Flamver and Class

Wooden wheels clacked and made the pebbles crumble underneath its weight, filling the air with a relaxed atmosphere. Riding on the clear dirt path was a carriage, a simple transportation vehicle common in Peranim.

Kudo Braven, a young teenager who has left his fairly far village of Arkhem was riding in this carriage along with other travelers who all has the goal of reaching the same location. During this time, Kudo’s nose was stuck to his guidebook. Despite knowing the contents inside and out, his nervous heart doesn’t feel rested enough if he doesn’t read the book at least once or twice.

“You sure read that book a lot. Is it that good?”

Kudo became surprised and immediately looked to his left, noticing a young boy who resembled Tak back in his village, except that the boy had beady eyes, and a rounded nose.

“Hey, don’t disturb him.”

The older man who rested near the child snapped back. Kudo figured that he was the child’s father.

“But Dad, he keeps reading the book over and over.”

“That doesn’t matter. It’s rude to ask about someone’s business. Leave him alone.”

The father spoke curtly, making Kudo think that the child is very curious, and often bothered other people.

He knew that it would become a bad memory for the child if this was left alone. When he left the village, he made a solemn promise, and if he wants to have a good life of adventuring, he must pass through the first step…

Talking with other people.

“I-If you’re interested, I can tell you. You see, this book is a guidebook for up and coming Adventurers.”

Kudo stuttered, his hands shaking from talking to a random stranger for the first time in a while. The boy turned his head to Kudo and widened his eyes.

“Really? Umm… what’s an Adventurer?”

The boy’s beady eyes lit up like water reflecting the sun. Seeing those eyes, Kudo felt an indescribable excitement as his knowledge of Adventurers suddenly burst from his mouth.

“I’ll tell you! Adventurers are, in simple terms, mercenaries and monster hunters! They take on quests from other people through the Adventurers’ Guild, where people can send requests for strong Adventurers to take, and be rewarded afterward! They also hunt monsters for their body parts, and sell them to merchants so that they can provide a use for our society!”

Kudo’s loud and impatient voice rang through the carriage, surprising both the boy and the father along with the other travelers who knew of him as being a quiet boy.

“Eh? Really?”

“That’s right!”

“Then, you must be planning on becoming an Adventurer?”

The father, this time, asked Kudo in curiosity. Kudo felt a rising sense of pride that the memory of chiding was replaced with a powerful curiosity for adventuring.

“That’s right. I always dreamed of being an Adventurer!”

“But… it’s dangerous, isn’t it? Monsters are monsters. They’re very dangerous and can be life-threatening if provoked.”

The father spoke wisely over the information of monsters.

“Why are monsters dangerous, Dad?”

“Mmh… to better explain this, I need to go back to how the world is made. A long time ago, the world was created by the gods of the Upperworld. Through them, sources of Mana came to be. Mana is the source of all living and inanimate things, providing power for just about anything. However, there is also bad mana, mana that becomes corrupted through time or by other people. The corrupted mana then gives birth to creatures known as monsters.”

The father gave his best to better explain about the monsters’ birth, getting the boy to widen his eyes.

“So… they are born from mana?”

“Not exactly.”

Kudo responded this time as the boy turned his attention to him.

“Monsters are created from mana, yes, but they need a source. But it can be the very little source, such as dirt or rocks. Dead bodies of animals, even live animals, can transform into monsters. There are even cases of dead people being turned into monsters as well.”

Kudo explained as much as possible, providing every single information from the guidebook to the boy.

“Monsters are made from corrupted mana. And because they are corrupted, they only think about hunting humans, who have internally pure mana since they were born. Anything that provides pure mana is hated by them, and they want to kill the source. That’s why Adventurers are created.”

“Eh… so how are they created?”

“I’m glad you asked! Adventurers first take on the Adventurers’ Guild License Exam. They make the young men and women who reached the age of 15 take the tests, and if they succeed, they are provided with licenses, a powerful crystal that releases the hidden power inside of people. That crystal is called the Growth Crystal.”

