Ezra walked into the bathroom, the difference in quality was obvious compared to the old tavern. The convenience of a tub where you could relax and bathe was a much welcome change.

As he looked into the mirror the first thing he noticed were his eyes. Of course he forgot to take his daily medication since he was unconscious, however his eyes were still a dull green. Ezra pinched himself and rubbed his eyes, yet they still stayed the same color.

‘It must be the result of my class or skills...’ He didn’t dwell on the topic for much longer though, as he took care of his daily necessities and came back to his sister waiting on the bed for him.

She stared at Ezra for a moment before grabbing his face and bringing it closer.

“How are your eyes still green? I even brought your vials knowing your eyes would change colors soon…”

“I chose a class and it was either that or one of the skills I learned that turned my eyes green.”

Claire let out a deep sigh before sitting down on the bed again.

“I didn’t mean to yell at you like that earlier, the stress was getting to me Ezra. I meant what I said regarding you almost dying, but I’m not going to start any more problems.”

“Anyways to be more prepared we should share our stats and skills.” This was another revelation to Ezra, but he berated himself for assuming you couldn’t show statuses to others.

Claire’s expression showed how shocked she was at his class and skills. After a few moments of dangling mouth syndrome, she regained control of her body and spoke.

“I think it’d be easier to understand if you just looked at my status.”

General Information

Attributes

Class

Name

Value

Name

Rank

Progress

Name

Claire Wilmont

Strength

12

Fighter

I 0%

Race

Human

Physique

11

Age

18

Agility

12

Sex

Female

Perception

10

Guild

Resolve

10

Skill List Active Skills Name Rank Level Power Strike I I Passive Skills Name Rank Level Sword Proficiency III I Shield Proficiency II I

“Uhh I’m very confused about why we have a completely different stat.” All the other stats were self-explanatory, but Spirit eluded him and his status provided no clues…

Spirit - Represents your willpower and the strength of your soul which affects your strength and resistance of all soul based abilities.

Or so he thought. The system was much more intuitive that he gave it credit for.

“Now you know how I felt seeing your class and your skills. At least I won’t have to worry about you nearly dying again.” She continued to pout and grumble, yet despite this Ezra knew she was happy for him. However just like with her skill list, Ezra assumed she couldn’t view the descriptions of his skills, specifically the warning attached to Soul Bolt.

He wondered if her opinion would have changed if she saw, but he didn’t plan on telling her about it anyways. Plans never seemed to go their ways, since they both planned on becoming Fighters and branching to their respective paths. From what they learned beforehand a fourth class option wasn’t unheard of but definitely unusual. Claire’s voice stopped him from being lost too deep in his own thoughts.

“The one thing we’re lacking is a team, and the Glory Brigade seems like our best chance at getting one besides asking random strangers. Since we’re both interested in what they have to offer, I’ll wait outside for you to change before we see about this interview process.”

Ezra changed into some normal clothes, and Claire reentered while they waited for Feyrith and Elizabeth. The pair soon arrive, telling the siblings to follow them into a spacious hallway. Cold stone walls surrounded their sides while oddly warm wooden floors were underneath them. They left from the room at the end of the hallway, forcing them to pass by plenty of rooms.

He counted at least hundreds of the similar looking doors, which made Ezra wonder just how many members the Glory Brigade had. Elizabeth spoke while the siblings were in their respective thoughts.

“This is the male living quarters for guild members, and there’s a similar housing situation that you’ll see soon for females across from us.”

They walked down a flight of stairs and through a passageway, which connected each building without forcing people to go outside. Ezra could see through the glass panels that each passageway was built on the third floor. The buildings were a carefully built mixture of stone and wood, with a larger building centered in between which they were heading towards.

Feyrith started conversation in an attempt to keep the walk to the guild leader somewhat interesting. “So you kids are nobles huh? It’s rare your kind even considers entering the Continental Dungeon. I’ll be honest my first opinion was you were another group of spoiled brats, who were about to get a reality check. I don’t mean to sound too harsh, but the impression of most adventurers are that nobles are lazy slobs sitting from their high horses.” His opinion hit hard enough causing them to grimace and Elizabeth elbowed him in disapproval.

“I’m not trying to say you’re both ignorant brats, but you should’ve handled your situation differently. Lives are worth a lot in this business, and if you want to take this seriously you better start treasuring them.”

“To think I follow a man who takes pride in bullying children…” Elizabeth mocked Feyrith while making an aggrieved face. He responded with a scowl, as Claire spoke up confused by her demeanor.

“You’re some type of priest right? Not to be rude but you aren’t acting very “priestly”. I thought they would be above witty banter with their friends.”

“To think you would conform me to your preconceived notions of what it means to be a priest…” Again Elizabeth made another mock face of anguish, which left Ezra shocked, Feyrith rolling his eyes, and Claire disappointed. She would have felt bad if Elizabeth hadn’t done the same thing a few seconds ago.

“Sorry I just love teasing people, but one thing you should consider is these classes don’t define how people act. Just because someone chooses a holy class doesn’t mean they can’t be an asshole or tell a funny crude joke. As long as I heal people in the name of Moanke, she could care less about what I really do.”

Claire and Ezra both nodded their heads in understanding, it seemed as if every moment they spent with Elizabeth and Feyrith they became more knowledgeable about adventurer culture.

After walking up another set of stairs and traversing some hallways they arrived in front of a stone door, numerous lines interconnected and weaving on its surface. The lines suddenly glowed green as the door magically opened, revealing the office of an elder beastfolk.

