The next morning had come. Lane woke up early and made his preparations without wasting time. The city was slowly getting ready for the Saint's arrival. The activity outside had not fully risen yet, but there was a faint sense of bustle in the air. Lane thought to himself, "I need to head to the guild soon," and left the room. He went down the stairs. The tavern was almost completely empty in the morning hours. There was no one around. It was as if only silence remained from the heavy and stifling atmosphere of the night.
For a brief moment, Lane thought about killing the innkeeper from yesterday. That thought appeared in his mind in a short but sharp way. Then, after weighing it in his head, he said, "Killing that bastard will bring me nothing but trouble," and left the tavern. Then he began walking through the streets of the city.
Children were running around everywhere. Some were swinging wooden swords, while others were playing with a ball. The market was also quite lively. People were walking in front of the stalls, and the sellers were trying to push their own goods forward. Then Lane bought a map from the market showing the general layout of the city.
He stepped aside and opened the map. It was a general map showing the names of important places and locations in the city. As his eyes moved slowly across the map, he began examining the locations of the guilds one by one.
"Hmm... There are seven guilds in this city right now. The Red Hunters Guild is close to me, but there are too many lunatics there. Not useful for me. The Velvets Guild is pretty good at monster hunting, but it's too far from here. No need to go that far. Black Sigil... This guild is made up entirely of mages. Better if I stay away from them. They've gone crazy from practicing black magic. Golden Compass... This is also a guild joined by adventurers. They search for dungeons and chase things left behind from ancient times. It doesn't suit me..."
Then Lane raised his head and muttered to himself:
"There's no proper guild here at all. How the hell did these become the best guilds, damn it?"
He kept looking at the map for a while longer. As his eyes moved from one name to another, he was weighing the options in his mind.
"Silent Anvil... Wasn't this guild pretty good at smithing and dungeon hunting? They even existed in our kingdom. Crimson is also a pretty good guild. I heard its leader is very strong. I could join this guild..."
He suddenly stopped. His gaze fixed on another name on the map.
"Wait a minute... What guild is this? Order Hollows? Who the hell are these? Before I left the castle, there wasn't any guild like this. What kind of guild is this? I got curious, I need to check it out."
Lane had now made his decision. Today, he would either join the Crimson Guild or go to the distant Velvets.
He folded the map and put it into his bag, then went down into the market. Approaching a grocer, he changed his voice and made himself look like an old man as he asked:
"Sir, do you know anything about this guild called Order Hollows?"
The grocer looked at Lane's face. He looked him up and down, then answered:
"Old man, I guess you're new around here. I wouldn't recommend getting involved with them. They're a major guild that fights against demonic beings. They've grown a lot over the last three years."
Keeping his composure, Lane asked:
"Do you know their leader or anything?"
The grocer shrugged.
"I only know what I've heard around. Apparently, he has pretty good relations with the Solarin Empire and the Holy Empire. He himself was also a peak sixth-level aura user."
When Lane heard this, he was surprised. The fact that a guild had stood out so much in such a short time caught his attention.
"So what did this guild accomplish to become this famous?"
The grocer immediately answered:
"How can you not know that? That guild, by cleansing the demonic beings, saved three villages all by itself."
Lane's eyes widened slightly.
"They accomplished what no one has managed in a hundred years...?"
The grocer nodded in confirmation.
Without breaking his composure, Lane said:
"Then give me two loaves of bread and let me be on my way."
Lane paid for the two loaves of bread and left. The grocer, meanwhile, muttered after him:
"What a strange man."
Lane first went to the Crimsons Guild. Even from the outside, the guild building made its seriousness clear.
"Damn, this place is pretty big. And there are so many people in front of the gate... I can't be bothered waiting for this."
There was a long line in front of the gate. People were waiting impatiently, looking for a chance to get inside. At that exact moment, there was suddenly an explosion in the building next door. Everyone waiting in line instantly turned their attention there, and the crowd quickly gathered toward that side. Lane immediately took advantage of the opportunity, moved forward, and grabbed one of the front places in line.
"Problem solved..."
Lane entered through the guild's gate. Inside, there were extremely powerful guild members. Even the atmosphere of the place was far from ordinary. Some of them were six-star level mages, while others were five-star level aura users. At first glance alone, it was obvious that this was not a place where the weak hung around.
Lane approached the registration desk.
"I want to become a member of the Crimsons Guild."
The woman standing behind the registration desk spoke in a calm voice:
"The registration fee is fifty silver coins. In addition, during registration, we take an initial twenty-five silver as a deposit. After the process is completed, the remaining payment will be taken."
Lane took fifty silver coins out of his pouch and handed them to the woman. The woman then said that a bloody fingerprint was required on the document. Lane pricked his finger and pressed his bloody fingerprint onto the paper.
"The process is complete. You are now a member of the guild. Within the guild, ranks are determined: Rookie, Warrior, Master, Grand Master, and the final one is Ace. So far, only two people have reached that rank. Your rank will be raised according to your achievements and gains... May I take the remaining payment now?"
Lane took another twenty-five silver out of his pouch and handed it over. The registration procedures were thus completed. Then he left the registration desk and went to the section where missions were assigned.
There were many missions on the board. There was also an attendant standing right next to the board. Lane approached and asked:
"Are there any military, I mean war-related missions here?"
The man standing by the side of the board replied in a short and expressionless voice:
"Giving information costs two silver."
Then he fell silent. Lane thought to himself, "Everything costs money... Whatever," and took out two silver from his pocket and gave them to the man.
"Answer the question I asked a moment ago."
This time, the man spoke:
"Yes, there are. But the difficulty is a bit high. The ones requested are warriors above two stars. It doesn't matter whether it's magic or swordsmanship. Some strategic knowledge is also required. If you want, we can measure your power first."
Lane wanted to hide his strength, but he also needed to go to the battlefield. Because of that, he accepted without dragging it out any further.
"Alright then, let's measure it."
After saying that, they entered the power measurement building together. The attendant spoke:
"Please place your hand on this large mana stone. This stone measures not only your mana, but also your capacity."
Lane approached the mana stone and placed his hand on it. Suddenly, three stars began to shine.
"Three stars is sufficient."
Lane thought to himself, "I wonder if they'll measure aura too? Better if I hide that," and then left the room without lingering any longer.
After that, he returned to the mission board. The attendant pulled a mission from the board and handed it to Lane.
"You may go now."
Lane also thanked him and left the guild.
At that very moment, in the power measurement room, the mana stone suddenly turned black and shattered. The broken pieces scattered across the floor. Everyone was shocked for a moment, because the last person to enter that room had been Lane. The place instantly fell into panic. Everyone was trying to understand what had happened. While a few people were looking at the remains of the stone, some were still frozen in place.
One of them spoke in a heavy voice:
"For the first time, I am seeing a power beyond nine stars."
The person who said this was James Stanfeld, the leader of the Crimson Guild. He was also a peak six-star aura warrior.
At that moment, Lane was walking through the city and said to himself:
"The guild matter is settled. Now it's the church's turn..."
"I can also make a second version of this that is more professional while still preserving your tone. This version is the lightly expanded one, while the other one hits a little harder."