The silence was suffocating for everyone present, until Elizabeth took Claire towards the female dorms leaving Feyrith and Ezra. He took the time to apologize, clearing any misunderstanding his words may have caused.

“I didn’t mean to imply anything sexual about your sister Ezra, but one of the most dangerous things down there are people.”

Ezra apologized in return realizing he shouldn’t have snapped at Feyrith like that, as he was only looking out for the safety of the siblings.

“I shouldn’t have lashed out at you like that…You’ve been nothing but helpful to my sister and I, so please accept my sincerest apologies!”

With as much discipline and rigor he could muster Ezra gave a sharp bow, much to Feyrith’s embarrassment as there were more adventurers wandering the halls. Feyrith explained how adventurers usually start their runs in the morning, and typically finished in the afternoon or later at night.

Although the majority he saw were humans, there were a fair amount of beastfolk and elves. Sights like these were uncommon in Rockhollow, a predominantly human city deep in the Human Kingdom. The only diversity Ezra saw on a day to day basis was the different ethnicities between humans, or the occasional elf and beastfolk passing through the city.

“Just take what I said into consideration. There have been cases of adventurers disappearing in situations they could’ve easily dealt with, and their deaths are rarely investigated too deeply unless they have a decent background…” Feyrith left him in front of his new room with this grim forewarning as he went to find the rest of the party. The first thing Ezra noticed about the fifth floor was a significant decrease in the amount of rooms lining the hallway.

He was at the end of the hallway again, and peered through the hallway window to see the streets bustling with the same energy from hours ago. All guilds were located in the 2nd and 3rd districts which was as close as you could get before entering the dungeon, although he couldn’t tell from a glance which district he was at. He entered his new living establishment, and was disappointed by its quality compared to the previous room.

The room was considerably smaller, and there was no window to view the streets. The only objects that stood out was a plain bed with some drawers, an armor stand, and a shard of glowstone that would provide illumination at night by gathering energy from the sun. Thankfully someone moved his leather armor into his room and someone managed to repair where his leg was stabbed.

‘At least the bed isn’t stiff like the tavern...’ He placed his eye drop vials in one of the drawers, and used the remaining time to relax in the provided bathtub. Although there was no magic crystal to provide temperature controlled water, he was already used to filling tubs with buckets from other taverns on their way to the Dungeon City.

Ezra traced his left leg, no trace of the previous injury present. He never properly thanked Elizabeth for saving him, and as he thought more about his leg he realized Jericho was giving the siblings an opportunity.

Having good teammates was just as important as the quality of their gear or personal ability. By inviting them to the meeting, Ezra and Claire could find people who can make up for their clear class deficiencies. One extra fighter, one extra initiate, or one extra adept would have made such a huge difference with their earlier fight.

He even viewed the guild tab, but it only showed who was the guild leader and vice leader, and the amount of members they had. It wasn’t a very interesting screen despite the fact it required you to unlock it to see anything of potential interest.

Ezra lost himself in his thoughts and the bubbles, as the time for the meeting slowly neared…

Claire navigated the dorms as she headed towards Ezra’s room to make sure he was ready. She couldn’t stop thinking about her previous encounter a few minutes ago. After she finished examining and relaxing in her new room, she exited her room to become face to face with a beautiful elf lady.

She looked around her and Ezra’s age, although looks can be deceiving especially with elves. Gold hair as smooth and luscious as silk was fixed into a ponytail that came to her shoulder, while her emerald eyes seemed focused completely and only on her. She wore plain clothes but somehow made them look fitted for royalty and was 5’10 which was short for an elf.

She kept staring until she finally waved introducing herself to Claire.

“Hello Claire, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Although she was shocked at first, Claire re-oriented herself as she shook the elf’s hand.

“Do I know you…?”

“No but it’s always nice to start with a good first impression. I’ll see you around.” She waved goodbye while entering her room before Claire could even ask for her name.

It was a brief encounter that left quite the impression but Claire decided to stop thinking too deeply about it as it has already set the siblings behind. She walked all the way to the men’s dormitory to pick up Ezra, who quickly responded to her quick knocking.

They were told by Feyrith and Elizabeth to talk to one of the receptionists on the first floor of the main building, where they would be guided to a room full of aspiring adventurers. The adventurers they passed came in all different shapes, sizes, races, and features. Some looked crafty and sneaky keeping to themselves, others made sure to show off their bulging muscles, there were even a few showcasing their bonded animals and monsters to their party members.

The whole walk didn’t even last twenty minutes, and they reached a reception area crowded with men at the receptionist desk. It was shaped like an oval and built in the middle of the room, allowing people from any direction to report to the receptionists.

“When can I take you out sometime?”

“I killed a Bearshark all by myself!”

“I know a couple ways we could have fun…”

The reception desk was filled with attractive women, who all coyishly deflected the adventurer’s advances. As soon as someone approached the desk in a serious demeanor, their personality turned a 180 and promptly acted in a professional manner.

The crowd made sure not to get in the way of people conducting business, like they did with the siblings who were given the directions to the gathering area. They both looked at each other before opening the door together, all eyes converging on their bodies scrutinizing every detail about them before returning to the stage.

