2.2.3---------------------------------------------
After entering Trinity's gates, Yosuke saw a huge castle-like building that had a large brown double door within in its entrance. The castle was so large that its front walls was extending several meters in both sides from its entrance door. Yosuke couldn't even see the end of the castle just by looking at its side.
Walking to the said to be castle, there were trees that were lined up along the walk way.
For Yosuke, it felt like he was just walking in one of his usual mornings in high school. Until he heard a cheerful voice, calling his name.
"Yosuke-san! Yosuke-san!"
"Huh?" Yosuke responded before he glanced on his shoulders.
It was the support specialist girl he met after a giant champion beast had assaulted him last week. Although they only talked for a few minutes, it was impossible for Yosuke to forget the name of one of the most beautiful girl he met at new Tokyo.
It was Laura Lancaster.
Although he just met the girl wearing a red and white uniform for the second time, Laura was already greeting him like a close friend.
"Yosuke-san! I can't believe that we're both drafted in this guild. Hihihihi."
"Yeah. I also can't believe it... That they seriously drafted me."
"Eh? But you're really strong! By the way, Yosuke-san. Do you know Frederyk-san? He was glaring at you since the beginning of the ceremony."
"Oh, I know him from the Ambrosia Laboratories."
"Eh? So you really meet my brother, huh?"
Brother?
Yosuke didn't get what Laura said.
"Huh? Frederyk-san is your brother?! You two don't look identical. Could it be that he is just picked up somewhere random?"
"No. Silly. I'm Lancelot-niisan's younger sister."
"Really?! Lancelot-san's..."
In that instant, Yosuke felt somehow peaceful and light. It was the feeling of talking to a friend in a white heavenly place. This was his first decent and harmless talk to a sweet girl in ages.
But Yosuke also felt like there was something strange about their conversation.
"Come to think of it, I never said I know your brother, Laura-san. How come you know that we already met?"
Laura suddenly looked away from the boy while her face was red.
"I-i-i-i-it's not like I'm taking a peek at my brother's documents or something!" Laura stuttered with her soft spoken voice.
Yosuke's only reaction was to stare at the blonde girl besides him. It was the same reaction he typically seen in an anime with a shy girl in the scene.
However, a chill suddenly struck the janitor boy's spine.
"!"
Yosuke couldn't assume out why at first. He was swaying his head back and forth from left to right, finding out what it was. Laura was wondering why her friend was acting like that, but it didn't take too long until Yosuke figured it out.
What's this level of Otaku-ness I'm sensing...? It's over... It's over 9000! Yosuke silently muttered.
When the janitor boy glanced at his back, he saw a familiar face of man just standing behind them. It was the man who recently shocked the entire Trinity Guild.
It was none other than Chris Readman.
"It seems like I've found a fellow guild mate that shares the same bloodline limit..." Readman said while smirking.
"Um... Yosuke-san, do you know that guy?" The blonde girl asked.
"Laura-san, this man is the embodiment of what an Anime Otaku means."
"Eh?"
"The legendary YourTuber who is said to have the largest pieces of original anime collections that originated in the 21st century. The only one in this century that has the Final Arc DVD sets of One Piece! He's called... Sensei the Anime Relic Hunter! I just can't believe I heard his real name right here!"
"Eh?! He's that great, Yosuke-san?"
"Of course, Laura-san! Once he made a ruckus in the anime world by uploading a video in YourTube.com. When he talks about the last pieces of One Piece's legendary DVDs, he wore a cape and said: 'I'll release this when the right time comes...' That video is still getting dislikes and hateful comments up to this day!"
"So, your names are Yosuke-kun and Laura-san, eh? It's nice to meet the both of you." Sensei greeted the two. "But a little advice in your end, Yosuke-kun."
"Eh?"
Sensei tapped his right hand in Yosuke's shoulder and muttered in his ear.
"Girls in that caliber will only result in disappointment, Yosuke-kun. Hohohoho!"
Laughing while his lips were closed, the guy known as Sensei just walked between Yosuke and Laura like some king who ruled over the kingdom. But deep inside his heart, he was just jealous of Yosuke.
While Laura was left with a face full of shock and disappointment, Yosuke was standing there like a foot soldier when his superiors were walking in front of him. It was his respect for the man who was responsible for the growing interest of 21st century anime in new Tokyo.
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Yosuke and Laura was about to continue to walk their way to the guild's main building when another man with eye glasses and seemed to be one of their upperclassmen, approached them.
He was also wearing a white and red uniform while he raised his hand and greeted the two. But it seemed like he was already expecting them as he was looking at Laura since they entered the gate.
