Hunter License & The Bronze Badge [1]

Approaching the registration desk earlier, Noah had been struck by the warmth of the receptionist's smile. 

It had caused an unexpected wave of shyness to wash over him, his cheeks turning slightly red as he lowered his head. His voice had come out softer than intended when he spoke, "I want to register as an Awakened."

She didn't miss a beat. "What is your full name?" she asked, her tone professional but kind.

"Noah Nightshade," he replied quietly, still avoiding her gaze.

He handed over the bronze badge given to him by the white-haired man, the badge that had allowed him to join a one-star dungeon expedition as a porter. 

The memory of lugging heavy equipment behind seasoned fighters was still fresh, though it felt like a lifetime ago now. 

She accepted the badge and inserted it into a sleek device on her desk. Noah watched as she confirmed his identity, her fingers moving with practiced ease.

"Your ID, Please", she said, wanting to confirm his identity.

Noah felt the weight of his ID card in his hand as he extended it toward the receptionist. 

The moment felt surreal like everything he had anticipated was suddenly becoming all too real. 

He watched as the woman's fingers danced across the keyboard, entering his information with an efficiency that only heightened his sense of unease. His heart began to race. 

'This is it. This is where it really begins.'

The buzzing atmosphere of the Adventurers' Association surrounded him, but Noah felt oddly detached, his mind slipping into a sea of thoughts. 'What will it be like as an Awakened?' he wondered, his gaze dropping momentarily to his feet. 

'Will I be strong enough? Will I lose control again?' The thought gnawed at him, the memory of past failures resurfacing like an unwanted guest. 

Questions swirled in his mind, unanswered and heavy, much like the mysterious power that now pulsed through his veins.

After verifying his identity, she reached under the desk and pulled out a white scanner. 

The sight of it made Noah tense, but he tried to remain calm. 

She connected it to a group of floating devices on her desk, asking him to place his right wrist inside. 

Noah followed her instructions, feeling the strange sensation of the scanner humming as his wrist came in contact with the crystal embedded within it. 

A faint yellow light flickered to life, illuminating his hand as information began to populate the screen.

A series of mechanical beeps followed, and the woman pressed several buttons, her expression focused.

Her eyes widened slightly at the information on the screen. She glanced at Noah, visibly surprised. 

"None of your physical stats reached 10? And you're a rare duelist, but without any innate affinity like many unlucky Awakened ?" Her voice betrayed her shock, though she quickly composed herself.

Noah felt his stomach drop. "Is that... a problem?" he asked, his anxiety creeping into his voice.

The receptionist took a deep breath before responding, "No, it's not necessarily a problem. It's just lower than the average. But it doesn't stop you from getting the license." She smiled at him, though Noah could sense her disappointment. 

'Heh, just another unlucky soul,' she probably thought.

What she didn't mention, however, was that she recognized his last name. Nightshade. The son of the infamous traitor from Utara City!

There had been much talk, whispers in the halls about what Noah's future might hold. She had pitied him in a way—forced to carry the weight of someone else's actions.

In reality, she didn't care much about the outbreak of the border city of Utara that his father, known to have the very rare shadow affinity, had caused as she herself was one of the few lucky ones on the other side of the city at that time.

Of all the combat classes one could obtain, the Duelist class could be considered a bit more special, as it was very balanced and had high growth potential. However, it seemed that the luck of this skinny young man in front of her had stopped there. 

'What was I thinking?! I shouldn't expect more than that, after all, only one out of over a thousand Awakened people could be lucky enough to have some sort of elemental affinity.' She calmed herself down a bit, as it didn't mean much to her anyway.

She could only pity this young man in front of her who didn't look older than 20 and had to bear the mistakes of someone else.

As she continued explaining the process, Noah's mind drifted. The Duelist class. It was a well-balanced combat class, with a high growth potential. He had read about it in old manuals, but now that he had it... he felt underwhelmed. No elemental affinity. No major physical stat over 10.

"Congratulations on successfully registering as an Awakened! You can now consider yourself an official member of the Five Races Alliance so please continue to work hard."

"Currently your Awakened rank is 'Dormant' while your Adventurer rank is '1-Star'. You will be provided with a special Hunter Card as well as a digital data log that will be integrated into your 'Alliance Spot' so you can choose to display this Black Card to Hunter Parties or Guilds and you will be instantly recognized as a Hunter. 

"You can also use your Bronze Adventurer Association Badge to perform other non-hunting missions and quests as you please."

"Don't forget that this Bronze Badge is limited to the Sage rank so once you reach the limits of that rank you will have to upgrade it to a Silver Badge at that time," the woman began to begin the newcomer's teaching protocol that she had memorized by heart as she showered poor Noah with an endless stream of advice and instructions. After that, she issued him a new sleek, metallic card bearing his name, picture, class, and rank as a 1-Star Dormant Awakened.