Even though the room's comfort was acceptable, tired as he was, Kiyoshi couldn't sleep. He wasn't particularly anxious about the head-in with the Guild master, but he could neither sleep, while knowing such an event will happen.
So when the time came, as if with a divine intuition, Kiyoshi went straight past Silvia to the Arena. It was an empty, giant room, located in the center of the Flying Lions Headquarters. It appeared as if it was normally split in two sparring zones, but when entering, he only saw a man, sitting with his sword in the air in the middle of the field. Beside the curious pose taken, the Guild Master didn't look impressive. Though he had a long brown beard, his build, aura and apparent skill seemed completely normal.
"Hello young man! My name is Claudius. You must be Kain, right?"
'Yes sir, that is me. If I may ask, why would a man of position such as yourself have a personal spar with the pitiful me?'
"Pity? Young man, I've heard about your exploits. You know, single-handedly defeating the ,,One-eyed Dragon" is no small feat. This is why I want to personally see for myself your skill. Your level is 43, right?"
'Yes, that is so'
"Then let us begin"
Sitting one in front of the other, they both took their poses of action.
'D-do I start?'
Claudius was looking like a frozen statue, stuck in still motion. He was giving him signs to go ahead.
('What now?...')Kiyoshi didn't understand what to do. He couldn't kill the Guild Master, right?
When he tried to make a step, he saw The Guild master move so fast that he could barely dodge. It looked like he teleported. It was no debate that he couldn't have blocked the strike with the daggers he got from the armory on the way there.
"You saw how I moved, right?"
'N-no'- what weirded Kiyoshi out was the fact that The Guild Master was back to standing still, even with his back showing. So he tried to strike him.
What followed was a fiery exchange of blows. While Claudius moved slower than he did at the beginning of the spar, his moves were still incredibly fluid. Strangely enough, it seemed like he was continuing to slow down...
"So you already saw the weakness in my ability, huh..."
'W-what? You really overestimate me, sir'
Then he made a sudden slash, that left Kiyoshi completely unarmed.
...
"Right, I think I saw enough"
'H-how was I, sir?'
"Undoubtedly skilled enough to be an adventurer. -while making a sigh- you can go now and rest"
'Thank you!'
The bothersome encounter was finally over. Kiyoshi went directly to bed and slept for the rest of the day. When he woke up it was evening. Languidly plodding through the guild to its designated tavern, he ate a light ,,breakfast" consisted of egg salad and went to the counter, to find his first task.
"Oh, good morning Kain, or, evening, for that matter!"- Silvia didn't look tired at all. It seems that, strangely enough, desk work really was something she enjoyed.
"If you are here to get work, I'm afraid it's a little late in the day."
'Oh...'
"No, now that I think about it, there is something you can do!"
'Like what?'
"You can meet your new teammates. Right now, they should be at a nearby tavern"
'What teammates?'
"The Guild Master didn't tell you? Here at the Flying Lions, we don't register parties of one. This is why when you registered, we automatically sent you in a party that was requesting a Rogue. They are very amicable and the same age as you, so there shouldn't be any issues, but you can leave it and find another one if there is something you dislike."
'Hmm, alright'- while Kiyoshi was pretending to be sulky, on the inside, he was ecstatic. After all, being sent to a party who wanted 'his' role, saved him the trouble of convincing someone else. If they were really so bad, he can just eat them... wait.... eat them?!...oh god...
His party apparently ate at a different tavern than the one provided in the Guild, hearing from passer-bys who were leaving from there, it was something to do with the waitresses, who were ,,so much better". Having arrived there, it was clear to Kiyoshi that this tavern, nicknamed ,,the bouncing house", was a brothel.
It had an unusual atmosphere, as to say that there was visible ,,incense" in the air. After asking one of those ,,waitresses" for his party 'leader', someone named Jarod, he was directed to a table that was located in the corner of the ,,tavern". To his half-surprise, the party members really were teenagers.
'Hello, is there one of you here named Jarod?'
"That's me, but who asks?"-Jarod, a mix between a bulky and frail guy, came across as reeking of alcohol.
'My name is Kain, I am the newly assigned Rogue'
"Kain? That sounds hooorible!"-said a small boy who had two girls on his lap.
"Who do you think you are, an immortal?!" By the pointy hat he was wearing, the pre-teen looking boy appeared to be a wizard.
'No, that is the name ,,my late father" gave to me so if you chackle any longer, at it I will have your neck on this table'
"Pff! Ha ha ha. What level are you, boy? You must be a newby if we got you!"
'Well what is your level, shota kid?'
"Daah, it's sixty. Don't ya see my aura?"
'Sixty? So this party isn't all that bad'
"Well, of course..."
'Kain' tried to stand down on one of the table's empty chairs, but rose right up when a blacked out teen who was wearing a green headband jerked off the wooden board.
"Y-y-yo-you are that guy, right!!"- the attitude he displayed was erratic and he smelled of mushroom ,,stew".
"What guy?"- the others were looking at him in disbelief, as if baffled that HE was the one who knew their new teammate.
"Y-ou are the one who wrecked ,,The One-eyed dragon" right?"
'Yup'
"Fuck, he did that?"- the shota seemed mad to hear the news.
"Well what do we do about our hierarchy?"-Jarod, finally out of the coma like freeze he was in put his attention back in the conversation.
"We do nothing about that! He still level forty, for goddesses sake!"
"He ,,is"!"
"Screw you Jarod. I am not taking up cooking again!"- he then rose from his seat and went upstairs with the two ladies that were escorting him.
'What's his problem?'
"Here at ,,the green goblin", we divide our tasks while on quest depending on seniority. The guy who left, Andromitus, was in charge of cooking and he sucked at it!"
'Right, and what do I need to do?'
"Well, destroying a gang puts you higher than Will and Max"
"Hey, I get you on that lame-ass sis-con William, but why me"
"What did you exactly do, beside taking drugs?"
"Y-you know it boosts my secret power!"
"Yeah, yeah"
'What kind of power does he have?'
"Oh, right. Guess I never told you our Classes. Maxwell over here is a Druid, so a couple of herbs and mushrooms empower him. The downside is that they are essentially drugs.
My class is Canne de Combat and while it is flexible, it's too shabby to brag about"
"Joke is that he is nicknamed The Rod"
"Shut up!"
"The boy who went upstairs is a duelist"
'Didn't he have a wizard hat?'
"That's how he thinks he gets ladies..."
"Will is at his sister's. He's a ,,pure"
swordsman."
...
'Right, so when do we start?'
"We have to wait for Will, hence in two days."
'Does his sister live far away?'
"No, she is a priestess at the Altair of Maria here in San Petro"
...
...
'Is there a problem if I go and do a side-gig alone? I need some money at the moment'
"No, no. Do whatever you want, but be sure to be at the Guild in two nights."
'Alright,... see you all then!'
And he immediately left the brothel.('Passable')-was what he saw ,,the green goblin". They would at least not bore him to death. About the other ways...
Oh well...