"So tell me, Aryan, what do you think of... dark magic?" Aahana asked, looking him directly in the eyes.
"Oiii, Aahana, are you even thinking about what you're talking about?" Alena shouted, standing up from her chair.
The restaurant fell silent, and everyone was looking at the loud voice with curious gazes. Sen quickly reacted to the situation as he stood up and apologised for her friend's action.
"Are you serious about this?" Aryan asked Aahana in a deep voice.
"I never go back on my words... But.. I will have to ask for more of your cooperation in against." Aahana took her gamble as a drop of sweat went down her neck.
"And that is? " Aryan asked in a serious voice.
"You will be asked to participate in 3 missions per week; the missions will be your choice." Aahana continued
"You can't hunt or group in the dungeon with anyone outside of our clan."
"3rd, you can't deny any direct order from the clan, and you will also be participating in rank-up tests and clan conflicts, whether you like it or not."
"Also, this contract will renew every two months, so if you want to leave the clan between the two months, then you will have to pay for compensation." Aahana gulped as she put her conditions in front of Aryan.
Aryan, listening to the conditions, was in deep thoughts of his own.
Sen, looking at the density of the situation, decided to meditate again.
"You don't need to answer right now; you can take your time and think thoroughly," Sen said, handing him a small card.
"Alright then," Aryan said, picking up the card and drinking his soft drink in one shot before he stood up and took a small glance at Sen. "Bill is on you."
Sen's lips twitched twice, but he was able to put up a smile until Aryan left the room.
In one corner of the restaurant, unknown to the group, a figure was looking at them the whole time while writing something in a small diary.
***********
In a room of the adventure guild:
"I see, so that's why they were reacting that way!" Aryan said to himself while looking at the information on dark magic on the magic desk.
Dark magic is one of the good branches of a magic tree in existence; if he wanted to buy such a skill book, he would have to pay three hundred silver coins or even more.
After thinking about it for a few minutes, Aryan concluded
He can't always live in a rented apartment where he will always have insecurity about staff, not to mention the barely minimum survival conditions he has been following for the past few days.
Aryan didn't have any motivation to become super strong or anything; he always wanted to make some friends, visit some places, and celebrate his 18th birthday in a certain special place.
A wide grin appeared on his face as he planned his birthday, which was a few months later.
"Alright, then it's decided. No risks, no rewards." Aryan said this with a smile on his face before texting the number on the card.
"Giyuu... Giyu .. yu..yu. Rimuru jumped in excitement, cheering Aryan up.
Aryan patted his head before heading to the bathroom.
A few minutes later, some texts and images came back with a notification.
[We found our fifth member too.]
[I expect to see you at 7 in the morning at clan base, Sen.]
"Alright then... Leave tomorrow's things to tomorrow. " Aryan said as he let out a yawn before jumping on the bed.
*****
The next morning, Aryan was greeted by the group in front of a little old and unrepaired building. Before the group took a caravan and headed towards Townhall,
"So where is the fifth member you were bragging about, by the way?" Aryan asked, looking at Sen.
"You will see him once we reach the town hall. He is quite an interesting fellow, I believe." Sen replied with a smile.
"Ahh, I forgot to tell you about the test today, silly me!" Sen said this as he remembered something.
"Since we want to make a clan, we will have to pass a small test before we register in it, but don't worry about it; we have you and Alena as close combatants, while Aahana and I are mid-range and long-range fighters, respectively, not to mention we have an array master on our side, so it will be a piece of cake." Sen continued to rant nonstop until the group reached the town hall.
As soon as the four of them stepped out of the caravan, a skinny man in his early twenties with curly silver hair and dark circles in his eyes covered by golden rim-rectangular glasses came towards the group.
A smile appeared on Sen's face as he went for a handshake, but the man continued to walk past him, heading directly towards Aryan.
"Hello Aryan, my name is Ruyi, and I am a runemaster as well as an array master. It's a pleasure to meet you in person." The man said in a low voice while he forwarded his right hand for a handshake while adjusting his glasses, which slipped to his nose again.
'The pleasure is all mine." Aryan said this with a charming smile on his face.
As soon as Aryan touched Ruyi's hd, Ruyi's sleepy eyes became sharp, and a smile appeared on his emotionless face.
"Do they already know each other?" Alena asked Sen, who was still frozen from the shock of being ignored.
Ruyi took out some papers, breaking the silence in the group.
" I have already completed all the paperwork necessary for the procedure. All there is left to do is sign the contracts and participate in the test." Ruyi forwarded some papers to Aahana, who was in a black mage costume and holding a staff in her hands.
Aahana delicately took the papers from him before she signed in some of the places and forwarded them to other members of the group to continue the process.
Ruyi then submitted the papers on a counter, took out a colourful picture paper, and came to the group.
"I have already done all the procedures necessary; now what we need to do is defeat a monster and get clan rank." Ruyi forwarded a picture on the table and pointed at a figure.
"According to my calculations, a small toll will be the best option for us to fight; we can defeat it with some plans and tricks and get a better ranking than the average for starters," Ruyi said in his energy-less voice.
The group looked at each other before nodding and heading towards the test hall.
****************
Currently, the group was standing in a small training ground where a toll was standing in the centre of it while a voice sounded in a room with the speaker.
[If all participants are ready, we shall start the test.]
"Everyone. Let's give this one our best shot and mark the first victory of our clan." Aahana spoke in a loud voice.
"As long as we follow my plan, we have a 72% chance to win this one," Ruyi said, writing something in the small diary.
"Alright then, here we go." Aahana took a deep breath before she said it in a loud voice.
"Start the challenge."
The glass container surrounding the monster opened up, and a large roar followed behind.
"Huaaaaaaaghhhhh"
A green monster about 15 feet tall with a bald head and a humanoid figure came out screaming as his large canine teeth were visible from afar.