“A… Growth Crystal?”

The young boy’s eyes widened with glints in his eyes to hear about a crystal that gives people powers. Kudo himself was getting excited over this as well.
“W-What does this thing do?”

“A Growth Crystal is a crystal made by the power of the gods. The Growth Crystal contains immeasurable power and when blessed by the gods of the Upperworld, they are able to unleash a new power.”

“H-How?!”

“The Growth Crystal gives them a chance to make their Class.”

“A Class?”

“That’s right. A Class is a specific power given to Adventurers. There are different types of Classes for different types of adventurers, fitting any kind of role for battle and coordination. One example is the classic [Warrior]. A [Warrior] is a close-combat specialist that uses swords to attack and shields to defend.”

“Wow…! So those are [Warriors]! I think I saw one of them back at our old town, right, Dad?”

“That’s right. Those were [Warriors].”

The father responded with a smile, giving the boy an excited grin.

“Are there more Classes?”

“Yes! There are the mystifying [Mages], the swift and agile [Archers], the cunning [Hunters], the powerful [Monks]… So far, there are many basic classes like that.”

“Wow…! So many!”

“And, if you think that’s cool, there are also classes that are quite special from the usual basic classes. These classes are called Special Classes.”

“Special Classes?”

“I don’t really know much about them. Not event the guidebook told me much about it. All it knows is that the Special Classes are derived from either their bloodline or their special talent. For example, if there is an Adventurer who fights like a [Warrior], but studies spells like a [Mage], then that Adventurer can become a Special Class that mixes both Classes at once.”

“Wow! That’s so cool~!”

The boy stood up, his body shivering from the lesson about Special Classes. After a quick lesson about safety in a carriage, the boy sat back down and answered.

“I wanna be an Adventurer! Maybe I can have a Special Class!”

“Hey—!”

“Now, now, hold on. Being an Adventurer is dangerous.”

Before the father could scold the child again, Kudo intercepted and told him the downsides.

“Being an Adventurer means that you have to work hard to get paid. If you don’t do quests, or hunt monsters daily, you’ll run out of Jib to keep living. If you’re not resolute in continuing on your adventure, it’ll only be difficult from here on out.”

“E-Eh…? No way…”

The boy slumped on his back against the wooden wall of the carriage, leaving the father to heave a heavy sigh. Kudo felt bad that he had to break the dream of a young child, but he didn’t want to make the child go through with just excitement alone. Adventurers need willpower and perseverance to survive in the world, after all.

“Yo, everyone! We’re here~”

The short old man with a rough voice shouted at the riders, leaving everyone to turn their sight to him as the carriage reaches to the town they were waiting to enter.

The carriage drove along the dirt path, passing through the forests to reach the ramparts of the town they were entering. The town’s name was Klein, and its city is known to have a nickname called ‘Renewing life’, a sentiment shared to all citizens as Adventurers go here for when they first start out.

Kudo picked this town because it was the closest town near the remote village of Arkhem. It was also a place where most of the guilds were in the same city. Guilds are, to Kudo’s knowledge, organizations where groups of Adventurers gather to help others in their adventures.

The one Kudo talked about, the Adventurers’ Guild, is a guild that helps out other Adventurers. It is also a place where most people go to become Adventurers. Other guilds, such as Crafters’ Guild and Merchants’ Guild, are different types of organizations that play more on the economical side of Adventuring.

The city of Klein is one such place with all these guilds together, and all in the same area. For a budding Adventurer, having all these guilds together within reach is very beneficial.

Kudo saw out the windowpane of the carriage, seeing the giant ramparts that surround the city of Klein. The ramparts were made of sturdy stone, which looked chipped and worn out from age, but it continues to provide a safe and secure feeling in the civilians’ minds. Below the ramparts were the town’s gates, and guarding the gates were guards who wore full plate armors.

