Capítulo 4: Prologue part 4
The armory of the Guild wasn't particularly impressive—a few different weapons were strewn about the walls. They all looked a bit worn out. They must be used for combat practice or maybe just lent to people who don't bring their own weapons for an exam.
Jane spent only a minute before stopping in front of a common sword, taking it in her hand. She waved it around a bit to check its balance before nodding and turning her head to the beautiful receptionist who was analyzing all her movements.
- I'll take that one. Feels fine enough for a simple exam.
The redhead's tone wasn't her usual one. She had lost her sweet and happy demeanor since Regg disdained her like she was just a pebble on the road. Of course, that attitude didn't escape Eliza, and the receptionist was curious about what would happen in the arena. She couldn't predict the outcome of the exam. Jane seemed like a total beginner, but the way she checked the balance of the sword earlier indicated some experience with bladed weapons. Who knows, maybe the redhead would surprise her.
Without really saying anything, Eliza turned around and led the young woman all the way to the back of the building. The walk wasn't very long, and soon they found themselves in front of a huge double door that seemed very heavy. Strangely, it opened by itself the moment they approached.
{ - I feel some magic in these doors, Jane. Why the hell would they use magic for this kind of little thing? Show off? }
[{ - Concentrate, Anna. We're here to put some arrogant bastard in his place. }]
Her friend let out a snicker but fell silent afterward. She was wondering about the real capabilities of her new host. All she saw were her gifts, but those didn't mean anything if Jane couldn't use them properly. Since they didn't encounter anything on the way here, Anna couldn't judge how Jane fought.
After the door fully opened, the duo of red hair and white hair stepped into the room it concealed. It was a circular room with a sand-filled center and nothing else. All around were seats. The whole room resembled a coliseum, albeit a smaller one.
Regg was already waiting in the center of the arena, arms crossed, with a huge two-handed sword on his back. There were some people in the seats—some of the mercenaries who had been in the main room when Jane was asking questions to Eliza.
The redhead turned her eyes to the man in the center, her demeanor calm and collected, her hand gripping the sword a bit tighter. Nobody had ever disdained her like that back in her village. Everyone was respectful of one another, and she intended to teach Regg a lesson in respect. It didn't occur to her that she could lose; she could tell at a glance that he was powerful. But not powerful enough. She wanted to go all out, but her father's teachings came back to mind.
"Even if your opponent is weaker than you, you need to use everything in your power. But you still need to keep some cards hidden, something you can use to catch him off-guard or even just react to his actions."
Jane walked until she was about ten meters from her opponent, her head bowed so that nobody could see her face even though she didn't have her hood on. The end of her sword pointed to the floor. She seemed like a lone tree, still and calm, without a hint of the anger she had displayed before. Regg raised an eyebrow at that attitude. Earlier, he had disdained the young woman on purpose. Of course, he knew a woman could still fight, but his methods always involved angering the rookies so they would lose composure. After all, being in control of one's emotions was paramount on a battlefield.
- Not bad, rookie. Maybe you really can wave that stick of yours! Come on! I'll let you attack first since I'm so generous.
The young woman lifted her head, and for a brief moment, her eyes were visible. Nobody could tell what Regg saw, but it made him draw his sword in panic. Soon the reason became clear: the robed person was only a remnant. A loud clang echoed in the arena, lifting and dragging some sand away. Jane and Regg were locked close to each other, their swords between them. The redhead had moved so fast that only a few spectators could follow her speed. Of course, she didn't use her gift at all—it was her normal speed, as she had been training since her youth.
Only a second passed while they were locked like that before Regg tried to put more force into his two arms, holding his sword. The young woman used that force to jump back two meters while Regg's sword struck the floor with great momentum. Jane's feet touched the ground for only a brief moment before she launched herself at her opponent again, this time going for a vertical slash with her right hand, since Regg's sword was stuck in the floor. In response, the man let go of one of his hands to block the incoming sword. Even with a gauntlet protecting his hand, it would still hurt, but he seemed confident enough to block or at least deviate the sword.
His plan wouldn't follow through, though. Jane let go of her weapon, causing it to drop a bit, but not too much, before grabbing it with her left hand to continue the slash, effectively dodging the blocking hand. To do this, she used her gift, but only on her arms so she wouldn't lose too much momentum while catching the weapon. Her slash was still driven purely by her own strength. Regg barely had time to let go of his sword and bend his body backward as Jane's sword traced a line across his leather chestplate.
He didn't have time to be surprised since Jane was already right in front of him, placing herself between him and his sword. She raised her knee to strike his solar plexus, but Regg crossed his arms to protect himself. It still made him take two steps back, increasing the distance between them. That didn't help him, though, because now she had enough space to make another downward slash, aiming for his shoulder. The man ducked to the side, rolling away, before sprinting toward his sword and yanking it out of the floor.
