Joe and Shelly marched across the dry clearing. Between the town straight ahead, and the Black Forest. Sand covered the distance. Clear brownish sand with small rocks littered throughout. It was a stark contrast to the green scenery Joe was met with when he first arrived in Grisha.

The town gates were deceptively further than they seemed to the naked eye. The breeze was more energetic than it should've been so early in the morning. They had to shield their faces from the dusty wind now again. It was like walking through a miniature desert.

They eventually reached the gates and they were even bigger up close. Made of pure black steel they loomed taller than any giant. Their width complemented their height. One could not peer beyond them, they were in all intents and purposes gates befitting a fortress. Not what Joe was expecting, considering this was just a town. And not a military base.

“This is the entrance to Perina. It's one of the many towns that make up the Tania Kingdom” Shelly explained, pointing at the gates.

Joe took a deep breath and just absorbed the scene in front of him. Beyond those gates was the first step towards finding his family. Once he became a registered adventurer, his quest would truly begin. Joe took a few confident strides. Almost as if aware of his arrival, the gates creaked and swung open. Joe glanced at Shelly, when she nodded, they both took the necessary steps forward.

Almost immediately after they entered, they were met with opposition. A figure clad in black armour loomed over them. The gates shut forcefully behind them, almost as if announcing the figure’s introduction. Their armor shimmered faintly under the sun, from head to toe the figure was covered in iron. Only their brown eyes peered through their helmet. A black spear was held firmly and placed over their right shoulder. Going off their Mana Signature alone. They were definitely strong.

“Welcome To Perina.” The figure’s voice sounded male. Considering he was stationed by the town's gates, he was probably a guard. Contrast to his appearance, the man didn't sound threatening. In fact, he was rather respectful. When Joe saw Shelly bow slightly to the guard, he did the same.

“I don't want to hold you here longer than necessary. If I can just see your academy licenses, I'll allow you to be on your way.” the msn extended his free hand.

An academy license? What was he talking about? Joe glanced at Shelly.

In Shelly's right hand, a glowing blue light appeared. It glowed for only a few seconds before disappearing into small fragments of light. What lingered in its wake was a shining silver card. Was that an academy license?

When Shelly handed it over to the guard, that confirmed Joe's suspicion. Where in the world was he going to get an academy card with his name on it? Joe started sweating profusely. If the guard found out he didn't have it, was he going to imprison him? Or worse, kill him?

Joe imagined all the torturous things the guard could do to him clearly. Oddly enough, one of the images in jis mind contained a cat. Joe the furry felines with a passion.

Before he spiraled deeper and deeper into his thoughts. Syr snapped him out of it.

[You Have A License In Your Inventory. It Belongs To That Guy, Ray. I Captured It When You Devoured His Corpse. It Has Ray's Details But I Can Alter It To Match Your Details If You Wish.]

There it was, a lifeline. “Yes syr, yes. You're my savior. Alter that card immediately.” Joe actually stuck to using mental communication this time. If torture was on the line, he found he could use it without an issue. He praised Syr as a savior, despite having called him useless not too long ago. Fortunately for him, Syr didn't seem to harbor any bad feelings.

Joe didn't remember acquiring Ray's card, his focus was mainly on the Scorching Dagger on the Scorching Dagger at the time. A few other things also distracted him, which could explain how he missed it.

[Converting The License To Match Your Details…]

Joe tapped the earth with his foot like an impatient woman waiting for someone to do her nails. Syr was taking forever. When the guard gave Shelly back her license, and turned to face him. Joe thought his heart was going to explode.

“Your license sir”

[License Has Been Successfully Converted]

A faint blue light manifested around Joe's hand. It shimmered briefly before fading. As it vanished, what remained was a solid silver card. An academy license.