These armors made Kudo show a small glint in his shining, green-colored eyes. After the whole business of the driver of the carriage giving his official license to drive the citizens into the cities and towns along with their payment, the guards went around the carriage and looked inside by flipping the thin blankets aside.

Kudo and the others became the target of his glare with a vicious scowl, but they weren’t afraid, as long as they had nothing to hide. The guard merely does this in order to make sure that there were no suspicious individuals who are planning on doing harm to the city and its people. After the guard nodded and then showed a gentle smile to the travelers, the rider drove the carriage into the city after making his payment.

For carriage drivers, they take money from the ones aiming to hitch a ride in the carriage and then pay the entry fee into the city with it. As payment is made, the driver has permission to bring all the travelers into the city.

As they entered through the gates, Kudo was amazed at the sight he was seeing. The town has a peaceful atmosphere, but the bustling sounds of its townspeople made it hectic. When Kudo looked out at the window, he notices that he has entered into the commercial district of Klein.

Once the carriage stopped their drive, Kudo hastily left the carriage and stood on the ground of a new city. Kudo inhaled the fresh air and exhaled out.

“Mmh! It’s so nice! So this is another city! This is Klein…”

Kudo could hardly believe that he was able to do it. He was able to leave his village, and enter into his new life of an Adventurer. However, he knows that his life has not begun yet.

Kudo made a solemn promise to himself that he will become more confident and sociable than he ever was before. That meant that he cannot be meek and mild like he was before. His heart was beating so fast at the idea of being an entirely different person, but he knew that it must be done. He searched around the city, feeling anxious in his mind as he sees dozens of people walking past him and ignoring him, but he couldn’t ask for anything more.

Finally, he sees a guard wearing the same full plated armor like the one at the gates and resolved to close in on him and ask.

“E-Excuse me!” When Kudo thought he was going to ask calmly and socially, he blurted out so loud that it made the guard jolt in surprise. Kudo felt like he should hit himself, but he continued on…

After that embarrassing shake-up, the guard managed to tell him the directions of the city. So far, he was on the south side of the city, where the commercial district was at. He needed to go to the west side, where the guilds were. After bowing in great respect to the guard, which at turn made him become flustered, Kudo continues onto his path to the Adventurers’ Guild.

After some time walking on the busy streets of the commercial district, he finally found the central plaza, and saw the western side of the city. From there, he could already see some impressive buildings that should belong to one of the guilds.

After a few minutes of brisk walking, he found himself standing in front of the Adventurers’ Guild.

The guild stood an impressive 3-story building, with red bricks covering the different roofs on each building that seemed to resemble a mountain, with a large base that tapered to a smaller size. He sees a circular door with is the entrance to the hall. There was a white flag that was tied to the pole standing proudly at the very top of the building, with an insignia that showcased two black wings resembling a raven’s wings, and a red circle behind it. For Adventurers, it meant ‘Freedom’.

His crystal green eyes widened in total astonishment. The very place where his dream will be realized will come to fruition here. He sees the circular door open and many kinds of people wearing a strange set of clothing walked out. They were wearing armors and weapons on their person, making him believe that they were Adventurers.

P-People… No! I have to be confident! I have to!

Kudo felt his heart shaking and his hands becoming clammy. But rather than falling back to his old personality, he used those very hands and slapped his cheeks loudly, enough to rang out.

“Alright…”

Kudo furrowed his brows and rushed to the entrance door, opening the handle without any hesitation and entered through it.

Before his eyes, it was like a raid.

Terrifying screams were heard, clacking sounds of plates were there but were being drowned out by the screams.

Kudo’s heart became in shock as he believed that everything was under attack. However, after taking a moment to relax, he realizes that the guild was just rowdy and loud.
He sees the scene in front of him and notices that there were dozens of long tables, filled with the Adventurers that he just saw before. There was a giant bulletin board that was painted with different colored papers.

There was a bar for those with a tendency to drink on the eastern side with a roughly-looking male server behind the barkeep. People who were accepted to become Adventurers were allowed to drink alcohol, but Kudo didn’t mind that much since he had a sip during his younger days and couldn’t handle the taste.

