Merlin and the siblings followed the receptionist to the guildmaster’s office, he was waiting for them, and he even had asked a maid to prepare herbal tea for them. In Merlin’s opinion, hiring a maid just to prepare you tea at the office, was a waste of money and human resources. On the other hand, it also made clear to Merlin that the man they were going to speak to was an eccentric.

Guildmaster: “Welcome… welcome, my guild’s calamity and his companions…”

Merlin: “‘Your guild’s calamity’? When did I earn such a weird nickname?”

Guildmaster: “You haven’t, it’s just the way I call you. Does it surprise you? You haven’t been registered in the guild even a week and you have already wasted a B Rank adventurer group, and an A Rank adventurer. He had just ranked up to A, but that’s not the point!”

Merlin: “Ok, I understand why you call me that way. Now, can we get to business, please?”

He was starting to get impatient. He had his suspicions about the reason why the guildmaster wanted to meet with them, and he prayed to be wrong, it would get very dangerous for the siblings otherwise.

Guildmaster: “Straight to the point, I like it. There is a B Rank mission I would like to entrust to your adventurer group.”

Merlin: “I’m afraid I can’t help you with that, sorry.”

Guildmaster: “Why not? You have enough strength to accept this mission, and you have yet to hear the contents of the mission.”

Merlin: “I don’t need to. I may have enough strength to take that mission, but my two companions don’t! I won’t risk their lives by accepting a mission they don’t have the strength to carry out.”

Camille: “Merlin, we don’t wat to drag you down. If you want to take this mission and do it alone, you can do so. You don’t have to be concerned about us!”

Will: “That’s right!”

Guildmaster: “See, even your companions agree with me!”

Merlin: “That’s not the point. Due to personal reasons, I will have to quit adventuring in less than two years, that’s why I want to make my companions stronger in that time frame. However, to get stronger they must first remain alive, hence my negative in taking the B Rank mission.”

The guildmaster frowned upon hearing Merlin’s answer, but he understood his position. He wanted to entrust that mission to him, because he had been the only one qualified to take it, so far. The one who had given the mission to the guild was an old friend of his, and the guildmaster knew her personality, someone without the qualities she had specified wouldn’t do.

His face didn’t show it, but the guildmaster was agonizing over Merlin’s negative. The mission had been cumulating dust in his drawer for more than 10 whole years, and when he finally found someone who fit the requirements for it, that same person didn’t accept the mission. He started to think of ways to convince Merlin to change his mind and accept it.

Realizing that it wasn’t that Merlin was opposed to accepting that mission, but that he feared for the lives of his companions, the guildmaster believed to have found a way to have Merlin accept the mission. It would cost him a fair amount of gold, but he would be able to convince him.

Guildmaster: “Let me see if I have understood this correctly… The only reason for your negative to accept the mission is that you don’t want to risk the lives of your companions, isn’t it?”

Merlin: “That is correct.”

Guildmaster: “Then, if I could ensure their safety during the mission, would you accept it?”

Merlin: “I probably would, but how exactly do you plan on doing that?”

Guildmaster: “Providing them with lifesaving equipment, such as rings of sacrifice.”

Merlin: “That wouldn’t make the mission profitable for the guild… Why are you willing to go so far in order to make me take this mission?” *Rings of sacrifice? I can’t make those, so if we can get them for free, it will save us hundreds of gold! But there seems to be something strange with this mission…*

Guildmaster: “I’ll be honest with you. This mission was given to the guild 10 years ago, but it has very strict requirements about how the person taking it should be. So far, you are the first person who fit those requirements, and the time limit is closing on us, so I can’t wait for a second person to fit the requirements, and I need you to accept the mission. It would harm the reputation of the guild, otherwise!”

Merlin: “So you basically need me to take the mission to save the reputation of the guild, even if it takes thousands of gold to do so… You really seem to be desperate!”

Guildmaster: “I am! I gave my word and my personal honor and reputation are on the line along with the guild’s!”

Merlin: “What are the contents of the mission? I’ll make my decision after knowing them!”

Guildmaster: “Thank you! Thank you!”

The guildmaster took out the parchment with the details of the mission and gave it to Merlin. After reading through it, Merlin was astonished due to its simplicity! He even started to suspect the guildmaster was actually pranking him.

Merlin: “Is this a joke? Collecting a flower in a territory devoid of any life? How can this possibly be a B Rank mission? Are you trying to pull my leg?”

Guildmaster: “The lost valley is devoid of any life, so there won’t be much danger for you and your companions. However, this ‘Essuor’ flower grows in a hidden location in the valley, only if you know the way, you can find the location.”

Merlin: “That doesn’t explain how such an easy mission hasn’t ever been completed in the past…”

Guildmaster: “Ok, I’ll be honest with you. The hidden location where you can find the flower is, in fact, an ancient temple where a divine trial is given. To obtain that flower, you have first to pass that divine trial, and climb to the platform behind the end line of the last part of the trial.”

