The group finally made it to their destination, the mainlands of the Kingdom of Cloveland.
The village Nolan, Cedric and Liana came from was near the outskirts and often counted out as a free land, though they are still highly under the protection of the Cerulean Guardians.
Originally, the Cerulean Guardians were just the kingdom's special ops team, before it was fully expanded to a guild made to stop the demons.
It was one of the first guilds made—second to be precise—and the most influential of the three royal guilds.
The royal guilds are guilds directly under a kingdom's control. The other two royal guilds are the Ember Guild of Kingdom Vaelen and the Star Saints Guild of Kingdom Morg.
"Ah, been a while." Nolan muttered to himself as they approached the Kingdom's capital—Clover city, the vast green a delight to the eyes, surrounded by the mist cloaked mountains.
By the sides were fields of blue Royal Clovers—the place its name came from. They shun under the clear sky, symbolizing luck and hope. They have magical properties used in making healing potions.
Nolan had seen enough of this place, though for the past fifty lives he hadn't come here. He's been here as a hero, conqueror, destroyer, prisoner and he's been the king about twelve to fourteen times.
As the got into the city, patrol guards nodded at Cyndy, Locals waved. Children waved with vibrant energies as they spotted the familiar uniform. The air was full of hope, but buried behind the masks of smiles were the grief from lost parents, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters.
They passed the capital and started to go up the mountain where the Guild base was nestled.
After a few minutes, they got to a massive main gate. Two gigantic doors of metal, inlaid with the silver of the insignia—A castle with two swords crossed behind it.
The three guards at the gate straightened up and squared their shoulders. "Ace Cyndy," said the lead guard with a salute.
Cyndy waved them off dismissively with a bored look. "Just open the gates."
The lead guard nodded and sent the other two to open the gates. He glanced at the passengers she brought with her but he quickly averted his gaze the moment he felt Cyndy's eyes on him.
Since they were together, he didn't have to ask any questions.
As the gates creaked open, Cyndy continued inside.
As the passed the gates, Liana and Cedric were in awe when they saw that it was magic that was used to open the doors.
"Wow, I'm so… wow," Liana muttered, out of words.
Nolan turned to the guards. He could just decide to copy their telekinetic ability, but there was some with an upgraded version. "She's going to make this a whole lot easier," he mumbled.
The guild itself was a complex of interconnected towers and bastions, all constructed with the same pale silver granite that seemed to shine under the sunlight.
They stopped in front of one of the towers and got down.
Cyndy made the chariot shrink and then shattered it, dispersing its particles. "Alright, welcome to your new home," she voiced as an old man came to take the horse to the stables.
A man walked out of the tower and stopped right in front of them, his fitted uniform with golden buttons,cuffs, epaulets, telling the the story of his Elite-rank status.
Though the face was nothing new to the trio. It was specifically Melvin, the one who lead the scout team at the village.
His eyes moved between Cyndy and the other three. "Why is this?" he asked.
"They have some potential. I believe they can fight. How exactly did you not see them?" Cyndy shrugged.
"What do you mean? We haven't even tested them. And is that the chief's daughter?" Melvin said, his eyes on Liana who looked away, whistling.
"Melvin, they fought against the demons. I didn't even have to do much," Cyndy replied.
"It's 'Sir' or 'Elite Melvin,'" he corrected. "To you and to everyone else."
Cyndy roled her eyes. "Ugh, again with that crap. Just because you got to Elite-rank first," she mumbled.
"I heard that." Melvin frowned.
"Okay okay, fine, test them yourself." She stormed past him, heading inside the tower as if she wasn't the one who brought them.
Melvin took a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth. Cyndy was always a pain to deal with, for everyone.
Melvin and Cyndy joined the Cerulean Guardians at the same period and ranked up to the Ace-rank. However, Melvin was more serious about his purpose in the society of today and was more responsible, unlike Cyndy who was childish and never took things seriously.
His efficiency with the sword aligned with his insane perception and speed got him into the Elite-rank faster than anyone else. Earning him a commanding spot in the guild.
"So…" Melvin trailed, pushing his blonde curtain hair back. "Follow me," he completed, walking down the stairs and going left.
The trio followed without complaint. While Cedric and Liana were awestruck, surveying the place with their eyes, Nolan was busy with the system.
He brought up the main screen and realized he still had to grind stats and complete quests. He had totally forgotten about it, carried away by the copying.
He opened the main screen that displayed his occupation, active ability, stats and so on.
"Hmm, well… this is new." Nolan scanned through it. This particular system was indeed very different from the others.
He thought to switch screen and the library came up.
[Library:
• Abilities (2)
• Skills (1)
• Talent]
He selected [Abilities] and a new screen overlapped the first.
[Abilities:
• Flame Affinity (F-Tier)
• Ice Affinity (S-Tier)]
"That's somewhat interesting," Nolan muttered, scratching his head as Melvin led them to the training building.
He exited that and proceeded to check [Skills].
[Skills:
• Iron Tank (D-Tier): +5 STR whenever you charge.]
This one made Nolan grin. He hadn't realized how good a skill it was until now. But before he could continue exploring the new system, Melvin stood in front of a short building, but the way the walls curved by the sides suggested it was wider.
As the doors opened and they entered, Cedric couldn't help but bubble up a short laugh, utterly impressed by what he was seeing.
The place was a vest circular chamber and the floor was segmented into different terrain types, ranging from sand to stone to grass and so on. There were many segments and a handful of people around, some sparring, some training alone.
"Well then, let's test you guys," Melvin said.