Batara realized that he was back in front of Lorelai’s Reverie and the sun was already down even though he went to the shop in mid-day. He was very confused and checked his body to see if he was dreaming. He was still wearing the black hooded vest, he has the scroll the imp’s gave him, and his merchant coin is gone so everything checked out. He wondered why he suddenly ended up in front of his inn and whats the meaning of the imp’s whisper, but mostly he was starving. So he went inside the inn and everything was normal. Isha the innkeeper was behind the counter reading a book. Batara walked up to her and said “Good evening.” Isha was shocked and dropped her book again. She then said “S-s-sorry! I did not notice you came in!” All Batara can think of is how hungry he is so he immediately asked “Can I borrow your kitchen to cook?” Isha replied “Sure. Its right beside the library. Feel free to use the utensils but dont forget to wash it after.” Batara replied with a simple “thanks” and immediately went to his room to pick up left-over ingredients and head to the kitchen. He still has leftover condensed rice, wolf meat, and some plants he stored in his magic pouch, and some cream and roasted sesame sauce he got from Ikki when he asked about the sandwich. Batara then cooked a rice porridge with all of his leftover ingredients and put Ikki’s sauce on top of it. He then put the porridge into a bowl and walked out of the kitchen to eat. However, when Batara was about to leave the kitchen, Isha was already standing in front of the kitchen door with a drool on her face. Batara startled and gasped a little. Seeing Isha wiping her drool Batara then asked “Uhm, do you want some?” Isha nodded. Batara replied “Help yourself, there is still some.” Batara was so hungry so he just gave a swift response. Isha smiled widely and rushed to the kitchen to grab a bowl of the porridge.

Batara sat on the edge of the long chair in front of the library and Isha sat at the other edge of the long chair. The two ate in total silence. Batara is used to eating silently as he always eats alone. On the other hand, Isha felt bad if she just ate Batara’s dish without saying anything. In nervousness, Isha grabbed a spoonful of the porridge and tried to contain all the ingredients in one scoop. Isha then said in excitement “It’s so Flavorful! What did you put in this?” Isha all of a sudden spoke very cheerfully. Batara was startled by Isha’s unusual speech manner, but tried to reply anyway “Huh? Its wolf meat and cream.” Isha then replied “Ahhh so that’s why it tasted so fulfilling and warm.” Isha then realized she just spoke so casually to Batara. She felt embarrassed and said “I-I’m sorry! I just loved food so much and your porridge is so good and I didnt mean to speak so casually but-“ Batara cut her words and replied “Its okay”. Batara never really minds how others speak to him even if its rude.

After eating in silence for a while, Isha looked at Batara's equipment and asked “Are you an adventurer?” Isha’s manner of speech somehow got more casual and clear. Batara replied “No. But I will be, tomorrow.” Isha replied “Oh you will attend the evaluation then?” Batara nodded. Isha suddenly looked doubtful. Looking at Isha’s reaction Batara said “You think I looked too weak to be an adventurer.” Isha replied “I’m sorry. Its just that I had a brother who is an adventurer. His name is Desmond. He had the same stature as you and is considered weak compared to other adventurers.” Before Batara could reply, Isha continued to talk so Batara just listened. Isha continued “But he always had the strongest spirit to be the adventurers he idolized, which is the Azure Knights. After he got his Adventurer’s License, he went on his first mission. It was a total success so it kinda got over his head. On his second mission, he and his party went for a harder mission to investigate the swamp located east from Quarzith. However, they never came back from that mission.” Batara replied “Sorry to hear that.” Isha shook her head and said “Its okay, I still believe that my brother’s still alive somewhere. But my point is, you should carefully consider being an adventurer as it comes with a great risk.” Batara went silent for a while and said “Even so. I’ll still become an adventurer.” Seeing Batara’s serious face Isha didnt pry further and said “Good luck then Batara.” Isha then finished her meal and walked to the kitchen to put the dishes. Isha was swaying a little when she walked to the kitchen. After finishing his porridge, Batara felt a little light and thought to himself “Ahh, so that’s why Isha seemed different. Ikki’s sauce must’ve contained alcohol.” Batara found it a little funny that someone could get drunk by just eating alcohol infused food. Since Isha still looked fine, Batara didnt say anything about it. Batara then washed his dishes and went to sleep.

