The time was 12:38 PM. A young woman with black hair and red eyes, with an ominous shield hooked in her left hand, stood in front of a building. It wasn’t nearly as giant as Parrel's mansion, but it was still of a decent size. White sparkly stones and deep ocean-like blue ramparts made up the outside appearance, giving it the feeling of an impenetrable structure. If what Servi heard was correct, then this place functioned as the city’s only jail cell. That would probably explain its outrageous size as well. And if that last thing she heard was true, then it was possible for the ramparts to be fused together by Earth Wall to create a monstrous barrier.

Of course, those words came from excited children playing a game called 'guard and robber,' so it was probably the overactive imagination of a creative mind.

Two guards stood on each side of the regal-looking doors that led to the main lobby. Even though it was the guard's headquarters, citizens were welcome to enter. It was also the place where people who wanted to join the guard signed up at. At least, that’s what Servi overheard while walking towards this place.  

It’s big, isn’t it? Itarr commentated

“Yeah, it is.” 

How are you feeling? You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.  

“I won’t lie and say I’m fine, but I’m also not as stressed as I thought I would. I just have to control my anger and not let it consume me.” 

Don’t do it all by yourself. I’m here as well.  

“I know. Thanks.” 

You’re very welcome.  

With her determination steeled against losing herself in anger, Servi walked up to the four guards standing by the door.  

“Can I help you?” one of them asked. The guards all had on the same shiny metallic armor.  Even then, they were roughly the same height and weight, and Servi couldn't tell them apart by their raspy voices.

“Yeah. I got this card from a receptionist at Warden. Fisher Jin is supposed to be my mentor,” she replied and showed them the card.

The one who spoke grabbed it and read it over before handing it back.  

“You’re the sixth one,” said the guard who had taken Servi's card.

“Sixth?” asked Servi.  

“Yes, ma’am. Captain Fisher said he would only take in six mentees. Ask the receptionist inside for further details and directions.” 

Servi thanked him before going inside. The lobby certainly had the qualifications to be called a lobby. Rows and rows of blue seats filled with people of all races, ages, and genders stood within. Heroic-like paintings decorated the walls. A set of bathrooms were located on the left and right walls.

As Servi walked forward through the lobby to reach the receptionist’s desk, she overheard two people talking. From what she gathered, this place was also where lawsuits between citizens were decided.  In addition, it functioned as the place where everyone paid their taxes.  

Is this place for much more than we thought? Why have so many services in one place? Wouldn’t that just slow everything down? Itarr asked.  

“It would. It’d be much more efficient to have two or three or even four different buildings, each suited for a different task,” Servi said out loud. The two young Singi she passed looked weirdly at the girl with red eyes who talked to herself. Servi glanced back at the two, and they quickly averted their eyes like they were scared of her.  

“Can I help you?” asked a man behind a white wooden desk. He was an older man with a face that had a few slight scars, proof of a few battles gone wrong, but a faint hint of kindness was behind those war wounds. With no hair, his baldness gave the appearance of being older than he looked. Adorned on his red uniform were medals he had acquired from his years of service. Five filing cabinets sat behind him, and he was the only one working.  

How is he supposed to help everyone? It’s just a single man. Itarr asked. Servi couldn’t answer that because she didn't know. Unlike Warden’s lobby, this one didn’t have any kind of window or other protection. Hell, if she felt like it, Servi was free to hop behind it and sit down by the receptionist in the nearby empty chair. But she didn’t because she had no reason to do such a thing.  A second reason was because regular people wouldn’t usually hop behind a desk to cause trouble. If it came to it, Servi was more than happy to be the proverbial match to light the fire. Especially if it meant protecting Momo.  

“Yeah, hello. Fisher Jin was chosen as my mentor. I got this card from Warden,” producing the card from her pouch, she handed it to the man who glanced at it.  

“Checks out. Nice to meet ya. Name’s Roland. The room you’re looking for is right down that hall. Take the second door on your left, and you’ll be at the waiting room. A bit of advice, though. The Captain might be a bit rough, and his training is certainly intense, but stick with it.” 

“Did you train under him?” Servi asked. She took back the card and stored it in her pouch before absorbing it.  

“Oh, no. I joined thirty years ago and only just retired from active service three years ago. I’m just a humble receptionist to pass by the time. I did peek in on one of his training sessions and was impressed and surprised at the same time. I’ll just say it was something else.” 

“I see. That’s what the receptionist, Estela, told me. Thank you for that,” Servi said.  

“No problem. Good luck to ya,” Roland replied, sending Servi off with a wave. The sleeve of his red uniform fluttered in the wind that sneaked through when the entrance opened up.  

Servi didn’t bother to glance in that direction, and she focused on finding the room she was supposed to go to.  

