Standing in the center of the dirt field, I watch as all of the novice adventurers round the corner of the building, gathering in front of the shed under Rosalie's instruction, including the hot-tempered boy.
Well, time to figure out who has potential from the get-go.
"Hello everyone, my name is Lionell, and I'm an adventurer. Despite the rumors, I am not an old geezer," I quip, looking at the fiesty boy as he looks away in annoyance. "In fact, I'm only twenty-four. Today, I am on a quest. My quest is an easy one, simply making sure all of you are actually ready to start your journey as an adventurer. Who here thinks they're ready? If you do, go ahead and step forward for me."
Without skipping a beat, the boy shamelessly stepped forward despite his earlier rudeness.
Seems he has a lot of confidence.
"Anyone else? Don't be shy, I just need to know who thinks they're ready."
Four others stepped forward, although hesitantly. The rest of the crowd stood back, watching, uncertain.
"Only five? I must say I'm disappointed. Normally more people step forward than this. You five," I point, speaking to those who stepped forward, "You all step over here behind me. As for the rest of you..."
I pause, looking at the group.
"Why did you come here if you weren't certain you were ready!?" I yelled, pointing at them all as I did.
There was a gasp from the crowd, but I continued.
"If there is one rule you should always follow as an adventurer, never set out on a quest unless you are certain you are ready!" I angrily stated.
Most of the group turn their heads down, too embarrassed or ashamed to look at me as I speak.
Kids these days, blind to the dangers.
"I want all of you to think about that while I work with these next five," I say, turning around to let them mull over my words.
"Now then," I say, facing the group of five, "You with the blazing red hair and the fiery temper to match, what's your name?"
"My name is Blake," he replies, clearly annoyed with having to answer to me.
"Alright then Blake. There are three things I am going to check about you. First is your armor, second is your equipment, and third is your overall condition. Now then, starting with your armor."
I reach out to his armor, giving each piece a good tug. We both wore metal plates over our chest, but unlike myself, he didn't wear just leather on his arms in legs, instead opting for more pieces of metal armor to serve as guards. Each piece is firmly strapped, and no piece is placed in a spot that could compromise movement.
"Well done. This is how you should always wear your armor. Next up, your weapons."
Blake also opted for a sword, though his was much longer than mine, and it sat in a sheath on his back rather than on his waist. A quick glimpse at the sword itself showed it to be well maintained. It was sharp and clean, just as a sword should be before a quest.
"Good sword, well maintained. Where is your backup?" I ask, checking all around him yet failing to find a second weapon.
"I don't need a backup as long as I don't drop my sword," he smirked.
"Maybe, but what if instead of dropping it, the sword breaks entirely? Only those with exceptional talent could go without a backup, and even still they always bring one."
"Tch, whatever."
He's overly confident in himself. Not only that, but he still has the attitude. Guess he's not nervous afterall, but instead this is his normal self. That's an issue.
On the right side of his waist was a pouch, and in the pouch was a couple of standard potions. Two healing, three stamina, and one mana that was light blue in color.
"Oh? You can use magic?"
"I can," he answered smugly.
"What spells?"
"Flame-Shot, Fire-Ball, and Explosion."
Oh? Hot spells for a hot temper. How oddly fitting.
The first two are quick spells, the kind that don't require any kind of incantation, but instead can be used almost instantaneously. As for the third, it's a much stronger spell. The bigger the spell, the harder it is to use, so that spell does require an incantation to use.
"Aside from lacking a backup weapon, equipment looks good. Having access to magic, you could even substitue that as your backup weapon in a pinch. Still, that doesn't mean you shouldn't go and buy a second weapon for emergencies."
Even with the advice I was giving him, Blake still seemed displeased with me teaching him.
"Finally, your overall condition. Considering it's your body, how are you feeling? Any soreness or aching? Cuts and bruises? Feeling tired at all?"
"Tired of you maybe," he laughed, and a couple of others from the group by the building laughed with him.
Looks like they don't respect me. Guess I had to do this eventually, no reason why I can't do it with the first.
"You know what? How about a spar? You seem awfully sure of yourself afterall."
He laughed in response.
"A spar? With you? Surely you must be joking."
"The only one I hear cracking jokes is you. Still, if you don't want to, I can't force you," I shrugged, turning my back. "Especially if you're scared."
I didn't have to see his face to sense the anger seething from him over a simple provocation.
"You want a beating so bad, I would be more than happy."
"So you agree then?"
"Yeah, I agree geezer!"
Just as easy as I thought it would be. Temperamental boys like him are easy to manipulate.
"Good. Now then, you four, step off to the side while Blake and I get ready."
Obediently, the four cleared off of the field, leaving only myself and Blake.
"Alright. The Guild has one rule with sparring on this field, and that is that there is no magic used whatsoever. That means those flame spells of yours are off limits. Other than that, anything is game."
"Anything? Does that include using real weapons on opponents, even if it hurts them?" Blake asked, twisting a smile on his face in an attempt to look as menacing as possible.
"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way."
The crowd by the building stands with baited breath as Blake and I stared each other down.
"Well Blake, it's your move."
"You're gonna regret that."
Slowly, methodically, he starts circling the field, his hand slowly reaching up for the sword on his back. I circle as well, my boots kicking up dirt with each step.
I can't help but feel all of the equipment on my body as I move, a feeling I've grown accustomed to after numerous fights. Everything is right where it should be. Nothing is out of place.
One more step. Another. One more.
I can almost hear the gears in Blake's head turning, his eyes watching me for the perfect moment to strike.
Maybe I'll give him one.
His eyes locked on in an instant. My legs were ready just as fast.
"HYAH!"
Not one moment wasted, he pulled his sword from its sheath, jumping in front of me and swinging down with all of his might. However-
"What!?"
It was a complete miss. In fact, I was gone from sight entirely.
His head was spinning wildly, trying to figure out just where I had gone.
"Where did-" he started to say, but his voice stopped as his eyes glanced upwards for the briefest moment.
Despite that, he was still too late.
Before he could take a moment to move out of the way, I was already on top of him, bringing the both of us to the ground.
"Ugh!"
Having brought him down, it took very little to yank his sword from his distracted hands, tossing it to the side as I pulled my own dagger out from behind my sword. Quickly, I pressed the blade against his throat before he could even figure out what had happened.
"Well, looks like you lose," I say, my face mere inches from his.
Even down in the dirt, completely defeated by me, his glare persisted, burning a hole into my eyes.
"Come on, I'll help you up-" I start to say, extending my hand to him as I stand, but he quickly swats it aside with his own, choosing instead to pick himself up and off the ground.
With the both of us standing, I sheathe my dagger.
"Now then, when I asked for your overall condition, you chose not to answer, instead cracking a silly joke. Would you like to answer now?"
"... My back is aching."
"From the fight?"
"... Yes," he sighed.
"Good, that is something to acknowledge. When you go to take on a quest, you need to formulate your plans with your condition in mind. That way, you don't try to do anything outside of your current capabilities. Now then, what else?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you've described to me how your physical condition is, how about your mental condition?"
"Mental? I'm pissed off, that's what!" he spat, his face turned away.
"Excellent, you should also be aware of your emotions, not because strong emotions could stop you from doing a quest entirely, but instead because they could impact how you handle it. That concludes you for now."