[Lira's Guild – Entry Test Results]
Applicant: Lily Padstow
~ Theory Exam: A
~ Practical Exam: E
~ Final Result: Unsuccessful
Dear Lily Padstow,
Thank you for participating in the Lira's Guild Entry Assessment.
While your theoretical knowledge was outstanding, your practical performance did not meet the threshold required for full guild membership at this time. Additionally, your current skill set has been deemed difficult to apply tactically in field operations.
That said, this is not the end of your journey.
We recognize potential in your performance and would like to extend an invitation to join our Newbie Ranks. This program offers structured training, mentorship, and opportunities to develop your abilities in preparation for next year's entry trial.
We believe in growth. And we believe in you.
Please report to the guild hall by next week to begin orientation and onboarding.
With determination,
Lira's Guild Admissions Team]
It was like a dream. One she didn't know would actually come to pass.
"So I didn't get in?" she whispered, setting down the paper as she looked up.
A streak of tears almost rolled down her cheeks, but she held it in so no one in the guild would notice.
'They were right afterall....my abilities are useless'
She pulled herself together and made it to the door, avoiding everyone who came in her way.
She went through the front entrance this time since the back was now closed. The only thing on her mind was getting home at this point.
'I actually failed... I still can't believe it. Even though this was exactly what I was expecting but it still hurts like hell!'
She moved out of the guild front entrance slowly, holding the gate pillars strongly like a drunkard who had reached his limit for the day.
The emotions stirring within her were slowly becoming unbearable as she took each step, the letter hanging on her fingertips.
She shuffled her feet against the cemented side walk, like each step was a burden she just couldn't bear.
'So this is what people feel like when they don't pass an exam, this feels so cruel!'
She was so lost in thought. She didn't realize she'd wandered into the busy side of the sidewalk, where pedestrians rushed past and everyone was expected to move in as fast.
She bumped into someone staring down on the sidewalk without realising she had long left the guilds perimeters.
"Hey!! Be careful and watch where you're going!" He barked, pulling his finger out while holding his back with the other.
"Sorry," she raised her head to see who it was.
He was an older man, looking like someone in his mid thirties. He had a stressed expression like he was working four to five jobs per day.
He had slightly started growing grey hairs from the corners of his beards and hairline, and his skin hard already started showing signs of old age.
He was slightly taller than her, and his shoulders weren't broad. So was his body. It rather looked like any regular body build, with nothing astonishing about it.
"I'm sorry, sir," she repeated, now that she had seen him.
She shook her head, placing her palms over her face as she pulled herself together. Then, with a quick act of slapping her cheeks with both her palms, she raised her head.
'I need to be more focused now. I'm on the road so I don't get into any accident!'
With a heavy sigh, she continued moving forward, taking the longer route home since she had already started going through it and couldn't turn back now.
________________________________________
After a long while, she arrived home, tired from the long walk. She was visibly sweating from all the wrong places.
Using her fingers, she cleaned off the sweat that formed across her forehead and cheeks and sprinkled it on the front porch where she stood.
"Remind me to never take that route again!" She murmured to herself as she clicked the door and slid it wide open, revealing the living room.
She tried moving forward when she realised her back was heavy for some reason, and she recalled she was still carrying her bag.
'Probably part of the reason I'm so tired'
She went to the kitchen to grab a cup of water, and there she met her dad sitting on one of the dining chairs with his hands folded and his expression was sour.
'Here we go again...'
She sighed heavily and stepped through the threshold and noticed her whole family was sitting there as well, not just her father.
Her mother's usually bright face was clouded with a worrying expression. Her siblings sat on the other row of seats, confused about why they were all sitting together without eating.
"Good evening, dad. Good evening, mom." She said, moving toward the dispenser as she tried to avoid any form of argument.
"Young lady!, where do you think you're going to?" He barked, his voice deep and oppressing as he stood up from his chair.
His full frame came into view then. He was at least a foot taller than her, his height unmistakably imposing.
Lily had inherited most of her athletic build from him, while her slim waist and curvier features came from her mother.
His broad shoulders carried an ominous weight, the kind that could intimidate anyone who hadn't lived under the same roof with him for years.
The unshaved white beard only sharpened the severity of his glare, puffed out just enough to give him that constant, grizzled edge.
And his expression, always so rigid, it was hard to tell when he was actually happy. Only his family could read past the stone face.
"Why are you coming home by this time? I saw your friends and spoke to them on my way home. They said you left early, so explain yourself, "
'How do I tell him this without getting him angry now?'
She turned to him with a cup gripped tightly in her hands.
"Actually, I left school and headed over to the guild to check my results on the exam," she answered, hoping for a positive reply.
"You're still going on about that? Don't you know when to quit?!" His voice raised, echoing the walls of the dining room.
"I've told you countless times to forget it and focus on something that is guaranteed to earn you while keeping you safe, and now you go as far as risking your life by coming home late?!"
"It's not like that, dad. I'm going for something I want, not something society or you want!" She answered back.
"What I want is something good for you, not something that would risk your entire life. I am much older than you and therefore you should respect my decision without talking back!"
'He didn't even ask how I did on the exam!, tsk! Typical parents'
"I want to be someone well known in future, I don't want to end up like you in future dad!" She mistakenly spouted, covering her mouth with her hands afterwards.
"What? Is that what you think of me?" His voice lowered a bit, his expression darkening as his muscles contracted.
She opened her mouth to reply but she didn't even let her speak, with a loud voice he responded.
"Now I see it, you're completely delusional. Look at yourself! There's nothing special about you. No skills, no real talent."
"Let me do you a favour and snap you out of that pathetic little dream. You're average."
"The only shot you have at success is if you accept the truth and leave greatness to those who were born for it."
Her eyes widened as she listened to everything her dad said, even her mother had to stand up from her chair and stop him from continuing.
"Don't say stuff like that, Gerald!" Her mother interrupted, stopping him from going on.
Her legs began trembling slightly as tears rolled down her face. She held the table close to her as support.
"I didn't know that's how you saw me, dad," she murmured, trying to hold back her tears.
Her mom walked up to her and held her shoulders.
"I know what your dad said was wrong and rude, but he's not fully wrong. This may be your sign to head to college instead, Lily,"
'Of course you'd side with your husband, I mean, why not? You both think the same way,'
"I can't do that, mom. Dungeon hunting is my calling, and I'm not going to change my mind!" She responded, wiping off the tears that threatened to roll down her face.
"See young lady, it's either you listen to your mother and change your mind or you leave this house!" He threatened, glaring at her without a sign of emotion.
"If that's what you want, so be it then!" She barked back, pushing off her mother's hand and running up the stairs without a second thought.
"Lily! Come back here this instant!" Her father called out behind her.
She reached her room and shut the door with a loud bang.
Her father was forced to almost climb the stairs, but his wife held him back.
"Don't. She's still a child. Let her have this moment."
He glanced back at her and sighed before walking out of the room.
"She'll see what I'll do if she doesn't behave herself"