Melvin took the group to a segment that was plain concrete. "Any of you use weapons?" he asked, his arms behind his back as he walked over to a weapon stack.
"Y-yes, I do." Liana raised her hand, hastening up to him.
Melvin gestured at the stack, "Take what suits you."
"I don't know what weapon to use. I'll just pick anyone?" Cedric scratched his head.
"And that is a terrible idea," Melvin replied. "Each weapon has a flow. A weapons flow goes with your fighting style. If your style can't go with the flow, you can't use the weapon. It's just like giving a close combat master who uses daggers a scythe. All they can do is swing it aimlessly, hoping to deal critical damage."
Cedric nodded with a focused expression, clearly not understanding what Melvin was explaining, but also not planning on looking like an idiot and missing his shot.
"So, in other words. It would be best if you check what weapon works for your style of fighting." Melvin completed.
"Ohh," Cedric snapped his fingers in realization.
Liana had already picked a long sword. Trying to test it out, she swung it a few times and then turned abruptly with her arm stretched out.
The tip stopped right in front of Nolan's adam's apple. He was walking over to the stack, contemplating if he should use a weapon or not when… well, this happened.
His right leg was still in the air. He could feel the tingling feeling from the closeness of the blade.
Liana's eyes widened. "Oh gods, I'm so sorry."
"You could do this instead," Nolan said, after pushing the sword away by its flat side with his finger.
"So, none of you has an ability?" Melvin asked, a little surprised.
"Oh, he does." Liana pointed at Nolan with the sword, before hurriedly taking it down. "Sorry, again."
"Yeah, he has some flaming fist ability," Cedric added.
Nolan looked up, closed his eyes and exhaled, bringing his head down. He looked calm on the outside, but same couldn't be said for the inside. 'WHAT IN THE BLIGHTED LANDS ARE YOUR PROBLEMS?!' he yelled in his mind.
"Really?" Melvin arched a brow. "With that kind of ability… How come we didn't recruit you at first?"
Usually, anyone with an ability instantly got recruited, except if the ability was useless, like being able to change the color of your eyes randomly. Well, not that an ability like that actually existed.
Nolan remained quiet for a bit before turning to Melvin. "I wasn't interested."
Melvin tilted his head, surprised by the answer he got. "Then why are you here?"
"Because I changed my mind." Nolan's reply was flat.
Melvin studied him for a while before nodding. "Well, this test isn't for you then. What you need to do is strengthen your affinity by being more efficient. We'll get your affinity level tested inside. Just sit back."
Nolan shrugged. That took a weight off his shoulders at least, that was a relief.
"Buck, Weasley, come over," Melvin called two guys that were sparring in another segment.
Both guys stopped their match and walked over to Melvin, bowing their heads in respect.
"Were we supposed to do that?" Liana whispered to Nolan.
Nolan turned to her. "What, you asking me? We literally came here together."
She nudged him on the arm and walked closer to Cedric who was still wondering what weapon he should use.
"I need you both to spar with these new recruits Ace Cyndy brought," Melvin explained. "Don't go too hard, we're just testing to see if they're capable."
"That sounds like an insult to my pride," Cedric said, walking up to the hulking Buck with an axe in hand.
"Well, seems you've got your partner," Melvin gave an upsidedown smile. "Weasley, you're with the girl," he added, then he turned to Nolan. "You, come with me."
Melvin took Nolan to the far side of the segment where there were benches. He sat on one and crossed his leg over the other.
Nolan on the other hand just stood.
"Have a seat." Melvin turned to him.
"I'd rather stand, thank you," Nolan replied.
Buck and Cedric spaced out from Weasley and Liana, so each of them could have enough room to be more flexible.
Buck and Weasley were both Sentinel-ranks in the guild. The rankings went from Novices who were at the bottom of the food chain to Masters who topped, though it was a feat only a handful managed to reach. Novice > Sentinel > Guardian > Ace > Elite > Master.
Buck held his long sword and spun it in his hand with a look in his face that gave away his underestimation. "Can you even use that?" he asked, mockingly.
Cedric shrugged, "We'll find out, I guess."
Meanwhile with Liana, Weasely held up his sword and nodded at her. For a moment there, Liana almost thought he was respectful, until he spoke.
"Will you have a drink with me, if I make you win?"
Weasley smiled.
Liana's expression became one of disgust as she drew her leg back, readying herself. "Forget that I've only done sword tricks with sticks. This is no different, you pervert." she muttered.
Weasley chuckled. "I'll take that as a no. And, I'll make sure you get sent back with a scar that can't be healed. Your pretty face would work."
CLANG!
The clash of steel made them turn their heads. Buck and Cedric had already started.
"Don't look away in a fight, redhead," Weasley's voice came in.
Liana quickly turned, barely blocking his attack and stepping back. Her palms were sweaty and the sword suddenly felt heavier in her hand.
She was getting more nervous.
Weasley charged in, swinging his sword in a swift arc.
Liana managed to dodge it just in time, but it cut her cheek and a little of her hair as well.
As Weasley slowly walked closer, she kept stepping back, making Melvin shake his head in disappointment, wondering what exactly it was Cyndy saw.
"Come on, now look how I've made your pretty face look bad," Weasley whispered with a smug grin.
Liana gritted her teeth, her back steps slowing.
"You'd taste pretty fine," Weasley added.
That was all he had to NOT do. Liana stopped instantly, her head down.
"Too sad we won't be having any—" Weasley's words got stuck in his mouth as his swing got deflected.
Liana blocked it and turned, delivering a hard back heel to his mouth with all the force she could put into her leg. "You spit crap too much," she muttered as she slowly started to step closer to him.
Weasley put a hand on his mouth and brought it down, seeing blood. He spat out a tooth and his face contorted in rage.
Cedric on the other hand was quite good with his axe, blocking off Buck's attacks, but he was still being overwhelmed.
"Come on, that all you got?" Buck mocked.
"Aren't you impressed that I'm holding on? What else do you want to see?" Cedric replied with a strained smile.
"Tch, I'm not even doing much. You're pretty much useless at this rate for that size," Buck rolled his eyes.
"Useless?" Cedric repeated as he intentionally stopped blocking, letting a slash get his shoulder. Useless… it rang a bell in his head. It brought back a memory he never liked remembering.
Buck stopped, putting a hand on his waist as he watched Cedric with a raised brow. "What?"
Cedric bubbled up a small laughter before taking stance again, his eyes now half-lided, completely ignoring the injury. He put the axe over his shoulder and extended a hand, gesturing for Buck to come closer. "Let's go again and tell me if I'm still useless."
Nolan stood by the sidelines. He couldn't hear their conversations but for some reason, even before the fight started, he could see the outcome.
The end was clear in his mind.
"They were never going to win," he muttered.