Everything was silent for a moment, and Ansel hurriedly scurried away as Orion and Eldrin stared at each other in anticipation.

  If Orion takes too much damage, he might reveal his status as an undead…

  Ansel gritted his teeth at the thought. He hadn’t expected guildmaster Eldrin himself to show up. Even Orion, as powerful as he seemed to be, surely didn’t stand a chance in a real confrontation.

  Orion shifted his feet, then darted onward, swinging his greatsword with expert precision. His movements were quick, but still much slower than Eldrin’s when he had been fighting the young necromancer only moments before. A heavy clang rang out, and Ansel noticed an ever-so slight adjustment in Eldrin’s feet as he withstood Orion’s blow. A small sign that there was more power behind the strike than he had anticipated.

  “You managed to defend,” Orion stated.

  "And you are tremendously strong." Eldrin laughed. “Perhaps it was luck.”

  With a grunt, Orion spun, slicing through the air where Eldrin once stood. Ansel angled his head upwards, tracing the guildmaster's form as he leapt through the sky. However, Orion did not need to follow the man with his eyes; instead, he seemed to react entirely on instinct as he activated his skill.

  [Guard Breaker]

  The skeleton dropped into a low stance, glowing with a blue aura. Eldrin’s eyes widened, and at the last moment, he activated a skill of his own.

  [Shadow Step]

  In an instant, the guildmaster disappeared, rematerializing a few feet away in the shadow of one of the many trees surrounding the clearing. He turned, eyeing the skeleton with narrowed eyes. “A formidable skill. Does it have limits?”

  Could he tell the effects simply from watching Orion activating it? Even I don’t fully know the effects of that skill…

  “Limits?” Orion contemplated. “No one has ever had the strength to find out.”

  “My lucky day then,” Eldrin laughed.

  A clash of metal made Ansel physically recoil, and his head whirled around to see Orion and the guildmaster locked into a deadly dance of strikes and parries. The boy couldn’t even tell if Eldrin simply closed the distance with raw speed, or if he had used another activation of Shadow Step. It was clear, however, that Eldrin was a step above the current strength of Ansel’s first summon. Orion was slowly losing ground, that is, until he reactivated Guard Breaker once more. This time, Eldrin elected to strike, not bothering to dodge as he had before. His thin black blade tore through the air at inhuman speeds, like a lightning strike in metal form. Miraculously, Orion’s massive greatsword moved with a similar agility, parrying the attack with ease as it began to glow with a golden light. Then, as if the sun itself radiated from the point of contact, their blades clashed again with fury that forced Ansel and Anita to both take a step back and shield their eyes from the light. The wind rushed against Ansel's face in a fierce torrent of pressure, blowing the boy's soft hair back as he resisted the impact of the shockwave.

  Finally, the dust settled.

  “Hmph,” Orion grunted, sheathing his greatsword. “I take it that this concludes the proficiency test?”

  Eldrin twirled his weapon, wiping off a speck of dust on his shoulder. “Yes, of course.” He smiled, and it seemed that after the short fight, the sense of apprehension that he once held was gone. “Anita will give you the rest of the information you need, as well as any complimentary provisions you would like from the guildsmith.”

  “Our ranks?” Orion asked bluntly.

  “Of course, of course, I wouldn’t presume to make you two wait any longer after all,” Eldrin paused, then glanced down at the young boy before him. Ansel stared back with intense anticipation, knowing that the guildmaster’s choice would have a direct impact on his journey. Finally, Eldrin began to speak again. “Ansel, I have decided to promote you to an Iron-ranked adventurer. While this may seem relatively low, I assure you, you have come a long way in the past year.”

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  Ansel smiled, even though he was slightly disappointed. He had hoped to at least be bestowed the gold rank, considering that any rank below gold still had to give up a sizable margin of any guild quest rewards.

  “And you, Mr. Galahad, was it?”

  “Correct.”

  “Hmm…” Eldrin stared into the sky, as if the clouds held the answer he was looking for. “Platinum.”

  Orion scoffed, but he didn’t bother arguing the decision.

  However, Ansel’s and Anita’s eyes both bulged at the guildmaster's words. “Platinum?! For an adventurer who hasn’t completed a single quest and never taken a proficiency test before?” Anita roared, unable to hide her confusion.

