The group arrived to Aria just as the sun was beginning to set, a look of determination on all of their faces. There were two guards at the main gate, they looked at the newcomers before one spoke.
"State the reason you have come."
"We are aspiring adventurers from a small village in the south called Varza. We hope to join Aria's adventurers' guild." Torin replied with a slight bow.
"Then it would be in your best interest to hurry inside," the guard stated, point towards the opening gate. "Nightfall approaches soon."
"Thank you for your concern." Torin responded, leading the group through the gate.
They marveled at the sight of Aria. There were numerous people wandering about, and the smell of food reached all of their noses. Several food stalls were currently serving customers.
"Wow! This is so much different than home." Celestia said in awe, a bright smile on her face.
"Yeah, it's amazing…" Flarez breathed out, adoration in her eyes.
"It's an impressive sight." Zenith remarked, a slight smile on her face.
"We need to focus," Torin interjected, "let us find our way to the guild."
"We should ask around and find out where it is." Jayde added.
After asking a few of the locals, it was determined that the guild was a massive building at the center of the town. As they were walking towards the guild, Jayde spoke up.
"Say, what happens at nighttime around here? I heard Torin mention something about it, and the guards at the gate did as well."
"The monsters in the surrounding forest become more dangerous. They're so dangerous, people are banned from leaving Aria at night." Zenith answered.
'Now that sounds like a challenge.' Jayde thought, before saying, "Okay, that makes a lot of sense."
"Though the risk doesn't come without rewards," Zenith added, "the experience you gain from slaying these monsters is vast. It'd be fast way to level up, assuming you don't die."
"What's the punishment for leaving at night?" Jayde inquired.
"There is not one," Torin answered, a grim look on his face. "Because the people who leave… never come back."
As Torin finished speaking, the group had arrived at the guild. They could hear the rowdiness of the building's occupants.
"Let's hurry inside!" Flarez exclaimed, a big smirk on her face.
"Yeah, let's go!" Celestia added, walking towards the door.
When they entered the guild, they observed adventurers drinking and chatting loudly. The guild seemed to have a tavern within it. As the group looked around, they spotted the receptionist beckoning them to come over, so they obliged.
"Hello, my name is Navel, are you five looking to join the guild?" The receptionist asked in a cheerful tone.
"Yes, that's the sole reason we traveled here." Zenith answered, an excited gleam in her eyes.
"Perfect! I'll just need an admissions fee of fifty novas." She explained
The group exchanged glances in a panic. Jayde knew that he didn't have any money, but he was surprised that his new companions didn't seem to have any either.
"You guys don't have any money either?" Jayde inquired.
"No," Celestia replied, her cheeks red, "we come from a barter economy, so our village never used money."
"Hmmm, I suppose you could find a job in town to earn some money," Navel suggested before noticing some green blood on Jayde's white shirt, "did you encounter any monsters on your journey?"
"Yep, we destroyed a horde of goblins." Flarez answered, a reminiscent look on her face.
"Did you happen to collect the goblins weapons?" Navel inquired, a hopeful look on her face.
"Yes, we did." Torin replied, bringing the slain goblins weapons out of his inventory and placing them on the counter.
The others followed suit, each placing down the weapons they collected as well. Jayde placed down all the weapons he collected except the bow. He still needed a weapon, he wasn't already equipped like the others.
Navel placed her hand on her chin, thoroughly examining the stash of weapons.
"This'll work, you can cover the fee of your admissions with these, and as a reward for slaying goblins in the forest, you'll be given two rooms in the guilds inn for one week." She decided, a smile on her face.
The group exchanged glances before smiling. Jayde swore he could see tears brimming in Celestia's eyes. While this wasn't a big deal for him, it seemed like it meant the world to the other four.
"We're actually adventurers." Celestia stated, a look of slight disbelief on her face.
"Yeah… we are." Flarez confirmed, mirroring Celestia's expression.
"Please follow me." Navel requested, breaking them from their stupor.
She led them out of the tavern and into a different room. The room had a crystal suspended over a desk in its center. Navel placed a stack of five cards under the crystal.
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"This is where your adventurer cards will be created. I need each of you to place your hands on the crystal one by one. It will project your information onto the card. This information will include your name, level, age, rank, and class. Your level and rank will automatically change as you progress." Navel explained, beckoning someone to place their hand on the crystal.
Zenith was the first to approach the crystal, placing her hand on it gingerly. The crystal began to emit a soft glow, a thin laser shining from its bottom, engraving magical text onto the card. The onlookers watched intently until the light dimmed. After the process completed, Zenith held the card up so everyone could see it. There was an image of her face in the top left corner, and the text read;
Name: Zenith Silvershade
Age: 16
Level: 4
Class: Assassin
Rank: E
"What's rank E?" Jayde questioned, looking towards Navel.
"E-Rank adventures are the lowest rank, Z-Rank is the highest. The full order is E, D, C, B, A, S, and Z. Though you can count the number of Z-Rank adventures on one hand, and that's including all of the guilds." Navel answered.
"Why is there so few Z-Rank adventurers?" Zenith interjected, an inquisitive look on her face.
"That would be because of the level cap, the humans that don't become adventures have a level cap of 20, average adventurers have a level cap of around 50, the adventures at A-Rank have a level cap of around 75, the S-Rank adventures have a level cap of around 100, and the Z-Rank adventurers level cap is unknown, but the highest known level is 147." Navel explained.
"How do we find our level cap?" Torin inquired.
"That will be revealed once you surpass level twenty. Now, will the next person come forward." Navel replied, gesturing towards the crystal.