The next day, Batara woke up and went downstairs to go to the adventurer’s guild for his evaluation. Before he left the inn, he opened a map to search for directions, but Isha noticed that Batara held the map upside down and told him so. Isha then ended up telling Batara how to get around the city. After that, Batara left the inn and arrived later at the Adventurer’s Guild just in time for the mandatory ceremony of adventurers evaluation. The ceremony is the declaration of adventurers’ vow by all adventurer candidates. The adventurer’s vow is “To value your life over your adventure”. After that, the adventurer candidates are called one by one to touch a magic crystal to be evaluated.

Batara learned about the whole ceremony and evaluation from his adventurer training back in Obenvale. The magic crystal is a device that resonates with the magic of Eidel made from mysterious elements blessed by the God of Adventure. Its authenticity is proven by the light it emits everytime an adventurer candidate is evaluated. It can tell the adventurer candidate’s affinity in magic, arte, and even occasionally a special ability that one might have. But most importantly after constant modification by the Adventurer’s Guild it can tell the overall rank of a candidate as an adventurer. The adventurer rankings are divided into the letters E, D, C, B, A, and S, with E being the lowest rank and S the highest. Each letter is further divided into the numbers 1, 2, and 3, with 1 being the lowest tier and 3 the highest tier before reaching the next letter rank.

However, due to the high rate of adventurers’ deaths, it is regulated that new adventurer candidates can only be ranked for the highest of D.3 (Rank D Tier 3). Most adventurer candidates usually start at rank E.1 or E.2 if they have strong attributes. They can only reach higher rank by achievements and further evaluation. S rank adventurers only consist of 1% of all population of Eidel, but once in several decades there is also adventurer who goes beyond S rank which is regarded as “Hero”. This title can also be granted by evaluation or achievement.

Batara waited in line to be evaluated by the Adventurer’s Guild. He saw Klaus and Theresia ahead of him in the line for the evaluation. Shortly after, Batara saw that it was Klaus turn to be evaluated. Klaus placed his hand on the magic crystal and a golden light radiated from the crystal ball. Then, the evaluator stated Klaus’ result “Klaus Fenderer, adventurer’s rank E.3, strong affinity in Arte, moderate affinity in Magic, and Potential Special Ability.” Other candidates and scouting party are surprised by Klaus' result as there are only a few adventurers who start beyond rank E.2. After his evaluation, Klaus walked back to the seat to watch other adventurers’ evaluation. For a brief moment, Batara saw Klaus put on a disappointed face and muttered “not good enough.” Batara’s observation habit made him able to read people’s lips to some extent. Batara was a little surprised because he never saw Klaus wearing such an expression. Following Klaus, it is Theresia’s turn for evaluation. She placed her hand on the magic crystal and it radiated a glowing bright red color upwards. Then the evaluator stated Theresia’s result “Theresia Ignatius, adventurer’s rank D.1, strong affinity in fire magic, moderate affinity in other elements of magic and arte, and a Special Ability: Phoenix Blessing.” The crowd was amazed with her result as there hasnt been anyone that started in D rank for years. Most nobles or geniuses usually only started at rank E.2 or E.3. The adventurers and scouts suddenly gathered around her.

