Mercenary Initiation I

"What were you two talking about that it took you so long to finish?" Iris asked Kies when he walked up to them.

"He was telling me about the stages of the tournament."

"You know, you could've just asked us," Iris told him.

"Well, I already know what I need to know so it's a little late for that."

"That's true. Anyway, let's talk about the other things that we need to do."

The four of them began to talk about how they're going to make the remainder of the money they need. After some discussion, it was decided that they should take mercenary jobs. It was a lot easier to register with the mercenary's guild than with the army.

They all then went to the mercenary's guild which was a large marble building that was fancily decorated. At first glance, Kies mistook it for someone's house but Iris pointed out to him that it was in fact not someone's house, but rather, it was the mercenary building.

"Wow... I expected something more... plain."

"Yeah, I know. You're not the only one. But it's only really the outside that looks like this. The inside is the complete opposite."

They entered the building and Kies immediately saw what Iris meant. The air reeked of booze and sweat. There were bottles all over the floor and everyone was loudly chatting away. A couple of people shot glances their way when they entered the place. When they saw Kies and Sirks, they didn't do anything, but when they saw Iris and Wompa enter right after them, they raised an eyebrow and started whispering to each other.

"It looks like they are talking about us," Iris noticed all the mercenaries stealing glances at her and Wompa. But it was natural since this place barely had any women at all.

"Isn't Otane supposed to not discriminate against people for their race or gender?" Kies quietly asked Sirks.

"Yes, but that's only in the army. Strength is all that matters in the army. The same applies here, but people still have their opinions," Sirks explained to Kies.

They went up to the counter and were greeted by a lady with an eyepatch. She had scars all over her arm and some muscles as well. From the looks of things, she has been through a fair share of battles. "Howdy there. I haven't seen your faces before. You new?" she asked, greeting them with an amused smile.

"Yes," Sirks answered.

"Guessing you want to register then?"

"Yes."

"Which ones of you are registering?" the lady asked.

"All of us." The entire tavern became quiet when they heard that.

"All four? Including the two lasses?"

"Yes."

"Huh... That's a first. Well, I won't question it. All that matters here is strength. Prove that you have what it takes to be a mercenary and you're in."

"And how do we do that?" It was Kies who asked her this question. The lady looked at him with her single eye, unable to see his face under the hood. "It's simple. You choose any of us here and win a fight against us. Or, if you can't, if you can put up a worthy enough performance, it also works. Though, we do prefer it if you win."

"So, anybody here works?" Kies turned around and saw that all the mercenaries were smiling. Some of them were even standing and offering themselves to be their opponents.

"Yes, anyone. Take your pick, or if you want I can choose for you."

"Right now?"

"Yes, right now. When else? It may not look like it but we're busy people you know." The lady waved at herself and everyone else in the tavern. It didn't look like they were busy as most of them were just chatting away and drinking alcohol, but then again, they are mercenaries so having fun could count as being busy for them.

"I'll go first," Iris volunteered herself. She looked around the room and pointed at someone who was neither weak nor strong looking. He was in the middle between scrawny and well-built. It wasn't the easiest pick nor was it the hardest.

Everyone cheered for the man when he got chosen and before he even had a chance to have a say in it, he was pulled from his seat and dragged outside. Everyone follows them outside. Even the lady with the eyepatch hopped over the counter and joined them. Outside, they formed a big ring with enough space in the middle for the two of them to fight.

The man that Iris challenged was already standing in the center with his arms crossed. He didn't look very happy about being chosen as he had been drinking his wine without a care in the world. Iris went to the middle of the ring and the crowd chanted for the fight to start.

"Couldn't you have chosen someone else? I was just trying to have a nice drink," the man complained to her.

"Sorry, but let's get this over with so you can go back and finish your drink."

"Hmph. Confident, are we? Let me tell you a little something before we start. I'm not the weakest one here," he told her as he drew his sword. Before the fig even began, Kies could see that most of the mercenaries were expecting Iris to lose. They were talking to each other and saying how she picked the wrong guy and should've gone for someone weaker.

