in the guild hall had long gone silent, eavesdropping in on the heated argument between two beauties. They hadn't heard Zulu's voice due to his more relaxed tone. This fact, in addition to his covered face and featureless body, led them into the same pitfall in which many before had fallen; That Zulu was merely a frail man who got lucky.
As Zulu and Raya were moving to leave the guild hall, one man, noticeably drunk, stumbled his way behind the pair. He could not stand the thought of such a weak looking man ensnaring such a gorgeous female.
The drunkard had short black hair, black eyes, and a disheveled appearance. He was of average stature with seldom features that could be considered attractive. He looked like an ordinary drunk you'd find in a back alley, except he was armed not with a broken glass bottle, but a well-crafted dagger.
The man shoved Raya to the side and reached for the back of Zulu's hood. He snagged the black hood between his fingers while he plunged his dagger forward.
Zulu felt something tug on the back of his hood. At first he assumed it was Raya, but an intense sensation of threatening malice consumed him. It felt as though he were in imminent danger, and he instinctually dodged to the side with his [Quick Feet]. This feeling was verified when a six inch dagger grazed the side of his body while his hood was yanked down, revealing his long silky orange hair to the guild hall.
"Eh?" Zulu muttered, bewildered by the sudden events.
Zulu immediately turned around to investigate the source of the attack.
The drunkard fell forward after his sneak-attack before regaining his balance. His gaze examined Zulu's now exposed countenance and his eyes widened in surprise.
The man's mouth opened to utter a single phrase, "Whoa, two hot women."
Zulu saw the man and understood the situation. Before the man could speak again, a fist slammed into his left eye, shattering the eye socket and throwing him across the room.
The last thing the man saw before being knocked unconscious by the powerful blow was Zulu's strange vertically-slit amber eyes.
'Monster?' The drunkard thought before falling unconscious. His limp body slammed into a table, breaking it in half.
Raya only stood by the side, completely dumbfounded by what had unfolded. She hadn't even had time to process what was happening before Zulu flattened the man's face with a fist.
The guild hall was dead silent, just as shocked as Raya. Fights weren't an uncommon occurrence, especially between intoxicated men. However, such a swift and decisive victory had never been seen before, and by a cute girl no less. The power behind Zulu's punch was truly impressive in the eyes of the Tier 1 and 0 guild members.
Even the blue-haired attendant was stupefied; She didn't think the thin woman she'd interacted with was capable of such indomitable strength. Now she started wondering if Zulu could truly defeat a Rank 3 creature.
"Let's go," Zulu said to the stunned Raya, pulling his hood back up.
Luckily, it seemed as though no one had noticed the peculiarity of Zulu's eyes. Of course, he wouldn't test his luck any longer, so he hastily hid his facial features under the hood's shadow.
Zulu had entertained thoughts of killing the drunkard, but he ultimately decided against doing anything that could ruin any chance he had of joining the guild. Of course, he wouldn't let such a blatant attempt against his life go unpunished, but the guild hall was not the best place to go about getting revenge. Instead, Zulu suppressed his incense and casually left the building as though throwing grown men around was merely a routine.
'I should leave town soon; I don't have much mana left,' Zulu thought.
After Zulu and Raya left the building, Raya turned to Zulu and spoke, "What the hell happened in there? And are you really going to fight a Rank 3? Can I come with you?-"
Before Raya could continue her barrage of questions, Zulu cut in, "Yes. And no, you can't come with me."
Raya paused at those words and her face revealed only disbelief, "You're really going to do it, huh? Will you be able to defeat a Rank 3?"
"Of course. I wouldn't have agreed to something so dangerous otherwise."
Raya seemed worried, but she quickly covered it with a smile and said, "Well then, good luck. But don't die! I'll be mad if you die!"
"I'll be okay," Zulu said, tossing a thumbs up.
"So are you going right now?" Raya asked.
"Yep. The sooner the better. I don't want the curse to kill me, you know?"
"Right."
"What will you do?" Zulu asked.
'Don't ask to come with me again, or I might have to strike a woman,' Zulu thought.
"Probably get some food at a bar or something, then find a place to sleep," Raya said, looking up at the sky as though she were thinking of something.
"Alright well, see you," Zulu said, turning to leave.
"Wait, Zulu. Hold on a second," Raya said, grabbing Zulu's arm.
"Yes?" Zulu said with vexation.
'Oh god, here it comes. Don't ask! I'm not taking you, dammit!' Zulu thought.
"Before you leave, do you want to grab some food with me? There's actually something I wanted to ask you about."
Zulu only stared at her with a blank expression.
'Did this woman just ask me out? Does she swing that way?' Zulu thought, 'Kinda hot. Though I'm afraid now's really not the time; My [Corporeal Illusion] is limited after all.'
"No, sorry. I want to deal with the Rank 3 as soon as possible. Maybe when I get back," Zulu said with a solemn face.
"I see. I guess it's not too important anyway. I'll see you then," Raya said.
'She doesn't seem too disappointed by my rejection. Was she not asking me out?' Zulu wondered.
Zulu ignored those thoughts and quickly left Noelenwood; By this point, he had less than ten minutes worth of mana remaining.
As Zulu walked off into the distance, Raya watched his back with a curious gaze.
'Why is she so desperate to leave now? Why did she leave that night? Now that I think about it, I've never seen what she does all those times she slipped away. I can't take it anymore, I need to know.'
Reaching that conclusion, Raya began to follow Zulu from a safe distance.