Chapter 3: Procedure
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"Jak....Yanda?" Akino asked, struggling to regain her composure. She hurriedly picked up her clipboard and began rifling through the numerous pages pinned beneath the metallic clamp. Her dark green eyes constantly flicked from the papers to the small youth, still thrown off by how suddenly he had appeared. "How old are you exactly?"
"Recently turned ten," Jak answered without missing a beat. "A few weeks ago."
"Uh huh," Akino said as she finally located the name near the back of the stack. She gave it a thorough read, scanning over the boys filled in information before finally looking back at the youth. "I see you've already payed the registration fee so there isn't any problem. However I'm legally obligated to remind you, someone whose younger than the set age, of the guidelines before you join the others."
"Sure." Jak replied happily. As someone who hadn't even been sure on whether or not he had made it on time, this was a welcome event as he leaned against the marble countertop. This would give him time to relax and get fully immersed into the atmosphere of the impending challenge before him.
Akino cleared her throat, readjusting her glasses as she flipped to another page on the clipboard.
If there was one thing that the older woman handled poorly, it was surprises. The appearance of the red haired youth had thrown her for a entire loop, leaving her scrambling to reclaim her previously professional demeanor. As someone who heavily relied on her ability to see others and utilized it to keep tabs on those around her, she hadn't been prepared for a sudden anomaly, especially when said anomaly was a mere child with no aura.
"By signing this form and paying the designated fees, you have agreed to the following terms and conditions." Akino paused and looked over at Jak, of whom was still paying the utmost attention. "The WGC will not be held accountable for any injury, loss of life, or crushed hopes and dreams the recipient may receive during the proceeding exams. Support type mages will be situated throughout the Exam areas should serious and perhaps fatal injuries befall the recipient, however loss of life HAS happened and should be taken into consideration before participating in the exam."
(("Crushed dreams?")) Jak mentally questioned as Akino continued reciting everything aloud. (("Guess the WGC has a sense of humor."))
"The WGC holds the right to fail the examinee if there is plausible cause to do so which will result in immediate expulsion from the Guild hall (i.e Cheating, murder, disorderly conduct, etc). Use of items or anything not provided by the WGC will be counted as cheating and a breach of the signed agreement which will result in immediate expulsion. Tampering with any of the equipment handed by the guild will fall into the same category and will have the same result."
Akino continued in the same manner for the next five or so minutes, listing various legal guidelines and conditions that Jak needed to hear. Many of the things explained to him were things he had already read or overheard from other adventurers such as Hadok, a close family friend of Jaks, and Jugo, a retired Rift Hunter who worked at a local pub. Very little was new to him and the things that did happen to be new for him didn't really come as a surprise as the Elven woman continued to spew various pieces of information from the clipboard clutched in her hands.
"Lastly, we have to go over the three main components within the Trials...but that can be explained in conjunction with the other examinees." Akino set down the stack of papers onto the countertop before gently nudging Flora, of whom still had her head buried in the crook of her elbow. "You can go and stand over with the rest of the newcomers. I'll be over there shortly."
Jak gave a small smile and a quick nod. "Can do."
After standing the same spot for what felt like forever, listening to the long speech about the legalities of the trials, Jak was excited as he spun around on his heels, taking a quick survey of the WGC's enormous front room. Due to the surrounding circumstances, him having been almost late, time had been of the essence and had prevented the redhead from getting an adequate portrayal of the Guild Halls interior. Now that the obligatory meeting with the WGC receptionists had been fulfilled, he could freely take everything in as he wandered towards the large group of newbies, most of whom had been staring daggers at him from the moment they had noticed him appear before the countertop.
The WGC buildings all had pretty much the same layout, or at least that's what Jak had been told from Hadok and the other adventurers who followed the older gentleman around. It was said that the WGC aimed to keep things simple and to not put too much stock in designs, anything that was too fancy, or anything that was deemed unnecessary. Clean and simple was their whole schtick.
