After his rather sour parting with Nyla, Kaito's mood had soured as well. He had known of the people's dislike for the Kaya, but he didn't expect it to go this far.
The way Nyla and her father had reacted was filled with hate, and it made his mind wander back to when he was camping with Nyla and Yukki. He recalled how his father had just seemed to disappear one day without a trace—and how he'd never questioned it.
What had his dad been doing all these years? Was it the reason behind the people's hatred for them?
Kaito sighed and remembered an adventurer guild he'd been told about.
He slapped his face. "Come on, Kaito. Nyla might hate you, but you can't let it get you down." He looked around him. "I'm in a new city now!" He felt reinvigorated and began walking.
As he walked through the town, the sights blew his mind.
Marketplace stalls, buildings bigger than he'd ever imagined, lights brightening the streets from poles. He tried to cross a street but was almost hit by a vehicle driving through the town, while people rode bikes alongside him.
Kaito was utterly confused. How were these things working? Where had they come from?
His mouth hung open as he peeked into people's windows, watching them—watching smaller people on a box.
The people inside noticed him and quickly shut their blinds.
Kaito rubbed his eyes, taking it all in. "How come the villages didn't have any of this?" he wondered aloud as he continued walking.
He approached a group of people having a conversation. "Excuse me, do you know where the adventurer guild is?" he asked. They ignored him, walking away without responding.
Kaito asked others. Some didn't know, and some simply ignored him.
A woman approached him. "Are you a new adventurer?" she asked. Kaito nodded. She tapped him on the shoulder. "I could tell. You're walking around town filthy; you're scaring people," she said bluntly.
She walked off and gestured for him to follow. "I'll take you to the adventurer guild. I was on my way there myself."
"Alright, thank you!" Kaito said politely.
"No problem," she replied.
They began walking together.
"So, what rank do you think you'll be placed in?" she asked.
Kaito tilted his head, confused. "Rank?"
"You'll find out when you get there," she explained. "But they're gonna throw you in this weird machine, and it runs a bunch of numbers. After that, you'll get a rank based on your power."
Kaito scratched his head. "What are the ranks then?" he asked.
"For newbies like you, it's usually F, D, or C," she answered. "That's where most people get placed."
Kaito laughed. "Obviously, I'll get placed in C—since it's the highest, and I think I'm pretty strong."
She laughed as she walked up to a market stall. She bought a bag of chips, and they continued walking while she ate. "You seriously think that, lil' buddy?" she asked.
She popped another chip into her mouth. "I'm C rank myself, at the bottom of the list. What makes you so special that you'll be stronger than me?" she asked.
Kaito shrugged. She didn't seem amused.
He was sure there was no way he could be placed in a low rank.
Moments later...
Kaito stood, stunned, staring at the paper in his hand.
D rank. He'd been placed in D rank—and pretty low on the list, too.
Out of tens of millions of D ranks, he was in the top two million. Not even close to the top of the weakest.
"I want a retry!" Kaito shouted.
The woman at the desk rolled her eyes. "You all say that. Your heads are too big for your shoulders, thinking you'll get placed high," she said coldly.
Kaito pointed at his paper. "You put down that I use earth magic! I'm a fire guy!" he protested.
She pointed at the machine. "The machine is never wrong," she said with a mocking smile.
Kaito's annoyance flared. "Oh yeah?!" he said, determined to prove her wrong. He focused, trying to summon his fire magic. Instead... earth magic? Dirt appeared in his hand.
The dirt shot out and pathetically landed on the floor. The woman just shook her head and corrected his placement, moving him lower on the list.
Kaito stared at his hand. "Where's my fire?" he muttered. He focused again, but no matter where he searched, it was like his fire magic had vanished. Like it had never been there to begin with.
Frustrated, Kaito sighed and resigned himself to it. "Fine," he muttered. "If I'm at the bottom, I'll just have to get stronger."