Roke stepped out of the elevator, contract in hand. He was at a loss, but he knew one thing for certain: he had to speak with Sevin.
"Hey, Roke, you're lucky, you know?" The dark-haired attendant was right there.
"She doesn't choose just anyone…" But he cut her off before she could finish.
"I've got a friend; I can't leave him hanging." He said, his face suddenly hardening.
The elevator reached the ground floor; Sevin was still there, waiting for him.
The attendant headed in a different direction, leaving Roke behind.
"Look who finally showed up!" Sevin said brightly, sounding relieved to see him.
Roke didn't say a word; he simply picked a chair and sat, sliding the contract onto the table.
"I got an invitation to start a guild... with Mary," he said, not breaking his serious tone.
"Dude, Mary? She's a big deal around here."
"Lucky you," Sevin said, exhaling slowly.
Roke shot up from his chair and brought both fists down hard on the table. "I'm not accepting this, damn it!" he yelled.
Sevin was left wearing a look of pure confusion.
Then someone else stepped up and slammed the table just as hard as Roke had.
"Oh, you're accepting it, dammit," the voice commanded.
Roke and Sevin whipped their heads around to see Mary smiling back at them.
"Oh, come on, guys!" she said, her tone bordering on a plea.
"I'm only in if he's in," Roke said, looking ahead at Sevin and pointing his way.
A massive grin broke across her face. She spun around and started walking off, practically skipping with happiness.
Without slowing down, she beckoned them with a wave of her hand.
She hit the call button, and they waited in silence for the elevator to descend.
When it finally arrived, the three of them stepped in.
She hit the button for the 70th floor, they were going to see her grandfather to sign the guild contract.
When the doors finally slid open, two burly men were standing there; their mere presence was enough to send a chill down your spine.
One of them brushed past Roke and Sevin, focusing entirely on Mary.
"Hey there, gorgeous, about our guild..." But before he could get another word out, she walked right past him, leaving him speaking to thin air.
They made a right and headed up a short flight of stairs, eventually coming to a stop in front of the Tower Boss door.
Mary burst through the door. "Grandpa, I've got the guild's first members!"
The Boss spotted a new face and immediately extended his hand for a handshake.
"You must be Sevin," he said, a half-smile playing on his lips.
"That's me," Sevin replied, well aware that the man likely kept a record of every adventurer in the tower.
The Boss walked over to the desk and pulled out chairs for both of them.
They took their seats; Roke laid his contract on the table while Mary brought over another copy, handing it to Sevin.
And then, they signed.
As they handed the documents back, the Boss offered a hand to Roke and then to Sevin.
"Welcome, adventurers."
"Thank you, Boss," the three of them said in unison.
And they began to leave the Boss's office one by one; they now needed to go to the correct floor for their guild.
As beginners, their guild was starting at Rank E, Level 1.
They hopped into the elevator and hit the button for the first floor.
"Let's go on our first mission!" Roke yelled as the elevator descended.
"Heck yeah, let's do it!" Mary yelled back.
The elevator came to a halt on the first floor.
They stepped out and made a right; there, they saw a variety of missions pinned to the wall, waiting to be chosen.
Just then, a blonde attendant approached. "Do you guys need any help?"
"We're looking for our first mission!" they said, practically beaming with excitement.
The attendant smiled. "First things first, you need to pick a name for your guild."
"What? Mary, I thought you already picked one out." Mary let out a loud laugh.
"Hahaha, I can't believe you guys didn't actually read the contract!" she said, still cracking up.
They started brainstorming potential names for the guild.
But right in the middle of their debate, one of the three men who had attacked Mary the other day appeared out of nowhere, slamming his fist onto their table.
All three of them were caught off guard.
"You nearly gave us a heart attack! What's wrong with you?" he snapped, his face twisted in irritation.
"Messing with one of our friends really backfired on you, didn't it?" Roke began to roar with laughter.
"You and your friends were lucky to make it out alive," Roke added, his mind drifting back to the encounter near the black market.
The man's face turned bright red with fury. "You're lucky this is a no-combat zone," he spat.
With that, he turned on his heel and stomped away, fuming.
"Seriously, guys? The guild's barely official and we've already got enemies. Thanks a lot, you two, hahaha," Sevin joked.
Roke waved it off. "He's a nobody. Let's focus on what actually matters."
And the group went back to discussing the guild's name.
Roke declared, "The name of our guild will be 'True Friends.'"
"Hahaha, that's a terrible name!" Sevin retorted, cracking up.
Mary joined in the laughter. "You have many talents, Roke, but naming things is definitely not one of them."
They spent hours talking, trying to reach a consensus. Roke kept throwing out suggestions about friendship and the group, but all he did was send them into fresh fits of laughter.
Finally, Sevin stepped up and said, "Man, I've got an idea."
"What about 'Hunter's Light'?" Sevin suggested, a smile spreading across his face.
"Whoa, that's an awesome name!" Roke exclaimed, clearly loving it.
"Wait, let me think... Wow. That's actually incredible," Mary said, a grin lighting up her face.
They got up and headed over to the counter, telling the blonde attendant, "We've finally picked a name."
They told her "Hunter's Light," and she officially registered the guild within the tower's records.
The moment the registration was complete, the attendant received a call from the Tower Boss.
She walked over to the Hunter's Light guild and said, "The Boss is calling for you."
So they left and headed back to him, taking the elevator up to the 70th floor. When they arrived, they walked through the door, which was already open, and didn't even have time to sit down.
He spoke up: "Are you all ready for your first mission?"