The next day, Sol woke up and started his day as he normally did, heading straight to the Adventurers Guild.
Most who saw him paid little mind, as they were used to seeing him every day. But little did they know that that day marked the end of this routine.
Upon arriving at the guild, Sol sought out Annabel. Instantly noticing the change in his demeanor, she inquired, "Hey Sol, did you figure out what you wanted to do?"
"Yes, I think I want to help people. But to do that, I need to become stronger."
Seeing the determination in his eyes, Annabel chuckled. "Hahaha! Why does that not surprise me at all? That's just like you, Sol."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean, it's something you have already been doing every day. It's funny how you didn't notice until now."
"What? Since when have I been helping people?"
"Every day after you come back from outside, gaining experience, you end up helping around in the guild one way or another. From helping me with documents, advising new adventurers about local monsters, and even taking over as a receptionist when I was sick on more than one occasion. That's why I thought you would make a great guild receptionist."
"When you put it like that, I guess I always found myself helping others."
"Exactly, but now I'm curious: what made you finally realize that you love to help?"
Sol then recounted last night's encounter with Jayce to Annabel and how he felt afterward. She knew how Jayce treated Sol and personally disliked him for it, but hearing how he tried to make amends made her see him in a new light.
"I see. In that case, I think the perfect profession for you is obvious. Become an adventurer. You get to explore the lands and take quests that help others. Though there is one issue."
"What is it?"
"Hmm, we should speak in private, as it is more sensitive, and you know how people love to eavesdrop around here. I have my break in an hour so wait a bit till then."
Sol nodded his head. "Alright, I will be by the quest board then."
He then left to check out the new quests while he waited for Annabel to be free. An hour later, they met again in the private meeting room.
"Your circumstances are a bit different, Sol; registering you would be dangerous."
He quickly understood what Annabel meant, as he knew how guilds operate.
"The guild will record my status information. With an irregular talent like mine, it will be quickly picked up."
She nodded her head, relieved he grasped the situation.
"With the way guilds operate, if you register and someone notices your anomaly, they will report it to their respective kingdoms. Essentially, the whole world will know your name overnight."
Guilds kept tabs on adventurers using a card system. When a new adventurer registered, usually around level 1-5, they recorded the information of their status and gave them a card that they could use at any guild branch to bring up their record. The information of any adventurer could be accessed from any guild branch in the world.
Sol shuddered at the thought of everyone knowing his abilities.
"So then I shouldn't become an adventurer?"
"Who said that you can't? You have a very cute and kind receptionist here who can simply make you a guild record and issue a card."
"Oh! A fake!"
"Can it be called fake if it was issued by the guild itself? The only thing you have to do is make sure you never lose that card. It will be a mess to reissue."
If an adventurer lost their card, they needed to show their status page again to obtain a new card, effectively updating it with the latest information. If Sol did that, it would immediately spell trouble. Most people don't lose their card, so their records tend to show when they were low level, hiding their skills and abilities.
"Wait Anna, while I appreciate that you are willing to do that for me, won't you get in huge trouble if you get caught?"
"While this may be the first guild rule I ever break, I doubt my dad would ever let anything happen to me if I get caught," Annabel said with a smirk.
'Shameless. Even dragging the guildmaster into this.'
Sol shook his head and gave in.
"Thank you Anna, I don't know what I would do without you."
"At best, get dragged to the capital and be treated as a hero. At worst, killed before you could grow."
"Yikes, really giving it to me straight."
"Yep, to make sure you remember when you become a big deal to not forget about the one who made it possible."
"Of course, I could never forget about the cute and kind receptionist who made it all possible."
Blushing a bit at being called cute, Annabel quickly said, "I'm gonna go get your card now." then immediately darted out of the room.
After 10 minutes of waiting, Annabel returned with a bronze card and handed it over to Sol.
"You already know the rules, and my break is running out, so I will keep it short. You are starting out in E rank; if I put you any higher, it would be suspicious as you have no previous record, so you will have to start from the bottom like everyone else. I would suggest you keep your level a secret until you rank up once or twice. But there is one more thing you need to do."
Annabel's face saddened a bit, and Sol quickly picked up on what he needed to do.
"I need to leave town."
She nodded.
"It would bring a lot of attention if you suddenly became an adventurer. Everyone here already knows you didn't gain your talent, and if you started taking quests, people will connect the dots. Come with me to the counter, I have an idea."
They both then headed over to the main area of the guild building. Annabel got behind her counter and grabbed two papers from underneath and showed them to him.
"First, you need to accept the quest for Lanturn Herbs," Annabel then said in a low voice, "Use it to leave town. Don't worry about it impacting your record, as we don't keep track of people who accept these simple gathering quests, just who turn them in."
Annabel then presented another paper.
"This second paper is for a quest that I think you will be interested in. Kobolds from the Andor mountains have left their cave and have been pillaging a small farming village up north. Kobolds are relatively weak, being around level 5. Additionally, their numbers are relatively few, so it was designated as an E rank quest. Now, here is the best part: this quest has not been put on the board yet; this quest is just for you."
He took the paper and confirmed the details of the quest.
"Huh, this is odd. It says that they have been stealing a lot of food. But that's not normal for kobolds to do."
"I thought the same. I wouldn't be surprised if it were goblins, but kobolds are cowards; they hate fighting. Maybe they ran out of food?"
"That's impossible; they are omnivores and can easily sustain themselves off cave moss and rodents. That's why they don't even have to leave their nests. Either way, these kobolds are attacking these villagers and stealing their food. I'll take the quest."
"Great! When you do complete it, you should then head north to Noctside. There you can turn in the quest and focus on getting stronger."
Nodding his head, Sol put away both quest papers and got ready to leave. But before heading out, he walked around the counter, surprising Annabel, and quickly hugged her.
"Thank you for everything, Anna."
They hugged each other as Annabel laid her head onto Sol's chest, and this moment lasted for a while, other receptionists and adventurers looked at them but they didn't care. But as time passed, Sol reluctantly separated himself from her.
Annabel looked up into his eyes and said, "Promise you will come visit."
"I promise. See you later."
He then walked out of the guild without looking back, afraid that if he did, he would stay.