"Ignis fulmine!" Following a child's yell in a foreign language, a 5-inch-long blue bolt of flame crashed into the torso of a wolf scorching its grey fur black and melting its skin. A yelp of pain burst forth from the wolf's jaws before it whimpered and ran back into the forest. Seeing this Adimir couldn't help but breathe out a sigh of relief. The wolf looked like it was only skin and bones, and was probably attacking him only out of desperation, but he still couldn't help but shiver in fear from how vicious the animal was. Even though he lived in this world for over 50 years he hasn't had any life or death experiences until now. Soon enough however he broke into a grin and started laughing as he realized that he was able to single handily kick that wolf's ass! With the combination of the adrenaline running through his veins and the triumph over the wolf, he couldn't help but get a power high.

Soon enough however the lingering stench of burnt hair and flesh brought him back from the dangerously addicting feeling, as he gagged from the putrid smell. Scrunching up his nose he started walking down the dirt road with renewed vigor. He had been walking for most of the day now and would soon be arriving at the town. Surely enough soon the town gates were looming up on the edges of his sight. In front of it, over two dozen people of varying ethnicities and species could be seen waiting in line to gain access to the town. Looking back towards the gate and the wall attached to it he could tell it was made from solid materials. The gate itself was over 20 feet tall and made entirely of oak wood and had steel rivets holding it together. The wall, on the other hand, was a full 5 feet taller than the gate and was made entirely out of a rough grey cobblestone. On either side of the gate built into the wall were archers’ parapets with several guards with longbows watching the crowd.

"Hey kid eyes up here." A gruff voice suddenly sounded out. Startled Adimir looked up to see that while he was busying himself with watching the defenses of the town the line continued to move on without him until it was his turn. The man who called out to him was a red-haired human and a large one at that. He was at least 6'10" tall, and even though his light blue gambeson armor you could tell he had a very muscular frame. His uniform was, for the most part was blue. That included both his gambeson pants and shirt, and he had a pair of leather gloves and a leather helmet.

"Do you have any identification elf?" The guard asked again with irritation creeping into his voice.

Finding his voice Adimir replied. "Oh, um yes. Here." He meekly replied with a new height inferiority complex beginning to take root in his heart. He took out a square slab of steel that was around the size of a driver's license and passed it to the guard. After taking a look at it the guard handed it back to him.

"Alright, you are allowed in. Enjoy your stay." The human said before turning his attention to the person behind him. Pocketing his ID and entering the town he couldn't help but breath out a sigh of relief. Although he was probably a decade or so older than him with his measly height of 4'5" he couldn't help but be intimidated by the guard. He was practically an ogre to the likes of Adimir! Soon enough, however, the cloud of melancholy parted as he gazed in child-like awe at the innards of the town. There were medieval-like buildings of various sizes and colors everywhere he looked, and then there were the streets. He hadn't even arrived at the main marketplace, but he could already spot at least half a dozen different species in the crowd that was on the street.

Excitedly he pulled out a slip of paper written by his mom with instructions for where the local adventurers guild was located. He then began to follow the instructions to the letter to where he'd begin his new career as an adventurer.

******

Two hours had already passed, and he still has yet to find the guild. Adimir was now dejectedly sitting on the front steps of what was a probably now-closed shop. It seemed even in an entirely new world he wouldn't be able to escape his infernal curse of having no sense of direction. In his previous life unless he had someone to help guide him around, he'd always get lost. So understandably he became extremely reliant upon his phone when he lived in Houston. But this wasn't no city. It was only a town, yet he still got lost despite having written instructions on where to go. Clenching his hands into fists he swore to create a GPS spell to help guide him around, so he doesn't get lost.

A pair of bare scale-covered legs appeared within his vision, and Adimir looked up to see a reptaurian clad in half-plate armor looking down at him.

"You lost?" The lizard man asked in a gravelly voice.

Adimir nodded in response. "I'm looking for the adventurer’s guild, but I can't find it. Could you help me?" He asked.

"Sure. It's on the other side of this building." The reptaurian replied immediately. "Seriously?" Adimir asked with a shocked expression spreading across his face.

"Seriously." The reptilian replied with a solemn nod. Adimir sighed and stood up onto his feet.

"Thank you for your help." He said.

"Your welcome." The reptile said before walking away.

