Once outside the guild, Sol took out the bronze card Annabel gave him and used [Analysis] on it.
Name: Sol
Race: Human
Talent: [Sword]
Guild Rank: E
'Looks realistic, really gotta hand it to Anna.'
Sol put the card away and headed home to begin preparing for his journey.
Arriving at his house, Sol grabbed his worn-down sword and headed to his bed. He jumped on the bed and with his sword, he jammed it into the wooden planks in the ceiling, dislodging one of the planks. Reaching inside, he grabbed a small leather pouch and looked inside.
"240 copper. Not a lot, but I should have enough for the basic necessities."
With the money in hand, Sol headed to the cheapest general store in town and bought a backpack, since he dropped his last one when he was chased by dire wolves. While there, he also bought other basic supplies and tools he might need on his journey. In total, it cost him 180 copper.
The leftover 60 copper were spent on non-perishable food, and with that, he was ready to go.
Sol then made his way over to the west gate to leave the town and was stopped by a guard as usual.
"Papers?"
He then handed over the papers for the Lanturn Herbs; the guard gave it a quick glance and handed it back to him.
"Alright, but before you go, someone wants to talk to you."
The guards led Sol to the guard station where he was interrogated last time; inside, he saw Phillip.
"Hey kid, take a seat."
Finding it suspicious to be called back here, especially after the Thunder Wolf King incident ended, Sol sat down and trembled a bit in fear of the worst.
"Is there any reason why I was stopped?"
"Heh, calm down kid. It wasn't me who asked to see you; he should be here soon."
"What? Who?"
Phillip smirked at Sol and said, "You'll see." He then walked out of the room, leaving Sol nervous.
Being alone with only his thoughts, Sol started thinking of reasons he could have been stopped for, and he could only think of one.
"Did they figure it out that fast? Oh no! Is Anna okay?!"
"I'm at least glad you care about my daughter after the stunt she pulled for you."
Sol quickly looked around the room but didn't see anyone, but he recognized that voice.
"Guildmaster William…"
On the other side of the table, a man appeared as if he just came out from behind a curtain made of air. A towering figure easily reaching 7 feet with long red hair that looked like a lion's mane faced down Sol.
"Hmmm, she even gave you the locket I gave her…" As he said that, the Locket of Safekeeping flew out from his person and landed on William's hand. "Tell me Sol and be truthful, why did Annabel forge your adventurer record?"
Sol knew there was no point in lying and on top of being a bad liar already, William knew that whatever it was that made Annabel willingly break the rules must be big.
Taking a deep breath, he answered, "I unlocked my talent."
William's deadpan face showed a hint of surprise upon hearing his answer. He stared at Sol for a while longer before sighing at the mess he got himself involved in.
"Shit… What level?"
"25."
"By the gods… and here I thought you did it in desperation to level up faster."
Sol shook his head and responded strongly, "I would never do anything that would put Anna at risk."
"I know kid, that's why I came and gave you a chance to explain."
"So… What do we do now?"
William handed the locket back to Sol, "You will leave as you planned, and I will approve your adventurer registration."
"Wait, approve?"
"Of course. All applicants that register with the guild need to be given the final approval by the guildmaster. Not many know of that rule, but I am surprised Annabel forgot about it."
"I see. But you aren't going to report me to the Kingdom."
"If it was any other person, yes. But if I report you and Annabel finds out, she will be furious with me."
A guildmaster afraid of a receptionist… In reality, it's a father afraid of his daughter's wrath.
"Thank you, Guildmaster."
William waved his hand dismissively, "Don't mention it, now get out of here."
Sol nodded his head and left the guard house. He walked past the guards unobstructed this time and left town.
Walking on the path leaving the town, he eventually took it up north towards the village that sent the request for help.
The trip to the village went by peacefully as monsters were regularly swept, so they have learned to stay away, and there are also no bandits near Initium town. While Sol spent a lot of time in the nearby forests training and doing simple quests, he never really left Initium. So the only knowledge he has to go off is the maps he studied back at the guild. Luckily, the road that headed north had no forks, and he could simply follow it the whole way.
Hours passed as Sol arrived at the village right before dusk. He walked past the farmland as he noticed a good amount of it was empty and full of holes. When he got nearer to the village, he saw a humble wooden sign with a single word: Nestral. From the quest information, he knew he was at the right place.
Entering the village, he approached the first person he saw and talked to them.
"Hello, my name is Sol, and I am here to help you with your Kobold problem."
"Oh! You arrived fast; we only just sent the request last night. You should speak with the village guards; they will fill you in."
Given directions, Sol headed to a house where the two guards of the village resided and quickly met them. One of them was a short man carrying a spear while the other was a woman with a sword.
"So you are the one that took our quest? You look a little… under-equipped," the woman said as she looked at Sol's casual clothes and worn-down sword.
Sol tried to act more confidently to reassure them and responded, "It's all I need to take care of some kobolds."
Neither of them were fully convinced, but they nodded their heads anyways as kobolds were very weak, so even complete beginners could defeat them.
"Alright, I will explain more as the quest description didn't cover all the details. The kobolds, as of 10 days ago, have been heading out of their cave and taking our crops. At first, we didn't really mind as they only took a little from the edge of the farmland, but every day since they come and take more and more. We tried to stand watch and kill them when they tried to come again, but whenever they saw us, they ran away. We could personally go and kill them in their nest, but if we do, we leave the village completely defenseless. That's why we need you, I'll show you on the map where to go, and then it's all up to you."
"Sounds simple enough; I'll rest for an hour then head there."
If Sol said that he would head there immediately, the two guards would have found that extremely foolish. Even if kobolds were weak and could be easily killed, one should not fight when they weren't at their peak if given a choice. Sol spent hours walking to the village, and a short rest would put him at peak condition. Unknowingly by saying this, Sol gave the guards much more reassurance that they aren't dealing with a complete rookie.
"Would you like some food before you go?"
Accepting the offer, Sol received a warm meal and got some rest.
An hour later, Sol left Nestral and headed to the cave where the kobolds reside.