Stepping outside the king's castle, a beautiful sight greeted them. The entire land of Astria, the forests and hills and faraway villages all lay before them. The castle was built this way on purpose, so whatever crisis may arise, the king could see it as it happened and act accordingly.
Surrounding this scenery was the strider's wall. It reached a hundred meters into the sky, standing vigilantly against all outside threats. The truth was that it had little use outside of a Downdraught, as flying enemies were dealt by a different brigade...
As they delved deeper into the city, Gabriel realized just how different this world was from his previous one. Astria's technological advancements were heavily influenced by the people they have summoned from different worlds. While the kingdom was frozen in a medieval age, the modern concepts and powerful magic allowed the making of larger buildings and far better infrastructure.
"Hey, Gabriel!" Naomi leaned close to him. "You saw that too, didn't you?"
"Saw what?"
"The ships in the sky! They were flying with wings and hot air balloons!"
Suzuki raised his hand and they've come to a halt. They've arrived at a large, lively bar. Warriors and mages walked in and out of the building with maps in hand. Above the door was a sign that displayed a dragon's head.
"Do you know what this is?" Suzuki asked with a smile.
"A pet shop!" Pepon answered.
"Wrong! This is a heroes' guild. It's also where we'll earn our sigil and begin our hero duties."
The heroes' guild had three separate parts. The first one had the reception and quest board, which was right at the entrance. Next to it was a small bar area where heroes could rest after a long day of work. The third one was for paying customers only and it was the private halls where heroes could spend the night.
A beautiful woman stood behind the receptionist's desk. As she saw Suzuki, her eyes lit up with excitement, which disappeared as soon as she saw the other heroes behind him.
"Welcome to the heroes' guild!" She forced a smile. "What can I do for you?"
"We've come to sign up as heroes."
"Wonderful! Before we begin, I have to ask you to pay the entry fee."
"Entry fee?" Naomi recoiled.
The king gave them food and temporary housing. However, they didn't get any money from him.
Thankfully, Suzuki had some spare coins.
"I will pay it for them."
"Oh… Are you sure?"
"One hundred percent!"
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Hesitantly at first, but the receptionist accepted the money and handed out the necessary forms. The boys were moved by Suzuki's kindness and they could barely contain their fanboyish joy.
Gabriel watched as the gold coins changed hands. There were so many of them that Suzuki had to keep them in a pouch.
The receptionist collected their papers and once she made sure everything was okay, she let them into a backstage area. There was only one door through which quiet music played.
"You can find Miss Vi over there. She will give you your Sigils." The receptionist said before returning to her post.
Behind that door was a small room full of trash. Amidst the empty soda cans and chips bags was a tattoo bed. On it was a small gun-looking item with ink attached.
The room appeared to be empty. As they slowly crept inside, Stevie noticed something in the window.
"Is that a radio?"
He walked over to the small device. It was playing music, though the quality was so low that it could be easily mistaken for static.
Stevie reached to turn off the music, but a hand appeared from the trash and stopped him.
"Uwaah!" Stevie screamed as he jumped away.
A human emerged from the trash. She was a black woman with long, blue, wavy hair. Her eyes looked devoid of any emotion. Even as she spoke, there were no hints of any feelings in her voice.
"Are you here to get your Sigil?"
"Yes!" Suzuki stepped forward. "You must be Miss Vi?"
"Correct. Who wants to go first?"
Her voice was as unenthusiastic as it could get. It sounded like she had a constant urge to yawn, but wasn't able to do it.
Despite her calm attitude, nobody wanted to go first.
"Are we going to get tattooed?" Pepon asked with a shaky voice.
Vi raised an eyebrow upon hearing her question.
"Oh. You must be the newbies the king summoned. Well then. Let me introduce myself properly." She sighed loudly. "My name is Vi. I am the hundredth or so reincarnation of Astria's greatest sigil maker. You come into my place when you want a sigil and I give one for you. No, you can't choose the Sigil you want. Yes, you can choose where I paint it. No, there are no refunds."