Monarchs of Above and Below (On Hiatus)

Chapter XVIII: The Trooper Guild

Matthew woke in his bed to the incessant beeping of his alarm.

He still felt groggy. Despite being back in his old bed, he was still back in his old bed. It wasn't nearly as soft as the bed he'd spelt in at Luke's penthouse.

Sloppily rolling out of bed (quite literally) Matthew turned off his alarm and rubbed his eyes.

His morning routine was the same as every other morning.

First was coffee, from his older-than-dust coffee maker.

Second was breakfast, which mostly consisted of whatever he had stocked in his freezer.

Third was freshening up with a quick shower and brush of his teeth.

All finished off by him donning his hunting gear and weapon's case before walking out the door.

Matthew checked the time on his phone as he got to his car. He clicked his tongue. "Only 20 minutes to get there huh?" He mumbled to himself. He looked to his car, then at the time once again.

Traffic was always hectic, especially during the mornings when everyone in the city was driving to work.

Matthew turned in the general direction of the guild building he worked for a little ways across the city.

He then had an idea. He wouldn't have considered the idea had it been just a week ago. But he was much stronger now. Much faster.

Matthew held his weapon case over his back before turning down the sidewalk and taking off in a sprint.

Running through the streets of Dallas was an odd feeling. He weaved between and through swaths of people. He ran across city blocks in the matter of a minute.

The wind gliding across him was oddly refreshing to his still partially fatigued face. He was over half way to the guild building when he started to feel a bit of fatigue.

He could feel his breathing deepen. It wasn't anything compared to what he had felt when marching throughout a dungeon, but he was simply surprised he'd made it so far without feeling anything.

He finally stopped across the street from the guild building. His breath only just beginning to become ragged.

The building wasn't insanely large, like the buildings he'd seen in New York that he could hardly ever see the top of. It was a three story building that looked more like an office building then anything else in the area. The entire outside just looked like several window panes all across its surface.

Matthew walked across the street, checking the time on his phone as he approached the front door. "Got here in 15 minutes." He commented. "This beats driving."

Matthew entered the building and was immediately met with the oh-so familiar lobby of the guild hall. It wasn't necessarily anything special.

The first thing Matthew saw as he entered was the front desk, beyond which was a lounge and food court, combined with a small bar.

The front desk was occupied by a woman with brown hair tied back in a ponytail. She wore a formal uniform worn by the staff of the guild hall.

"Welcome in." He heard the woman shout from the desk, just like she was supposed to do whenever anyone entered. Matthew could only imagine how she felt shouting that any time the doors opened.

Matthew nodded to the woman as he walked to the desk and produced his hunting license.

The woman took the card- giving it a brief second glance at the strange golden 'E' on it- before scanning it on a computer on the other side of the counter.