Torin placed his hand on the crystal, rendering the following results;
Name: Torin Dragonhammer
Age: 17
Level: 3
Class: Paladin
Rank: E
Celestia went next, her results;
Name: Celestia Starrose
Age: 15
Level: 2
Class: Priest
Rank: E
Flarez partook next, her results;
Name: Flarez
Age: 16
Level: 4
Class: Sorcerer
Rank: E
Jayde was the last one to go, his results;
Name: Jayde Starfell
Age: 17
Level: 2
Class: Ranger
Rank: E
“Great, you’re all done. Please follow me, I’ll show you the way to the inn.” Navel voiced, leading out of the room.
She led them down a long hallway, and up a flight of stairs. After a couple minutes of walking, they arrived at the two rooms. The rooms were directly across from each other. Navel took her leave after handing each of them keys to both rooms.
“How should we split the rooms?” Celestia asked the others.
“Girls in one room, guys in the other.” Zenith stated plainly, eyeing Jayde.
“Alright then, see you guys in the morning. We will complete our first quest tomorrow.” Torin expressed before heading into the room.
“Okay, I can’t wait!” Celestia exclaimed, heading into the other room.
Jayde gave a small salute to Zenith and Flarez before following Torin into the room. There were two beds in the room, and a nightstand by each one. Torches were also placed throughout the room, which Torin seemed to already light. After lying down in one of the beds, Jayde began to think about his current situation.
‘What a long day… I can’t believe I actually died. At least I’ve got a second chance, and it’s going well so far. The people in this world seem to be more open and friendly than the people back home. Flarez and Zenith still seem to be a bit on edge though. I guess I just have to gain their trust. Having allies could be the key to defeating The Messiah. I should ask Torin what he knows.’
“Hey, Torin, what do you know about The Messiah?” Jayde asked.
“The Messiah? He is the ruler of the continent west of this one. It is said that his kind was at war with us humans, but King Nova struck a deal for peace, giving up control of the western continent to The Messiah. In exchange, his kind would not attack humans anymore.” Torin explained, “Why do you ask?” He added.
“Just curious.” Was Jayde’s response. ‘That’s odd… why would I be tasked with defeating The Messiah if he’s at peace with humanity? Maybe there’s more to the story, and it’s not like I can defeat him right now. I should just focus on getting stronger, and apply those stat points I earned earlier.'
The status screen appeared before Jayde, displaying his stats and available points.
Stats:
Vitality: 14 - Measures overall heath, recovery rates, and resistance to ailments.
Strength: 20 - Determines physical power and ability to carry heavy objects.
Dexterity: 27 - Affects agility, accuracy, and reflexes.
Endurance: 14 - Measures stamina and durability.
Intelligence: 12 - Influences magical ability and skill with complex techniques.
Wisdom: 10 - Impacts decision making
Charisma: 12 - Affects social interactions, persuasion, and leadership abilities.
Luck: 9 - Determines favorable outcomes in certain situations, Including critical hits and dodging attacks.
Perception: 21 - Enhances awareness of surroundings, tracking skills, and ability to detect hidden objects or enemies.
Available Stat Points: 5
'Hmmm... I think I'll upgrade my dexterity three times, and my luck twice.' Jayde decided, adding the points to the stats.
Vitality: 14 - Measures overall heath, recovery rates, and resistance to ailments.
Strength: 20 - Determines physical power and ability to carry heavy objects.
Dexterity: 30 - Affects agility, accuracy, and reflexes.
Endurance: 14 - Measures stamina and durability.
Intelligence: 12 - Influences magical ability and skill with complex techniques.
Wisdom: 10 - Impacts decision making
Charisma: 12 - Affects social interactions, persuasion, and leadership abilities.
Luck: 11 - Determines favorable outcomes in certain situations, Including critical hits and dodging attacks.
Perception: 21 - Enhances awareness of surroundings, tracking skills, and ability to detect hidden objects or enemie.
New Skill Obtained:
[Enhanced Reflexes]: Greatly increases reaction time. Leveling up increases effectiveness.
As Jayde was applying his stat points, the girls were in the other room having a conversation about him.
“Do you guys really think we can trust Jayde?” Flarez asked, feeling unsure.
“I honestly don’t know.” Zenith responded.
“I think we can,” Celestia determined, “he helped us when he didn’t have to.”
“He almost hit you with an arrow… “ Flarez remarked dryly, a deadpan stare on her face.
“That was clearly an accident!” Celestia exclaimed, her cheeks flushed.
“Even so, I’m gonna keep my eyes on him.” Zenith interjected.
“You only wanna keep your eyes on him because you think he’s cute.” Flarez teased, a knowing smirk on her face.
“Don’t be ridiculous.” Zenith responded quietly, her cheeks slightly tinged with embarrassment.
Flarez giggled. “Well, cute or not, we should be careful. We don’t know much about him, and we don’t know what he’s capable of.”
Zenith pointed her nose up. “Exactly, seeing the way he killed those goblins with his bare hands was freaky. Right, Celestia?”
There was no response from the girl who was questioned. When they looked at her, she was fast asleep.
Flarez chuckled. “How does she always fall asleep mid-conversation?”
“That’s just the was she is.” Zenith answered, a warm smile on her face. “By the way, I’m taking the other bed.”
Before Flarez could react, Zenith was sprawled across the other bed, taking up all the space. Flarez sighed and resigned to her fate, crawling into the bed with Celestia, and dozing off herself.
In the other room, Torin and Jayde were also sound asleep. Preparing to officially begin their journey tomorrow.