The Beginning Of The Ruler
Chapter 28: Registration as Adventurer

Anjir I was surprised to get a message, so you readers please read my other novel well so I can get a contract, huff~ really I am surprised!.

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"Crying won't work! Shouldn't you be used to the water by now, Eve?"

"Kyuuuu ..." Eve finally escaped my grasp and rushed out of the bathroom, still dripping with water.

"Haa.." I shook my head after I finished bathing myself.

Dressed in nothing but a simple t-shirt and pants, I looked for the last time in the room where I had lived for the past few months, printing out the picture. I put on my gloves and ring, packed my coat and mask along with a few other necessities into my bag. I tied my short Dawn's Fallout and Katana to my waist before walking out.

"Trust Viona when things get tough. He may be the youngest but do not doubt his strength and experience as an adventurer," suggested my father as he pulled me into his last arms.

"Why did Brother and Eve leave? Nah! Stay right here!" My younger sister is now shocked by the realization that I will not be home for a while. He gripped my waist and refused to let go as he used his weight to hold me.

"Darling, your brother's coming back, okay?" My mother tried to comfort him.

"No no no no no! Stay right here!" sister demands. He refused to listen to the reason and started shouting with teary eyes.

On my knees, I wrapped Alicia in my arms as I patted her on the back. "I know you're a big boy now. Can you protect Mom and Dad while I'm gone, Alicia?"

“UUuuu...hic...I can protect them..” he replied in a muffled voice, buried his head on my shoulder.

Releasing it, I scanned my sister's face, wiping away the tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Girl Sister. Your brother will be gone for a while, but I will be back. I feel a lot better because we have someone as strong as my little sister here to protect this house."

"Yes!" he supported vigorously, his eyes filled with a newfound determination.

Clapping his head, I gave Mom and Dad a final hug.

"We're gonna miss you. Don't forget to keep the ring on your finger, okay?" My mother hugged me tightly.

"Stay safe and know your limits, White." Dad put a hand on my shoulder and looked at me, waiting for an answer.

Know my limits, I repeated to myself, giving a firm nod to my father.

After the farewell was over, I went down the front stairs to where Viona had been waiting.

I waved for the last time, gesturing to my sister, who was waving both her hands while biting her lips so as not to cry, to comfort.

"Let's go, Viona," I said while wearing a mask and a coat.

He replied with a brief nod as we started heading downtown to Adventurer's Guild Vall.

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The Guild Hall was not what I expected. The clear picture of a place full of thugs sitting around a wooden table chugging beer was what I imagined. Instead, it was a building filled with prestige and luxury. The marble structure loomed over us like a sacred museum. Once inside, it is obvious the amount of work that has been put into the intricately designed interior. There was a table made of metal where I could see other adventurers glancing at us. The entire place had an atmosphere of luxury that was not suitable for me, let alone some barbaric-looking adventurers here, but I just continued my steps.

"Welcome! Can I help you?" The lady's receptionist's trained smile gleamed as white as a pearl.

Before I could answer, Viona tucked a piece of parchment at the woman.

"I want to sponsor him for the ranking exam." His face remained expressionless as he said briefly.

"Y-Yeah! I see," replied the receptionist, nodding his head earnestly while handing back the piece of paper. "Please, this way."

Getting up from her seat, the women opened the door beside us from the other side. When we entered, inevitably I noticed the slow muttering around us.

"Oy, someone's taking the rank exam" whispered someone.

"But it's just a girl and some masked midgets," another hoarse voice blatantly mocked.

I held every question I had and just followed the officer in silence. Passing through the door, we were led through a row of chairs behind a glass table where the receptionist was placed and into a small room.

The office was minimally decorated with two leather sofas positioned facing each other. At the end of the room was a dark wooden table facing the door; a slender man was sitting behind a neatly stacked pile of paper, writing something down with a quilted pen.

Awakened by the sound of his office door being opened, the man looked up to reveal a sharp and angled face. The head of black hair that I had seen all this time split in the middle and reached past his thin neck. Behind her thick, frameless glasses was a pair of sharp eyes that were staring at us intently.

"A-Class Adventurer, Viona Flamesworth has asked for this ..." The officer's voice disappeared as she looked at me carefully. ". The man who will be brought in for the rank exam."

"Yes, I know enough about Miss Flamesworth. You can wait outside, Mary." The slender man waved at him as he stood up from his seat. "Miss Flamesworth, how are you today? I met your father not long ago."

Viona only gave a brief nod, which hardly resembled a bow, as the man approached us. Her expression grew sharper since entering this room, but when mentioning her father, Viona's hands clenched.

"So, nice to meet you." The man turned his attention to me, finally acknowledging my presence. "My name is Peter Bladeheart, and I'm in charge of this branch. I think you must have a close relationship with Miss Flamesworth. Is there a name I can use to call you?" His gaze shot up and down as he quickly assessed me.

