Three days later, on the day of the guard test, dawn.

  “Well, I’m off, mom. Take care of yourself, and don’t forget to eat.”

  Ren said with a serious expression.

  “... Shouldn’t I be the one to say this, little Ren?" Susie’s mouth twitched as she looked at her serious son.

  “Hahaha, it was just a little joke to lighten up the mood. Don’t worry, mom. I’ll become a guard and take care of you. So that you don’t have to work all day long.” Ren said with a smile.

  “Well, then. I’m going; take care, Mom.” Ren grabbed his bag, filled with spare clothes and some utensils and walked out of the house.

  “Take care, little Ren.” Susie looked at her son’s back reluctantly, watching as he disappeared at the end of the street.

  Looking at the street that was slowly filling up, Ren calmly walked towards the Ironfort castle.

  “Ren!!”

  A boy ran out of an inn and trotted towards him.

  “Let’s go together!” Yelled the freckled, red-haired boy.

  “You’re so energetic so early in the morning, Ron.”

  Ren said as he looked at the red-haired boy. This is Ron, the son of an innkeeper and one of the playmates of his predecessor. He is also participating in the guard’s selection.

  “I wonder if we can become guards. If I become a city guard, I’ll punch those drunkards when they try to harass my sister! Just like my father does!”

  Ron loudly said as he waved his hands, punching the air.

  “Moreover, the guards will no longer act so arrogantly in our tavern! And if they do, I’ll teach them a lesson!”

  Looking at the chatterbox next to him, Ren’s mouth twitched. This guy is always like this, a never-stopping chatterbox. Once he opens his mouth, it will be difficult to close it.

  Ren waved to the chattering Ron, preventing him from talking further, and said,

  “Well, we have to become guards before you can say this, Ron. And don’t say this so loudly. If the guards hear you, you’ll be in big trouble.”

  “And you have to remember this. Don’t talk so loudly in the castle, and pay attention to what you say. If you say the wrong thing there, you’ll undoubtedly lose your life. You might even implicate your family.”

  Ren looked straight into Ron’s hazel eyes, and seriously said,

  “I know, Ren. My parents have said the same thing. Don’t worry, I only talk to you and Jerry like this. I’ll pay special attention to my speech in front of others.”

  Roy replied with a similarly serious expression. However, in the next second, the serious expression collapsed as a big smile crept on his face.

  “Jerry!!” Ron waved his arms and ran towards a burly boy waiting in front of a blacksmith shop.

  “Let’s go together, Jerry!”

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  Looking at the lively Ron running towards the burly boy. Ren sighed. This is Jerry, the other close buddy of the predecessor. The three of them have often played together since childhood; hence, they are very close friends.

  “Good morning, Ron, Ren.” The burly boy said with an honest smile on his face.

  “Good morning, Jerry! Ah! I forgot to say good morning to you, Ren! Good morning!” Ron looked mortified for a second, before turning to Ren.

  “Sigh… Good morning. Well, let’s go, or we’ll be late.” Ren sighed before waving to the two of them and walking forward.

  The two trotted next to him, before continuing to walk forward. Ron couldn’t stop chattering, Jerry interjected from time to time, and Ren calmly walked forward, responding from time to time.

  The three of them walked through the main street, stepped into the northern district, and walked towards a huge castle at the northernmost tip of the city.

  A few teenagers of similar age were also walking towards the castle, all intending to participate in the guard test.

  “Ah! There’s a lot of people!” Ron said as he looked at the crowd of teenagers standing in front of the castle’s walls.

  “Indeed, there should be a few hundred participants,” Ren said as he listened to the noisy chattering of the crowd ahead.

  The three of them found a nearby place to stand and waited, chattering among themselves. As minutes passed, more and more people gathered. Finally, as the sun’s rays gradually enveloped the earth, the people in charge of the guard exam arrived.

  “Silence!”

  A stern-looking man walked from the castle, followed by ten guards wearing shining silver armor. The man, wearing a neat butler uniform, slowly stepped in front of the teenagers, his neat, greying hair shone as the faint sunlight shone on it.

  “This is not a market! In front of a noble’s castle, you ought to keep earnestness and awe! If I hear such ruckus again in the future, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

  The butler said with a solemn expression. His voice was deafening, despite him speaking normally.

  “I’ll give you half a minute to organise into a neat line. If someone is still scurrying around after that, then get out! Now, start!”

  The butler said with a serious expression, then closed his eyes and crossed his arms.

  The crowd scrambled to get into a line, not daring to waste a second.

  In exactly 30 seconds, the Butler opened his eyes. Looking at the neat line stretching in front of the castle, he nodded with a satisfied expression.

  “It seems that there aren’t idiots this time around. The guards will give you a wooden sign with numbers on it. Remember to not lose it!”

  The butler spoke as his smile faded into a serious expression.

  The guards quickly walked through the line, handing a wooden sign to each teenager.

  Ren looked at the sign he received from the guards. The number written on it was 188.

  Glancing at Ron ahead, and Jerry behind. Their signs had the numbers 187, and 189, respectively.

  The butler waved away the guards, to which the latter saluted and walked away from the castle, seemingly on patrol.

  “Now, follow me to your dormitories.”

  The butler said as he walked forward. The teenagers looked at each other and then closely followed behind. He didn’t walk to the main gate, but towards the side gate.

  The teenagers followed behind, organising a neat line. They didn’t dare to cross the line or create noise. They still had a faint tinnitus from the Butler’s shout.

  They walked through the wide garden, crossed a few gravel paths, and then passed through a wide training ground.

  The Butler suddenly stopped, then pointed at the wide training ground.

  “This is where you’ll undergo training for the guards test. Make sure to remember the path from here to your dormitories; now follow me.”

  He continued moving forward, and the teenagers closely followed behind.

  Soon after, they arrived at a neat two-story building complex.

  “This is your dormitory. You’ll stay here for the next six months. Now, find your rooms according to your numbers and organise your stuff. You have only one hour.”

  “One hour later, you must be lined up at the training ground. Those that are late will be punished!”

  The butler walked away after speaking, leaving the hundreds of teenagers in front of the dormitory.

  After a few seconds of silence, the teenagers slowly started whispering, which broke out into full chattering in less than a minute.

  “Let’s find our rooms first.” Ren looked at the chattering crowd, before talking to Ron and Jerry.

  The three quickly walked through the building complex, stopping at house number 16.

  “This is it, let’s go in.”

  They entered the house and quickly walked to the wooden stairs.

  “Our rooms should be on the second floor.”

  “Yeah! But it seems that each room is only for two.”

  Ron said as he looked at the two numbers written on the gates of each room.

  “Indeed, it seems that we can’t stay together.”

  “It’s okay! Our rooms are next to each other!”

  The three stepped onto the second floor as they talked. Walking into the room with the numbers 187, and 188, Ren opened the door, followed closely by Ron.

  “See you later, Jerry!” Ron waved his hand as he watched Jerry enter the room next to them.

  Ren looked at the small room, with bunk beds, a small desk, and a chair.

  “This room is even shabbier than the worst room at our inn!”

  Ron shrieked with a look of horror as he looked at the small room.

  “Keep your voice down, you idiot! Don’t forget that we’re in a noble’s castle. People here can execute you for the smallest offense!”

  Ren quickly covered Ron’s mouth and said,

  “Sorry! I couldn’t help it! I’ll pay attention from now on.”

  Ren glared at Ron, then walked to the bed at the bottom, and started unpacking his clothes and making the sheets.

  Ron looked outside with a furtive expression, closed the door, and then started organizing his stuff. He didn’t dare open his mouth anymore, for fear of saying something wrong.