Magi stared at the guild application Marc had slid across the table. The form contained more boxes and lines than he'd expected, each demanding information he preferred not to share. After agreeing to stay with Team Venn, Marc had suggested they formalize arrangements immediately.

  "Do we need to do this now?" Magi asked, eyeing the document with the same enthusiasm he'd once reserved for quarterly performance reviews.

  "Better to get it over with," Marc replied, tapping his pen against the tabletop. "The sooner you're officially registered with us, the sooner the Guild Association stops asking questions."

  They sat in a quiet corner of a cafe near the registration office. The rest of the team had scattered momentarily – Layla to store her broken greatsword, Jax to sell some goblin parts he'd secretly pocketed, and Eli to buy notebooks.

  Magi scanned the document again. Personal history. Previous guilds. Combat specialization. Combat style preferences. Emergency contacts. Special accommodations required.

  The last section caught his attention: "By signing this contract, the undersigned agrees to attend all mandatory team meetings, training sessions, and guild functions as determined by Team Leadership."

  "What's this about mandatory meetings?" Magi pointed to the line.

  Marc glanced at it. "Standard boilerplate. Just means you show up when something important happens."

  "Define 'important,'" Magi said.

  "Dungeon planning. Contract negotiations." Marc paused. "Things that might get us killed if we don't coordinate."

  Magi considered this. Mandatory meetings were exactly what he'd avoided by declining Blackstone's offer. But independent work had grown increasingly difficult, and Marc seemed to understand his desire for minimal bureaucracy.

  "Can we modify this?" Magi asked.

  Marc raised an eyebrow. "What did you have in mind?"

  "I'll attend meetings directly related to contract execution and immediate safety concerns," Magi said. "No team-building exercises. No guild socials. No motivational seminars."

  Marc almost smiled. "Speaking from experience?"

  "Yes."

  "Fine." Marc crossed out the line and wrote in the new terms, initialing the change. "Anything else?"

  Magi hesitated. "The investigation. What will happen exactly?"

  "Someone from Analysis will review our mission record, compare it against our registered stats, and look for discrepancies," Marc explained. "They'll likely call me in first as team leader. If we're officially registered as a complete unit, I can frame everything as team synergy rather than individual anomalies."

  Magi weighed his options. Investigation meant attention. Attention meant meetings. Meetings meant wasted time. Marc offered a buffer – paperwork as a shield against bureaucracy.

  "I'll sign," Magi said, reaching for the pen.

  Marc watched as Magi filled out the minimum required fields and signed his name at the bottom. "Welcome aboard. Officially."

  "What happens now?" Magi asked, sliding the form back.

  "Now? We celebrate." Marc stood. "The others are meeting us at Riftdrinkers. It's tradition after surviving something we shouldn't have."

  "I don't drink," Magi said.

  "They serve food too." Marc picked up the form. "I'll file this on the way."

  ***

  Riftdrinkers was exactly the sort of place Magi typically avoided – loud, crowded, and filled with Raiders swapping exaggerated stories of their exploits. Team Venn had claimed a corner booth by the time Marc and Magi arrived.

  "He signed!" Marc announced, sliding into the booth beside Eli.

  Layla whooped and pounded the table hard enough to make the glasses jump. "Finally! Someone with sense joins the team!"

  "Replacing me?" Jax asked, grinning as he raised his glass.

  "You wish," Layla replied. "Then you wouldn't have to work so hard."

  Magi stood awkwardly until Eli scooted over, making room beside her. He sat down, keeping his hands in the pocket of his gray hoodie.

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  "Already ordered food," Jax said, pointing to the center of the table where several platters sat. "Hope you like meat and potatoes."

  Magi nodded, cautiously reaching for a plate. The team fell into easy conversation about the day's mission, with Jax reenacting his part with dramatic flourishes. Magi quietly assembled his meal, trying to avoid drawing attention.

  "So," Layla said during a lull, focusing on Magi. "Where'd you train?"

  Magi paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. "I didn't."

  "Everyone trains somewhere," Jax countered. "Nobody just wakes up knowing how to fight."

  "I practiced." Magi took a bite of potato.

  "Practiced where?" Layla pressed.

  "Mostly abandoned buildings. Sometimes parks after dark."

  Marc leaned forward. "Self-taught? Completely?"

  Magi nodded, continuing to eat methodically.

  "That explains a lot," Eli said suddenly, watching him with unblinking intensity. "You look like a serial killer when you eat."

  The table fell silent. Jax nearly choked on his drink.

  "Eli!" Marc hissed.

  "What? He does." Eli didn't break her stare. "No wasted motion. Calculating. Like he's cataloging the most efficient way to consume nutrients."

  Magi paused, looking at his fork, then at Eli. He nodded politely. "Thank you."

  Layla burst out laughing. "Oh, I like him. He's perfect."

  "Perfect for what?" Jax asked.

  "For us," she said, raising her glass. "To the newest member of Team Venn. May your basic attributes continue to defy all logic."

