"Wow... This is heavenly. Was our world like that too before technology advancement? No probably not, this is just too much." I looked right and left at the vast expanses of greeny color all around the huge city.
"This is the city I was talking about, here we can collect some information as well as see what to do next." Ayanokoji spoke out of his silence.
"Right, let's get going then im so fucking excited!" It took us 45 minutes to reach the city walls, and we were welcomed by city guards at one of the many entrances I noticed.
"You two! state your business here!" One of the three guards stationed in a small room at the entrance shouted at us. I could hear some whispers from the other two guards that I was not supposed to hear due to my enhanced hearing.
"What the hell are they wearing?"
"Are they some kinds of lunatics?"
"Hello there! We are travelers coming from a very far place and we want to get into this city!" Ayanokoji explained with eloquence and without hesitation as if he was speaking the truth, making all of his words believable, also the system stated that this world is many times bigger than earth, so even if he create a new village name or something its fine. And this will automatically explain the weird clothes we are wearing for them, like that they wont suspect anything.
'As expected of you Ayanokoji!' I gave him an imaginary thumbs up.
"Do you have identifications on you?" The guard asked again.
"Uh... umm..."His eyelid started going left and right looking for an answer.
'WHY ARE YOU HESITATING NOW?!' I scolded in my head, then I intervened.
"Well as you see we don't have any Luggage, that is because we were attacked by a huge wolf and we used them as a bait to buy us time to run." I tried to sound as confident as I could and not stutter.
"Hum, okay. But we still can't let anyone in. The only way for you to get in is to register as an Adventurer to get immediate citizenship but..." He looked tat both of us from head to toe the then continued. "No offense but it doesn't seem like something you two can handle, you are too young. How old are you two 18? 19?"
"Excuse me sir, but it doesn't matter, please let us become adventurers!" I stopped him as I directly showing him my determination in order to prevent him from any other attempt to convince us.
*Sigh* "Alright, follow me kids. Kids these days risk their lives to become adventurers. What a waste..." He muttered the last words for himself but I was able to pick them up.
We followed behind the middle-aged guard as a system notification ringed inside my head, and a panel appeared in front of me along that sound.
[Mission passed: Find a city or human settlement
Reward: Random C Rank ability]
'Oh I completely forgot about this mission! Well it's great, I need powers right now so... OPEN THE REWARD!' I excitedly screamed mentally, deciding to check it instantly.
*Ding* *Ding* *Ding*
[Congratulations, you received a C rank ability!
Reward: Advanced Mixed Martial arts.
User: Jiu Ji Tae
Anime/Manga: Fight Class 3]
'Damn, an extremely brutal fighting style.. Well at least im gonna scare people to death now.' The learning process was not a painful one unexpectedly, I just felt the knowledge flow directly inside my brain, if something, it was quite refreshing.
Ayanokoji seemed to realize that I was doing something and he waited for me until I finished then I had a small conversation with him, this time he unexpectedly was the one to start it. "Nouflex-sama, I am sorry but I think you made a mistake." His tone was low for the guard to not hear him, and I did the same.
"What do you mean Koji by mistake?" I asked.
"You shouldn't have mentioned our encounter with the wolf, your ability was too strong that it left a huge crater right next to the wolf's body. If someone finds that you will be suspected and you might even pulled into problems." He indifferently explained.
"Oh right, I see." Those were the words that came out of my mouth but in my mind it was something else. 'Shit! I fucked up.;
"Do you remember when I stuttered earlier?" He asked.
"Yeah... Wait! don't tell me you did it on purpose." Only now did I realize that I ruined his plan by this mouth of mine.
"Yes, you may have not seen it but at that time I forced a blush on my face. My goal was to make him think we were some helpless boys who were too embarrassed to share what happened to us. This way I would create empathy in him towards us and it would be easier to manipulate him for our advantage."
'Wow this guy is really smart, he is two years younger than me and can already think to this extent. Well, he is the white room best product while I was a normal human until a few hours ago. I still have time to improve, especially with my infinite life span.'
"I see, in that case let me learn from your actions and become better, Koji." I smiled while saying that. I could apologize for ruining his plan but he is my summon right? Why would I apologize to my servant? The only thing I can do is promise to learn and be better.
He simply nodded at my words as we continued our walk, and while we had the secret conversation, the guard in the front was experiencing an awkward silence that he suddenly decided to break. "Kids, the place I'm taking you is the second most important structure im the country, and in many countries. It has massive influence, so huge that it can make you a citizen of a country the moment you register and become an adventurer. Do you know why is that?"
"No idea." I replied.
"It's because of one single individual, Lana Rose. The 10th strongest adventurer and the richest of them all." He answered his own earlier question.
"What kind of person is she?" I asked.