"I know that. If I pick the weakest person then it wouldn't look good even if I beat them, would it?"

"Fair point. Well, draw your weapon, and let's start."

"Um, I don't have one."

"You can borrow one." The man gestured to the crowd around them. "Just say what you need and someone will drop it to you."

"No, I use my bare fists," Iris clarified what she meant.

"Martial arts? That's... Uh," the man scratched his head, unsure about what to say but shook it and turned to face Iris again. He put away his weapon to make it a fair fight. "Okay then, let's start."

"Are you sure you don't want to use your sword?" Iris asked him.

"No, I'm good. I don't want to be called a bully for picking on an unarmed girl with my sword."

"Well then, here I come!" Iris wasted no time and ran up to the man and delivered a kick high up at his head.

The man blocked the attack with his arm and countered back with a kick of his own. He swept his leg in front of him and at Iris' feet in an attempt to knock her off her feet but Iris reacted in time and jumped back.

The two of them circled around for a minute, sizing each other up before Iris went for another attack. This time, she punched at the man's stomach but it was once again blocked by him. But before he had the chance to counterattack, Iris quickly retracted her arm and twisted her body, delivering an elbow jab into the man's chest.

The man stumbled backward and almost crashed into the crowd but someone caught him and pushed him back into the ring. "Ouch. That one hurt," the man complimented her for her successful attack.

"Thanks. Now watch out!" Iris went for another high kick, but instead of aiming at the man's head like she did the first time, she aimed at the man's neck again. Her opponent misjudged her attack and thought that she was going for his head again and raised his arm up only to find out that he raised it too high. The kick connected and the man spun onto the ground head first. "Kuk!"

The man tried to push himself back up but Iris didn't give him a chance to and jumped on top of him. "Sorry about this," she gave him an apology in advance for what she was about to do. She wrapped her legs around his neck and restrained his arms with both of hers. The man struggled to break free but couldn't. Even though he was stronger than her, this position made it impossible for him to do anything.

The man's face turned red as he tried to breathe but couldn't. "I-I give..." the man wheezed out.

Iris let go of the man and did a backflip onto her feet and stretched her arms. "I guess that means that I pass?" The man was still lying on the ground gasping for air while everyone else cheered for Iris. The fight was over fairly quickly but they didn't care.

"Not bad lass!"

"Hey, do you drink?"

"Why don't you ditch those three and join us instead. Promise we'll treat you well."

"Screw off, all of you!" a voice boomed from the entrance of the tavern, silencing everyone. They turned and saw that it was the woman with the eyepatch who shouted that. "You pass. Nice work there. He's not the toughest one out there, but you handled him with ease anyway. You're more than qualified to be a mercenary. Does anyone object!?"

A collective "no" came from the crowd. Even the person she defeated who was on his knees gasping for air took a second to stop and also say no. "Now, we will have three more to test." The woman looked back at Kies, Sirks, and Wompa. "Which one of you wants to go next?"

"I'll go," Sirks volunteered. He walked up into the ring to get ready for the fight.

"Do you want to choose or do you want me to choose your opponent?" the woman asked him.

"You choose. That way no one can complain if I win or lose."

"Okay then." The crowd suddenly went wild with everyone raising their arms and trying to get picked. "All of you, quiet! You over there, get in!" She quickly picked someone so the crowd wouldn't get too out of hand. Everyone who didn't get picked grumbled and backed away while the person that did get picked happily walked into the ring.

It was a man around the same age as Sirks with streaks of white in his hair. He had a messy untrimmed beard but no mustache to go with it. "I'll be your opponent. Do you need a sword?" the man asked Sirks, seeing how he was empty-handed as well. "Or do you want to go with our fists as well? I don't mind either." His voice was gruff and he sounded a lot older than he looked.

"Toss me a sword," Sirks told the crowd. After some fumble and whispers, a sword was eventually thrown into the ring on the ground in front of Sirks. He picked it up and examined it. "This will do."

"Okay, shall we get started then?"

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