An Adventurer's Life

Gerard and Sprite approached the counter at the adventurer's guild.

"Welcome, how may-" Camilla squeezed her nose.

"Sorry. It turns out that there was a muck in the latrines, and the protective equipment we received didn't stop us from picking up the smell; some magical enhancement was used to make us unable to smell anything while wearing it."

"You're finished, then?" Camilla's usually soft voice distorted terribly while she pinched her nose.

"Yes."

"Just give me a little while to confirm your claims."

"Does the smell not confirm it?"

"Sorry. Company policy."

*I guess the adventurer's guild is sort of like a high-risk company.*

"Hey, can we get cleaned up somewhere while you check?" Sprite shook her head and kept her hands far from her body.

"Brutus!"

A giant of a man, much larger than Thorkin and Lee combined, got up off his chair from around a table of adventurers and approached them.

"Wait, did we say something wrong? Sorry if we were asking for too much!" Gerard backed away from Brutus.

"If you would." Camilla held her nose and pointed at Gerard and Sprite.

"Mmmm." Brutus looked them over and reached out his arm.

Camilla left the counter and exited the adventurer's building.

*Ah. Do I have to fight him? Can I escape?*

Gerard felt his heart race, an unfamiliar feeling after not experiencing it for years.

"Cleansing River!" A deep and booming voice escaped the man's lips.

Water as clear as glass flowed from Brutus' hand and covered Gerard and Sprite. Unlike the Cleanse spell that Gerard used, this water soothed his skin and the fatigue of his body from cleaning for hours was washed away. The water returned to Brutus' arm. Gerard and Sprite stood before Brutus, soaking wet and dripping onto the floor.

"Thank-"

"Fire Element's Wind Torrent!"

A wind at almost searing temperatures flew around them both. Gerard felt his body almost lift off the ground before the spell stopped. Gerard looked at himself and then at Sprite. Sprite's hair had a fluffiness to it that nearly seemed unnatural. He grasped at his hair only to conclude that his had done the same.

"Thank you..."

"Mmmm." Brutus turned and rejoined his comrades at the table of adventurers.

"Did you see their faces? They thought you were going to squash them!" A heavily armoured man slapped Brutus' arm as he laughed.

Gerard ignored the comments made by other adventurers as he sat next to the entrance of the building on a cushioned bench. Sprite joined him as they waited for Camilla to return.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Camilla popped through the guild's doors and bowed her head.

"It's all good."

"I've come to the conclusion that the quest has been finished, and the client confirmed the emergence of a monster."

*Ah, that guy.*

"So, what now?"

"Just follow me to the counter, please." Camilla opened the door between the counters again and pressed her fingers together.

"What?"

"I'd like to congratulate both of you. After we confirm your status once again, we will provide you with appropriate adventurer licenses. Please hand me your temporary licenses."

The two sat their licenses on the counter, and Camilla pocketed them before pulling out the status orb.

"If you'd please."

Gerard touched it first. The hologram appeared above the cube again, and Gerard's information remained the same.

[Gerard Blythe - Level 1 Villager]

[Skills - N/A]

[Spells - N/A]

"No change? Did you seriously go to the World Totem?"

"Yeah, and I had an interesting encounter. My class is the villager class."

"Well, good luck."

"Thanks."

"Sprite? How did you do?" Camilla inched the status orb closer to Sprite.

Sprite touched the square device.

[Sprite - Level 1 Guide]

[Skills - Arcane Repository, Mind's Eye, Mentoring, Instructor Experience, Lesser Analyse]

[Spells - None.]

"Guide?" Camilla scratched her head.

She rushed into the back room and returned with a large leather-bound book.

"G for Guide. G for Guide." She thumbed through the pages of the tome.

*Is it a rare class?*

*It wasn't in the long list of classes that you were able to choose from, so I would assume so, yes.*

"Ah-hah! I found it!"

Camilla began to read from the page.

"The Guide class is provided to those destined to lead great heroes in their arduous journeys. Victoria, the only U-rank adventurer in history, is said to have had a companion with the Guide class."

"Huh?" Gerard leaned forward to skim over the text on the page in case he misheard her.

"Huh?! Hero? You're just a villager; there must be some mistake!" Camilla yelled again.

Luckily, the adventurers watched a nimble man doing a handstand on one of the tables in the centre of the room.

"Camilla. Please be quiet."

"Okay, I'm sorry. But how is this possible?"

"Sprite isn't a normal human being, and neither am I. If you could help keep this a secret, I'll owe you a favour. A favour from me will be well worth it in the future, I assure you."

Camilla cleared her throat as the commotion in the room died down.

"Gerard, you are now a D-rank Adventurer, also known as the Gargoyle Rank." Camilla slid a shiny license card across the counter with his name, photo, class, and level information.

"Gargoyle?"

"Yes. Furthermore, Sprite, you are a C-rank Adventurer, also known as the Wyrm Rank." Camilla slid Sprite's license over.

"Heh, I'm a rank higher than you, and my card has a metallic colour to it. It's shinier." Sprite picked it up and examined the small image of herself.

