Journeys

"Will that be all sir?"

"Yes."

"Then please have a seat at one of the tables."

It's been a year since Akashi has been disowned by his noble bloodline. He packed the little things he had and only was given a small amount of money. He decided to take the family name of Hashimora. To him, it just felt... familiar

He found a job working as a cafe worker in the imperial city, Astrialite, the center of the whole kingdom. Naturally, the king would be here, but Akashi was here for something else, the alliance guild. The pay that he was receiving was only providing him enough to get by, but he wants to join the alliance guild as soon as possible.

The alliance guild is the main branch of all guilds that are created by pre-existing members of the alliance guild. As such, they can terminate and disband any guilds if they have a valid reason to, but that hasn't happened in the ten years since the "Death Guild" was disbanded.

Akashi was sitting at one of the tables awaiting his results. The guild provides a badge that will be pinned to the shirt to show what rank the individual is. Bronze is for E-rank, Platinum is for D-ranks, Ruby is for C-rank, Sapphire is for B-rank, Emerald for A-rank, Diamond for S-rank. There are also insignia on each badge showing what class they are. A sword for a Knight-class, a dagger for an Assassin-class, a staff for a Mage-class, a lightning bolt for a Necromancer-class, across for a Healing class, and a book for the enhancer class. All classes are special, but they work better together with an exception to the Assassin-class. All of these badges are made from a magic room that forms a badge after reading the individual's abilities and strengths. Badges are magically made, not man-made.

"Here you go!"

Akashi looked up to find himself looking at the desk attendant handing him a case and a piece of paper.

"Please sign this paper to confirm that you accept the terms of joining the alliance guild!"

He nodded and took the quill from her and signed it.

"Thank you, good luck, and have many safe journeys!"

He was quite excited as he wanted to see his rank. He knew that he had to be a C-class or higher, right? Not many people pass the test portion of the application, and he was sure he was going to be among the top rankers.

His excitement turned into disappointment

There was a bronze color and a sword as its insignia, an E-ranked Knight. Luckily he saved up and bought a high-quality sword that should last him for two or maybe even three years. The sword cost 8 gold, quite expensive. The fact remains that he is an E-ranked individual who is stuck there. There have been people who broke through their limits and got a better rank, but it's very rare.

"I guess its time to find a job", he thought

The job listings were sorted from A-rank to the bottom, E-rank. The S ranked jobs are assigned from the alliance guild itself. Usually, S-ranked jobs require a large scale raid party, but S-ranked jobs aren't common to see.

"Hey there, you wanna party up?"

There was a voice behind him and he turned around, wondering who is behind him. There was a slender looking lady there with a pipe in her mouth. A group of five men followed behind her and she looked at him right in the eye. Her badge was Emerald and had a staff.

"An A-ranked mage...", he muttered under his breath.

She looked at him and her face lit up like a light bulb

"Indeed I am! Would you like to join us? We saw that you just got your badge and we would like to show you the ropes. We can also show you how to use that sword on the field too!"

Akashi got a little skeptical at her proposal but gave in as seeing that all six of them looked confident in their skills. He nodded and she gave him a smile.

"Great! We'll leave shortly!"

He thought nothing of it and the group sat down. He looked around and spotted a group of five walking in. The room grew silent as everybody watched them sit down at the table. Everybody knew who they were. Their gear was top of the line and their skill was unparalleled with any other adventurer out there. The guilds name was "Ghosts". Most people don't know why the leader of the guild, Leo, decided on that name, but nobody questioned it. Leo was a normal human but the others in the group were much different. Jin-Ae, a female vampire. Echo, a male beastmen. Xero, a male demi-human. Namo, a female Elf. All of these members are ranked S. There has been some rumors that Leo has an interest in Jin-Ae, but none of that can be confirmed.

"Hey newbie~! Come on! We're leaving to kill some goblins."

He snapped out of his thoughts and started to follow Ellie. It was a small movement, but Akashi thought he saw Jin-Ae look at him, but he shrugged it off as he thought her golden hair suited her red eyes.

They had set out to the red cliff plains, as that is where most of the goblins are. There are other monsters but this is the weakest they can find at the moment.

"Alright newbie, let's see you fight."

He just got there and he was already being put on the spot. This isn't a dream any longer, it's a reality for him, and he's going to try his best.

"Oh well.", he thought.

It couldn't be helped, Ellie must have wanted to see what he is capable of. But...

What she had in mind was something much more tactful...

"I have to achieve it...."