The following day, we decided to take it easy at the inn for a bit and then head to the adventurers' guild in the afternoon to avoid the crowds.

Upon reaching the guild, I glanced at the various counters, contemplating where to go next.

Liz is a C rank, so perhaps that line? But since we don’t have a quest, maybe the reception? Then again, I always went to the B+ counter even without a quest.

“Reception or the C rank queue?” I asked Liz, who seemed to be pondering the same question.

“Reception, I think?” Liz replied uncertainly. “Baruda doesn’t have this many different counters.”

While we tried to figure out where to go, I noticed Saria briskly walking toward us. She appeared to have a troubled expression.

“What are you doing here, Luna?” Saria asked in a serious voice.

“Uhm, hello to you too?” I replied with a quizzical look. “I’m here with Liz.”

“I see,” she said, turning her attention to Liz. “For now, come with me.”

Saria took both of our hands and pulled us along like a pair of unruly children until we reached a door on the second floor. We were then ushered into the room and instructed to take a seat at the table.

“Luna, did you do something?” Liz whispered as Saria exited the room.

“I have no idea,” I mused. “I don’t recall doing anything wrong.”

“I doubt it’s normal to get dragged off to a private room like this.”

 

When Saria returned, she served us some tea before taking a seat on the opposite side of the table.

She looks annoyed, or maybe angry? Did I actually do something?

“Before we get into your business today,” Saria said, looking at me. “Do you remember what we talked about the last time you were here, Luna?”

“Uhm, yes? Is the dismantling not done yet?”

“Not that!” she scowled. “About Orzuz!”

“Orzuz…” I muttered. “Oh, right! Yeah, I remember him.”

“Didn’t you agree to stay away from the guild for a few days?”

“Hasn’t it been a few days now?”

“He’s still in town.”

So that’s why she dragged us here.

“Luna, who is Orzuz?” Liz asked.

“Just some kid who wants to fight me,” I chuckled. “I promised Saria I wouldn’t kill him.”

“The request was to avoid fighting him in the first place,” Saria muttered.

“I’m not going to go out of my way to avoid someone,” I shrugged. “I’ll just handle it if I meet him.”

“Let’s put that matter aside for now,” she sighed, rubbing her forehead wearily. “What brings you here today?”

“We are here to report on some monster subjugation and to discuss a possible rank up, or rather, she is,” I said, pointing at Liz.

“Oh?” Saria looked at Liz with curious eyes. “May I have your guild card?”

After Saria took Liz's guild card, she headed over to a desk where one of the guild's devices for checking guild cards was stationed. She operated the device and began scrolling through the subjugation list.

Then, she turned to me with a hint of doubt in her eyes. “Just checking to be sure, but you didn't happen to defeat all these monsters to boost her rank, did you?”

“Of course not. I can guarantee that all the monsters from the last few days were killed by her alone. I merely observed her training,” I replied, unable to hide my satisfied grin.

“This was training?”

“Luna said we were going to train. She then took me to a dungeon and said ‘Good luck and don’t die’.”

“You did great,” I said, patting her on the shoulder. “Even those other adventurers that watched you fight the salamander said you were amazing.”

“Other adventurers?” Saria asked.

“Yeah, three adventurers came when she was fighting. Their names were Jasmine, Duran, and… Dale I think? A nice woman, a burly guy, and a silent guy.”

“They are an A rank party,” Saria mumbled, tapping her fingers on the desk. “If I remember correctly, they recently left for… wait, was this the Grulholdt dungeon?”

“Uhm, I don’t remember the name sorry,” I pondered. “It was a dungeon to the northeast that Nadia told me about.”

“You took a C rank to a B+ dungeon where it’s recommended to be an A rank party of at least three people if you want to clear the whole thing? And made her go through it alone? And called it training?” Saria asked in a tone that made it sound more like an interrogation.

“Yes?” I replied, attempting to maintain an innocent smile.

Saria frowned and glanced over at Liz. “You must have it rough.”

“I can't deny that,” Liz admitted reluctantly. “But I have definitely gotten a lot stronger thanks to Luna, so I don't want to complain.”

