Chapter 100: What Class Are You?
"A Guild?" Nox mused, trying to keep a straight expression. Wendy had told him about guilds a few days earlier.
According to her, they were the ones most likely to get their hands on the elemental beast... and now, one of these guilds was offering him a chance to work for them?
Did this mean he could find the elemental beast much more easily if he joined them?
"I accept. How much is the pay?" Nox inquired, trying to mislead the other party into thinking he was after money.
"Good." The blue-haired man smiled. "It's 50 gold coins, but that's only if we're able to hunt the elemental beast."
"Elemental Beast?" Nox asked, with a lost expression on his face. His acting was so convincing that it even surprised him.
'As expected, he doesn't know,' the blue-haired man thought as he smiled and proceeded to explain what an elemental beast was to Nox.
"By the way... I'm Reyes, and this here is Cormach," the blue-haired man introduced himself and the big man beside him.
"I'm Brutus," Nox responded, shaking their hands. "So, when will we begin hunting this beast?"
"Hahahahaha, someone looks very eager," Reyes laughed.
"Fifty gold coins would change my family's life, you know," Nox added.
---
Soon, the three boarded another carriage and stopped in a deserted part of Coastal City.
Nox found himself staring at an abandoned ship that was partly submerged in what used to be a river but was now completely frozen, with ice shards jutting out.
"Inside this ship, some of our members are waiting. Come on, let's go," Reyes led the way.
Nox quietly followed Reyes and Cormach through the abandoned ship. The hallways were unstable, with many broken wooden planks on the floor, and rats with red eyes scurried around, squeaking as they moved.
Creak!
Nox stepped on a particular spot, and his eyes widened as the wood broke apart. However, before he could fall, Cormach grabbed him with his huge arm.
"Be careful; this ship is over 200 years old," the big man remarked with a light smile. "Just follow my footsteps."
"Thank you," Nox nodded.
"No need to thank me," Cormach casually waved his hand. "You're now a temporary member of the Mavericks Guild, and it's the duty of guild members to watch out for their teammates."
"Cormach is right. Even though it's just temporary, you have all the privileges of a permanent member. It's such a shame we're far from the Valerian Kingdom; otherwise, you could have used our facilities back at the base," Reyes commented, still looking ahead.
'Valerian Kingdom?' Nox thought. 'No wonder they entered this city so freely. If I remember correctly, the Valerian Kingdom and Snowhelm Kingdom don't have any bad blood between them.'
The only kingdom banned from stepping into Snowhelm was the Vermilion Kingdom. Nox had initially thought Cormach and Reyes were from the Vermilion Kingdom and wondered what trickery they had used to bypass the guards at Coastal City's entrance. But now he knew they were from a distant kingdom that shared a border with the elves.
As they continued deeper into the abandoned ship, the creaking of the wooden planks and the scurrying of rats with glowing red eyes filled the air.
The trio didn't talk anymore, and soon, Reyes abruptly stopped before a door. "We're here," Reyes whispered with a smile as he pushed the door open.
Nox hesitated, wondering if all this was a ploy to kidnap him and extract information about the elemental beast. It wasn't a far-fetched thought because he could imagine himself doing the same.
'Well, whatever,' Nox shook off the thought and entered, finding himself in a large quarter that seemed to be in better condition compared to other parts of the ship.
Inside the quarter, Nox noticed five figures seated at a round table, playing a game that looked similar to a card game from Earth.
"Guild Master!" The five abruptly stood up as soon as the trio stepped inside, one of them quickly pushing the cards aside to prevent Reyes from seeing them.
A frown quickly appeared on Reyes's face. "I'd have punished you guys for slacking in the middle of an important mission, but since we have a new member, I'll let it slide," Reyes said, gesturing to Nox.
"His name is Brutus, and for the duration of this mission, he will be a temporary member. I hope you'll treat him the same way you'd treat a permanent member."
"Oh my gosh, he's cute! Welcome, little bro!" One of them, a tall, muscular sister with a sword on her back, exclaimed excitedly as she came up to shake Nox's hand.
"My name is Brenda. I'm a warrior and have always wanted to have a junior brother."
Brenda was quite touchy, even rubbing Nox's hair, which made him a bit uncomfortable. Apart from his mother, this girl was the second person to ruffle his hair like this.
Yes, he did have an older sister, but that girl would never touch him like this.
"Would you like to be my junior brother?" Brenda asked with puppy eyes that reminded him a lot of Thirteen.
"I don't mind being your little brother," Nox smiled, feeling there was nothing wrong with having a good relationship with these people, even though he was using them to get to the elemental beast quickly.
"Yay!" Brenda exclaimed and hugged Nox, making his cheeks turn beet red. 'So huge and soft,' he thought.
The next person to introduce themselves to Nox was another girl. She was a bit shorter and had medium-length silver hair with piercing violet eyes. Her name was Niahm Wong. Her appearance was similar to Asians, and she was a Spectral Archer who carried a bow that fired arrows purely made out of energy.
'So many classes,' Nox thought.
The next person was a tall boy with blond hair who wore armor that seemed to be made of ice, and his name was Hex, a Cryomancer, a class that focused on ice-related skills.
"Our names are Adin and Adam, and we're both Tempest Mages," the last two, who were twins with bald heads, introduced themselves as if they were giving a presentation on stage.
'Tempest Mages, huh... Grandpa is a Pyromancer and has mostly fire-related skills... but Tempest Mages—they can harness storm magic and even summon thunder... out of everyone, these silky-looking baldies might be the most troublesome.'
"Alright, now that everyone has introduced themselves and their class, what class are you, Brutus? Oh, by the way, Cormach here is a Tanker, and I'm a Mage," Reyes said.
Now that everyone had introduced themselves, it was Nox's turn.
Nox took a deep breath and looked everyone in the eyes. "I am a..."