I woke up startled by the familiar, yet invasive presence in my head.

[ 10 items were sold for a total of 620 points. ]

I almost teared up; for the first time since I’ve been here, I can finally see actual numbers beside the word ‘points’.

Only the candy was sold, and eight out of ten of them were XLs. If I were to make anymore, the wisest choice would be focusing mainly on the XLs, maybe even add a higher tier. That said, I cut my product analysis short; I had points to waste.

Now I had a choice to make. I could either fix whatever is wrong with my shop or ask if there are other ways of getting points.

A hesitant minute later, I choose the second option. Missing out on an easy way to gain more points is far more devastating than being able to shop properly. So, with my mindset, I thought my query.

[ There are two ways of acquiring points: Trading and selling items, and being a member of a heroes’ party. ]

Am I a hero?

…

Yeah, the hero theory is pretty much confirmed at this point, and I can safely assume that I’m not one, which is something I’m quite pleased about.          

That was the highlight of my week. I spent the next couple of days reading whatever books they had at the inn, which mostly consisted of children's books that Luna had, and after much hesitation, Hana’s husband’s novel collection. She made me swear to take utmost care of them, return them back before her husband’s return, and not to utter a word of this ever happening.

I wasn’t sure why she’s going to such lengths, but after finishing the second book, I understood completely; terrible, terrible romantic novels. I finished about half of his collection, and it was one of the most grueling experiences I’ve ever had, but it was ultimately worth it.

 Both the novels and the books had most of the basic info you would expect everyone to know. The world consists of two major continents, with each race having its own country. All said countries are ruled by a monarchy of the same race except for the beastkin races; they have a ruling council consisting of ten members.

Also, I found out that I’m worth about 50 mana potions, 50 gold coins if you will. The monetary system consisted of four different coins; bronze, silver, gold, and platinum, each one hundred times the following. The biggest revelation I had was the goddess; an entity that’s powerful enough to create the current shop, but can’t help put an end to the ever-recurring terror that haunts this world inhabitants.

Every ten to twenty years, a ‘demon lord’ would emerge; unifying all the ‘demons’ and promising the end of days. A group of gallant heroes is summoned to fight the evil menace. Once the war is over and the demons are defeated, a period of peace and prosperity blossoms, the heroes magically disappear, and the cycle repeats.

The only deviation from a stereotypical story is that there are no actual demons. Goblins, orcs, trolls, and any other races that are deemed evil are all lumped up into the ‘demons’ category.

Now, an adventurer is the closest thing to a hero; fights monsters and demons to protect the honest goddess-fearing citizens, and when the demons come knocking; he’s ready to surrender his life, or if he’s lucky enough, he’d get chosen as a member of a heroes party and rack up some sweet, sweet points.

Now with Valeriana done with her five quests done, I was finally here to take up the mantle.

“And we’re done. You’re now officially a registered adventurer.” Alice cheerfully said alongside a smile. “Welcome to the adventurer’s guild, Edward.”

“Thank you Alice.” Smiling, I replied.

“Would you like to take the evaluation exam?” Noticing my befuddlement, she continued. “Every adventurer starts at E-ranked and ranks up from there; however, if you would like, you can take a test, and depending on your results, you can start with a higher rank.”

That sounds reasonable, but I’m not really in any hurry to ran-

“He’ll do it.” Valeriana decided to make the choice for me.

Alice looked away from me to Valeriana and back to me again, awaiting my answer. I nodded, I didn’t want to rush things, but I don’t think I can change Valeriana’s mind on this.

“Ahem!” Alice clears her throat before explaining. “The exam is divided into two sections; the first one is a written exam covering a variety of different subjects, geography, tactics, anatomy, and more; the second is a practical exam where an instructor will be present to evaluate your combat ability.”

“And how long will these tests take?”

“The written exam takes between two to three hours.” A slight grimace unconsciously formed on my face, and noticing, she hurriedly added. “But the practical exam takes much, much less, and someone will be ready as soon as you finish the written one.”

