Less luxurious than the room I had in the castle, but I don’t have to share

I am the first to be assigned a room. There is a bed, some furniture, a window, candles too … all the basic things you would need to live, including a chest to store valuables and even a private bathroom.

“This is the room you shall be staying in.” Kiara explains. “You can bring in personal effects. Trophies you find on your adventures, books, extra clothes and the works. You are expected to pay 2 silver coins every month for food and drink, though you are not **** to eat here. You can always go visit an inn or another place for food, however the guild will not reimburse you for that.”

“Yes, I know.” I say as I put down my bag. “It’s the same as how my mother explained it. And any equipment I find on my adventures needs to be sold to the guild, right?”

“Any equipment you find and can make use of is yours to keep.” Kiara says. “Equipment you have no use for, like a magic staff for example, is not mandatory to be sold to the guild, but it is preferred. Should you sell it to a merchant in town, you only help yourself. Sell it to this guild, and a fellow guild member will have a chance to buy it off the guild. Only if nobody buys it for a long time does it gets sold outside the guild.”

“I see.” I ponder. “Sounds reasonable.”

“Will you be needing anything else?” Kiara asks.

“I would like to have some pen and paper.” I say. “I’m going to have to write a letter to my mom. Let her know I’ve found a guild and such.”

“I will have one of the servants bring you some.”

Kiara then turns to leave, but changes her mind and pauses.

“Piece of advice, Darx. If you don’t have a need to identify yourself as a Dark Dragon, you should keep that medallion hidden.”

“But isn’t identification the point of the medallion?” I ask.

“Not all adventurers are friendly.” Kiara explains. “Members of the other two large guilds have a tendency of wanting to test themselves against us. If they know you are with us, they may challenge you simply for the fun of it. If they don’t know you are with us, they are likely to simply ignore you instead.”

“I see. No need to draw unwanted attention to myself.” I say as I look to my medallion.

After that, Kiara left and I was alone in my new room. Phew. What a day. I lie down in my bed and rest my body a bit while thinking about the letter I would write. Sometime later there was a knock. I open the door and like Kiara said, there was a servant with both a pen and some letters.

For the next hour I was busy writing a letter to my mom. I had already written one to her when I was in the castle but now I have so much more to explain to her. From my summoning skill and my triple slash to my B rank and my joining of the Dark Dragons.

The next morning, after breakfast, I travelled all the way back to the pleasant owl to tell Oliver which guild I have joined.

“The Dark Dragons? Like your mother’s old guild? No way.” Oliver said, not wanting to believe me.

But then I showed him my medallion. I cannot describe how surprised he was when he saw it.

“Damn man. You should write a letter and tell her about it. She is obviously going to be proud of you.” Oliver suggests.

“I already have.” I tell him. “Mailed it this morning before I came to tell you.”

Oliver has a lot of questions about the Dark Dragons. Both the guild and its members. Fortunately, he can afford to spend time chatting with me. There aren’t any people around at this time. Or at least that’s what I thought until a group of 3 girls walks in.

The first one is a short girl. One with clear blue eyes and long black hair, tied into twin pony tails. She wears black stockings to keep her legs warm and covered while still showing them off. Above that, she wears an outfit that resembles a shoulderless leotard. She also wears some long fashionable gloves which cover her hands, under arms and even her elbows. To finish her looks, she has a light cape on her shoulders and a large pointy hat which makes her resemble a witch. I have a strong feeling that this one is a mage class.

The second girl is easily a head taller than the first and dressed in metal armor. She’s got brown hair, tied up in a pony tail and brown eyes to match them. It is quite obvious to see that she is a melee fighter, especially with that mace she is carrying around with her. But I can’t quite specify her class from that.

The third girl coming in, is actually someone I already know. It’s Miranda. What is she doing with them? Could they be from the guild she joined? I do notices she’s got a wooden pin on her clothes now, with on it the shape of a bird with its beak wide open, as if it is singing. Miranda never wore anything like that last month. When I check the other two girls, I notice make girl having such a pin in her hat and the armored girl has it in her hair like a hairpin.

“And this is a place my sister and I love to eat at. The chef here is really good.” The short girl says. “Oh, there he is. Hey, Oliver.”

“Monica, good to see you again.” Oliver greets the girl with the witch hat. “And you too Lacey.”

Lacey just smiles and waves.

I in turn wave at Miranda and say, “Hey, Miranda. Are these people in your new guild?”

“Good morning, Darx.” Miranda greets me back. “Yeah, these two are from the Singing Bluejays. My friends from home are out towards a dungeon a few days from here so the sisters are showing me around today.”

“Oh, you know this guy?” Lacey asks.

