The city of Magnolia was lit up in the cantaloupe glow of the sunrise. The sun was barely peeking out and the birds had just started chirping, signifying the start of a new day. Asura held a yawn back as she trudged through the streets of Magnolia, scratching the back of her head and trying to keep herself awake. Frankly, it was far too early in the morning for her to be in her uniform and patrol around the city. But, well, she couldn't say that she hadn't asked for this when she decided to become a Rune Knight. It had been a while since she had been in Magnolia and the woman had done quite a few things from apprehending fake merchants to decorating the town to catching a peeping tom. Today would be yet another ordinary day in the life of the Apprentice Rune Knight.

So far, she didn't really know what exactly she had to do. All she knew was that she had to meet this man, called Captain Devon and he would be briefing her about what she needed to do. Asura briefly wondered whether this mission would put her life and to be honest, she hoped it really wouldn't. Especially, with how sleep deprived she was.  

It didn't take long for the blonde to reach the area where she was told that she would meet him. Apparently, it wouldn't be too hard to miss that man when she had asked how she'd know if it's him. They had told her that he wears a helmet all the time due to getting a scar on his face from protecting the castle long ago and he was scared that it might frighten the citizens and so, he kept his face hidden at all times. And it seemed as though this piece of information came in handy to Asura as not long after reaching the meeting point, she spotted a man in the distance, covered in Knight gear from head to toe and would you look at that, a helmet. She walked towards him and as she reached him, the blonde saluted at the Captain and said, "Asura Nightshade, Apprentice Rune Knight, reporting for duty, sir."

The Captain looked towards and shot her a light smile before nodding and extending a hand towards the blonde, which she shook, respectfully. "Hello, Ms. Nightshade. I'm assuming you're already aware of who I am, so I'll speak the formalities. I don't think they informed you of what your job is going to be. Which is fine, I can tell you that. It's very simple actually. I just need you to go to the park and try to round up as many recruits as you can; I don't care what race, gender, country they're from or what their past is. If they're willing to join to make a difference, then get them." When Asura asked him why he wanted recruits for the Knights and questioned whether they had too little, he lightly chuckled and shook his head.

"No, no. We have plenty, but it always helps to have more. After what happened in Era and now in Crocus, it's always better to be prepared in case something does happen." Asura nodded at him and saluted the man yet again, more heading off towards the direction of the park.

Asura arrived at the park and cast her gaze around the place. The sun had fairly risen up by now and she could see people nearby, some on their jog, some walking their animals, some coming for a nice breakfast. However, there weren't too many people here and Asura started to worry about whether she'd be able to get anyone in the Knights in just one day. After all, with what just happened in Crocus, people would most likely want to keep themselves as away from the fighting as possible. She wondered why Captain Devon was so hell bent on wanting more people to join the Knights. Frankly speaking, they had more than enough people but he was right. There was no telling what could happen when and it would be beneficial if they were prepared beforehand. She remembered his words; to ask anyone she could, regardless of their appearance or past which according to the blonde, was an incredibly noble thing to do. Second chances ought to be given and everyone should have a chance to prove themselves, at least once.

Well, time to get this show on the road.

Asura started scanning the area and her eyes soon fell upon a man who was jogging around the park and seemed to be heading in her direction. Here goes nothing. As he approached, the blonde stopped him with an "excuse me?" and caused the man to halt in his  steps, looking in her direction rather warily, especially considering the uniform she was wearing.

"Um, hello." Asura started as she bowed at the man, "My name is Asura and I'm a Rune Knight. I wanted to ask you if you'd be interested in joining the Knights?"

The man raised an eyebrow at her, "Me? Join the Knights? Um, why exactly?"

"Well, you see, after what happened in Crocus and Era, previously, we're trying to recruit members for the Knights, those who actually want to make a difference and wouldn't be opposed to serving their country and fighting in solitude. It is a very noble thing to do and we're looking at everyone because we want to give everyone a chance, regardless of where or what they might be. So, if you want to do something good, something to help others out, you should give the Knights a chance. Come train with us for a bit, if you like it, become a Knight, if you don't, you can always leave."

The man pondered over her words for a bit as he scratched his head before finally, nodding. The blonde beamed lightly at him and took down his name, telling him to report to Captain Devon the next day. He smiled at her, rather excitedly, thanking her and was on his way for his run. Well, this first one wen't well. Asura had a good feeling about this. After all, weren't there many people who wanted to do something, do something for Fiore. This wouldn't be too hard, she'd probably get way too many people. Yes, she felt confident.

Except, maybe this wasn't as easy as she thought it might be.

Asura spent the entirety of the day, talking to people and trying to convince them to join. She approached of all types; regardless of their race or gender or past. She pushed past their appearance and tried to get to catch a glimpse of their beliefs, of whether they would want to help out in trying to make Fiore a better and stronger country, to help its people and actually make a difference. Some people were more than enthusiastic to join, others not so much. Their excuse being that even though they were citizens of Fiore, they didn't want to get caught up in the fighting, especially because they didn't possess anything special like magic. To that, Asura nodded however, she made sure to give her opinion.

"Well, if it helps in any way, I don't have magic either and I'm a Knight. It doesn't matter whether you were born with magic or not, what matters is how much you want to help others, how much you want to make a difference. If you have that within you, nothing is as impossible as it seems."

One of the people she was talking to snickered lightly as he mumbled under his breath, "Yeah and you're out here trying to recruit people."

Asura clicked her tongue before exclaiming, "And I also fought in the Crocus war." This seemed to have done a good job of shutting that man up as the woman with him gave him a disapproving look before nodding at Asura, saying that maybe she'll give it a chance. Asura beamed at her and jotted down her name and address before adding on, "Plus, if you do wish to want magic, there are many ways to attain it such as lacrimas. The possibilities are endless. You shouldn't let something like this stop you from at least, trying. You don't know what could happen." The woman smiled back and the duo were on their way.

The rest of the day went by similarly. Some joined because they were driven to make a difference, some didn't because they wanted to live a simple life and not get caught up in wars. There were those who were ex-convicts or criminals who had tears in their eyes when she asked them to join, so glad to have a second chance and there were those who thought they were better than Knights and turned their nose up at the blonde when she asked them. Overall, she would have to say it was quite an okay day. The sun had set long back and it was nightfall, with the mark about to close in a bit. Asura had perhaps asked around over a 100 people and maybe, gotten about 30-40 names at most. She supposed it was good enough.

The blonde headed over to the gate where Captain Devon had just arrived at and handed him the list that contained the names and addresses of the people who had volunteered to join. He scanned it and nodded appreciatively at her, "Thank you for your hard work, Ms. Nightshade."

"I'm sorry I couldn't get more people," Asura apologized, "It was rather difficult to convince a lot of them to join."

Devon raised his hand and dismissed her apology, "No worries. I expected as much but even these many people are good, we'll be able to get at least half of them to fully become a Knight which is good enough for one day. Here you go, your reward for today's hard work." He handed her a stash which seemed to contain her prize for the day and the woman nodded at him, before saluting the man. She bid him adieu after bowing as well and was on her way back to the hotel where she lived.

[ 1704 / 1600 ]
20% WC Deduction due to Adventurer Class

[EXIT]