"Oh, if it wasn't Vincent-senpai. How do you do?"
"You know him, Laura-san?"
"Glad to meet you, Masuda-kun. I'm Vincent Seymour, A Trinity Alpha member. I'm a year older than you so I hope we can get along well." The man named Vincent introduced himself with a smile.
Yosuke had a face of someone who had seen a ghost. He just became aware that the man who was in front of them was an upperclassman and probably a veteran in the guild. He realized that he must put a good expression that would impress his senpai.
"G-g-glad to meet you too, Senpai! I'm Yosuke Masuda! The ultimate maso..."
"Um... Masuda-kun, you really don't have to repeat your introduction earlier."
"By the way, Vincent-senpai. Why are you here?"
"Oh. I heard that rookies are free to roam the guild's compound in their first day. So, how about I take you on a tour here, Laura-san?"
"Really? That would be great, right, Yosuke-san?"
However, the Laura and her senpai noticed something strange about the janitor boy.
"Huh? Yosuke-san, why are you crying?" The surprised blonde girl asked.
Yosuke suddenly felt like crying.
He was sobbing as tear flew down his cheeks. He never thought that his speech earlier would trigger the best scenario he had imagined in his first day in this guild, that actually never happened in his school days. He remembered that the only people he knew in his high school life were bullies and girls who always made fun of him.
Yosuke believed that in this day, his stinking life would finally take its turn after a long, depressing run.
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However, a girl in the same pathway was muttering something on her own. The girl, who was also in red and white uniform as she was wearing a brown scarf in her neck, was staring at Yosuke's group a few steps apart from them.
"So that's Yosuke Masuda, huh?"
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The janitor boy, together with his companions, went straight to the entrance of the huge castle-like building.
The building in front of them was obviously wide. It was quite similar to the Ambrosia Laboratories as it didn't have any furniture or appliances inside. Except that the Trinity's entrance hall seemed like just a giant security passage for the guild itself.
The first thing that they noticed was a dark brown carpet-like design on the floor that was in the form of crystallized stone made of granite. Every wall division, which was separated by pillars, had a red cloth with a sign that symbolized the emblem of the Trinity Guild.
"This is called the Walls of Trinity. First timers here always mistook this place as our main hall."
"Really? It's also my first time in here, Vincent-senpai."
"You mean this is place only surrounds the whole campus?"
"Yup. Masuda-kun. You two will know once we reach the other side." Vincent replied.
As they walked through the hallway, multiple digital screens appeared in front of each of every member that walked pass through it. It was more of a scanning technology that were tracing and detecting every member's data and information mainly about their character system in a form of security protection. The information collected was then matched against the information on Trinity's database. After a member was declared clear from their security software, the information about the said member were then updated and stored back to its database.
A minute of walking had passed and the three reached the other side of the hallway. Upon stepping outside to the other end, Yosuke and Laura saw a field entirely different from the city life.
In this very field, trees and grass were dancing as the wind continued to blow them from horizon. Birds resting on trees were chirping pleasantly, giving a lively melody to this wonderful paradise. And guild members in two different colored uniforms were walking inside and out the campus like normal high school students in their morning gatherings.
It was a place more like a school than a guild.
"Welcome to Trinity, Laura-san, Masuda-kun!"
"!"
The two didn't blink for few seconds. They were expecting something different from this place. The guild's location was right in the middle of a modern city built mostly with hard concretes and bricks after all. This kind of nature-themed compound was likely unusual here in new Tokyo.
The pathway to each building was made of asphalt like it was mini-roads that scattered around the compound. There were also a lot of signs that showed the names of the places and which direction they were located. Spread out trees provided shade for campus.
But the thing that got their attention most was the cool and refreshing breeze of air the place had offered.
As they walked through the area, they noticed a cathedral-looking mansion in front of them.
"You know, I'm kinda surprise about this place. It feels like we're just in a massive school with different uniforms."
"To be honest, this place also surprised me last year on my guild debut. But you two still haven't seen all of the best stuffs in here."
"Really, Senpai?" Laura answered while giggling.
The blonde girl in Yosuke's group couldn't hide her inner feelings. Her eyes were sparkling in excitement. Anticipating what the Trinity Guild could offer to them, Laura began to think about her set goals in mind.
Yosh! I'll try my best to be a good support ability user just like I promise to my brother!
But even though the blonde girl was thinking about her own goals in her mind, by just simply staring at her, Vincent's face suddenly turned red. He felt like there was a lovely glowing light surrounding Laura Lancaster that gently added charm to her beauty.
