Yuna watched as Mabel introduced herself briefly before announcing that they will be doing some tests just like how they did tests during their first day of their first year. 

“This test will also affect your ranking for this year,” Mabel said. “With the three month break you all had, you should have been training and improving yourselves. Your rank cannot change again after this test until the tournament. Is that clear?”

The students nodded and she took out a crystal sphere from under the desk she stood behind. She started to call up students one by one according to where they were sitting. When they came up, she told them to put their hand on the orb. Then she stared at it for a few seconds before sending them back to their seat as she wrote something down on a tablet. Mabel rarely said anything during the whole process except whenever a result surprised or impressed her.

“Yuna,” she said.

Yuna stood up when her name was called and walked up to the desk. Around her, she could hear whispers and feel the stares of the others in the rooms. It wasn’t anything new to her at this point. During the course of her first year, she had noticed that a disturbing amount of guys stared at her.

‘I’m glad Yuki isn’t like that. He’s the only guy I can talk to without feeling weird. And I can’t really talk to girls because they seem to hate me.’

Yuna put her hand on top of the crystal and poured in a small trickle of mana. The sphere glowed briefly before flashing a series of runes inside of it. A small smile spread on Mabel’s face as she watched the runes.

“You’re almost halfway to rank A, Yuna,” she said. “That’s impressive for one as young as you are.”

“Thank you,” Yuna replied, smiling back. She returned to her seat and Yuki stood up to be tested next.

He walked over to the front desk with a calm demeanor. Yuna could hear the whispers of her classmates as he did and, much like with herself, she saw stares they were giving him.

‘Yuki seems popular.’

He placed his hand on top of the crystal ball and it lit up briefly. More runes flashed in it before Yuki removed his hand and waited for Mabel to dismiss him. Mabel tapped in her tablet before looking up with a smile. Her mouth began to move as she said something to Yuki, the words inaudible. 

“Rank B,” Mabel’s lips read. “Impressive.”

Yuki nodded in reply.

“I hope you’ve been practicing your support magic. I’m going to be testing you,” she continued.

Yuki’s lips moved quickly with small movements as he gave his reply. Yuna couldn’t make out what he said before he finished. Then he walked back to his seat and gave Yuna a curious look.

“Is there something you want?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Yuna replied, blinking. She didn’t realise that she was staring. 

‘He’s rank B? That’s equal to kids here that’ve been training since they could walk,’ she thought as she looked away.

She spent the rest of the period watching the other students as they were tested. It seemed that nothing of note happened again because Mabel kept quiet and only smiled at the other testees. When everyone finished, she clapped her hands to get their attention.

“Now that the testing has been finished, let me give a peek into what your second year here at the Academy will be like,” she said. “Your first year was there to ease you into the flow of things here. You were all taught basic swordsmanship. Basic magic skills. Now that it’s your second year here, things will start to ramp up. Quickly. More will be expected of you and more will be placed on you. If you cannot adapt quickly, you will be demoted down to the normal classes or be removed from the Academy. This is the advanced class, students. And soon, you’ll realise why.”

‘Well that sounds ominous.’

Mabel looked at her watched before she continued. “I will leave the details of your training to your specific instructors. It’s not my place to tell you what will be taught. Luckily, today is not the day your training starts. That is tomorrow. And so, I bid you all good luck and you are dismissed.”

The bell rang and the class stood up in a clatter of moving chairs. Yuna waited for most of the class to clear out before she left. As she walked out, she noticed that Yuki had stayed behind and was talking to Mabel. Yuna didn’t stay long enough to find out what their conversation was about. 

‘I need to prepare for tonight.’

She walked to her dorm room and took off her black school blazer. She folded it up as she went into her bedroom. There, she changed out of her uniform of a skirt and dress shirt and put on a pair of track pants and a t-shirt. 

‘I wonder where Yuki’s living now.’

He had left the dorm during his first year. Yuna was there to bid him farewell but she hadn’t bothered to ask him where he was moving to. And she doubted that he would tell her.

‘Well, it isn’t that important compared to what I have to do next. How do I convince a dark guild to accept me?’

Yuna had no idea how guilds even worked. She was trained to be a cadet. To be an officer. Her first contact with what she would call the real world was just one year ago when she was initially enrolled into the Academy. Most people around her age have parents that are part of a guild and so have guidance in these sorts of things. 