So let’s see… Roland pointed to that hallway and said the second door on the left… Itarr repeated for Servi's sake. Once she left the receptionist’s desk, she went down the hall he specified. It was off to the side and was smaller than the other three hallways, and he said it was some sort of a meeting room? Or was it a waiting room? She really wasn’t listening.  

“Thanks for reminding me. Honestly, I should’ve been paying more attention.” 

You are most welcome. Now, this is the door right here. It's the one with a ‘2’ on it.  

Gripping the metallic handle that shined brightly from a set of lights in the ceiling, a type of Skill Item called a Florescent Light that had the skill Lucem Sphere engraved within, that she would later find out from Momo, she turned the knob and opened it up. Stepping inside, she was met with a small white room with six white chairs in the shape of a circle. Five were filled, and one was empty. Ten eyes turned to stare at the black-haired girl with red eyes. The roof of the room had the same Florescent Light Skill Item illuminating it. The door she entered was the only way in and out.  

I guess you know where to sit, Itarr commented from inside Servi. Closing the door silently, Servi went to the one empty chair and sat down. To her left and right was a Dwarf. Occupying the three seats in front of her were two Koena and a Kobold.  

The Dwarves looked to be related. Both were around the same stocky height and built like a brick house. Black hair and beards for both of them, the only way Servi could tell them apart was by the set of scars lining the one to her left. The one on her right had a clean face free of any battle or war wounds.  

Still, the moment she sat down, she was the victim of five instances of unrelenting staring. Turning the scarred Dwarf, she finally spoke.  

“Mind not staring?” she asked in her politest tone, which was a bit unnatural for her. It wasn’t like she wanted to be angry and snappy with everyone. They usually started it with her. And maybe it’ll be nice if she could make some additional friends, and since these five would be training with her, she might as well play nice. For a little while, at least.  

“Aye, sorry about that. Captain Fisher came in and told us there’ll be six. We didn’t expect a Human, much less a woman.” 

“I see. Well, that’s me. Name’s Servi,” she smiled politely, not wanting to start any trouble, and held out her shielded hand to the scarred Dwarf. This was actually because of two reasons. One, a handshake was pretty standard, and two, she wanted to show off the shield.  

Speaking of shields, everyone in the room had one. Hers was the only heater shield. The two Dwarves each had a large buckler, colored brown, attached to their non-dominant arm.  The two Koena had kite shields colored the same as their scales. In terms of protective armor, the Dwarves and Koena had stereotypical adventuring gear clasped over their bodies. The Kobold was shirtless, choosing to go with only black pants to clothe his lower body, and it had a hole for his thick tail to pass through. His chest was mostly green skin, but he had emerald scales protecting his stomach, neck, and chest.

The lone Kobold, with their nearly superhuman strength, had the only tower shield. Much like its namesake, a tower shield was big and heavy, and the one the Kobold had was the biggest. Standing a bit over two meters tall and three inches thick, it was more like a solid chunk of iron with a handle bolted on. Its edges were sharp and rough, not soft at all, and not even Servi could think she could wield it. It wasn’t flat like a shield should be, and small cracks, like handholds, were on its surface like it was designed to be climbable.

That has to be hundreds of kilograms…maybe even a thousand… 

“Nice to meet ye. Name’s Rakkire, a bit odd, but what can we do? Bwahaha!” Letting out a booming laugh, Servi turned to the other Dwarf, who had his arm out.  

“Name’s Riki. I’m that fool’s cousin. I gotta say, though, that shield looks quite impressive. Mind if I hold it?” said the Dwarf with the clean face. Like his cousin Rakkire, Riki’s beard came down to below his stomach. Servi couldn’t even fathom have such a long beard to keep trimmed and neat.    

“Servi. Nice to meet you. And sure,” Servi slid the shield off of her left arm and passed it to Riki. He held it with one hand, like Servi, and tapped it with a small hammer he pulled from his waistband. A pleasant and solid sound echoed out, and he nodded like he was satisfied with what he heard.  

“Aye. That there is a good solid shield. Only hollow for the sword slot, but the rest is full metal. Thick mythril, in fact.  I mean no disrespect, but I’m surprised you could lift it so easily.” Riki handed it back, and Servi took it.  

Sliding her left arm back in, she made a fist to test her grip. “Thick mythril? I honestly bought it because I got it for cheap.” 

Riki started to explain, but a silver Koena sitting across stood up and did it for him. “Thick mythril is an alloy of two different kinds of mythril. There's a soft, malleable kind that’s like liquid metal, and its total opposite, a very dense and thick kind, where it gets its name from. That way, it’s both extremely strong and flexible. Excellent material for a shield, but not a sword.” 