"So, Vincent-senpai, is that large mansion our guild hall?" Yosuke suddenly asked.
...
...
...
...
"Vincent-senpai...?"
Yosuke noticed that their upperclassman was not responding at him. It was like he was in his own world, unable to communicate to them. But the moment Laura glanced at him, the young man in eye glasses suddenly snapped and looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Huh? Huh? W-w-what?!"
"Are you alright, Vincent-senpai? You look slightly red..." Laura noticed while looking at her upperclassman.
"Eh? Ah? No! I'm perfectly fine! Hahaha! Let's move on!"
As Vincent continued his explanation, he fixed his disturbed mind by closing his eyes and remaining calm.
"As you can see here, that is indeed the Main Guild Hall of Trinity."
"Wow! It's bigger than our school itself." Yosuke said as he identified the guild hall.
The cathedral-looking mansion was still far from the group when they noticed it.
It had gray to black colored walls that were full of circular glassed windows and had a pointed designed roofs. Its front door was ten times larger than the entrance seen in the Walls of Trinity.
The guild hall definitely had some gothic ambience embedded in it. It was more likely similar to an old and rusting cathedral in the very center of Trinity's compound.
The supposed to be guild hall was so high that Yosuke and Laura didn't even noticed a three-story building just in front of gothic guild hall.
"The Trinity Guild Hall was said to be the first structure built here in this kingdom. The three founders built this as the foundation of what was now we called new Tokyo. And in relation to honoring the three founders, the guild that was based here is named as the Trinity Guild."
"Heeeeh... So that's the history of our guild, huh?"
"Masuda-kun, do you know that our current Guild Master, Rome-sama, and also his father, the first guild master of Trinity, were all trained by none other than the king himself?"
This so called King again, huh... But I wonder why I have some feeling of doubt about our king? Yosuke thought deeply.
"Typically, those who were trained by our King always become one of the few big names in this kingdom. A good example is Laura-san's big brother, Lancelot Lancaster of the Golden Spear. Being personally trained by the King himself, he just became the youngest member of the Twelve Supremes three years ago in just the age of 16." Vincent told them delightedly. "We're really lucky to have a guild master with a high caliber reputation."
"Really, huh?" Yosuke muttered. I still don't know why, but I have a feeling this King is not that awesome at all...
"My brother always told to me that in order to be on top requires patience, perseverance and hard work. So, let's do our best, Yosuke-san!" Laura cheerfully declared.
"Right!"
And it didn't take too long until the three arrived in front of a building just next to the guild hall.
"Actually, our guild hall is right at the center of this campus. However, there are four major establishments that are surrounding the guild hall. At the North is Trinity's Training Facilities, West from here is Trinity Alpha Dormitory." Vincent continued his explanation while walking.
"Trinity Alpha...?"
"Oh. I almost forgot to tell you. Trinity Guild is also one of the largest guilds in this kingdom. In the past, population is mostly the main problem of the guild officials. Guild members were always fighting out the use of equipment and dormitories. That's why they came up with a plan to solve this problem. They established a member system that will both take advantage of the problem for the guild itself. It's called the Trinity Hierarchy System."
"Hierarchy System?" Yosuke and Laura both wondered.
"Basically, the guild is divided into four parts, The Council, The Trinity Alpha, The Trinity Beta and The Trinity Delta."
This hierarchy system... Yosuke muttered.
"The Council is the... council! They are the ones who are usually creating long term decisions within the guild. Trinity Alpha members are those in red and white uniforms while Beta members are those in blue and white uniforms. The difference about the two is Beta members are those that are currently undergoing training here in this campus. While Alpha members are the ones who are in the top of this guild and the only ones that have the right to accept missions. In short, we're the pride of our guild! You two are already Alpha members, right? That means you two will be assigned in a mission soon."
"But senpai, what about Trinity Delta?" Laura asked curiously.
"They're... they're stationed outside of the campus."
"Eh? Why?"
"Because they're the laughter of this guild..."
"?!"
"They are bunch of demoted Beta members that didn't have the potential to even do a regular training menu in our facilities. Because of that, the council thought they will just waste the guild's resources. So they build a small guild hall and isolated them from the Alpha and Beta members."
"That's cruel..." Laura thought in grief.
The so called Hierarchy System the Trinity Guild currently used suddenly reminded Yosuke of a vicious system.
A system where only those with power could take control, causing discrimination and hatred among others. Yosuke Masuda was a plain example of it.
Just because of who he was, where he was, and how he was, he was immediately casted away. He was brutally judged. In just a blink of an eye, he found himself alone in this kingdom like he was locked away from civilization in a prison cell.