After a while, it was finally Batara’s turn to be evaluated. Batara placed his hand on the magic crystal but the crystal didnt glow. Then the evaluator stated Batara’s result “Moderate affinity in utiltiy magic, below average affinity in other elements of magic and arte, adventurer’s rank…” the evaluator paused for a while before saying “Unfit.” Batara’s face turned pale and his gaze turned blank. The people around him were starting to whisper behind his back “Pfft, utility magic? Isnt that what general workers use? How would he fight with household skills?” others whispered “Hey, what happens when someone is deemed unfit?” the friend replied “He can take the evaluation again. But for an expensive price and I heard its a waste of time since the magic crystal result is said to be absolute.” Hearing the whispers gave Batara a severe stomach ache. Batara actually expected this to happen, but it turns out when it did actually happen, he felt deeply hurt as being an adventurer is the only reason he can still keep going with his life. When Batara’s about to lift his hand from the magic crystal the evaluator suddenly stopped him and said “Wait.” The magic crystal slowly radiated a faint cloudy light and the evaluator declared “Potential Special Ability detected. Batara Arcital, adventurer’s rank has changed to E.1.”

Batara was surprised and confused at the same time. The evaluator handed him his adventurer’s license and said with a laid back tone “Well there is a first for everything. The God of Adventure must’ve wanted to see you become an adventurer haha.” The evaluator continued, “Place your palm facing down here.” Batara placed his palm and the evaluator put his adventurer license in the shape of thin card on top of Batara’s hand. The evaluator then explained “Thus adventurer’s license is made from mana and magic fiber containing information of adventurer.” The moment the license touched Batara’s the top of his hand, it got absorbed into his hand and formed a small tattoo with the shape of adventurer’s guild emblem. The evaluator explained to Batara “The adventurer’s license is absorbed by your body and the information about your attributes, affinity, magic, arte, and special ability will be accessible through your head. You can show your license to others by will, by channeling your energy to the tattoo and it will appear in the form of a card. But, other people can only see your name and adventurer’s rank, other information is exclusive to you only and dont worry, after a while the card form will disappear.” Batara nodded and said a simple “thank you.” Before Batara left, the evaluator called to him and said “Hey kid! May the God of Adventure bless your journey ahead.” Batara bowed and left. He was doubtful that he would receive any blessing since his reason for becoming an adventurer is not the most noble one.

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Batara was about to leave the adventurer’s guild when suddenly he saw a bright light radiating from the magic crystal. The light was the color of a rainbow and shot up toward the ceiling. The evaluator who was evaluating the bearer of such light declared the result “Pascal Ostroma, Adventurer’s Rank A! Strong affinity in all elements of magic, Special Ability: Lord Beyond.” All adventurers and scouts shocked, gasped, and shouted “Thats Impossible!”, “Whats with the name of her special ability!?”, “We need to get her into our party!”, while the crowd is still shouting in disbelief, the evaluator declared “Due to adventurer’s guild policy, Pascal Ostroma will be downgraded into rank D.3. Pascal Ostroma, please meet with the Guild Master on the second floor, right this way.” Pascal followed the evaluator upstairs. After seeing Pascal’s result, which is far beyond his own, Batara put on his hoodie in shame and left the adventurer’s guild.

Outside the adventurer’s guild, Batara remembered that Klaus asked to meet up. He looked around and found Klaus surrounded by other adventurers including the ones from Obenvale. Batara didnt want to ruin Klaus’ chance to join a well-off party with his presence or be involved in the crowd, so he decided to leave. Batara was about to leave, when suddenly Klaus shouted his name “Oi Bats!” Klaus removed himself from the crowd and ran towards Batara. Klaus said while catching his breath “Huf, hey why are you leaving me!” Batara replied, “Sorry, you seemed occupied.” Klaus replied “Nah dont worry about it, they just surrounded me out of nowhere.” Batara thought that it might be the same case with the adventurer candidates back at Obenvale.

