"For the last time, no! You've taken the test and failed seven times already and I'm not going to let you take it again!", the secretary snapped.
You wouldn't think a woman like Alice would be as flustered as she was then. She was famously kind and patient, holding polite conversations with even the most rude clients. But right then, her usual friendly demeanor was shattered, twisting her attractive features into a scowl.
Kelteth clicked his tongue in annoyance. Apparently Seth had taken the adventurer appraisal test quite a few times already. He was obviously desperate to see results in his countless hours of experimentation, but none of it panned out. Even then, he couldn't imagine just what Seth did to this woman to warrant her current behavior.
The room had several desks, all filled with secretaries and their clients. Kelteth noticed that he was receiving quite a few glares and decided to rectify the situation as soon as possible.
Holding his palm upward, Kelteth willed a bit of Aether into a simple ball of light. The pale yellow glow of the sphere was calming, and the gentle illumination didn't even cause any eye strain when looked at directly. Kelteth had found that the effects of a spell powered by Aether were considerably more calm than one powered by Hellfire.
"As you can see, I awakened recently. It's nothing impressive but I want to register as an adventurer before the government comes after my ass", he spoke using Seth's voice.
His voice was neutral but had an edge of harshness to it. The secretary was more than a little taken aback, and not only by Seth's newfound powers. The broken mess of a man she saw before was nothing like the one standing in front of her then. Seth stood with a ramrod straight posture, his hollow complexion was replaced with a healthy glow, and his eyes held an undeniable energy to them.
"... Of course", she said, donning her best customer service voice, "Place your hand on the crystal ball and we'll get you registered. But if this is a trick, I'll see to it that you will never step foot in the Adventurer's Association again."
He dismissed the light casually and complied with Alice, feeling the incredibly smooth texture of the crystal ball. It was definitely magical, he decided after feeling the object's light but incessant tugging.
"Full Appraisal", the secretary chanted.
Kelteth's status screen appeared in front of her and she began to inspect it.
The demon noted the hoodie he was wearing with disdain. Kelteth had never been one to overly obsess over fashion, but it was undeniable that his current attire was shabby at best. It would be easy to call him a hobo, with his worn-down and lint-covered hoodie and sweatpants. Admittedly, he could deal with not looking his best, but many businesses would throw him out instantly and that would pose a problem in the future.
'And I can't change either', Kelteth inwardly grumbled, 'That damn landlord changed the locks so I can't get to the rest of Seth's clothes.'
"I ... I don't understand", Alice broke him out of his reverie, "Your class is unique but your rank is only F. And you only possess four skills, which is less than usual."
He shrugged uncommittedly, saying, "Some people get lucky with their awakenings. Guess I didn't."
"I suppose so", she replied with a complicated expression, "... Here, I'll generate your Adventurer Identification. You can use it as your primary identification if you want. It'll also grant you access to our dungeoneering classes, which you'll need to pass if you want to get your Dungeon Certification. It's a prerequisite to actually joining a dungeon raid. With your identification, you also have free use of our training facility. Oh, and you can use your card to get one free weapon from the guild. It's nothing amazing, but it's a start. Have any questions?"
"More of a request than a question", Kelteth leaned back in his chair, "I want to register in the guild under a different name."
"Of course we can do that", she responded, slightly hesitant, "But may I ask why?"
He smiled ruefully, stating flatly, "It's a bother. My family has a reputation, one that I would rather avoid. In addition, I've always hated my first name, so I figured it would be best to toss the whole thing out. This is the best place to do that since there's no extra fee like town hall would charge."
"I see", Alice sighed, "Well, I understand. What name would you like to input instead?"
"Kelteth. Register it as a mononym, no last name", the demon intoned.
"That certainly sounds unique. Does it have any special meaning?", the secretary asked with genuine curiosity. It would seem as if the hostility she had earlier was a thing of the past.
He rolled her question around in his head. It had been a great deal of time since he had thought of such things, prior to even the foundations of the Earth. Like many supernatural beings, the meaning of his name was profound and complex, and one that would drive a mere mortal to madness.
"It's Hungarian", Kelteth decided on a simple and vague lie.
Alice kept her curiosity in check and chanted, "Generate."
On the desk materialized a card composed of what seemed to be copper. His name and level were imprinted on it in a bold font.
"Here is your Adventurer Identification", she presented the gleaming rectangle to him, "It's copper to reflect your rank at F. It's bronze at rank E, silver at rank D, gold at rank C, platinum at rank B, ruby at rank A, and diamond at rank S. In the event that you rank-up, the card will shift to reflect that. Don't worry about losing it, the card is bound to you and will return to your hand with a thought."