Adimir then began walking between the alleyway between two buildings, and sure enough, when he arrived on the other side there was a street filled with armed people who were coming in and out of the building he was sitting behind not too long ago. And as if to throw salt onto the wound there was even a hanging sign above the doorway with the words “Kentoria adventurers guild” written above it.

Adimir wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry, but he very much felt like doing both right this moment. After taking a moment to calm his nerves he walked into the guild building. As soon as Adimir stepped in a wall of laughing, talking, and other noises slammed into him. Inside of the guild to the right, there were five receptionist desks. While on the other side there were a few dozen tables and a bar where dozens of people were eating food and drinking booze and were the source of most of the noise he heard when he entered. Walking over to the receptionist's desks he managed to secure a spot within the line, and after a few minutes of waiting it was finally his turn.

"Hello, young man. What's your business with the guild today?" Asked a beautiful blond-haired, blue-eyed human girl with a practiced smile.

"Ahem. I'd like to join the guild as an adventurer and take the combat test to become an iron ranked adventurer." Adimir replied while straightening his back in an attempt to make himself look bigger.

"Is that so? Well, you're in luck then young sir. We currently have a steel ranked adventurer available to test you in the combat exam. Head towards that door in the back and follow the stairs down. You'll be fighting in our underground training field." The receptionist said with a smile while taking note of his ears. The young elven boy nodded and went over to the door. Opening it up he was pleasantly surprised to find that the stairway down to the basement wasn't dimly lit by torches, but brightly lit by an assortment of crystals enchanted to glow. It seems the guild chose to invest a good amount of money into the lighting for the basement.

Upon his arrival in the basement, he was greeted with the sight of four fighting squares. Each of them was 25' by 25' large and had a distance of 10 feet between each of them. Currently, three of them were in use. The fourth one, however, had a bald 6-foot tall orc wearing full grey gambeson armor, in his right hand he held a sword with a 4-foot long blade, and a shield as large as Adimir in his other. Standing next to him was a brown-haired elf that was wearing the blue and grey uniform of the receptionists of the guild. Assuming that since they weren't busy, they were the ones who would be his examiners Adimir walked over to them.

"Hello. My name is Adimir. I was sent down here to take the combat test for becoming an iron ranked adventurer." He said.

The elf receptionist looked over at him with a surprised look on her face.

"Really? You’re practically a kid though? Do you really think you can pass the test?" She said with a measure of doubt noticeable in her voice.

Feeling a degree of irritation towards the elf Adimir answered, "Yes I'm sure I can." He said curtly before turning to the orc. The entire time he and the rude elf were talking he remained silent with a neutral expression on his face.

"Well if you say so. The rules are simple. No lethal or grade 3 spells. Our friend over here will be using a dulled sword to avoid killing you. Any injuries you sustain during the spar will not be healed by the guild. When I deem it fit I will end the fight. Now when I say fight you can start." The elf said, before stepping out of the square. "Fight!" Her feminine voice ranged out.

As soon as she yelled Adimir already started casting a spell. "Vento flante!" He yelled out while pointing his mage staff at the orc as a powerful gust of wind was sent towards him. The orc, on the other hand, lifted up his shield in front of him while placing his left foot behind him.

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When the wind crashed into him it managed to push him back a full 3 inches before it finally overwhelmed him and knocked him off balance. Seizing this chance Adimir scrambled to get another 15 feet of distance between them before he began to prepare his next spell. By now the orc warrior had gotten readjusted and was charging towards him while yelling out a wordless battle cry.

"Luto artis luto murus!" Adimir exclaimed in a panic voice while pointing at the ground. Just as the orc was within 5 feet of Adimir an 11-foot tall and 10-feet wide wall of dirt rose in front of him stopping him in his tracks. Adimir activated his mage eyes then using it to see past the dirt wall he scurried to position himself at the end the orc was heading towards. When the orc warrior came around the wall, he saw him standing right in front of him with a devilish grin on his face.

"DIS!" He yelled out as an invisible wall of mana rushed out of his mouth and crashed into the poor warrior sending him flying 5 feet. Groaning the orc warrior stood up onto his feet.

"Alright, I've seen enough. This fight is over." The elf examiner yelled out as she stepped forward between Adimir and the orc.

