There were three people sitting behind the counter.

Only one of them is a guy.

The two girls seem to be popular amoung the male adventurers, since there was a long line for the two of them.

Naturally, I wanted to go for one of the cute receptionists but the long wait kinda turned me off.

"Seems like Ehrue and Laine are as busy as ever."

Her eyes shifted towards the young boy stacking papers on his desk.

"At least Rupert's hands are free. Let's go bother him for a while."

Taking me by the hand, Zel approached the brown haired receptionist.

"Rupert, can I bother you for a second?"

"Miss Zel? Oh! Miss Zel! Of course! Anything I can help you with?"

Now that I got a closer look at him, I've got to admit, he looked pretty damn cute.

He seemed like he was a year or two younger than me but he had that tired look in his eyes like my sister after studying for her finals. Still, he looked at us with a friendly smile after he put away the quests and notices.

"Yes, perhaps you can help my friend Arthur here to register as an official adventurer."

Rupert took a long look at me from head to toe. His furrowed brows amd silent stare made me a little nervous.

"A new face in town, huh? Erm, do you have any experience with adventuring or exterminating monsters and the like?"

"Nope. I'm new to all of this."

I let out a sigh as I shrugged my shoulders. Rupert nodded and turned back to Zel.

"The last time you did this, the poor boy packed up his things immediately and went back home to his family's farm."

Rupert's tired tone made me look at Zel while she nervously chuckled.

How many times did she do this already?

"It's not my fault he almsot got mauled by a Dire Wolf."

"That's cause he didn't know how to use the damn spear you gave- Nevermind. Sir, are you sure you want to register as an adventurer?"

The look in his eyes pleaded me to tell him no. This is worrying, to be honest, but it's not like I have any other choice.

"Y-Yeah... I was thinking of applying as an adventurer in the future. The sooner I start, the better... right?"

The look in Rupert's eyes was filled with pity as he handed me the registration form and a quill.

"Alright. Well, my only request is that you take care of this girl in your quests."

Rupert shot a glare at Zel while I took the form and quill from his hands. I could hear Zel sighing beside me while she watched me write.

"You have surprisingly beautiful handwriting."

"Thanks, I used to practice calligraphy."

Surprisingly, I know how to write in the language in this world. It still looks weird to me, but I can understand it pretty well.

Arthur McKinley 16 Male December 19, 2003

"That's a strange date..."

Rupert muttered out as he took a look at my birthday.

"Oh, sorry. We use a different calendar in my country."

Nice excuse.

"Oh, so you're 16? So I'm older than you by three years then."

"You're 19?"

"Yeah. My birthday came up just a few months ago."

I stared at her for a moment before I continued to fill out the form.

"Guess I was right."

"What?"

"Nothing."

I thought she was 20 or something.

Zel pouted while I continued to fill out the questions about why I decided to become an adventurer and my experience in the field.

After filling it out, I handed it back to Rupert who only gave it a glance before stowing it away in a drawer.

"Well, I'll take a look at that later."

Rupert chuckled while he pulled out a small bottle of black ink to dip the quill in.

"You mean it's not really that important?"

"What? No, it gives the guild an idea of your character and background. It also helps us track down family members in the event that you're killed."

Rupert said those things nonchalantly as he pulled out a small card.

"Well, if you do stay in this town, I'm sure you'd be fine."

Rupert handed me the empty card before pulling out a small knife.

"Anyways, let's go test the potency of your magic. Just prick your finger with this and drip some blood onto the card."

"W-What?! Why do I need to do that?"

Rupert sighed as he pointed at the card that I'm holding.

"That's magical paper. It measures the magical energy flowing in your blood."

I looked at the card once more. It looks like old, pulpy paper to me, even feels like it.

Taking the knife, I took a deep breath before running my thumb over its sharp edge.It still stung even if I was expecting it, but at least the cut wasn't that deep.

It still stings though.

I pressed down on the card with my thumb, smudging my blood near the corner. Nothing happened for a while, the two looking anxiously at the card while we waited for a sign.