The atmosphere seemed more like a mixer than a serious gathering, the room designed like a large classroom without the desks. There were around fifty people crowding a raised platform situated near the front of the room, where twenty young men and women stood surveying the crowd. They all wore the same standard uniform of the Academy, navy blue trousers, skirts, and blazers with a white shirt underneath.

Since the Council funded the Adventurer Academy they wore their insignia on the back of their blazers, a griffin unfurling his wings showcasing its majesty inscribed in gold. As Ezra and Claire both got near the crowd, one of the youths called out to them in the corner of the room.

A young white man with a set of ginger hair and freckles adorning his face, his blue eyes slightly drooped creating a dopey expression on his face. He was average in the looks and height department, unable to generate much attention forcing him to be proactive in his poaching.

“You guys are new right? Might as well give up now, most of the graduates have finalized their selections and are just waiting around in case someone interesting shows up.”

“That was awfully fast considering we were only a few minutes left…”

He seemed to be talking more to Claire rather than Ezra, having assumed she was the de facto leader of the duo.

“So what does that mean for the rest of us?” She gestured to the rest of the room, people scattered around the corners forming their own parties with the unchosen and ignored.

A sigh escaped the boy’s lips before he threw his hands up exaggeratedly. “We’ll just have to make do with the people here and hope we don’t trip on a rock into a kobold’s sword.”

He brought his hands to both of the siblings, gesturing for a handshake.

“The name’s Cameron James. A pleasure to meet both of you.”

“My name is Claire Wilmont.”

“While I am Ezra Wilmont.”

“That name sounds familiar…it’s not like it matters anyways. I was thinking we could form our own party, we’d just need to find a few more members.” Cameron wondered if they were siblings due to their shared last name and eye color. After looking at their skin complexions he concluded they must be step-siblings.

“I’d have to talk to my brother fir-” As she was replying to Cameron, the youth became slack jawed in an instant.

The room was too silent with the amount of people in it, and the only source of sound was a pair of high heeled boots clacking on the floor. The siblings turned around to see the crowd parted into two sections, while a beautiful blonde elf walked with purpose in their direction followed by two others.

To her right was a black man with incredibly dark skin and brown eyes. If you were to compare Ezra and the man it would be like viewing chocolate and ebony. His black braids were tied together hanging loosely around the back of his shoulders, with a tall lean body around the same height as Ezra. His incredibly white teeth contrasted his dark skin whenever a smile covered his face.

On her left a rabbit beastfolk shorter than Claire at around 5’0 with a demure appearance. Blue doe eyes partially covered by her grey bangs that seemed to wander around and naturally pouty lips adorned her face, while her rabbit ears seemed to flip and flop down with every one of her steps. Her skin was paler compared to the elf’s milky white skin, which gave her the appearance of a fragile doll.

They all wore the same navy blue uniform and stood in front of the siblings and Cameron. As realization dawned upon Claire she quickly sputtered out.

“You’re the elf from earlier!”

She figured all the people on her floor were all rookies and would most likely be attending the gathering, but to think she was one of the twenty graduates from the Academy AND she happened to be interested in her shocked her.

“If you wouldn’t mind coming with my friends and I, we’d only take a few moments of your time.”

The elf lead the siblings out of the room, and Cameron tried to follow only to be stopped by the tall black man.

“I don’t think so, pal.” There was a heavy emphasis on “pal”, showing the man’s clear disdain for Cameron. He gave an awkward smile in response as he shuffled back to his corner, having already expected his response. As he looked back at the group, the rest of the graduates on stage scrunched up their faces like they ate something extremely sour.

Clearly they all seemed to have wanted a piece of Claire and Ezra, but were too slow to react. Now they were unable to even negotiate with the siblings, as they were escorted out of the gathering.

As the group of five journeyed back to the female dormitory, Claire whispered about her prior meeting with the elf before speaking up.

“You still have told us your names, seeing as you already know mine it’d only be fair.”

“Ah right…well I’m Ilyana, the cutesy beastfolk is Sonja, while the sneaky human goes by Saber.”

Everyone greeted one another as they finally entered Ilyana’s room, having the same bare design as both of their rooms. Ilyana sat on her bed followed by Sonja, while Saber opted to stand near the bed post with arms crossed in contemplation.

“If you couldn’t already tell we would like you to join our party. You originally had my interest earlier when I analyzed you earlier, yet to think your brother had a rare class…”

“Well that explains why you want us, but how can you see our classes?” Now that his secret was out the bag, any plans of denial were thrown out the window for Ezra.

The doe eyed rabbit girl spoke up for the first time, her voice played out like music to his ears.

“It’s the upgraded version of the skill [Observe]. It’s a useful skill every adventurer ends up learning and using daily.”

“Could we get a moment to think about this?”

Ilyana smiled knowing she hooked the siblings, and only needed to just reel them in.

“If you’re worried about party comp, I’m a ranged fighter, Sonja’s an initiate, and Saber is a close combat fighter.”

Ezra and Claire asked for a moment outside, as they discussed the pros and cons of their situation. Frankly there weren’t any obvious cons in their opinion, so they went back inside intent on finalizing the finer details of their party.