They'd walked two days with barely a pause.
No more beasts. No more surprises.
Only the slow shift from wilderness to roads… from silence to sound… and finally—
To walls.
The city rose like a wound in the land. Built tall, built tight, built loud.
Rei stood at the gate, eyes calm, but scanning everything.
> Strange accents. Smells. Food carts. Music.
People in armor that glittered.
Others in rags. Others in robes.
Beasts pulling carts, weapons on backs.
And buildings that bent at angles like they weren't designed by logic, but by dream.
He didn't flinch.
But he looked.
Everywhere.
> "So this is it," he said.
"A world that measures strength."
Ailith grinned beside him.
> "Welcome to your first guild."
---
The building was carved from stone and wood — older than most of the city, but built solid. Worn steps. Heavy doors. A faint glow from enchanted braziers along the beams.
Inside: noise. Laughter. Arguments. The scrape of boots and the smell of sweat and iron.
Behind a long desk sat a woman with pointed ears, writing in a floating book.
Rei paused a moment.
> "Elf?" he asked casually.
> "Yeah," Ailith said. "Don't stare."
> "I wasn't."
They approached.
Ailith leaned over the desk.
> "New registrant. Needs testing."
The elf looked up. Measured Rei once. Then raised a brow.
> "He doesn't look like a trainee."
> "He's not," Ailith said flatly.
"Just get the crystal."
---
They brought it out — a dull gray sphere set into a pedestal. Runework along the base. A glow faintly pulsing inside.
> "Place your hand," the elf instructed.
"It'll read potential and current combat level."
"Highest record is six. Good luck."
Rei stepped forward.
No hesitation.
Placed his hand on the crystal.
Nothing for a moment.
Then—
A low hum.
A flicker of light.
Then a crack.
The light flared—too bright—
SHATTER.
The crystal exploded, shards scattering across the guild floor like shattered ice.
Silence.
Every voice in the building stopped.
The elf stared, speechless.
Rei stepped back, brushing a shard off his sleeve.
> "Was that bad?"
Ailith didn't even blink.
> "He's Level 7," she said calmly.
"Fix the paperwork."
The elf scrambled. Within minutes, Rei had a silver-etched card in his hand.
> Rei Noven
Guild Rank: 7
Rights: Open-Pick Elite Missions
Restriction: None
Status: Verified
He stared at it for a long second.
> "Neat."
---
They left soon after, Ailith dragging him through the streets toward something that smelled like bread and heat.
> "We haven't eaten properly in two days," she muttered.
"No more roots. We're getting meat. And spice. And something drowned in fat."
> "That sounds awful," Rei said.
"But I'm starving