As he walked towards the center, he could hear the Adventurers overlapping voices along with the galvanized clashing of iron and metal of their Heavy armor and weapons.
Amidst of all the sounds, there was one certain group of Adventurers that were crowding around the western side.

Ah… over there is the receptionist…

Kudo felt his heart sink as he had to imagine himself busting through the large crowd of Adventurers who were strangely gathered around the only area where he could pass through to get to the reception desk. Going to the reception desk is the only way to become an Adventurer.

Kudo reminded himself of his oath and headed towards the crowd. He didn’t want to be a part of it, but he decided to check at least the reason for this gathering. He asked the next Adventurer near him.

“Umm… H-Hello… Umm…”

Kudo stuttered and slowly spoke, reaching to the ears of the young man wearing a belted armor and turned to face him.

“What is it?”

“Umm—! Why is it that everyone’s crowding here?”

Kudo spoke abruptly, surprising himself of the sudden outburst.

“What? You don’t know? Because everyone’s trying to talk to Hinota Flamver!”

Hinota… Flamver?

Kudo tilted his head, making a question mark appear on his face to the other person as the young man had a look of disbelief.

“You don’t know…? Oh, I never saw you before, so you must be new here. Look, you see her?”

The young man pointed at the open space between the crowd of Adventurers. Kudo looked through the crowd.

At the very center of the gathering was a young woman, whose beauty was captivating even from looking at her back. As the Adventurers tried to talk to her, she turned slightly, not revealing her face, but her fiery, red hair tied into a ponytail swayed beautifully from it, catching Kudo’s eyes.

Kudo could hardly see the girl, but his eyes widened at the sight of her.

“Wow…”

“THAT’S Hinota Flamver. She’s from a prestigious noble family dedicated to Adventurers, who lived in the far reaches of Peranim in a city called Erijo, the town of nobles! They’re so famous in the Adventuring world because she has a legendary Class!”

“A legendary class? W-What is it?”

Kudo became interested as he heard about a new Class. From what his guide told him, it must have been a Special Class.

“I don’t know what the name is, but I heard that she uses a katana and that she can cast flames so hot, it can burn an entire forest to the ground! I heard it’s way more powerful than an [Archmage]’s fire spell!”

“More powerful than an [Archmage]’s?!”

[Archmage]. A powerful class belonging to the [Mage] class after going through a 【Class Up】. A 【Class Up】 is an evolution of one Class transforming into the next one. It raises the magical power of their elemental spells, causing massive damage, or high Burst Damage, according to his guidebook, that can kill mobs in one spell.

“So… she must be in a really powerful party.”

“Actually, she isn’t. This is the first time that she has ever come to the Guild after a long time. And so far, she doesn’t belong to any party.”

“Eh? Seriously?”

“That’s why everyone’s so crazy about inviting her! This is the one chance that they can have a powerful warrior like her to join their parties. But for some reason, she’s not interested.”

“Eh…”

The girl’s reasoning baffled Kudo. He understands that if he’s weak, nobody would invite him to a party. But having a party is beneficial to improve their power and wealth, so not joining any party that invites you seems strange.

However, he didn’t think much on that now. Knowing that she was a noble, Kudo thought that it was just simply their way of thinking. He could never understand how the rich thinks, so he tried to develop a plan to go through the crowd.

He sees the left side—blocked. He sees the right side—blocked. Thus, there was only one way to go through…

Charge in.

Kudo held in his breath, reminding himself constantly that it’s for the sake of becoming an Adventurer and charges through the crowd. The young man left behind saw Kudo charge in, believing that he was crazy to go through this.

The tossing and turning of the armored Adventurers brought pain in various places to Kudo’s body, but he continues to charge through. At first, he thought it was going to continue for a while, but then suddenly a burst of air puffed in front of him.
He managed to break out of the crowd, but when he looked up, he didn’t see the reception desk.

