Kevin explained to Rock about where they could both get an identification card again, and Rock said, "If it's all the same to you, I think I'll just go to the Adventurer's Guild. I don't know any magic and I don’t think that I'm educated enough for the Magi Guild, and the Fighters Guild sounds like a really bad time for no good reason."

"Okay, works for me," said Kevin. He and the older goblin split up, with the rest of the goblins staying back at the inn. Kevin had to admit it felt good to be alone again without being directly responsible for a half dozen other people at every second of the day.

Now that he was by himself, he felt a little bit more freedom to buy things and otherwise use some of his gold. He hadn't exactly kept it a secret from his charges that he had money, and it also wasn't exactly that he was suspicious of them or worried that they'd steal from him. Instead, it was a… strangely self-consciousness on his part. Rock and his group had lost everything and been through something seriously traumatic. It felt somehow awkward sometimes for Kevin to be dressed in his nice clothes and casually showing his gold. Of course, he wouldn't have been doing that, but he couldn't deny how he felt about it.

He knew where the feeling came from–for multiple life times he’d been poor, or struggled. This was the first time he’d had a good family and easy wealth. He still hadn’t completely adjusted.

As he made his way over to the area where the Fighter's Guild and Magician's Guild were located, he perused the wares of street vendors and even ordered himself a snack. Mystery meat on a stick had never tasted so good. The street food was glazed with some sort of sweet sauce, probably made with honey, that made his mouth water even before he took his first bite.

Kevin was idly chewing, keeping an eye out for pickpockets, when he noticed a couple of human men bustling towards him. One of them tried checking him with his hip. Kevin noticed it and easily avoided the bullying, or provocation–whichever it was. The man actually went off balance, nearly falling on his face in the middle of the street. As Kevin effortlessly spun, he felt grateful, again, that he had chosen [Elvish Acuity]. His movements were definitely sharper, more free-flowing now.

The human man who’d failed the hip check, a big guy with a beer gut and a beard, sucked in a breath like he was about to yell something at Kevin, but thought better of it when he saw the sword on Kevin's back.

Good choice, he thought. Kevin wasn't feeling extremely merciful that day. He narrowed his eyes in warning at the man, who turned and muttered something under his breath as he and his friend skulked away. Since he'd been in Clearmine, Kevin hadn't experienced much unpleasantness so far, but the incident was a reminder that it definitely existed in the world. Whether the man had actually specifically targeted him because he was a goblin or not he couldn’t know, but assholes were assholes.

Finally, Kevin made it to the square where the Magi Guild and the Fighters Guild were located. Each was on opposite sides of the open space, and nearly on the other end of the city from where the Adventurer's Guild was located.

Presumably, Rock would be at the Adventurers Guild now, getting his ID card. Kevin had spotted him a little bit of money to ensure that the older goblin wouldn't have any issues.

The guilds loomed ahead. Now that he was actually here, Kevin was a little bit torn. There were benefits to choosing either the Magi Guild or the Fighters Guild. With his increased abilities, all of his training and know-how, joining the Fighters Guild would likely allow him to join at a relatively high level. And if he ever wanted to use those credentials to make money, it would allow him to earn more and take more difficult jobs. Of course, he really didn't have any reason to work as a mercenary when he could just get more money from his parents. But the ability to be independent did appeal to him.

However, even though joining the Fighters Guild presented possibilities that he found interesting, he ultimately still walked into the Magi Guild. Kevin was committed to learning magic. He refused to believe that he couldn’t find a magic he could learn after multiple worlds and lifetimes.

The immediate interior of the Magi Guild defied his expectations. Rather than esoteric grimoires, a mysterious atmosphere, dark decor, or eccentric oddities on display, the receiving room looked a lot like the lobby of a modern hotel back on Earth, with the addition of desks and tables against the walls and in the corners. Kevin moved up to the reception desk where a blonde human who looked about thirty with crow's feet at the corner of her eyes and smile lines was currently frowning at him.

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"Can I help you?" she asked with a tone of voice that suggested she highly doubted she could.

"Yes, I would like to become a member of the guild," said Kevin.

The woman studied him more closely but didn't say anything more. Whether she was having a bad day or had something against goblins, Kevin didn't know, but at least she was being professional.

Maybe she had something against him in particular. Her eyes flicked up to the sword rising over his shoulder, and Kevin had to admit he probably didn’t look much like a mage or a scholar.

The woman handed him a few pieces of paper on a clipboard, complete with an attached pen, and Kevin headed over to one of the comfortable-looking chairs to take a look. The paper was an application of sorts that also had attached forms that functioned as a questionnaire. Since he didn’t know any magic yet he left the magic form blank and instead focused on the questions about his scholarly knowledge. The instructions were to circle the subjects that he knew and was confident in testing at least at the level of a municipality instructor.

