Main Hall, East Ferrous Laboratories,
Artis made his way toward the first counter where he encountered Maya who seemed to be busy on a call attending to a lady who seemed to be leaning towards the counter, her right hand supporting her head.
The lady had long brown hair tied into a pair of twin-tails, wearing a black cap on top, a black half jacket underneath a white dress looking bored from waiting at the counter as she continued to flick her heels waiting for Maya to be done.
Sensing that someone was staring at her, she turned around her head and made eye contact with Artis.
A fair round face with short ears and thin lips, thin arms, and legs, and a thin body with a little scar on her left eye was visible on her face. But what made her alluring and gave her a charm of cuteness was the bright emerald eyes that gave her a childlike feeling.
Pursing her lips and a frown forming on her forehead, she stood up, approached Artis with an annoyed look, and looked up.
"You want something from me? Why are you staring at me with your ugly face?"
Artis was taken aback by such a harsh and brutal way of tone this lady was speaking and was too stunned to reply.
"Say something? Or am I just talking to a big thick wall that doesn't know how to talk?"
Artis frowned, wondering what did he do to offend this lady.
Is this what Ray meant to be careful around here?
The lady smirked looking at Artis as she continued to mock him even further, "Ho! It seems you can at the very least, show emotions." she leaned forward holding Artis's chin, "Well?"
Artis lost his patience as he loudly smacked the lady's hand out of his face and replied, "Alright, enough is enough! What do you want from me, lady!? Are you trying to pick a fight with me or something?"
The lady took a step back, her eyes widened at Artis's response, and began laughing, "It seems that I have offended you with my way of speaking! I apologize for that. I was just trying to have fun because I was bored and comes a handsome boy staring at me. I was just surprised for a moment there. So I'm sorry about that"
'So being an asshole and starting fights for no reason is fun for you? What in the world are you Aurosians?" thought Artis as he showed no reaction to this lady's apology.
"Oh come on! Please, don't be that angry at me! I was just joking! joking! You are a handsome guy!" said the lady joining her hands but Artis could detect a sense of sarcasm in her voice.
"Miss Shelara! Your call is here! Please come to the counter quickly?" Maya's voice reverberated in the main hall as the lady in front of Artis looked back and went towards the counter.
She picked up the call as her expression changed to a happy one, in contrast to her moody and arrogant tone as she continued to speak on the telephone.
Putting the phone down and thanking Maya, who acknowledged and bowed down, as she smiled happily ready to leave the lab.
But before leaving, she turned her head to look at Artis and smiled waving her hand, "I really do apologize for insulting you a few moments ago, but if you were offended by that, that only means you are weak! Let's meet again sometime if fate allows it!"
Artis's eyes twitched as he frowned seeing the lady leave the hall, "Let's never meet again!" he grumbled irritatedly.
Approaching the counter, Maya asked in a soft tone, "Are you alright? It seems she got to you..."
"Who is she?" asked Artis looking at the door, "She is probably the most pretentious prick I've ever met in my life...and I am only 18!"
Maya chuckled slightly listening to his grumblings, "Her name is Shelara Bonimore. A Botanist from the Grand Dream City. She came here because her uncle works here and is looking to expand her business even further!"
"Expand her business? With that personality...she would only be dooming her business..." mumbled Artis.
"Well, that is her family business that has been around for 40 years, it is also popular so I don't think it would go down easily." replied Maya looking at Artis smiling as she heard his mumbling causing Artis to flinch.
"Leaving that aside, how did your talk with the Professor go?" asked Maya.
"Oh, right!" mumbled Artis as he checked out his pocket and handed over the slip given by Professor Javier to Maya.
Maya received the slip and let out a small smile, "Alright! I understand what I have to do. Follow me, Artis. It will only take a little while."
Confused, Artis followed her to the left side of the hall, where he entered another door and a huge machine was visible in front of him.
"Woah! What's this?" asked Artis.
Maya nodded as she explained, "Ranker's machine! A machine that will register you in the Adventurer's world that will generate your ID and your Rank and Tier which will be linked to your Skill. Every time, you level up or your Tier changes, the card will automatically update itself."
"Oh? I see..."
"But before that, put your right hand on this panel in front of you. It will tell you your current level and tier that you are in right now."
Artis gulped, looking at the blue panel in front of him right now as he placed his hand that scanned him completely from head to toe.
Immediately, after a minute of analyzing him, the screen projected this information.
[Name- Artis Janes]
[Class- Adventurer (Beginner)]
[Tier- Journeymen Tier (2nd class)]
[Level- 2]
"Oh? Journeymen Tier! That's a strong start to have in the early stages. You are certainly stronger than you look!" exclaimed Maya giving Artis a thumbs up.
"Was that a compliment or an insult?" grumbled Artis.
In this world, the strength of a person is determined by the tier he is in. 10 tiers showcase the strength of a person.
The Novice Tier is the the beginner's tier. Then comes the Apprentice Tier, Journeymen Tier, Proficient Tier, Expert Tier, Master Tier, Grandmaster Tier, Ascendent Tier, Transcendent Tier, and the Enlightenment Tier which is the peak of the mastery.
Each tier has its levels that the Adventurer gains with experience that allows them to enter the threshold of the next power. Each Adventurer has to gain 15 levels before they can advance to the next tier, and Artis is currently only at the second level of the Journeymen Tier.
Advancing Tiers get harder and harder as leveling up also gets tougher and tougher.
Unique Skills also get stronger as you advance in the Tiers. At the beginning of Artis's Novice tier days, Record could only copy 5 skills for a limited amount of time like 7 minutes, and they got removed from the list after a week. In Apprentice Tier, the skill evolved and he could control the removal time of the skill.
The Skill will only be removed if Artis wills for it to be removed.
In the Journeymen tier, Artis can now copy a maximum of 10 skills for a limited amount of time and it will keep on upgrading till he reaches the Proficient Tier.
As Artis waited for a few more minutes, a card was generated on the screen that was his Adventures ID card.
Maya downloaded the card and gave it to Artis.
"Congratulations! You are officially an Adventurer now!" Maya said happily, "Now you can officially take on missions and travel around the continent without anyone stopping you. One of the perks of being an adventurer is that you can travel anywhere without any restriction."
"Thank you, Maya," Artis said, accepting his new Adventurer's ID card with a nod of gratitude. He took a moment to inspect the card, which bore his name, tier, level, and a holographic image of his face.
Maya continued, "Remember to take good care of this card. It not only serves as your identification, but also as a record of your journey and achievements. Keep it safe and make sure to update it as you progress."
Artis nodded, slipping the card into his pocket. "I will. Thanks for all your help, Maya."
"Good luck, Artis," Maya added with a supportive nod.
As he was done, Artis went back to Professor Javier's room and said that he was done with the registration.
Professor Javier nodded and said, "Good! Then come back tomorrow for your first mission I have chosen specially for you. And take the keys that are kept on the table. That will be the room you will be staying in. It's just outside of the Lab. The Emerald Apartments."
Artis went to the table and picked up the key and the note that was kept on the table.
'Room no. 602, Emerald Apartments.'
Artis faced Professor Javier and nodded, "Thank you, Professor. I won't let you down."
With that, he turned around and left the room.