Darius Gallean and Hoverboard

"Darius Gallean," I said in a mysterious tone.

I used my real name from my previous life, Darius Gallean. This was also to avoid unnecessary attention if I used a noble identity as a guild member. Besides, most adventurers were common people and low-ranking nobles.

"May I ask for your identification documents if you have any, sir?" the receptionist asked after writing down my name.

'Identification?' I thought to myself.

Aside from the Vallois family symbol and my Sveitmann Academy student card, I had no other identification. If I showed either of them, my identity would be immediately revealed. That was for sure.

But the receptionist had said 'if you have any.' So, it wasn't mandatory for me to show identification documents.

"Unfortunately, I've been wandering alone for a long time. So I don't have anything to prove my identity. Is that a problem?" I answered casually.

"Not at all, sir. Identification documents are just an additional provision. They're not mandatory. You know, sometimes nobles register using their family symbols or former mercenaries register with their guild cards to prove their abilities. So I was just asking," the receptionist explained, covering her mouth with her hand and smiling.

Most guilds are like private companies. They are not bound by the government of a kingdom or empire. However, at the same time, they are bound by regulations. Well, I guess that's fair. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

Although these regulations are not strict because these independent guilds also provide many benefits to a country, there are still rules to follow.

"So, Mr. Darius Gallean, please place your hand on this magic orb," the receptionist said, taking a magic orb from a drawer.

I looked at the magic orb the receptionist took out.

"What is this for?" I asked in a flat tone.

"This is a lie detector, sir. This magic device will detect your lies based on your physical reactions, such as changes in breathing and heart rate," she answered with a smile.

That means I have to deactivate Quantumorph Artisan. For this device to detect my body's reactions, there probably has to be skin contact.

I raised my right hand and showed it to the receptionist.

"Do I have to remove this?" I asked.

"That's right, sir."

I nodded and deactivated Quantumorph Artisan. The gauntlet on my palm gradually disappeared with a soft metallic clinking sound.

Then I touched the lie-detecting orb. I felt something. There was a cold sensation when I touched it. And through Anetta, I could sense mana in it. Then the orb glowed a dim white.

"Alright, I will begin. Are you currently a criminal?" the receptionist asked.

"No," I answered flatly.

As soon as my answer was spoken, the orb I was touching turned green. The receptionist nodded and checked something off on a paper. Then she asked another question.

"Are you a fugitive?"

"No."

"Are you contracted with a demon?"

"No."

The results were all green. The receptionist then smiled at me.

"Okay, that's enough, sir. Your three answers were truthful. We can proceed with the process."

'Huh? That's it? The barrier to entering an adventurer guild is just that?' I thought.

Well, whatever. I removed my hand from the lie-detecting orb and reactivated my Quantumorph Artisan. Then I looked at the lie-detecting orb.

"Is this for sale?" I asked, pointing at the orb the receptionist had just taken.

The receptionist paused for a moment and then smiled professionally.

"There are many cheap versions available, sir. However, their accuracy is low. For an original version like this, only guilds and certain institutions are allowed to have it," she replied.

Of course. Professional items would surely be owned by professionals. Whereas those circulating among the public were, of course, just cheap imitations.

I nodded at the receptionist's answer. She put the orb back into the drawer and handed me a pen and paper.

"Please write down how your name is spelled, sir. Please use the common continental script," she said.

After I wrote down how to spell my name in the common continental script, the receptionist took my paper and took a photo of me using my tactical helmet.

I can update the photo anytime if I decided to show my face.

The card was printed on the spot with my name, photo, adventurer rank, a unique ID number for each card and thin magical rune engravings as a watermark. The registration fee was 10 silver Ards. Cheaper by 10 silver Ards than my train ticket.

By the way, Ard is the currency of the Ardterrion Empire. It doesn't use coins but uses paper with bronze, silver, gold, and platinum stamps. The conversion is 1 platinum Ard equals 50 gold Ards, 1 gold Ard equals 100 silver Ards, and 1 silver Ard equals 10 bronze Ards.

