“What do you mean, he ‘didn’t pass’?!”, Phoebe exclaimed. “I’m telling you, there must be some mistake here! There’s just no way!”.

  “…I’m afraid it’s true…”, the receptionist sweated. “The test just… um… it didn’t account for ghostly applicants”.

  “Alright, I’ll humor you. Let’s just say for the sake of argument that he somehow couldn’t lift that puny little rock. He could still bypass the rock climbing test! And the final test is a slime! A slime! And this guy helped defeat one of the most powerful ghosts ever!”.

  The receptionist’s professional smile quivered. “…I’m afraid the particulars of guild exams are confidential information. I can’t share the specifics without Count Boogula’s permission”.

  “Ok, then. Count Boogula, could you please explain what happened?”.

  “Sure. As you suspected, I failed the first test but easily passed the second. Then the receptionist unleashed a slime. With no hope of defeating such a powerful monster, I made the difficult decision to retreat”, I completed my report. “…Many people underestimate slimes, but I assure you, they are demonic soldiers devoid of fear and mercy. No creature could be worse”.

  Phoebe’s mouth flopped open. “Actually”, the receptionist quickly added, “it’s not that uncommon for adventurers to have a fear of slimes”.

  “Yeah, loser adventurers”, Phoebe retorted. “Not Count Boogula”.

  “Strength doesn’t matter”, the receptionist corrected her. “Phobias have a way of taking control over your brain. Shaming him won’t help”.

  “You’re right. Moving on, I take it there aren’t any other good quests here?”. The receptionist pouted yet nodded at the same time. “Ok, then. I want to hear more about this ‘Hex the First’. My vote goes to visiting my sister to hear her account”.

  “Ooh, Mechadream?”, the receptionist nodded. “That guild branch also has a different exam! Although…”, she winced.

  “All of Mechadream’s exams are far more difficult, but its E-rank is particularly infamous”, Phoebe explained. “A few even argue it’s harder than the standard C-rank exam. Still, I think you should give it a shot”.

  “Nothing could be harder than fighting a slime”, I said. “Well then, onwards to Mechadream!”.

  Mechadream was a few days away. We travelled through forests and plains alike, occasionally camping out under the stars. I kept watch, since I didn’t need to sleep. Phoebe seemed to like that very much.

  “What’s Mechadream like, anyways?”, I asked her one morning as she ate breakfast. “Is it as interesting as Pollentown?”.

  Phoebe put her hand to her chin in thought. “Well, technically it’s a part of the kingdom, but it’s more like an independent city-state in reality. Mechadream is mostly known for its highly advanced technology, which they hoard all to themselves. It’s… a crazy place”.

  A day later, we finally arrived at the city. Whatever I was expecting, it was not this.

  There were no real ‘walls’, but there were countless cannons and other strange weapons encircling the city. As we approached, I saw a small number of flying machines take off holding various devices. The array of artillery swivelled and locked onto their positions, blasting them out of the sky within moments. I shivered.

  It wasn’t just cannons and guns, either. A few barbed wire fences and small patrols stopped anybody trying to leave by foot. After a thorough search, they were allowed out. A few robots were stationed around as well, in case the guards weren’t enough.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “What kind of place is this?!”, I exclaimed. “It’s like a prison!”.

  “Don’t worry”, Phoebe tried to calm me down. “I know it looks bad, but the security is just to protect their technology. People can still come and go freely”.

  “They care that much about monopolizing it? Surely the world would be far more prosperous if they shared their inventions!”.

  Phoebe shrugged. “They don’t really trust outsiders, I guess. To be fair, a lot of it is extremely dangerous stuff. If the wrong hands got a hold of it, the consequences would be disastrous”.

  We approached the front gate. The guards just waved us in, which only added to my anxiety. This place didn’t make any sense!

  Once we made it past the city’s thorny shell, I sucked in a breath. I hated to admit it, but the place had a strange, unique beauty to it.

  The streets were made of iron and the buildings largely made of brass. But there were no hard edges like you’d expect, everything was sleek and curved. The houses all had unique shapes and styles, somehow looking minimalist and yet natural at the same time, like a coral reef. Speaking of nature, trees and shrubs abounded in vibrant green colors, along with the occasional fountain. It was so pleasing yet foreign, like a utopia from another world.

  “Impressive, no?”, Phoebe remarked. “Now you see why it’s called ‘Mechadream’”. She led the way to the adventurer’s guild, which was undoubtedly the dog of the street. An unforgiving, sharp-edged steel brick with no redeeming qualities.

  We walked in through the front door. Surprisingly nobody was drinking, in fact the place was almost empty. A broad-shouldered man in military uniform sat behind the reception desk like he just happened to be there.

  “Excuse me”, Phoebe said. “My friend Count Boogula here needs to take an E-rank exam”.

  “Kids from the boonies, huh?”, the man barely glanced up. “Go take a hike”. He pulled a cigar out of his pocket and lit it, blowing smoke into the room.

  “Toegther we took down a ghost named Hex the First”, Phoebe continued, the irritation clear in her voice. “The receptionist said he could take the test. We would like to take it here”.

  The rude man took another puff from his cigar before answering. “That means nothin’ to me, kid. Go take their test. If he failed that, well”, he chuckled, “he has no right to be here”.

  “Wait, Phoebe”, I cut off her protest. “Let me handle this. I’ve seen disgraceful customer service like this before, and there’s only one way to break through to these meatheads. I’m gonna have to show him what a real scare looks like”.

  The man’s eyes narrowed. “I really wouldn’t do that if I were you, F-rank. Name’s Jack, former military and C-rank Mechadreamer”.

  “Well, finally a bit of courtesy, I see. I’ll repay you with a free trip to my old haunted house. [Spooky Maze]”.

  “What…”, Jack looked around in shock as the world around him changed. “An illusion?”.

  He found himself in the entryway of a mansion. An elaborate chandelier hung overhead and behind him were two double doors. Everything seemed giant-sized.

  He snorted. “A real scare, huh. You wish”. He stepped in front of the locked double doors, readying his fist. “[Cyber Punch]!”. The doors rattled, but didn’t show any signs of breaking.

  “What the…”, he muttered, backing away from the door. “It’s just wood!”. Then, he heard it. Former military or not, he shivered at the growl. It was so unnatural, and yet so human, that it could only be one thing. Zombies.

  He felt the sweat coming down his face as a dark shadow appeared on the wall ahead of him, closing off his path of escape. Desperately looking around, he saw only one way out.

  “[Cyber Jump]”, he whispered as he leapt high into the air, grabbing and climbing on top of the oversized chandelier. It groaned and teetered precariously under his weight. Jack knew this wasn’t an escape at all, just a way of stalling for time. But he also knew that this wasn’t a fight. No, it was now… a survival mission.

  Five minutes later, the two emerged from the pocket dimension, Jack now pale-faced and in need of a shower.

  “So, you’ll let my friend take the exam?”, Phoebe asked. “Yes”. “Excellent. There’s another matter we also need to attend to. Do you know where Lucina Darkbane III is?”.