The official quarters of the Adventurers Guild were anything but massive, spanning quite a few blocks. Placed at the midst of the commercial center, it was surrounded by several pavilions each offering a unique service to the hundreds of adventurers milling around. With a quick glance Lukas saw the ever present Golden Auction House located just a little far off from the guild, famous for bartering some of the rarest beasts, weapons, and talismans ever found in the continent. A few streets down, a Blacksmith shop existed filled with an array of weapons purposefully displayed together with a forge which allowed adventurers to repair their weapons before their expeditions. Along the street he saw the Secret Pavilion where it was said all kind of information could be bought with a coin of gold, The Enchanters Circle where not only various profound enchantments were provided, but also any adventurer with enough aptitude could join to learn their vocation. The same could be said to the Blacksmith shop, the Wandering Mages Society, and the Alchemy Association. But all these places did not concern him at the moment, as his eyes inadvertently returned to the humongous building standing tall in front of him.

On the outside the Adventures Guild gave a very dignified feeling being one of the best structured buildings in the vicinity. With a sea of people coming and out of the building even in the early hours, Lukas was in the midst of a wave, surrounded by warriors, mages, archers with elegant bows and even occasional rogues strolling through the crowd in silence. As usual mages were assorted with robes of varying colors each denoting their awakened elements and once in a while he could only stare dumbfounded at the few beast men whose figure noticeably rose above the crowd bequeathed with gleaming armors and weapons that made his skin crawl every time he laid eyes on one.

Snapping out of his reverie, he brusquely walked inside, surprised by the interior of the Guild which was decorated in a very simple and direct design. There was a vast hall with the reception area directly in front. On his right, a huge notice board was present where a rising crowd of adventurers were busy staring while on his left several chairs and tables were properly arranged almost as if it was a waiting area of some sort. Even as it was morning, the whole place was alive with several pieces of paper magically flying in the air before they plastered themselves to the wall only to be summoned by the busy throng below.

He quickly inferred the notes on the board were quests as the adventurers were busy searching and looking for the potential missions they could do. Since failing to fulfill a quest could result in a penalty at best or their lives at worst, they had to make sure they signed up for the missions they could confidently undertake.

The moment he stepped inside he attracted quite the attention. Priests were revered in the Golden City and seeing he was clad in a full white robe, with a strange but familiar runic staff, he fitted quite the bill. But it didn't take long for most of the gazes to drop which only puzzled him for a moment before he soon realized why. Almost every adventurer in the hall had a gleaming badge on their chests; some were pinned while others were worn over their necks. Possessing one meant they were officially recognized by the Guild and him not having one clearly implied he was still a trainer, not yet qualified.

On his far left directly beside the booths sat a duo that pulled stares from almost everyone including him. One was clad in a simple but practical armor his back hastened with a sword and a shield that he seemed to carry with no problems while the other one was young beautiful maiden in a fiery red robes that seemed to surround all around her like a halo.

Without even asking, anyone could take a guess at their classes. The helmeted warrior was obviously a knight as his armor seemed to bear a noble’s motif of 3 legged crows encroached with flames. The girl beside him was obviously a fire mage with her exquisite dress fitting her perfectly and her elegant amber staff exuding light waves of mana and heat. She radiated so much grace and poise that Lukas knew without a doubt that she was probably a descendant of a powerful noble house and the adjoining warrior her knight. It was a normal custom for nobles in the Continent of Lush to be accompanied with their knights during their many errands but he only had a moment to wonder why a noble would want to join the Adventurers’ Guild before he recalled he is one of them too…albeit a disgraced one.

These thoughts were milling about in his mind when the pair suddenly laid eyes on him. As they didn’t possess any kind of badge on their bearing it immediately clicked. What were the chances that they had also arrived in the guild with the same purpose as him?

“You are late!” a soft voice startled him as a hooded figure with a green cloak silently materialized behind him. Her face was covered with an emerald cape and the most exquisite bow Lukas had ever seen was slung over her shoulders. In a fluid motion she stepped aside as she continued.

