Dragon-chan’s adventurer registration, part 2

Dragon-chan's adventurer registration, part 2

After getting the matches sanctioned by the guild, we and a group of about 20 or so other adventurers and guild staff moved to the sparring grounds, where I took off my cloak and squared off against Logan, who was wearing leather armor embroidered with gold thread. When a guild employee asked if we were ready, I instantly responded "Yes", however, Logan held up his hand.

"Are you sure I can't get you to stop this foolishness? You can't win against me or against Douglas, so I see no reason why you have to get hurt" (Logan)

"Don't worry about hurting me, you won't be able to land a solid hit on me. You just have to worry about not losing too pathetically" (Nene)

"Looks like words are wasted on this hothead... OK, I'm ready to start!" (Logan)

"Begin!" (Guild staff member)

At that signal, Logan ran up to me and delivered a quick punch towards my shoulder, which I deflected while dodging his left fist's follow-up strike. Immediately after, I bent over backwards to dodge his spinning kick, continued the motion, and delivered a solid kick to his groin as I did a backflip. As soon as I got onto my feet, I ran up to him and delivered an uppercut to his solar plexus, launching him about five meters into the air while he passed out. Before he hit the ground, I used wind magic to slow his fall such that he hit the ground at a speed similar to if he had simply fallen off of a half-meter height.

"Uh... Uh... Th... The winner is... Nene, I guess? Good lord, I did not see that one coming at all" (Ref)

"Could you be any more patronizing?" (Nene)

While I said that, I healed Logan's injuries, all of which were minor, and helped him to his feet

"Also, sorry about the kick to the groin, I figured it'd be the fastest way to end the match, but I forgot to keep your pain to a minimum, as well as forgetting to help you not lose too much respect from the others..." (Nene)

"It's fine, my respect would already hit rock bottom from losing to a little girl, and it doesn't hurt thanks to your healing magic. Thanks for the fight, it taught me that I shouldn't judge someone by their looks... or age" (Logan)

"You're welcome, I guess? Besides, a year from now, you won't be judged for losing to a little girl, as that little girl would be an S rank adventurer... Or at least A rank in half a year" (Nene)

I looked over at his party, and saw the female elven Archer (Party member D) laughing while doubled over, the template big-busted healer-type girl (Party member A) covering her eyes, and the Mage Douglas having an expression showing a mix of respect for me, sympathetic pain for Logan, and anxiety about his fight against me... and he was also holding up the archer, who seemed to be about to do a faceplant, with a posture like he'd done so a hundred times.

"Yo, Douglas, you ready for our match? I want to get this over with so I can be back in time for dinner!" (Nene)

"Give me a moment to hand Marcella over to Logan... and to figure out the best spell to crush the damned idiot who thought that I could be bested by one with next to no experience in battling another mage" (Douglas)

Two minutes later, Logan was holding onto Marcella as she was still chuckling every time she looked at him, Douglas was standing about 10 meters away from me, and the Ref was off to the side, asking if we were ready to start

""Ready!"" (Nene and Douglas)

"Begin!" (Ref)

And so, the fated battle between an adult mage and a magically gifted child began... Is what I'd like to say, but... it came about due to bad luck on the part of all parties involved... and the child technically has lived longer than the 15 year old Douglas (an age I found out later, but we'll ignore that bit)... and the magical gift is the result of hard work and a solid understanding of science this world won't know for a few more centuries, not innate talent... So, that cliched line is one that I won't utter... OK, how should I begin the description of this fight... uh... AH! (Light bulb appears overhead)

With that single word from the Ref, all hell broke loose... and by that, I mean I won the fight in one move that reminds one of hell to see it, and makes one feel hell when hit by it

"{Hellfire mantle}!" (Douglas)

"{Curst Flames of Gehenna}!" (Nene)

"MATCH OVER!!!" (Ref)

I quickly dispelled my flames, which had devoured Douglas's flames and moved on to wrap around him, and used purification magic on him, as he had fainted due to the flame's curse inducing the illusory feelings of his skin turning molten, his blood vaporizing, his bones turning into so much black and white pudding, as his eyes exploded in his skull...