What he saw was the very same girl that everyone was trying to invite. The girl looked back and saw Kudo’s eyes with her own.

Eyes tapered and sharp, to the point of looking like she was glaring at him to death as if she scorned him. Her luminescent purple irises caught Kudo’s eyes, along with what she wore. She wore a red-colored leather armor, covering her voluptuous chest, forearms, and forelegs with silver metal. Her clothing looked like it belonged to the Medium class armor.

But what caught Kudo the most was her eyes. Somehow, though the midst of bloodlust that could be picked up from her eyes, Kudo was fascinated by them. He continues to look at them, mesmerized. But then after a second later, he realizes that he was right in front of her, and that she was looking at him, as if she was waiting for something.

“…Hi there.”

Kudo couldn’t think of anything else and responded with a greeting.

“…Hi.”
The girl, Hinota Flamver, responded with a greeting as well. Her voice was stern but silky which made Kudo’s ears feel like he has just heard a beautiful siren.

“Hey! Down in front!”

One of the Adventurers screamed at Kudo, causing him to jolt in surprise. He quickly darted around the girl, getting her to look at him until he disappeared from her sight.

Going out through another crowd of Adventurers, Kudo managed to break free entirely of other people, and finally saw his end goal. Kudo heaved out a sigh of relief as he sees the reception desk, who behind the desk lies a beautiful receptionist.

Wow…

So far, Kudo has been seeing many beautiful women right now, but the one before still made his heart beat fast. She was absolutely stunning…

“Hello there. Welcome to the Adventurers’ Guild.”

The receptionist responded with a business-like smile, which along with her looks, made it look quite stunning.

“Ah… Hi.”

Again, he responded with a meek greeting.

“You must be new here. —*Fufu*, welcome to the Adventurers’ Guild. My name is Quin, and I’m here to help you register to become an Adventurer.”

The receptionist, Quin, whose blond, braided hair was tossed aside by her slender hand, giggled as she introduced herself naturally.

Feeling his throat dry up, Kudo tried to swallow his saliva to speak up, but managed to fail at that.

“Hahaha~ Don’t be so nervous! I won’t bite~”

Hearing the beautiful receptionist talk so casually made Kudo even more nerve-wracking.

“I-I-I like to be an Adventurer!”

Kudo shouted which in turn left Quin in surprise. Afterward, she started to giggle.

“Hehe, good to know! In order to become an Adventurer, you must first fill out this document. This will inform us your name, age, and race to provide us aid when we search your identity.”

The receptionist ceased her teasing and brought out a piece of paper, which Kudo takes, along with the pen that she handed to him. Seeing the vast complicated looking words in front of him, Kudo thanked the gods that his parents taught him what little they know about writing.

“Umm…”

“Don’t worry. Just write in your name on the first blank line and the age at the second, and race at the third. Don’t worry about the other complicated stuff~”

The receptionist teased, but it brought Kudo peace of mind to know that he doesn’t have to answer and figure out later that he answered in the wrong places.

After he was done, he hands the paper filled with his information to the receptionist.

“I see… Kudo Braven. Age 15. Human race. I can tell that much~”

The receptionist began to tease again, her right eye winked at Kudo which brought a flaming redness on his cheeks.

“Now that you signed the document, you have to pay up the initial fee of the Adventurers’ License. I apologize, but this is the standard law according to the Adventurer Pact. The initial fee is 40,000 Jib.”

The Adventurer Pact. A promise made by the leading Adventurers during their birth.
After attaining their blessings from the gods, the civilians were afraid that they might use their powers for evil. So a pact was made. This pact ensures that all Adventurers are banned from using their skills on civilians. It was also made to ensure that those interested in becoming Adventurers must pay a substantial fee and meet the required age, which is the adult age of Peranim—15 years old.

There are also many rules and branching rules that go with the Pact, but the most important one is that Adventurers must follow a specific non-verbal agreement that they cannot use their skills to subjugate civilians or their own comrades.

