Chapter 3: A Duel?

“Welcome to our Guild,” the female receptionist greeted with a warm smile.

“What can I do for you, young man?” she asked politely.

“I’d like to register,” I replied, even though I had no real idea what registering at a guild actually meant.

“I take it you’re planning to become an adventurer?” she said, glancing briefly at Janbo, who was quietly sitting beside me.

“Adventurer?...” I echoed, surprised by the term I’d only heard in games before.

“Adventurers accept requests from the guild and complete them in exchange for payment,” she explained clearly.

“Yeah… I’m here to register as one,” I confirmed, nodding.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll go get the registration tablet,” she said, then stepped away.

I stood silently, thinking, So I’m going to be an adventurer now, huh?

Soon, the receptionist returned and placed a glowing white tablet on the counter.

“Place your right hand here and state your name,” she instructed.

“Raki Kouno,” I said, placing my hand on the device.

The tablet lit up briefly before she gestured for me to remove my hand.

“Give me a second to prepare your Guild Identification,” she said, reaching under the counter.

A moment later, she handed over a small card.

“Here’s your Guild Identification, Sir Raki Kouno,” the female receptionist said.

“You’ve been assigned a C-rank. Your stats are average, but the presence of a spirit wolf raises your rank.”

“If I didn’t have my spirit wolf, what rank would I be?” I asked out of curiosity.

“With a total of 500 evenly spread stats, you’d be placed at E-rank, standard for a first-time registrant,” she answered.

Looking at my ID, I noticed that my stats were perfectly balanced across Strength, Speed, Magic, Health, and Defense.

“Wait… I thought Luck was a stat too?” I murmured, loud enough for the receptionist to hear.

She glanced at me, her expression slightly surprised, as if I’d mentioned something long forgotten.

“It was… about a hundred years ago,” she said quietly.

“But since most people were only ever born with one point in Luck, they eventually decided to remove it from the status display,” she explained.

Maybe that’s for the best, I thought.

If everyone’s stuck with one point and I have a hundred, it’d definitely make me quite a bit suspicious.

“Your stats will grow naturally depending on the actions you take,” she added.

It was a pretty vague explanation, but I simply smiled and thanked her.

“I’m Kayla, by the way. From now on, I’ll be your designated receptionist.

Every time you accept a quest, I’ll be the one to process it,” she said with a friendly smile.

“Got it. So, Miss Kayla, where can I find the requests?” I asked.

“Just over there, across from the reception desk,” she replied, pointing.

“All available requests are posted on that large board, we call it the Quest Board.”

“You can accept any request that’s within your rank or one rank higher, but for higher-ranked ones, you might need one or two additional party members depending on the difficulty,” she continued.

“Requests are divided by rank from F to S, with F being the lowest and S the highest.”

Feels just like the MMORPGs I used to play, I thought.

“Any questions?” Kayla asked.

“None at the moment,” I replied, but my attention shifted as I noticed a small commotion near the Quest Board.

Concerned about Reimei, who had gone in that direction earlier, I asked Kayla if I could take on a quest already.

“You may start accepting quests right after registration,” she confirmed.

With a nod of thanks, I made my way toward the crowd.

"I'm saying you can tag along, but since the quest is two ranks above yours, you'll have to pay," said a bulky man with a smug tone.

"You need to go there anyway, right? To gather a medicinal herb," he added.

"But... we barely have any money," Reimei replied hesitantly.

"Then maybe you can repay us in other ways," the man said with a malicious grin.

"We acc… ", Reimei’s friend started to say, but Reimei quickly stopped her.

"But without those herbs, my mom will die... and so will your little brother!" her friend cried.

"Exactly," the man taunted.

"That medicine costs a fortune. But if you come with us, you can get it yourselves", the man added.

I could feel the desperation in Reimei and her friend's silence.

Just as they were about to agree, I stepped in.

"Reimei, I just finished registering," I called out, approaching calmly.

She turned to me, surprised.

"Maybe I can go with you instead," I offered.

