A new day begins, but the clouds were covering the sky. The light of the sun created shadows from the clouds. This projected dark shades around the area within the capital of Floria region.

Lakshman opened his eyes blearily. It had been more than a month since he slept on a comfortable bed. Due to feeling very comfortable, he rolled over and attempted to sleep. At that exact moment, his elbow bumped into something.

“Ah!”

He immediately opened his eyes and realised he was looking at Ondine. Her face was inches from his which caused him to quickly sit up. At that moment, he felt a thug on his right arm. He turned around and saw Tetra. She was wearing a pink gown while hugging his arm.

Lakshman sighed and muttered “Not this again...”

In the past, he would wake up like this and he would feel nothing. Now, however, he was feeling a certain heat in his body that he could not explain. Thinking that he needs an early morning bath, he quickly got out of bed.

As he opened the door and walked out, he heard voices from next door. The voices were arguing and Lakshman sneaked a peak in it. Sitting on bed with serious expressions on their faces was Rumble and Wolfenstine. They were arguing while playing the game called “Kingdom”.

Smiling to himself, Lakshman headed over to the bathroom. A while later, he came back out and saw Marilia standing outside.

“You’re up early and having shower already? Were you worried you might be stinking?” She asked him with a cheeky grin on her face.

Lakshman shook his head and said “No, not really. I was just feeling a little bit... hot for some reason...”

“Hot ah? Remind me again how old you are, Lakshman. I keep forgetting since your age and your skills don’t match.”

“I’m thirteen years old. Is that a problem?”

“Ah...! Thirteen...! I see. Looks like you’re getting there.”

“Mmm? Getting where, Marilia?”

“It’s a something called Puberty,” Marilia told him.

Lakshman nodded and then made a confused expression on his face. Then Marilia sighed and explained what Puberty was and he was startled by the information.

“S-S-So! W-What do I do then?” he asked her apprehensively.

Marilia just laughed and said “Be yourself and make sure to not think naughty things, okay? Bad thoughts make you less than trash, got it?”

When she said that, she looked very serious. Unable to do anything, Lakshman nodded his head vigorously. She nodded at him in satisfaction and entered the bathroom and closing the door shut.

Lakshman made his way to his room and saw Ondine and Tetra sitting upright. Although they looked awake, he could tell that they were feeling groggy.

“G-Good morning, master...!” Ondine said with a huge yawn.

“Moooorrrrning, masteeeer!” Tetra said while wincing slightly due to her stretching her arms and legs.

Lakshman laughed and said “Before you say that, make sure you’re up! Yawning and stretching words is rude.”

“Ah...! Come on, master. We just woke up so give us a rest,” Ondine said as she shuddered after another yawn.

“Right... Anyway, you two go out! I’ve got to change clothes!” He told them and indicated towards the door.

“Eh? Can’t you do it later, master?” Ondine asked lazily.

“No! Darian said he’ll show me around town today and then register me as an Adventurer at the Adventurers Guild. You’re also coming along!”

“Boo... It hasn’t even been two weeks yet, master! We should rest up!” Tetra complained.

“No can do. Now go out!”

“Master is feeling embarrassed that we’ll be watching him change!” Tetra said and she chuckled.

Lakshman sighed and said “Fine! Stay then!”

He moved to the cupboard and opened his bag. He pulled out a new pair of clothes and began taking his shirt off. As he took his shirt off and his upper body became visible, Ondine suddenly blushed.

“On second thought, I do mind!” she suddenly said and jumped off the bed.

“Eh...? I don’t,” Tetra said as she watched him throw his shirt into a nearby basket.

“I do! Now come!” Ondine said firmly and she grabbed Tetra’s hand before dragging her out of the room.

As the door shut, Lakshman looked at the door and sighed.

“What is wrong with them? More importantly, what is wrong with me...?” He thought with a confused expression on his face as he changed clothes.

Then he left the room and headed towards the font of the room. There he saw Ondine and Tetra discussing about something. When he asked them what it was, Ondine quickly said it was nothing and dragged Tetra into the bathroom.

“I can wash myself!” Tetra complained when Ondine dragged her away.

“I want company!” Ondine said before shutting the door behind.

Lakshman watched them go and said “They are acting strange...”