“Yeah, I trained with him in the castle.” Miranda replies. “He’s good with a sword and he can cast water magic.”

“So, he’s a templar?” Lacey then says excitedly as she turns to me. “Oh my god, that means you’re a spellsword just like me!”

Lacey then walks up to me and starts introducing herself.

“Hey, like, my name is Lacey. I am a sentinel, so I do like earth magic and stuff. So, what do you think about two spellswords like us going on a quest together? Oh, wow. Look at your eyes. Red is such a rare color. Is it because you were born on a solar eclipse or another rare phenomenon?”

Suddenly the short Monica comes in between us and starts chastising her sister. “Lacey, please. You’re being rude. Give the man his personal space.”

Monica then faces me an apologizes for her sister’s behavior. “I am very sorry for that, sir. My sister tends to be a little ‘blunt’ at times. I’m pleased to meet someone who is on good terms with Miranda. My name is Monica.”

The little witch-girl then offers her hand for a handshake. I shake her hand and both tell her my name and that I am an old friend of Oliver’s.

“Interesting. So, now Oliver has a friend among the Dark Dragons, does he.” Monica remarks.

I look at my chest and notice I have forgotten to hide the medallion in my shirt. Knowing that I am with the Dark Dragons now, Monica seems to get a smirk while Lacey seems to become even more interested in me.

Fortunately, Oliver steers the conversation to how him and I grew up together, with Oliver and I agreeing each other and sometimes finishing each other’s sentences.

The girls do start to feel a bit hungry as we talk, so they ask Oliver if he can make them some brunch. Since I’ve already had breakfast at my guild, I skip out on brunch, but I join them at a table and we continue conversing.

After a while, I decide to steer the conversation to magic. With Lacey being a sentinel and Monica a mage, I am sure they got some neat spells. Perhaps I can try and find the appropriate runes and make use of their favorite spells myself.

“Well, I often make use of [Weight of the Earth]. It’s quite handy when I want to really smash something.” Lacey quickly tells me. “Want to see me use it?”

“I don’t think that’s very smart right now. We are in an inn after all.” Miranda notes.

This leaves Lacey a bit dejected and starts pouting, but what Miranda says makes sense. Imagine what kind of damage Lacey could do if she starts using her magic in public.

“Well, a spell I prefer to use is [Earth Spike]. I can both use defensively and prevent enemies from reaching me, or offensively and fight them with it.” Monica explains.

Ok, that is interesting. But if an earth spike rune can only cast 1 earth spike, I might need to charge multiple versions of this rune to create a rock wall or quickly charge and cast the same rune. It would probably be best for me to find a Rock wall rune for defensive purposes.

“And can you cast these spells everywhere? Like on both rock and sand?” I ask Monica.

“No, earth magic works best on rocks, silt and clay. The last two also can’t be too wet, because then you need to combine earth with water magic.” Monica explains. “If you want to cast spells on sand you will need to combine earth magic with air magic.”

“I get combining earth and water to manipulate mud, but why combine it with air to manipulate sand?” I ask.

Monica thinks for a bit, but then has to admit she doesn’t know herself.

“That’s because sand is just too granular to clump together, making it prone to wind erosion.” Lacey says begrudgingly while she is pouting.

Monica and I both turn our heads to Lacey, a little surprised that she was able to answer our question so precisely.

“Thank you, Lacey. That makes a lot of sense.” I tell the tall girl.

Lacey’s pout is quickly replaced by a blush and she replies, “Oh, well, it … it was nothing. Hehe.” While smiling and brushing some hair behind her ear.

We chatted a bit more until the girls had finished their brunch. Then Miranda asked the sisters if they could show her around the city a bit more. Monica agreed that it was about time for them to make their leave.

“It was fun chatting with you, Darx. We should meet up again.” Monica says just before leaving.

“Same here, Darx. Catch you later.” Lacey replies to me with a wink.

I had hoped to chat a bit more with Oliver, but more people started coming in and I feared that perhaps Mia might show up. Emma is about to give birth too, so I figured it was very likely for her to visit Oliver every day and ask about her twin sister. So, I decided to head back to my guild.

Once I got back Jason invited me to join him in the guild’s very own arena. After watching a match between two guild members, he suggested me to train against some of my fellow Dark Dragons.

“It is a good way to train yourself against a large variety of different fighting techniques.” He said.

I took him up on his offer and he was right. There was a swordfighter who uses a stance I never saw my mother use before, nor that I have seen Mia or Leona ever use. I have also only ever trained against one axe wielder before, Miranda, nor have I fought against a dwarf. But now I know those little buggers are a lot faster than they look.