The bulky man shot me a glare, his seven lackeys doing the same.

"Whoa, stop that, you’re scaring me," I said sarcastically, deliberately irritating them.

"You seriously think a twig like you can handle a C-rank quest?" the man sneered.

"I should be fine," I replied casually.

"I'm a C-rank adventurer," I boosted even though I’m not really sure of the difference in the rankings.

"C-rank? You gotta be kidding me, you little runt," he scoffed.

A low growl came from beside me.

"Grrr... grrr..." Janbo growled, his eyes locked on the man.

"A spirit wolf?" the man muttered, clearly taken aback.

"But do you really think you can protect these two girls in a C-rank area just by relying on a spirit wolf?

Don’t make me laugh, pipsqueak," the bulky man mocked.

"Did you seriously just call me a pipsqueak twice, big head?" I replied, pretending to be offended by his taunt.

"Why don't we settle this with a duel, me against you," the man challenged.

"If you win, we’ll recognize your strength and let you go with them.

But if you lose, I don’t want to see your face in this town ever again," he added smugly.

"That’s Boru, a C-rank adventurer, Raki," Reimei whispered with concern.

"You’re only ranked E in stats. Without your spirit wolf, you can’t beat him," Kayla added as she arrived, having followed me after noticing the ruckus.

"What exactly is the gap between E-rank and C-rank?" I asked.

"E-rank means you’ve got at least one or two stats over 100.

C-rankers push one or two stats past 200," Kayla explained.

"And Boru has actual skills on top of that. You’re not winning without Janbo," she added.

"Scared now, pipsqueak? Realizing the difference in power?" Boru laughed.

His underlings joined in, ridiculing me.

So, he’s about twice as strong. That’s all? I smiled.

"Let’s do it. I accept your challenge," I said confidently.

"Raki!" Reimei exclaimed, frustrated.

"Don’t worry. This will be over quick," I reassured her.

We stepped outside the guild, a crowd forming to watch what they expected would be an easy defeat.

"No killing allowed. The match ends when one of you can no longer fight or surrender," Kayla announced as the official observer.

"Janbo, stay here and protect those two," I ordered my companion.

"Bau, bau," Janbo barked, trotting toward Reimei and her friend.

Boru and I squared off, a few meters of packed earth between us.

The air around us stilled as Kayla raised her hand.

“Begin,” she called out.

Boru stretched his neck with a loud crack, then jabbed a thumb at his chest.

“Come on, I’ll let you have the first shot.

I doubt I’ll even flinch.”

Arrogant… as if I’m gonna let him swing first anyway, I thought.

“Dice,” I muttered.

A die materialized into existence in my palm, faintly glowing.

I tossed it forward.

It bounced once, and rolled for a few seconds then stopped on a four.

Then vanished in a blink of an eye.

Strength times four.

My feet moved slowly, deliberately, as I closed the distance between us.

Boru stood tall, arms crossed, a smirk tugging at his lips.

“Just so you know, pipsqueak,” he said, “my defense stat’s over 200.”

“Perfect.” My voice was calm.

“Then you’ll live,” I added.

My fist shot forward.

A dull thud echoed, followed by the sharp gasp of the crowd.

Boru’s body folded over my knuckles before launching into the air like a ragdoll.

He soared backward, limbs flailing, then crashed into the wall surrounding the Guild with a sickening crack.

Dust and splinters flew in every direction.

Silence.

His underlings surged forward, eyes wide with panic.

But before they reached me, Janbo padded into their path, low growls rumbling from his throat.

That was all it took, they froze, then turned, rushing to pry Boru free from the crater he left in the wall.

I can see my fist mark on his abdomen.

Good thing he has enough defense, it would be bad if my fist went through him.

I exhaled and turned back.

"I believe that settles the duel," I said, watching them carry him off toward the infirmary.

Kayla snapped out of her daze and declared me the winner, though she kept eyeing me like I was hiding something.

Reimei and her friend were still frozen in disbelief, just like the rest of the crowd that had gathered to witness what they thought would be a one-sided match.