I woke up to see that I was being carried by someone. They noticed that I was waking up, and stopped in their tracks.
The person then said, "Are you alright, fox?" He sounded male, it must be that "Emmanuel" guy.
I then said, "Where…"
He set me down, and I was sitting down, confused as to where I was. He then said, "I found you next to two very large piles of blood, and you were covered in it. Mind telling me what happened?"
I brought out the quest form from my pocket and showed him what quest it was. He read it, looked at me, and back at the quest form. He then asked, "Y-You took this quest? You did?"
I nodded my head. I then brought out my guild card, and showed him my rank. He then looked at it, and said, "Damn. Well, okay…"
{At this time, he was thinking, "Damn! This kid is a higher rank than I am…"}
I then asked, "You are Emmanuel, right? The 14-year old E rank adventurer?"
Emmanuel looked at me with a sort of surprised look. He then answered, "Yes… How did you know that? Have we… met before?"
I then realised I just asked him something that I should not know. I quickly thought up an excuse.
I then told him, "Uh, no, we have not met. But, I have seen you around Ryubia and the guild for the past few months, so that is how I've heard your name."
Emmanuel then said, "Oh, well, that makes sense." Emmanuel and I started making our way back to the city, so we can finish our own individual quests. On the way there, he would try to make conversation with me to alleviate the boredom.
He would talk to me about his past, what he does, and then he would ask me this; "What happened back there? Did you truly fight them by yourself?"
I told him the truth. I replied, "Yeah, magic is very useful when it comes down to battling. Especially if you know how to correctly use and manipulate it."
Emmanuel then asked, "You can use magic? Could you show me some?"
I replied, "Sure, why not."
And so, I demonstrated some earth, fire, water, and air magic. He looked absolutely astonished. He then told me, "Wow… I've never seen someone able to use all of the elements before! Normally, you're only born with a singular affinity to one type of magic, that's if you are born with the ability to use it at all!"
Oh, is that so? Well, shit, I didn't know that.
I then asked him, "Well, could you keep that a secret, then?"
Emmanuel replied, "Sure! After all, I got to see some cool magic!"
I then asked him, "Can you use any types of magic?" He thought about it for a moment, and then replied, "I can only use mana techniques, like mana bullets. I don't have a lot of mana, so I can only use them sparingly."
I told him, "I can help with that. Do you posses the ability to sense mana?"
Emmanuel answered, "Sort of, I can sense it, but only weakly."
I then told him, "Using that sense, try to sense nearby mana in the air, and manipulate it to take form of a spell."
As we were walking, he attempted this over and over, until he finally fired off a larger mana bullet. He was jumping for joy, and thanked me profusely. And so, we finally made it back to the city, and headed to the guild.
He went straight into the guild, and I went to the material exchange counter on the side of the building. I showed the person manning the station my quest form, and they asked about the materials. I pretended to use a magic bag, which are quite rare, and brought out the two wolves. The person there, who was a male in his late teens, ran to get the guild master, who came out and saw me standing there with the two grey wolves next to me, in a bloodied pile.
He asked me to come with him, and I did.
-[The Guild Master's Room]-
He brought me into his room, and asked me to sit down on the chair in front of his desk. He then sat down at his desk, and asked, "Are you the one that took that C+ recommended rank quest about two days ago?"
I brought out the quest form, and he studied it. He then said, "Well, I'll be damned… And you have a magic bag?"
I brought out a normal satchel from under my robe, which I got out from my inventory, and pretended to bring out that rabbit I killed three months ago. Huh, I forgot to use this. Whatever. It's still perfectly fine. Time seems to freeze in my inventory. I'll just put it back in there for safe keeping.
I then put the bag back under my robe, the guild master then told me, "Congratulations, you have unlocked the chance to become a C-rank adventurer. If you are wondering how, then I'll tell you; To become a C-rank adventurer, not only do you have to have a good reputation with other adventurers, you must complete tons of quests, and a C-rank quest with 3 or less people. Now, to become C-rank, you must beat the practitioner, who just got back from visiting his family, and must pay the fine of one gold coin."
I then asked him, "What if I fail?"
He answered, "Then you will not be able to retake the test for another 3 months."
Okay, fair enough. I then asked him, "Would I be able to take the test now?" I placed a singular gold coin on his desk.
He answered, "Yeah, just let me get him. Also, kid, you won't be able to take any B rank quests until you are old enough to advance more ranks."
I nodded my head, because that seems fair enough. A few minutes later, the guild master came back in with a human, who was quite well built, and was staring right at me. He then asked, "You the newbie? The one that all the staff has been talking about, the kid that ranked up quite fast?"
I then said, "I guess so?" He looks to be around the age of 50. The average age for death in this world is probably the same as my previous world's.