Kevin was surprised by the sheer number of subjects listed, but he felt confident circling a fair number of them: astronomy, magic, cryptography, agriculture, arcane sciences, ancient languages, chemistry, and a number of others as well.

When he returned to the front counter, the woman flipped through his application. She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You're confident in testing on all these subjects?" she asked.

Kevin just nodded. Then the woman shrugged. "Okay. Give me a moment, and I'll prepare the testing device."

He took a seat, and a few minutes later, the woman came into the lobby with what looked like a crystal ball on a rolling table. All the time he'd been in the guild, Kevin hadn't seen anybody else enter so far, which he found strange. When he remarked on it, the woman said, "The Magi Guild is more about quality over quantity. As a result, we get fewer applicants. We also get fewer contracts or requests, but those that we get tend to be more lucrative for our members."

Kevin nodded at the answer, intrigued. Then the woman finally introduced herself. "My name is Brenda. Sorry for the cold reception earlier, but it's been a bad day, and not many goblins come in here. There was a goblin that came in last week and wasted my time. Turns out she was looking for something to steal. If you don't waste my time today and test satisfactorily on even one of the subjects that you marked down, I will owe you a full-blown apology."

"Noted."

Then Brenda wheeled the table up the rest of the way and said, "I don't know what you have been told about the Magi Guild, but applicants like yourself are why we do not have written tests. Testing this number of subjects would take weeks. That, and it's too easy to cheat on paper tests–some contracts might be a matter of life and death. Instead, we have a contract with the God of Knowledge who allows us to quickly and honestly test applicants on every subject. I am going to read out the subjects you marked down. All you need to do is think about the subject, try to think about what you know, and then touch the glass ball. If you pass the threshold of knowledge for the Magi Guild standards, the ball will turn green. If you do not, the ball will turn red."

Kevin frowned. "What if I know more about a subject than just the minimum passing standard?"

"Interesting that you’re more worried about knowing too much than knowing too little. But that is a good question," said Brenda. "Unfortunately, the ball only tests up to a certain limit. Other, higher credentials will have to be earned while a member of the guild."

"All right," said Kevin.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Then Brenda said, "Astronomy." Kevin thought about astronomy, everything he knew about the subject, including black holes, gravity, and the death of stars. He reflected on how the stars and observable space from this world were so vastly different from Earth, and how he'd tried to find any commonality in the last decade or so to ascertain whether Earth and this world were even in the same universe. The glass ball turned green. Brenda made a note and then called out, "Herbalism."

Kevin repeated this process multiple times, getting a green sphere every time. By the end, Brenda looked equal parts frustrated, excited, and curious.

She looked at one of the earlier papers he’d filled out. "Kevin," she said, reading the name that he had written on his paperwork, "how is it possible for you to know all of these subjects? You don't even look that old. Unless I just completely misunderstand goblin physiology."

By this point in the testing, Kevin was very well aware that Brenda herself was something of a scholar. He said, "I've had the good fortune to be blessed with very supportive parents who allowed me a great deal of self-study." He wasn’t exactly lying.

The woman shook her head in amazement. "Unfortunately, even though you've tested positive in so many subjects, the highest rank I can give you in the guild is D, even after further testing. But I can put in a request for a quick review, possibly bumping that up to C. I'm going to write up a recommendation for you to be given C rank and pass it along to the guild leader of this branch. My opinion is that your sheer breadth of knowledge makes C rank appropriate. However, going from D to C upon joining is difficult and will require a great deal of recognition or proof of magical ability." She flipped his paperwork again to his blank magic page and tsked. "Does this all sound good to you, and do you understand?"

Kevin nodded and said, "Yes, thank you for the assistance."

Then, as Brenda left the room, he sat and settled in to wait. Luckily, it wasn't too long before Brenda came back out again, but he immediately noticed the apologetic expression on her face.

She said, "The guildmaster has provisionally approved a higher starting rank, but you have one more test–."

"What is it?" asked Kevin.

"I'm very sorry about this, but I actually do agree with the guildmaster when he asked that you take the urban and adventure survival test. This test is usually discretionary, but for you to be ranked higher than rank D to start with, it is mandatory.”

“Why?”

“Because at higher Magi Guild levels, you may be called upon to travel to another location or even travel with a group."

The woman bit her lip as she waited for Kevin's response, but he just shrugged and said, "That's fine. Can we do it today?"

Brenda blinked. "Are you worried? It's okay to be worried. After all, you're such a young goblin with such a wealth of knowledge."

"No, it's fine," said Kevin. "If we can do it today, I'll just wait."

Brenda nodded slowly and said, "I believe we can. I'll see what I can do."

"Great!" Then Kevin settled in to wait longer.