"Kye!" Eve answered as my replacement.

I have made Eve change back to her original form during my time as an adventurer so that her horns stand out and her red spikes are visible.

"I went with Noir" I replied rudely. The name didn't mean much and was made mindlessly based on the blue line that passed through the left eye slit; it reminded me of one and a half notes.

Peter's eyes widened in shock but he quickly recovered, responding with a casual smile. Moreover, seeing which ferocious beast did not seem to surprise him, what I expected was because of his work. "Yes! Well.. Mr. Noir, we will continue with Miss Flamesworth here as your sponsor. Do you know how this is going to work?"

Shaking my head, I let him explain. "A class B adventurers or higher are entitled to sponsor new adventurers for the exam. Depending on how well you do, this exam will give you the opportunity to be placed into the appropriate rankings. This way, you can avoid unnecessary struggles starting from scratch. The ranking exam will only consist of a practical part. Now, judging from your weapon, I can assume that you are a fighter or augmenter, huh?" He looked puzzledly at the black stick tied around my waist under my short sword.

"Yes." Yeah."

"okay! Normally, there would be a quick application along with a core examination of where you were before the exam, but since Miss Flamesworth is here sponsoring you, I will ignore it," he continued while opening another door at the end of his office. "Mary, take the two to the exam room."

"Y-Yeah!" The receptionist, who had been waiting outside the room, entered hurriedly and led us to the back door. "Please, Mr. Noir, Miss Flamesworth, this way."

I peeked at Jasmine through my mask as we walked down the long corridor. Is this the reason why he wanted to be the one to follow me? Flamesworth House is mentioned with a reasonable level of respect, but what exactly is Flamesworth House?

I was forced to squint as my eyes tried to adjust to the sudden change in brightness as we exited the dark passageway. As the dazzling light subsided, I could see the details of the hall we were in. The brightly lit area is a ground-floored indoor arena with standard theater seats that look more like exaggerated staircases. While most of the seats were empty except for the ten people scattered, there was a tense atmosphere as everyone's eyes focused on the two people in the middle of the arena.

"Please, follow me to your seat. There are quite a number of examinees today so if you stay seated until the examiner calls your name, it will greatly help speed up the process." The receptionist gave us a final bow, quickly, before rushing back to the row of stone chairs.

Placing Eve between Jasmine and me, I leaned forward to get a better view of the two fighters who were about to duel. Viona just leaned in apathy with her legs crossed.

"Well!" the larger bald man roared as he swung his polearm. It was clear that he was at a disadvantage against his opponent. The man he was fighting was average in stature with short black hair and a jagged scar running down his cheek, but he easily avoided all the wide swings of the bald man.

The wounded fighter had an apathetic expression like that of Viona. He didn't even bother to use the broadsword he had in his right hand as he continued to wander around the brash attacks of his bald opponents.

His face was red in frustration, the bald fighter yelled, "Take this!" The fact that he had announced his next attack meant he was confident or he was just an amateur. In this case, it seems the last.

The pole he had raised high above his head suddenly started to emit a faint orange color as a heat wave surrounded his weapon. The injured man's expression changed from boredom to mild surprise.

"Destroy Hell!" the bald man roared as he slashed. Just like how Magician chanted spells to focus their intentions, many augmenters also chose to do similar things, such as voicing the name of their attacks. However, for such a simple step, it seemed excessive.

Even from up here, I could see the mocking sighs of the wounded man as he simply raised his greatsword to receive the attack.

The sharp ring of metal meeting metal resounded throughout the arena. However, the sight of the polearm spinning high in the air made it quite easy to determine who the winner of the exchange was.

A man's huge cue ball was gawking at his empty hand, seemingly surprised that his ace attack was so easy to handle.

“Your skills as a polearm user are non-existent and your battle senses are bad. You rely too much on physical strength compared to mana reinforcement, which makes the balance of your attacks disappear. It is said that you are just thirty years old.five but you are now only in the dark orange stage. I will usually put someone of your caliber in E-class but see how you have a fire affinity, if the small heating movement you just did could even be called fire, it could be called fire, I'll pass you as a D-class.almost not." The assessment of the injured examiner was brief and to the point, but I strongly agree with him.

"Next! Diane Whitefall!" the injured man shouted as the bald examinee desperately walked back to his seat, picking up his polearm along the way.

"Yes! I'm coming!" A woman on the other side of the stadium ran down a row of seats, almost stumbling along the way.

She was a freckled girl who looked like a teenager. She had curly brown hair tied back and wore a standard magician robe that looked more like a luxurious bathrobe. He fumbled to pull his wand out of his belt, but managed to get his position without dropping it.

Teasing and giggling spread throughout the arena from a rare audience, shrinking the girl—Diane—even more out of embarrassment.

"Waste of time. Just ignore this girl," the voice of a boy on my left caught my attention just as I saw him shaking his head mockingly.

