"T-this… are you truly just eighteen?"
"That's what you're surprised about?"
Claude narrowed his eyes at the receptionist's remark.
"No, I mean, these are insane stats for such a young person," the receptionist waved her hands in front of her. "With stats like this, can't you easily join a knight order or something? Why an adventurer?"
"Are you saying adventurers don't have stats like these?" Claude asked. If that was the case, not joining the guild would be for the best. He didn't want to associate himself with weak people after all. Putting his skills to good use was important for personal growth, he guessed so.
"No, there are… This is at the level of a veteran B-Ranked Adventurer. I don't understand the deal of strong kids like you."
The noises in the adventurer's guild rose at the words of the receptionist. B-Ranked was a great deal, especially for the branch in Leunderk, which had only two such parties. The adventurers were very curious about the stats that the person had, but decided to stay quiet for now.
Claude, on the other hand, was slightly dissatisfied. Two years of life-and-death situations, and he could only match up to the B-Ranked? There were five more ranks above this.
The receptionist shook her head lightly and handed the soul stone back to Claude. "I have verified everything. Unfortunately, adventures are not all about strength. Your experience with different situations and quest clear rates count too."
She filled in a few documents and handed one to Claude. "For now, with your stats and Kone's referral in count, you will be set up as C-Ranked adventurers with easier conditions to rank up."
Claude eyed the document carefully. It contained normal information about him and about the kind of job being an adventurer entails. Naturally, there were no statements on the duration or work benefits. He could register as an adventurer and never even accept a quest if he wanted to. There was a clause about emergency mobilization by the kingdom for C-Ranks and above, so he read that extra carefully.
At the bottom was a place for him to sign, next to the signature of the deputy guild master. He simply tapped his thumb on the blood in his palm and sealed it on the page before handing it to the receptionist.
"Oh well… this would do too, I guess…" The receptionist placed the document in a file and smiled again. "It would take half a day for your guild card to be made. Till then, can the other person please step up?"
Elric grinned and walked up to the receptionist. "Do you have a string?"
"Yes?"
"String?"
The receptionist was slightly confused but handed him a string. Holding the string between his teeth, he pulled his hair back and gathered it in his hand. He moved his long auburn hair to the back, revealing his side of the face and the nape of his neck as if it were a curtain. He tied his hair up in a ponytail with a string, making everyone around him stop and stare.
"The soul stone, please?" He said with a smile.
"Yes? Right, yes." Even the previously unfazed receptionist was flustered for a second. She handed him the soul stone and a knife, different from the one she had given to Claude.
Elric took the knife and lightly nicked his thumb, rubbing the blood on the stone slab. Just like before, a white light shone in the room, and his stats appeared on the slab.
{
Name: Elric Wald
Age: 18
Class: -
Title: Two Surnames | Ruler of Water (Self Proclaimed)
Stats:
Strength: 24
Agility: 23
Endurance: 23
Vitality: 35
Intelligence: 76
Charm: 108
Perception: 58
Spirit Control: 4
Mana: 3
Mana Control: 201
.
.
.
Skills: [Hex Magic: Beginner (Charm)], [Water Magic: Beginner], [Chantless Casting], [Gestureless Casting], [Water Usurpation], [Water Manipulation: Saint]
.
.
.
Unique Skills: [Awakening], [Adaptability]
.
.
.
Equipment: -
}
Elric's hands trembled lightly as he held the soul stone in his hands. Claude noticed and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What happened?" Claude asked, peeking over into Elric's soul stone.
Elric hesitated, making Claude more concerned. "Why, can I read this stuff? It's a foreign language—"
Claude punched the top of Elric's head. "Bastard," he said in a whisper. "You notice after two years? We were brought here like that."
Elric clicked his tongue, turned on the spectator mode on the soul stone, and handed it to the receptionist.
"Oh, a normal person," she said. Her eyes scanned the stone and went lower. Air wheezed out of her nose and her mouth as she broke into a coughing fit.
"Ahak! Twohak! Two fucking hundred?!" The receptionist blurted out loud.
"What! A two hundred stat?!"
"What in the world? What is he, a warrior, a mage?"
"No way, isn't it just charm? It has to be!"
Elric quite enjoyed the reaction and puffed his chest out. The receptionist wiped her face with a towel and sat down again. After taking in a
deep breath, she looked at Elric, then at his stats, and lost her cool again.
"Why is magic control over 200 and mana just 3? What kind of person are you!?"
"Huh, you really want to know?"
"YES!"
"I am… the Ruler of Water!"
"NO!"
The professionalism of the receptionist had disappeared. A few others came rushing out of the break room and tried to calm her down calling out 'Deputy Master' over and over.
At last, the receptionist calmed down and wiped her face with a towel again. The two people that had just rushed out of a break room were glaring at Elric with animosity but did not say anything. Their eyes widened slightly when the receptionist tugged at their clothes and asked them to calm down.
"To get over two hundred in a stat, even if there is no limit, it takes significant effort," the receptionist said, her breath slightly heavy. "It is a tough situation to judge. Two hundred plus stats is at the level of A or S, Maybe even Gold-ranked adventurers. Actually, I doubt any of them would increase their magic control that much… Considering your other stats, a D or C ranked… I can't be sure."
The receptionist mulled over it a bit and then shook her head again. "I'll prepare a card nonetheless. The documents will change, so please sign them then. You two can come together to get your card."
With nothing else left to say and no one to talk to, Elric and Claude decided to leave for now and come back later. They stepped out of the adventurer's guild house, the clamor returning only after they were completely gone.
Standing outside the doors of the once again boisterous guild, Elric and Claude looked up to the sky.
"So much attention," Elric smiled.
"That was embarrassing."
"Embarrassing? Are you a fool? It was cool as heck! We became C-Ranked in an instant!"
Claude clicked his tongue and glared at Elric. "Everyone looked poor in there, and there wasn't anything cool like you said! No one even came to beat us… I feel like we shouldn't have registered here."
"Are you having second thoughts?" Elric glared back at him, but gave up with a sigh. "Look, Claude, we had no other choice."
"Why?"
"Because another world means adventurer guild, you fool!"
"What?"
"Let's go eat something."
"Yup."
And so, the two cashless idiots headed out to eat.