"You want to create your own Guild?" Gerald, the High-Commander of Wildgarde Stronghold asked. "Are you sure of this, Lux?"

"Yes, Sir," Lux replied. "I want to create my own guild in Elysium."

Three days after his talk with Alexander, Lux finally returned to Wildgarde Stronghold in order to meet with the Elders, who were also the Guardians of the Fortress City where he grew up.

"I have expected this to happen sooner or later," Natasha, the High-Cleric of the stronghold commented. "Is your dispute with Nero so bad that there is no room for reconciliation?"

"I don't want to work under someone who doesn't like me," Lux replied. "Even if he treats me fairly like his other guild members, I will always think that he is just paying lip service because he doesn't want to look bad in your eyes. Also, there is always a small chance that he will intentionally make things difficult for me, and even send me to harm if an opportunity presents itself."

Rainer, who was Nero's Master, looked down on Lux from his seat with his arms crossed over his chest. He bore no grudges against the Half-Elf, and even thought that it was a waste not to have Lux in their Guild.

With someone of the Half-Elf's caliber joining their subsidiary guild, he believed that the Storm Dragon's Guild would truly spread its wings and soar to the sky.

The Guardians exchanged glances with each other and sighed. All of them had been briefed about what happened to Vera and were quite worried about her condition. Alexander's official response only said that Vera was taken to an intensive care unit deep within Barbatos Academy to prevent the poison in her body from spreading.

No one was allowed to visit her, so they didn't know what her condition truly was. However, the witnesses who had participated in the battle had attested that the old lady had been grievously injured from her fight against the Ranker that belonged to Prince Lowell's entourage.

"Creating a guild is not an easy task, Lux," Gerald stated. "Do you need to use our connections? That should make things easier for you. In regards to the Guild Members, we will give you free reign to choose among the talented individuals within the stronghold as well as the territories under our protection. What do you think?"

Lux smiled as he respectfully bowed his head towards Gerald.

"Sir, your offer is very tempting, but I must decline," Lux replied.

The atmosphere inside the room immediately turned tense after Lux responded to Gerald's proposal.

"So are you saying that you are going to break off from the stronghold completely?" Rainer broke his silence as he glanced at the Half-Elf, who just turned away the olive branch that they offered to him. "Has your victory in the tournament made you confident enough to throw us aside after all that we have done for you?"

Lux pressed his right fist over his chest as he looked at Rainer, who was also Nero's Master.

"I will forever be a member of the Wildgarde Stronghold," Lux replied. "If someone tries to invade it, I will stand as the vanguard in order to protect it with my life. That is how much I owe to the place that has helped me weather the storms of my childhood."

"My decision to form a new guild is not because I want to break free from this place. No, far from it. What I want is to help this stronghold grow, but I will not be able to do that if I join the Storm Dragons for reasons all of you already know.

"As for helping me create the guild by using the stronghold's connections and resources, my reason for rejecting it is because of one simple reason, and that is I wish to stand on my own two feet, and weather the storms of the world using my own strength."

"All of you bore witness to the hardships I faced when my body was still frail and riddled with sickness. Now, I stand before you, not as a cripple, but as a changed person. I know that this is a selfish decision on my part, but I want to see just how far I can go in a world where the only ones I can rely on are myself and the people that supported me with their own free will."

The tension in the room disappeared, and it was replaced by a profound silence that made Lux wonder if his message had made its intended effect.

A few minutes later, Natasha smiled as she looked down on Lux.

"As expected of the boy that I raised since childhood," Natasha said. "You inherited my boldness!"

"I was the one that changed his diapers when Vera was away," Gerald commented from the side. "Clearly, he got all of his good traits from me."

"I was the one who instructed him on stamina training"

"I was the one who taught him history!"

"So what? I was the one that taught him manners. You plebs don't know a thing."

"I was the one that taught him archery!"

"Um, hello? Did you forget? On his first day, he shot an arrow into your butt, so you banned him from entering the archery range."

"Nonsense! Don't slander me. I was giving him secret lessons when no one was looking!"

The Guardians one by one claimed to have played an important role to help shape Lux to becoming what he was today. In their eyes, Lux was proof that their teachings were correct, and was quite happy with his achievements, because his achievements were their achievements.

The Half-Elf could only scratch his head at the unexpected turn of events that were happening in front of him. He had thought that his Elders would think that he had grown too arrogant when he became the champion of the tournament, but looking at their reactions, his worries were unfounded.

Only Rainer kept his cool the entire time and once again asked Lux the most important question of all.

