“That’s….”

Gerrick grew silent and stayed that way for several moments. He even stopped walking. But Ackster didn’t urge him to say anything or continue moving since he wasn’t insensitive not to have noticed Gerrick was reliving a sad memory.

But eventually, even without Ackster reminding him, Gerrick started moving again. He looked at Ackster. His face had regained a gentle smile.

“...Is something I will tell you in the future if I get the chance.”

Ackster rolled his eyes in response to the mischievousness that peeked through Gerrick’s eyes. It was obviously a way for Gerrick to encourage Ackster to stay safe and return someday in the future.

The sadness Gerrick had shown probably wasn’t fake. But he wouldn’t just go around spouting his life story to any random person that asked. But if it were someone he had helped when they were young and that would come back in the future to visit or repay an old acquaintance, that would be a different story. He wouldn’t mind sharing some of his personal life with someone like that.

“Looks like we’re here.”

Gerrick pointed at a building on the street they had just rounded a corner to reach.

Although Degrest wasn’t a city that adventurers flocked to since its surroundings were relatively peaceful. The Degrest forest did have some greater threats, but none that posed a threat to the city itself.

But the guild building still had to maintain a minimum degree of splendor to show off the power and influence of the Adventurer’s Guild.

The large building matched in with the mainly wooden and stone houses around Degrest. But it was larger, and its materials were clearly of greater quality than the other ordinary shops and buildings around it.

The mansion-like building had an inn and a bar attached to it on either side. But Ackster’s focus was only on the large wooden doors, a part of which was a smaller human-sized pair made for human-sized visitors.

The large wooden doors with the Adventurer’s Guild decapitated dragon’s head emblem on them were for guests or adventurers of irregularly large stature or for when a large monster had been slain and was transported to the Guild.

Compared to those doors, the one Ackster and Gerrick entered was tiny. But it was still more than enough for Ackster and Gerrick to enter next to each other with a wide margin.

“Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild’s Degrest Branch Office!”

A cheery voice greeted Ackster and Rick as soon as they entered the large well-lit hall, which was made to suit the large doors on the front.

The light worried Ackster since his disguise would be easier to see through, but he acted like it was nothing and looked toward the receptionist at the side of the hall.

“Oh, Gerrick? Caught another one, didya?”

The receptionist didn’t have any other customers or adventurers to attend to, so she didn’t have anything stopping her from chatting with Gerrick, who was apparently familiar with the receptionist.

The receptionist with hair like grass grinned at Gerrick before looking at Ackster with a more serious expression.

“Before you get worried, that was a joke. Gerrick won’t kidnap you.”

Ackster had basically already confirmed that, so he wasn’t worried. He could also tell what a joke was.

“You’re not his type.”

The cheeky receptionist stuck out her tongue with another grin.

Gerrick looked at Ackster.

“It seems like we were unlucky. Maybe we should come back another night.”

“Hey, I was just joking. Do you know how boring it is to be stuck with the night shift? There’s nothing to do!”

Gerrick gave the receptionist a scornful look.”

“If you did your job properly, Melia, you wouldn’t have gotten assigned to the night shift, you know.”

Melia ignored Gerrick and looked at Ackster.

“Am I right if I assume that you’re here to register?”

“Yeah.”

Melia looked at Gerrick.

“And you’re here as his guarantor and sponsor?”

“Yep.”

Although there wasn’t exactly a limitation on who could become an adventurer, there were still some rules that had to be followed. A new applicant’s identity or integrity had to be verified by someone the Guild could trust or hold responsible. It wouldn’t be any good if thugs and criminals joined the Guild and tarnished its reputation, after all.

People who already had some renown or an honorable reputation before registering didn’t need it.

But even new applicants who were trustworthy would still need to pay a small fee before joining to prove their willingness to sacrifice and to pay for the creation of a new Nominus Card.

The fee alone wouldn’t be enough to pay for it, and it was more symbolic since the Adventurer’s Guild, as one of the largest organizations in Millmeria, wasn’t desperate to squeeze their adventurers for money. But they couldn’t give things out for free, so new applicants still had to pay a small sum to complete their registration.

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So, when Melia held out her hand, Gerrick handed over a couple of silver coins.

Ackster would have been more than capable of affording it had he brought along even one of the gold coins from his room. But at the moment, he didn’t have anything valuable on him. His clothes were rags, his feet were bare, and his sack was cheap.

“Thank you.”

Melia took the coins and placed them on the desk. Another symbolic sign of trust that the Guild wouldn’t take any money until they had done what they promised.

“Just a minute.”

Melia bent down below the desk, and Ackster saw for the first time how short she was as she fiddled with a drawer.

Gerrick watched Ackster closely and was slightly surprised when Ackster didn’t show much of a reaction to Melia’s small stature. It wasn’t noticeable from a distance or from the right angles since her proportions were the same as a normal-sized human, but when she moved, it was apparent that she was another race.

Melia shortly returned to the world above the desk with a flat wood-like card the size of a palm, an ordinary human’s palm.

“Now then, before I hand this over, what do you know about The Guild and being an adventurer?”

Melia looked at Ackster with an expression of seriousness that made her previous playfulness seem like an illusion.

