Chapter 31: Since When Did We Have EXP?

Before I even had a chance to open my eyes, my ears were flooded with the sound of people. I quickly looked around to see we had been transported into the middle of a small town. Everywhere I looked, I saw happy village kids playing and street vendors trying to sell food or jewelry. The buildings looked like they belonged in a medieval book.

"Wow! This place looks like so much fun!" Akino exclaimed, skipping around.

"We should probably try to get some information out of the townsfolk before we make our next move. Let's meet back up here in a half an hour," I said to everyone.

They nodded in agreement so we split up. Everyone went in a different direction. I went over to one of the vendors selling vegetables.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where we are?" I asked the friendly looking man.

"Ya don't know, miss?! You're in Kaishi Town, the beginner town of Kaiyo!"

"What do you mean, 'beginner town?'"

The man gave me an incredulous look before responding.

"You're not from around here, are ya? I guess I better explain things. Ya see, this town is where adventurers get their start on their quest to defeat the Evil King."

"Who's the Evil King?"

"Ya see, after we were forced to evacuate our former planet, our king… changed for the worse. He surrounded himself with monsters and eventually started ordering them to loot our towns for gold! Since then, we have tried to put an end to his rule, but to no avail. Every adventurer that has gone to stop him has never returned," he said darkly. "Anywho, if you're willing to try and help, check out the adventurer's guild in the center of town. I wish ya the best of luck!"

With that, I left the stall and went back to the meeting place, thinking about what the vendor had told me. Before I realized it, everyone was back from information gathering. They must have gotten the same information because they all wore dark expressions.

"I guess we should head to the guild. I have a feeling that meeting the king will be in our best interests," I said, taking charge.

The others nodded, still gloomy.

After a bit of walking, we found a building with a sign that read: "Kaishi Town Adventurer's Guild." When we walked in, a bunch of tough looking men and women looked up and started to laugh.

"You girls want to become adventurers?! You all wouldn't last a day!" a big, burly man laughed.

"Oh yeah?!" Mari shouted, fuming.

"You heard me, pipsqueak! I said you're weak!"

"Pipsqueak?! You're not getting away with that, you ******* (illegitimate child)!"

Before the man could respond, Mari summoned her flaming bow and shot him in the shoulder with a flaming arrow. Everyone stared at her in complete and utter shock. The girls and I struggled to keep from laughing. The looks on their faces were so comical.

"Ignore them, please. Everyone is always on edge around here. Anyway, why don't we get you all registered. I assume that's why you're here, correct?" a pretty woman said to us as she led us over to a counter.

"Yeah. We're here to talk to the Evil King," I said boldly.

"O-oh, really? G-good luck then!" the woman replied, looking concerned. "Anyway, all you need to do to get registered is place your hand on this crystal."

The woman lifted up a spherical crystal and set it in front of us. I placed my hand on the crystal, unsure of what to expect. Suddenly, the crystal glowed a bright yellow and a card appeared. Just as suddenly, the crystal stopped glowing. I tentatively picked up the card and looked at it. It said my name and age as well as some things called Stats, EXP, and Level. According to my card, my Level was twenty and my EXP was 1,120. My Stats had different subcategories like Luck, Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, Wisdom, Magic, and Speed. My Intelligence, Wisdom, Magic, and Speed were fairly high while my Strength and Dexterity were on the low side.

"Can I see your card, please?" the woman asked politely.

I handed her the card and waited anxiously as she skimmed over it. Finally, she spoke.

"I have never seen anyone start off on level twenty before! Where are you from?! You must have been on many adventures before now!"

"Y-yeah. You could say that," I replied nervously.

"Can we get this show on the road?!" Mari asked snarkily.

"R-right! Sorry for the wait!" the woman apologized. "Please put your hand on the crystal like Hana did."

As soon as Mari put her hand on the crystal, it glowed brightly, almost blinding everyone. Before Mari had a chance to pick up her card, the woman grabbed it and scanned over it.

"L-level fifty! N-no one has ever started at level fifty before! You could qualify for an archwizard!" she gasped, looking pale. "W-who are you people?"

"Never mind that! Tell me about this archwizard thing!" Mari said, dodging the question.

"R-right. An archwizard is a type of adventurer that can use high level spells. Let's see… you can use Flame Arrow, correct? Only an archwizard could use such a high class spell!"

"Heh, I guess I'm pretty impressive if I do say so myself!"

The woman handed Mari her card so Yuri put her hand on the crystal. Like with Mari, it glowed brightly. Her card also said level fifty and she could qualify for an archwizard. Once everyone had finished getting registered, I realized I was the only person that couldn't qualify for archwizard. All of the other adventurers were staring at us in shock and whispering among themselves. The poor registration woman had fainted long before everyone was registered so another employee had to take over. I could tell that word of a party of archwizards would spread quickly.