Adventurer's Guild

My echo and I started moving deeper into the town, but I couldn't shake the feeling that people were staring.

Not openly, just those quick sideways glances you get when someone thinks you're acting weird. A woman carrying a basket of vegetables gave me a strange look as I passed, and a shopkeeper paused mid-conversation to watch me walk by.

But I ignored the stares and focused on reading the signs hanging above the various shops. Surprisingly, I could understand them perfectly, the script, letters, were different from anything I'd seen before, but the meaning was crystal clear in my mind.

'Must be one of those isekai perks,' I thought. 

'Thanks for the small mercy, Thanaia.'

"Millhaven Bakery," "Thornwick's Smithy," "The Prancing Pony Inn"...

Typical fantasy names that would've made me roll my eyes if I'd seen them in a game. 

But there, carved into a wooden sign... with crossed swords beneath it?

"Adventurers' Guild."

"Found it," I muttered under my breath.

My echo perked up, following my gaze. "Thank god. I was starting to think this place didn't have one."

The guild building was larger than most of the shops around it, built from dark wood and stone with a solid, practical look. The door was reinforced with iron bands, and I could hear the buzz of conversation from inside.

I took a breath and pushed through the entrance.

The interior hit me with a wave of noise and activity, air smelled of leather, metal.

The main hall was spacious, with high wooden beams supporting the ceiling and large windows letting in natural light. 

A massive bulletin board dominated one wall, covered in what looked like job postings and notices. Round tables filled most of the floor space, occupied by groups of armed men and women discussing business over food and ale.

To my left, a long bar ran along the wall, tended by a burly man with graying hair. To my right, several clerks sat behind a counter, processing paperwork and handling what looked like job registrations. 

It was exactly what I'd expected an adventurers' guild to look like.

"This feels surreal," my echo whispered, floating beside me as I took in the scene. "Like we walked into one of those RPGs you used to play."

'Used to play. Right. Because now I'm apparently living in one.'

A few people glanced my way, the usual quick assessment that came with being the new guy. A few furrowed but then looked away.

And just like before, I ignored them.

Now I just had to figure out what the hell I was supposed to do next.

...

Well...

Not knowing what to do, I just stood there for a moment, taking in the chaotic energy of the guild hall. 

My palms were sweating. 'Come on, Kaito. You've dealt with worse than talking to a receptionist. You've literally died twice already, stop chickening out.'

"You can do this," my echo whispered beside me, though it sounded like it was trying to convince itself as much as me. "Just... try not to look completely clueless."

'Right. Fake it till you make it.'

I took a deep breath, muttering under my breath for courage, and made my way towards one of the counters. 

There were three clerks were handling different lines, and I picked the one with the shortest queue – just two people ahead of me.

The wait gave me time to overthink everything. What if they asked for identification? What if there was some kind of test? What if they could somehow tell I wasn't from this world?

Before I could spiral too far into worst-case scenarios, it was my turn.

The clerk sitting at the corner desk looked up with a professional smile. 

She was young, maybe in early twenties, with silver-blonde hair pulled back in a neat bun and bright sky-blue eyes that had the kind of sharpness that came from dealing with adventurers all day. 

Her uniform was clean and well-maintained, a dark blue vest over a white blouse, with the guild's crossed-sword emblem pinned to her collar.

"Good afternoon," she said, her voice warm but efficient. "How can I help you today?"

I cleared my throat, trying to project more confidence than I felt. "I'd like to register as an adventurer."

Her smile brightened slightly, and she reached under the counter, pulling out what looked like a crystal orb mounted on a bronze base.

 The thing pulsed with a faint inner light, covered in intricate runes that seemed to shift when I wasn't looking directly at them.

"Of course! First time registration?"

 When I nodded, she gestured to the device.

 "I'll just need you to place your hand on the identification artifact. It'll pull your basic information automatically."

'Identification artifact. They have magical ID scanners?'

I glanced at my echo, who was standing beside me looking just as nervous as I felt. With no other choice, I placed my palm on the cool crystal surface.

