"Luciel, I would not lie to you, I was completely devastated, you have no idea how humiliated I felt. I thought that I was in the lowest point in my life, and who would say, that that same day, I would meet him, someone who would become a very special person to me, someone whom I would gladly give my life to save him. Yes Luciel, that day I met my best friend." – Armando said, while the youngster looked sadly at the old man who looked so weak, different to the same old man so strong and so great.
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It had been already two hours since I fainted.
Thanks to a Healing Potion of Minor Grade, I could get better, I recovered from all my injuries and some physical fatigue was gone away. Yet, the mental damage that I have make me want to throw up.
"Come tomorrow to find out your results." – said the brunette receptionist to me.
I exited the old building, and watched around me, then I look at the sky, it was still morning, and I decided to look for a place where I could stay for the night.
When I arrived, everything war colorful and bright, I felt like I came to an extraordinary place, but in my heart, I was wishing to be in my parent's house, hug him my mother while my father told me that everything was fine, but… my pride… I couldn't take that, I couldn't go back to my parents' home, not like this, not like a loser.
I walk away without not knowing where to go, so I decided to ask someone for some directions.
"Excuse me sir." – I approached a person who seemed to be an adventurer, a man whose eyes where close and who has short spiky black hair.
"Do you need something?" – asked the man.
"Yes, do you know where there is a good and cheap inn where I could stay for the night and maybe eat something?"
The man with closed eyes gives me a little smile.
"Of course." – he said. – "Come on, follow me."
I followed him, he was walking with his eyes still close, I was surprised to realize that even though he kept his eyes closed, he did not collide with anyone, and walked perfectly towards the place he was going. Finally, we arrive at an old inn, the Inn of the Dreams.
"Thank you very much sir." – I thanked him.
"Pak is my name." – he said, then he keeps walking to another direction.
Once that man disappeared from my sight, I entered the inn, I got a room for some Skols, it was cheap, it included even two food service, once I was hungry, I could walk to the dinner room and ask for something to eat.
It was already noon, and I was in the room where I would spend the night.
I fell to my knees and put my face on the bed, wishing that everything that happened this morning was just a terrible nightmare, that I still was strong and not a weakly, that my dream to become an adventurer was not about to end without even having started.
"Damn." – I want to cry, I want to scream, but that was childly, I am an adult now.
My fight if it could be called that, against Gladius was a disaster for me, I couldn't even touch him, give him only one certain hit, nothing, he just played with me, I was not even a danger to him, I was just a kid trying to fight with an adult.
And, give was not even as strong as Urs and his friend, al contrary, he was a lot weaker than them.
So that means that there were even more people stronger than Gladius, and a lot of more people stronger that I, thinking about that make me depressed a lot more.
I was strong, that was true, but only and my village and little towns, but here, in the city, I was weak, that was also true.
I could have spent the rest of the afternoon lamenting my situation, but my stomach started to rumble, I was hungry, so I decided to eat.
I was already sitting in a chair, the table I used was the only one free now, it seems I came in a rush hour were everyone eats. I tell the waiter my order, and then I wait.
Sunk in misery with the memories of what happened in the morning.
It was only my first day in the City of Mara and I was already feeling so down… then…
"Excuse me, can I sit here?" – asked me a young man with gray hair and eyes. – "All the other tables and seats are taken, so…"
"No problem." – I said with a low voice.
"Thanks." – he said as he sat down in one chair, then he asked a waiter for his order, and then, put his head in the table, sighing.
"Bad day?" – I asked him when I realize that he, also like me was depressed.
"Yes." – he said almost in a sigh, causing me a slight laugh.
"Me too." – I said to him, then I explained him why I was depressed. – "Today I went to register as an adventurer at the Adventurer's Guild, and my examiner was…"
"A bald man with a scar in for of T in his forehead and immensely strong that he defeats you with…"
"Such an easily way that I could even give him a hit."
The two of us looked at each other, and then, we start to laugh.
"Hahaha, so you also suffered at the hands of that man."
"Yes." – I said.
"Do you think they will pass us?"
"I do not know, with both fail to hit him."
"Right."
From then on, we began to chat, we spent hours chatting, until we were the only ones in the inn's dining room, a dim candlelight was the only thing that illuminated us. We chatted about various things, our dreams and aspirations, our lives, and families, and why we wanted to be adventurers.
Results that his grandfather was a little famous adventurer, known in his town as the strongest, and his grandfather always told him about his adventurers, since then, he only wants to be like his grandfather, an adventurer who gets to know the world, our world.
That day was the day I met my best friend.
"I'm Armando." – I said to him my name before with part ways to going to sleep, remembering that neither of us had introduced ourselves or said our names yet, despite having talked about so many things of our lives.
He laughed a little embarrassed and reached for his hand.
"Clinton." – he said.
I shake his hand with a little force, to which he responded with the same strength, the both of us said: "" Nice to meet you.""
We both go to sleep, and the next morning, both of us are walking to the adventurer's guild when we heard.
"¡A thief!" – screamed a woman whose money was taken from her, the thief was fast and was already far away from us, so it was impossible for both me and Clinton to get him, but then, we saw an arrow going straight to that thief leg and then I huge screamed of pain came from the thief's mouth.
Clinton and I looked behind to see a man with brown eyes and hair carrying a bow, he smiled at the sight of the thief in the ground crying like a baby.
"Nice shot." – said Clinton to him.
"But of course, who do you believe I am." – said with a little arrogancy the man.
"An archer?" – I asked.
"Ja." – he simply laughs at my question, and then he said – "I am Lapz, the best archer of the City of Mara."
Then he runs to where the thief is.
"Come on, we need to go to get our results." – said Clinton.
"Yes."
Then we arrived and received the results, results with didn't believe we had.
"Approved?!" – I asked excited.
"But we fail." – said Clinton.
It was Gladius and not the receptionist who answer our doubts.
"You fail to hit me, but both of you show some good traits that all adventurers need to have." – said Gladius. – "Our world is a beautiful but cruel world, when there is a lot of strong people and monster, but you just have started your journeys, you're weak and have a lot to learn but, you're youngster who already have the hearts of adventurers, so of course that you both approved."
"Congratulations." – said the brunette receptionist.
"We made it." – said Clinton crying.
I want to laugh, but I was also crying.
I made it, I was an adventurer, and this was only the start of my new life.