“I-I understand…”

Kudo was prepared for this. He worked so hard in all his life to gather up that much Jib. Born on a poor farm, 40,000 Jib sounds like a dream. He carefully opened up his bag and took out the necessary coins from his smaller bag to the desk.

“H-Here… 40,000 Jib.”

“Thank you very much.”

The receptionist looked like she was used to handling money as she easily picks up the Jib that Kudo has worked hard for 10 years to collect. Kudo felt an unknowingly empty, yet satisfying feeling inside.

“Now that you signed up and paid your fee, you are now eligible to take the Adventurers’ Guild License Test. First, go up the stairs, and meet up with the coordinator for the test. Give him this envelope, and he’ll give you the test to take. When you’re done, the coordinator will hand you the License. Once you get the License, head back here to finish the process."

“O-Ok…”
Once the receptionist finished explaining, she kindly pointed the stairs to her left side, making Kudo notice the sudden stairs that entered into his vision. Giving a quick bow of gratitude to her, Kudo briskly went up the stairs.

With each step, he feels his heart beating abnormally fast. Is it safe that it could get this excited, or nervous? He went up the stairs, finally reaching to the white-colored wooden door, and turned the knob to the side.

He opens the door to see a giant, burly man, reminding him of the Hunter of his village except that the man in front of him had a large scar across his neck vertically. Kudo could have sworn that his heart stopped when the man’s glare turned to him.

“Oh… you must be the new one. I’m the Guildmaster of this guild, Leydar.”

The Guildmaster?!

The Guildmaster is the one in charge of the Adventurers’ Guild, just as there is a master for every guild in the city. Kudo then spotted that in front of Leydar was several young men and women sitting in small desks, writing on several papers in front of them with a cold sweat trickling down their temples.

“You have the envelope?”

“Ah—Yes!”

Kudo shot back in a hurry, nervously giving the envelope in his hand that was provided by Quin to the Guildmaster. Leydar opens the envelope and reads the content.

“Alright, you’re certified.”

His eyes darted so fast, Kudo figured that he was reading at an incredibly fast pace. Once he was done, he set the papers aside in his own desk that he was sitting on, and took out several pieces of papers.

“Answer as best as you can, and then report back to me.”

“R-Right!”

Kudo blurted out loudly which caused the teenagers taking the test to snicker at his behavior. Kudo looked down from the snickers with flaming cheeks and hurried to the empty desk at the very back.

He sat down at the desk and looked at the papers in front of him. He would like to feel comfortable, but the desk’s sturdiness only made him more nervous. Kudo inhaled, trying to calm himself as he sees the pencil tucked neatly at his desk’s small crevice. He grabs the pencil, his hands shaking slightly until Kudo forced it to grab the pencil firmly, and looked at the test.

This is it… if I can’t even past the test, I’m not worthy of being an Adventurer!

With that determination, Kudo’s right hand no longer shook and wrote at a blinding speed which made the others hear the scratching sounds of lead hitting the paper furiously.

●

Kudo heaved a sigh. His sweat trickled down his temple as well, but it was not from his nerves. It was because he wrote so fast and steadily that he broke out in sweat. Kudo then noticed his surroundings, seeing that nobody has stood up since he came here.

Kudo picked up the paper and stood up, catching the attention of the other students. Sounds of snickers and looks of sneers were made as he walked up to Leydar.

“Ah, he failed…”

“I knew he couldn’t do it.”

The would-be Adventurers snickered and sneered as Kudo didn’t pay attention to that. He meets up with Leydar, who continues to glare at him and handed him his test.

“I-I finished…”

Kudo spoke in a firm but shaking voice, and it reached to all of their ears. The ones taking the tests widened their eyes and stared at Kudo black-faced. Leydar raised his right brow as he takes the test into his hand and read the contents so fast that Kudo thought that he was getting dizzy from his darting eyes.

“… Alright, you pass.”

“Eh?”