I gave Valeriana a desperate look, hoping she’d drop this, but nothing of the sort happened. She locked eyes with me and stared me down with her arms crossed.

Releasing an exasperated sigh, I yielded. “When can I start?”

“There should be a test starting soon.” Alice said in a professional tone. “Please, follow me.”

I followed Alice, as Valeriana stayed behind, through a door in the back to what looked like a library. I could see all types of people with their heads buried in books; some were simply reading, while others were taking notes and quietly talking in between themselves.

Walking silently through the aisles, I heard Alice’s hushed voice. “This is the guild’s archives. If you need information on a quest, you’ll find it here. It has everything you will need, from books on almost every monster to recorded encounters with them, it’s all here.”

I wasn’t exactly sure about Alice’s animal counterpart; her ears were a mixture between a wolf and a dog; however, after walking behind her for a while now and watching her tail excitedly wagging while she’s boasting about the guild, I'm almost certain it's the latter.

“It’s amazing.” I answered honestly, and despite my curt reply, I was truly impressed. I can’t imagine how long it took to build something like this. Alice hummed in agreement.

A few seconds later we arrived at a desk, and sitting behind it was an old man reading a book. He had two curved horns pointing backward and a very pointy goatee; considering the look, he shot me, he wasn’t happy with me inspecting him, or he just didn’t like me in general. I’m not sure.

“Hello Owen, how are you doing?” Alice greeted the man.

He grunted in return as he returned to his book.

Alice got closer to me and whispered. “He’s a grumpy old man, but he’s really nice once you get to know him.”

“Owen, Sir Edward is here for the evaluation exam. Could you book him in?”

 He glanced at me without placing his book down and scoffs. “A human? You’re letting a human join the guild?”

“Owen. Sir Edward here is a registered adventurer, and he’s taking the exam. Please don’t make me get the Guildmaster.” Alice threatened in a harsh tone.

He stared at the angry girl for a second before grunting out. “It’ll start in twenty minutes.” And dismissing us, he went back to his book.

Alice gave him a nasty look, walked away from the desk, and stood at a distance. She looked towards me, beckoning me over and I obliged.

“I’m so sorry Edward, he’s always been a bit rude but I’ve never seen him like this. What he did is inexcusable and shames the whole guild. I’ll make sure the Guildmaster knows of this.” Alice apologized and bowed her head.

“It’s fine Alice, thank you for being so considerate. Please, raise your head.” I was getting a little weeded out and I was expecting something like this to happen.

Alice showed an apologetic smile and wished me good luck before leaving.

Ten minutes weren’t much, but I managed to take a skim through a couple of books; mainly confirming what I read about.

Hearing the ring of a bell, I tore my eyes from the book in my hands. A few people stood up and headed in the old man’s direction; following them, I found a line formed in front of his desk.

“The test starts now. You may use anything in here; however, you can’t receive any help.” Owen loudly explains. “You have up to three hours to finish. I’ll ring the bell twice, once at half-time.” hitting the bell once, he continues. ”And finally when the three hours have passed. If you’re not done by the second bell ring your paper will not be accepted.”

The line proceeded smoothly, and despite the mocking look Owen shot me, I got my paper. The test was just as boring I thought it would be. There wasn’t anything especially difficult about it. The questions were either simple enough to be solved logically or asking about a specific creature, where you would have to first research said creature and then solve the question provided.

An hour into the test, and I stopped. They weren’t really testing to see if you would know something as much as testing your ability to look it up, and also, I didn’t want to somehow get highly evaluated; the bare minimum was enough.

I stayed for the whole three hours, though. I didn’t want to stand out any more than I have to, I’m getting a few weird looks already.

With the second bell ring, I handed over my paper. We were led to a practice field outside and waited until the combat instructors arrived. Everyone split into two groups; one melee and one ranged.

I joined the melee group and waited for my turn. I was the last in the line, but the wait was worth it. Watching my fellow examinees demonstrating their skills was astounding; their speed and reflexes were completely abnormal. Is it the animal features? I have no idea, but I don’t think a human can move that fast. 

