Volume 1 Chapter 2 "Awakening After a Thousand Years: From the Bathhouse to the Magic Test"

We approached the bathhouse, where an elderly woman sat at the entrance, eyes half-closed as if peacefully dozing in the sun.

"Hello, how much is the entry fee?" Tasu asked politely.

"It’s free for you," she replied with a warm smile.

"Free? But why?"

"You look exhausted. And to be honest, it seems like you haven’t had a proper bath in ages."

"Thank you so much!" I said sincerely. "By the way, what currency do you use around here?"

"Piruui."

"And where can we buy clothes?" Tasu asked, scratching his neck.

"You two don’t have any money, do you?" the grandma squinted playfully.

"Unfortunately, no," I sighed.

"Then head over to our little shop for newcomers. You can pick clothes for free."

"Seriously? That’s amazing!"

She nodded and pointed to a spot on the map.

"It’s just around the corner."

Her kindness caught us off guard, and we thanked her wholeheartedly before heading into the bathhouse.

"It’s been forever since I’ve had a real bath," Tasu sighed contentedly.

"Yeah, not since the war began… Do you remember how long it lasted?"

"We were in it for about two weeks," he replied thoughtfully.

"We should ask what year it is now."

"Oh, right! I have a bad feeling we’ve been asleep for… a while."

Thirty minutes later…

"That was amazing!" I said, stretching.

"Totally. A perfect bath," Tasu agreed. "We need to come here again sometime."

We stepped outside and returned to the old woman.

"How was the bath?" she asked with a knowing smile.

"Perfect!" Tasu grinned.

"By the way, could you tell us what year it is?"

"It’s the year 3400."

"Thank you very much. We’ll be on our way then."

"Strange kids… but sweet ones," she murmured to herself.

"Akusa, do you remember when the war started?" Tasu asked as we walked away.

"I think it was the year 2400."

"So… we’ve been sealed for a thousand years?!"

"Looks like it."

Tasu froze in shock, his eyes wide.

"I guess it’s time to get some new clothes," I said gently.

"Y-Yeah… we should," he replied, still processing everything.

It was late summer. We arrived at a small shop with racks of clothes lined up outside.

"This is weird… where’s the shopkeeper?" Tasu asked, looking around.

"Looks like we don’t need one," I said, pointing to a sign that read: Everything is free.

"So we just grab what we want and leave?"

"Seems that way."

I picked out a gray T-shirt, a dark hoodie, and some light pants.

Tasu chose a white T-shirt, a gray hoodie, and dark pants.

"We’re gonna roast in this stuff…"

"Well, it’s all they’ve got."

We changed right there, behind the shop’s small divider.

"Akusa, look—there’s a guild building over there!" Tasu said excitedly.

"You’re right. Let’s register and earn some money."

The old gray-brick building looked solid. Inside, a cute girl sat behind a wooden counter, likely responsible for registering new members and distributing rewards. To the right, a staircase led to a small upstairs café.

We approached the counter.

"Hello, we’d like to register for the guild."

"Welcome! To do that, I’ll need your names and you’ll have to take a small test."

"A test? Akusa, I think we’ve made a mistake... Let’s leave," Tasu whispered, tugging on my sleeve.

"Wait. Let’s at least hear her out."

"Okay… What kind of test?" I asked.

"A magic level test."

"You hear that?"

"Oh, then count me in!"

"Great. Please give me your names."

"Akusa Takaru."

"Tasu Sukuza."

"Got it. Now for the mana test."

She placed a glowing cube on the counter.

"Just place your hand on this cube, and it will measure your magic level."

"I’ll go first!" said Tasu, eagerly placing his hand on the cube.

"Your magic level is… 9450," the girl said, her confident tone breaking with surprise.

"Is something wrong?" Tasu asked.

"That’s insanely high! Most adventurers here don’t go above 3000. Who are you?"

"Just a regular mage," Tasu shrugged.

"Alright, my turn," I said, placing my hand on the cube.

The girl still looked stunned.

"Your magic level is… 8900."

Lower than Tasu’s?! That guy’s a real monster, I thought.

"You’re both accepted, of course," she said. "But keep in mind—your missions will be much more dangerous."

"That was to be expected," I said with a slight smirk.

"Is there anyone else in the guild with such a magic level?" Tasu asked.

"Only one mage has more than ten thousand units of power."

"How much?" Tasu was surprised.

"The magic cube can measure up to ten thousand. When he placed his hand on it, the cube broke."

The cube couldn’t handle his power... He must be stronger than us.

"Alright, now for the rules," the girl continued.

"First, don’t steal other people's quests. Second, fighting between groups is prohibited.
Third, rewards are given after completing the task. That’s all."

The rules were pretty simple and clear.

"Got it. When can we start tasks?" Tasu asked.

"Right now. There are two tasks on the board."

We approached the board. One task was to kill the "Mutant Wolf," and the other was to gather medicinal herbs from the "Forest of Death."

"Mutant Wolf?" I was surprised.

"Sometimes, mutants appear among animals."

"Why?"

"No one really knows. They say it’s related to the lake deep in the Forest of Death."

"Got it. Should we split up?"

"Okay, I’ll go for the Wolf, and you get the herbs," Tasu suggested.

"Are you sure you want to split up?" the girl asked. "Usually, tasks are done in pairs or groups."

"We’ve got plenty of mana, so we’ll be fine!" Tasu said with a smile.