The next couple of days, I often frequented the arena together with Jason and Sister Helena. I think their friendship with my mother made them feel a sense of responsibility over me and it made them come across like they are some kind of aunt and uncle I never knew I had.

On day five, I was dueling Jason himself in the arena. Man, does this guy have a strong defense. No matter what I try, I just can’t find my way past his halberd. He simply blocks, dodges or parries everything I got against him. But eventually it looks like I find an opening. I step to his side and bring my sword in. If I could just tap his armor, I’d already be happy.

But all of a sudden, Jason brings the butt of his halberd between my legs and with a quick jerk he lifts one of my feet from the ground. While trying to find my balance as I am dancing on one leg, Jason gives me a push with his shoulder and I drop to the arena floor.

“Footwork, Darx!” Jason says angrily. “How do you expect to fight if you cannot even stand?”

“I thought I had seen a way past your defense.” I excuse myself.

“And in order to exploit it, you decided to create an opening in your own defense?” I hear Kiara’s voice behind me.

I look behind me and see her approaching.

“Not a smart thing to do, Darx.” Kiara says. “Your defense should always have the highest priority. It is even more important than defeating your opponent. Imagine you kill an orc but at the cost of your leg. Wouldn’t you rather take a little longer and kill the orc without losing any limbs?”

“You are right.” I sigh. “I was just so frustrated with Jason’s fighting style.

“You’re fighting someone who wields a halberd.” Kiara explains calmly. “That weapon is part staff, part axe and part spear. In a way, you are fighting against three weapons at once and Jason is very skilled at what he does.”

Kiara lays a hand on my shoulder to reassure me.

“It will take time until you develop the skills necessary to defeat Jason. Just know that when you become capable to get past Jason’s defenses, you will be very likely to get past other people’s defenses as well.”

Kiara is right. I can only expect to become the best when I train against the best. After her words, I get up and try again.

After a few swings, Jason comes in with the butt of his halberd again. This time I block it and push it down. Though I feel little resistance from him. I wonder why … Oh shit, the axe head! I bring my sword back up as quickly as possible and block his incoming blow. Dang it! If it’s not the one end, it’s the other! But I notice too late the axe head of Jason’s halberd is hooked behind my sword. So, with one short jerk, Jason pulls his weapon back, forcing me to come with him and I am on the ground again.

“Had you been a monster, I would have stabbed you before you hit the ground.” Jason says with a smirk.

Jason is a 43-year-old adventurer. With all of his experience it is no wonder he is such a tough opponent. It’ll take me some time before I am a match for him. And to think even he could never defeat my mother.

I try to get up for another try, but as I get up, I feel a sharp pain.

“Ugh, I must have broozed my knee while falling.” I say.

Kiara and Jason help me up and bring me to the benches. As I am resting, Leona challenges Jason for a duel. That girl, always eager for a challenge. I just wish she realized she no longer needs to prove herself. She already has.

Once I am resting on the bench, Sister Helena comes along and asks, “Need me to heal you, darx?”

“Yes, please.” I reply.

Sister Helena lays her hands on my knee and starts casting a healing spell, but she also starts moaning at the same time. Just a little at first, but the longer he heals the louder her moans become. I pull back and look at her in utter confusion. Is she getting off on this? I don’t recall Amelia ever moaning when she cast her healing spell. Yet here Sister Helena sits, mouth agape while moaning like she is orgasming.

“Oh, Darx. Mmh, it feels so good, oh my god. Oh yes, yes, yes!” Then she throws her head back and moans, “Aaaaaahh!!”

After she finished healing me, Helena looks at me with a luscious grin and asks, “Was it good for you too? Or do you need me to serve you some more? How about we go up to my room for a fulllll service?”

“Mom, holy shit, what kind of people have you been hanging out within your younger days?” I think to myself. Suddenly I start to wonder if maybe one day my mother might have been just like Helena. Nooo, I don’t want to imagine it.

“Hold your hormones, healslut?” Kiara interrupts. “Leave some of Darx’s innocence for the other girls before you shatter it.”

Helena comes to sit next to me and mischievously pokes my side with her elbow. “Ooohh. You hear that, Darx? Kiara is getting jealous.”

“I am NOT being jealous!” Kiara says, losing her cool for once.

But Sister Helena is already dancing away from us while singing, “Darx and Kiara, sitting in a tree …”

I don’t think I have seen Kiara like this before. She is usually always so collected. Sister Helena must know how to push her buttons. In the meantime, Jason and Leona have stopped fighting and are just laughing at our interaction.

“Excuse me, mister Darx?” I hear someone say behind me.

I turn to look to notice one of the receptionists has come up to me.

“A woman from another guild has come here to see you. She is waiting in the lobby for you.” The receptionist says.