Eijun stood in front of a towering, brick building, townies bustling past him on the busy street; he paid them no heed as he gazed up at it in awe. It wasn't the exterior that amazed him, but what it represented and the reputation it held. Before him, stood the home base of one of the highest-ranked Raid Guilds, Seido. It was said that their main raiding unit could brute force their way through the toughest of bosses, claiming their rewards in record time, ensuring they were all equipped with the best gear. Though, considering they had the infamous Miyuki Kazuya, a Seido Lieutenant, had to have helped on top of their already large arsenal of heavy hitters. Miyuki was a rarity among tank classes, as a Warden. Wardens were capable of either being bulky or dishing out damage; however, Miyuki was able to switch freely between defense and offense. With the ability to take hits when needed, to deal out hard-hitting blows to bosses during burst DPS periods, allowing their party to take the monsters down faster than most.

Apparently, to this day, other guilds continuously try to recruit Miyuki for themselves. Even Eijun, from a small town in the outskirts, had heard his name in passing.

Recently, Eijun's previous guild, Akagi, had, unfortunately, disbanded due to a lack of funds. It had been small, created and led by Eijun himself with a handful of his childhood friends. They hadn't been strong or large enough to attempt full-on raids, but that never stopped them from diving headfirst into some of the dungeons that appeared near their little town. While the rewards from those were minimal and hardly earned them anything more than several silvers, it had been fun. So much so, that Eijun was heartbroken when the Guild Master sent them a letter, informing them that their monthly fee had been short, again. The Guild Master "requested" they disband, and that all their funds were to be halted.

To create a guild, one had to approach the Guild Masters with a name, fifty gold, and at least six people willing to apply. New guilds start at rank one, limiting the max amount of people able to join. To increase the rank required contribution to the Guild Masters via monthly fees. When a required amount was reached, the guild would be eligible to apply for an upgrade, and with it, came added bonuses such as max member increase, more funds, a guildhall, and so on. Of course, those that had the money could pay to jump ranks right off the bat; they also tended to have the best gear gold could buy on top of their snobby attitudes. Eijun didn't like them, he believed in earning his place through blood, sweat, and tears. He does not respect people that buy their way to the top as opposed to those who make the effort to learn and master their class. Eijun wants to be recognized for his renowned strength and not for his money -which he doesn't have, anyway.

Guilds have multiple ways of earning gold. When a guild is created, the Guild Leader will select a purpose their guild will take. The most common is Farming guilds. They take pride in obtaining any and all material, whether that be minerals, food, or rare drops from beasts that roam the lands. If you need it, they have it; in large quantities. Then there are the Crafting guilds who specialize in creating high-grade materials and gear. They do a lot of business with the Farming guilds. The most dangerous are the Raid guilds. They consist of some of the strongest people in the world, many revered them for their prowess. Because they venture into the bowels containing the most deadly of beasts, their fatality rate was high, causing them to consistently recruit new members; however, the rewards for clearing a raid were astronomical, making the risk well worth it. And lastly, there were the Duel guilds; they were uncommon as their sole focus was to win duels or tournaments for the prize money. A lot of those guilds were led by the rich, as duels were one of the few places where having top-tier gear paired with shitty skill could still amount to a win, by hiring someone who actually had talent. Duel guilds tended to attract violent people; people that just wanted the excuse to fight others without repercussions, with the added bonus of gold if they won.

Eijun had created his previous guild with the intent to join the ranks with the other top raiders, but those plans fell through. He had misjudged how difficult it would be to earn money running through dungeons, at least, the dungeons that appeared near them didn't amount to much.

Scouts from bigger guilds occasionally traveled in search of potential members. As the higher-ranked the guild, the harder it was to get in. With smaller guilds, joining was as easy as applying for a position. While the more prestigious required invitation or thorough testing of abilities before they accept anyone.

So apparently, one had stealthed into a dungeon he and his guildmates were running, observing their fight from obscurity in the shadows. She approached Eijun as they escaped from a failed attempt, for the fourth time. It was a dungeon they had been struggling to clear, making it to the last boss, but unable to defeat it, and instead, forcing them to flee to stock up again on potions and regroup. Wakana was a decent tank; however, Eijun couldn't help but pull aggro from her by out-damaging her threat level, resulting in the boss chasing after him with the others following behind it. Needless to say, Eijun was surprised he caught the attention of a scout from another guild. She had introduced herself as Takashima Rei, an Assassin, and scout from the prestigious Seido. Initially, he had turned her down, preferring to continue on with his friends. Shortly after, the letter from the Guild Master came in, forcing them to disband. Later that evening, his former guildmates cornered him, expressing their desires to see him improve. Saying things about how out of all of them, Eijun showed the most potential and had the most interest in climbing to the top. They had eventually convinced him to take up Seido's invitation, as it was rare for large guilds to hand them out to those so far from the bigger cities.