The artifact pulsed, a warm sensation traveling up my arm. The paper beside the clerk began to glow with faint golden light, text appearing as if written by an invisible hand.

"Okay," she said, scanning the document. "So your name is Kaito Kurokawa..." Then her expression shifted, a small frown creasing her brow. "Hmm. That's odd."

My stomach dropped. 

"What's odd?"

"You don't have any residential records. No birth registry, no family records, no previous employment history..." She looked up at me with curious blue eyes. 

"It's like you don't exist in any official records."

'Shit, shit, shit.'

My echo started panicking beside me, frantically gesturing and mouthing words I couldn't quite make out. "What do we do? What do we tell her? She's going to know something's wrong!"

The clerk was still studying the paper, her frown deepening. 

"This usually happens with people who work in... less documented professions. Off-the-books employment, if you understand my meaning."

She gave me a meaningful look.

"Yes," I said quickly, probably too quickly. "That's... that's exactly right."

The clerk nodded knowingly and made a note on the form.

 "I see. Well, that explains it then. The guild doesn't discriminate based on previous employment, everyone deserves a fresh start."

I sighed internally. 

'That was close'.

She finished filling out the paperwork with practiced efficiency, then handed me a small stack of documents.

 "Here's your temporary registration. Take these to the assessment floor, that's the second level, just head up those stairs." She pointed to a wooden staircase on the far side of the hall. 

"They'll escort you to the shrine for your class selection ceremony."

"Class selection?"

"Oh yes, it's very important. The shrine will determine what class you're best suited for based on your natural abilities and potential. Can't be a proper adventurer without knowing whether you're meant to be a warrior, mage, healer, or something else entirely."

I gave the clerk a nod. "Thank you."

"Good luck with your class selection!" she called after me as I headed toward the stairs.

My echo muttered as we climbed together. "Class selection... what if it doesn't work? What if the shrine can tell we're not supposed to be here?"

'Just shut up pal,' I thought, though I was wondering the same thing.

The second floor was quieter. A few people sat on wooden benches, presumably waiting for their own assessments. I approached the desk where a middle-aged man with graying temples sat reviewing paperwork.

"Registration papers?" he asked without looking up.

I handed over the stack of documents. He glanced through them quickly, stamped something, then stood up.

"Follow me."

Then we began to follow him.

"First class selection?" He asked, without turning around.

"Yeah."

"Nervous? Don't be. The shrine knows what it's doing." He led me down a hallway lined with doors. 

We stopped at a heavy wooden door marked with the same crossed-sword emblem. The man opened it and gestured me inside.

"Just stand in the center circle and place your hands on the altar. The shrine will do the rest. I'll be right outside when you're finished."

The room beyond was small and circular, with smooth stone walls that seemed to glow with their own faint light. In the center sat a raised altar made of white marble, its surface covered in intricate carvings that seemed to move in my peripheral vision. Above it, a crystal formation hung from the ceiling, pulsing gently like a heartbeat.

My echo hung back near the door. "This feels... intense."

I stepped into the circle carved into the floor around the altar. The moment my feet crossed the line, the crystal above began to glow brighter, and the carvings on the altar started to pulse in rhythm with it.

'Well. Here goes nothing.'

I placed both hands flat on the cool marble surface.

And the moment my palms touched the marble, the entire room erupted in light.

It wasn't harsh or blinding, more like being surrounded by warm starlight. The crystal above pulsed faster, and I felt that strange energy flowing through the altar and into my hands. It traveled up my arms like liquid lightning, not painful but definitely not normal.

The carvings on the altar began to glow. Images flashed in my mind, battles, magic, healing hands, shadows dancing at the edge of vision.

Then, as suddenly as it started, everything went still.

Words appeared in the air above the altar, written in that same flowing script I could somehow read. 

But these weren't just floating there, they were carved from light itself, golden letters that seemed to burn themselves into my vision.

CLASS SELECTION AVAILABLE!