I looked at my adventurer guild card.

"Since the adventurer guild doesn't have a test, you are required to complete one request from the mission board. If you do not take your first mission within 6 months, your identity as a guild member will no longer be valid."

"And for the ranks, starting from the lowest rank, there's rank F, E, D, C, B, A, and S as the top rank. If there are higher levels, we usually add SS and SSS."

"For more information, you can buy a guidebook if you like. It costs only 2 silver Ards," the receptionist explained after I received my card.

She also took out a small guidebook the size of a pocketbook.

I looked at the receptionist and nodded. I gave her 2 silver Ards and took the book.

"Well then, I'll look for a request on the mission board now," I said and walked to the mission board.

As I walked to the mission board, there were many people also looking at it. I, myself, was looking at it too.

For missions related to the Aegis Sentinel ring, there was a request to find herbal plants to alleviate someone's illness.

When I searched for a while, I found it. The mission was a D-rank mission with low pay. But for some reason, no one had taken it. I took the paper.

At that moment, someone behind me spoke.

"I suggest you don't take that."

I turned around and found a middle-aged man about chest-high to me. He was wearing full light armor with a sword on his left waist and a round shield on his back.

"And why do you care, old man?" I said flatly with a distorted voice.

"You see, the pay is low. It's not worth risking your life for," the middle-aged man replied, shaking his head.

"I've made my decision," I said.

Well, I knew it was dangerous because the place where the herbs grew was quite deep in the forest. And why others hadn't taken it was obvious: the danger level and the pay weren't proportional.

"Arrogant rookie!"

"Yeah, there's always a rookie who just signed up and acts like this!"

"Hey, bro. You should just complete missions at your level."

"Just leave him be."

I heard some jeers from adventurers in the room. I ignored them and walked towards the receptionist handling my registration.

Handing over the paper I was holding, I said, "I'll take this request."

The receptionist, who had undoubtedly heard what happened in front of the request board, looked at me for a moment.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Yes. Give me the contract," I answered without hesitation.

The receptionist resumed her professional smile and then handed me the contract.

After that, I immediately walked out of the guild building. Meanwhile, the middle-aged man who had warned me earlier just sighed and shook his head.

Outside the building, I walked out of the city. Along the way, I bought some street food unique to Berkington. After that, I hailed a horse-drawn carriage. Here, wagons with magicium crystals like in Sciendufer were very rare.

Once I reached near the city gate, I got off and paid. When I exited, I could see a wide expanse of grassland. I walked a bit further from the city gate and stopped to take out the board I carried under my backpack.

I bought this board when I bought supplies after my duel and 'intimate moment' with Ishma yesterday. I got it from a unique shop. The shop I visited was a kind of weapon, accessory, and unique decoration shop related to machinery. There was even a sort of flintlock pistol there.

The shop's atmosphere was thick with a steampunk theme. I was then attracted to an item displayed in the corner of the room. When I asked the shop attendant who made it, unfortunately, the maker wasn't in the shop.

The item I bought and was going to use was a hoverboard. This hoverboard was as long as a snowboard, about 5 cm thick. It was made of lightweight metal with two holes for fans, and in the middle, there was a kind of small magic rune engraving. Then at the back, there were small tubes. Four small tubes were for placing magicium crystals.

'Of course, items like this are always my favorite,' I thought as I stepped onto the hoverboard.

With a slight movement of my foot, the rune engraving in the middle of the board lit up green. Then the fans facing downwards spun rapidly.

'Is this a gravity rune?' I thought.

(Indeed. The small rune applied on this hoverboard is a complex gravity rune. The pattern is also intricate. It requires high rune crafting skills to optimize the energy used. With just 4 magicium crystals the size of two fingers, this gravity rune can lift you and your belongings in the air up to 15 cm.)

'Well, I'm even more eager to meet the maker of this item.'

Satisfied with admiring the Steampunk Hoverboard, I started the device to move forward.

Once I managed to move, the speed was quite high. With a feeling of excitement, I traversed the grassland towards the mission's destination, the village of Mirfield.