"You did well. Go get some rest," she said over to the orc, before turning over to Adimir, "You said your name was Adimir right? Well, good job Adimir. You've definitely passed the test. I must say that I'm impressed. I never really expected someone of your age to have such combat expertise. Here take this. If you take it back up to the receptionist, you'll be able to get it engraved, and officially become an iron ranked adventurer." She said with a smile as she handed a steel plate of similar size to his ID to him.

Adimir accepted the steel plate with a foolish grin on his face and practically ran back up to the first floor of the guild. When he managed to get to the receptionist's desk that he was previously at she looked over at him with shock flashing in her eyes for a moment before she composed herself in the next instant. Seems the one below wasn’t the only one who had doubted his capabilities.

"So, you managed to make it I assume? Here use this pen to write down your information. It's one-time use so don't try thinking about stealing it." She warned him as she handed him a pen.

Taking the pen, he looked at it to see if it had any noticeable traits that made it stand out. It had a wood handle and an iron writing tip, but none of it looked special. Doubtful that such a thing could make any marks on the steel plate he began writing on it. To his surprise, however, the pens tip sunk into the steel like a hot butter knife through butter and he was able to write just fine on it. After finishing he handed the pen back to the receptionist.

"Congratulations Adimir. Your now an adventurer. Don't lose that card. It costs 5 silver coins to replace it. "The receptionist girl said with a beaming smile.

"Will do!" He replied.

Adimir walked over to a bulletin board with the available quests pinned to it. Before he could go through the entirety of its contents however someone tapped his shoulder. Turning around to see who it was Adimir saw it was a human girl. She looked like she was just a teenager and all she had for armor was some very worn-out leather armor. She had dark brown neck-length hair and average brown eyes. However, the thing that stuck out most to him was that she was 5'7" tall. 14 inches taller than him. "Hey, kid I saw your match with the orc downstairs. You looking to join a team? If so, you could join mine." She said while offering up a smile. Hearing that she had a team Adimir glanced around to see where her other team members. Noticing this the girl spoke up. "My other teammate is currently finishing a meal. We're both steel ranks, but neither of us are able to use spells." She said supplying him an answer despite him not asking.

Mulling it over for a few moments he decided that even if he was a good mage, he was still weak in close quarters combat. It was only due to the use of some strategy that he managed to get so close to the orc warrior and win. If he got into a fight with two enemies his chances of victory would drop by half. Three enemies and his chances at surviving would drop to abysmally low levels. So, with that taken into account, he decided that joining their team would be the best plan of action. "I'll join. My name is Adimir and as you know I'm a mage. I can provide cover fire with offensive magic and use support magic to heal and buff my allies." He said to help her get a clearer understanding of his capabilities.

"Nice to meet you Adimir. My names Mira and I'm a ranger and scout. I can also fulfill some of the roles of a thief like lockpicking. My partner's name is Tauna and she's our shield. We're actually about to head out on a bounty on a goblin encampment in a bit." She replied before gesturing for him to follow her.

After navigating their way through the crowd, they found themselves in front of a table with a wolf beastkin girl who just paid a barmaid. She was wearing full brown gambeson armor with iron shoulder pads. When she stood up, she was a staggering 5'11" tall. Seeing this he couldn't help but get disheartened. He was already 50 years old and yet he looked like a child still. But back to the beastkin girl. She had a very composed and self-assured look on her face. That is until the moment she looked over at Adimir. "Hey, Tauna this is Adimir and he's the newest addition to our team." Mira introduced him. "I've already introduced myself and gave him an overall explanation of what roles we play. Adimir actually is a mage and can support us with both offensive and defensive spells." Mira said to Tauna.

"Oh really? Well with his help we should be able to handle a goblin den without breaking a sweat." Tauna exclaimed cheerfully. Suddenly Adimir felt a sudden chill run down his spine as he remembered the first episode to a certain goblin slaying anime in which people suffered a terrible fate for underestimating goblins.

"Let's not take the goblins too lightly. Even if they're not necessarily strong individually they are still capable of killing us." He said quickly in an attempt to keep such a fate from happening to him. "Adimir’s right we shouldn't underestimate our enemies. Even if they may be goblins. Now if there’s nothing else to talk about lets head out right now if everyone's ready that is?" Mira said. After a series of affirmatives, everyone got up to leave to exterminate a den of goblins.