A Transcender's Guide To Another World 15 Chapter 15: Poof

"Both of your applications have been reviewed and accepted. The test to determine your initial adventurer's rank for you both will be held tomorrow at 2 o'clock. Remember to show up and don't be late. You'll be automatically given the lowest starting rank if you fail to appear."

She handed us two inscribed metal cards, "Your tags will be given after the allocations of your initial ranks. For now, you can use these to stay at affiliated inns on a discount. Be sure to return it after you've received your official tags. Is there anything you would like to ask?"

I raised my hand, "Could you explain what a 'rank-allocation-test' is? How does the ranking system even work in the first place?" I asked a no-brainer question. The question took her by surprise. Based on her reaction, I can a.s.sume that I'm the only person who would ignorantly sign up as an adventurer without knowing a single thing about the occupation.

"Of course, I actually heard about it before. But those are just hearsays. I just wanna be sure about it, and who else to get the trustworthiest information if not from the person who works here?" I said smoothly, trying to save my face a little.

"Oh! I see… Let's see here.. Umm…" she fumbled her words, not knowing where to start.

I suddenly felt bad for springing her such a troublesome question, so I said "It's okay, you don't have to start from the beginning. It's fine if you could just explain about how the ranking system works."

She loosened up a little, "I'm sorry I couldn't be much help since I've just started. About the ranking system, however, I can elaborate. I'll start with the most general division of ranks an adventurer could have. The five official division of ranks in ascending orders are: Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Whenever a new adventurer joins a guild, they typically start with the lowest rank of metal; iron. But in recent decades, there had been some decline in the influx of new adventurers. Back in those days, most people would rather be hired as a mercenary or take on steadier jobs instead of being an adventurer. The cause of that could be accredited to a few major flaws in the guild's system, which the guild eventually solved. One of its solution being the creation of the test to determine your starting ranks. In the past, becoming an adventurer is almost no different than being a mercenary, where only pure fighting prowess is used to gauge an adventurer's worth. The criteria for ranking nowadays differs for each and every cla.s.ses, which are considered revolutionary for unorthodox cla.s.ses. For example, support cla.s.ses who don't usually possess fighting prowess, such as Healers or Seekers, now have their own separate criteria in order to determine their starting ranks and advancement requirement. Which started to draw higher amounts of applicants hoping to strike it big as adventurers. At the same time, the rules regarding the required ranks to accept a request also became stricter."

I digested her words for a moment. "Thanks. Your explanations are remarkably profound," I complimented. She responded with a smile. "And is it okay for me to know what kind of test they would conduct to rank us?" I continued.

She picked up my registration form and read it, "It says here that you are proficient in physical combat and possess no magical apt.i.tude. Which would mean that you'll most likely be tested according to the Fighter's cla.s.s ranking criteria. It usually involves sparring with a Silver-Rank adventurer. Your initial rank will then be decided depending on the examiner's opinion."

"What about mine? Could you please tell me about the test for Healers?" Liarelle inquired.

The clerk shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, but I don't really know much about it since Healers aren't really that common in the Adventurer's Guild."

"It's fine. Thank you."

"How do I tell whether an inn is affiliated with the guild?" I asked my next question.

"That's simple. Just look for any signboard that has the guild's insignia engraved on it."

"I see, thanks."

We thanked the clerk and the two of us exited the guild. The sun is slowly setting and shops had begun to close. We decided to search for an affiliated inn and retire for the night. Unfortunately for us, most of the affiliated inns near the guild had been fully booked, so we wandered around for an hour or so until finding one that isn't. The inn building looked a bit shabby compared to the ones at the inner district, with a small hanging sign board that reads "Waldo's Inn". We entered and found out it surprising clean despite its exterior. We took out the metal cards and showed it to the innkeeper, who then offered us 3 Silvers for the price of one small room with a bed - dinner and breakfast included. I turned to Liarelle and awaited her decision. Until recently, I had lived my life in Arthuri comfortably without having to pay a single coin. That's why I'm pretty much clueless when it comes to the benchmark of prices for the rest of the world. She gave a nod and we each fished out 3 Silvers and gave it to the innkeeper. We were then led to our respective rooms by one of his daughters. Inside of the room was a small bed, beside it was a heavy wooden chest that was mounted on the floor. Jena, the innkeeper's daughter handed us the two keys each. One for the door and another for the chest to secure our valuables. I chuckled whilst accepting the keys, knowing that I've got nothing but the clothes on my back and a pouch of coins. I should really buy some traveling supplies. Maybe I'll stop by the market and see what they've got tomorrow.