"Look, I don't think I have any magic-"

Before I could finish, the card I was holding exploded with a myriad of colors. Everyone in the other queues and the two girls beside Rupert looked at awe and confusion as I dropped the now blazing and steaming card on the floor.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

I yelled out as I waved my hand in the air. For some reason, the gauntlet caught on fire with this weird blue flame.

Everyone in the guild gathered around the three of us while Rupert watched in disbelief as the card lit up with colorful sparks and bright light.

I finally put out the flame on my hand when the card exploded beside my foot. It was surprising, but it didn't really do any damage so it's alright.

"That was... bizzare."

Rupert muttered out as the sound of paper being flipped through made me look at his hands.

"Never seen something like that before."

"Me neither."

"Is that guy some powerful mage or somethin'?"

"I don't like the look of this."

The sound of people murmuring and talking between themselves spread across the guild as staff and other receptionists rushed over to clean up the mess. Others tried to calm the curious and uneasy crowd while Zel and I ignored everyone's whispers and murmuring.

"It says here that you're not familiar with magic right? No prior experience, no encounter, basically you have no clue about what magic is, right?"

Rupert asked shakily as he read through my registration form once more.

"Yeah. I don't even know magic existed until a day ago."

"A-And your country of origin is from A-America, correct?"

I nodded in reply.

"Zel... Who- No, What did you bring in this time?"

Rupert raised his voice slightly while Zel just scratched her head in confusion.

"I don't even know what just happened. I can't even comprehend how one can overload a magical card like that."

Zel glanced at me for a moment before looking at the pile of dust currently being swept away by a small Elf receptionist.

"I think the Guild Master has an answer for this but he won't be back for a month or so. W-Well, for now, why don't we finish your registration?"

Rupert shakily handed me a square, metal plate while everyone around us watched anxiously.

"What the hell am I gonna do with this? And don't tell me it's gonna fucking explode like the last one!"

Rupert shrunk back at my words as he pointed at the sheet of metal that I'm holding.

"Just press your hand there and it will basically tell us your level and skill points."

I stared at the cold piece of metal between my hands while I pondered on whether or not to do what he says. If this damn thing explodes, it might send shrapnel everywhere.

"Fine. Fuck it, let's just do this."

I could feel everyone tense up around me and even Zel covered her head as I pressed the palm of my hand onto the metal plate.

Nothing happened.

"Phew, for a second there I thought it was- Oh shit!"

I immediately dropped the plate onto the desk and everyone immediately ducked for cover. Zel grabbed my hand and yanked me to the ground beside her.

For a moment, nothing really happened. Then another moment passed, then another.

"W-Wait, oh! It's a success!"

Rupert broke the silence with his nervous laughter as he took a closer look at the metal plate.

Everyone let out a sigh of relief as well before shakily standing up, their eyes still on me. Zel just sighed while murmuring something under her breath.

"Arthur, that's your Adventurer Plate."

She pointed at the the metal plate Rupert's holding.

"Adventurer Plate? Strange, what is it?"

"Oh, it helps adventurers keep track of their progress."

Rupert said as he handed me the metal plate.

"It contains all the information regarding your stats, levels, skills, and even the monsters you've slain."

Zel furrowed her brows while we took a closer look at my Adventurer's Plate.

Stats Job Skills Strength 10 N/A Vitality 8 Class Dexterity 9 N/A Magical Affinity 15 Sub-Class Agility 10 N/A Intelligence 14 Luck 20 20 Skill Points Available

"Okay, so all that's left is to pick your Job and Class."

Rupert said as he took a look at my Adventurer's Plate.

"Looking at your stats, I would recommend going for the Mage class since your Intelligence and Magical Affinity stats are above average."

"What about the luck one?"

Zel and Rupert chuckled at the mention of the word.

"Luck isn't that useful of a stat honestly. It's good for merchants and gamblers, but if it's only used in battle to increase the chances of something random to happen."

"Oh. I see."

To be honest, that sounded fun.

Sure it's a troll thing to do, but I really wanted to see just how far I can push it.

"Anyways, back to the topic... Yeah, your stats are pretty average besides those three I just mentioned. You could choose any Job you want with those stats."

"Okay. What are the Jobs?"

Rupert scratched his head while he chuckled.