  The others raised their glasses. Magi hesitantly lifted his water.

  "Question," Jax said after they drank. "If your attributes are all basic, how do you know which one to use? Like with the golem – how'd you know water and fire would work together like that?"

  Magi considered his answer carefully. "It seemed logical. Rock has cracks. Water fills cracks. Heat turns water to steam. Steam expands."

  "But that requires understanding the properties at a molecular level," Marc pointed out. "Most people with basic attributes just throw fireballs or water blasts."

  "I thought everyone understood the properties," Magi said. "I assumed that was why they developed specialized techniques."

  The team exchanged glances.

  "No," Marc said slowly. "Most people develop techniques because the system guides them that way. Basic attributes are just... basic. The starting point before specialization."

  Magi frowned slightly. This contradicted his experience, but before he could respond, a commotion near the entrance caught their attention.

  A group of five Raiders entered, their equipment gleaming with high-grade enchantments. The bar's atmosphere shifted as conversations quieted. The newcomers wore matching gold-trimmed jackets with a lion emblem on the back.

  "Great," Jax muttered. "The Golden Lions."

  "Who?" Magi asked quietly.

  "A-rank team," Marc explained under his breath. "Sponsored by Blackstone Guild. They clear the high-level Rifts downtown."

  The Lions made their way through the bar, acknowledging greetings from other Raiders with practiced waves. Their leader, a tall man with a meticulously trimmed beard, spotted their table and changed course.

  "Venn," he called, approaching with his team trailing behind. "Heard you actually completed a contract today. Congratulations on the baby steps."

  Marc's expression remained neutral. "Keller. Slumming it tonight?"

  Keller laughed without humor. "Just checking on the rookies. Teaching them to recognize the difference between professionals and... well, whatever you call yourselves."

  His gaze swept over the team, lingering on Layla. "Still playing warrior, Raguel? I thought you'd have quit after the arena incident."

  Layla's knuckles whitened around her glass, but her smile remained fixed. "Still following Blackstone's orders, Keller? I thought you'd have grown a spine by now."

  Keller's smile tightened before his attention shifted to Magi. "And who's this? New recruit? You must be desperate to join Venn's rejects."

  Magi continued eating, not bothering to look up.

  "Nothing to say?" Keller leaned closer. "Or just nothing worth saying?"

  "He doesn't waste words on assholes," Eli said flatly.

  One of the Lions, a woman with an elaborate staff strapped to her back, sneered. "Is that a hoodie? Who wears a hoodie to a Raider bar?"

  Magi glanced down at his gray hoodie, then back at his food. "It's comfortable."

  "It's pathetic," Keller said. "Like this whole team. C-ranks playing at being Raiders."

  Marc stood slowly. "We've had a long day, Keller. Why don't you take your sponsored gear and inflated ego back to your table?"

  "Sure," Keller said, straightening. "But first – I heard something interesting today. Rumor says you cleared a misclassified Rift in record time. Hard to believe, looking at your team."

  "Believe what you want," Marc replied.

  "I prefer evidence," Keller said. "How about a training scrimmage? Tomorrow at the arena. Your team against mine. Standard safety protocols, first team to surrender loses."

  Marc shook his head. "We don't have anything to prove to you."

  "Scared?" Keller asked. "Or just protecting your new recruit? He doesn't look like he'd last five seconds in the arena."

  Layla stood abruptly, her chair scraping against the floor. "We accept."

  "Layla—" Marc started.

  "Tomorrow. Noon," she said, eyes locked on Keller. "We'll be there."

  Keller's smile widened. "Perfect. Don't be late." He turned to go, then glanced back at Magi. "And maybe wear something appropriate for once. This isn't a college dorm."

  The Lions walked away, laughing among themselves.

  "Layla," Marc said tightly once they were out of earshot. "We just signed Magi today. We haven't even trained together."

  "We don't need to," she replied, still standing. "We'll be fine."

  "The Golden Lions are an A-rank team," Jax pointed out. "With sponsorship equipment. We're barely C-rank."

  "Speak for yourself," Layla said.

  Eli looked at Magi. "Are you okay with this?"

  Magi placed his fork down and finally looked up. "What's a training scrimmage?"

  Marc sighed, rubbing his temples. "It's a regulated battle in the city arena. Non-lethal, but definitely not pleasant. First team to surrender loses."

  "And we just agreed to face an A-rank team," Jax added. "Thanks to Layla's temper."

  "They insulted us," Layla said defensively. "What was I supposed to do?"

  "Not commit us to a public humiliation?" Marc suggested.

  Magi considered this new information. He'd joined the team to avoid attention, and now they were scheduled for a public spectacle against an A-rank team. The opposite of what he wanted.

  "Can we decline?" he asked.

  "Not without losing all credibility," Marc said. "Once accepted, backing out of a scrimmage is seen as cowardice. Our contract rates would plummet."

  Magi nodded slowly. "Then I'll participate."

  Layla grinned. "See? He's not worried."

  "That's what concerns me," Marc muttered.