On one side of the room sat giant oak doors that served as the entrance, thick doors designed to tank a full powered magic attack and emerge unscathed. Positioned directly across from the fortified double doors was the reception desk, a large semi oval sectioned off from the rest of the room in order to protect the receptionists from possible harm. On the other side of the rectangular shaped space, a lounge area sat in the top corner complete with a long circular table and multiple chairs. Situated perpendicular to that was another set of oak doors and it was in front of these doors that the newbies were currently crowded around, impatiently roaming back and forth with few words exchanged between themselves.
Crowd of newbies aside, Jak actually quite liked the WGC's straightforward design and their desire to keep things as simple as possible. It was neither too overwhelming nor was it too shabby, instead possessing the perfect balance between the two.
Jak kept on soaking in the surroundings as he walked into the midst of the pack of newcomers, making his way through crowd with relative ease whilst, at the same time, avoiding the more unsavory lot who attempted to confront him. Mako had already gave him fair warning about the other examinees long before he was scheduled to come in to take the trials. Those that took the test always felt threatened by those younger then them due to how immature and idiotic most of them were. All of them wanted to be at the top and those that worked the hardest generally couldn't accept that someone younger then them was looking to become an adventurer at the same time as they were. To the majority, it was as if the redhead was shitting on all the effort they put in in order to become a future adventurer.
To be quite honest, Jak wasnt even supposed to be heading into the innards of the crowd, Mako having adamantly explained this to him a few hours prior, before they had started their sparring session. Within the confines of the tightly knit group, others would take the opportunity to harass and bully him as much as possible while everyone stood around, offering little to no help.
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"Like moths to a flame, they'll come for you. Their only goal will be to provoke you enough to get you to retaliate and, the moment you do, everyone will jump on the bandwagon in order to get you thrown out of the WGC." Mako explained it all calmly as he took a stance with his metal staff. "I'm not saying this for their sake, but rather for yours. Don't do anything. Have patience and, if you truly are hell bent on beating their asses, then fight them after everything is finished."
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Just like the blue haired youth had predicted, multiple figures began moving through the crowd, heading straight for Jak like roaches drawn to food that had been left out overnight.
The first person to reach Jak was a bulky fellow with short brown hair, a rather small nose, and dull green eyes. Adorned in a crisp white shirt and wrinkle free black shorts, the guy looked as if he was ready for a night out rather then someone who was looking to become and adventurer. Though the youth ran the habit of respecting everyone he met, something his parents had drilled into him since birth, he found it immensely hard to find ANYTHING respectable about the person in front of him. Jak could smell the cockiness coming off him in waves, a stench that almost caused him to plug his nose as the brown haired teenager made his way forward.
The crowd surrounding Jak opened up, revealing around four more guys looking to join in on the impending harassment, but the redhead maintained his gaze on the cocky, small nosed adolescent in front of him.
"Name?" the bulky character asked, keeping it short.
"Jak Yanda," Was the redheads only response as he stared up at the taller figure. "Yours?"
"Eriz. Eriz Nako." The brown haired teen tilted his head as he crossed his arms. "Reason for joining?"
"To build the worlds greatest Guild and stand at the very top!" Jak answered firmly without hesitation, striking a pose. "I'll become the pinnacle of this generation and have my name etched into history of the world!!"
Eriz stared while Jak stood there, radiating confidence and joy, something that always happened when the redhead talked about his dream. No one else around them spoke, not even those that had come together to give him trouble, everyone just watching the two of them with bated breath.
"Very well," Eriz finally said as he held out a hand. "You have earned my respect. Those that can freely talk about their dreams without fear of discrimination....I too am like you. I will be the greatest Rift Hunter and everyone will know my-"
"Attention everyone. If you'll direct your attention over here, we'll begin explaining the procedures upon which we'll conduct the trials."
Eriz looked as if he wanted to say something else, opening his mouth a few times before eventually closing it. Without so much as another word, the brown haired teen turned around and disappeared back into the crowd, taking the others along with him.
(("Well...that was anticlimactic,")) Jak muttered internally as he shifted his attention towards the front, standing on the tips of his toes in order to get a good look at Akino. (("Guess they just weren't fast enough. The trials are already starting."))
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