“You should probably report at the desk. As you can see we were all waiting for you…” Her lilting voice lingered and what felt like holes bored through his skull as everyone around turned to stare at him. To hide his nervousness he could only nod his head in their direction before briskly walking towards the reception area feeling like that one unfortunate employee late to an important meeting.

Once he arrived, he only had to report his name and show his identification badge before he was made to wait. For what seemed like a minute too long, a well-bodied young man in a stitched gray robe and a stern face walked out from one of the adjoining doors, gave a quick glance at what was presented in front of him before he cleared his throat.

"Now that all of you are all here we can finally start with the debriefing. Follow me.” He commanded and without waiting so much as a response, he turned around and walked through another door. The motley crew behind him barely had moment before they scrambled to follow. Keeping an eye around Lukas wasn't surprised when the fiery girl and the full clad warrior briskly followed behind. The hooded figure easily kept up pace, trailing beside him with such ease she barely seemed to step the ground. But then as he peeked further behind just to make sure his eyes weren’t failing him, he literally saw a guy formed from the shadows also falling into step at their rear. A vivid red scarf was around his neck and he was clad in tight fitting leather armor with a sheath fastened into his waist. With a young face and sharp eyes, he gave Lukas a smirk the moment he noticed his gaze upon him.

After a series of doors and long corridors, they soon arrived at a simple secluded room with a host of chairs surrounding a small podium at the front. The elegantly dressed young man swiftly entered the room, stood at the raised platform and then gestured for them to sit. Lukas and the fiery mage were the first to do so while the warrior stood behind her again like a protector. The hooded figure took a chair far back while the red- necked shadow saw no need of a chair as he leaned on the walls, his hands playing with a gleaming dark knife.

At that moment Lukas was hit with a surreal feeling of being in some kind of rpg were all of the essential classes needed for a classic dungeon run were available. The full clad warrior was obviously a tank, while the fire mage was the damage dealer. The hooded figure was some kind of an archer while the red scarfed guy was a rogue just by looking at him. His role as a priest was very self- evident, except his spells were not the manifestation of some god unless he transformed himself into an Emissary*.

“Before we start let me welcome you all to the Adventurer’s Guild. I am your representative Malten and I will act as your broker for today’s mission. This also means I will be the judge to see if all of you are fully qualified of become a proper ranked adventurer or not." He paused for a full effect before he continued.

“This mission will be your one and only chance to show you all have what it takes. For most this is their first time, while for a few…” his eyes flickered in Lukas’s direction, “another rare chance was provided so they could prove their mettle. In an event this mission fails, you will all be barred from applying again for two years. So make sure this opportunity counts.”

Taking their silence as a form of agreement he went on.

“Now that’s out of the way let me debrief on your mission.” He cleared his throat as he began. “I’m sure it will be good news to know that your qualifying Mission will be taking place right here in the Golden City. By far it’s one of the easiest quests as you will all be required to clear the Catacombs that run beneath the city of its troublesome dwellers. A map will be provided for the respective underground chambers, and a route will be drawn from where you will start until you finish. A carriage will be waiting outside the moment we are done as it will transport you all directly at the entrance. I hope you cooperate well with each other as the results will directly determine your rewards and any of the extra bonuses given. In turn” Here his voice got deeper & stern “Any transgressions uncovered will be met with heavy penalties. The Guild has no time for those who are more than likely to betray their team for their own ambitions. Once discovered you will immediately be blacklisted from the Guild and all its subsidiaries. You will have no hope of setting foot inside this building ever again.”

He let that sink in for a while. “Without a doubt your efforts will be rewarded. A base reward of 20 Gold coins will be given to each member upon successful completion. An extra 10 percent will be added if the mission is cleared with flying colors and an extra 20 percent will be distributed to the one who proves to be most useful to the mission. The last reward only exists as a way to raise camaraderie and companionship between members and so it will not be given unless all 5 team members agree. Remember a few methods will be used to verify to prevent any form of deception so please refrain from making fools out of yourselves.”

In the face of rewards, Lukas heart palpitated. 20 gold coins might not seem much but considering 1 gold coin equaled 100 silver coins, this meant his reward was effectively 2000 silver coins minimum. When transformed into bronze coins at the conversion rate of 1 silver to 100, then he could literally swim in money. Obviously the higher standards of living within the Golden City guaranteed almost every everything was of higher quality and thus more expensive, but 20 gold coins was enough for him to live on for a while, up to until he further increased his strength.

