From Real to Realm

Val and Lynesia were sitting on the couch.

The letter was lying on the table in front of them.

“Why are you acting like it’s cursed?”

Val gulped. “I don’t know. I had that feeling that woke me up, remember?” She looked at Lynesia. “What if it’s something to do with this letter?”

Lynesia rolled her eyes. “It can’t be that bad.”

“How can you be so sure? What if they’re revoking my badge? Or they want to demote my rank?” Val groaned, running her hands through her hair. “I want to open it, but there’s so much that could be written.”

Silence hung in the air for a few seconds.

“Jeez, Val. I’ve never seen you this worried.” Lynesia grabbed the envelope, flipping it over a few times in her hands. “Fancy envelope. I doubt they’d send something like this with bad news.”

Val sighed, leaning back on the couch. “Best case scenario is it’s an official guild chapter offer or something.”

Riiiiip.

“Wait!”

It was too late as Lynesia fished the letter from inside. Her eyes moved from left to right as she read it.

“Listen to this,” she said, clearing her throat.

Valnarei Rose Strouss,

After the unfortunate accident during your affinity examination, we were forced to take time to repair and reinforce the eerienite for future examinations. I am happy to say the repairs and reinforcements are finally complete. As such, I would personally like to extend an invitation to try once more at discovering your affinity, if you have one, of course. Any time you are free to do so, you only need to stop by the front desk and request the examination.

Best Wishes-

Theoden Ianmys Xyrgwyn

Lynesia lowered the paper, a bit dumbfounded. “The guildmaster himself is inviting you to come back to test your affinity.”

Val groaned.

Lynesia slapped her arm a few times. “When were you going to tell me you knew the guildmaster personally?!”

Val held up her hands, trying her best to fight off Lynesia. “I didn’t think it was something I needed to tell you! Promise!”

After a few more seconds, Lynesia relented. “It’s not common for him to get involved personally like this.”

“How do you know?”

Lynesia scowled. “I might have just become an adventurer, but I’ve known a lot about the guild for much longer. Most people know plenty. The adventurer’s guild isn’t just some random group of fighters. Some of the most powerful fighters in history worked their way up within the guild.”

Val sat forward a bit more, her interest piqued. “Really?”

“Of course. Some even fought in wars. I’ve read stories about how they turned the tide of battles on their own. They weren’t just warriors, they were legends.”

“So what does that have to do with the guildmaster talking to me directly?” Val asked, tilting her head.

Lynesia pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing. “The guildmaster doesn’t just interact with anyone, much less someone only in Iron rank right now.”

Val chuckled softly, scratching her chin. “Uh. I might’ve met him on my first day walking into the guild hall.”

“WHAT?!”

After that, Val was forced to explain a bit more about how she became an adventurer and how she ran into the guildmaster. Not to mention the debriefing that was ordered by the guildmaster in the past as well.

“I swear, Val. These are the kinds of things I’d like to know about ahead of time.”

Val shrugged. “How was I supposed to know it was that important?”

Lynesia flopped over, her head landing in Val’s lap. “For someone so strong and determined, you can be kind of dense sometimes, you know that?” She reached up, poking Val’s nose. “Just don’t forget me when you become popular.”

“I’d never forget you, my love.”

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Val wiped sweat from her brow.

“I’m surprised you’re practicing with a sword.”

Lynesia was walking up with a glass of water.

“I like the halberd, but I don’t know. Sometimes I feel like it’s either too much or not enough.”

“What do you mean?”

Val sat on the bench inside the indoor training hall within the guild. “I don’t even know.” She glanced over at where her halberd leaned against the wall. “It’s a versatile weapon, no doubt about that, but I just…”

“Are you afraid you’re limiting yourself?”

Val shook her head, sweat dropping from her nose. “I don’t think so. Then again… back when I chose the halberd was in the heat of the moment.”

Lynesia tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“Do you remember the asshole I told you about, Barrett?”

“A little bit.”

Val leaned back against the wall. “He picked a fight with us when I was in the process of testing out different training weapons.”

“So?”

