In a large tavern, several rookie mercenaries were gathered. They were all approximately fifteen years old, and at that moment, only the rookies would participate in the mission. There were around forty people in the place, but seven of them stood out by remaining completely covered. Two were sitting close together on the left side of the tavern, while the others were spread throughout the hall, keeping a certain distance from one another.
"Are you sure we'll be able to get in, master?"
"As long as they don't discover who we are, everything will be fine."
The two were so covered that it was difficult to even see their eyes. The boy carried a spear on his back and remained seated beside the person who had called him master, carefully observing the surroundings.
When he looked toward the other side of the tavern, he noticed another boy who was also completely covered, although his eyes could be seen through the opening in the fabric. They were red like rubies, and a blue necklace hung around his neck.
The boy did not seem surprised to find someone hiding their face. After all, some mercenaries did that precisely to prevent their identities from being discovered.
"Is he someone interesting, master?"
"He doesn't seem like anything special. I'm just curious."
Before they could continue talking, the tavern door opened. A robust man entered carrying an enormous hammer, accompanied by two other mercenaries. One of them had several scars scattered across his body, while the other had the appearance of an elderly man. The three walked toward a table near the door and sat down. When the door closed, the shadows briefly revealed the presence of other mercenaries outside.
"Many here are still complete rookies and haven't even received their official licenses. As you know, this mission isn't meant to make you official mercenaries, but it will allow you to take an important step toward achieving that."
To receive an official license, a mercenary needed to reach at least the Third Circle and be hired by a Mercenary Guild. The guild followed the rookies from the moment they registered, observing their performance and recording their results. That test had been created precisely to find those who demonstrated the greatest potential.
The examiners sent by the guild itself would record how each candidate behaved during the mission, and afterward, those reports would be used to decide which rookies would receive more important opportunities.
The boy pointed outside the window, making the person beside him look in the indicated direction.
"They're definitely the ones outside the tavern."
"As always, master is very clever."
She seemed quite proud while the boy simply waved his hand as if it were nothing, something that made the mercenaries look at them as if they were ten-year-old children. After a few seconds, the boy realized that they might become suspicious if his partner continued calling him that, so he gave her a small scolding.
Without caring about the noise, the man took out a list and began calling the names.
Meanwhile, the girl accompanying her master took out a paper with information about the mission and began reading it. Recovering the core seemed to be something her master wanted very much, so she would have to give everything she had to help him.
After the man's brief explanation, he began calling each person by their names and objectives.
"Rauven Drosmir. Raise your hand and tell me one of your objectives."
"I just have fun killing people."
A boy with an almost dead appearance raised his hand. His answer made several people around him uncomfortable. He did not seem like someone who could be trusted, much less someone it would be safe to turn one's back on.
"Arvanys... You don't have a surname?"
"I don't. I'm just an orphan, and my objective is simple: I want to dedicate myself to working as a mercenary."
"I like you."
"Thank you, sir."
The girl was a member of the Beastman race, but since she kept precisely the parts of her body that could reveal her species covered, no one could know exactly which animal represented her lineage.
Even so, some of the other Beastmen present continued looking at her with some confusion. They seemed to sense something strange coming from her, as if there were some hidden danger, although at the same time, they did not consider her an immediate threat.
"Dorian Keldras."
"Here, sir. I just want to make money."
"I like you too."
The boy became quiet again after that. He seemed quite cold toward people and had chosen a more distant corner to remain alone. The evaluator merely shrugged before looking at the next name.
"Kael Veryon."
"Here, old man."
The red-eyed boy raised his hand in a bored manner.
"I already don't like you."
"Thank you very much."
Even without being able to see his face completely, it was possible to tell from his eyes that there was a challenging smile hidden behind the covering. Something that made the mercenaries beside the man let out a light laugh.
"What is your objective?"
"Revenge."
The evaluator wrote down the answer, deciding to ignore his companions' laughter, and moved on to the next names. He had already encountered people like that boy before. Some ended up dying quickly, while others became undeniable forces within the Mercenary Guild. Even though he did not like him, perhaps he could be useful.
"Alaric."
"My objective is to recover something, and I'm an orphan."
The boy with the girl beside him raised his hand simply.
"Lyssandra."
"The same as my master."
The evaluator simply shook his head. Did those two really think they could deceive him? From the way the girl had spoken, it was clear that they were more than simple orphans. Perhaps they were nobles or had some kind of important connection. However, he did not care. As long as they were useful during the mission, they were in.
