The receptionist returned, this time accompanied by a tall man with a solid build and a short, neatly trimmed beard. His leather coat was reinforced with metal at the shoulders, and he carried himself with the confidence of a seasoned warrior. In his hand, he held Kael's strange emblem, turning it over slowly with a puzzled look.
"I'm Guildmaster Thorne," the man said. "I've served here for twenty years, and I've never seen anything like this."
He held up the emblem between two fingers. "I can feel something from it—power, definitely. But it's not one of ours. Doesn't match the design of any official rank, not even Heroic."
Kael looked at the emblem, then back at the Guildmaster. "So it means nothing to you."
Thorne shook his head. "Not within our system, no. Whatever it once was, it's not recognized here. I'm sorry."
Kael took the emblem back with a quiet sigh and tucked it into his inventory.
"I see. Then how do I become an official adventurer?"
At that, the receptionist brightened. "That part's simple!" She pulled out a sheet of parchment and slid it onto the counter. "Just sign your name here, pay a fee of 5 silver coins and we'll issue you a copper plate. That's the starting rank."
Kael then questioned. "And if I believe I'm stronger than that?"
Thorne spoke up again. "We do offer rank challenges, for those who think the basic registration would be a waste of time. But those come with risk and cost. For a private evaluation, you'd be looking at a fee of several gold coins minimum. Possibly more, depending on the level you aim to prove."
Kael nodded and considered for a moment.
Then he pulled out a gold coin and placed it on the counter. "I'll start with copper."
Thorne looked slightly surprised, but smiled. "Sensible. You can always rank up later. Better to learn how things work first."
Kael picked up the quill and signed the parchment with steady strokes. The name he wrote was clear and bold:
Kael Azarin
The receptionist stamped the sheet, then retrieved a small copper plate engraved with the guild's insignia and Kael's name. "Welcome to the Eldhollow branch of the Adventurers' Guild, Kael. You're officially one of us now."
Kael took the plate and stared at it for a moment.
It felt… small, compared to the power inside him. But it was a start.
He slipped it into his pouch.
"I'll begin right away."
The receptionist turned to the board beside her and began pointing out listings.
"There are a variety of tasks available for copper ranks. You can take on goblin culling near the eastern outskirts, fetch clean water samples from the marsh wells, harvest rare herbs from the northern cliffs, or even assist the blacksmith with ore deliveries."
Lyra leaned over Kael's shoulder. "You might want to take the goblin job. The herb quests sound simple, but the plants are scattered, some even protected by beasts or terrain. They're not easy to find."
Kael's eyes drifted to the paper listing the herb requests. He studied it for only a second.
"If I already have the herbs in my inventory," he asked, "will it count?"
The receptionist looked surprised, then nodded. "I suppose so, yes. As long as they match the request, they're accepted."
Without another word, Kael reached into his dimensional inventory and pulled out two massive pouches. He placed them onto the counter with a dull thud.
"I'd like to complete every herb-related task I can with these."
The receptionist gave a nervous chuckle—until she opened one of the pouches.
Her laughter stopped. She reached in and pulled out a sprig of blue-veined leaves glittering with frost, even though the room was warm.
Her eyes widened. She reached in again, pulling out a pale red root that glowed faintly from within. Then a stalk of vine wrapped in tiny glowing flowers.
By the time she opened the second pouch, her hands were trembling.
The air around the counter changed.
The Guildmaster stepped forward and carefully lifted a delicate flower with petals like woven sunlight. It shimmered with golden light, pulsing gently.
His voice was quiet. "If my eyes aren't deceiving me… this is the Rebirth Flower."
Everyone nearby stopped talking.
He held it gently, like it might disappear. "Said to restore life to those at death's door. You hear about it in legends, not in routine herb deliveries."
His hand shook as he set it down.
Then he looked at Kael—truly looked at him. Kael was picking at his ear with his little finger, visibly bored.
The Guildmaster stared in disbelief. "You pulled two sacks of legendary-grade herbs from your inventory like they were potatoes."
Kael blinked. "You said rare herbs were worth something."
Thorne let out a short breath, then gave a faint, amazed laugh. "You're something else."
He turned to the receptionist. "Put the herb tasks under his name. Mark them as complete."
Then he faced Kael, his tone shifting to something more serious. "Forget the gold. I want to see what you're capable of."
Kael met his eyes with calm disinterest.
"We'll offer you a free rank challenge. Right now. If you're willing."
Kael stretched his neck and rolled his shoulders, the copper plate on his belt glinting faintly.
"Fine," he said. "Let's get it over with."
Guildmaster Thorne led Kael through a heavy wooden door into a quiet room at the back of the guildhall. In the center stood a pedestal with a crystal orb resting atop it, glowing faintly.