An hour later, Darian, Rumble and Lakshman were outside. As they walked around, Lakshman noticed that everyone, except them, was wearing full robed clothes. Curious, he asked Darian and Rumble what they are.

“They are called Kimono and Floria region are notorious for wearing such clothes. It’s more traditional clothes when you compare them to the standard shirt and pants,” Rumble told him.

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“I see. So should I wearing those clothing as well?” Lakshman asked curiously as he looked around.

“I don’t think you should worry about that. Besides, be what you want to be and not what others expect you to be,” Darian said in a firm voice and he winked at him.

“Ah,” Lakshman said and he nodded in understanding.

“Anyway, I doubt you should. You’ll see that adventurers prefer shirts and pants since they don’t drag and are easy to wear. These traditional clothing make it hard to move in and preferable for a normal living,” Rumble said as he glanced around.

Lakshman nodded in understanding. He realised the traditional clothes did look good, but seemed hard to move in. He was used to wearing the standard dress wear, he doubted he will ever get into those clothes.

So Darian took him for a tour of the city. Apparently the city was called Phelaton and most of it occupied by adventurers. As it turned out, the Phoenix Clan’s home is a little outside the capital.

“Why do they live outside the capital if they base is located in this region?” Lakshman asked curiously.

“They have their pride to consider as well.  Because of this, they’ve build themselves a place to live at. Most of them are simple buildings except for the important ones,” Rumble told him.

“Interesting... Is that to identify which ones are for regular people and the important buildings for office and stuff like that?” Lakshman asked and Rumble nodded at him.

Once the tour of the capital was done, they headed to the Adventurers Guild. Darian promised him they will take him for a tour to visit the Phoenix Clan later, but first they have some things to do.  Lakshman did not ask any questions regarding what they need to do, understanding that it was a secret.

Lakshman was amazed when he entered the building. It was well build and he could barely see because of how tall the building was. There were monster statues with labels to explain what they are and statues of warriors with their weapons drawn.

Everywhere they looked, Lakshman saw more and more brilliance in the structure of the building and its showcases. There were lots of people as they moved around. He bumped into a few and apologised, but they just kept going as if they could not feel him at all.

“Don’t be nervous!” Rumble said confidently from behind him.

“B-But...! There are a lot of adventurers here and they all look so strong!” Lakshman said nervously.

“So what...? Listen, Lakshman! Remember this saying ‘Never judge a book by its cover!’ Just like that, never judge these people just by appearance. They could be weaker or stronger than you can assume! Am I clear?” Darian told him seriously.

Lakshman nodded vigorously. He understood those words since his first encounter with Sevedant, the Death Titan, did not strike him as being someone powerful. Only through firsthand experience he understood. Then he realised that Darian and Rumble did not strike him as strong people.

In that instant, Lakshman’s head was grabbed firmly by Rumble. Lakshman began crying out in pain as Rumble looked down at him with a stern expression on his face.

“Somehow I felt like you just thought of something very rude about us!” Rumble said sternly.

“I wasn’t!” Lakshman said quickly and Darian laughed.

A while later, they reached the counter and Darian asked for an Adventurer Registration Form. Once they received the form, Darian explained how the form works and got him to fill it out with an Ink Feather.

“Thank you very much for registering. It won’t be long,” the man behind the counter said in a dull voice.

“Wow... He’s bored,” Rumble muttered and Lakshman nodded in agreement.

The man use some sort of iron box to run the paper up and down as if he was scanning it. A few seconds later, the paper began glowing and transformed into a card. Lakshman’s eyes widened in alarm at seeing the paper turn into a card.

“Here you are, sir. Best of luck as an Adventurer!” the man said and, as he smiled, sparkles appeared around him.

“Uh... Thanks!” Lakshman said distractedly as he took the card.

“There you go! Now you’ve officially been registered as an adventurer. Make sure not to lose it! Otherwise, you’ll have to pay a fine to get a new Adventurers Card, alright?” Darian said and Lakshman nodded in understanding.

As they left, Lakshman looked at his Adventurers Card and smiled cheerfully. On it were the details, age and his rank as an Adventurer. He knew the rank meant to identify what kind of difficulty missions he can complete.

Name:Lakshman ReddyAge:13Rank:DPoints:0Registered at:Phelaton, Floria KingdomRegistered date:40/07/8093 PX