Chapter 12

The next day, Kazuki began to read the books about The Dark Forest. He only heard some stories about the forest in the past but didn't really know the details. According to the books he bought, the goblins were creatures that only live in the darkness. They have an innate ability to see in the dark and their main weakness was the light. Their skin cant resist the light and would be burned if exposed to the slightest light. Additionally, there were different types of them, some were small and some were big. Some were normal and some had elemental powers. Their elemental warriors had the same ranks as the humans' warriors. Also, the goblins' main weapon was the dagger, there were also some other weapons like swords and bows, but it was less common.

"Your highness, what is the mission of the grand task?"

Attendant Lee asked with a curious face.

"There are two missions. The main mission is to escort a gathering team from the Golden City Organization. They want to gather some rare herbs that only grow exclusively inside the dark forest. There is also a submission which is to find some specific ingredients and collect them."

Kazuki paused before continuing.

"You know that only a batch of six people could enter the Dark Forest at a time, more than six people entering at the same time would attract the powerful goblins. besides that, the participants of the grand task would enter from different locations to maximize the gathering process and to find the rare ingredients more easily. The Golden City organization would form teams of six members. Every team would have two people from the Golden City. The first one would be a fire warrior from the Golden City's side. He would be the main light of the team. The second one would be the one to gather the herbs. The rest of the team would act as protectors. The minimum requirement to join a team is to have the power of a first stage bronze warrior. And the minimum requirement to be the captain of the team is to have the power of a third stage bronze warrior. Of course, if there is a silver warrior, then he would be immediately appointed as a captain without undergoing the selection test."

Kazuki explained calmly.

"Your Highness, why are they doing this test selection? Can't they just allow all the warriors to participate in the grand quest?"

Attendant Lee asked, feeling perplexed.

"Because the Golden City Organization only wants the powerful ones. After all, they want the gathering mission to succeed. Besides that, they would need to pay a lot of money as compensation to the families of those who might die during the mission."

Kazuki explained calmly.

"What what about the top reward, the high crystal weapon."

Attendant Lee asked with a curious face.

"well, luck would play a big factor on whom will find the dark lotus flower. You know how rare it is. Besides that, the dark lotus flower is always guarded by a powerful creature so, those who want to collect it would need to fight the guarding creature. I think, only silver warriors would take the risk to collect a dark lotus flower."

Kazuki said.

"So, anyone who collects a dark lotus flower would earn a high crystal weapon?"

Attendant Lee asked with a surprised face.

"Yeah. That's why some silver warriors want to join the grand task and try their lucks."

Kazuki said.

"Kr, Kr."

Titan made some sounds.

"Haha! Okay, okay. I will go and made some food."

Attendant Lee said with a laugh.

..

One day had passed quickly, the day of the test selection was today. Kazuki went again to the Mercenary Guild where the test selection will undergo.

Even though a lot of warriors gave up after knowing the task's location, still, there was a significant number of warriors outside the Guildhall today. Most of those warriors were elemental warriors. There were two tests, one was for the normal members and the other was for the captain. The Mercenary Guild had decided to start first with the captain selection. For now, only those who want to apply for the captain position may enter the main hall of the Guild. Knowing this, Kazuki went casually towards the entrance.

"I want to participate in the captain selection test."

Kazuki said to the doorkeeper.

"You may enter."

The doorkeeper said respectfully.

Some murmurs could be heard from the surrounded warriors. Even though Kazuki was wearing a mask, still, his eyes were visible to the warriors. It was a rare sight to find a non-elemental warrior who had the same power as a third stage bronze warrior. Some of the warriors showed surprised expressions and some showed contempt as they didn't believe that he would succeed in the test.

Kazuki entered the hall. There were not a lot of warriors as he expected. Third stage bronze warriors were not that common. There were around twenty warriors, all of them were elemental warriors. It was not a surprise that not a single non-elemental warrior was among them. Most of the non-elemental warriors in the Ancient World do only have a power like to that of a first or second stage bronze warrior.

Seeing Kazuki entering. The warriors stopped their chatting. All of them looked at Kazuki. Most of them felt surprised. Obviously, there were also some who looked down on him.

Kazuki walked gracefully to the front looking carefree and indifferent.

"You, did you by any chance entered the wrong door?"

A Hulking man with dark black eyes said in a sarcastic tone.

"Hahahaha!"

Some warriors laughed loudly from the side.

Kazuki continued walking with a calm face.

"You! didn't you hear me?"

The hulking man said with an angry voice.

"I don't have time to hear some nonsense talks."

Kazuki said in a no caring tone.

"Hahaha! Very good. Let's see if you can be this cocky after taking one of my fists."

The hulking man said before dashing towards Kazuki.

��Iron Fist."

The hulking man roared punching with his right hand towards Kazuki from behind. His right hand was already covered entirely in iron. The powerful force behind the fist made the air split resulting in a loud sound.

"Whoosh" The powerful fist was getting closer and closer to Kazuki.

All the warriors inside the main hall looked with interest. this non-elemental warrior is done for sure. That's what most of them thought.

To be continued.