But while he was the mostly excited, the fiery mage and her knight barely reacted. The hooded girl was still as a statue while the rogue strangely kept throwing disdainful glances at him almost as if he was mocking him for being excited at such little rewards.

The representative then took the papers in his grasp and arranged them. “Next will be the introductions. Geoffrey,” he gestured in his direction, “is Knight beside Mira the reputable fire mage. Renesme is the Magick Archer and Rexsi, the shadow rogue. Finally Lukas,” his eyes fully settled on him at his name, “will be designated as the Priest for this mission. With that concludes a rough framework for this mission to succeed.” His eyes finally shifted off him to everyone else in the room.

“Does anyone have any further inquiries before this journey begins?”

The room was silent for a while before a hand slowly arose.

The representative slightly frowned as he allowed it. “What else did you want to know?”

The shadow rogue, Rexsi lightly shrugged as if he was too lazy to answer. “You have laid the mission quite clear…except I only have one question left.” His face suddenly became haughty as he pointed the sharp end of his knife behind Lukas. “Why should be perform this mission with such a useless priest?”

Lukas froze at the sudden accusations while the representative frowned even further. He was just about to speak when the rogue unceremoniously cut him off.

“You see I had to check around to see who my potential teammates would be. Some information were readily available…” his hands gestured in the direction at the fiery mage whose face now looked interested compared to the previous boredom. “While others were a surprise…” he motioned towards the archer on his far right. “But I have to admit I was wary when the tales of a certain priest who rose back from dead reached my ears. The incompetence of such priest who ditched his team when things got too hairy regaled my mind for days and the fear that I will be grouped together with him proved to be true to my dismay.” His eyes bore into his stunned face like a visor as he finished. “Am I wrong dear priest?”

At first Lukas felt as if a rug was yanked from under his feet. And then at the next moment a bubble of indignation rose from within. Regardless of how the rogue came to such conclusion, the fact that his previous host had his name besmirched by such people raised his ire. He was the one who was betrayed instead. He had struggled to his last breath even as the wolves tore every single piece of meat on his body. Now to be confronted by a cocky teenager who swallowed some rumors pretending to know what had happened, what he had gone through shook him in anger. No wonder he kept glancing at him with such a mocking face. Those bastards must have spread such rumors once they were aware he had survived their plot.

Taking a deep breath, Lukas fixed his gaze on the rogue his remnant emotions burning away his previous anxiety. The knight scowled while the mage Mira visibly leaned on her chair with an interested look on her face, her eyes switching back and forth between them almost as if she couldn’t wait to see what would happen next. The hooded Archer smoothly rose from her chair before standing behind the duo giving a wide berth while the representative had the half the mind to stop it before he finally stood still sighing. Despite the world wide reverence of priests within the continent, there were enough stories of arrogant priests leading their team’s downfall that he couldn’t blame them for their reaction. As he recalled there were special circumstances connected with this incident but before he intervened, he wanted to gauge his reaction.

Lukas unaware of such thoughts did not bite the bait as expected. Instead he hid his frustration, his demeanor suddenly transformed. He had dealt with enough bullies in his past life to know one thing; he should never allow them to have the satisfaction of knowing they got under his skin. Once he exposed such weakness, they would immediately pounce on it and swallow him alive. The original host might have been incompetent but he wouldn't allow just any rag tag soul to diminish his uneventful death. And so the best way to deal with such situations was to immediately shift the narrative. With a refined gesture, he elegantly crossed his legs before leaving his staff nimbly floating beside him, making a silent statement.

Mira clicked her tongue in appreciation.

“I have no idea who fed you such lies but you got something very wrong here. If you had bothered to be thoroughly with your information then you must have half a brain to figure out more than a few disparities...” His voice cool, unruffled.

Rexsi was not about to back down. “What is undeniable was how profoundly weak you are. There are words saying you were so useless in your last mission that you endangered the lives of your previous members and you yourself nearly died. Would you dare deny that didn’t happen?” He sneered before turned towards others. “Am I wrong in demanding an answer?”