It was then that Kelteth decided to get a diamond card one day, just to see how shiny it would be compared to the copper one. Most people would think that he had more than a few screws loose with that logic and absurd goal, but the demon didn't quite take human adventurers seriously, even after rifling through Seth's memories about them. This whole endeavor of rising to the top using a horribly weak body was simply entertainment to him, a game. Yet it was a game that he was determined to win.
"Mhm", he took it, standing up from his chair, "If that's all, I will be going now."
"Ah-", but before Alice could react, the man formerly known as Seth was already walking away, "Was he being rude or just had someplace to be?"
It turns out that the answer was both.
"I can't get over how huge this building is ...", Kelteth mumbled to himself, "And this is one in a small town. I wonder how large the ones in the big cities are."
The building was obscenely ornate, boasting vaulted ceilings upheld by marble columns. Each of the Adventurer's Association's massive rooms were decorated to the nines, sporting chandeliers, impressionist paintings, and even golden gilden inlays on the walls. With all of this, the average person would be impressed or even intimidated by the Association's obvious wealth. But Kelteth was not a normal person. He found everything to be garish and over-the-top. His discerning eye noted just how odd the assemblage of decor was when put together. It was obvious to him that the decorators only included expensive items without regard to how they would look together. Too much money without enough sense, he decided. That combination was perfect for his ends.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
He stopped in front of a door with a plaque reading "Blacksmith" emblazoned on it, and entered without hesitation.
The room was small compared with the others. The red velvet floor and dark wood walls gave everything a warm and welcoming atmosphere. The actual contents of the room included only a simple table and a figure sitting behind it. The man was short and stout, rippling with muscle exposed past the short sleeves of his shirt. He was bald, but had a flowing orange beard, contrasting with his sharp green eyes. Safe to say, it was a dwarf.
With the coming of the system came other strange occurrences besides the dungeons and adventurers. It was discovered that humans could evolve into different forms if certain prerequisites were fulfilled. Evolved forms varied widely, including traditional fantasy races like elves or orcs to races seemingly unique to the system like velo or durndurn. Each evolution had powerful special abilities, but unfortunately the prerequisites were often out of the hands of the average adventurer. Even so, Seth's siblings had evolved.
Still, wasn't it too stereotypical to have a dwarf as a blacksmith?
"Welcome, welcome!", the seated man greeted jovially, "I assume you're looking to get your hands on the free newbie weapon, you got that kinda look. I'm Theo, the blacksmith around here. Come closer, I don't bite!"
Kelteth complied, walking up the table with both hands in his hoodie pocket.
"Alright, I can tell you want to get down to business. I respect that", Theo assured, "I always advise the newbies to stick with the simple but effective weapons. Don't get much simpler than the mace, but it can dish out lotsa pain."
On cue, a morningstar materialized in the dwarf's hand. It was made of dark metal of some sort, and its spikes gleamed menacingly. The grip's soft leather probably made it a breeze to swing about and the weapon's heft was no doubt deadly in combat. The battle theory behind the mace was simple: smash, and often that was enough. It was certainly respectable for a newbie weapon.
"I want a sword", Kelteth calmly refuted.
"Tsk. That's what all the newbies say", Theo sighed, allowing the mace to dissipate into thin air.
With a snap, an array of swords blinked into existence on the table, each varying from the last.
"Pick one, then", the dwarf said, all enthusiasm lost.
It only took a glance to tell that these swords were no good. The blades were stupidly wide, the designs favored appearance over utility, and the edges were either too sharp or not sharp enough.
"I'm not an anime character so I can't wield these paddle swords", the demon derided as he crossed his arms, "I know you've got a better selection than this."
"Good. At least you've got a better eye than 90% of the schmucks who want a sword", Theo praised, smile concealed in his beard, "Try these out."
With another snap, the selection of swords was replaced with another. Kelteth frowned deeply at their appearance, immediately noting that these were not much better than the last. There were more thin blades here like rapiers or smallswords, but each only held ornamental value. The weapons had literal jewels on their hilts and guards, their guards were unnecessarily lavish, and most damning of all, their luster was too high to be considered battle-ready. Hell, one's basket guard looked to be made of pure gold.
"Stop testing me. I'm beginning to lose my patience", he warned.
"Ohoho, simmer down there, big shot", the blacksmith responded, hands up, "How about this, just tell me what you've specifically got in mind and I'll show you the best ones that I can give you for free. How's that sound?"
Kelteth gave a simple nod, saying, "I'm looking for a two-hander."
Theo was a bit surprised. This kid showed more intelligence than the average newbie initially but had fallen for a typical blunder. The idiots who wanted big swords almost always just wanted to show off and had zero way of using them outside of wildly swinging about.
'Not to mention this kid's small frame. His height and weight make him look like a freshman in highschool', the dwarf thought, 'But those eyes ... Maybe he's putting some thought into this.'
The next weapon arrived on the table with a thump. It was too big to be called a sword. Massive, thick, heavy, and far too rough. Indeed, it was a heap of raw iron.