"These ranks loosely signify the strength of enemies you can face on your own. Usually, adventurers start at F-rank, the Slime class. Still, through your test results and efficiency with the quest given, the guild master has given his consent to promote you both immediately."

"What are the ranks?" Gerard examined his license.

"Before that, please allow me to give you the rewards from your quest."

Camilla reached down behind the counter and brought ten silver pieces to the counter.

"It was supposed to be five silver pieces, but as a reward for destroying the monster, another five have been provided by the client."

*Is that it? It must suck to be a low-ranking adventurer. We might have enough for our inn tonight and a small feed.*

*Ah, I wonder what sleeping is like!* Sprite smiled to herself and grasped her arms.

"I will now explain the adventurer ranks to you. Please try to follow along, as I will only say it once."

Gerard nodded, poked Sprite, and she too, observed.

"We have ten ranks. F-rank, the first rank, known as Slime, is a rank with little danger involved. There are over a thousand F-rank adventurers. E-rank, the second rank, known as Goblin, handles similar tasks to F but can take on bodyguard and monster-hunting quests as long as there are other adventurers with them. There are several hundred E-rank adventurers. D-rank, the third rank, as you know, is known as Gargoyle and opens up more dangerous quests. There are around five-hundred D-rank adventurers. C-rank, the fourth rank, known as Wyrm, will provide quests specifically for strong adventurers. We have about one-hundred C-rank adventurers. B-rank, the fifth rank, known as Lamia, can explore dungeons. There are about two-hundred B-rank adventurers. Skills and spells are also placed in these rankings but are designated by the adventurer's guild and magical research institute."

"Hm, interesting. What are dungeons?"

"You don't know that, and you wanted to become an adventurer?"

Camilla sighed.

"Dungeons are naturally forming existences where creatures and monsters are born. Some of these occur in ruins and other manmade structures but usually take shape from a dungeon's master, an entity created by the dungeon itself to help it prosper. Can I continue?"

"Yes."

"Okay. A-rank, the sixth rank, known as Wraith, can enter dungeons alone. We have about thirty A-rank adventurers. S-rank, SS-rank, and SSS-rank, the seventh, eighth, and ninth ranks, known as Chimaera, Kraken, and Dragon, respectively, take on calamities that could destroy cities and countries. We have four S-rank adventurers, two SS-rank adventurers, and one SSS-rank adventurer."

Gerard looked at Sprite, who, with all her knowledge and intellect, frowned as she tried to make sense of the information.

*I'm eager to meet these seven strongest adventurers!*

*To fight them?*

*Of course! And learn from them.*

*Unbelievable.* Sprite audibly sighed.

"And the tenth?" Gerard smiled, wanting to know about the strongest adventurer.

"U-rank, the tenth and final rank, known as the God rank, is something only one person throughout history has achieved. She was a brilliant warrior who killed a malevolent god in order to save the world. I doubt we will ever see someone of her calibre ever again."

"Oh, damn. What rank is Jerrick?"

"After taking down a horde of undead commanded by an elder lich last month, he and his adventuring team are A-rank."

*I wonder if I'm stronger than him now.*

*You definitely aren't.*

*Figures. We need to get stronger.*

*We will. We have to, don't we? Demons are going to cause trouble.*

"Gerard?"

"Yes? Oh, right, that's good news for Jerrick. So, you're saying I skipped three ranks, and Sprite skipped four?"

"That's correct."

The adventurer's guild went into hysteria mode. Screams of objections and cries of reminiscing adventurers about their hardships to rank up filled the hall.

"I take it this is unusual."

"Usually, if a rank is skipped, it's one, maybe two. So, yes, very unusual."

"Will I get to meet the guild master one day?"

"Probably not. Very few adventurers get the chance, as he's a very secretive person. Now, you should leave before-"

The two new adventurers approached the exit when a large man in black armour stood before them.

"Do you think you're something special, D-rank?" The man snarled.

"Not really..." Gerard sighed and avoided all eye contact.

"Watch that attitude! I, Dominik the Destroyer, B-rank adventurer, will show you j-j-just..."

"What?" Gerard watched as the colour drained from the man's face.

Dominik stepped back and looked above Gerard's head.

"Lee, did I offend you somehow?" Dominik took another step back and raised his hands in surrender.

Gerard turned to see Lee fuming with rage.

"I'll be overseeing these two throughout their adventuring careers. If anyone touches them, they'll be answering to me!" Lee stamped his foot, and the ground beneath them shook.

Dominik ran out of the guild before he had a chance to see just how angry Lee would get.

"Thank you, Lee." Gerard smiled.

Lee bent down and put his mouth close to Gerard's ear.

"I know you and that girl are not ordinary human beings. I look forward to seeing how you both mature in this world."

"How-"

"Don't worry. So long as you work towards the guild's best interest and humanity, your secret is safe with me." Lee straightened his back, laughed, and exited through the doors leading deeper into the guild.

The adventurers whispered amongst themselves while Gerard and Sprite took the opportunity to escape.

"What did he say to you?" Sprite asked as they walked the streets of Solares.

"He knows that we're not regular humans. I don't know just how much he knows, but I think we should be careful around him."

"I don't think he's a bad guy."