“I wouldn’t have taken you anywhere I didn’t think you could handle,” I reassured Liz, giving her cheek a playful poke.

Although, I was worrying my heart out. Thankfully, Liz can’t read minds.

Saria sighed. “With this, you would be eligible for at least A rank, but I would have to consult with the guildmaster. Would you mind waiting here for a while?”

“Not at all.”

Saria left the room, leaving us to ourselves.

“I've worked for years to get to C rank, and now there's talk about A rank after just a few days with you. I don't know how to feel about that,” Liz said with a pained expression.

“Your accomplishments are yours alone. It's not unusual to have someone train you, right?”

“I guess so.”

“Have some more confidence! I haven't even finished your training yet, and you're already worthy of A rank.”

“There is more training?” Liz looked at me anxiously.

“Only if you want to,” I reassured her.

“I’ll think about it,” Liz said.

By the time we finished our tea, Saria returned to the room.

“Could you both come with me to the guildmaster's office?” Saria asked as she entered the room.

“Both of us?”

“Yes, he wanted to see both of you.”

“Sure, let's go then,” I said, taking Liz's hand.

 

 

As I tugged Liz towards the guildmaster's office, I couldn't help but notice the uncomfortable expression on her face.

“What's wrong?” I asked.

“It's unusual to see a guildmaster at my rank in the first place, and this is the capital! It would be weird if I wasn't nervous.”

“You don’t have to worry. He is a nice guy,” I said, trying to ease her nerves.

“If only he took his job more seriously,” Saria added, followed up with a deep sigh.

“What do you mean by that?” Liz wondered.

“You’ll see.”

Saria knocked on the door to the guildmaster's office and entered. “I’ve brought Luna and Liz.”

The guildmaster stood up from his chair and walked over. “Welcome. My name is Grahl, the guildmaster here, against my will mind you.”

Saria swiftly slapped him on the back of his head and turned to Liz. “See what I mean?”

“Are you talking behind my back again?” He said while rubbing the back of his head. “Feel free to sit down.”

“Thank you,” Liz said sheepishly and took a seat next to me.

“Now to the matter at hand. Normally, I would think that a C rank with this kind of subjugation list would try to cheat the system,” he paused, casting a glance in my direction. “We would like to make sure before we promote you, especially since you haven’t been active in the capital before.”

Liz looked like she was trying to figure out how to respond.

“You don’t have to worry about what you say. He already knows I'm a dragon,” I reassured Liz.

A clatter caught my attention, and I turned to see Saria staring at me, dumbfounded.

“Oh, right. Saria, on the other hand, did not,” I admitted, realizing my slip-up.

I might be getting a bit sloppy with revealing that bit of information. Better work on that.

Saria's eyes darted between me and Grahl, clearly processing the new information.

“Maybe we should give her a minute?” I suggested, half-jokingly.

“She is usually such a serious person, so seeing her dumbfounded like this is quite refreshing,” Grahl said with a laugh. “I’m sure she will come around, so we can just move on.”

Grahl walked over to his desk and took a seat. “Alright, let's get back to the topic. How exactly did you clear Grulholdt by yourself while still being C rank?”

“Luna trained me.”

“Shouldn’t you have moved up to B rank during that time?”

“I only spent the last couple of days training her,” I said with a smug smile.

“A couple of days,” he muttered. “The card says you’re an Ice Mage. I'd like to assess your spellcasting abilities in our training area.”

“That's fine. But, uhm, I have advanced to Cryomancer,” Liz replied.

“Cryomancer, not Cryo Mage?”

“That’s right,” Liz nodded.

“Did you not update your guild card when you advanced to Cryo Mage?”

“It was last week so I didn’t have time.”

“Last week,” Grahl muttered while looking at me dubiously. “Let's go to the training area then. Saria, if you are done daydreaming you can come along.”

Saria, who had mostly regained her composure, kept staring at me.

“Is there something on my face?” I asked with a smile.

“No, it's just hard to comprehend,” she replied. “I don’t know if I can even believe it.”