"Humm, good question. Well if I were to say something I think she is more of the authoritative type. She likes things to go in her way and according to her desire, even if the results are not good." The guard rubbed his chin while speaking.
"We have to be careful, I don't think standing out is a good idea. We should keep it low." Koji whispered next to my ear.
'Obviously! But didn't I already fuck it up? *sigh* Its gonna be troublesome...' I sighed inwardly while nodding my head to Ayanokoji.
"Here we are kids, you can go on by yourself and speak to one of the employees there." He pointed his finger to a huge building.
[Generated Mission: Become An Adventurer
Reward: Random A rank Ability]
[Generated mission: Learn more about mana
Reward: Random B rank Ability]
[Generated mission: Reach B rank as an adventurer
Reward: Guaranteed B rank summon]
[Generated mission: Reach A rank as an adventurer
Reward: Guaranteed A rank summon]
[Generated Mission: Become Filthy Rich
Reward: Random S rank summon]
'Five generated missions at once? Does this mean the system gives me missions depending on the situation I'm in? If that is the case, then It will make me grow very quickly.
This one is one of the buildings that attracted my attention by their size and architecture. Unexpectedly, opposed to what I expected, the Adventurers Guild actually looks good and even better than most buildings in the city.
As I stepped alongside Ayanokoji through the towering doors of the adventurers guild, we simply ignored the guard who escorted us to this place because I completely forgot about him as I walked past him.
"Tch! Uneducated brats. Not even a thank you..." He complained while turning back to go join his position at the city entrance.
Putting the guard aside, the entrance halls of the Adventurer guild stretched out before me. Glowing magical orbs lights hang from the ceiling casting a warm and inviting glow over the polished marble floor. To my left, next to the entrance is a grand staircase leading to the upper levels of the guild, while to my right are tables where a bunch of people were sitting and gossiping, while some others were celebrating.
Most of these people did not care about our existence while others stole glances towards us to see the new faces who came into their favorite building. Straight ahead of us was a number of counters, each one has a female working behind its counter. One of the females noticed us as she waved at us. "Over here please!"
Me and Koji glanced at each other then we walked towards her. "Hello there, how can I help you today?" She asked while staring at me for a while.
'Why is she staring at me?' I asked myself.
"Hey there, the entrance guards brought us here to register as adventurers and get some IDs." I rested my elbow on the counter leaning a little bit forward.
"Hum? AH! Yeah of course, sure. I will ask you a few questions in order to fill out this form for you then you'll have to wait for a moment until the minimum number of applicants is ten and we will proceed to a spar test to identify your ranks, okay?" She asked while preparing some papers, taking them out of a drawer next to her.
"Alright." She asked me a few questions such as my name, age, fighting style and some other trivial things, while occasionally stealing peeks towards me. Each time she did it, I was looking at her, which made her embarrassed, resulting in her face flushing red slightly.
She was not my type so I did not engage with her in any conversation other than the form and questions for the registration process although she tried to have a conversation, and after finishing that for me and Koji, I suddenly remembered the system mission about reaching rank A as an adventurer so I decided to ask her about that.
"Is there a ranking system for the adventurers?" I asked, to which the female receptionist seemed surprised as if I asked about the most obvious thing.
"Well... There is one. They are ranked from D rank up to S rank, and even in the S rank there are 10 adventurers who are the most known, they basically are celebrities. I thought you would be aware of that because young men your age are very interested in these matters." She explained while stacking papers at the same time, sneaking peeks at me from time to time.
"Hm, okay, then it that case I will wait there until the number of participants is enough." When I said that I walked to the benches as I sat there with Ayanokoji.
Our wait was not long since a lot of new people aspiring to become adventurers joined the place and did their papers. I glanced around at my fellow newcomers, their faces a mix of excitement and nerves but none of them attracted my attention. There was even a group of people my age, two girls and a boy.
We were a diverse group, united by our shared desire for adventure and glory. Some were clad in gleaming armor, while others wore simple robes, but all exuded a sense of determination that was palpable in the air.
Finally, the moment arrived. With a resounding boom, the heavy oak doors swung open, admitting the last of our group. With a nod from the receptionist, we were ushered to the upper floor where the test awaited us.
Ascending the spiral staircase, my mind raced with thoughts of the challenges that lay ahead. What would the test be? Will I be able to pull it off in this mana world without exposing my real abilities?
At the top of the stairs, we were greeted by a spacious arena bathed in the soft glow of torchlight. In the center stood our examiner, a formidable figure clad in full body armor that did not hinder his movements at all, as if unbothered by its weight. His steely gaze swept over us, assessing each of us with a critical eye.
"Hey there newbies! The name is Azalel and I will take care of you today! You will be having individual battles against me and I will be the one to rate you and decide your starting rank!" He pointed as himself with his thumb.
TO BE CONTINUED --->