  I know Orion is strong, but Platinum? Orion hasn’t even reached level four yet!

  “Were you two not in attendance for our fight just now?” Eldrin asked, a hint of danger in his words.

  “Apologies!” Anita rattled.

  “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m a rather busy man,” he turned, but asked one final question before leaving. “Also, I would like to keep up with you two’s progress. Do you mind sharing the name of your party before I depart?”

  “It sounds silly,” Orion complained. “You understand that I’ll be fighting under this name as well, right?”

  “It’s a combination of my father’s name!” Ansel protested, then continued to pout,” and I think Asharin sounds cool.” The name was a fusion of his father’s—Ashander Lorrin—and it seemed like paying respect in a way, considering that his dad had always wanted to name their eventual party “The Lorrin Company.”

  Well, his dad could’ve worked on his naming schemes.

  “Nevermind the name,” Ansel shook his head in an attempt to clear his mind. He stared down at the small, Iron trinket now hanging around his neck, then looked up enviously at Orion’s shining green piece, wishing that it were his instead. Well, he’s technically mine, so… He ignored the thought. “We’re adventurers now!”

  “Weren’t you already one?”

  “Well, now I can actually use my skill!” Ansel beamed, but after a moment, he added, “kind of…” Orion let loose a smattering of mock applause, much to the boy’s chagrin. “Now, my first step is to accept a quest! It’s probably best if we start small, even though you’re platinum rank, so that we can get some Exp–”

  But Orion had already turned away, casually striding towards the guildsmith’s workshop directly across from the adventurers guild they had just exited.

  “What’re you doing? The quests are that way!” Ansel pointed backwards, trying in vain to pull the massive warrior back. Orion never broke stride, simply dragging the boy along until he gave up.

  “I wish to see what advances in smithing have occurred since my time.”

  The workshop wasn’t too large, with just two segments of stone architecture and a dark gray A-frame roof, the back portion slightly elevated compared to the front. The back half extended down even further, creating an L-shape, with a semi-outdoor patio and a simple chimney poking out the top. Ansel could see Hadr, Avon’s resident guildsmith, striking at his anvil, causing sparks to fly off in every direction. The man looked up, spotting the young necromancer, and gave an immediate scowl. Ansel was constantly losing the weapons and armor that Hadr made for him, and the only reason he continued crafting such gear was at Eldrin’s insistence that the Avon guild couldn’t be responsible for letting the only necromancer in hundreds of years die due to lack of appropriate armor.

  “Ansel,” Hadr greeted flatly. “And who’s this hunk o’ metal?”

  “His name’s Galahad, and we just formed a new adventuring party,” Ansel began sheepishly. “Guildmaster Eldrin told us that we could come here for anything we needed before we began–”

  “Of course that geezer told ya’ that,” Hadr grumbled. He began to mumble to himself, but still loud enough to hear. “Oh, go to Hadr and get yer’ free gear! All new adventurers deserve a fresh set 'a equipment, blah, blah, blah. He thinks I don’t needa make a living ‘round here?!”

  Orion suddenly drew his sword, causing Hadr to recoil slightly. “What’s yer’ problem? Can’t ya’ see I’m busy?” But after a moment, the guildsmith’s eyes widened. “Is that… it can’t be… may I?” He asked, frantically grabbing at the weapon.

  “Be my guest.”

  Orion let go, and the sword plummeted, embedding itself in the ground. Hadr pulled hard, but it wouldn’t budge. “A heavy son-of-a-bitch ain’t it? Well, it’s alright, I can take a look at it right here,” he pulled out a small monocle from his coat, holding it up to the metal. He scanned the weapon for a moment, then gasped. “It is! It’s truly made of Dragonsteel!”

  “Correct,” Orion stated, pulling his sword from the ground and forcing Hadr to take a step back to avoid getting cut.

  “But it seems like all the dragon magic’s been sealed. Tell me, Mr…”

  “Galahad,” Ansel interjected.

  “Right, Galahad. Where’d ya’ find this?”

  “It matters not. Can you unseal the magic?”

  “Ah, well,” Hadr held a hand up to his chin. “There’s something I could try.”

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