Inside, seated near the door, was a young woman around 18–20 years old. He approached her and asked for rooms.
"We'd like two rooms."
Seeing the wrapped-up child in his arms, the girl nodded,
"Follow me," she said, leading Valorant upstairs. She opened a door on the second floor, and Valorant entered, laying Attu on the bed and sitting in a nearby chair. He placed a hand on Attu's forehead.
"The boy seems to be in bad shape. I'll call a doctor."
"No need for a doctor. I know how to care for him."
"Are you a doctor?"
"No, but I know what to do."
"In that case, is there anything else I can help with?"
"Our carriage is outside. My companion is still in it. Please wake him. He'll know what to do."
"If you need anything, just call me. I'll be nearby. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Rebecca." She then left the room.
A while later, Scott entered, his eyes filled with worry.
"I'm sorry, Valorant. The boy got sick because of me."
"It's not your fault. Attu simply caught a cold. He'll recover after some rest. His condition doesn't warrant your guilt. I'll stay with him tonight. You go downstairs and get a room from Rebecca. Rest up."
"Understood, Valorant. I'll be nearby if you need anything," Scott said and left to get his room key.
Valorant spent the night by Attu's side, using his green flame to heal him. He gently placed it on Attu's forehead and body to restore his strength.
When morning came, I woke up and opened my eyes. Looking around, I realized I was in an unfamiliar room. With no one nearby to ask where I was, I got up to leave—but just then, a girl entered.
"Oh! You're awake."
"Excuse me… who are you?"
"My name's Rebecca. I'm the assistant to the manager of the Golden Goose inn. And what's your name?"
"I'm Attu. How did I end up here?"
"You better ask the old man downstairs! He brought you here. It's breakfast time anyway, come on."
I followed Rebecca downstairs. As I reached the stairs, I spotted my master seated among a crowd of people. I walked over and sat beside him.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Yes. I feel fine now."
"Good."
"Where's Scott?"
"He went to tend to the horses."
"So, what's the plan for today?"
"We're heading to the Adventurers' Guild."
"What's that?"
"It's the place where we can sell the wolves' horns."
Rebecca came over and placed our breakfast on the table, joining the conversation.
"Where are you headed? The local guild?"
"Yes, that's right."
"I can tell you where it is—of course, not for free! And by the way, you still owe me for last night's stay."
Master reached into his pocket, pulled out a pouch of coins, and placed five silver coins on the table. Rebecca's eyes sparkled at the sight.
"I think that's enough. Now, tell us where the guild is."
"It's not far—just three streets over. You'll see a building with a bunch of armed men out front. That's our local guild. Look for a girl named Silviya. Tell her I sent you, and things will go smoothly."
After finishing our meal, Master and I left the inn and headed toward the guild.
"Master, are we just leaving Scott behind?"
"I already spoke to him. We'll depart around noon. We have time to sell the wolf horns before then."
"I wanted to ask you something else."
"Yes?"
"How did I get to the inn?"
"You froze while riding in front of the carriage. You were burning up with fever. So I brought you here myself."
[I caused trouble for Master. I should thank him.]
"Master Valorant."
"Yes?"
"Thank you!"
"No need to thank me. Just keep training so this never happens again."
"I will!"
We arrived at the Adventurers' Guild. As Rebecca had said, there were plenty of armed adventurers gathered around.
Despite the cold and snow, the streets were bustling and lively. We made our way through the crowd and stood in front of the guild's entrance.
As we stood in front of the guild's entrance, Master grabbed my collar and pulled me aside. I didn't understand what was happening.
[Why did Master pull me by the collar?] I wondered, when suddenly a man was thrown out of the door.
"Watch where you're going!"
I nodded in response, as if to say "okay," and stepped back toward the entrance. Just then, a large muscular man came out of the door. Once he had passed, we entered the guild.
Inside, the place was a mess—furniture overturned, broken objects scattered everywhere. A girl was picking up the debris and straightening the tables. Master and I walked up to her.
"Good morning. You wouldn't happen to be Silviya, would you?"
"Yes, I'm Silviya. How can I help you?"
"Rebecca recommended you to us."
"Oh? If Rebecca sent you... you must be here to sell something?"
"Yes. And I'd also like to register this young man," he said, gesturing to me.
Hearing that, I was surprised.
[Is Master planning to register me as an adventurer? Why would he do that?]
"Alright then, wait a moment. To register, head over there," she said, pointing to a desk.
We went to the registration table where Silviya had directed us, while she continued cleaning up the broken items. I turned to Master to ask what was going on.
"Master, are you really registering me?"
"You need a sword like mine. With your current blade, you can't perform the techniques I showed you against the snow wolves."