[License Information]

• Name and Surname: Joe White

• Class: Warrior

• Academy: Rainstar Academy

• Date Issued: 10 months ago

• Passing Grade: B

Syr came with the save at the last possible second. Joe grinned at the sight. Now he was starting to feel guilty about calling him useless. He surveyed the card, and soomething immediately caught his attention. The class written on the card was wrong. Instead of displaying his class as ‘Outsider’ it was written as ‘Warrior’. Did Syr make a mistake? “Syr I think you made a mistake. My class is written as Warrior instead of Outsider.” Joe decided to confront him about it.

[No, There Was No Mistake. Your Class Simply Attracts Too Much Unwanted Attention. It’s Better To Blend In As A Warrior Than Stand Out As An Outsider. Trust Me, Your Life Will Be Much Easier This Way.]

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Joe didn't know how to feel about that. Why would his class attract unwanted attention? And why did he have to blend in? Syr was keeping more secrets from him again. Joe frowned. After a few more seconds, he handed over the license.

The guard concentrated on it. His gaze flickering between Joe and the license. Was he being suspicious of the class?

It didn't take long before Joe's worries were put at ease. The guard handed the license back to him a few seconds later. Joe accepted, and immediately stored it in his inventory..

[+1 Academy License Has Been Added To Your Inventory]

The guard stepped aside, giving Joe and Shelly room to pass. “I hope you enjoy your stay here.” Were the guards final words.

Joe sighed before communicating with Syr once more, “I'll trust you Syr. I'll keep my class a secret.”

[You're Making The Right Choice.]

Joe decided to put the matter at rest. He instead focused on the town ahead. Joe and Shelly only took a few steps forward and almost immediately. The town's chaotic nature became apparent.

The sound of rolling wheels could be heard from every direction. Carriages strolled freely all around Perina.. The interesting thing about these carriages wasn't the fact that they were colorful and large. It was the fact that they were being operated by Mana Beasts. Large green and lizardy Beasts. Roamed around the city pulling the carriages woth ease.. Their scales shone brightly and their claws were as menacing as you'd expect from a colossal beast. But they seemed subdued, tamed.

They carried a number of people, each carriage had about 8 individuals. They were that big. Some carriages carried only goods that weighed god knows how much. The beasts were being whipped around like horses but they never retaliated. They went on their merry way without showing their teeth. It was incredible to Joe. He never once thought that Mana Beasts could be handled like this, yet there they were.

Some children even had smaller Mana Beasts on a leash, like pets. It was certainly an interesting sight.

Ignoring the beats, the town was jam packed. People crowded the numerous markets on display. The buildings in Perina were made of solid wood. The road was covered in smooth rocks which made it easier for the carriages. There were a few buildings made of bricks, but they were rare. With Joe only seeing 3.

Most of the stores did business outside. Which is what made the streets so crowded. Children ran around without a care in the world. And when put into perspective. It was honestly overwhelming

He glanced at Shelly, “this place Is way more chaotic than I thought It'd be.”

Shelly had a bright smile, “you haven't seen anything yet. Wait until you see the capital of Tania. It makes towns like this look average by comparison.”

Joe could not imagine a place more chaotic, but he was excited to see it one day. He couldn't stop smiling as he and Shelly went further down the town.

Joe noticed how many people seemed to wear identical uniforms. These uniforms usually had an emblem at the back to distinguish each group from the other. They also had names of each party written in bold letters. Is this how adventurers wore?

Joe had noticed Shelly wearing an emblem on her back as well at the black forest. He didn't think deeply about it back then, but now it made sense.

“Hey Shelly, do adventurers always have to wear badges like that on their backs?”

“Yes,” Shelly responded. “Those uniforms are what separate one party from another. In a world with thousands of adventurer parties. Trying to distinguish your party from the rest can be difficult.” Shelly frowned, “I think Kite and others had a pretty distinct logo.”

Joe didn't know if he had unintentionally opened old wounds by asking that question. Shelly had just lost her party. Maybe asking her about adventurer stuff wss inconsiderate. Her expression seemed to confirm this.

