Welcome to the World of Gifts & Dungeon

"So you are going to be their mentor, Bell?" Aero asked with glittering eyes.

Bell gave Aero a proud smile and a short "yes" as an answer.

"Can't you train me too. Like the old days?" Aero asked with puppy dog eyes and wagging tail.

Bell knew where this little boy was going so she waited for the keywords she was expecting.

"Maybe this time, you could bring me into one of your dungeon dives?"

Bell did not have the heart to say no because she knew just how much this boy dreamed of becoming an adventurer.

So she decided to compromise with him.

"Of course you can! I will officially guide you on your first dive since now you're old enough to be registered with the System…" before Bell could finish her sentence a certain red haired boy yelped.

"Realllly! I can become an adventurer now?!"

"Why not? But promise me that you won't ask for any dungeon diving until you are fully recovered," Bell looked at the boy with saddened eyes.

He could see the effect of the incident on him.

He looked weak and malnourished. Though the worry was now cleared of his eyes, he was still not fully recovered physically yet.

"I already know that myself," Aero sighed.

How he wished that he was fed enough food in The Mine. Then, he would not be in this pathetic state of his. He could even go dungeon diving as soon as he was registered.

"I'll have to hand in my report and finish my mission first so be a good boy in the meantime," Bell patted the boy's head.

Now that her cute nephew's condition was confirmed, she was freed of her worry. Only then did she notice their little guest.

"Oh, Clem! Sorry I did not notice you there. Did you come here alone without Lily?" Bell asked the quiet Clem.

"Lily still had some things to do at the Guild so…" Clem answered.

"That's strange. Usually Lily had to drag you here by the hands…" Bell eyed the green boy waiting for an answer.

Both of them weren't strangers to each other. The boy Clem would usually come to have his meal here, dragged by Bell's close friend, Lily.

"I was also dragged here…" Clem muttered but Bell heard it all.

She exchanged a glance with Aero. Aero sheepishly smiled at her.

'So that was what happened…'

"Then, I'm glad that both of you have become fast friends. Aero may be a bit forceful sometimes so it is handy if someone as calm as you could keep an eye on him."

Clem cheeks reddened under Bell's praises. People did not usually praise him, especially outsiders who were not his family.

{Well, he only had one person who fit that criteria.}

Bell mentees had a different thought, 'who are you calling forceful, huh?' but they only dared to ask such questions in their heart.

Bell then turned around to take her leave when she finally noticed the blue haired guy watching her every move all this time.

He coughed lightly.

"Izzy…"

"Oh, sorry I 'completely' forgot about you, Phil," Bell said innocently.

{Emotional damage!}

Phil swallowed that bitter feeling forcefully just as he forced a smile.

"I think a bit of introduction is due here," Bell clapped her hand together.

Aero came and stood beside Bell as the latter gestured toward him.

"This is my most precious younger brother, Aero Vermilion," Bell said sweetly.

'W-wait! This is wrong on all levels!' Phil thought.

"Izzy, since when… I mean, a-aren't you the younges…"

Bell ignored the stammering Phil and continued the introduction session.

"Aero, this here is my vice in my team, Philip Aqua."

Aero held out his hand to greet Phil.

"Nice to meet you, Phil."

Phil shook Aero's hand, "Likewise."

The two of them made eye contact.

'Ah, what beautiful ruby eyes…' Phil thought.

Phil was in a trance looking at Aero's glimmering eyes. The other took this chance to probe the one looking into his eyes.

They were like that for a few moments, still holding hands.

"Hey," Bell pinched Aero's cheek and the latter blinked.

Only then did Phil break out of his daze.

'What was that?' he thought.

"He is a guest here," Bell reprimanded Aero for things that Phil did not understand.

Aero only eyed Bell for a short moment and said, "Not for long I see."

"Where did you learn to tease people like this, huh?" Bell pulled his cheeks further.

"Aww… I-I'm sowwy!" Aero pleaded.

Bell released the boy's cheek and sighed, "Huh~ what will I do with you."

Bell then walked towards the door and addressed her retainers, "We might come back by dinner. Prepare extra portions for our guests. And Aero…" Bell looked at the boy caressing his cheek. "Now that I think about it… prepare a feast for Aero's Baptism. Aero, take this time and rest appropriately, okay?"

Aero did disagree but refuted with, "You too should take some rest."

Aero knew that Bell hadn't had any rest since she rushed over to complete her mission then came back instantly here using means unknown to him.

"Later, okay?" Bell compromised and the boy could only nod his head in agreement.

Bell and Phil leave for the teleportation room. They rushed to complete their mission as fast as possible. There weren't any hiccups in the process though. It showed that even in their hurry, Bell did not compromise her mission even for a bit.