Klaus continued “Anyway, congratulations to us, we are now officially fellow adventurers!” Batara frowned and replied “I almost didnt make it.” Klaus replied “Yes I saw. But dont let it get to you Bats! The most important thing is that we are full fledged adventurers. Our journey has just begun.” Batara was still doubtful but he replied “You’re right I guess.” Klaus replied “Of course I’m right, I always do haha!” Seeing Batara’s reaction, Klaus continued “That crystal thing is old anyway. A great adventurer is defined by its determination, not just some old crystal.” Klaus' words always seemed optimistic even though he himself looked very frustrated by his result earlier. Batara appreciated Klaus’ words as his expression softened. Klaus took that chance and said “We should drink at the tavern tonight! I’m familiar with the own-“ before Klaus finished his words Batara raised his hand in front of Klaus’ face “No!” Klaus insisted “Tsk, C’mon just this once!” Batara shook his head in disagreement. Klaus got disappointed and said “Heuf, you’re no fun.”

Klaus then changed the subject as he noticed the hooded vest Batara was wearing. Klaus asked “Is that a new vest?” Batara nodded. Klaus replied “Where did you get that?” Batara replied “In the equipment shop east of Quarzith.” Klaus replied “East? I didnt know there was an equipment shop there. The shops were supposed to be in the west.” Batara remembered that Isha told him he went in the wrong direction when he was searching for shops. Batara got curious of Klaus’ sudden interest and asked “Is there something wrong with it?” Klaus realized he’s being nosy and replied “Ah sorry, its just the pattern and design seemed out of time. Ancient even. But it looks cool though.” Batara doesnt have any awareness of fashion so he just took whatever looked convenient. Batara replied “Yeah I thought so too.” even though he didnt know what Klaus was talking about.

Klaus then said “Oh I just remembered what I wanted to talk about. Lets meet up again here and form a party to do a quest together in a week.” Batara asked, “In a week?” Klaus replied “Yeah, I still need to finish my training with my father’s acquaintance before I can go adventuring.” Klaus continued “So, what do you say?” Klaus was so confident that Batara would still be available for partying up in a week that it made Batara feel a little offended. Batara once again take a look at the group of adventurers talking to Klaus earlier and said to Klaus “Are you sure?” Klaus immediately replied in high spirit “Alright! Its settled then. And dont worry, I’ll bring other adventurers with me so we can do a quest immediately.” Before Batara could say anything Klaus continued “See you in a week, Bats!” and leave. Batara was speechless and didnt know what just happened. However, Batara went along as he was sure that he wont be able to find a party either after what happened on his evaluation earlier.

After his meeting with Klaus, Batara went to the Adventurer’s Guild Board to check on the available quests as he was low on money. While looking at the board, Batara noticed that almost all of the available quests require a party of at least 2 E rank adventurers. So he decided to ask the guild staff about which quest can be done alone. He entered the Adventurer’s Guild lobby and approached one of the staff standing behind the counter.

Along the way, Batara heard other adventurers talking behind his back about how he is almost deemed as unfit and should just give up on being an adventurer if he values his life. Batara felt sick in his gut listening to them, but he also knew all too well that they were only stating the facts, so he decided to put on his hood to avoid attention and walked past them. The guild counter was not far from the door, but somehow Batara felt like he'd been walking for ages. The guild staff greeted Batara “Welcome to Quarzith Adventurer’s Guild, my name is Cylia, how can I help?” Batara showed the adventurer tattoo on his hand and asked “I-is there a q-uest for so-solo adventurer?” as he stuttered nervously. Cylia noticed Batara’s being weird and replied in concern “A-are you cold? Why are you trembling?” Batara replied “I-I’m fine.” Cylia decided to let the matter go since she had her fair share of talking with weird adventurers. Cylia continued “Oh right youre asking about quest to do solo. Please show me your adventurer’s license.” Batara materialized his adventurer license from his hand and hand it over to her. Cylia checked the card and then said “For E rank there is only one quest you can do solo which is the General Collection Quest. You just need to collect some items and give them to us. The pay will be based on how much items you collected. Do you want to take this?” Batara quickly replied “Yes.” Cylia replied “Alright I’ll register it to your license. The deadline is by the end of tomorrow.” Cylia handed over Batara’s license and list of items to him. Batara replied “Thanks.” left immediately. The list of items Batara received has the location information for each item to be collected, so he followed it using his map.

