Bree listened to the conversation of her seniors patiently, occasionally looking around when someone passed by them. She was the edgy kind of kid, mainly because of the precarious life she had led until she met her master.

“Magic? Nope. Not to my recollection,” Pete replied to Marian. “You’ve been a registered adventurer for a while. What kinda magic do you have?”

The female warrior made a fist, and Pete saw a faint glow escaping her fingers. “I wield offensive magic. My physical attacks pack a powerful punch.”

“Nice. I’d like to see you in action someday.”

“That’s not all. I can bolster any weapon, increasing its attack power by up to three times! But, of course, my magic is measly compared to a real mage.”

“A mage like Sir Guy of Gisbourne?”

Marian raised her eyebrows in surprise. “You know Sir Guy?”

“I do. I mean, he helped me out once.” Pete wondered if he should visit Guy and Elaine in their quarters.

Marian looked galvanized. “Sir Guy is a hero of heroes! He is a silver knight employed in the King’s court. What is fascinating about him is that his class is versatile. He can wield the sword and use elemental and healing magic, among other things. Last but not least, Sir Guy is definitely easy on the eyes.”

“Wow, that’s amazing. He seems to be popular. Anyway, I would really like to get into magic. How do I start?”

Marian gave it some thought. “Hmm. I know just the guy who can be useful to you.”

“Perfect! Moving on… About the ultimate criterion. Must I be level 2? I don’t know what I am.”

She nodded. “I think that question can be answered through appraisal.”

“Appraisal?”

“Yes. Adventurers can learn their existing levels and latent skills by getting appraised here at the adventurer’s guild. I recently made level 4. All registered ones are level 2 and above.”

“How much is Sir Guy?”

Marian’s eyes sparkled with wonder. “He is level 8!”

“Hmm. But he is a knight, right? Are there any adventurers with high levels?”

Marian cracked her knuckles. “The highest-rated adventurer registered with the guild is Ryder the Brute. He is at level 9. I hate him.”

“Alright. Among both adventurers and knights, who has the highest known level?”

“Well, the highest level belongs to a golden knight in the King’s court. Sir William. He can probably defeat an army of monsters all by himself.”

Pete was grateful for the new information. Sir Guy was a silver knight. Sir William a Golden Knight. Adventurer levels. This was enough fodder to help him determine some long-term goals. If he could get into the knighthood somehow…

“Let’s go get me appraised then!” he said, getting to his feet.

The trio went to the reception counter. “Welcome to the Nottingham Branch of the Adventurer’s Guild. I am Julie. How may I help you?”

“Julie, could we have two appraisal slips?” Marian said.

“Of course. That will be 20 gold each.”

The female warrior shelled out the charges. “You will pay me back,” she said from the corner of her lips. Pete nodded with gratitude.

The receptionist gave Marian two thick slips of paper. “Pleased to be of service.”

Next, they approached another desk marked:

APPRAISAL

“Two appraisals, please!”

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The counter clerk scrutinized their slips and handed Marian two black stones in a pouch.

“What are these?” Pete asked, eyeing the objects curiously. The stones looked like gem-studded meteorites with flecks of green all over.

“Pick one up and hold it in your hand for a minute,” she replied, gesturing towards the open pouch.

Pete did as he was told. “That’s it? I feel nothi-”

The boy stopped speaking abruptly. The stone was getting warm. It got warmer. Warmer.

“Ahh, it’s hot,” he complained.

“A little more time.”

“Umm, I think it is scalding me!”

“That’s weird. It should be lukewarm at worst,” Marian said, turning to the counter clerk.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Pete was about to drop the stone when the clerk said, “A minute is over. Please return the stone to this tray.”

Pete dropped it into the extended container.

The clerk plopped the mineral into a colorless liquid with prongs. It cooled with a hiss. She eyed the boy anxiously. “This does not happen often.”

Marian and Pete exchanged glances. Did something go wrong with the process?

“I need an appraisal slip,” the clerk said. The boy handed her one. She rubbed the stone over the paper as if scratching a lottery ticket to reveal the numbers. Text appeared on the slip wherever she kneaded the mineral.

Once the entire sheet was filled, she went through the text. Her eyes went wide.

“This is not possible!” the clerk exclaimed, handing the slip to Pete.

The boy shrugged. “Umm… It just says I am level 3. What is so surprising about that?”

Marian snatched the appraisal slip from him. “That is not the surprising part, Rob. The stone used for appraisal is called a draconite. It reads your magical and fighting power through physical touch. The fortified slip acts as a medium, on which it etches not only your present level but also a projection of your peak level. Something that you can achieve in the future.”

Bree took the sheet from her. “Rob Huntington. Peak level: 100.”

Pete looked from Bree to Marian to the clerk. “What does that mean?”

The counter clerk wrung her hands anxiously. “It means you can achieve the highest level of power in creation.”

“In creation? That makes no sense.”

“Rob, you could become a god in this world!” Marian exclaimed.

The clerk drank a full glass of water and said, “It must be a problem with the draconite stone. That happens sometimes.”

Marian breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank the heavens. That really gave me a scare.”

“Why?” Pete asked, tilting his head. “Isn’t being strong a good thing?”

“Come with me,” Marian replied, turning him around and making him walk away. They left Bree to take her test by herself.

“If you were indeed a level 100 latent, you would be considered too dangerous. A threat to the world. You’d perhaps be sentenced and eliminated.”

The boy furrowed his brows. “Now that’s scary. I’m glad it was a mistake.”

Marian laughed nervously. “Yeah. You are good-looking and talented. There is no doubt about that. But level 100 is just too much. It is mostly a theory not supported by facts. No living being can attain such power. Forget level 100. Clocking beyond 20 is still a pipe dream.”

“Master is very strong and also kind,” Bree said innocently. She was back with her appraisal.

“Of course he is,” Marian replied. “Now, let’s have a look at yours. Hmm… Level 2. Assassin Class. Impressive.”

“Thank you,” Bree chirped. She wanted praise from her master, but the latter was lost in his thoughts.

Pete pondered over the appraisal results. Was he appraised as a latent 100 because of the Robinhood System? Morrigan mentioned he had tremendous latent powers. Perhaps someone who conquered the system could become ridiculously overpowered? And wasn’t that what he wished while making a deal with Morrigan?

“I’m glad I recruited you,” he said to Bree, patting her head. She hugged him in response.

Marian was going through Pete’s slip. “Hmm. It says you are in Archer class, along with versatile traits.”

“What does that say about magic?”

Marian slapped him on the shoulder. “You don’t understand, Rob. A versatile adventurer can have multiple abilities. You can be an archer, a swordsman. You can wield elemental magic, engineering magic, and so on.”

Pete scratched his chin. “Am I like Sir Guy then?”

Marian smiled at him with admiration. “Yes, exactly! Congrats Rob! You can definitely become a knight if you work hard. Perhaps you can even end up as a silver knight!”

[ Marian’s Affinity for you has dramatically increased! ]

“Thanks. But I still have a lot to learn. Especially from you.”

Marian dismissed him with a wave.

[ Modesty +1 ]

[ Virtue +1 ]

[ Likability +1 ]

Ding!

[ A threshold has been reached ]

[ Achievements Tab has been unlocked! ]

[ Loading Achievement Target… ]

[ Achievement Title: Level 5 Adventurer ]

[ Reach Level 5 within a week ]

[ Reward: 500 💰, Surprise Rewards ]

[ Reward Title: Prodigy ]

“Are you ready to learn magic, Rob? Will you take on this adventure?” Marian asked, patting his shoulder.

“I accept!” he replied, both to his warrior friend and the Robinhood System.