When he noticed that the boy had given the girl a small scolding for calling him master once again, the evaluator decided it was time to begin.
"All right. Let's begin immediately."
"Now?"
"Yes. The five who remain standing, or at least don't faint, will be chosen. So you can start fighting."
The change was immediate.
A cut appeared on one of the boys' throats. He brought his hands to the wound, trying to stop the blood, but before he could do anything, his head was cut off. The one who had started everything was Rauven, who did not wait another second. His dagger was imbued with dark magic, and the first attack was enough to turn the tavern into a battlefield.
Chaos took over the place. The rookies began attacking one another, and bodies fell in all directions while some tried to escape the most dangerous confrontations.
Alaric removed the spear from his back and covered his weapon with water magic. With a wide movement, he pushed back several enemies who tried to grab him, while Lyssandra summoned a green tiger with blue stripes beside her.
The tiger bit one of the opponents while she landed a kick on another's chin. More were coming right behind her.
"There are too many! Damn it, I just released my magic. Master, can you help me?"
"What would you do without me?"
Alaric pointed his spear behind Lyssandra. A water spear immediately appeared from the tip of the weapon and struck the enemy who was trying to attack her. In the same movement, Alaric spun the weapon and drove his spear into the shoulder of another opponent who advanced toward him with a sword.
While the battle continued around them, someone was thrown out of the formation of fighters. Alaric followed the movement with his eyes and found Kael.
The boy did not seem interested in the weaker opponents. He was looking for someone who could actually offer resistance. Upon realizing that there was no particularly strong person nearby, he decided to attack Rauven, who was about to kill another rookie.
The punch hit Rauven squarely and sent him crashing into the wall, causing part of it to collapse.
"You bastard!"
Shadows came out of Rauven's hands and wrapped around his dagger. He swung the weapon, sending a dark slash toward Kael. Without showing any concern, Kael covered his hands with water and directly caught the attack, only being forced to take a few steps backward.
'Someone else who uses water magic? Wait... That's actually normal. Why was I surprised?'
Alaric seemed surprised at first before slapping his forehead, realizing that his surprise was exaggerated.
Kael dodged another attack while observing the rest of the battle, possibly trying to find strong people.
In another part of the tavern, several blades pierced other rookies, and the screams mixed with the sound of footsteps running through the hall. It was then that Arvanys appeared, calmly walking over the bodies scattered across the floor. They were not dead, but there was no doubt they were suffering.
That girl was frightening.
Very frightening.
On the other side, several other rookies were trapped by chains wrapped around their bodies, preventing them from moving. The magic came from Dorian, who remained at a distance while controlling the prisoners.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"
Rauven's shout made everyone look in his direction. He continued attacking Kael without even managing to touch him, while the boy dodged his attacks with irritating ease.
"You're too hot-headed. That's why it's easy to predict your movements."
"Shut up!"
The two ended up approaching Alaric and Lyssandra during the exchange of blows. Alaric noticed the opportunity and created a spear from the tip of his weapon, launching it at Rauven. Among everyone present, he had identified three people who seemed genuinely useful, so he decided to help them.
Rauven managed to defend himself from the attack, although the impact still sent him backward.
"Interrupting other people's fights is rude, you know?"
Alaric was surprised when Kael's voice appeared behind him.
He had not even noticed when the boy moved. That was the first time Alaric had encountered someone his age with greater speed than his own.
"How interesting. How can you create those spears?"
The question made Alaric confused.
"You're asking a question in the middle of a fight?"
"Yes, I want to learn. I don't have many water magics."
He remained silent upon noticing the boy's curious eyes.
'He's strong...'
Alaric decided to explain the basics. If he could get closer to Kael and turn him into an ally, that would be useful during the rest of the test. He quickly explained how he was using his water magic to create weapons and give shape to his own mana.
Kael seemed to understand the explanation, but instead of simply copying the method, he began thinking of a different way to use it.
"Why are you getting distracted?"
Alaric realized too late what was happening.
Rauven had appeared behind Kael with his dagger prepared to pierce him.
Before he could touch him, however, a hole appeared in Rauven's chest.
A water spear had pierced through his body.
Kael remained still, looking at him with an amused smile in his red eyes. The water forming the spear began mixing with the blood running down Rauven's body.
That red-eyed boy did not even take a minute to understand how he had used that magic.
"My name is Kael, and it's a pleasure to meet a fellow water magic user."
He extended his hand toward Alaric, while the blue necklace around his neck glowed faintly.
Alaric looked at Kael for a few seconds.
Apparently, he had just found a monster.