"Can you do it?" Rainer asked. "Can you create a guild by yourself?"

Lux nodded. "Yes."

"Then prove it. We will consider this as your coming of age quest. You have exactly one month to create a guild, which is equivalent to two months in Elysium. Within that set amount of time, you must finish this quest. If you fail, you will be exiled from Wildgarde Stronghold for five years, never to step inside its territories again during your time of exile. Do you accept this condition?"

The two Guardians, who had been rowdy earlier, all clammed up as they stared at Rainer with solemn expressions on their faces.

Lux had been exempted from the Coming of Age quest because of his weak constitution, which was a tradition among those that had become sixteen-years old.

Usually, the Coming of Age Quest required an individual to either kill a certain monster, or collect a certain herb. There were other quests that were more forgiving for those who didn't excel in fighting, and weren't confident enough to travel to far away places.

Because of the minor quests that had been approved over the years, the Coming of Age Ceremony wasn't as demanding as it used to be, allowing anyone to pass it without problems.

"Rainer, isn't the hurdle too high?" Natasha asked. "Surely, there must be another way."

"Of course, there is another way," Rainer replied. "If Lux fails to meet the conditions, then he must join the Storm Dragon Guild, and make peace with Nero. What do you guys think?"

"Oh! This is a good idea. Definitely better than exile."

"I agree with this condition."

"Hah~ you sly fox. Still, I like it! Very well, I also approve of this."

Gerald and Natasha were surprised at first, but after careful consideration, they thought that Rainer's condition was brilliant. Exiling such a talented youth was simply a waste, so it would be best to keep him under their subsidiary guild for the benefit of everyone.

Lux was very tempted to tell them that he would rather be exiled than make peace with Nero, but after seeing everyone's eager eyes on him, he decided to just smile and agree to the conditions presented to him.

"Great!" Gerald clapped his hands. "As the High-Commander of Wildgarde Stronghold, I hereby declare the start of your Coming of Age Ceremony. Within a month, you must create a guild without fail. If you are unable to achieve this goal, you will join the Storm Dragon's Guild, and make peace with Nero. Do you accept this condition?"

"I do," Lux replied.

Gerald smiled. "Good. Your one month will start tomorrow. I look forward to the surprise you will give all of us one month from now."

---

Inside Vera's Residence

Lux busied himself with cleaning Vera's room, his room, as well as the other rooms in the house. He would be away for a month, and his grandma was currently in a comatose state, so no one would be in their residence for nearly a month.

While doing chores, he was already formulating the things that he needed to do once he entered Elysium.

The factions of Wildgarde Stronghold were based in the Azrael Kingdom, while the faction of Barbatos Academy was stationed in the Regulus Empire.

Both of these nations were neighbors and had a good relationship with each other. Lux planned to visit the Adventurer Guilds in the Azrael Kingdom first, and convince three of its Guildmasters to allow him to take the Trial of Leadership.

'The hardest part is convincing the Guildmasters,' Lux thought. 'Usually, they would prioritize individuals who have managed to become Gold-Ranked Adventurers"

There were eight Adventurer Guild Ranks, and they were Bronze, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orihalcum, and Adamantite.

Lux took out his Guild Card and checked the information written there.

-----

< Guild Card >

Name: Lux Von Kaizer

Age: 16

Race: Half-Elf

Rank: Gold Rank.

Registered in Leaf Village

------

After saving Leaf Village many times, as well as helping the other villages within the territories of the Stronghold of Norria, Lux was able to raise his Adventurer Rank to Gold Rank.

The Half-Elf believed that with his current Rank, he would be able to at least talk to the Guildmasters of the Adventurer's Guild in the Azrael Kingdom, and ask them for recommendations, so that he could start the trial that would allow him to create a guild.

This would be Lux's first time visiting a Human Kingdom, since he had spent most of his time in Elysium inside the Dwarf Kingdom of Gweliven.

'I miss them,' Lux mused as he thought of Colette and his friends, who were probably off to an adventure somewhere in Elysium.

He hadn't been able to give them a proper goodbye because he didn't want to involve them in his conflict with Twilight Rain.

'I'll make it up to them the next time we meet,' Lux thought as he finished cleaning his Grandma's room.

His reunion with his Dwarf friends would still have to wait because he still had things to do and places to visit.

Even so, he believed that the next time he would see Colette and the others, all of them would have become more formidable and ready to take on greater challenges in the world outside the borders of the Dwarven Kingdom of Gweliven.