Aurora tilted her head, her rabbit ears twitching. "Join the Guild? Me?" she asked, her tone mischievous, her eyes flashing with mischief.
Latania nodded eagerly.
"Sure! As an Outsider—a beastkin, in the truest sense—your potential is outstanding."
"Sounds fun, okay, let's go." Aurora said excitedly.
"Alright, first we need to measure your parameters, and since you're an Outsider, we won't be using a standard Mana Crystal Orb on you, we have an Outsider Crystal Orb to measure your strength. But first, we need to do a test!"
I scratched my head, glancing at Aurora's black panther Heilbronn. "Test her? From what I can see, she's handling herself quite well."
"Rules are rules, Charlie. For Outsiders, this is routine—the beastkins are already strong. We'll use the Orb, then some trials. But Heilbronn can observe—that panther isn't part of the trial." Latania chuckled.
"Heilbronn is my trusted companion, not just an observer!" Aurora pouted, crossed her arms, and gave me a subtle wink, and I shrugged, oblivious to the deeper meaning. To me, he was just a loyal beast.
Latania led us to a sand arena behind Guild, where a locked gate was glowing with energy. She pointed to the Outsider Crystal, a swirling purple sphere sitting on a pedestal.
"Touch this first, Aurora. It's calibrated for Outsiders like you."
Aurora skipped, pressing her hand against the sphere and giggling.
"Let's see what this thing has!" The orb vibrated, projecting three-dimensional stats:
Speed: 450, Mana: 400, Intelligence: 380, Endurance: 350, Dexterity: 340, Luck: 330, Defense: 250, Strength: 200.
(All stats are theoretically infinite, but with the physical body of mortals, Outsiders or monsters can only withstand a maximum of 1000, above 1000 are high-level entities)
The crowd murmured, nodding as if they had expected it.
"Typical stats for an Outsider," one adventurer muttered.
"Pretty strong, but nothing surprising. The real challenge has just begun." - Latania smirked
She activated the portal, releasing three large wolf-like creatures from Meqrika, their red eyes glittering.
"These mid-level Meqrika beasts are no easy feat. It will take several adventurer groups to defeat and capture them," she warned, her voice serious.
"Big puppies! This will be fun!" Aurora clapped her hands, grinning.
She darted forward in a flash of light, dodging a swipe of claws with a playful spin. With a flick of her wrist, glittering ice encased one wolf's paw, and she danced around another, teasing, "Too slow!" A well-timed spell sent the third staggering, and she finished with a spectacular display, freezing them before the slightly amused but unsurprised crowd.
"Not bad," Latania said, clapping her hands.
"But that's not all. Next, Endurance—challenge run!" She pointed to a course of swaying logs and spinning blades.
Aurora groaned, "Oh, exercise?" but jumped in anyway, weaving through it with quick hops, giggling as she narrowly avoided a log.
"This was fun!" She sighed but grinned.
Latania nodded. "Good. Now, Luck—hit random targets!"
She lifted the board with the moving targets.
Aurora shrugged, "Why not?" and fired magic bolts randomly. One hit a hidden black spot, and she exclaimed, "Lucky!" to the laughter of the crowd.
"Intelligence," Latania continued
"try solving these puzzles." She handed Aurora a box with changing runes.
Aurora tilted her head, muttering, "So boring..." - but she drew the runes with her finger, unlocking it in a few seconds with a smug look, "Done!"
"Finally, Dexterity—accurate shooting!" - Latania set a target 50 meters away.
Aurora spun her staff, chuckled, "Shooting practice!" - and fired a bolt that hit the bull's eye right in the middle, and posed afterwards.
"The last part—Power," - Latania said, pulling out a wooden knight with a blunt sword. "Fencing."
Aurora sighed, "What a lousy sword!" - then swung her sword reluctantly, the blade grazing as she laughed, "Oh, that's it!"
Latania clapped her hands. "You passed! For a newbie, B-rank is the highest we can give, even though you're clearly stronger. Welcome to the Guild, B-rank!"
(Solis Realm G-Ranks: E-D-C-B-A-S-S+)
She handed Aurora a shiny B-rank badge, which Aurora pinned on with a casual shrug.
Almost immediately, a few groups of seasoned adventurers approached. A gray-haired man with a scar on his face stepped forward. "Join our group, girl – your magic is amazing!"
Another woman, a woman with a bow, nodded. "We need someone like you – it won't be a loss for you!"
A third group chimed in, offering equipment and quests. Aurora smiled and waved them off.
"No, I'm fine! But thank you!" - she said, turning away with each suggestion with a carefree smile.
As the crowd thinned, a few curious adventurers lingered. A middle-aged man in a faded cloak tilted his head.
"Is this your first time joining a Guild? You look... a little young."
Aurora shook her head, a sly smile on her lips. "Not at all! It's just my first time joining a Guild in this country. And I'm not only young—I'm also very beautiful, right?" - She struck a very impressive pose, causing the people around her to laugh.
Before anyone could react, she reached into her bag and pulled out a handful of badges, holding them up proudly. There was a shiny Platinum Badge, a radiant Elite Badge, and a sparkling Blue Badge. The crowd gasped, and I blinked in disbelief.
"Platinum? Elite? Blue? They're from Nanji, Bolshevik, and Sealanka—Guilds from different countries!" exclaimed a seasoned adventurer.
(Nanji: Bronze - Silver - Gold - Platinum - Diamond)
(Bolshevik: Low Beginner - Beginner - Intermediate - Advanced - Elite)
(Sealanka: White - Orange - Blue - Red - Black)
(Meqrika and MountKito didn't have any)
"A veteran adventurer? Here? How is that possible?" Another nodded, eyes wide.
Aurora shrugged, putting the badges away. "Oh, I just picked them up on the road. They're convenient for bartering!" she said, her voice light, as if it were no big deal.
Latania raised an eyebrow, impressed but not surprised. "Well, you're easy then. Anyway, B-rank is a good start. Go ahead and climb if you want."
"Hey Charlie, what's your rank? Show me your stats! Please, please?" Aurora turned to me, her eyes sparkling with curiosity, pleading, tugging at my sleeve in a sulky manner.
"I'm not really an adventurer, I just joined to sell herbs and goods—not much for fighting monsters. But anyway…" I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck.
Giving in to her persistence, I walked towards the Mana Crystal Orb, and placed my hand on it. The orb vibrated, displaying my stats:
Strength: 120, Defense: 70, Speed: 50, Luck: 10, Mana: 20, Endurance: 100, Intelligence: 150, Dexterity: 170.
"See? I'm only D-rank. Mostly selling stuff, not killing animals." I shrugged.
A few seasoned adventurers nearby, unfazed by my title as an executioner, chuckled.
"The only stat that's steadily increasing is Dexterity,"
"Looks like he's been decapitating more people than usual lately!" one said, grinning.
"That's right, that's right—this poor guy's luck is cursed!" Another nodded, laughing.
Aurora chuckled, clapping her hands. "Not bad for a herb user!" - she teased, slinging her arm around my shoulder.
Latania smiled. "You two are strange. Go home with that gold—get some rest. We'll have work for you soon."
Nodding, I led Aurora out, her purse heavy but still full. She skipped beside me, humming a tune, the Guild fading into the distance as we made our way home.