"Do I need a magic sword to use those techniques?"
"What did you think?"
"Can't I use a regular sword?"
"Your sword is too fragile. You might be able to swing it five times before it breaks. My sword can handle such techniques endlessly."
"Ah, I understand now. So that's why we hunted the snow wolves."
"Exactly."
"Where do we get such swords?"
"They're specially crafted by dwarves who live deep in the Earth Kingdom. Since your flame is blue, you'll need one made specifically for you. But you can't go there yet, so for now, you'll use a standard sword made for Eternal Flame techniques."
"How much does it cost?"
"It's custom-made in another country, so of course it's not cheap. But since you can't afford that now, start working to earn money and buy one later."
"Understood. I'll do my best from now on."
While we talked, Silviya returned to the desk.
"Sorry about the mess! What would you like to sell?"
"The horns of snow wolves."
"Really? This is the first time this winter someone's brought in snow wolf horns. Where did you hunt them?"
"They attacked us during yesterday's heavy snowfall."
"I see. How many horns did you bring?"
"Check the contents of this sack," Master said, placing a bag on the desk.
Silviya opened it and began counting. There were 24 horns in total.
"Twenty-four horns... Each one is worth 10 silver coins. Are you selling them?"
"Yes. Also, please register this young man."
"Alright, I'll go get the coins and paperwork," she said and went into the back room with the sack of horns.
While she was gone, we picked up some fallen chairs and sat down. At that moment, the guild doors opened and the same muscular man who had been thrown out earlier returned. I watched as he noticed me looking at him. He walked over and spoke.
"Hey kid, you're sitting in my seat…"
Before he could finish, I stood up and offered him the chair. I grabbed another nearby and sat down again. The man laughed.
"Didn't they teach you to listen till the end? Since you sat there, you gotta pay for it too."
"You wanted your seat, now take it and sit."
My response left him speechless. He reached out, trying to grab me by the collar—but Master stopped him by grabbing his arm. The man tried to pull free but couldn't budge. Master had locked his grip.
"You old bastard!" the man shouted, trying to punch Master.
In a flash, Master twisted the man's arm and kicked him out the door.
[I've got to hand it to Master—he threw an 80-kilogram man out the door with one kick. He's amazing.]
"People here sure are rude," Master said.
Just then, Silviya returned with a tray carrying a scroll, a glowing orb, two gold coins, and forty silver coins.
"Here's your reward, ."
"I'll take the two gold coins. The rest is for him," Master said, looking at me.
[It feels great to earn money through hard work. I'm really happy.]
"Who's being registered?"
"I am."
"Alright, how old are you?"
"Twelve."
"Good, that's old enough. If you were under eleven, I couldn't register you. You're lucky. Now place your hand on the orb and direct your mana into it."
Relieved that I could register, I followed her instructions. As I placed my hand on the orb and channeled my mana, it began to shimmer before my eyes.
"That's enough. You can take your hand away now."
"That's it?"
"Yes, you're officially registered. If you look at the hand you placed on the orb, you'll see a mark. You can show that at any guild and they'll provide you with services."
I looked at my left hand. There were two rings and between them were the words "Northstat" and "2.12.2018."
"What do these mean?"
"That shows where and when you registered. Now, let's determine your rank," she said, placing the scroll over the orb.
Symbols began appearing on the scroll…
"Your current rank is D," Silviya said.
"Is that good?"
"Considering your age, yes. It's a good start."
"How many ranks are there?"
"There are six total: E, D, C, B, A, and S. Right now you're ranked D, which reflects your current physical condition and your ability to control mana."
"I see."
"Now that you've learned what you need, we should return to Scott."
"Alright. Silviya, is that everything? Can I leave now? Don't I need to write down my name or something?"
"No need for that. The mark on your hand already contains your identity and information. If you continue training and improve your mana control and physical strength, your rank will go up in the future."
"Then thank you very much."
"The Northstat Guild is proud to have you registered. Good luck on your hunts, Adventurer Attu!"
"See you!" I said, and we left the guild.
Once outside, we glanced around. That same bulky man from earlier was now getting up in front of the guild.
"Not enough, was it?" he growled.
"I'll show you what happens now!"
"You're going to take on one of the Seven Sages?" I added, praising Master.
Hearing me, Master slapped his forehead and shook his head. Everyone on the street turned to stare at us in shock.
"What did you just say?"
"That's nonsense!" the man shouted, trying to deny it.
But Master was already angry. He unleashed his Bloodlust Aura. The air grew heavy as everyone around us felt the overwhelming pressure of that aura. Fear appeared on every face. The man's voice caught in his throat.