The young people Adventurers shouted in unison. How could he, where the others took nearly an hour or two to finish, just finished so quickly? As their gaping mouths were about to stutter and complain, Leydar searched behind his desk and took out a small item.

“Here, your License.”

Leydar handed him the Adventurers’ License. It was a small crystal, shaped like a dreamcatcher as several pieces dangled with the help of a small, sturdy black string.

“Whoa…”

“Take that License to the receptionist downstairs, and she will help you on taking your class.”

“R-Right! Thank you!”

After a quick bow, Kudo hurriedly went downstairs, leaving behind the complaining students who began to finish their tests sooner.

After going down the stairs, he met up with the receptionist, which turned around to see him and widened her eyes.

“Braven-san? But you only took 10 minutes! Did you quit in the middle…?”

“N-No… I already got my License.”

Kudo said as he took out the special crystal, which left the receptionist surprised.

“Ah… incredible. T-Then, let’s get started!”

The receptionist’s charming smile came back to her lips, getting her to quickly move her body below the desk and brought something out.

It was a stone pedestal, but it was incredibly small and short, enough to be carried by a slender woman easily up to the desk. But the material that it was made with seemed out of this world. It shined a pleasant blue color, having a small light-green jewel embedded into the center of the pedestal.

“Now, please cut up a bit of your fingertip and drop a bit of blood to your License. That’s your Growth Crystal. Then, place the crystal in the middle of the pedestal.”
“R-Right.”

After Quin handed a small, clean blade to Kudo, he hesitantly cuts in a vertical cross to Kudo’s right tip of his index finger. Warm, crimson liquid flowed a little from the new wound, making Kudo place the finger to the crystal onto his Growth Crystal. A sharp pain coursed through his finger because of it, but Kudo braced through it. Then he places his crystal to the center of the pedestal, and it began to glow a bluish light.

“Eh…”

Kudo sees the shimmering light reach up to their faces. It solidifies and becomes into a transparent rectangle screen. Letters of their language began to appear and spun around together in a cluster mess of letters as if a typhoon was blowing them around.

“This procedure is to help you make your Class. With this, we can tell what kind of Class you’re more suited to.”

“R-Really?”

Kudo blurted out, which left him to cover his mouth from his over-excitement. Quin started to giggled which left Kudo to blush.

“Don’t worry. This is the most exciting part for a beginning Adventurer! Now, let us see what kind of Classes are available to you…”

As they ceased talking, they waited for the letters to form a word which will tell Kudo’s Class.
However, they suddenly stopped moving, and this appeared in front of both of them…

———————————————————————————————————————
?????
———————————————————————————————————————

“Eh? Oh, my…”

“W-What is going on?”

Even Kudo could tell that something weird just happened as he sees Quin’s face contorting into a perplexed expression.

“Oh… I’m… I think I have good news and bad news.”

The receptionist spoke sternly, catching Kudo’s attention.

“Well… the good news is, you have a Special Class.”

“Eh? A Special Class?”

Kudo felt that his ears were damaged. Then, he gaped widely from hearing it.

“H-How? I don’t belong to any special family… and I don’t have any talents!”

“W-Well, that’s what the pedestal is telling me. I can tell whether this class is Special or not, and this is certainly… a Special Class.”

The receptionist trailed off for a second before answering, getting Kudo to ask.

“And what is the bad news?”

“The bad news is that there is no information whatsoever regarding this Special Class.”

“No information… you mean not even you know this class?”

Kudo’s tone sounded like he was facing a major crisis. He sees the supposed Class in front of him, and it seemed to mock him.

“I’m sorry. I wish that there were other Classes for you to try, but currently, there are none. This is strange. Usually, along with the Special Class, there are other Classes available. But there isn’t any other Class!”

Quin spoke in a perplexed tone, her voice sounding nervous as she tries to explain as much as possible Kudo’s current situation. Then, her face softens and answered:

“I have to suggest that you give up on being an Adventurer. Taking on a Class that is unknown might be dangerous, and it could be fatal. This is your decision, Braven-san.”

