Christina and Fred stood in the Guild Hall behind Mr. Kaden, their eyes roaming the hall curiously.

"Ah, Mr. Kaden, it's a pleasure!" The secretary said with a slightly flushed face. Mr. Kaden just smiled lightly in greeting.

"I came here to do a test to see if they can start training earlier." Normally, kids didn't start training until they reached sixteen, and neither Christiana or Fred was at that age.

They had begged the priest to come and see if they could start training, and not wanting to disappoint them, he agreed reluctantly.

'If I tell them no, they just might lose all motivation to live. This way, they have something to work towards.' Sighing, he led the kids into the back room.

When they stepped into the back, even Mr. Kaden looked around curiously as new things had been added since he was back here the last time.

"Okay, this is an Essence Sensing Stone. If you can make it glow, you have the ability to awaken your essence and begin training." The clerk came out from behind a pile of monster hides and placed a gray stone on the table.

"Here." Handing the stone to Christina, she was a bit surprised when the stone immediately started to glow with a faint light.

"Though I can't check to see what affinity she has since she hasn't reached the Silver Rank, I can only do this much." The clerk took the stone from Christina and handed it to Fred.

"Thank you." Fred was a bit shy, so Christina intervened and thanked the clerk in his stead. Fred held the stone and a light appeared again, slightly dimmer than Christina's own.

"Both have the ability to begin training. I'll talk to the Guild Master about this. He may want to assign teachers to them."

Hearing that they were going to be taught, the clerk smiled.

"You don't believe we just train all day do you? We also need to know many things about monsters and their habitats."

The clerk walked over to the curtain and pulled it open slowly to place the Essence Sensing Stone on the shelf when she heard two panicked screams.

Whirling around, the clerk saw the kids looking inner direction in terror! Unsheathing her dagger, she spun around ready to attack, but no one was behind her.

"The monster!" Hearing the duo, she looked and saw the strange husk sitting on the table. With furrowed brows, she looked back at the kids.

"I think I know what happened. Did the monster look like this?" Mr. Kaden asked as he stepped forward, pulling the two behind him.

Amidst tears and sobbing, they shook as they looked at the unfamiliar husk that slightly resembled the monster that had cruelly slaughtered an entire village.

"So they know what this monster is? They've encountered it before?!" The clerk was shocked as she didn't expect to find any information on this strange creature.

Before she could ask more questions, Mr. Kaden turned around and knelt in front of the kids, his hands pulling them into his embrace.

"Don't be scared. That thing isn't alive. Just relax. Breathe." Hearing his calming voice, Christina felt her fear recede quite a bit.

"So you mean to say, whatever left behind this shell has the power to slaughter an entire village?" The clerk walked over, however Mr. Kaden shot her a look.

"Not now, let them calm down a bit."