Chapter 45

Finally, after spending most of the day waiting, the last person passed the test and filed into the dining room. On their heels, the disinterested young woman reappeared.

Wil hadn’t been idle during the long wait. He could feel the barrier to the next Rank eroding as his depleted mana slowly refilled his core. The once impenetrable walls of his diamond-like core were now as fragile as glass, it would only take a nudge to break them.

The intense combat he had just experienced, despite being against illusions, had been a strain on his abilities. His mana was in an agitated state, and it wouldn’t take much effort to breakthrough once he found a more ‘appropriate’ location.

The interruption from the woman’s explanation of the next steps had disturbed him from his mediations, as he opened his closed eyes. Similarly, all around the table, around 25 others who passed the first test, also paid close attention to her.

“Congratulations on passing. As I said when you started, most of you won’t make it far. Combat gives a good indication of your talent and potential, but it’s the next tests that really show what you are made of.” She said, sitting down at the head of the table and placing a leather bag on the table. Wil could hear a metallic jingle as it settled on the wooden tabletop.

“These are your temporary badges. Wear them while you’re in Lund, or you’ll risk arrest and fines for being unregistered foreigners on Lundin soil. You can grab one on your way out.” She said, waving her hand at the bag. She pulled out a badge, a copper colored, stylized ‘AG’ with the five-pointed star, similar to the gold one she herself wore.

“Copper, Silver, and Gold. Pass each test, you get an upgrade. Easy as that.” She said, tossing the badge to the young man on her right at the table. Startled, he barely caught it as she continued in her disinterested tone.

“The next test takes place in three days. There’s a set of ruins the guild has claimed, we cleared it years ago, but it makes a good place for a test. The ruins aren’t far away, so we’ll meet here at sunrise, in three days and you’ll all travel there together.”

“The point of the test is ‘exploration’. You’re going to delve the ruins and look for tokens that the Guild has placed there. One token per person to pass. You can work in groups or alone, I don’t care. But the guild does have some rules in place.”

“No backstabbing or infighting. You want to join us, then you need respect other members. Someone finds a token? It’s theirs, no stealing or killing.” She finished, before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, flat square object.

She held up a ‘token’, a square of metal, silver and flat. It was the size of the woman’s hands, and it reflected the light in the room with its mirror like finish. On the front was the ‘AG’ and the five-pointed star. Even from where he sat, Wil could feel a slight pulse of mana from the object.

“These are hidden everywhere in the ruins. We run the second test once a month, with all potential members. There should be a couple hundred of you, so try not to get in each other’s way. The ruins are massive, so you’ll likely all be separated down there anyway.” She finished, looking around the room.

“Well? Get the hell out of here!” She said, her bored expression changing to irritation as she got up and left the room, loudly banging the door against the wall on her way out.

Filing out, the group each grabbed one of the copper badges. Placing it on his collar, Wil left the Guild Branch and headed back to the Drake, the sun already setting in the west. He looked forward to a solid evening’s rest but knew he would have to answer Quentin’s endless questions before he did.

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“So, when can I expect a merchant’s license?” Quentin asked, her eyes glued to the badge on Wil’s collar. She was practically drooling at the prospect of receiving a merchant’s license.

He had barely stepped through the door of her cabin on the drake, his mouth open to greet her, when she had interrupted him with her question. She had been in the middle of a discussion with Bell and Garman when he had opened the door, intent on sharing the good news.

“Not anytime soon.” Wil said, deflating a bit as he altered his greeting.

“But you have a fancy new badge, lad.” Bell commented, looking up from where he was leaning over Quentin’s desk, raising an eyebrow at Wil’s new accessory.

“There are three tests. I passed the ‘combat’ portion this morning.” Wil said, before giving them a brief rundown of the day’s events. He finished with the coloring of the badge on his collar and what they meant.

“The ‘exploration’ portion is in three days, which should give me plenty of time to prepare. We’re exploring an old ruin that the Guild had converted as a testing grounds. That reminds me! There’s still plenty of time for you to join me, Garman. You can pass the combat test tomorrow and we can partner for the ruins.” Wil said, looking at his friend encouragingly.

“No dice, Junior. The only thing I want to explore is a brothel. They have one at the port that caters to all races. Nothing you can offer can be better than that.” Garman said, shaking his head at the young man.

“Ew, Gross. Bell?” Wil asked, looking at Bell as well.

“I’m with Garman on this one, lad. Not the brothel part, of course. But, if this is going to take a while, I wouldn’t count on us staying long enough for you to pass all the exams.” Bell said, looking enquiringly to Quentin.

“He’s right, Wil. We can purchase a full hold of goods here at the port, sail back to Elbing to offload, and be back in four short months to meet with you again. Did they give any indication on a timeframe for full membership?”

“No. I’ll make some inquires tomorrow while I’m getting some supplies for the ruins. I suspect it could be a while, though. The Ruins test may take a full month, while the ‘survival’ test could be quite a bit longer.” Wil reasoned, thinking of how the ruins opened every month for testing.

If the exploration exam potentially took a month, it was likely the ‘Survival’ exam would be even longer. He couldn’t blame them for leaving him here, he’s likely to not see them again for months even if they did stay here.

“Find out. I’d hate to leave you here alone, but I can’t have the Drake sitting at port for half a year. The fees alone would eat all our profits. I’ll ask around as well. My father still has contacts here, I’ll touch base with them tomorrow.”

Returning to his cabin, Wil sat down at his tiny, wooden desk and drew out a notebook he had been carrying in his bag. For the past few months, he had been writing down notes, small things to remember for the future.

Most of the notebook was filled with the findings and observations regarding the Dragon Turtle, and its “Inner Realm’. He had a feeling that if he ever returned to the academy at some point, they may find it interesting reading.

Jotting down some notes, things about the exam and a quick checklist of items he needed for the ruins, he closed the book after finishing, placing it back in his bag.

Standing and stretching, he looked around the room for a moment as he judged the time. He was exhausted from the day’s testing, but he was also filled with a nervous energy at the prospect of the next test. A large part of it was also his mana, he could feel it thrum inside him, eager to escape.

Ever since his encounter with the Dragon Turtle, his mana had felt restless and responsive, almost anticipatory of his needs. So far it hadn’t been a problem, the opposite in fact. His spells were quicker and stronger than ever before.

Deciding that now was as good a time as any to breakthrough, Wil sat cross legged on his bed, taking deep breaths as he felt the ambient mana in the air around him stir. The Foreigner’s Port was saturated with it, the combination of the mixing of races, magics and the heavy enchantments placed here.

With each breath, he took more mana into his core, pushing the barriers of the ‘Diamond’ core until a vortex of mana surrounded him. With a final push, his core shattered like glass, the pieces melting back into silvery liquid that he used to form a new core.

As simple as breathing. Wil opened his eyes and grinned, feeling the Rank 7 Mana available to him. He was more than ready for whatever challenge the ruins held.