6

Before we could walk off, Valor himself, along with a sharp-dressed man, approached us. I guess having four S-Rank elements is a big deal.

"Violet, hmm?" Valor clasped his hands behind his back, giving her an appraising look. "It's been a while since we've seen someone brimming with so much potential. Thoughts on joining our guild?"

"No thanks." Violet didn't even blink before shutting him down.

I mean, huge perks, though.

"That's a shame." Valor barely looked fazed. "Mind if I ask why?"

"None of your business." She crossed her arms.

Alright, Violet. We get it, you're cool.

Valor just smiled. "Fair enough."

"Anyway," he continued, "why don't you all test your strengths at the sparring grounds? Your group has quite a few strong individuals."

"I don't want to beat up weaklings," Violet replied flatly.

"Such arrogance," the man beside Valor scoffed.

"It's confidence when you have the strength to back it."

Valor let out a hearty laugh. "You're an interesting one." He turned his back on us. "We'll meet again."

And with that, he walked off, his underling trailing behind.

"I get that you're strong and all, but is it smart to antagonize someone like him?" Elias asked, clearly concerned.

"Shut the fuck up."

Ah, there she is. The real Violet.

Elias sighed, rubbing his temples. "Great. Now there are two of them."

Poor guy.

"So, should we check out the sparring ground?" Mila suggested.

"Didn't think you'd be into fighting," Etsu grinned. "That's good. Let's go fight some dude!"

"I don't actually plan on fighting. I just want to watch."

"I'm not fighting either," I added. I, Rin, in all honest, could be folded by a pre-schooler if we ignore the magic. Not exactly eager to prove that.

"Come on, dude! Don't be so boring!" Etsu slapped my back, nearly knocking the wind out of me. "What about the midget?"

"M—WHAT!?" Renia snapped, eyes flaring. "You monkey. Fight. Now."

Heights a sore spot Etsu. I'll be praying for you.

"That's the spirit! Come to the sparring ground."

"Bring it on, bitch! Renia's going to bury you alive!"

The two marched off, fully fired up. Good for them, I guess.

"Wait for me!" Mila ran after them, dragging a reluctant Elias along.

I turned to Violet. "What about you?"

"Pointless. I have better things to do. Farewell."

"Uh, wait."

She paused, tilting her head slightly. "Hmm?"

I scratched the back of my head. "I uh… Sorry I guess. You know, for earlier."

She stared for a moment before shrugging. "It's fine."

And with that, she walked away.

Guess I should join the others. Though, knowing Renia, I should probably check on Etsu before he gets himself hospitalized.

Just as I was about to leave, I caught sight of a girl looking overwhelmed. She scanned the crowd frantically before locking eyes with me. Her whole face lit up as she practically ran over.

I waved her over. "Sheesh, chill, Mike."

I kind of get her though. Imagine getting lost in a different world with no one you know. And just when you meet with a few individuals, they too dissapear, leaving you lost. How do you navigate any further from that?

She doubled over, gasping for air. Poor girl must've been running all over looking for us.

"You didn't have to sprint. I am not going anywhere."

She nodded, still catching her breath. "W-where are the others?"

"Sparring. Etsu pissed off Renia."

"Oh..." She hesitated before mumbling, "W-were you waiting for m-me?"

"Ah. Y-yeah, I guess." I kinda forgot her. Sorry, Mike. I'll make it up to you by never forgetting your name again.

Her face turned pink as she whispered, "T-thank you..."

Guess we're both not used to running. Best pals, yay.

"Come on, let's go join them."

"Y-yes."

—

The sparring ground was packed. Among the fighters, two new faces stood out—a girl with long brown hair and a guy who looked as built as Etsu, but with sharper features.

"Talk of the devil, he's here," Etsu grinned as I approached.

"Yo, what's going on?"

The new guy stomped toward me, eyes burning. "We are fighting, that's what's going on."

Wait a fucking minute.

"Huh? What for?"

"Your girl disrespected my woman and me."

Renia… I swear.

"Look, man, I don't want to fight. I can apologize for her, or make her apologize if what she said really upset you."

"It's too late for apologies!" He stepped closer, fists clenched.

Okay. Not reasonable. Only one way out of this.

"You sure you wanna embarrass yourself in front of your girl?"

His jaw tightened. "I can see where your girl got that shitty mouth from."

A vein popped on his forehead as he took another step forward.

"Not too late to back off," I warned.

"What? Don't tell me you're scared, boy." He smirked.

"Yeah. Really scared~"

"You're done!" He lunged.

I sighed. 'Minor Earthquake.'

The ground beneath him cracked, making him stumble. He fell face-first into the dirt.

Oops. Shouldn't let emotions get the best of you. Then again, who am I to judge? Many a times have i let my emotions guide me.

I summoned my staff and pointed it at him. 'Ice Shards.' Three sharp icicles materialized above, ready to fire.

"We can stop here."

"Like hell!" He tried to get up.

"That's enough, Will!" The girl finally stepped in, grabbing his arm. She turned to me and bowed slightly. "I'm sorry for him. He's not usually like this. But your girlfriend's words really hurt him. He just wanted to stand up for me."

"I get it," I said. "Renia can be… disrespectful. I'll talk to her."