‘I don’t have parents. And the person I would ask also doesn’t have parents.’

She spent the next couple hours searching the internet in hopes of finding any information that can help her. What she got was nothing promising. Many guilds had different requirements and expectations from their potential members. The more prestigious ones also sometimes require an entrance fee before they are accepted. Most guilds would post their requirements online on their web pages so that people would know about them before applying. The problem here was that the Valkyries were a dark guild.

‘And dark guilds aren’t stupid enough to post about themselves online.’

In terms of dark guilds, their requirements are normally never officially known. They’re usually a few rumors on how to join, but rarely anything conclusive. The few times the actual criteria was posted for a dark guild just results in the guild changing their rules.

‘It doesn't help that no one knows a thing about the Valkyries. All I know is the bar that they might be recruiting.’

Yuna sighed and racked her mind to figure out at least a general strategy that might improve her chances. Dark guilds, like most guilds, prefer the strongest candidates. Unlike normal guilds, dark guilds do intensive screening before they even begin to test the potential member. She needed to figure out a way to get her foot into the door so that they would at least do the screening.

‘The easiest way would be to appear as strong as possible to attract their attention. But how do I even do that?’ She pondered for a little bit. ‘Maybe I can ask Yuki?’

She thought about it and the idea of asking Yuki grew more and more appealing. It wasn’t that weird of a question either. At most, he would ask why but not pressure her into answering. Yuna nodded and then sent Yuki a message.

How do you make yourself look strong?

Yuki shot back a reply within seconds.

What are you planning to do? he sent.

I was just wondering.

Yuna stared at her screen as she waited for Yuki to respond. 

Well, it depends. For a male, I would just recommend acting intimidating or confident. That could work but sometimes it doesn’t depending on who you’re trying to look strong to. It could also work for females but it might be off putting to some rather than improve their image of you.

So what do you recommend for a girl? Yuna asked. 

Beauty is power. So dress up nicely and attractively and be confident in yourself, he advised. Be honest when someone questions you. Nothing looks weaker than someone who lies for no reason. Once you’ve done that, you will look stronger. Convincing people is a whole different game. Do you need me to go into that?

No, thank you, Yuna typed with a smile. She closed the screen and walked to her wardrobe.

‘Now then. Let’s get ready, shall we?’

---

 

The Hangout was a building that stood out from the usual design of Junction. Instead of metal and glass, it was wood and brick. It looked more like a building from Fenrir than it did from Junction. Yuna stood outside underneath the metal sign that somehow glowed in the dark. She wiped her non existent sweat onto her soft gold dress as she took in slow deep breaths. 

‘I can do this. The LIA prepared for this.’

She took in one last breath and twisted the dark iron handle of the bar. Pulling it open, she walked into the bar with her back straight and her head held high as her body went into autopilot. Having to act as if she was in control of a situation for much of her life, Yuna excelled at putting up a facade of confidence.

‘I hope I don’t get caught,’ she thought as she scanned the building she had just entered. Her eyes noticed one thing. ‘I made a mistake.’

Everyone else in the room were wearing casual clothing that were quite dull in color. The fanciest article Yuna found wasn’t even clothes. It was a set of ornate armor that looked worn out to the point where the designs were barely noticeable. Her own bright and fancy dress drew the attention of many in the room as she made her way to the bar. 

‘Focus on the job, Yuna,’ she thought as she controlled her urge to leave the place. ‘The bar. Go to the bar.’

With that in mind, she walked swiftly to the bar only to be blocked by two elves that wore worn out leather armor. They were dirty, as if they had just finished a day of hunting. They wore friendly smiles as they gave Yuna a quick look up and down.

“Hey, lady. You look a bit young to be in a place like this,” one man said. “You sure you’re older than eighteen?”

“Of course,” Yuna replied, her smile hiding her racing mind. “How else could I get in this place.”

“That’s true,” the man smiled again. “It’s just that your blossoming youthful beauty made me doubt that for a second. But this isn’t a friendly place for beauties like you. Join me and my friend for a drink. If you’re with a party, no one will try to mess with you.”

“Thank you for the offer, but I prefer to drink alone,” she said. She tried to gently push her way through the two elves. “Now if would excuse me.”