"Oh right. Silly me! I forgot to tell you about that. There are five Jobs basically to choose from and these Jobs dive-"

"Yeah, I kinda get it already. A Job is basically what do I specialize in, right? What are the types of Jobs?"

Rupert looked at me with a slightly irked expression before scratching his head.

"It's basically Rogue, Fighter, Magic User, Support or Cleric, and Archer. There are others like Scholar, Artisan, and Merchant but you need to go to their respective guilds to access those."

"Oh, I see! Anyways, where is the Sworduser class?"

"Swordsman. It's Swordsman and it's under the Fighter class."

Naturally.

"Okay, so how do I pick that?"

Zel was hiding her laugh while Rupert rubed his eyes in frustration.

"Just tap the part where it says Job and letters will appear there. That's how you choose your Job."

I immediately did what he said and sure enough, words formed on the plate. I tapped the one that said 'Fighter' and I felt a slight tingling sensation at the tip of my finger as the word etched itself onto the Adventurer's Plate. I did the same with the class and I chose the 'Swordsman' class.

Thankfully, I always have the option to change my Class and Job in the future. At least, that's what Rupert and Zel said.

I don't really know if that's even viable.

Stats Job Skills Bonuses Strength 10 Fighter Empowered Strike Gift of Tongues Vitality 8 Class Extended Thrust Blessing of Illyria Dexterity 9 Swordsman Magical Affinity 15 Subclass Agility 10 N/A Intelligence 14 Luck 20 20 Skill Points Available

The three of us took a look at my Adventurer Plate and just stared at it.

"Hopefully, you unlock your subclass soon. And hopefully, it will be Zel that will be teaching you these things."

Rupert sighed as he sunk back into his chair. Earlier, he looked tired but now he's exhausted and it shows on his face and blank eyes.

"A-Are we done?"

"Pretty much. By the way, I've never seen those bonuses before."

Rupert pointed at the new column on my Adventurer's Plate.

"But I'll just let the Guild Master deal with that can of worms when he gets back. Anyways, I'd like to officialy congratulate you on becoming an Adventurer!"

He tried to sound happy and cheerful, but at this point, it's pretty clear that he's worn out already. The other staff at the back still clapped for me, which is nice.

"W-Welcome to your new life as an adventurer."

"Thanks!"

Rupert waved weakly as Zel and I walked away from the reception desk and to the front door.

"I have a bad feeling about that party."

"So, since we're in the same job, you can learn some of my skills."

"Yeah, quick question, are you sure this is safe?"

The two of us stood in the middle of the empty alley behind the guild. It was spacious enough to move around freely, but I'm not sure about the swords.

"Of course, this is where I usually practice my swordsmanship."

Zel spoke with a cool and calm voice while she did some flashy moves with her sword.

"Neat. Anyway, how do I learn to wield a sword?"

"Well, all you need to do is see the skill and it will appear on your plate. The problem is that you might have some trouble executing it."

That was kinda disappointing but beggars can't be choosers.

"Although, I could teach you the basics of swordsmanship and you can practice on your own once you're done with the basics."

I nodded as I drew my sword from its sheathe.

"Hmm? I thought you didn't have any experience with swords?"

Zel smiled while she readied her stance.

"I don't. Why?"

"Well, for starters..."

She adjusted my footing slightly with a tap from her sword's flat side.

"Your stance is pretty good for someone who's never held a sword before."

I gulped at her words while she stood beside me with a smiliar stance.

You know, I could handle being around girls and even talk to some of them if I'm familiar with them but this is too much for me. But this is no time to get excited over some beautiful girl while she teaches me how to swing a sword!

"So, are you ready?"

"Y-Yeah. I guess."

The leather handle of the sword felt tough and hard as I tightly gripped it. Oddly enough, it felt just like a tutorial in a videogame, except this time I have to focus not just on the actions, but on restraint as well.

I need to relax myself. Relax.

It's just a lesson on how to use a sword. Don't think about anything else. Don't-

"Arthur, are you feeling alright?"

A warm hand grasped my shoulder and it felt like a shock just ran through my body. It felt like all of my strength was just sapped away with her touch.

"Why did I die a virgin?! An introverted virgin?"

I cursed myself under my breath while Zel gave me a confused look.

God, this is hopeless.