4 Master Sal Quinn

Lin Ke walks towards the door of the building, and is immediately stopped by the guards. "Stop! State your business here!" One of the guards calls out.

"I am here to take the test to become a D-class artist." Lin Ke explains to the guards. Almost immediately after saying that, the guards lower their weapons.

"Ah, so it's an esteemed artist, I apologize for my rudeness earlier, but we were instructed to be very strict with who enters. Do you have a Letter of Recommendation from your master?" The guard askes.

"A Letter of Recommendation? No, I don't have anything of that sort. Why? Is it necessary?" Lin Ke was confused, the cat didn't tell him anything of that sort. She never mentioned that he would need a Letter of Recommendation.

"Hm? No Letter of Recommendation? Then how will you prove that you are an Apprentice Artist?" The guard frowns. It was apparent from how he was talking that most of the people who came here knew this and would always have one.

Lin Ke frowns. Suddenly, an idea pops up in his head. "Ah, so you see here sir, my master was quite an odd person. He would travel to wherever the winds brought him and his drawings would make the winds howl. He just so happened to pass by my village one day, and taught me to paint on a whim. He wore a large hat that made it hard for me to see his face. He told me to practice hard, and maybe one day I'll be as great as him. He only gave me his last name, Quinn."

The guard pauses to think. "A lone artist that travels the world. Wears a large hat, able to influence nature. Quinn..." The guard straightens up. "Could it be? The A-class artist, Master Sal Quinn himself? Please, come in, come in."

Lin Ke begins to sweat a little. 'Hang on, he thought to himself. That's actually a person? Which person has so much time on their hands to go around teaching random kids in villages?'

The guard leads Lin Ke through the door and into a large beautiful courtyard. There are a few people standing around, as if waiting for something. "You're in luck today lad, the person who taught you to draw, Master Sal Quinn himself is in this building right now! You get to properly thank the person he taught you yourself!" The guard says merrily.

'Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit. What have I done? What is my luck? How is there actually someone in the world that matched the description perfectly???' Lin Ke was panicking inside. 'What do I do, what do I do???'

"Well… I guess you're really unlucky huh… How is it that some random guy you made up just so happens to exist…" Lily said, almost bursting out in laughter.

Lin Ke tenses up, fully expecting the man to look at the cat on his shoulders with widened eyes. However, the guard doesn't react at all.

"You're speaking straight in my head?" Lin Ke blurts out, clearly surprised.

The guard looks back, "Huh? What did you say?"

Lin Ke quickly realizes his mistake, "No nothing, don't worry about it, I'm just talking to myself."

The guard chuckles a little, "It's okay, there's no need to be nervous, from what I heard, Master Sal is quite a kind person. Plus, he has a beautiful granddaughter that he brought here today! I heard she is also quite a talented artist!"

The guard seemed to have misunderstood Lin Ke, but Lin Ke was too lazy to correct him. He leads him through a door into a room with a few other people. "Okay, well stay here, this is the testing area for artists, you just need to go sign the sheet of paper at the desk over there and wait. As for whether you'll see Master Sal, that'll depend on your luck! Well then, see you! I got to get back to my post."

After the guard walked away, Lin Ke let out a sigh of relief, 'Hopefully' he thought 'I won't run into this Master Sal person, and if I do, I hope I don't run into the guard while Master Sal is near. Otherwise this may get out of hand.'

He then plucks the cat off his shoulder and holds it in front of him. "Hey, Lily, you bastard, why didn't you tell me about this Letter of Recommendation thing I was supposed to bring." He quietly says.

The cat, as if just waking up from a nap, yawns and covers her mouth with a paw. She spoke straight into Lin Ke's head, "It's against the law to forge a Letter Of Recommendation you know? And of course, I knew you would have a way to get past that issue!" She laughs.

Lin Ke creases his brow, if he wasn't in a public space where there were people, he would most definitely yelled countless curses at her. Instead, he sighs and puts Lily back on his shoulder. He walks toward a lady that was sitting behind a desk.

"Hi, my name is Lin Ke, and I am here to take the D-class Artist examination." Lin Ke says.

"Hi! Please give me a moment as I fill out this application for you. I just need to ask a few questions first." The lady says pleasantly. "What is your age?"

Lin Ke pauses for a slight moment. 'Well I guess my age is still the same right?' After contemplating it, he says, "Sixteen."

The lady looks up from the paper. "Hm, Sixteen? Alright, will you be using your own tools or borrowing the Court's?"

"Using my own thank you."

"Alright very we-" The lady pauses when she glances behind me. Suddenly she gets up and walks out from behind the desk, completely forgetting me. "I'm so sorry for not realizing you would be here, forgive my insolence….. Master Sal."