Emerald Apartments, 6:00 AM
Artis woke up sharp in the morning and began his day doing warm-up exercises. He couldn't sleep properly last night as he felt uncomfortable by all the outside noise and party sounds that were happening late at night and he couldn't find anything to eat properly and settle down by eating 2 cup noodles that didn't satisfy his hunger at all.
Drinking a glass of water, he decided to jog and exercise a bit so that his body could keep up with the training he would do in the coming days.
The roads were again, empty but this time, it wasn't clean like yesterday. There were glasses and bottles thrown around the dustbin, party crackers, plastic plates, and all other stuff thrown here and there making the entire place messy.
Disgusted by this, Artis quickly ran out of that area and continued his jog. After jogging for around 30 minutes he returned to his room and made his breakfast.
…
After breakfast, which was only a bowl of milk and cereal, he got ready for work, put on his green jacket, and headed out towards East Ferrous Lab.
It was currently, 8:00 AM and Artis felt pretty embarrassed for wearing a flashy costume out in public. Even doing his flashy tricks as a Magician, he didn't feel this embarrassed because he always wore a white mask to cover his face or a black suit for his tricks he did either in his home or in public.
So, hiding his embarrassment and having a straight face, he locked his door and headed out for his first day at work.
'Ugh, at least this watch is good, but…I want a new costume if I can get one. Even a brown jacket would do, but I want to change this annoying green jacket!'
As he descended down, he could see street vendors and hawkers already setting up their stalls and cleaning up the mess and garbage that happened because of the party last night.
"Ugh, it's those brats again! Why do they always create such a mess!?"
"You tell me, it's them who cause such mess and old folks like us have to clean it up every day. Kids these days got no respect for adults!"
"It's that damn child Airi isn't it? She's the only one who can create this mess?"
"If only she also got banned from this city like those other 2, we wouldn't be in this mess..."
"Hey, but I have heard that Lana Brandit was seen around these parts. Is it true?"
"Yeah. It is. But it's her daughter who is banned, not her! She can enter this City however she pleases...remember? She's also a doctor."
As the vendors continued to have their conversations among themselves, Artis managed to overhear some of their talk but paid it no mind as it was none of his business.
But still, he was a bit interested in the story of what happened in the past since he knew a Brandit who is a Doctor, Lana Brandit.
'So, her daughter is banned from entering East Ferrous City? Wow, what in the world must have happened here that caused her and one other person to be barred from entering this place altogether!'
As Artis continued his thought process creating various theories, he reached in front of East Ferrous Labs and entered it.
...
2nd Floor, East Ferrous Laboratories,
Professor Javier was buried under his paperwork, as Artis already settled himself down, drinking a glass of water as he watched the Professor trying to fix the mess of his table.
He did not announce his presence this time because he did not want to help the Professor again to fix his study properly which took hours last time.
Grinning and enjoying this amusing situation, he gulped down the water and announced his presence which startled the Professor.
"Oh, Artis. You are here. Now help me with these files." said the Professor nonchalantly.
"Yes, yes Professor. I'm here now..." replied Artis sighing a little as he began helping the Professor.
After 30 minutes, the study was cleaned up and Professor and Artis settled down peacefully drinking another glass of water.
"You want a coffee?" asks the Professor.
Artis shook his head in refusal, "I don't like to drink coffee. It's too bitter for me."
Professor laughed as he drank his cup of coffee before getting to the main point.
"So, for the reason I called you here, can I see you Adventurers Card?"
"Hm?" Artis was confused by the sudden question. Doesn't the professor already know what his rank is supposed to be? Feeling a bit skeptical, he gave his card for inspection.
The Professor accepted the card, inspected it with satisfaction, and returned it.
"You have a good start as your Adventurer. A Journeymen Tier. Normally, people registering in the system start from the Apprentice Tier at the age of 15 or 16. You might be 3 years late, maybe because of your own reasons but in Aurosia, every citizen must become an Adventurer."
"Wait what? But weren't you telling me yesterday that this job is filled with dangers and betrayal? Then why in the world is it compulsory to become an Adventurer here?" asked Artis finding some contradictions in the system itself.
If the job itself is dangerous, then why do the authorities force the citizens to become one? This one question and rule couldn't help but irritate Artis since in Inleon, it's at the age of 19, you have to register to become an Adventurer but it was not compulsory to become one.
'So in the end, no matter where you go, the Adventurer job will earn you a lot of money...' thought Artis.
Professor nodded before replying, "That was a test to see if you want to step into the field of an Adventurer, but!" his expression turned serious, "I wasn't lying when I said this job is filled with pain, betrayal, and danger." exclaimed the Professor as he grabbed his left arm which seemed to be covered in bandages.
"But!" he pointed his finger upwards, "The rewards are just as worth it in the field so if you earn a profit in any of your missions, try to take it fully and don't be humble. It's a man-eat-man world out there. Only you can take care of yourself," finished the Professor explaining.
Artis nodded, understanding what the Professor meant and comparing his situation as he inspected his rank and tier again.
"So, what kind of missions can I do, and what do these rank signifies?" asks Artis curiously.
"Well, when you begin at the Apprentice tier, you are supposed to do missions in groups of 2 or 3 people. But, once you break the threshold and enter the Journeymen tier, you can do any F to E rank missions alone.
"The missions are divided into ranks. Usually, F-rank missions are handled by Apprentice Tier, in groups to gain experience. Journeymen and Proficient tier handle D and E rank missions. Master Tier handles C-B tier while the rest of the Tier above handles the A and S rank missions.
"The greater the rank, the greater the difficulty. You can also join A to C rank missions once to reach Proficient Tier if the mission requires a group to handle."
"I see..." nodded Artis as he fell into a deep thought
Professor clapped his hands at that moment surprising Artis snapping him out of his thoughts and said, "Well, now it is time for your first mission that I have chosen for you. Here, take a look."
Professor handed him a paper as Artis read the contents of it.
[Stealing Ruffian- Please Help!]
[Difficulty: E rank]
[Reward: 70 Grands]
[Details: For the past few days, a big burly man has been blocking the path to the Central Library asking for money to pass through him. If refused, he beats us up and nobody has been able to do anything about it. Please, I request a strong Adventurer who can handle this guy. Please, I beg you. You will find me at East Ferrous Laboratories, I will wait every day until 4 PM when someone accepts my mission.]