Kyle and the others waited on a couple of chairs inside the Fighter Guild.
The inside of the Fighter Guild looked quite barren.
'Usually, you would think they would have some drinks and a waiting room for customers or something,' Kyle thought. 'Guess customer service in fantasy land is not like customer service on Earth.'
Kyle imagined two armored warriors chatting beside a water dispenser.
'Yeah, that would be weird.'
The examiner was currently inside one of the rooms, talking to the Chief.
The others were just sitting in a couple of chairs placed at the side of a hallway.
After around ten minutes, the door opened, and the examiner looked at them.
"Dylan, you're first," he said.
Dylan stood up and nodded at the examiner before walking through the door and closing it behind him.
The examiner didn't follow and just waited outside.
A couple of minutes passed, and Kyle started to become a bit antsy.
'I fucking hate waiting,' he thought. 'Wish I could talk to Theodor, but if I suddenly start talking to myself, everyone will think I'm crazy.'
'Where's a smartphone when you need one?'
After around five minutes, the door opened, and Dylan walked out.
Dylan held the door open as the examiner went back into the office.
When the examiner closed the door, Dylan looked at the others.
Kyle could see that Dylan was quite excited but didn't know what to do with it.
'I can see that he is excited but doesn't think it's appropriate to share his excitement with us,' Kyle thought. 'He's probably a guy that pays a lot of attention to how he is perceived.'
'That's funny. Dude's as giddy as a little kid but tries to hide it.'
Less than a minute later, the examiner walked out and looked at Dylan.
"Congratulations," the examiner said while showing his first smile of the day. "Welcome to the Stark Brotherhood!"
"Thank you so much!" Dylan shouted back. "I won't disappoint you."
The examiner nodded. "Please, wait with the others."
Then, the examiner's smile vanished as he looked at Horatio.
"You're next."
Horatio stood up with a calm smile and entered the office.
Five more minutes passed, and Horatio walked out.
Compared to Dylan, Horatio's demeanor hadn't changed at all.
It was like nothing had happened.
'He seems to be confident and carefree,' Kyle thought. 'Dylan seems a bit more try-hard than Horatio.'
The examiner entered the office and came back out a minute later.
"Congratulations, Horatio," the examiner said with a smile. "Welcome to the Stark Brotherhood."
"Thank you," Horatio spoke politely.
Then, the examiner looked at Tracy. "You're next."
Tracy took a deep breath and threw a glance at Kyle before entering.
'Why do I have to be the last one?' Kyle thought with exasperation.
This time, almost ten minutes passed before Tracy walked back out.
Compared to Dylan and Horatio, she didn't seem excited.
But she also didn't seem disappointed.
As always, the examiner entered, and he only came back out after three minutes.
The examiner looked at Tracy. "The Chief will decide after meeting with Kyle."
"I understand," Tracy said.
Then, the examiner looked at Kyle.
"Your turn," he said.
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