His back was slightly hunched, however this didn’t take away from the majesty his broad back emitted. He turned around revealing a bearded face marred by a giant claw mark left by some monster. His head was surrounded by his black lion’s mane, as intense yellow feline eyes analyzed every detail of the siblings. The siblings’ froze up like statues as their fear took hold of them.

Their instincts were yelli- no demanding them ‘Do not anger this monster!’ and it took every ounce of their will not to displease him in any manner. He slowly spoke, every syllable reverberating in their heads.

“dfinsofdusofdjskjfi”

“Huh?” Ezra and Claire both struggled to reply at the same time, and suddenly the pressure disappeared as quickly as it came. Claire glanced back at Feyrith and Elizabeth, who both wore stoic gazes seemingly unaffected by the past pressure.

“You passed the test. If you’d like to join the Glory Brigade,” the guild leader spread his right arm out theatrically as his deep voice seemed to rumble “I welcome you, Claire Wilmont and Ezra Wilmont, with open arms.” He never let go of the bejeweled metal cane held in his left hand, all of his weight pressing on the surprisingly sturdy tool.

Just as they were processing what exactly happened, the seasoned adventurers started chuckling amongst themselves. Ezra assumed they were laughing at the near constipated expressions strewn on their faces.

Despite the embarrassment, he went back to observing the guild leader. Even with his hunched back he easily towered over the 6’4 Feyrith, and Ezra estimated this lion beastfolk’s height to be at least 6’7. He wore a long sleeveless black robe that highlighted his muscular frame with a matching set of boots and pants. His upper body was shirtless showcasing the many scars that weren’t covered by his hairy frame.

“Uh thank you sir…” Claire stumbled with her words due to the prior embarrassment before the guild leader’s voice boomed in laughter.

“Please call me Jericho. Do any of you have any questions for me before you give me your answer?” Jericho offered his hand to both siblings, who quickly reciprocated the handshake. Ezra felt the firm grip and calluses that covered his hand, attesting to his past days spent adventuring. Jericho is one of the few guild leaders who have retired from adventuring, as most of them have yet to age or be injured enough to warrant retiring.

“How did we pass the test? What was that odd language you were speaking?” Neither Ezra nor Claire understood the jumble of syllables, and Ezra took Claire’s silence as initiative to ask first.

Jericho scratched the back of his head, an expression of resignation on his face while he spoke “I wish I could tell you both but that’s classified information. I guess I should’ve told you not to ask that one question.” Not wanting to ruin their chance of invitation they opted for a few moments of awkward silence. Jericho gave a toothy grin in response, as if it was a natural thing.

Claire took rein of the conversation and picked up her brother's slack, which he gladly obliged as he believed she was much better at acquiring information. “How many adventurers like us have you recruited?”

“Do you both know of the Adventurer Academy?” They both nodded, signaling Jericho to continue.

“Then you should know it specializes in training future adventurers, and a few weeks ago in May another class has graduated. That means the top guilds scramble to grab the best students, and we were lucky enough to get twenty recruits.”

“Besides it’s not like newbies aren’t permitted to joining the guild, so we have plenty of them.”

“Mr. Jericho, Ezra and I…” Claire glanced at her brother one last time for confirmation. “…would love to join the Glory Brigade. The only thing is that we only have two people in our party, and we don’t have a lot to offe-”

“What she’s trying to say is that I’m partially dead weight.” Claire choked on her words and Jericho raised his eyebrow, yet Ezra stood there in silence clenching his fists. He didn’t want to drag down his sister’s worth to other adventurers because he used no weapons. That made him more susceptible to the dangers in the dungeon, however that was part of the reason why he chose the Mystic class besides finding an explanation for the weird dreams.

“What my brother meant to say is we’re dead weight.” Defiantly she continued where she was cut off, signaling Ezra to not interrupt again.

Jericho stroked his beard in thought as he asked “What do you mean by that?”

“We’re ignorant country nobles with no idea how any of this works. The only fighting experience we have are practice fights with our city guards. Ezra can get overconfident during fights, while I tend to break down when things don't go my way…”

The guild leader walked around his desk towards Claire, the limp of his right leg obvious to even an untrained eye.

“I can’t help you with your personal flaws or getting new members, since those are problems you need to solve yourself. However there will be a get together later tonight for the students of the Academy and other aspiring adventurers to form their own parties. You’re welcome to join if you want, but recruiting people will be up to your ability.”

Guild Leader Jericho has invited you to join the Glory Brigade! Y/N?

A blue screen appeared in his view, and without any hesitation Ezra accepted the invitation.

You have joined the Glory Brigade guild!

Guild Tab has been unlocked!

“Now that you both have joined and finished with your questions, Feyrith and Elizabeth will take you to your new living quarters. Good luck Ezra and Claire.”

Jericho waved the siblings goodbye as they left the room. The lines on the stone door reverted to its formerly dull appearance, and Ezra asked the question on his mind the most.

“What are the chances anyone would join us at that gathering?”

Feyrith and Elizabeth both stopped prompting the siblings to reciprocate. They whispered to each other for a few moments, occasional glances being shot their way before Feyrith stepped up.

“If we’re being realistic here, you’d be lucky to get any of the Academy students. Although getting ordinary people shouldn’t be that hard, especially with your sisters’ looks.”

“Are you telling me to whore off my sister?!” A scowl lined Claire’s face while Ezra nearly lunged at the man in anger before calming himself down. Despite his lanky appearance, Ezra knew if an actual fight broke out between them Feyrith would easily win.

“Feyrith don’t say something that’s so easy to misunderstand. What my companion meant was since Claire is an attractive young lady, men are more willing try join you as a “white knight” while some will even try to take advantage of you.”

“Trust me I know from experience.” Elizabeth’s expression grew increasingly solemn, as everyone remained silent on the walk back.