Adventurer Rank

"Thank you very much!" Leo happily replied as he received those items. It had been much easier than he thought. Now all that he needed to do was to determine his rank, "I have my own watch that can tell the time. So there won't be a need for anyone to inform me."

Saying farewell to the reception lady, Leo then walked over to one of the guild's tables. There, he took off his bag and rested his shoulders.

Not long after, he pulled out the guild's guidebook in front of him and prepared to read through as much information as he can.

----------

Two minutes before noon came, Leo left his seat and strode right up to the second floor with his belongings.

Once he reached the top of the stairs, he entered an intersection leading to two hallways on the right and left side. Each hallway contained several doors.

Before he had time to contemplate on where to go, his guild badge began to glow. Soon, a faint trail of light appeared on the ground and seemed to be leading him in a certain direction.

Leo didn't hesitate to follow it, complimenting the guild in his mind for this useful feature.

He quickly found the room he was looking for and knocked on the door.

"Come in." spoke a hoarse voice.

Leo opened the door and saw an old man in a mage robe sitting on a desk. The interior looked like an office, with several books on different shelves beside the walls and some ancient artifacts placed on stools and tables.

The old man seemed to be examining some strange texts on an old piece of paper. After hearing a person coming in, he put down what he was reading and looked up at Leo.

He was wrinkled and balding, with a pair of small glasses placed on his nose that helped his eyesight.

"I see," he said, after carefully analyzing Leo, "A young lad, most likely 17, probably became an adult this year. Possesses no distinct talent, he'll most likely die in a month..."

Hearing this, Leo froze and became temporarily speechless. This old man appeared to have quite an eccentric attitude.

He had no idea how to respond to the old man's mutterings. It was as if he wasn't considered there.

While the man kept going on, Leo held his retorts back and patiently waited till he was given the opportunity to speak.

"Ahem," Leo coughed, "Excuse me sir, but I came here to determine my level."

"Yes, yes, of course," the old man put on a forced smile and pretended like he previously didn't say anything.

He slowly got up from his chair and went to one of the shelves. Reaching his hands out, he opened a compartment and took out a clear glass orb.

Placing it on his front desk, he indicated to Leo, "This thing here will measure your skills and potential. I will need you to place your hand on it."

Leo nodded and quickly moved forward before putting his right palm on top of the orb.

The old man then sat down behind his desk again and spread both his hands to the sides of the orb.

Muttering something unintelligible, his eyelids closed and flickered. Gradually, the orb started glowing a bluish hue before settling down a moment later.

"Alright, seems like you have the qualities of a Specialist. Your highest potential will probably just be Expert." the old man commented.

Watching him take the orb back to the shelf, Leo maintained a stiff expression.

After reading some information about the guild, he discovered that there were currently six ranks among the adventurers. They were Rookie, Specialist, Expert, Golden, Grand, and Master.

The fact that he could only be considered strong enough for the second rank was a little bit stifling. It was even more so when he heard that being an Expert was all he could achieve.

'This guy sure likes to use the word "probably" a lot.' Leo couldn't help but complain.

In the end however, he decided that he shouldn't care too much about it. It's not like he came here to be the best anyway.

The old man then held his hand out and asked for the badge.

Wordlessly, Leo handed it over and waited for the man to update his ranking.

Once he got it back, Leo noticed that the badge had changed from a circle into a smooth diamond shape.

It was now a silver color, and was labeled in the center with the word "Specialist". There was also a number "2" right beneath it.

Now that things were done, Leo immediately stood up, "Thank you, sir."

He turned around to leave, not wanting to waste a moment longer.

"Wait." the old man suddenly called out.

Leo quickly turned back, wondering if there was some other procedure.

"I need your measurements." said the old man seriously, taking out a measuring tape from one of his desk's drawers.

"What for?" Leo asked. He was thoroughly confused since there was no mention of any uniform he would have to wear in the guild's guide book.

"For your coffin," the man replied in the same serious tone, although the left corner of his lips had begun twitching, "Just in case-"

"Bye."

Leo left without another glance. He was careful to hide his expression as he turned back around.

----------

A few seconds later, Leo found himself on the first floor again. It was much livelier than before now that it was no longer morning.

After he got back down, he started fuming.

'Damn old geezer, can't he be more professional? Should he make jokes about potential deaths in the guild?'

But after thinking about it, Leo suddenly recalled the pool of blood he encountered when he first came through the entrance.

'Forget it. I shouldn't keep worrying.'

Leo breathed out and decided to search for a place to stay. Although he did manage to become an adventurer, at the moment, he was still inexperienced. Plus, he could take the opportunity to sightsee and get some lunch. It was still noon after all.

He quickly left the building and went to do some shopping.

----------

The market place was still bustling with activity since this morning. However, there were slightly less people now that lunch time was around.

Looking at the surroundings, Leo noticed many interesting items that were laid down on mats and tables. He was tempted to buy some of them, but after a closer inspection he could see that none of these items would be very useful to him.

For now, since he was an adventurer to the guild, Leo would have to travel to other places in order to accomplish missions. Any device that wasn't practical would only be a hindrance.

...And he also didn't have that much money.

When some time passed, Leo noticed a restaurant nearby with seats out in the open.

An interesting scent was coming from that place, one that Leo didn't recognize.

Intrigued, he decided to eat his lunch there; it was important for him to try to get used to the different foods served in this city.

There was only a short line in front of the place, and Leo was quickly able to make an order to one of their staff members.

It didn't take long before he got to taste the delicacies that the restaurant served. The meat and vegetables were all quite exotic and delicious. Only the drink was average, but Leo didn't mind.

As he was eating, he overheard some conversations from a few nearby customers. There were three in total and they each stood out quite a bit in appearance, particularly because they were wearing pieces of armor that covered half their bodies.

"Have your heard recently?" said one man with a bushy beard who was holding a mug of beer, "Members of the ministry have been whispering about an impending war that's about to erupt between Bavalon and our neighbors."

"You mean the Fermes and Spanyx?" responded a second person, "I wouldn't be surprised, those bastards have always tried to invade our lands. Yet they've always failed. We'll just beat them back like last time."

The bushy bearded man shook his head, "It won't be that easy. I heard that those countries are secretly experimenting new ways to improve the capabilities of their soldiers. Particularly the ones in Spanyx.

"Ministers have said that they are conducting magical tests on various creatures, and would even not spare their own citizens."

"What? Are you sure?" asked a third member in disbelief. The man looked much younger than his other two companions, "If they are really doing that, wouldn't their own citizens be rebelling against them? It's such a cruel thing to do."

"That's why it's a secret." whispered the bearded man.

"If it's a secret, then why does someone like you know it?" scoffed the second man.

"Hmph! It's because our country has the best development in magic. It should be child's play for our nation to find out our enemies' plans."

The bearded man casually waved his mug around as he kept talking in a slightly drunken state.

The second man laughed while the third person gave an uncertain smile. It was clear they didn't fully believe in their friend's patriotism.