Yosuke felt remorse as he was disappointed about the guild he was anticipating. But this was the reality. This system was a significant expression of what was happening beyond the walls of the new Tokyo. In a kingdom where power ruled more than anything else, this was the reality underneath the modern nation.
The janitor boy had obviously no choice. His only option right now was to accept all of them and move forward.
"Continuing my explanation earlier, we have the Training Facilities in the north, Alpha Dormitory in the West, Trinity Library in the south and the Research and Development Laboratory in the east."
"Research and Development? It's kind of familiar..."
"Of course, Yosuke-san! You're working in the Ambrosia Laboratories, right?"
"YOU"RE WORKING AT AMBROSIA LABORATORIES?!" Vincent suddenly shouted in front of the two. "Oh. Forgive my rudeness. It's just that I'm quite surprised, Masuda-kun."
"Is Haley-san really that great?"
"HALEY-SAN?!" Laura and Vincent suddenly uttered with both of their eyes widened.
"Oh... I mean, Haley-sama. Hahahaha..."
"Perhaps, are you close to Haley-sama, Yosuke-san?"
Laura started to question the janitor boy's personal stuff while glaring at him. Declaring himself a janitor a while ago, the blonde girl was wondering why a self-declared janitor would call someone infamous like that.
"Um... D-do you seriously think that a janitor would be close to her?"
"Guess you're right. Hihihihi." Laura giggled in relief.
Judging by their interaction, Vincent noticed that the two seemed to be close to each other. They were talking like they knew each other long before they were drafted.
This made him felt somehow irritated.
"But before we enter the main hall, let me first tour you in our training facilities..."
The training facility in front of them was quite similar to the Ambrosia Laboratories in terms of outside appearance. Being a three-story building, it gave the understanding that this place was packed with several training equipment used by the very best of this guild.
But as the three walked pass the door, there were several personnel with a specialized pen that was writing in their screen menu while watching and observing a video in a digital television. Yosuke and Laura then realized that in those digital televisions, two men in blue and white uniform were having a sparring match somewhere outside the guild campus.
It was similar to new Tokyo training grounds as this facility also had the technology to transfer someone to faraway lands.
"Welcome to the training facilities! Let me guess, you two are only expecting guild members here, right? Trinity hired ability specialists to further analyze someone's strength, weakness, stats, abilities and more. This is for the members to reach their full potentials."
"Wow!"
"Yeah. This is really awesome!"
Yosuke and Laura were amazed at what the facility was currently offering and started wondering around the place. They reached a large room that was more like an arena than a technological room. It was quite large as it could occupy hundreds of people.
At the middle of that arena was the actual white-floored combat zone where the battle was being fought.
And then, they heard a loud sound similar to that of a gong being struck down by a hammer.
"!"
The three quickly took a glance at the arena that was surrounded by several guild members.
As Vincent immediately pushed himself to the crowd and reached the side of the combat zone, he then saw a boy in red and white uniform standing in the center of the crowd that was laughing out loud. But observing the boy closely, his right arm looked like it was augmented with metal element before it returned to his normal skin.
And that was not all.
Vincent also noticed five Trinity Alpha members lying in the floor unconscious just beside the boy at the center stage.
"That boy... so he's the Golden Age's 8th overall ranked rookie... Steele of the Metal Arms!"
END OF CHAPTER 2.
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Cyber Abyss Bonus Facts:
New Tokyo's Guild System.
It was one of the ideas established to increase the nation's military might, in order for the kingdom to raise power and defend itself from internal and external conflicts.
There were two types of guild in new Tokyo. The Official Guilds and the so called Freelance Guilds.
Official Guilds were a type of guild that was officially recognized by the kingdom itself. These were large guilds mainly supported by new Tokyo's Guild Association. Anyone with the right and proper requirements could form an official guild. However, founding an official guild both required time and effort.
One of the requirements to register a guild was to have 20 or more members. It also needed to have the facilities that would pass the Guild Association's standards and a guild's own hierarchy system, in which specific members would handle the guild's businesses and internal decisions like handling the guild's budget, maintenance and more.
The Freelance Guilds, in contrast, were self-proclaimed guilds, usually formed by rookies who had similar interest in a particular field. They were usually pursuing their own missions by their own funds and their own decisions. These guilds were composed usually by adventurers, hunters, scholars and those who just wanted to have some fun and excitement.
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Please don't forget to vote and comment if you like my story. It really motivates me to write more. And if you find some errors and plot holes, don't hesitate to leave a comment. ^_^