{How could she when the mission involves her family. Those who dared to touch the Vermilion will suffer the wrath of the lion.}

---

Later that night, the feast officially started when Bell and Phil came back from completing their mission.

Along with them were tonight's guests.

Clem, who had excused himself after Bell and Phil exit, came with a lady dragging him by his hand.

The lady introduced herself as Clem's aunt, Lily Moss.

"I never thought Clem would come here except when I forced him too. Thanks to your encouragement, he managed to make new friends," Lily smiled as she sang her praises for Aero.

"I did nothing much," Aero chuckled.

"Yeah, he just dragged me here like you usually would," Clem readily agreed.

Aero gave Clem a good long look in the eyes. He then grinned at the boy like he was caught doing something wrong in plain daylight.

The guest and host interacted merrily. Deep down, Lily wanted to ask Bell and Phil about their mission but she thought that it was not the right place nor time to do so.

As members of Royalty, the three of them had collective responsibility to keep track of issues affecting the balance of the world.

The conversation normally subsided down as time went by.

Bell thought that it was high time to start the ceremony.

Bell stood up from her seat and called out to Aero who was sitting across from her.

"Aero, it is time," she walked towards the waiting space beside the dining table. It was where Bell used to sit and play with her brothers while they waited for their meal. Or while they wait for their parents' return.

'Finally!' Aero shouted in his mind.

All of the attendees of the feast including Bell's retainers, gathered around Bell and Aero.

"Aero Vermilion, member of the Vermilion Royal family, you are now at the age of thirteen. As the laws dictated by our forefathers, you are now to assume your post as fellow royalty," Bell declared with a clear voice.

Aero gulped hard. He never knew the registration or formerly known as Baptism to be such a heavy ceremony.

"You have been given freedom for the past thirteen years. The time has come for you to shoulder the responsibility expected of you as a Royal."

Master had explained to him before about the Royalty Baptism process. For other people, normal citizens or noble alike, they could register themselves with the System the moment they are born. Many facilities were available to accommodate a large-scale registration process.

Once someone was registered, that person was official under the grace of the System. They would unlock many features unavailable to those unregistered.

With this many privileges, humankind had prospered and built a new era for themselves. With the processing power of the System, they could build and invent things that were not possible if they were to do it themselves.

This also applied to adventurers. As this profession was a high risk one, humankind would never survive unless they are given chances to grow at a faster rate.

This was where the System's power comes in. The leveling system.

Once Aero had registered or baptized himself with the system, he would unlock the leveling system automatically.

And so, he could pursue his dream of becoming an adventurer.

Bell summoned her blue screen which was unreadable except for those she allowed. She drew a needle out of thin air and pricked her finger. She pressed a drop of blood on the blue screen.

Her screen immediately turned dark red.

[Vermilion Royal Blood detected]

[Initiating Royal Baptism…]

[Permission required to proceed!]

[Yes/No]

These were written on Bell's screen.

She gave her permission without any second thoughts.

'Yes!'

[Permission granted!]

Aero was watching Bell with restless eyes. Suddenly, a white screen appeared in front of him. This was the screen that accompanied him in The Mine. Without it, Aero may doubt the memory he had about himself.

[Name: Aero Vermilion]

[Age: 13]

[Gender: Male]

[Race: Human]

[Quest]

[1. ????]

Ever since he escaped The Mine, he thought he would be given a new quest but the one he got was unreadable.

A notification popped up in front of him

[Would you like to connect to the World's system?]

[Yes/N0]

Without further ado he selected the yes option.

[Consent confirmed]

[Please offer a drop of blood to confirmed your bloodline]

A new notification popped. Below it was a black circle where Aero should put his blood on.

"Here," Bell handed out a new needle to Aero.

He pricked his hand like Bell did and pressed his fingers on the black circle.

[[Blood offering detected]

[Processing the blood…]

[Vermilion bloodline confirmed]

[Uploading the blood to the Archive]

[Successful!]

[Revising the registration protocol…]

[Age 13 and above confirmed...]

[Registered under one of the Vermilion blood confirmed…]

[Conditions fulfilled!]

[Connecting to the World's system...]

[Successful!]

[Updating the user's system…]

[Unpacking the adventurer's system]

[Successful!]

[Update successful]

[Adventurer options are now available]

[Initiating Adventurer registration...]

[Unlocking the Adventurer privilege…]

[Successful!]

[Restarting the system…]

And with the last notification the white screen disappeared for good.

A screen later appeared in front of Aero. Signifying the completion of his Baptism. The screen was now blue in color. A huge message filled the whole screen.

[Welcome to the World of Gifts & Dungeon]

At last, it was Aero's starting step. He was finally on the starting line of his journey as an adventurer.