The practitioner smiled, and then said, "Well, my name is Kyle, a retired B rank adventurer! Nice to meet ya!"
He put out his hand, and I winced from those certain memories coming back to me. He noticed this, and pulled back his hand. He then asked, "So, are you also the fox kid that— No, nevermind." He then mumbled something, and all I heard from it was, "Madison…"
He knew about me. He must have heard from the wanted posters, and Madison, who must have asked around the guild for father's last known whereabouts. Madison must have explained it all to him.
Mister Kyle then brought me out to the arena that was inside of the guild. By the way, the guild is quite huge. It's around the same size as a supermarket. The practitioner— uh, I mean Mister Kyle, brought out a broadsword, and I followed suit with my katana. He then said, "So, you're a katana user, eh? Don't see a lot of them around here!"
He then said, "Come at me with all you have got! Let's just make sure to not kill each other, okay?"
All I got, eh? Alright, I'll just imagine that you're him…
After I had imagined that I was fighting him, I readied my stance, and unleashed my most powerful [Wind Cannon]. I aimed right for his dominant arm, which was holding his sword, and he was barely able to block it. I still cut his arm pretty well. I crash landed into the ground, and slowly got back up to my feet.
As I appeared to teleport behind him, he turned around and said, "You're a fast one!" The next attack will decide the match.
I put about 70% of my mana into this [Wind Cannon] and I readied my attack.
From his perspective, I seemed to disappear. He faced the direction that I landed as his arm came clean off. He fell to his knees, and the battle was called. I had crashed against the wall, but healed myself, then walked up to him and healed his arm, in which he asked me, "How the… Okay, how did you do that? And, how are you able to use healing magic? You aren't a part of the Church's faction, are you?"
I answered, "No, I am not. I am not affiliated with the Church, I just have knowledge on it. Please, do not tell anyone about the healing."
Kyle looked at his arm, moved it around, and verified that it was, indeed, intact and okay. Kyle responded, "Yeah, I can do that for ya. After all, each adventurer's things are kept confidential."
I then asked, "So, do I pass?"
Mister Kyle then looked at me with a face that said 'Do you really have to ask?' Mister Kyle then stood up, and announced, "Yeah, how could I turn down such a promising newbie? With this, you have officially become C rank, congratulations."
After he said that, I felt very accomplished with myself and what I've done. Mister Kyle then told me to go to the receptionist, and he will explain what happened to the receptionist, proving that I had earned my rank up.
We made our way over to one of the reception desks, and the receptionist bowed as he walked towards her. It's the same receptionist I usually go to for my quests. She noticed me, and gave a smile.
She then asked Mister Kyle, "What's going on here, Sir Kyle?"
He responded, "Well, you see, as much as it would seem impossible, this little one beat me in the C rank test. So, I have come to get her what she earned."
The receptionist looked at me, then said, "Congratulations, you have beaten him. It's been a while since the last one, eh? About a year and a half…"
Mister Kyle then said, "Yep, she's the first D rank we've had get to C rank in the last year and a half!"
A year and a half? Really? Is it that I'm somewhat strong, or is it that nobody has tried it again after failing? Well, the fee for taking the test is quite hefty. I only managed to pay it due to my constant questing, and reward money from both selling monster parts, and quest completion.
The receptionist then told me to hand her my guild card so she can do the rank up process. She then brought out a piece of paper, then Mister Kyle placed his hand onto it, and seemed to infuse mana into the paper. She then placed my card on the paper, and it shined brightly. After about 10 seconds of this, it stopped shining, and I was handed back my guild card, which now was showing C rank.
Mister Kyle then said, "While you may be C rank now, you are not able to take any B rank quests, even if you are in a party of C or B ranks, until you are old enough to advance the ranks once more. Do you understand this policy?"
I put my guild card away, and responded, "I fully acknowledge and accept the policy terms and conditions of the Adventurer's Guild age requirement."
He then said, "Well, then. You may be on your way! Also, feel free to come back and fight me some time! I'm always raring to go! That's why I'm the guild's practitioner!"
Mister Kyle motioned for me to shake his hand once more, and this time, I followed through with it. After this whole exchange, I headed out of the guild, and just walked the streets, thinking about a multitude of things.
--
Near the centre of the city, there was a big crowd formed around something. They weren't surrounding it, but they made a one-way path in front of it. I decided to check out what was happening that made everyone go see it, squeezing my way through the crowd.
As I made it closer to the front, I heard a man yell, "Keep it moving, criminal!" Oh, did a criminal get caught? I must see more.
I finally made my way to the front of the crowd, and saw a group of knights, walking a man in chains through the streets.
"No way…"
That man… is that father?
-END OF VOLUME 1-