"Maybe not, but if he becomes an enemy, the less he knows, the better."

"You might be right, but we might not have a choice." Sprite looked back at the adventurer's guild and smiled.

"What do you-" Standing atop the five-storey building, Lee smiled and waved energetically.

"That's not unnerving at all." Gerard turned back around and quickened his pace towards Thorkin's barrack's.

"You've got yourself a friend. A strong friend." Sprite followed along.

"A dangerous one."

They arrived at the barracks and Sprite stopped walking.

"What is it? Do you sense something?"

"Gerard..."

"Yes?"

"My feet hurt."

"We've only been walking for thirty minutes or so; bear with it. We will have to wear these until we can afford new ones."

The guard standing by the entrance to the barracks recognised him. Someone had restraightened his nose after Gerard broke it.

"Oh, it's you." Gerard rolled his eyes.

"Gerard, sir, I'm deeply sorry for what happened. If I'd known you were friends of Thorkin and even the Blitz Swordsman, I would have never-"

"It's fine. You annoyed me, I bashed your face in, and we're even."

"But that's not-"

"Seriously, forget about it and make sure you don't just go throwing people into jail cells without checking necessary facts. The next person might not be so lenient."

"Thank you for your words of wisdom."

*I look younger than you, and what wisdom? It's common sense.*

Gerard pushed past him and entered Thorkin's office.

On the other side of Thorkin's desk sat Leonhard. Gerard gulped.

"Oh, Ger-" Thorkin suddenly stopped and stared blankly.

Gerard quickly shook his head and waved his arms alarmedly.

"gund! Gergund, and Serah, come have a seat! The head researcher and I were just about to finish up here."

"This is a good cue to leave. Thorkin, I hope you contact me if you see Gerard again, he's got some research results he promised to deliver." Leonhard left the office.

Gerard sighed and wiped some sweat from his brow.

"Thank you, Thorkin." Gerard stood by the desk and offered the chair to Sprite, who eagerly accepted.

"What was all that about?"

"I'm quite sure that the information I have about how I obtained bodies for myself and Sprite would probably end up destroying the balance of the world."

"Truly? Is it that dangerous?"

"Think about what would happen if someone like Addis, the man in the cell beneath us, could live forever in a new body each time he became close to death. Now, imagine if everyone could do that, and picture the carnage which would ensue."

"You've given this a lot of thought..."

"I had someone who helped me understand it." Gerard looked at Sprite.

"Okay, I'll keep it a secret, then! Thank you for trusting me with this. When we're around others, I will call you Gergund and Serah."

"I appreciate it."

"Anyway, onto business! I have your clothes right here." Thorkin grabbed a hemp sack from the corner of the room and sat it on his desk.

"I take it you'd like somewhere to change?"

"Yes, please."

"Just use my office. I've got a couple of errands to run. Leave when you're ready."

"Thank you for your hospitality, as always."

"My pleasure."

With that, Thorkin stepped out of his office and closed the door behind him.

Gerard promptly dressed himself and assisted Sprite when she needed it, and Gerard smiled confidently.

*This feels much better.*

Gerard readjusted the bottom of his tunic and left the barracks with Sprite in tow, towards the area of the city with the majority of the inns.

After entering five inns and being turned down because of the little money Gerard offered, they arrived at their sixth inn. Upon entering, Gerard stepped onto a squeaky floorboard that threatened to give way. A short man popped up from behind the counter at the entrance.

"How many nights? Or are you here for a couple of hours?" The man looked from Gerard to Sprite with a lascivious smile.

"Ah, just the night. Two beds if you can."

"Well, that's no fun. I've got a room. Six silver each."

"Oh, I only have ten. Can you make do with that?"

"If you chop all the wood out back and stack it, you can have the room for free."

"Truly?"

"You're a new adventurer, ain't you? My son was like you once. Good luck out there."

---

Gerard lay on his bed, beneath the blanket of furs in his undergarments. He breathed heavily while still covered in sweat from two hours of swinging an axe.

*Maybe I could use a wood axe as a weapon, since its primary purpose is chopping wood...*

Sprite lay on a bed beside him with a bedside table between them. The beds consisted of slender wooden frames, straw mattresses and pillows, and aged animal furs stitched together for their blankets. Barely furnished, the room had a footlocker, one bedside table between the two beds with a lantern on it, and a window opening up to the street from the second floor. Rodents scuttled about inside the walls.

"I really want to see Fletch, Rena, Scarlette, and Willam again."

"Then why don't you? I mean, I'm happy to go with you; Rena's such a nice girl."

"It's not the right time. I'm not strong enough to protect them. I want to protect Kilreath from the bandits and goblins that Fletch and Willam talked about, though."

"So, we've got six years to prepare."

"That's if the world hasn't changed too much."

"True."

Sprite yawned and then widened her eyes.

"Yes, that means you're tired. Let's sleep."

"Sleep! What's sleep like?"

"You're about to find out. Just close your eyes and relax."

And with that, Sprite's snoring drowned most of the other noises around them.

*Thank you, Sprite. Without you, I might have already lost myself to revenge or madness.* Gerard smiled as a single tear slid down his cheek.