“Well, you know me. My temper got the better of me, and I grabbed something without paying attention, really. Turns out, it was the halberd.”

Lynesia glanced at Val’s weapon. “It’s worked out so far, right?”

Val nodded. “It has, but I never got a chance to really test everything thoroughly.”

Val looked down at her hands.

If I had a different weapon, would Elza still be here? Would that delve have gone differently?

“What brought this on?”

It took a few seconds before Val looked up. “That feeling. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not good, and the fact that I can’t figure out what it’s about is driving me up the wall.”

“How exactly does that translate into you testing out different weapons?”

Val looked at the sword in her hand. “If I were adept with a sword, could I have done something to save Elza? Could it be the difference between saving Mina? Cera? Amarisse? YOU?”

Lynesia opened her mouth to reply, but shut it as she considered what to say. After a few seconds, she scooted closer to Val, gently pulling her chin to make Val look into her eyes.

“Valnarei. We all trust you with our lives, regardless of what weapon you choose to wield.”

“Yeah, bu—“

Lynesia pressed her finger to Val’s lip. “Shush, I wasn’t finished.”

“I don’t know all the details about Elza’s death. But with what I’ve heard, I don’t think you would have had a chance regardless of the weapon you used. It was a sneak attack; none of you knew it was coming.”

Val tensed her chin as she fought off tears. “I don’t want to lose anyone ever again.”

Lynesia gently pulled Val into a hug. “We don’t want to lose you either.”

Val clung to Lynesia, fists bunching in her shirt. “After seeing Cain, Braun, and Celina get hit by the Ashen King… I can’t help but worry about the same thing happening to you.”

“I know how you feel.” She gently rubbed the back of Val’s head. “I had to watch you take a similar hit. I’m always at the back of the party with Cera, watching you.” She cupped Val’s cheeks, making her look up. “I know it’s hard, but we’ve got this, right?”

Val sniffled, then reached up to wipe away errant tears. “We do.”

Lynesia smiled. “Good. Now, I think it’s about time fo—“

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The two of them turned.

Creeaaaak.

“Ah, Miss Strouss.”

Theoden slowly strode into the room. His hair was slicked back like usual. The tailored deep purple suit with gold embellishments creased in all the right ways. His chest was pressed forward with his hands clasped behind his back. Then there were his glasses, which sat low on his nose.

“I believe we are ready for you to test your affinity once more.”

Theoden walked ahead of them as he led them toward the affinity testing room. Luckily, there was more than one entrance, so they were taking a back way.

“I assume you’d prefer not to stir any more rumors if possible,” he said, gait not changing.

Val nodded. “I think I have enough eyes on me as is.”

He nodded slowly. “It has been some time since we’ve had a member garner so much attention.”

Lynesia elbowed Val softly. When Val looked at her, Lynesia was staring at her with a “what the fuck” look. Val didn’t quite know what she was thinking, but could always ask later.

“I don’t think it’s something I really was planning on doing,” Val finally said.

Theoden chuckled softly. “Some rush for the spotlight, hoping to make a name for themselves. However, that rarely lasts if they even make it in the first place. I’ve been a part of the Adventurers’ Guild for decades. I’ve found that the spotlight ends up on those who least expect it.”

Just as he finished talking, they rounded the corner into a smaller side hallway. At the end, there were two armed guards on either side. Theoden wasted no time in approaching, waving a hand at the two guards.

“Is the room ready?”

The guard on the right nodded. “Yes, sir. Everything should be prepared as you requested.”

Another elbow poked Val’s side, this time with some whispers.

“This is fucking crazy, you know that?”

Val smirked. “Oh? How so?”

Lynesia elbowed her a little harder. “You know how, dummy.”

Theoden pushed the door open, turning to the side to hold it open. “Ladies first.”

Val gulped. Her chest was starting to feel heavy. Anything could go wrong this time.

What’ll happen if I get backlash in front of him?

The warmth of Lynesia’s fingers, intertwining with hers, tore her from the spiral of her mind.

“Come on. Let’s show them how amazing you are.”

Val squeezed her hand, heart racing.

Then she stepped into the room.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!