He had to scour through the mess in his room for the little strip of parchment that Ms. Takashima had slipped into one of his pouches, unnoticed. When he discovered it, he almost immediately disposed of it; however, a tiny voice in his head told him that he should hold on to it, and now he was glad he did. On it, an address and time for the new Seido recruits to arrive were scrawled in swoopy letters.

His family and former guildmates saw him off at the town's local Warp Point in a teary farewell. Eijun told the Dimensional Guide, who manages the portal, the coordinates he wished to travel; handing her a handful of silver and bronze coins. The violet scar that cut through the dimensions flickered briefly, revealing the over-populated town, Tokyo. With a deep breath and additional parting words, he traversed through.

Stepping through a Warp Point was disorienting, as his surroundings abruptly changed. It beat traveling by foot or mount, as those options would have taken days to travel. Eijun hadn't even obtained a mount; never had the need, and even if he did, they were costly. But maybe after joining Seido, he'll finally start earning some gold coins to obtain such luxuries.

It took him longer than anticipated to find the guild's location in the labyrinth of buildings that, in Eijun's opinion, appeared identical. After stopping to ask several of the locals for directions, he finally located his destination, though he was running late at that point. He knew it was the right place by the bold lettering above the wooden double-door that clearly spelled out Seido. Eijun was just gearing up his nerves to push through the door, adjusting his grip on the strap of his bag that he slung over his shoulder, when, someone tall bumped into his side, causing Eijun to stumble forward, sack sliding down his arm; spilling half its contents onto the stone under his feet.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Eijun exclaimed in irritation; tilting his bag upright to prevent the rest of his belongings from meeting the same fate. The man paused, turning to glance down at Eijun, revealing his youth with straight black hair that hung into his expressionless face. He seemed to size Eijun up before simply spinning back around, and continuing through the door and into Seido, without a single word; no apology. Eijun growled, scooping his items haphazardly back into his bag, barely taking the time to make sure it was closed properly, he barged through the doors, chasing after the asshole.

"Hey!" Eijun repeated as he stomped through the threshold, eyes zeroing in on the guy's back where a long staff was attached, "if you're not gonna apologize, then you can at least say excuse me!" Immediately, Eijun realized how quiet the room was, and came to an abrupt halt. The area appeared to be a lavish waiting room and lounge. Plush couches were pushed against the walls, and a desk directly across the entrance, where a young girl with shoulder-length, black hair stood behind; sheaves of paper neatly piled on the surface. Someone stood in front of her, quill in his frozen hand, head craned around to face the entryway. Several others stood around the room, and a few were seated on the couches. All of which paused their conversations at his outburst; staring. All except the one he was addressing, who merely stepped in line to await his turn, completely ignoring Eijun.

Embarrassed, Eijun laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head with his free hand. As everyone resumed their previous tasks, Eijun let the laughter trail off, slinking his way to the end of the line, right behind his assailant. Immediately, he began to seethe, glaring holes into the back of the guy's head, wanting to speak out, but he had already made a poor first impression with his possible soon-to-be guildmates. With great effort, he kept his mouth shut, while he waited impatiently for the queue to move forward.

After copious minutes, and several times of needlessly adjusting his bag later, he was finally second in line. Eijun was spacing out when he heard the guy in front of him respond to the Guild Host's questions in monotonous, short answers. His name was Furuya Satoru. He was a Sorcerer, and his reason for applying was because every tank he ran dungeons with sucked. Eijun drowned out the rest, instead eyeing some of the others around the room. No one else really stood out immediately, other than a boy with pink hair that covered his eyes and a long sword strapped to his petite frame. Eijun had to wonder if he could even wield it properly; the thing had to weigh more than the boy, and how he wasn't toppling over with its mass was unknown. Sitting as far as possible away from the rest, was a girl -the only female new recruit- with auburn hair pulled into a low side ponytail. Her posture was stiff, back ramrod straight with her hands clasped tightly in her lap; gaze focused on the wooden floor.

"Next!" A female voice cut through the quiet murmurings of those waiting. Eijun whipped his head around, revealing that the tall guy, Furuya, was already gone. A quick scan around showed that he migrated to one of the least occupied couches to await further instruction like the rest. The Guild Host cleared her throat, drawing Eijun's attention to her. Eyebrows slightly furrowed, and mouth set in a firm line gave away her irritation at Eijun's distraction. He hastily sidled up to the desk as she pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. "Name?"