Author's Note
If you haven't noticed already, I'm very fond of referencing various media in my writing. Be the first to point out the references you notice in the comments and I'll give you reputation points!
"No", Kelteth denied him simply, "Keep 'em coming."
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"Heh, I knew it. This kid is something else", Theo mentally praised.
In the end, the blacksmith summoned almost three dozen swords. Doppelhanders, claymores, you name it and they made an appearance. Tiny bit by tiny bit, the time taken to appraise each weapon extended and Kelteth finally found himself taking over ten minutes to appraise the last few swords and it had been over twelve minutes since he had his hands on the latest one.
"What was this one called again?", he questioned.
"The Maximillian. Named after Maximillian the first, who was a Holy Roman emperor if I remember correctly", Theo exposited, rubbing his beard, "The design was resurrected from medieval times by the company Albion before the dungeons appeared. Albion merged with a few other companies that provide services to adventurers to form the Seros conglomerate. I've been a contractor for Seros for a while but only recently got permission to tinker with their designs. The sword you're holding now is made by yours truly."
Seros was a rival to Seth's family's company. They would probably take issue with Kelteth even looking at the blade before him.
The overall length was 55 inches long, about a foot shorter than Kelteth was, and the blade was a bit over two inches wide. The blue leather was bound so tightly to the hilt that the demon couldn't form a pocket even if he pinched with all of his might at one of the seams. Both the crossguard and the pommel sported coiling metal designs, a simple but elegant touch. One not well versed in weapons would be shocked to know that such a huge weapon weighed only five pounds. Reality is much different than media portrays it, and most people had the impression that anything bigger than a dagger should be grossly heavy, but that preconception simply is false.
'Balance isn't a simple scale from bad to good', the demon thought, 'But in every conceivable measure, this sword is well balanced.'
"The center of percussion is bigger than it should be", Kelteth noted approvingly, running his finger along the blade's fuller.
"How in the blazes did you notice that without equipment?", Theo demanded, shocked, "But yes, my blacksmithing skill allows a weapon's specs to be better than they naturally should be."
"Hm", the demon hummed, swinging the sword in a lazy overhead arc, "I'll take it."
The dwarf's eye twitched before he said, "Are you sure? Newbies don't have access to any mythical metals, but most people take something titanium or tungsten instead of simple steel."
"Neither of those will make anything but a sharpened chunk of metal. High carbon steel holds an edge better and has good flexibility, which is essential when stressing it with frequent impacts", Kelteth refuted, slowly pivoting the sword into a side slash.
"Well said, boy!", Theo lauded, "I had my reservations but you're the real deal. So rare to see someone who actually gives a damn about proper weapons."
"I said to stop testing me", he sighed.
"Let me make it up to you", the dwarf beamed before snapping his fingers again, "Imbue."
For a brief moment, a dazzling light engulfed the sword and then it left as quickly as it came.
"There. Now the blade will never dull, warp, or chip unless exposed to a huge amount of force", Theo explained, "Consider it a gift for entertaining me."
"... That's not the only thing you did", Kelteth muttered, examining the sword closely.
"Figures you would notice. But I'm not tellin'. You'll just have to find out yourself", he laughed jovially, "Now I'm sure you know this, but I gotta explain it anyway, it's part of the job. When you became an adventurer, the system gave you ten inventory slots and a weapon slot. To use the weapon slot, you just gotta think 'Register Weapon' to store it and 'Summon Weapon' to equip it."
Indeed, Kelteth did already know that. It's part of why he chose such a large weapon in the first place, as having to lug around a big sword manually was one of their biggest disadvantages.
But why choose a sword in the first place? Well, his skill did say Divine Swordsmanship after all, and if he wanted to utilize its S rank, he would have to use a sword. Of course, the demon could attempt to register the weapon techniques he knew into skills in the system, but he was doubtful that would pay off. He chafed a bit at that as using a sword wasn't exactly his forte.
"Thanks for the weapon. I'm going now", the demon bluntly excused himself, registering his weapon before exiting the room.
It wasn't long until he found what he was looking for: the training hall. The Adventurer's Association wasn't one to skimp out on training seminars, meditation rooms, traditional equipment, and even virtual reality courses for the higher ranked members.
Kelteth chalked his hands in preparation, craning his head upwards to take the whole thing into view. To simply call it a climbing wall would be a gross understatement. The wall was just shy of a quarter mile high at 1300 ft, and the room was enchanted with spacial magic to hold the entire behemoth. A few people were making an attempt at it, but their numbers dwindled the higher you looked with nobody near the top.
"The paths are easier towards the bottom", the trainer had warned, "It gets more complex as you climb with growing amounts of dead ends and fox trails."
'This will make for a good first step', Kelteth thought, gripping his hands in anticipation.