Yuna felt a pressure on her right shoulder and saw the hand of the elf on it.

“Please reconsider,” he said, a small frown on his face. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Take your hand off of my shoulder,” Yuna said quietly.

“Not until you’ve thought over my offer,” the man said back. 

Yuna slowly turned her head toward the man as heat began to rise within her. 

“Please. Remove. Your. Hand,” she repeated, her composure cracking. “I’ve thought about your offer. And no is my reply.”

“That’s an unfortunate answer,” the man growled.

“Ahem, gentlemen,” a bright voice called out behind them. “The lady seems to have already made up her mind.”

Yuna turned around and was met with the face of a beauty. The lady that looked to be around her own age had warm hazel eyes and almost golden brown hair that seemed to shine in the dimly lit room. A pair of brown cat ears poked out from her head. She had her hands on her waist as she stood there in a forest green dress and a small smile.

‘She’s that beastkin. The one that fought the golem,’ Yuna remembered. Her eyes grew bigger as she recalled just how strong the lady in front of her was. ‘What is someone like her doing here?’

“Oh, so-sorry,” the man said, quickly taking his hand off of Yuna. “I was just worried you know. I’ll go back now.”

The lady watched the two men with an amused expression as they went back to their seats. Then she turned back to Yuna who was still staring at her. 

“You seemed to have been heading to the bar?” the lady asked pleasantly.

“What? Oh, yes. Yes. Definitely.”

“So that’s a yes, right?” the lady smiled. Yuna nodded emphatically. “That was a joke, you know? You can relax now. I’ll escort you to the bar. I do work here so it’s sort of my job to as well.”

The lady hooked her arm with Yuna’s and began to guide her to the bar that was directly in front. She pulled out a seat and gestured to Yuna to sit. Yuna sat down, giving her thanks.

“So what can I get you? Any drinks or food?” the lady asked. “Just tell me. I’ll remember it.”

“Wait, can I have your name?” Yuna asked. 

“I’m Akira. How about you?” Akira smiled.

“I’m Yuna.” She racked her head as she tried to remember the phrase that was included in the one page briefing. “I would like to order a dragon’s fire whiskey.”

“Oh, we don’t have one here,” Akira said, her expression not changing. “This does seem to be your first time here. I’ll give you the menu.”

She walked behind the bar and handed over a tablet. There were about two pages worth of items on the menu and they all looked delicious. But Yuna knew that this was part of the drill. Hopefully.

“No, I insist. I would like to order a dragon’s fire whiskey,” Yuna repeated. Akira gave her a contemplative stare.

“A server will be here shortly with your drink,” Akira replied. The tone of her voice had become more serious. 

She turned around and left as Yuna waited on her seat at the bar. Yuna glanced around the room and shifted around in her seat. It seemed that she was successful in obtaining a screening but she wasn’t sure yet. As she thought, she noticed that many in the bar were still looking at her. But they would quickly advert their eyes and only look for a few seconds at most. 

‘That lady must be well respected here.’

“Yuna? Here’s your drink~,” a sing song voice said. Yuna turned her head and saw a female bartender with violet eyes standing behind the counter. The bartender tilted her head toward a wine glass in front of Yuna. “Drink it while it’s still cold. You’ll enjoy more that way.”

“Thank you,” Yuna said as she accepted the drink, trying not to stare. 

The woman was just as beautiful as Akira was but in a more playful way. The bartender winked and sashayed away with obviously exaggerated movements that caused Yuna to crack a smile. 

‘Are all of the workers here pretty and attractive? It’s making me feel a bit self conscious.’

Yuna picked up her glass and a sudden movement caught her attention. She looked down pinpointed where the movement was. It happened were the wooden coaster laid on the counter. Yuna put her glass back on top of it and black lettering appeared. She was able to read it through the clear glass base of the wine glass.

“Go to the back of the bar and follow the bartender. She’ll guide you.”

Yuna quickly looked up and searched for the bartender that was just there a minute ago. She had disappeared. Yuna stood and casually walked out the back entrance of the building. Craning her neck, she tried to locate where her guide was.

“Yuna?” the voice of the bartender called out. Yuna turned and saw the violet eyed woman leaning against the brick wall of the building. “Follow me.”

The woman gestured with her head and walked off, blending into the shadows of the towering metal structures around her.