Servi and the two Dwarf cousins stared at the scaly stranger, who quickly gave his name.  

“Call me Silverado. That’s the name my honorable parents gave me.” 

“And call me Desperado,” said a black Koena who sat near Silverado. Unlike his silver counterpart, the light was seemingly absorbed by Desperado's black scales, not reflected like his friend.

How strange. It feels like not that many people give out their last name. Is it rare and exclusive to royalty like Parrel and Eina and her brother? Or do people hide them? Itarr asked. Servi wondered the same thing. Did Momo have a last name? If she did, Servi would like to know it, but Momo would probably ask Servi for her last name. And Servi didn’t know if she had one. Servi could make one up but decided not to. It might be the best thing if she waited to ask that question.

“Nice to meet you two. Name’s Servi.” After shaking their hands, she turned to the lone Kobold, who sat still. The chunk of iron that was his shield sat behind him, leaning against the wall.  

“I didn’t come here to make friends, only to grow strong and learn from the one called the Justice Captain.” 

“Not very sociable, are you?” replied Servi, and the Kobold growled in response.  

“Human woman, I have no need to be sociable for those weaker than me,” the Kobold stood up, motioning for Servi to walk closer. “Perhaps if you could lift my ancestor’s shield, I could give you my name. But until then, I don’t need to know your name, and you don’t need to know mine.” 

The Kobold turned around and went past his chair. Gripping the sole handle, the Kobold grunted and focused everything he had, and gradually and gradually, the thick iron slab raised off the ground.  

“See? Only those who can lift this deserve my respect,” he said after placing it back down.  One by one, the two Dwarves and Koena walked over with Servi.

“Bloody impossible! How did you find this?” Rakkire asked, his scarred face flushed with sweat and excitement. “I’ve never seen such a raw chunk of iron!” 

“It was in my family before I was born. Only males who can lift it are allowed to roam the outside world. I was the first to lift it.  That is why I am here.” 

“Stand back, cousin. Allow me to try.” 

“Riki, there’s no way you can do it," Rakkire muttered. As he said, it was impossible for him.  

After him, the two Koena tried their hand and failed.

“Then it falls to the Human female. Can you use this shield?” 

Taking off her shield, Itarr asked if Servi wanted her to use Telekinesis, but she shook her head.  

Very well. Good luck! 

Smiling to herself, Servi gripped the rough handle which came to above her chest. She crouched down under it. Servi planned to keep her arms extended and stand up under while using her legs to take the stress.

“Strange stance,” said the black Koena.  

“Aye, never seen something like that before,” said Riki.  

Servi started to slowly raise up, making sure to keep her arms out and locked. But like she predicted earlier when she saw it, the hunk of iron was too much for her to use as a shield. However, she felt it lift up off the ground such a tiny amount. Nobody but her noticed it.

“You’re right. I can’t use this as a shield as it’s intended. But if it’s just a few centimeters...” at once, Servi crouched all the way back down, making sure to keep an upward grip on the dirty handle, and hastily stood up. All her muscles and bones and joints screamed at her for trying to lift something that was clearly above her current level of strength. Perhaps if her Absorption skill was maxed out, where she would receive 100% of her souls’ physical strength, she could wield it somewhat.  Alas, that wasn't the case.

“Dear Gods above,” the two dwarves muttered simultaneously. 

“Human female….no, Servi. I am impressed,” said the Kobold. She lifted it a grand total of 2.5 centimeters off the ground and subsequently fell to the floor while faking exasperated breaths. The shield fell as well, and it was almost like an earthquake. The entire room shook.  It only cost her two broken arms, two fractured shoulders, two broken legs, and two shattered knees. Said injuries healed in a matter of microseconds, but she felt the lingering pain. But by this point, she knew it would fade away. Ignoring it, she stood up and stared at the Kobold.

Wait, why did I do that!? Standing out was something I didn't want to do!!! Those were her immediate thoughts, but Servi just felt so happy that she threw them away.

“The name is Feral. I would like to request a battle if we have the time,” said the Kobold. His alligator-like mouth opened up, revealing many, many razor-sharp teeth. His tail slammed against the ground repeatedly, showing his happiness as if he was some sort of dog.  

“Feral, it’s nice to meet you,” Servi extended her hand, and the massive Kobold took hold of it with his right hand. It was three times bigger than her own. Standing well over three meters tall, Feral was by far the largest humanoid she had seen during her time here in Canary, even compared to the other Kobolds.

For each Kobold, the ratio of skin to scale to fur would be different, and it was sparse for two Kobold to have the same pattern. The only similarities between Kobold would be their alligator-like mouth and tail, which varied in color, but most were green, like Feral’s.