“I know how you feel,”  Liz said sympathetically. “I met her in her dragon form. When she shifted to a human in front of me, my mind blanked.”

“Grahl on the other hand just accepted it right away. I was almost disappointed,” I pouted.

“I have seen all kinds of unexplainable things during my adventuring days. It will take more than a dragon in the guise of a girl to rattle me,” he chuckled.

Sounds like Grahl might have some fun stories.

 

As we descended the stairs and passed through a door beyond the dismantling area, we entered a spacious walled enclosure. Inside, various wooden targets were arranged, featuring a range from standard targets to humanoid shapes and even horses.

“Go ahead and cast any offensive spell you want,” Grahl said while pointing at the targets. “Everything here is reinforced with magic, so just use what you normally use.”

“So just destroy the targets?”

“If you can. You will find that they are quite sturdy,” Grahl grinned. “A rank adventurers should be able to destroy them.”

“You heard him,” I said, pushing her forward. “Go all out.”

Liz walked forward until she stood in the middle of the enclosure. She began casting spells in quick succession, each spell destroying a target without issue.

“What am I even looking at?” Grahl asked, his face displaying clear confusion.

“Is that enough to prove that she cleared the dungeon alone?” I asked, unable to contain my smug grin.

“I knew a mage in my younger days that could cast [Fireball] without chants, but he was already an old man by then,” Grahl said before turning to me. “How can she do that already? And that's not even taking into account that she isn't using a magic medium.”

He didn’t even flinch when he found out that I’m a dragon, but this shocks him? Maybe accepting dragons is a family trait considering Chloe’s lukewarm response.

I gave Grahl a summary of magic mediums and chants while Liz finished her evaluation.

“So, everyone is using magic the wrong way?”

“You humans, at least. Have you ever met a monster that uses chants? In the past, this was the proper way to cast spells. You don’t do it anymore for some reason.”

“I see… We’ll have to take this information under advisement.”

Liz walked over from the destroyed training area.

“Good job. You didn’t leave a single one intact,” I remarked.

“You would probably subject me to harder training if I did,” Liz said jokingly.

“What kind of training did you do?” Grahl asked with a curious look.

“Luna had me cast spells continuously for eight to ten hours a day.”

“I let you take breaks every two hours,” I pouted.

“Eight to ten hours…” Saria, who had been quiet so far, muttered.

I looked at the training area. “Is this area open to the public?”

“Yes, but it’s rarely used. We mostly use it to assess the abilities of people when we want to promote them to higher ranks,” Grahl explained.

I shook my head and sighed. “Spending all your mana practicing casting spells in the safety of the city before you go home for the day should be commonplace for any mage who wants to improve.”

“It seems we have a lot to consider…” Grahl muttered, rubbing his chin in contemplation.

“Well, good luck with that,” I smirked. “So, how about Liz? Did she perform adequately?”

“Ah, right, of course. Promoting her to A rank won’t be a problem,” Grahl said as he looked at the remains of the targets. “S rank is another matter.”

“Oh? You don’t think she is strong enough?” I asked.

“Normally you can’t jump ranks like that. You need both strength and experience,”  Grahl said, glancing at me. “You are an exception.”

“I am? Then why did you promote me?” I asked, puzzled.

Grahl pondered for a moment while rubbing his chin. “Intuition?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I frowned.

“You made it sound like you wouldn’t be satisfied until you got promoted and I didn’t want to deal with all that,” Grahl chuckled. 

“So you promoted me to get rid of me? I don’t know how to feel about that,” I muttered.

“I figured you had enough past experience to make up for it,” Grahl said before shifting his gaze to Liz. “As for you, if you want to advance beyond A rank, you’ll need to gain more experience.”

“That’s more than fine,” Liz replied. “I never imagined being promoted to S rank to begin with.”

“So, you’re the sensible one,” Grahl said, smirking at me.

“I can't even argue with that,” I admitted.

“Saria, can you handle the promotion?”

“Certainly. If you would follow me, please?”

“I also brought the monsters she defeated,” I said, remembering that we had passed by the dismantling area to get here.