Merlin: “Why me?”

Guildmaster: “Because the guardian of the trial only allows to take the trial to people who fit very specific criteria, which you happen to fit. The trial can be taken alone, or in groups up to 4 people, however, if it is taken with a group, the person leading it must fit the criteria, and if that person fails, the whole group will fail.”

Merlin was wondering what criteria those were, but he didn’t ask, he was more concerned about the danger that might be luring in such a trial, and the fact that Lokiseth didn’t say a word about it wasn’t reassuring in the slightest.

Merlin: “Do you know about monsters, routes, or any information whatsoever that could help me in this mission?”

Guildmaster: “All we know is that no one has ever succeeded in passing the trial so far, and that it is impossible to die on it, but the information is very limited due to a soul contract imposed upon the participants that forbids them from disclosing any specific information about the contents of the trial. In addition, the trial can only be taken once in your life, independently of whether you manage to pass or not.”

Merlin: “Is it really impossible to die on it?”

Guildmaster: “Yes, whenever one person dies inside, the body disappears from the trial grounds and the person reappears at the entrance of the temple, alive, but disqualified. In the event of the person dying being the leader of a group, the whole group will be disqualified and reappear at the entrance of the temple.”

Merlin: “If it really is impossible to die on it... then, why did you offer to give life-saving equipment to my companions?”

Guildmaster: “Call it an insurance. We only know that, up to the last part of the trial, no on e has died so far. However, we have no way of knowing what may happen beyond that point, so providing your companions with rings of sacrifice is a must do, just in case something unexpected were to happen. It can also be understood as a bribe of sorts to make you accept the mission.”

The guildmaster’s explanation had illustrated some of the points Merlin was wondering about, nevertheless, there was still one point which had been left unexplained: why didn’t the kingdom or the church take charge of guarding that site? Following human logic, the different powers around that location would usually dispute themselves for its ownership. Why didn’t that happen in this particular case?

Those questions puzzled Merlin, but he decided against asking out loud. If Lokiseth himself, who was a former god, didn’t speak about it, either it was a taboo subject, or he had no knowledge about it. Merlin wasn’t sure of which option was scarier.

Guildmaster: “Be careful, and don’t let anyone know you are there to take the trial. It is treated as a myth around those parts, however, organized groups of strong bandits lurk around there and assault anyone who is said to be going or coming back from the trial. Besides, many people go around there to try their luck, but only those who know the way can actually find the entrance to the temple.”

Merlin: “I understand. Going around telling I know the way would be akin to drawing a target on my back, and I would be risking not only my life, but also that of my companions.”

Guildmaster: “It’s good if you understand.”

For what the guildmaster understood about Merlin, he knew he wouldn’t go around telling about his mission, in fact, that last remark was a reminder directed to Camille and Will. Since Merlin trusted them, he wouldn’t offend them saying things clearly, but they truly looked like rookies, and was somewhat concerned that they might hinder Merlin during his mission.

Camille and Will weren’t stupid either, they knew first hand how strong Merlin was, so they were aware the guildmaster’s last words weren’t directed to Merlin but to them. It also reminded them that if they wanted to be useful to Merlin, they would have to think of other ways to do so, given that the both of them were useless in battle.

They still didn’t know Merlin had some low grade witch weapons that would allow them to fight by his side, so it was only natural that they thought that way. Merlin planned on giving those weapons to them after they had left the city. It was unlikely that someone would recognize the witch weapons, not many people knew about them.

Nevertheless, on the off chance that happened, it would be too troublesome to deal with, and it would bring the heat back on them, so Merlin decided to minimize the risk, and give the weapons to them at a later time. He also had come with an idea that could be useful to hide the origin of the siblings, but he needed time to try it out, and the probability of it working out would increase if done in a forest instead of inside a city.

His idea was quite simple, he wanted to try a modified version of his disguising spell on the witch weapons to make them look like regular weapons, and avoid raising the suspicions of anyone who saw them. After all, it was quite unusual seeing someone wielding wooden weapons in actual combat, and even more unusual being able to deal great damage with them.

The thing the siblings needed the least, was giving birth to some strange rumors which would bring unwanted attention to them. However, due to their singular nature, Merlin wasn’t sure of being able to do it. It should work in theory, but he lacked a profound understanding of their nature, and that could lead to unexpected results.

Theory and practice are two completely different things, and given the very limited stock he had of witch weapons, Merlin couldn’t afford to make a gamble with that kind of high stakes more than once, so he decided to wait, and go through with the experiment in an environment which could increase his chances of success.

After inquiring about the terrain, the route, and whether any special kind of supplies was needed for the mission, the guildmaster accompanied the trio to the door, to the great astonishment of the adventurers present in the hall of the guild.

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