Chapter 34: Promotion and Rewards.
Elsa pondered for some time and spoke out uncertainly.
"Felix, I think you should not take part in the war."
Her blue eyes remained on his tiny body as she refused him to join the war while he frowned feeling dejected. He was sure he didn't want to partake in the war but when she directly refused him, it felt odd as if something important was getting away from him.
Unaware of why he was feeling like that, he clenched his hands and asked her in a puzzled tone.
"But Miss Elsa, I can already defeat Rank 1 warriors...And if I get stronger I think I can participate in the war."
Even though earlier he thought it was a bad decision to join the war, considering his weak body. His mind told him that only by getting into risky situations and facing many battles would he be able to grow stronger.
Elsa looked at him insisting on joining the war and frowned but he remained standing there with a stubborn expression and did not budge. At last, she sighed in defeat and rubbed her forehead.
"Alright, you can join if you insist so much."
Felix smiled happily and wanted to thank her but she replied before he could do that.
"But before you join, there's something important you have to do."
"Important?", he asked raising his brows.
Elsa smiled mysteriously as she got up from her seat and walked toward the stairs.
"Come follow me, I'll tell you while we walk there."
"Umm okay."
He did as she told and followed her leaving Roven behind who just shrugged and went back to his friends. He already had an idea of what was about to happen and didn't want to ruin it by being there.
They went upstairs to the second floor and continued to the third floor. This was the first time he came here so he curiously looked around the floor.
"After you have shown nice merits by defeating strong enemies, the guild decided to make you an official member, which means you'll now be allowed to enter the third floor and above."
Elsa smiled at the boy and dropped a sudden surprise to which he stood frozen.
"I-I'm going to be an official member now?"
He asked in shock as he thought only people who were Rank 1 and above would be able to become official members.
"Yes. You've already proved to be worthy in the previous mission. So, as a reward, the guild will promote you to an official member and you'll also get a free cultivation manual."
"A cultivation manual?"
It was another shock when he heard he was going to get a cultivation manual. He didn't know what exactly it was but he guessed it was something related to becoming warriors and mages.
'Damn, seems like it was the right decision to kill those bastards.'
She continued walking deeper inside the floor and explained.
"Yes, a cultivation manual. But before that, we have to test your aptitude for aura and mana. There are two main professions for fighting, Warriors and Mages, which respectively use aura and mana in their power system."
"There are other professions too but they are not the mainstream and only specially talented people choose them."
Felix nodded and followed her until they arrived in front of a heavy and thick-looking green door. There was a large wooden plate attached to it that said 'Inventory'.
Taking out a card from the inside of her robe, Elsa swiped it on the evil eye diagram on the door similar to that of the main door of the guild building. The door opened with a glowing green on its edges and the interior of the room could be seen.
"This is our main inventory where most of the guild possessions and materials are kept."
Felix stood there speechless staring at the shining materials that made it look more like a treasure room. Elsa smiled and broke him out of his stupor then motioned him to enter.
She walked inside with him following behind and closed the door again with the card. While Felix looked around the room curiously, she went ahead and took out a cylindrical glass with some liquid inside.
Staring at the swords, shields, and various other weapons and materials present in the room, his eyes finally fell on the weird glass in Elsa's hand and questioned curiously.
"What is this? A weapon?"
"Haha, it's not a weapon, but an artifact that you'll use to check your potential and aptitude."
"Oh..."
Elsa shook her head and placed the glass vertically on a table nearby before saying.
"Come here, hold this end of the artifact, and concentrate your mind there."
He nodded and placed his right hand on the upper end of the artifact. It felt cold to touch while his mind suddenly felt fresh holding it.
"Like this?"
"Yes, now close your eyes and try moving your body's whole concentration towards it."
Felix listened to her and closed his eyes. He felt something move inside his body and slowly get attracted toward his right hand that was grabbing the glass. Feeling that he was doing it right, he focused on moving more of it until he heard Miss Elsa stop him.
"Okay, you can stop now."
He opened his eyes while releasing his hand from the glass and stared at it. The strange liquid inside the glass had turned dark while slightly increasing in quantity.
Elsa stared at the artifact for a few seconds with a frown before sighing and telling him the results.
"Unfortunately, it seems that you have no mana inside of your body but there's still hope as you have an average potential in aura."
'What? No mana?'
Felix's eyes turned bleak when he heard he had no mana inside his body. He knew what it meant to have no mana. It basically means he had no way of becoming a mage.
A mage. Someone who could cast magic and do wonders. That was the first thing that came to anyone's mind when they heard fantasy. And now that he was in a fantasy world, ofcourse he would want to be able to do magic and become a mage.
But it seems his terrible fate did not even allow him to do that.
His mind was on an emotional roller coaster thinking about the lack of mana until he remembered he had a system of creating skills.
'Right! I can just create a skill to have mana and the problem is solved.'
His previous downcast expression turned jolly as a smile surfaced on his face.
Elsa stared at the cute boy's face and thought he must have been heartbroken hearing he had no mana but then regained his vigor after knowing he could train as a warrior.
She praised the boy inside her mind for his willpower and promised herself to take good care of him until he grew stronger. She then moved toward a wooden rack and took out a book from there before giving it to Felix.
"Here, this is a basic manual for aura training. You'll have to comprehend and practice that manual. Also, if you have any doubts, you can come ask me."
He held the manual in his hands in anticipation and thanked her.
"Thank you Miss Elsa for giving this."
He was back to pretending to be cute and showed good manners in front of her by smiling happily at her.
"Don't thank me. It was something you achieved yourself."
She also smiled at him and continued.
"Alright now that you have got the manual for cultivation. It's time for you to choose a weapon, unlike that knife of yours.", she teased him at the end while smirking in amusement.
"O-Oh, that knife was something I.....umm yes kept for safety.", he panicked at lying but he wasn't sure what to tell her.
"It's fine, I'm not blaming you for hiding that weapon. In fact it was a great decision to have hidden a knife because it helped you deal with unforeseen circumstances. So basically you did a good job."
Felix scratched his head and just awkwardly smiled.
'Well, I should leave that knife and choose a new weapon now that they are giving me one.'
"Would you prefer a similar type of weapon as that knife or do you want to choose any other weapon?"
He started thinking when she asked him about his choice of his weapon before replying.
"I would prefer something similar but a bit longer than that knife."
Elsa nodded before moved toward the weapon compartment and chose a weapon.
"How about this?"
In her hand was a short sword of around 50cm that looked like a wakizashi of Japan from Earth. It had a pure black sheath with a red hilt and silver mirror-like blade. The short sword had a sharp edge on one side and a thin flat edge on the other side.
The moment Felix looked at the weapon, his eyes gleamed and he unconsciously moved his hand to hold it.
"Miss Elsa, I think this sword suits me a lot better."
He excitedly held the weapon and examined it in his hands.
"Well, as long as you like it."
Elsa decided in her mind and moved toward the hidden safe in the corner and took out a rusty old book after swiping another card at it. Here, they kept some of their important techniques and it was not given that easily to the members unless they contributed a lot to the guild.
Actually, a newcomer like Felix was not allowed to receive it but she was the receptionist and thus had the authority to do as she saw fit.
"Also, take this. You can't be swinging that sword randomly, so this sword art will help you understand how to efficiently use it in a fight."
She handed the book to Felix of which he read the title on the rusty cover.
"The Black Horizon Sword Arts?"