The bar was set high enough that I had no way of reaching it. 

Save for one or two people, the instructor dealt with everyone without breaking a sweat and he looked utterly bored the whole time. 

When I finally had my turn, I approached the weapon rack and got a spear. I’m not dedicating half my life to master a weapon; a spear is simple enough, stick the pointy end while staying at a safe distance. 

The following five minutes were an embarrassment. I wasn’t even close to landing a hit. He dodged everything I threw at him and skillfully knocked me on my ass before I could even react. I expected as much, but that didn’t make it any better.

Getting up I could hear some snarky comments and muffled laughter, but that was it; no one approached me and nothing was said aloud. The guild must have some serious rules about discrimination. 

Ignoring most of the subtle provocations, I sat down at an empty bench and closed my eyes. Despite how short this spar was, my heart was pounding in my chest and my breathing was ragged.

By the time I got my body under control, the place was completely empty. Before I got the chance to get up I heard a feminine voice that sounded very familiar.

“That was pathetic.”

A sigh escaped me as I turned my head; Valeriana was walking towards me and beside her an enormous-looking man. He was a head taller than I am, and almost twice as wide as I am, given I’m pretty thin right now, but still.

Valeriana looked pretty comical walking beside the giant; she barely reached his chest especially with the pair of antlers prodding out of his head making him seem even taller.

“Sir Edward, it’s great to finally meet you.” Said the giant with a big smile plastered on his face while offering his hand.

Returning his greeting, I did my best to put on a friendly smile and replied. “The pleasure is all mine. I don’t believe we’ve met before mister…”

He let out a chuckle as he released my hand. “Argus. And please, no need for honorifics.”

“Well, I’m Ed or Edward, whatever you prefer. What can I do for you Argus.”

“Straight to the point it. I like you already.” Grinning widely, he continued. “I’m here to inform you of your evaluation. Congratulations, Edward, you’re officially a D-ranked adventurer.”

Ah, shit. I could feel my heart sink in my stomach.

My desperation must have shown on my face and somehow mistaken for disappointment as Argus followed up with. ”Your results on the written exam were quite high; I’m sure if you focus on gaining some combat experience, you’ll rank up in no time. I expect a lot of good things from you, Ed.”

“I see. Thank you.”

Nodding my way, he turned to Valeriana, who had been impatiently observing our conversation. She had a slight frown on her face ever since she came.

“I have assigned Alice as your personal assistant, she will handle all the quests and any requests you might have. I hope that’s okay with you?” She nodded in reply. “Well, if you’ll excuse me. Lady Valeriana.”

Argus turned to leave but spoke to me one more time.

“By the way Edward, Alice told me what happened. I’ll have a talk with Owen. We don’t allow that sort of behavior here.”

That was it for the day. I had to wait until tomorrow for my pendant to start accepting quests. I waited until we were far enough from the guild to ask Valeriana the questions swarming my mind.

“Hey, Valeriana.”

“What?” She replied, curtly.

“Who was that?”

A look of confusion appeared on her face for a split second before turning to a scowl. “The Guildmaster.”

“Huh.” I paused for a moment; I wasn’t sure how to approach this.

“He was acting awfully familiar earlier; do you think he knows something?”

“He’s the one who told me about you.”

That answers one question but raises another. Why would he single her out and specifically inform her? I know she’s loaded, but that’s no-

I halted my steps as realization struck me.

“Valeriana are you perhaps a runaway noble?”

She froze at my question. “No.”

“Isn’t Lady a noble title?”

“I’m not a noble. My mother is a council member, but we’re not nobles.” A pregnant moment later, she continues. “And I’m not running away.”

A few minutes of silence pass by and she commands. “You will not speak a word of what you just heard.”

The rest of the trip back was spent in silence. She was dealing with her own thing, and I was assessing how fucked my current situation is. I’m knee-deep in political shit.

I’m currently staying with a councilor’s kid and I was sold as palm-greasing; if I mess something up, the Guildmaster would look back and I’m sure he wouldn’t appreciate that very much.