Once he had his weapon in hand, he took a stance again to block the sword coming upward at him. This time he put all his strength into it, and when the two weapons collided, the slimmer one broke in two due to the force it was subjected to.
- Give up, twig! You lo—
Regg couldn't finish his sentence. Out of nowhere, Jane's hand, now protected by a glove that hadn't been there before, snatched the broken part of her sword and stabbed it into Regg's unprotected leg. The man screamed in sudden pain, but it didn't last long as Jane struck his jaw with the pommel of her sword, silencing him and making him stumble backward. His injured leg buckled under his weight, but before he could completely fall, Jane was already at his side, sending a powerful kick that made him fly almost five meters before hitting the floor.
The young redhead wanted to continue her assault, but an invisible wall gently stopped her. With a jerk of her still-hidden head toward the source of the wall, she paused.
The owner of that magic wall was none other than Eliza, who, at some point in the fight, had gotten up from her seat. She addressed a calm smile to the redhead. Her sweet and melodious voice echoed in the stunned, speechless arena.
- The exam is finished. The rookie won against Regg. Welcome to the Mercenary Guild.
These words broke the stillness of the spectators, who all started to talk about the fight they had just witnessed.
Meanwhile, Jane nodded to the white-headed woman before making her way out of the arena. She came up to Eliza and lifted the rest of the sword she had borrowed with a sheepish smile.
- Uhm... I'm sorry about that! I can repay it if you want, that's not a problem!
Eliza chuckled a bit, then shook her head with a smile.
- There's no need for that, it was an accident. I saw it, so it's all good. Shall we fill out the forms for your admission now, Miss...?
- Oh! How rude of me. I'm Jane Denki, pleased to meet you!
- Pleased to meet you too, Jane.
The woman laughed quietly a bit before leading Jane to a private room filled with stacks upon stacks of paperwork on a somewhat lavish wooden desk. She took a seat on one side while gesturing for her companion to do the same. She took out a random paper from a random pile before starting to write on it. She filled out information such as the name and surname before lifting her head to look at Jane.
- Should I write warrior? Or mage?
The young woman was stunned for a second. She couldn't understand why she would ask something like that again. She frowned a bit while Anna piped in.
{ - Maybe she sensed me? Who knows, she could be really talented? I hope she's talented elsewhere too, then... }
Jane rolled her eyes at that comment, but it's possible she was right... The redhead regained her composure and shook her head before looking at Eliza again.
- What makes you ask that once again? I think I only used a sword in the exam, no?
- Well, you were moving pretty fast back there. But if you trained your whole life, it can be explained... Not the glove appearing out of nowhere; it isn't just a sleight of hand.
Jane's eyes narrowed a bit at these comments. Seems like the receptionist wasn't as weak as she thought. Well, it was a given she was a mage since she conjured that invisible wall earlier. But Jane didn't really notice if it was impressive or not. At least right now, she could understand Eliza was really observant... And she could somewhat follow the redhead's normal speed.
[{ - What do you think, Anna? Should we trust her? She could be dangerous. I don't know why she feels dangerous right now. }]
After a few seconds of silence, she heard the cautious response of her friend; for once, she sounded serious and focused.
{ - Well, she actually got us to a private room. She could have filled out the paperwork at the desk in the common room, no? And... seeing her seated behind that desk... I have a feeling she isn't only a receptionist. Maybe more? I say let's trust her. But don't reveal everything; maybe say it's some kind of artifact? You can even use the crystal if you want. }
The young woman's eyes lit up when Anna mentioned her crystal necklace. Of course, she could use that as an excuse.
- Well, I'm still a warrior. It's just an artifact that has some storage space. I just have a good sense of myself, and I can equip some things even in the heat of a fight.
Eliza stared at Jane while she was explaining, but didn't seem really convinced. Finally, she sighed before nodding and writing "warrior" in the correct box. After a little while, filled with questions and answers back-and-forth, Eliza got up and left the room for almost ten minutes before coming back with something in her hand.
After sitting back, she reached out to Jane, revealing what she had come back with. It was a flat little rectangular piece of... something? There was some of her information on it, just her name and her rank.
- This is your Guild card. Don't lose it, please; it serves as identification and can be shown to merchants and border guards. If you show it to another Guild, they will know you are one of us too. Well, now I guess you want to take a look at the bounties and missions we have, no?
Jane took the card and put it under her robe, using that occasion to store it in her dimension. She nodded to the white-headed woman while getting up with a smile. She made her way to the door, but just before she could open it to get out of the room, she heard Eliza speak again, barely a whisper.
- If you want to tell me the truth one day, I'll wait here. I look forward to it.
Surprised, Jane turned her head to watch the receptionist before nodding and getting out of the room.
Shortly after the door closed behind Jane, a shadow wavered, and a man appeared in a badly lit corner of the room. His voice echoed in it like he was everywhere at once.
- What do you want to do, my lady?
- Nothing for now. It's interesting.
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