"No, it's fine. Let's just forget it." She sighed. "I'm Alice, by the way. And this is Will."

"Rin."

She helped Will up, who clicked his tongue but didn't say anything. "See you around."

I turned to Renia. "What did you say?"

"Hmph. Renia just stated facts."

"And those facts were?"

"Basically," Mila cut in, "Will was sparring, and his girlfriend was hyping him up. Then Renia jumped in and said you were better. And, well... That spiralled into the current situation."

I sighed and walked up to Renia, cupping her face in my hands, making her look at me. "I'm upset. Don't do that again, okay? You're making problems for me."

Her expression faltered before she latched onto me. "Fine... but please don't be upset at Renia."

Good enough.

Renia clung to me, purring like a satisfied cat. The others exchanged glances, clearly used to this by now. Mila was the first to break the silence, hands on her hips.

"So, what now?"

I tried to pry Renia off, but she only tightened her grip. "Have you all decided on a guild?"

"A guild, huh?" Etsu rubbed his chin. "That could be fun. I wonder which one's the strongest?"

"It's Starborn, don't you pay any attention?" Elias adjusted his glasses. "Valor doesn't seem like the type to run anything less than top-tier."

"Were any of you invited?" I asked, looking between them.

"Two guilds approached me," Mila said, tapping her chin. "I, uh… forgot the names."

"Elias and I got nothing," Etsu added with a shrug. "Mediocre affinities, remember?"

Well, not everyone is going to be a mage, so that's to be expected.

"What about you, Mike?" I asked.

Mila tilted her head. "Mike? Who's Mike? Did you already make a new friend?"

I turned to her, confused. "What? She's been with us the whole time." I pointed at Mike.

Mila blinked, then burst out laughing.

"Ahaha, it's Mini, Rin. Not Mike!"

"Ah."

So… I've been calling her the wrong name this whole time? And she never corrected me?

"Why didn't you say something?" I asked.

Mini fidgeted, staring at the ground. "I-I-I… um…"

Yeah no way I am getting anything out of her.

"Anyway, did you get invited to any guilds?"

"Y-yes… but I-I didn't accept yet…"

"I have an idea," Elias suddenly grinned. "Let's start out own guild."

We all turned to him.

"You wanna start a guild?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah!" He adjusted his glasses dramatically. "Think about it. We've got a strong team already. If we form our own guild, we won't have to answer to anyone. Plus, I already have the perfect name—The Empire!"

"The Empire?" I repeated. I can't really judge with my god horrendous naming skills.

"Cool, right?"

"Sounds kinda villainous," Etsu muttered.

"It sounds grand," Elias corrected, puffing up. "Picture this—one of us gets hurt, and we say, 'You mess with me, you mess with The Empire.'"

This guy, man.

Elias turned to me. "You can be Vice Guildmaster, Rin."

I blinked. "Why me?"

"You're smart, strong, and have leadership potential," he said matter-of-factly. "And, well, Renia would probably stage a coup if I didn't offer you a high rank."

"Damn right," Renia said, gripping my arm tighter.

What do you think I am, some kind of tactical genius? I have 1k Elo in chess sir and my only management experience comes from running a farm in some game.

"Ah, are you from a world combat is normal?"

Clearly one wouldn't be stupid enough to start a guild if they had no experience. So they must be from some combat-heavy planet.

"I mean, Earth could be classified as such no?" Elias looked at Etsu.

"Probably, but Earth is the pinnacle of mediocrity. No special abilities, no magic, nothing."

"Earth huh? So do you have any combat experiences?"

"Yep," Etsu grinned. "We play video games and watch anime."

"I see." I sighed. So just like our world. Why would you create a guild with bunch of inexperienced newbies?

"Wait, where are you from, then?" Elias asked.

"Veyna," I answered. "It's basically Earth, just… different."

"Same for me and Rin," Mila added.

"If you guys wanna form a guild, go ahead," I said. "But I'd rather join an existing one first, at least to get a feel for how things work."

"Tch. Boring," Elias muttered.

"Oh, come on, Rin! It could be fun!" Mila chimed in.

"She gets it!" Elias nodded dramatically, wiping imaginary tears from his eyes.

"Ren, persuade him for big sis!" Mila giggled.

"Huh? No way~ Renia's always on Rin's side."

"Creating a guild with no experience is basically suicide. We don't even have anyone capable," I pointed out.

"If we recruit some people, maybe it could work?" Etsu suggested.

"Yes, and if it doesn't, you can leave after a few days," Elias added. "You and Renia are strong, so you'd have no problem finding another guild."

"And this way, I get to stay close to Renia too! Hehe!" Mila grinned.

I sighed. "Fine. Jeez."

Worst case, I'd just leave. No big deal.

"Yay!" The three of them cheered in unison.

"What about you, Min—Mike?" Mila corrected herself mid-sentence, smirking.

"Please let it go, or I'm leaving," I mumbled.

"Hahaha, sorry, sorry! So, Mini?"

"Y-yes… I'd love to join!"

And just like that, our guild was formed. The Empire. Cheesy name, but it is what it is. Would we thrive? Or would we get crushed immediately?

Find out in the next episode of Drago—