“We can handle that on the way.”

 

When we arrived at the dismantling area, I took out some of the monsters, including the salamander, and put them down on the floor in the cold storage. 

“This is another impressive amount of monsters that you drop off like it’s a basket of bread,” Saria said while inspecting the corpses.

“What do you want to do about the materials?” I asked Liz. “I don’t think anything is worth keeping other than maybe the salamander’s magic stone, but it's fire-attribute so I don’t think it’s that useful for you.”

“I will keep the magic stone,” Liz said while looking at the Salamander.

“Huh? Okay, but why?”

“As a memento.”

“That’s fine then,” I smiled. “How long will it take to dismantle all this?” 

“We should have it all done in two days. If you could come back for your payment by then, that would be perfect,” Saria said as she finished writing down everything I gave them.

“That should be fine, right?” I said, looking at Liz.

“I think so.”

“Great, now please follow me so we can handle your promotion.”

Just as we were about to leave, one of the dismantlers approached us.

“Another impressive haul,” he whistled. “Thank you for last time, little missy.”

“Last time?” I asked, tilting my head in confusion.

“Saria got so startled when you teleported away that she fell on her behind,” he chuckled. “We got a good laugh from that.”

“Don’t tell her that!” Saria scowled at the man.

“Oh?” I smirked at Saria. “I guess I should apologize for that.”

“Most of us dismantlers are old adventurers, so we’ve seen it before in dungeons,” he added. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen it outside a dungeon, though. But I’m not surprised considering the monsters you bring in.”

“How about you go back and do your job,” Saria snapped at the man.

“Feisty as always,” he grinned before returning to his work.

I could have sworn I heard Saria growl.

“Please forget what he said,” Saria muttered. “Shall we go handle your promotion now?”

“Could I also update my class at the same time?” Liz asked.

“Certainly, let's go to the registration room on the second floor then.”

Why do they even call it the registration room if they have to use that device to change classes as well?

 

We followed Saria back to the lobby and up the stairs to the registration room. I sat down on a chair while Liz and Saria went inside. After what felt like an eternity, the door finally opened.

That took forever. I thought it would be as quick as when I got my card.

When I saw Liz and Saria, I could tell that something was wrong. Liz was blushing and refused to make eye contact while Saria had a grin that almost made me uncomfortable.

“Did something happen?” I asked, looking at the two.

Liz still refused to make eye contact, so Saria spoke up instead. “No, nothing serious.”

“Uhm, okay?” I replied, tilting my head. “Liz, what’s going on?”

Liz looked at me, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Uhm, I got a new title…”

“A new title? Is that such a big deal?”

“It’s… Dragon Tamer…”

Judging from the warmth spreading across my face, it was probably the same color as my eyes now.

I’m sorry, what? Dragon Tamer? Is Liz out there meeting other dragons to tame? Obviously not. Did she tame me? What does that even mean? It’s just a title, right? But you don’t get titles for no reason. Thinking logically, taming skills should come from building a relationship of trust between the tamer and the tamed, well, dragon in this case, right? I’m not overly familiar with how taming works. Wait, does that mean that she will gain spells or abilities regarding that? What if she gains the ability to command me? Shit.

“That's… interesting?” I said, attempting to sound unfazed. “Just the title?”

“No, I checked my [Status] and I also have level one dragon taming...”

Well shit, guess I’m a pet now? When did she even pick up that skill? And she got a skill, which means there should be spells or abilities to come with it. Not that I’ve ever heard of that particular one before. I better add it to my [Note] to look up taming skills. I doubt I will find anything on dragon taming, but other taming skills should be comparable. So now what? Is she going to put a choker on me? Calm down, there is no indication that I have been tamed. Would I even get one?

“Well, it's always nice to acquire new skills, right?” I said, attempting to sound nonchalant despite the internal panic. “Anything else? Or should we get going?”

“We can go,” Liz said in an equally flustered tone before turning to Saria. “Thank you for all your help today.” 

“Always a pleasure to help,” She said and shot a smirk at me.

We left the guild and made our way back to the inn. We didn’t talk much on our way back.