Chapter 58

Astrid waited impatiently for the test to begin, shifting her weight from one foot to the other in anticipation.

There were thousands of others waiting for the same opportunity to join the Guild. Sons and daughters of famous adventurers, scions of prominent families or clans, all gathered together by Guild recruiters on the promise of excitement or riches.

Astrid came from the central region, thousands of miles away from the Midnight Desert. Her father was the City Lord of Ur, a metropolis of millions. Her mother was once an adventurer herself, before she met her father and settled down to have her and her siblings.

She had grown up hearing stories of her mother’s adventures and Astrid wanted nothing more than to follow in her footsteps, but her father had forbidden it. He wanted her to stay safe at home, marry someone sensible and live a boring, ordinary life.

So, she had run away.

She went directly to the nearest Guild branch, signed up and passed the first two tests using her own skills, rather than relying on her family’s name, like so many others here had. Although, she had an advantage over the others. Before she left home, she had taken her mother’s equipment, magical items and artifacts from her adventuring days.

Astrid looked around, sizing up the competition. As a Rank 5, she was firmly in the middle of the pack. Of the thousands here, many of them were her equal. She had gotten to her current level through talent and training, and it showed during her combat test. Even with her mother’s equipment, she had barely scraped a pass, her lack of combat experience a hinderance compared to some of the others.

Seeing everyone gathered here, she knew that many were in the same boat as her. They were inexperienced young people, extremely talented and looking for a challenge, but sheltered for most of their lives.

She was eager to show everyone what she was capable of, she had never shied away from a challenge in her life!

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Observing the large group gathered for the Guild test were hundreds of people. They included well-wishers and family members, even other members of the Adventurer’s Guild, taking a moment to observe the test. It was a wide variety of individuals, each powerful or rich enough to have made their way to this remote destination, simply to see off the test takers.

But nestled amongst this group were many opportunists. They had come for the resources of the Midnight Desert, but they were also keeping an eye out for valuable ‘targets’ of opportunity. If the test takers were a massive beast herd, then these people were the vultures, circling around, ready to pick off the weak and dying.

“Andras! Do you see that group over there?” A young man whispered, subtly pointing to a richly dressed group of young men and women.

“Hmm. We can keep an eye out for a chance, but I don’t want to attempt it without a guarantee of success. The young man in front is the young lord of Iron City. Anyone caught messing with him will answer to his grandfather.” A hooded man, Andras, spoke from the side, where he was leaning against the shaded side of a building.

“Ugh. What a prickly bunch! Did our contact give us any info on who was good to go?” A young woman, shielding her eyes with her hand, spoke up from the other side of Andras. They had been here for an hour, assessing the gathering.

“Some. I had a look at the Guild registry, we should have a few to pick from.” Andras said, looking off to the side, where a young woman was standing, dressed in fine, white silk robes with a hood over her head. She was fiddling with a bag, and on the side was the logo of the lord of Ur, two crossed pickaxes.

Following his gaze, his companions subtly focused in on the young woman, recognizing their target.

“Ur? Are you sure?” The young man whispered.

“She’s a runaway. By the time she’s missed, we’ll be long gone.” Andras said, and they could see a grin forming on his lips.

Their contact had shared a recording of her test, including the valuable items she carried. They just needed to pick an opportune moment to strike.

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The test began and Astrid summoned her mount, a beautiful white swan. It had been a companion of her mothers, accompanying her on her travels across the continent. When Astrid was young, her mother had gifted her the beautiful bird. It had been love at first sight and they had been inseparable ever since.

The swan swooped down from high above, settling gently on the sand, ruffling its feather in discomfort at the heat. The white bird dwarfed the people around it, while appearing graceful despite its size.

Astrid used her mana to float gently above the ground, soaring through the air, before resting on the Swan’s broad back.

“Come, Marali. Let’s Fly!” She shouted in excited, a wide grin on her face as the bird took flight.

With a flap of its powerful wings, the large Swan took to the air once more, its rider’s white silk dress flapping in the wind.

All around her, others took to the air, using magical items, flying creatures or even their own power to race across the desert, all intent to prove to the Guild that they were worthy.

Looking down, Astrid saw a group of dozens slowly walk across the sands. Finding it odd, she focused on them. They were all dressed rather plainly, in inexpensive armor or clothing. While everyone was moving swiftly to complete the test, this group was cautiously moving forward, their movements careful, while they constantly scanned the area around them.

She had been around a few adventurers, all friends of her mother, and she could spot the similarities between them. It spoke of experience, of cautiousness driven into them from countless combat encounters. And their lack of magical items and mounts made it obvious who they were.

“Foreigners.” She said to herself, as she continued to stare. One person, a young man, wearing a long, fur cloak despite the intense heat, raised his head to return her stare. She was startled by his blue eyes, and the cold expression he was wearing.

She had heard that the Guild accepted exceptional people from outside Lund, but she had never met one before. The rumors about them were never good. Destitute savages, addicted to combat and willing to slit your throat for coin. Seeing the cold young man below, she believed them.

Shivering, she turned away, urging Marali onwards, trying to put the young man out of her mind.

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The day passed swiftly, the black sands dunes below blending together as the pair flew onwards. Marali could keep this pace for days, but she didn’t want to push her beloved companion too hard, so she kept an eye out below for a nice, shaded area to rest.

She was just looking off to the side as a potential resting spot when a streak of fire shot towards her. Marali, at the very last moment, swerved to the side to avoid the flames, which brushed passed her white feathers, before striking the sand below with enough strength that it gouged a line in the sand. The intense heat of the flames marked the sand, nearly turning it to glass.

Astrid looked above, not seeing anything for a moment, before multiple black shapes emerged from the sun’s glare.

It was a group of a half dozen humans, mounted on griffins and flying magical objects. They had flown high above her, hidden by the intense sunlight until they were in range to strike.

Astrid heard laughing as a young man, riding a small, wooden boat with billowing white sails, pointed an iron rod at her. With a flash, a bolt of lightning shot out of the rod, shooting towards her. It was nearly upon her before she managed to dig a small, round object from her bag.

Hurling it forward, she shouted the command word as it enlarged in front of her, turning into a shimmering shield of mana, surrounding her and Marali in its protective field.

“What the hell are you playing at!?” She yelled. Their only response was to unleash more attacks as the barrier started to buckle under the assault.