It looked like they had given him five options, but he could only understand the crests. Luckily, he knew most of class crests from people talking about them and seeing adventurers touting them around town.
The first one had two long swords crossed over a kite shield, making it the knight class. As far as Kairo knew, they were mostly physical fighters. Some we are able to use magic, but enhancing themselves and imbuing their weapons was mostly all they were able to do.
Kairo thought it'd be decent, but if he supposedly had a lot of magic wouldn't he want to go with something more focused on that? Paladin seemed to be the next class, a tower shield with a sword laying horizontally under it. Basically a knight, but more magic. He'd keep this one in mind.
Next was the assassin crest, a snake eating its own tail with two crossed daggers in the middle. He knew they specialized in sneak attacks, and it didn't really seem his style.
The last two were ones he didn't recognize. One was a magic circle with a shield in the center. The next was a fire pit with a crossed broad sword and curved blade laying over it. Now that he thought about it, Burch had this marking on his cloak.
He glanced over to see if William could help out, and it looked like he was already peeking over his shoulder.
"Incredible, he was given two more classes than I. It would be strange if the last two weren't those..."
William, mumbling under his breath, saw that Kairo had taken notice of him. Sheepishly he stuck his nose back into his own paper, but immediately snapped his head back up when Kairo spoke up.
"Actually, could you help me? The last two, I'm not sure what they are."
"I certainly can talk with you about them. They gave descriptions on the paper, so we can talk about the fine details to help you make a choice."
Kairo tried finding a way out of explaining his situation. Scratching the back of his head felt like a habit at this point, but he really couldn't think of something.
"I can't read..."
It was in a quiet voice that William could barely hear. Being unable to read wasn't an uncommon thing among older generations, so it didn't completely surprise him. It did bring the question of why it seemed Kairo was insecure about it, but William didn't dwell on it for long.
"Do not worry, I will assist you. The first one is the Battle Mage class, which specialize in magic. They spend a good amount of time refining their weapon skills as well, but mostly use them to launch attacks or as a last resort. People with high output and above average intake are usually given this as an option."
Now that William described it for him, Kairo recognized the class. The few members he had seen around Differentia all walked with puffed out chests and degraded those lower than them, so he wasn't super keen on this one.
"The second is similar, but also opposite. The Rogue class focuses on weapons and hand to hand combat. They use all kinds of magic, but not much else is known about them. Unlike the Battle Mages, they mostly keep under wraps. Even the description given on the sheet is brief."
The last one struck a chord within Kairo. Maybe it was because Burch was in that Class, and the quiet yet commanding presence made Kairo yearn to be like him. To be strong. To have unbridled confidence in himself, no matter the situation.
Burch's apparent social exhaustion did come to mind, but he decided to ignore the thought. It was either Rogue or the Paladin.
"I think I've made my choice. How about you William?"
"Well I did not come here to be an Alchemist, and I do not think a Mage's battle staff would suit me. Wizard it is. Also, you have the liberty of calling me Will."
"Sounds good, Will."
As they walked up to the front desk, a question popped into Will's head.
"By the way. If you can't read, how did you know what your first three class options were?"
"I've seen the crests around town and overheard adventurers talk about it. I didn't recognize the other two, but remember overhearing a Battle Mage troubling a barkeep a few years back. Tried using his position to get free drinks."
William was slightly taken aback. Not only did he remember and connect a single interaction from a few years ago, it also seemed like Kairo had lived quite a life before being drafted. He was intelligent, but most likely didn't have the opportunity to learn.
When they reached the desk, they were told to head towards different parts of the guild hall.
"That was an excellent choice, I have a feeling that it suits you."
"I had the same feeling. Good luck in your training, Will."
"Same to you Kairo. When it is over, let us be in the same party. If we can find four good comrades the likelihood of us surviving this war will increase."
Will shot his hand out to seal the deal. With no hesitation, Kairo shook the outstretched hand and agreed. After all, Will was the first person he could even consider calling a friend. He thought they'd make a good party.
It didn't take long for Kairo to find the room he was heading towards. He took a short breath before opening the door. Two people were also in the room, a plump boy with blond hair and a tall girl sporting a dark blue ponytail.
Glancing at the blond sitting on a couch and watertail standing in the corner, Kairo would guess they were around his age, seventeen. He took a place leaning against the wall, doing nothing to change the silence in the room. Luckily they didn't have to wait long.
The door opened quietly, Burch walking in like a silent wind.
"Good, you're all here. The desk lady told me there were five joining this year, far more than we've had in a while."
For the first time, Burch took off his hood. Blond hair, blue eyes, darkly tanned skin; he had none of it. Instead, he looked like he just woke up from hibernation, somehow coming out even more exhausted. Messy black hair falls down to just below shoulder height, pale skin illuminated by a tetromite lantern hanging above the doorway.
"Excuse me sir, but there's only three of us here."
The blond spoke up in a bold voice, as if he were unafraid to question Burch.
Cutting grey eyes stared the boy up and down, then flicked to the others standing in the room.
"The other two are being sent from different cities in our kingdom, so you will meet them at the Rogue Hall. Which is where we're headed right now. Any objections or other questions?"
There was silence, which Burch seemed to take as a no. He walked out of the room, the three new Rogues wasting no time in following him. They headed straight for the front door, walking through the now barren building. There were a few adventurers sitting at a booth in the corner, but they kept to themselves and their ale.
The walk through Differentia was uneventful and quiet. The streets were winding and confusing, but they had all walked them for most of their lives so none of them got lost. However, the trainees became increasingly unfamiliar with their surroundings as they walked closer to the wall.
"Greetings Burch, how're ya doin today?"
"I'm good Gadon, and yourself?"
And now they were talking to a dwarven Gatekeeper, a special class in the kingdom of Odrad. None of the three new adventurers had ever talked to one, at least in the case of leaving the city. Most citizens living in Differentia didn't have a reason to go beyond the walls.
That meant Gatekeepers knew most of the people leaving the city by name, which mostly included farmers and merchants. Rogues were apparently another of the few, and this dwarf seemed quite talkative with Burch. After some more light chatter, Burch flashed a ring on his right pointer finger.
"Sorry, I don't have the time for a long talk right now. These three will have their passes shortly, so could you let them through for now?"
"Don' worry Burch, I know the drill. We'll catch up over drinks with Balmar when ye have the time."
Gadon widened his stance and slammed his palms together. A dark brown line connected his gradually separating hands, and the 20 foot gates slowly opened as he stood strong. They walked through, the stone thudding shut once they crossed the bridge, and headed immediately south of Differentia.
For a while they followed the wall, but eventually passed it and moved towards a heavily wooded area. They walked around the forests perimeter, and were confused as to where they were going at this point.
That uncertainty ended when they passed the curve of the trees. A massive mansion sat on the edge of a cliff in front of them.
The wall of trees had been hiding the flawlessly cut lawn. A wide gravel pathway cut through the lush grass, leading directly to the front door.
"Welcome to Rogue Hall, your new home and place of nightmares for the next three months."