After walking for one hour, Batara finally reached the location for his quest which is a grove with a small village beside it at the west of Quarzith. Thankfully he didnt get lost because he remembered how to navigate the map like Isha taught her. He went into the grove and started gathering the items for his quest which are luna leaves, elder root, and moonlit petals which seemed to be used for alchemy. There are also request for some inferior monster cores such as slimes, furloom (a jumping small furry monster), and shroomite (a small mushroom monster with legs) which can be found in Groves. After gathering a bunch of items, Batara decided to hunt some monster cores since it gave more money based on the list.

Inferior monsters vanished and turned into cores when killed. This monster core can be turned back into monster parts by simply putting it into an alchemy circle. This process made transporting easier and the parts stayed fresh longer.

Since Batara didnt have that much stamina to chase around inferior monsters, he drew mana lines on the ground to prepare a utility magic “Pitfall!” that creates a hole inside the lines when casted. He then put some monster bait he made inside the lines before he went into hiding. After a while, inferior monsters started to gather around the bait. Before the bait ran out, Batara casted his utility skill “Pitfall!” and the ground where the monsters stood fell down creating a hole. Batara then approached the hole and casted “Flame Flicker!” to make fire sparks followed by a rotating pressure creating a burst of fire that burned the monsters inside. The inferior monsters slowly reduced to ashes leaving only the monster cores behind. Setting up traps proved to be effective for collecting inferior monster cores but it consumed too much of Batara’s mana. After doing the same strategy one more time, Batara was already low on mana. Since the sun was already set, Batara decided to call it a day and stay at the village near the grove.

Batara entered the village with a sign that read “Cedar Village”. Batara searched for an inn to stay the night. The village is quiet and there is only a small number of people and adventurers around. Batara liked it because compared to Quarzith, which is very crowded, this village gave him a peace of mind and the natural scenery of the grove is not bad at all. After looking around, Batara found a small inn in the village. As he entered the inn there is a small bell chiming and the innkeeper who was serving drinks for the customers greeted Batara “Welcome to Cedar Inn. Please wait at the reception desk there.” Batara nodded and put on his hood. Batara didnt notice when he was outside but the inn turns out to be also a tavern and villagers are drinking and eating there. However, it didnt bothered Batara so much because they are not loud and mind their own businesses.

The innkeeper then came to the reception table and attended to Batara “It looks like you are an adventurer. Its rare to see adventurers around here. You must be new then.” The innkeeper seemed to be the type that tries to get close to people quickly. Batara replied nervously “Y-yes I am.” The innkeeper replied “Great! What can I do for you?” Batara replied “A room and a meal.” Batara paused a little before saying “Please.” The innkeeper handed Batara his room key and replied “Here is the key to your room and I will give you the meal on the house since there is only left over. The total will be 1 silver.” Batara was surprised by how cheap it is compared to Quarzith. He was glad that he got enough money to cover the inn. The innkeeper continued, “The only food left is skewers. Is that okay?” Batara nodded and sit at the vacant table in the corner.

Shortly after, the innkeeper brought Batara his meal and said “Here you go.” Skewers and a side of small bread were served on the plate. The skewer is made from cockatrice meat, pepper, onion, and mushroom. Batara took a first bite and the oily ingredients suddenly rushed through his mouth carrying a strong flavour. He then took a bite of the bread to complement the strong flavour. It tasted very good but felt unhealthy as well. Batara finished his plate and gave some to Nyx before he went to his room. Before he slept, he thought about how he cannot keep depending on Klaus for an adventurer party. He also cannot keep doing solo general collection quests as it doesnt increase his adventurer’s rank. As such, he decided that tomorrow he will try to search for a party in Quarzith.