"This will let us measure your magic capacity," Thorne said. "It's standard for rank evaluations."
Kael stepped forward and reached out.
The moment his fingertips touched the orb, a loud crack rang out. The crystal shattered into a million shards, scattering across the room.
Thorne blinked. "…That's not supposed to happen."
Kael pulled his hand back and looked at it. "Did I break it?"
"It—shouldn't be possible," Thorne muttered, already hurrying to a shelf and retrieving another identical crystal orb. He placed it down carefully and gestured. "Try again."
Kael gave a slight shrug and touched it.
CRACK!
Another explosion of glass and light filled the room as the second orb shattered just like the first.
Thorne stared, stunned. "These things are built to withstand Heroic-tier surges. I've never seen this happen—not once."
He turned to Kael slowly. "We have… one more. It's not for people. It's for magical beasts. High-tier ones. It's far more durable and built to handle wild, unstable mana."
He led Kael down a hallway into a reinforced chamber. In the center stood a massive crystal orb, easily twice Kael's height, anchored with iron braces.
"Place both hands on it," Thorne instructed, eyes wary. "Let's see what happens."
Kael stepped up and did as asked.
The crystal pulsed once—then again. A brilliant white light erupted from within, flooding the entire room. The orb started to tremble violently, sharp cracking sounds echoing as fractures raced across its surface.
"Pull your hands back!" Thorne shouted. "It's going to—"
Kael stepped back just before the orb fully fractured. Deep cracks webbed across its surface, glowing white from within, but it somehow held together—barely.
Thorne looked like he'd just seen a ghost.
"That crystal measures the capacity of high-tier dragons… and even it couldn't handle your power."
Kael frowned. "Why do you use such poor materials for your tests?"
Thorne opened his mouth, closed it, then just stared.
Kael reached into his inventory and pulled out a crystal ball unlike any the guild had. It was flawless, with rainbow-hued veins running through it and a soft hum that vibrated the air.
"Try this one. It should give you an accurate reading."
Thorne hesitated, then cautiously placed his hands on it.
A soft green light bloomed inside the orb, and glowing numbers formed across the surface: 1200.
Thorne's eyes widened. "That's… correct. That matches my last official test exactly."
Kael nodded and took the orb. "My turn."
He placed both hands on the orb.
The white light returned—blinding, absolute. The entire room seemed to dim around it, and the numbers that appeared slowly faded into view:
47200
Thorne took a step back, jaw slack.
"…Forty-seven thousand… That's… that's more than triple any Heroic-rank adventurer in the records. You're not even—" He paused, then laughed, as if the sheer absurdity of it finally caught up to him. "You're not even measurable by our standards."
Kael tilted his head. "So, does that mean I pass?"
Thorne slowly nodded. "You pass. You pass everything. I'd promote you to Heroic right now if the capital wouldn't throw a fit over it."
Back at the front desk, the guildmaster handed Kael a gleaming gold adventurer plate, the metal polished to perfection and stamped with the emblem of Eldhollow's guild.
He shook Kael's hand firmly. "This is the highest rank I can offer you without drawing too much attention or getting tangled in red tape. To reach Heroic or beyond, you'll need to do great deeds—things that echo across the kingdom. Unfortunately, our small-town guild doesn't handle tasks of that scale."
Kael gave a small nod, slipping the gold plate into his inventory.
"If you're after greater recognition, your next step should be the capital. That's where the major guilds reside—bigger challenges, higher stakes. And," he added, "if you want proper value for those herbs you brought in, the auction houses there will offer prices our markets can't even dream of."
Kael thanked him with a simple gesture and turned to leave.
Outside, the afternoon sun filtered through the trees. Lyra stood by the steps, waiting. As Kael approached, she looked at him, curious and still visibly trying to piece things together.
"What kind of man are you, really?" she asked.
Kael paused, then gave a light shrug. "Nothing special. There are people out there far greater than me."
Lyra squinted at him, clearly not buying it. "You crushed the guild's entire measurement system like it was made of glass. You carry bags of mythical herbs. And you act like it's just another day."
Kael looked up at the sky, clouds drifting lazily past.
Lyra hesitated. "Would you… mind if I came with you?"
He glanced at her.
"I've always hated this town," she said quickly. "There's nothing left here for me. I'll even return the gold coin—"
"Keep it," Kael interrupted gently.
She blinked.
"You helped me," he added. "I'd be glad to have someone familiar along the way."
Lyra's face lit up, though she tried to hide it behind a calm nod. "Then it's settled. I'll pack a few things."
Kael looked back toward the town one last time, then forward—toward the road leading into the horizon.
"Let's see what the capital has to offer."