Hearing those words made Kudo’s heart skip. All his dreams and ambitions dashed, all because he only has one Special Class, and it might not be safe. After seeing his circumstances, Kudo steeled his resolve.

“…I’ll take it.”

“Are you sure? Once you take your class, you cannot change it afterward. You must keep this class for the rest of your Adventurer career.”

“It’s… not like I have any other choice. I have to pick this Class, or else I’ll have to give up my dream of being an Adventurer. Please, I like to take this Class.”

Kudo spoke firmly, without a single hesitation in his voice. Quin, as an Adventurer, felt that passionate resolve and smirked.

“Then, congratulations, you have chosen your newly acquired Class!”

As if she was waiting for those words, Quin placed her supple hands onto the pedestal, and focused her power on it. The screen flashes a bright light, blinding Kudo’s eyes.

In the midst of this, Kudo’s right hand began to feel a burning sensation on the front. Kudo grimaced and grunted as the pain was only for a moment, and the flashing light began to cease.

Kudo regains his vision and spotted his right hand. He sees a strange insignia that was burned into the skin of his front hand.

“This is… my Class.”

“Now that you have a class, you have the ability to open up your screens, such as your Status screen and Skill screen. You can also summon your crystal— like this.”

Quin made an example and took out her own Growth Crystal. It was a different shape, like a diamond hanging in a crescent shaped crystal. Quin closed her eyes, and uttered ‘Call back’. The crystal in her hand suddenly disappears from top to bottom, no longer being seen by them.

“Like this, you can show the guards out at the gates your Growth Crystal, and nobody would steal them. That’s because the Growth Crystal also acts as a pass, which is why it is also called the Adventurers’ License.”

“Oh… I see!”

Kudo’s tone was higher than usual, and took his own crystal into his hand. After he shouted his phrase, his crystal does the same disappearing act, widening Kudo’s eyes.

“Kudo Braven-san. As of this moment, you are now a proud Adventurer. As an Adventurer, I’m obliged to tell you about our Quest Ranking system. The system if comprised of 5 ranks.”
Kudo paid close attention to this point as his eyes fixated on Quin’s eyes to focus, though her stunning looks made him slightly blush.

“From the lowest to the highest, we have [D], [C], [B], [A], and [S]. [Rank S] is the highest of the rankings, while [Rank D] is the lowest, where you are now since you just started. When you take quests from the Quest Board, you are only allowed to accept quests according to the Rank you are in. The color of your Growth Crystal changes, which right now, your color is white, signifying [Rank D].”

As for the colors, it goes like this:
White-[Rank D]
Green-[Rank C]
Blue-[Rank B]
Purple-[Rank A]
Gold-[Rank S]

These are the colors that represents the strength and reputation of each Adventurer.

“When you complete the quest, you gain reputation points according to the quest details that we provide. When you collect enough points, you can be moved up to the next higher rank. Keep going upwards until you reach the legendary [Rank S], OK?”

“Y-Yes!”

“Then, may Isabel forever bless you on your adventure.”

Quin made a final greeting, bowing to Kudo which left an air of professionalism around her. However, to Kudo, he could hardly contain his bottled up excitement.

“T-Thank you very much! I promise to be the best Adventurer!”

Shouting out with a passionate tone, Kudo bowed deeply to Quin back, surprising Quin from such an unexpected gratitude.

“—*Fufufu* You are such a treat! I expect great things from you!”

Quin finished as Kudo went back from the reception desk, but not before giving Quin a final wave. Quin widened her eyes in surprise, but it later changed to a charming smile as she waved back energetically.

Finally, I can call myself an Adventurer!

Kudo thought in his mind as he feels the power rising inside of him ready to burst out into a prideful roar, clenching his fist as his blood was starting to boil.
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Kudo has finally become an Adventurer, but he had to take a strange class! What’s gonna happen next?