From what he knew about the guilds, almost every one of them was profit-driven, hiring Warriors and Mages to facilitate the hunting of Wild Monsters, in exchange for money, resources, and knowledge that Mages and warriors need to level up.
'They are more like companies, and it seems they are all owned by noble families or other influential people.' He looked at the Gothic-like guild building located in the center of the city, the name Cromwell Guild written above the metal gates to the front yard.
He hesitated if he should truly go in, or go back to the Cater guild, but he shook his head.
'Going back now would just complicate me in the Job that went sideways, they might also take the magic Items from me since they know I didn't have it before.' So resolving his mind, he went through the open metal gates, past the short walkway to the front door of the building.
The door like the rest of the building looked grand and Gothic, filled with sharp-edge things that almost made it unwelcoming.
'Should I knock or something?' He stood in front of the closed door confusedly, but just as he raised his hand to knock, the thick door creaked wide open in the middle, and with outstretched hands holding the doors, a uniform-wearing girl stood before him, a stunned look on her face.
"Oh! hello, You came right on time, you can enter and wait for a little while till I finish." The girl, a normal-looking female, said in a monotonous tone, pointing to one of the seats in the grand hall.
'Wow, it's a little easier than I expected!' He casually walked into the luxurious building, trying not to gouge at all the ornamental and expensive-looking decorations.
He sat at an expensive-looking chair closer to the reception area and watched in silence as the girl performed her routine, all while wearing a bored expression on her face.
She went from the door to the windows, opening the thick and huge expensive-looking drapes covering them to the sides.
Then she walked into a room next to the reception area, bringing out boxes and setting them inside the reception area.
She went back to the room 3 more times, each time bringing out a wooden square box, of which he could see its content.
She signaled to him, and he hurriedly walked up to the table station she was standing behind in.
"So, what brings you to our guild?" She asked him in a monotonous tone.
"Sorry?" He couldn't understand what the question meant.
"I'm asking for the reason you came to our guild today." The girl clarified, and he stood silent for a few seconds, contemplating how to best answer the question without sounding like a peasant.
"I'm here to register into this guild."He replied shortly, trying to keep a straight face.
"I see, Do you have a letter of recommendation or do you have the standard commission to hire one of our guild members?" The girl looked him up and down as she said the second one.
"No, I don't have them, but I have this." He raised his left hand, showing her the bracer he wore.
"I see, Where did you acquire these items?" The girl's bored eyes looked at the amulet hanging on his neck along with the Bracer with barely any interest.
"These items were gifted to me by my mentor, a passing mage who refused to take me on as a full disciple." He told one of his prepared stories, hoping it would do enough.
"What's your master's name so we can contact him to verify your identity?" The girl was clearly looking at him with distrust, making his heart beat wildly in trepidation.
"He didn't tell me his name, said him helping me was just to fulfill a promise he made to my grandfathers." He frowned at her, keeping the string of lies intact.
"Hmm... Did he train you in the use of these two items then?" The girl asked, her voice still distrustful.
"Look lady, you have been rude for a while now, I don't need to tell you my entire life to prove my capability to be a part of your guild." He frowned, making a stand, as he felt saying anything more about himself will only expose him more.
"I'm sorry if you took offense, but it seems your case will have to be handled by my supervisor. Please wait in the seat over there." The girl frowned for the first time, pointing him to as eat as she stood up behind the table, walking to the second floor.
He sat down with trepidation filling his heart, regretting coming to this guild.
'I should have been more careful, if they find out I'm laying will they take away my items?' He began to sweat, and seconds tipped by in complete silence.
The girl began descending the stairs, looking at him with pitiful eyes,
"Madam would see you now, please follow me." She didn't wait for him, turning halfway down the stairs and going back to the second floor.
'Should I run away now and look my chances elsewhere?' he stood up from his seat, looking between the wide-open doorway and the second floor's stairs.
'No, I can't go back now, My already low chances will become zero if I run away from the only legitimate guild in this city." He reluctantly and hurriedly caught up with the rude girl.
Considering to going to other cities was also out of the question, they were far even by wagon, the only transportation accessible to peasant people.
'That limits my options of gaining access to the guarded secret of magical knowledge being this guild.' He caught up with the girl at the top of the stairs, waiting for him at the end of the hallway with distasteful eyes.
"The Madam is waiting for you, a piece of advice, don't try to lie." Saying her piece, the girl walked away.
He focused on the expensive-looking door, gulping his saliva, he tried to open the door, but it opened on its own.
"Come in, I wanna be over with this as quickly as possible." Entering the room, a voice said from a grand bed covered with see-through thin drapes from all sides, the figure of a sleeping woman propping her head with her her arms visible behind it.
He tried to calmly walk closer to the bed, emptying his thoughts in case the woman might have some mind-reading ability, the warning of the girl appearing in his mind.
"It has been reported to me on this early morning that you wish to be a part of our guild, but you don't have two of our standard verification to make sure you aren't just a peasant while proclaiming you know magic with two items that might or might not be real. Does that sum up our situation here?" She said in a lazy voice, yawning mid-sentence as if bored out of her mind.
"Yes." He couldn't say another word trying to rein in his fluctuating emotions.
"You have nothing to add to that then?" She asked.
"Like what?" He kept a close eye on her movements behind the curtains, Hoping she wouldn't hear his wildly beating heart in the quiet room he didn't even examine fully.
"hmm... Let me ask you this, why do you want to be a part of our guild?" She sat up on the bed her front facing him.
"I wish to gain more knowledge of magic, become a respected mage or Warrior, and ... avenge my parents who were slaughtered by monsters 5 years ago."He didn't say any lies, all the things he listed was something he truly wanted to do.
"I see, you must be one of the refugees from the last horde invasions. Tell me the truth, where did you acquire those two items?" She suddenly asked him, making him nervous if he should tell the truth or not.
"It seems you have a worry about it, but let me tell you this, I have no need for your basic items, one of which you seem to have imprinted on." He could hear the muse in her voice, feeling pressured by her invisible stare.
"I-I acquired it by accident last night, I was on a job that dealt with cleaning up ... houses and the two men I was with had been killed by what I believe to be the target." He closed his eyes, feeling like his life hang by a thread as he confessed everything.
"Go on, I have been wondering what the commotion that happened last night was." The woman was sitting up straight now, Giving her full attention.
"I don't know how I activated this bracer but it released a ball of fire that burned the disturbed and monster-like target, and shortly after I made my escape from the burning house." His eyes widened as he finally recognized that he was telling everything he wanted to hide.
"And you made your way here first thing in the morning to truly claim these items as your own by becoming a part of our guild officially, that was your plan correct?" He slapped his mouth to stop himself from answering looking at the shadow figure of the woman behind the curtain fearfully.
"How did you do that?" He asked with a shaking voice, feeling his heart beat out of his chest at exposing everything about him in just 2 minutes.
"Don't worry about that. I must admit you're one crafty little boy, trying to take advantage of the first opportunity that presented itself to you." The woman stood up from the bed, opened the curtain from the sides, she walked out dressed only black silk robe that covered her from head to toe.
He stood there in silence as he wide-eyed watched the beautiful woman that walked toward him with a smile.
Towering over him, with a head full of black silky long hair, black exotic shaped eyes that he couldn't describe, a beautiful otherworldly pale face, and a stacked figure that jiggled just from her walking. She stopped in front of him, eyeing him in a never before seen way.
She raised her right hand, and rubbed along the length of the wound in his left cheek, as he stifled a groan from the pain of the open wound being touched, he focused on her eyes that were looking at his.
"Little lost lamp, you're hired. Welcome to the Cromwell Guild."