I have no regrets... I mean, he was always projecting an air of smug superiority as well as acting like nothing was worth him expending effort... Serves him right... No, I should apologize, I went overboard. While my spell was non-lethal, it has been known to drive people insane, and there was a time when it was used as a means of torture and as a way to make those watching executions feel like the convict suffered before death... That was going too far...

"Douglas, I must say I am extremely sorry... I used that spell because you made me very mad by both calling me a damned idiot, as well as saying that I have no experience with magical battles... I have spent almost a full year fighting as a mage, and I've had to use that very spell on my comrades to incapacitate or snap them out of having been put under an obedience curse, charmed by a monster, or afflicted with the berserk status. When I heard you say that I have no experience, I felt like you were saying the suffering I and my friends went through wasn't real, and I lost my cool for just a moment. I sincerely apologize. To make up for it, and to thank you for reminding me of a reason to put more effort into my self control, I will give you three things:

First, two magic stones. This red one is one that, if you pour magical power into it, will call me, and I will almost certainly be there within a minute or two to help you with whatever you need. Please use it only when you truly need my help. I'll also give you this green one for if you just want to talk, if you so wish.

Second, a set of ten health potions that can restore someone from death's door, and a set of ten mana potions that will restore all of your mana when consumed.

Third, this cloak pin... It bestows the effect of tripling your mana pool, as well as tripling the power of all your spells while cutting the mana consumption to one third. Pour magical power into it while I do so, and it will be bound to you instead of me, and it could be called back to you if it is ever stolen or lost. I hope it serves you well, I have no need of it. I have enough mana, and my spells are plenty powerful already... actually, I would be worried about the amount of damage a simple fireball would do if I cast it while wearing this... It also functions as a large item bag with a time-stop function, able to store a fully grown wyvern without it rotting if you so need.

I hope that I can call you my friend, a hope born out of respect for one who, like me, has mastered the full extent of fire magic, as evidenced by your masterful use of hellfire mantle... sadly, you were up against someone who could meld fire and dark magic of the highest levels. If anyone else were your foe in 1v1 combat, I have almost no doubt that you'd win. I can only think of five spells and seven weapons that can outright destroy or pierce {Hellfire Mantle}, and four of those weapons are ones that I know nobody uses, or are only used by me, while two more weapons are so picky about their users that they only get used by one person in 1000 years. With the mastery of fire you have, I think you could probably beat the imperial court archmage in 3/5 matches... Actually, I'd pay good money to see those fights, were they to happen" (Nene)

Douglas smiled, took the gifts, and gave me a hesitant handshake.

"I'd like to call you my friend too. I hope you can help out in my times of need, and I will do all I can to help in your times of need... not that that's going to happen, you are way out of my league. Anything you can't do, I can't do anything about either. Still, if you want to talk, I'll be happy to talk when I have the chance" (Douglas)

As he finished saying that, the guildmaster called me to his office, where he told me that I didn't need to undergo the normal tests, and that I could start at rank D if I so wished.

"I would indeed like to start at rank D, the F and E rank requests of herb gathering and Wolf harvesting are easy, but boring. I thank you for your kind offer" (Nene)

"You... you talk like someone used to diplomacy and who was brought up in a refined household. Are you, by any chance, the illegitimate child of some noble or something like that?" (Guildmaster)

"No, I am not a noble, nor an illegitimate child of anyone. I am simply the blood descendant of the mother and father who raised me, and I learned etiquette out of hope that I could, maybe, serve in the palace or get married to some noble's son" (Nene)

With that conversation out of the way, I obtained my guild card:

Name: Nene

Age: 5

Occupation: Magic Knight

Adventurer Rank: D

And just like that, I set out on my path to become the greatest adventurer, without slacking off on my training to become the best empress I could possibly be.