"We serve dinner at 8, tonight's menu is bread and bacon stew. Be sure to get down as soon as you hear the pot clangs or else it'll run out!" she said playfully. "We also provide baths for 8 Coppers if any of you wants to wash up."

"I guess I'll have one then. Please prepare it for me," Liarelle took out 8 Coppers from her satchel and handed it to Jena.

"Thanks, we'll draw one right up for you. I'll come up and let you know when it's ready," Jena scuttled away.

"Guess I'll get hit the bar and get some drinks. Might find some leads by listening," I said.

"Okay."

I walked downstairs and chose a spot where I can easily see anyone entering the inn. In this case, exiting it. I saw a familiar figure walking out the inn and promptly followed. He gave me a side glance, made a slight gesture with his head, and walked into a nearby alleyway. My gut told me that this was a bad idea since there had been many stories in my world where going in a dark alley seldom ends well. I swallowed my saliva and trusted the person I followed. As a precaution, I tried to peek at the alleyway before waltzing to my potential doom. I squinted my eyes and saw the figure leaning on the wall, waiting for me. "What are you doing, Mike? I just want to talk," Alan said with an accent that sounded eastern to me.

"The h.e.l.l man? You brought me out to the alleyway just for a chat? Can't we do it in the inn like normal people does, instead? And didn't you left already?"

He shook his head in disappointment, "You have no sense of dramatism, Mike." He looked at me with his mysterious eyes, glimmering faintly under his hood. "I came here to warn you. As a parting gift to a friend. That priestess girl with you. She isn't completely honest about what she is," he said, sounding critical.

"What do you mean, Alan?" I asked, nervous.

"That night, when we fought those bandits. Remember when one of them took her away?"

"Uhh, yeah? You killed the bandit and saved her right?"

"No, Mike. I didn't."

"Then who-"

"Liarelle did. The bandit was already dead by the time I arrive. His body was ripped into shreds. Blood was on the ground, on the trees, everywhere.. everywhere but on her. I didn't think it was her who did that at first, but then I saw her eyes. They were different, Mike."

"..." I was speechless, I didn't know how to react to the information I was given.

"I've said what I wanted to say. You'll probably not see me again. Be safe, Mike."

"Alan, wait-"

*poof* a puff of smoke exploded from the ground and when it finally cleared up, so did he. d.a.m.n it, he pulled a freaking Ninjutsu on me. No wonder he chose the alleyway to talk. I made my way back to the inn and found that my spot had been already taken by another guest. I searched for the next best spot and sat, my mind running through possibilities based on the data I have. I called the barmaid over and ordered a regular-sized mug of ale. Meanwhile, I continued thinking and decided on a temporary course of action. I will continue as I always have with Liarelle whilst keeping an eye on any irregularities. It's simple, carefree, and also the likeliest to get me killed.

Even so, I decided to go ahead and trust my gut. If the girl who drained herself dry just to save a comrade despite being the midst of battle really did decide to kill anybody, then I'll be the one to bury the body.

The barmaid arrived with my drink, "Here you go, sir. That'll be 5 Coppers."

I handed over a silver coin. She took it and handed me my change. I checked my pouch and counted my wealth. Back in Arthuri, as part of a deal I made, I had received a salary befitting my position over there. I remembered counting around 2000 Gold in my savings about a few months ago. I almost cried while thinking of that, considering I have only one gold a few more silvers left in there. I really miss cashless banking, where you simply enter the amount of money and voila! Money sent!

Liarelle arrived and sat together with me. Her hair still a little damp and gave off a bit of flowery scent. Dinner time arrived and we lined up to have some of Waldo's special bread and bacon soup. We finished up dinner and went to bed early for tomorrow.