Lukas’s narrowed on him before he scoffed.

“Well you are so well informed it’s almost as if you were really there. It does make one wonder where exactly have you heard such words...”

The stares Rexsi got in turn were so piercing that he couldn’t help but get uncomfortable. He was just about to retort before Lukas cut him off effortlessly.

“First you only heard rumors only with no evidence on hand. I could accuse you of trying to defame my name and the guild would have no choice but to stand on my side. Second, I know the rules. Those bastards were required to report my conduct even at the event of my supposed death but all they did was to inform the guild of my supposed demise, treating my death like many of the unfortunate accidents. They never bothered to make sure if I was really gone and as the guild thought I was likely dead, there was no need to rally for a rescue. If I had died, no one would have thought twice, and their action would have gone uninvestigated. Third and foremost…you are forgetting something very important. I wouldn’t have been able to arrive here with a missive from the guild itself. Doesn’t that tell you something?”

His third point acted as a nail on the coffin. Because If he was truly invited by the Guild itself, then that meant the they had properly investigated the issue and deemed him innocent of the matter. Regardless of his ineptitude or not, it implied that something else happened at the forest and there might be more than enough evidence to exonerate him of all matters.

This in turn insinuated that whatever accusations he was spouting, there was evidently groundless to begin with. Gritting his teeth as he reached such a conclusion, his pride would not let him back down regardless.

“Stop using the guild as your protection. We all know how much the Adventurers Guild favors priests so much that they brush away mistakes like these under the rug….”

He didn't even get to finish his sentence before…

SSSKKKKK!!!!!

A cold sensation visibly manifested around them like a torrid cloud. The room’s temperature rapidly dropped and they suddenly found themselves struggling hard to breathe, their skin broke into hives almost as if they were about to die the next very second. Lukas’s elegant demeanor vanished as he heaved on his chair like a drowning cat while Rexsi, the target of such pressure directly buckled to his knees, his face concentrated with such effort like he was trying his best not to vomit. Everyone gasped at the effort of trying to stare at the representative but his face was almost terrifying to look at as savage intent rolled off him in waves drowning them in their hubris.

"Watch your words well little brat lest you find yourself expunged before you utter another sound." The words reverberated around the room, knocking them senseless, the once floating staff clattering to the floor.

As they stared horrified and yet fascinated beyond words, the formless pressure disappeared as fast as it had manifested leaving them frightened and unsettled. Rexsi eyes were defiant but even they could tell he still had a trace of fear on his face. Lukas was too enamored even as the fear slowly bled away. He had never felt such way before, his mind already grasping at straws at trying to explain it.

Seeing the new gazes, the representative snorted.

“For what is worth, the guild is to blame for what had happened. Because of our deficient preparations, the priest’s life was put in danger and if it wasn’t for his survival we would never noticed our shortcoming. Regardless a statement has to be made. After this, you all should await for him as we finish up a few matters.”

The new-found crew were still collecting themselves when his voice got grim.

“Let this be the last time I hear of this.” He warned them. “You have my word that I will investigate such rumors and demand reparations for the damage done. But for now this matter does not concern you. This is a qualification mission approved by the Guild itself. Everyone will be judged accordingly and if it’s discovered that one of you has made some trouble, then I won’t hesitate to strike off their name from the Guild forever. Now be gone.”

As if freed from a nightmare they quickly vanished from the room. Lukas had his chest pumping but he forcefully composed himself. He had a report to make and so he had make sure he had his story straight.

The representative eyes lightly approved of what he was seeing. To say he was surprised would be putting it mildly. The Guild might have caught on to the scheme behind but to think a young mage luckily survived a night in the Evergreen forest was almost unimaginable. It was clear a transformation had taken place compared to what he was previously told of the priest and what he was witnessing. Yet it was through this mission that he would be able to tell whether such a thing was a boon or otherwise. After all the priest had lightly piqued his interest.

*Emissary- these are the priests from the Divine Cathedral. Such a word was used to better fit their role and of course to separate themselves from other priests.