"Sawamura Eijun!", He responded, a tad too loudly and rushed; inwardly cringing at his inability to control his volume. "And may I ask yours, madam?" He quickly asked. She startled briefly from where she was scrawling his name across the top of the paper, glancing up to regard him curiously.

"Fujiwara Takako." She answered with a smile "Your class?" She continued.

"I'm a Summoner," Eijun replied confidently, hands on his hips, and a wide grin spread across his face. Fujiwara paused, raising a single eyebrow at him before scribbling that down under his name, finishing by drawing a rough circle around his class.

"Why did you decide to apply for Seido?"

"Easy! I wanna be the strongest ranged damage dealer!" He punctuated his response with a laugh, again causing the room to fall silent. Fujiwara stared, offering a small chuckle at his expense, as that too, was written down.

"Where are you from?"

'I hail from the great lands of Nagano!"

"Age?"

"I've been alive for sixteen years!"

"Do you have a secondary job?"

"Nope!" Jobs could be taken up alongside a class to help earn an extra copper. They consist of foraging, fishing, alchemy, ironworks, and tailoring. Those that specialize or enjoy their job are more likely to join Crafting Guilds or start their own small business. Eijun; however, has focused solely on combat, therefore, he hasn't even considered honing a new craft.

"What role do you prefer?"

"Main DPS!" Snickering sounded from somewhere behind him; with practiced ease, Eijun ignored whoever it was. However, that didn't stop him from reaching his hand down to rest on his spirit orb, strung onto his belt, for comfort. It hummed at his contact, easing his nerves slightly.

Several other mundane questions followed before Fujiwara informed him that they were complete, motioning for Eijun to take a seat. She stood, straightening her stack of paper neatly as she announced that she was bringing the documents to the Guild Leader and that they will have to wait a bit longer. Hands full, she headed up the staircase tucked against the far wall, disappearing from sight.

Eijun glanced around, looking for a place to sit, but everyone was either already making friends and grouped up, or were side-eyeing him. All of them, however, except for the girl and the boy with pink hair, though the latter he couldn't be sure as Eijun was unable to see his eyes. Both were rather close in proximity, farthest away from the front door.

Eijun decided he would go introduce himself.

As he made his way over, he noticed the exact moment the girl recognized that he was getting closer, as she sat impossibly straighter, eyes fixed ahead. Seeing her reaction, Eijun decided to start with the boy, closing the distance until Eijun situated himself in the space between them both; not too close, but still in decent conversing range.

"I'm Sawamura Eijun!" He introduced, plastering on a grin. The boy turned his head in Eijun's direction.

"I heard." The boy stated, Eijun laughed, "I'm Kominato Haruichi."

"What class are you?" Eijun inquired, eyeing up the sword. "I'm a Summoner!" Eijun repeated needlessly, gesturing to his spirit orb.

"A Blade Master," Kominato replied. Eijun was curious about how well he handled his weapon; he's never seen someone with such a slim frame take on the Blade Master class. The ones he has seen had the standard size sword, Kominato's blade was longer and a few inches wider than average.

"What about you?" Eijun directed the question to the girl, who was visibly startled with a squeak, head whipping around and wide-eyed. She didn't respond right away, seemingly processing what was asked.

"Yoshikawa Haruno." She said quietly, "And I'm a Cleric." Eijun raised his eyebrows in surprise. While tanks were pretty hard to come by, especially good ones, healers were even harder to find amidst a world of damage dealers. Unfortunately, pure damage can only carry so far before it gets to a point where potions aren't enough. A lot of healers don't make it out of dungeons or raids, leading them to join non-combat-focused guilds or settle for healing people off the streets rather than follow them into lairs. As a Summoner, Eijun had a few minor healing abilities, but even those were no match for classes like Clerics who specialized in the art.

Footsteps on the stairs halted further conversation as everyone turned to see who was coming down. A tall man with slicked-back hair and strange, tinted spectacles stepped off the last step followed by the scout, Ms. Takashima. Instinctively, all that had been seated, rose at his entrance. The man walked to the center of the room where he could easily appraise everyone, gaze shifting over each recruit in turn. Yoshikawa, Kominato, and Eijun were the last few to fall under his inspection before the man spoke.

"My name is Kataoka Tesshin, and I am Seido's Guild Leader." He announced, eyes roving over them all once more, "This," He continued, hand gesturing to Ms. Takashima, "is my assistant, Takashima Rei." Kataoka paused again, "I would introduce your Captain, however, he is still away with the first string, but should return within the next few days. In the meantime, I welcome you all to Seido, and I expect to see all of your potentials grow while you are here."

Eijun felt butterflies flutter away in his stomach as his mouth stretched into the biggest grin; brimming with excitement.

A/N: For anyone who may not know DPS = Damage Per Second