“The basics.”

Ackster shrugged lightly and gave an honest answer.

Melia stared at Ackster silently after he answered her question. He began to get worried. Ackster didn’t know if there was some secret test or question that he had failed or was about to fail.

Although he knew a lot about the world and the original story, Ackster didn’t know about things that the story hadn’t mentioned. And since The Hero didn’t join the Adventurer’s Guild the same way Ackster did, he didn’t know if there was something else that he should do, something that anyone with a lick of common sense would know.

“Huhu, the basics, huh? That’s great. That means I don’t have to tell you anything.”

But contrary to his expectations, Melia was satisfied with the answer and giggled as she gave up her intense stare.

“Well, then, young adventurer, here is your Nominus Card, or Nomi, for short. Since you know the basics, do you know how to get it started? Wait, is the information about the Nomi covered in what you know….”

“I’m Mas.”

“Mas, do you know what a Nomi is?”

“Somewhat.”

Ackster shrugged. The Nomi was something the original story had brought up in quite a lot of detail since it was important for The Hero and basically every other being in Millmeria. There was also an arc centered around the Nomi cards.

However, the problem wasn’t whether Ackster knew about the Nomi or not. It was whether he might know too much. So, in order not to inadvertently reveal something suspicious about himself, he gave a non-committal answer.

“Okay… I’ll give you a short rundown, just in case.”

“Alright.”

“A Nomi is a magical item, a tool that tracks and records your growth. It’s a revolutionary item that has been preserved and kept safe through several Calamital Cycles, which is proof of its extraordinary value and usefulness. It’s difficult to only use a few words to describe the Nomi’s capability. But, basically, it helps you find the greatest way to become stronger. The quickest way to understand is to experience it for yourself.”

Melia held out the Nomi, the card that looked like it was made of wood but, at the same time, was not. She also held out a knife.

“Here. Just prick your finger and put it against the card, and you will understand what the card is capable of.”

Ackster grabbed the knife and the Nomi. He was worried that Gerrick and Melia would notice how quickly his finger would recover since it might give them a hint of his true identity. But obviously couldn’t hesitate here since he had to get his hands on the Nomi.

So, he pricked his finger and, before it could heal, put it against the card.

Ackster felt a sting that left his finger all tingly. The card shimmered with a faint blue light before returning to its original state and color, at least to Gerrick’s and Melia’s eyes.

Acskter saw something else fade into existence on the card. At first, it only looked like unintelligible scribbles that a child might draw when they’re bored. But the scribbling shifted around and took shape, eventually forming several rows of words that, despite the card’s size, Ackster had no trouble reading.

Name: –

Profession: (Adventurer)

Stats:

Strength: F

Agility: G

Fortitude: F

Mana: –

Spirit: G

Skills:

Strong Body

Pain Tolerance: F

Poison Resistance: F

Keen Senses: G

Ackster saw his status when categorized into the standards of Millmeria. He looked at the card for several minutes and was surprised by three things, the lack of a name, the additional brackets around his profession, and the number of skills. He was also a little uncertain about his stats, at least the fifth one. But he couldn’t tell for sure whether it was an oddity or not since his main source of reference, The Hero, had more kinds of stats.

“Well? Do you understand what a Nominus Card is now, Mas? It’s pretty self-explanatory, right?”

Melia rested her weight on the desk as she looked at Ackster with shiny eyes.

“Uh, yeah. I think so. Um….”

Ackster hesitated since he wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to ask anyone about what he wondered or if he should figure it out on his own. But he quickly realized that he would have to figure out the name part, at least since the Nomi would be his main identification in the future.

“Go on.”

Melia urged him to continue.

“Would it be alright to ask you about a couple of things, or should I keep this stuff secret?”

Melia tilted her head cutely.

“Hmm, most of the things should be pretty straightforward. And while I work for the Guild and am supposed to help you with any questions you might have, it’s still recommended to keep the information secret. After all, someone with your information will have no trouble pinpointing your weaknesses.”

“It’s about my name….”

“Oh, in that case, it’s fine! Ask away!”

“I don’t have one.”

Melia tilted her head in response to Ackster’s statement.

“What do you mean? Wasn’t it Mas?”

“Ah, yeah. My name is Mas, but it doesn’t show up on the Nomi. It’s blank.”

Melia nodded in realization.

“Ah, that happens sometimes. It’s basically because the Nomi reads you, the entirety of your being. So, unless the name is truly a part of your identity, like to your core, it doesn’t always pick it up.”

“I see… How do I fix it?”

Melia rubbed her chin as she answered.

“If you think hard about your name while clutching the Nomi, it should show up sooner or later. Even if it doesn’t, the Nomi is still accepted as a confirmation of your identity. The lack of a name might give you some trouble when you try to enter cities or something, but it’s not like it's forbidden or anything. You could let your profession show instead until you fix it. That’s a little easier to do. You just think about displaying your profession while holding the card.”

Ackster nodded.

“About that….”

“What?”

“I’ll just show you.”

Ackster gripped the Nomi tightly and focused on displaying his profession. And before long, the word ‘(Adventurer)’ was visible to Gerrick and Melia.

“Uhuh.”