Today was his first day joining the Vortex guild as their new exclusive guide. Hadrian steps into their bustling headquarters, feeling both excited and nervous. A dark haired tall man greets him warmly, introduces himself as the Guild Leader and leads him to an office where five imposing figures await. "Everyone, meet Hadrian Duran, our new guide. He's an S-class so i trust that you'll treat him well," The leader commands, as he then hands off a folder of detailed documents about the espers to Hadrian.
Hadrian carefully glances through the pages. His golden eyes glance up to take in the sight of the espers. He was nervous as this was his first time being assigned to help such a high classed group. The five espers eye him curiously, each one sizing him up with a mixture of skepticism and curiosity. of the espers three of them were female and the other two were male. The leader, a tall and muscular man with long black hair and a scar across his face, nods at him approvingly.
"You'll have your work cut out for you, Hadrian. The Espers are strong and independent, but they all need guidance," he says with a hint of humor. "Of course, I look forward to assisting them all," Hadrian finally speaks up, his voice sounding smooth and tender, tone as sweet as honey. He knew he was quite the looker himself, from his long crimson hair, to his golden eyes and even his pale skin. He just prayed he wouldn't have any incidents being attacked by the espers this time. There had been quite a few bad match ups in the past.
The leader smirks at his response, clearly amused by his confidence. "I like your spirit," he says, clapping him on the back, "But don't be fooled by their looks. They can be quite temperamental, especially when they're in a bad mood." One of the espers, a beautiful woman with silver hair and sharp, calculating eyes, speaks up. "Don't get too comfortable, Guide. we're not your puppets to play with."
Hadrian turns to her with a calculating look. "I know you're not my puppets, just as I am not your personal slave. I am merely here to give guidance and help when you need it," he says softly, his tone almost turning sharp as his eyes narrow at her. The woman smirks, clearly not intimidated by his tone. "Oh, how cute. You think you can handle us? We've had other guides before, and they all eventually quit."
The leader intervenes before the conversation escalates further. "Enough, Annalise. Hadrian is a capable guide, and he's been assigned to you all for a reason." The other Espers watch the exchange with interest, clearly intrigued by the tension between him and Annalise. Hadrian takes a small breath to center himself, before giving a soft smile and bowing. "It was interesting to meet you all. Will I be staying close by or do you prefer i commute from my apartment? Also do you have a dedicated space for when receiving guidance or is your group quite open to just getting guidance anywhere as needed?" He asks softly, his mind beginning to plan how he would need to adjust his schedule.
The leader thinks for a moment before answering. "You'll be staying here at the guild headquarters. We have a room prepared for you. As for guidance, we usually prefer having it in a dedicated space, but if you have specific requirements, we can work something out." Annalise pipes up again, clearly not done trying to get a rise out of him. "Oh, a room at the guild? How luxurious. Are you hoping to spend some alone time with us, Guide?"
Hadrian tilts his head in thought, his hair partially falling across his face as he looks at the leader. "My own space is fine. I'll stay on-site when the espers are active, but during their downtime i may return home for a small period. I don't require anything specific for a guidance space. It was simply a question if your group is open to receiving guidance, of any level, in front of others. i have found some groups have no sense of privacy or decency." At Annalise's comment he glares at her.
The leader nods in understanding. "We understand. We're open to guidance, but of course, there are times when privacy is needed. As for your accommodations, feel free to make yourself comfortable. If there's anything you need, just let me know." Annalise rolls her eyes at the glare, clearly not intimidated by Hadrian's response. "Oh, please. Like you could handle a group like us. You're just a pretty face with a fancy title."
His golden eyes stare down Annalise, "That remains to be seen to all of you. you do not know me, none of you do, just as i don't know any of you. i don't have any high expectations for your group. Just cuz I'm a guide does not automatically make me weak like you think," Hadrian calmly explains before turning back to the leader, "May I see the room that I will be staying in?" The leader looks slightly amused by his calm yet confident response to Annalise's taunts. "Of course, follow me. I'll show you to your room."
He leads Hadrian out of the office and down a hallway, the other espers watching his retreating figure with varying degrees of interest and curiosity. The leader stops in front of a room and opens the door, gesturing for him to enter. "This will be your room. Make yourself comfortable." "Thank you, sir.." Hadrian leaves the question hanging. He didn't want to demand a name, but if he was willing to share it would make it easier to know which document in the file was his. he steps in and glances about the small room. It was large enough to hold a queen bed, a nightstand and a dresser comfortably.
The leader chuckled softly at his unspoken question. "No need to be so formal. You can call me Mason." He leans against the doorframe watching as Hadrian inspects the room. "I trust it's to your liking?" "Thank you Mason, It's nice to meet you," Hadrian gives a soft warm smile at him, his golden eyes shining slightly with a glint of silver. "This room is just fine, i don't need much space since I'll only be staying in it when the espers are on duty."
Mason nods in understanding. "That's good to hear. You'll have plenty of time to settle in before the group starts their next mission." He pushes himself off the doorframe and glances down the hallway. "If you need anything, feel free to ask any of the guild members. We're all pretty friendly around here." Hadrian thinks back to the prickly conversation with Annalise. "Yeah... Totally all friendly, aren't they," he drawls sarcastically.
"Don't worry I've delt with much, much worse," he says with a grim expression as he steps into his room. mason chuckles at his sarcasm. "Annalise can be a bit.... difficult, I'll admit. But don't let her get to you. She's just testing your limits, trying to see how far she can push you." He pauses for a moment, studying his expression. "You've dealt with difficult people before ,huh?"
"Difficult, deadly, same difference/ All that matters is if they let me do my job atleast...." Mason nods understandingly, a hint or respect in his eyes, "I can appreciate that. As a guide, your job is to help and support the Espers, even if they don't always make it easy for you." He glances at his watch and sighs. "Well, I should get back to my duties. if you need anything, you know where to find me. don't hesitate to ask."
"No problem, sir, i'll just be 'settling in', " he says with a slight chuckle as he waves goodbye. Mason smiles at his response and nods before walking away. Hadrian steps into his room, closing the door softly. The hallways falls silent as he settles into the room, taking in the new surroundings. Hadrian waits a few moments to make sure he's alone before sitting on the edge of the bed.
He let's out a soft sigh as he relaxes. "System open," he mumbles to himself. A glowing blue screen appears in front of him. It shows his information and stats similar as if this world was a game. Though his Class didn't just say Guide, it also marked himself as an esper. This was one of his special abilities he had gained upon awakening, His main esper skill was called The Player, letting him view and level up his stats, making it so he could get stronger. Hadrian glances over his information, it was displaying the usual: his name, age and general stats. His Esper class wasn't specific, just Esper, same as his Guide class.
As he browses through the menu, he notices that the system has already registered his new location and some of the espers he had met. Looking through the System tabs he clicks on his quest log, his most recent quest 'Get Assigned to an S Class Group' was now grayed out and marked complete. there was a few sub quests active, small quests to meet or get to know each esper on the team. As he reads through the quests, a small smirk tugs on the corners of his lips. The sub quest to get to know Annalise looks like it'll be a challenge, but he's not one to back down.