Chickens cluck and bawk, engines roared and sputtered while their smoke went into the air and disappeared. Zhenyel woke up as she stretched her unused muscles, her joints popping back in place while she scratched her sides and swung her feet at the edge of the bed.
She stood up and walked over to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and washing her face before she went to her vanity table to brush her hair into a more presentable style, tying it to a low braided ponytail.
Then Zhenyel trotted down to the kitchen, giving her sister a quick kiss on the cheek when she found her watching TV. Jasminah huffed in halfhearted disgust and wiped the spot where Zhenyel's lips met her skin, shooting her a warning gaze before returning to the TV, which made Zhenyel shake her head in amusement.
"Morning, Dad. How was sleep?" She greeted her father as soon as she entered the kitchen, pressing an affectionate kiss on her father's cheeks and preparing him pancakes with a refill of his black coffee.
Her father was already dressed in his work uniform so when Zhenyel placed the plate of pancakes in front of him, he immediately ditched the newspaper and began eating. When he finished, he thanked her and downed the steaming hot coffee in one gulp, patting Zhenyel's head gently and ruffling her hair before kissing her on the forehead, doing the same thing to her sister before leaving for work.
"San, breakfast is ready. I'll be late today again. I need to grab some quests and raise my rank." She said as she walked into the living room, her arms were crossed over her chest as she glanced at her sister, Jasminah.
San, or Jasminah, whined about Zhenyel leaving again for the whole day. She tore her gaze away from the TV and leaned her head back to the armrest of the couch, peeking over to her with a pout.
"Don't look at me like that. Once I raise my rank, we'll go out on my off. How about that?" She suggested while she nodded to the kitchen and walked away, preparing two more sets of plates for her and Jasminah.
Once Jasminah was seated and comfortable, both she and Zhenyel thanked aloud for the food then began eating. Although the air in the dining table wasn't tense and heavy, Zhenyel could still feel the palpable curiosity that Jasminah exuded, so she turned to her and raised a brow.
"Dad said you're officially a member of the Adventurers Guild. Does that mean you're obligated to fight on the frontlines if you were summoned to do so?" Jasminah asked gingerly; her interest in Zhenyel's occupation was evident in her eyes.
Zhenyel tilted her head to the side, pondering about the question; since she IS a member of the Guild, so that would be an obvious and expected obligation as one of them.
"Yeah. However, since I'm still on the Novice rank, the chances of being summoned to fight are slim. So don't worry about me and focus on your studies, understand?" Zhenyel replied as she smiled faintly at her sister, humming in satisfaction when she received a nod and a promise from Jasminah.
The two continued eating in the comfortable silence, with Jasminah occasionally asking questions about what happened during Zhenyel's missions till she finished her food. She thanked Zhenyel for the food and stood up, walking out of the dining room to her quarters to prepare for school.
When Zhenyel emptied her plate, she began cleaning up and washing the dishes. She made sure that she had no more housework left before she went to her room to prepare.
Obligated to fight when summoned huh…
Zhenyel hums absentmindedly as she slung her bag on her back, tugging the hem of her shirt down and trotting out of her room, closing the door behind her.
For the final time, she double-checked everything in the house before leaving and locking the door. I mean, it's better to be safe than sorry right? Zhenyel walked to the Adventurers Guild without a rush, an umbrella shielding her from the sun.
When she arrived at the lobby, she immediately went over to the front desk while closing her umbrella and putting it inside a compact bag.
"Zhenyel! You're here early. Are you ready to choose a class?" The lady asked as she greeted Zhenyel with a gentle smile, bringing out paperwork from under the table.
Zhenyel nodded while she watched the lady write something on the paperwork before she slid it forward, making Zhenyel place her Guild card on top of it and drop a blood over the underline with her fingerprint.
Once they were both done with the official documents, the lady led Zhenyel to the ritual chamber deep inside the building and told her to stand in the magic circle. When she stood in the middle, the magic formation lit up and Zhenyel saw a blue translucent screen in front of her.
In front of her, there were 9 combat classes to choose from: Bladeborn, Windstrider, Arcana, Lightwarden, Techmancer, Shadowdancer, Nightstalker, Stormpiercer, and Ironclad.
Each class had a brief description under it, along with its supposed difficulty beside the name and the logo. She pressed each class to check their specific sub-classes and read through the information, as well as watched the short video provided on the screen.
Out of everything she was shown, she got interested in Arcana, Lightwarden, and Stormpiercer. She hummed in curiosity when the Arcana introductory video began playing again, even though she didn't press it.
She blinked in confusion and swiped the other 6 classes over her head and saved the three that caught her attention and zoomed the screen of the Arcana class bigger, rereading the whole thing and simulating the pros and cons of the class.
Then with a contemplative hum, she swiped it aside and skimmed through the Lightwarden and Stormpiercer classes. After a careful evaluation, Zhenyel finally decided on one and accepted it with a smile.