Auren's record-breaking result in the written exams spread through the town like wildfire.
By noon, the story had already reached the taverns, and by evening, even the market vendors were talking about it.
For many, it was hard to believe that a quiet herbalist had outperformed not just seasoned adventurers but even the Emperor himself.
The written examination for the Adventurer's License was standardized across the entire Wha-lah Empire, and no one had ever broken Emperor Romeov's score of ninety-two percent. Yet somehow, Auren had scored one point higher than him.
The shock it caused rippled through every guild in town and soon probably even the neighboring towns and up to the empire itself.
Those who had mocked him just a day ago now pretended to be old friends.
Rumors shifted overnight—from "that newbie herbalist" to "that prodigy who outscored the Emperor." People who once ignored him now greeted him with forced smiles and fake warmth as Auren walked the streets.
