"...you know, when my teachers told me a long time ago that Magical Artifacts or Battle Spirits could take on any form, I didn't think this is what they meant." Mary stated as he looked at Doug, who was bowing his head in shame.
It was the end of the day and most of the participants were already returning from their trip either successful or defeated.
Justin and Doug were the former of course. Though it may seem bizarre, Doug finished his task even faster than Justin. Though Justin did hunt more than one Angel.
"Now, now. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying this to belittle you, I'm just...well, surprised. That's all. Anyways, congratulations on completing the Final Trial."
"Both of you are now official members of Mystic Guild. Pass me your badges and materials you collected, and in the meantime, sign these papers. Only sign on the clauses that you agree with, don't worry too much, we're flexible here."
Justin and Doug surrendered their badges as well as the materials they collected. Then, they started reading through and signing the contract.
The contents of the contract were an NDA and some important things that they more or less already expected. It didn't take long for them to finish signing everything. Even after reading through every clause repeatedly, they didn't see any shady clauses which made them relieved. At least these people didn't stoop that low.
"Done?" Mary asked, the two of them nodded and she said: "Let me see."
They passed the signed contract to her and they saw her flipping through the pages. After a brief moment, she hummed and nodded, then she looked up and said:
"Great. Welcome to the family!" Mary greeted them. "My name is Rosemary Summers. You can simply refer to me as Mary. I am one of the founding members of this guild and also one of the Team Leaders.
She then stood up and walked towards the door behind her, she held the handle and paused to say:
"Come, the Guild Master is waiting for the two of you."
Mary then pulled the door open to reveal a swirling portal that leads probably where the Guild was located. Mary stepped inside without any hesitation, leaving the two of them in the room.
"...I already feel dizzy just by looking at it." Doug pursed his lips and commented.
"Well, what else are we waiting for? Come, Doug. Let's see what the Guild looks like."
Justin was excited, he was like a kid whose parents told him that they were going to meet Santa. Meanwhile, Doug was exhausted.
Understandably, it's been a long day for both of them. He didn't understand how Justin still has this much energy and frankly, he was too tired to ask.
He might as well just follow so that this day finally ends.
The two of them stood up and walked inside the portal. They felt their surroundings warping vigorously, causing them to feel nauseous. Thankfully though, that sensation disappeared as fast as it appeared, allowing them to catch themselves properly.
What greeted them on the other side, was simply otherworldly...
They stood in the vast expanse of a lush and vivid forest. The air was clean and cool, giving an extremely welcoming sensation to anyone it touched. The skies were clear and filled with a sea of silvery sparkles, forming a jaw-dropping visual.
Even the moon itself felt extremely close by.
At a distance, they could see a tall gate. Beyond that gate was a futuristic skyscraper.
At this point, Doug's sleepiness promptly disappeared. It was replaced with shock and astonishment. He felt a gentle and seemingly inexhaustible supply of mana coursing through his body, energizing him and making him feel extremely comfortable.
Justin couldn't believe how dense mana was here, and they were not even inside the guild yet! This is the outskirts of the territory yet this mana density here was easily at least thrice of what's outside.
"Come on, let's go inside. I'm curious."
Doug was the one who urged Justin to move, this time around. With his drowsiness gone and his interest piqued, Doug marched forward with Justin behind him.
On the way to the gates, they saw other people also appearing out of nowhere and experiencing the wonders of this place for the first time.
They continued on their way until they reached the gates. There, they had to be scanned first before they could enter. They passed through the security and stepped inside the guild proper and the moment they did, they felt the immense difference.
"Oh wow." Doug couldn't help but exclaim in comfort.
There's this certain sensation that assaulted his body, causing him to exclaim in exhilaration.
Whatever that was, felt incredible. He hadn't experienced any of that before in his life ever, sadly he doesn't have any idea of what that was. So he turned to Justin for help, but...
"Justin? Are you okay? What happened?" Doug felt alarmed.
He saw Justin wearing an expression of great discomfort on his face. It's like he was hurting badly from the inside.
Despite this, Justin gave Doug a thumbs-up.
Really, Justin wasn't in any sort of life-threatening danger, he just didn't expect the intense quality of mana in his surroundings, making it difficult for him to suppress a breakthrough.
Currently, Justin was a Lv. 9 Master Knight, which is roughly equivalent to a Warlock for mages.
He's been suppressing his breakthrough to create a solid foundation for his cultivation.
But since receiving the sword and coming here, it's getting more and more difficult to suppress it further. Thankfully, it seems that Justin managed to postpone it for now.
He breathed a sigh of relief and straightened his back. The pain already went away so he's fine now.
"Oi, you two. What's taking you so long?"
Justin and Doug heard Mary's voice inside their head, they looked around in search of her but she wasn't there. Justin then looked up and as expected...
"Come up here, take the elevator up to the 20th floor." She told him.
Nobody else heard this aside from Justin, so he patted Doug's back and said: "Come, she's on the 20th floor."
"Ah? Oh! Wait how did you know?"
"Cause I saw her there. Just follow me inside." Justin then walked ahead and entered the Skyscraper.
Once inside, they were once again awed by their surroundings. The interior looked so modern and clean. There was a comforting and refreshing scent wafting through the interior of the building too.
They approached the elevator and rode it up to the 20th Floor.
There, they were met with a glass door that has a guard stationed nearby. Before they could even say anything, the guard asked:
"You two are Justin and Doug I assume?"
"Yeah, that's us." Justin replied.
The guard bowed and said: "ID and Badge, please. Sorry for the inconvenience but this is protocol."
Justin and Doug nodded in understanding, then they gave him their credentials. After confirming that it is indeed them, the guard opened the door for them.
"Please proceed. Guild Master is waiting for the two of you."
The two of them went silent upon hearing that. Again, they were reminded that they were meeting with the Guild Master now.
This caused them to begin wondering all sorts of things about the Guild Master, such as their appearance, temperament, and so on.
But all of those thoughts were silenced the moment they arrived in front of the Guild Master's office. They were shocked when they heard a voice from behind the doors, telling them:
"It's open. Just push it."
That voice sounded like it came from a man. The words sounded gentle and soft-spoken yet they rang loudly in their heads.
Without hesitating, Justine push the doors open and stepped inside, somewhat startling Doug, but he followed him inside.
There, they saw a normal-looking office. A somewhat ironic sight compared to everything else they saw so far.
There was a couch, a desk, chairs, and more importantly, a man sitting behind the desk.
They also saw Mary in there, but it appears that she was about to leave. Before leaving them with the Guild Master, Mary smiled at them and said:
"Come on, don't look so stiff. He doesn't bite, I can guarantee."
Somehow, her words did not give them any comfort at all, if anything she just made them even more nervous. However, it's too late since she already left.
Now, the two of them were left with the Guild Master.
The man looked at them inquisitively and asked: "So? Do any of you interested to sit down? It's pretty late you see."
Right...being reminded that it is indeed past office hours made the two of them somewhat embarrassed.
They then decide to get this over with and sit on the chairs provided for them. However, the weirdest thing happened the moment they sat down.
Justin didn't even see how his surroundings shifted. He just kind of noticed that he wasn't in the office anymore. And instead of sitting down on a chair, he's sitting cross-legged on the ground with the Guild Master doing the same in front of him.
Before he could even say anything, the Guild Master was already talking.
"You still have some unfinished business with that sword. Settle it down first, then we'll talk."
Justin only saw the Guild Master waving his hand before feeling a strange sensation that his new sword was taken out from its lousy scabbard.
Then, he felt his consciousness being dragged somewhere else...