,just as Joe was able to talk, Shelly spoke first. “Our party was called the Red Stars. Do you want to see our logo.” Shelly smiled faintly.

“Yes, please.” Joe had seen it before but briefly. He had forgotten what it looked like.

Shelly turned around to show her back. The logo was pasted at the center of her spine. It consisted of 5 massive Red Stars. It also had what looked like a blue sky. The party's name was written underneath it. It was by far the coolest thing Joe had ever seen. He couldn't stop grinning.

“You like it?” Shelly asked.

“Of course, it's awesome!”

Shelly turned around after a few seconds. “The reason we went for that logo was because of Kite. I remember him saying that our party would be the best in the world. And that one day, we would see the stars.” She had a half smile on her face as she stared at her feet. “Pretty silly right?”

“No, It's not."

Shelly looked up at him, her eyes wide at his response.

“It's what you dreamed of isn't it? I don't think that's silly at all.”

Shelly smiled faintly, as she took a few steps forward.

“Hey Shelly,” Joe called out to her. She turned her body halfway, just enough to catch Joe's lively eyes. “I can do it!” Joe exclaimed with absolute certainty. “I can make that dream you all shared a reality! I can make you see the stars.”

Joe walked closer, “What do you say? Once I get registered, how about we form a party? Just you and me.”

“You want us to form a party? Have you forgotten what happened back then? You saw how usele—”

“I don't care about that!” Joe interrupted. “The past doesn’t matter to me. I’m looking forward to the future. The past is full of regrets we can’t ever change. But the future? That’s where all our possibilities lay. Let's do it Shelly. Let's form a party.”

Shelly smiled, a few tears dripping from her eyes. “Thanks… for believing in me enough to ask me to join your party—”

“So you'll join right?” Joe's excitement interrupted her response.

Shelly shook her head. "I still have a lot to process. I don’t think I’m ready to move on to another party just yet."

"That’s alright," Joe said with a reassuring smile. "I’ll wait. I’ll wait until you’re ready.”

There was a nice quiet moment between the two as they went further down town. They halted in the middle of a very busy street. To Joe's right there was a crowded potion store. Some of the glass bottles could be seen through a really big glass window next to the open door. The potion bottles looked exactly like those colorful elixirs Joe saw in those awful witch cartoons as a kid.

When he moved his eyes to his left he could see a really sick swordsmith store. It had shiny blades on display. To Joe it was an even more appealing sight than the potions. The idea of wielding two and possibly three blades in battle was way too epic. He already had combos with [Outsider's Enhancement] brewing his mind.

The fragrance of meat also grabbed his attention, it was a strange smell. He'd never smelled anything like it. It came from further down Perina. Joe was wondering about the kind of meat it could be, but that's when he remembered something.

Thi was Grisha. In a place where normal animals didn't seem to exist, that was probably mana beast meat. The thought assassinated the appetite building inside of him.

“Which store do you want to visit first, Shelly.”

Shelly seemed to be considering the question before she responded, “I can go for some meat.” The aroma was probably what influenced her decision.

Joe was thinking about the Swordsmith store when he asked, but when he took a closer look at Chloe. [Outsider’s Perspective] showed him just how little mana she had. “How about we check out the potion store? We can probably get some potions to help refill your mana.” Joe was going off the basic knowledge that Mana Potions were probably a thing.

“I'm fine. My mana will manage.” Shelly insisted.

“You're not, I can tell your mana's really low. Come on, it'll be a quick in and out mission. We can go to the meat store after.”

Shelly was hesitant before she finally relented. She could tell Joe wasn't going to drop the matter. , “fine, but I'm telling you. It's not necessary.

Joe smiled as she led her to the store. “We'll be fine.” Now he could repay Shelly for wasting her mana.

The two of them stood in front of the open store, before taking careful steps inside. Completely unaware of what was about to occur.