The boy did not look much older than me, which surprised me. I did not expect that there would be someone so young trying to become an adventurer. While she was also wearing a magician robe, it was on a different level; it actually made Diane's robe look like a bathrobe in comparison. With her other decorations and jewelry, it was clear that she was a noble. With his medium blonde hair covering his ears and trimmed right above his dull green eyes, it was easy to tell that he was an attractive boy. With a permanent grin plastered on his face and the way he raised his chin a little so he always looked down on everything, I'm sure he considered himself a superstar.

However, what caught my attention was the shiny white wooden stick that was beside the boy. Embedded at the very top of the cane was a huge ruby-colored gem that glittered in the stadium lights.

He was a good example of someone rubbing me the wrong way, so I chose to turn my attention back to the stage.

The scar examiner who had examined the bald augmenter was sitting, replaced by a woman. The person, whom I assumed was a sorcerer examiner, wore a large conical mage hat that cast a shadow covering most of his face.

Tilting his hat back, I could see the instructor's pale face. His skinny eyes shot towards the audience before he let out a loud cough to make everyone calm down.

"Ahem! Eighteen-year-old Diane Whitefall, a sorcerer on a pitch-orange stage with one specialty in water. Let's start." The female examiner threw a notebook at the injured examiner and raised her gray staff.

Once a sorcerer reaches the orange stage, it is clear where his skills lie. Rather than wasting time trying to become proficient in all four elements, it was much more efficient to focus only on their highest affinity element. A single specialty, in his case, meant that he relied mainly on water spells. Double specialties and higher, there will be rigorous exams to see if you are truly proficient in the two elements.

Instantly, the speckled examinee muttered a spell, making water bubbles surround him.

The basics of fighting as a sorcerer were to prepare defensive measures. They do this because most are not adept at strengthening their bodies with mana.

Examiner Diane, however, did not cast a defensive spell but chose to attack.

"Sand storm!" the examiner yelled pale as the sandstorm whirled around the speckled girl and her defensive water bubbles.

A gust of sand fused with the water, turning Diane's defensive spell into a huge ball of mud. "Deliver!" The mud bubble exploded at the behest of the examinees. Jumping backwards, he muttered another spell while a distressed water ball started to form at the end of his wand.

[Aqua Cannon]

Instead of defending against the spell, the examiner nimbly avoided the water ball. Thinking back, I realized that this was the first time watching a duel between two Magician. This mock battle would be a good way to learn the difference in fighting styles between a long-range Magician and a melee augmenter.

"FLESH OUT!" the mottled teenager shouted as he swung his cane down. A thick ball of water exploded just as it passed through the examiner, filling the stadium with a cloud of dust.

The noble boy who was mocking the girl earlier shook his head in disdain.

"He's not bad" muttered Viona beside me.

The small cloud of dust that covered the instructor from sight began to disappear to reveal that he was not there.

Suddenly, the examiner emerged from the ground behind Diane, and his staff lightly hit the top of the examinee's head.

"Eck!" Diane jumped forward in surprise.

"Should I say, your control is quite good, Miss Whitefall.you are a little overconfident in your last spell chain, not preparing for any defensive action, but overall, you are, efficiency in mana control and good casting speed. Class-C!"

Diane breathed a sigh of relief. Being a C-class adventurer at his age was a feat he could be proud of.

"Next! Verius Caspian!" Magician testers announced.

"This.." A few lines to my right, a boy who looked younger than the blond noble, stood up. He looked a bit unapproachable, with short jet-black hair coming down covering half of his forehead. She had a very serious expression behind the framed glasses that made her look more mature than her actual age. The boy wore simple beige long sleeves and black pants and did not carry any weapons. I half expected him to be an augmenter but the fact that the examiner didn't come out meant otherwise.

Suddenly, an employee who kept a note beside him ran towards the examiner and whispered something into his ear.

The pale-faced examiner's thin eyes widened before quickly regaining his composure.

"Caspian Verius, ten years old. I was just told about your special status. As of now, you are a B-class adventurer."

Class B at her age and she doesn't even need to be tested?

I could see the look of disbelief on everyone's faces. Even the face of the augmenter examiner was shocked as he stuck out his neck to get a better view of the boy.

The solemn boy simply bowed and sat back down without a word.

"Next! Mike Rolland!" examiner continued.

"Hmph! I think it's my turn!" The blond-haired noble boy leaped from his sitting position and casually took to the stage, with a stick in hand.

The examiner looked at his notes but this time, his voice sounded extremely shocked. "Mike Rolland, 11 years. Magician in.. bright orange stage! Single speciality in fire."

Whahuh? He's already on the bright orange stage? How is that possible?

Without slouching, Mike leaned lazily on his stick.

"Let's start," the examiner stated, clearly a little upset by the boy's lack of respect.

Upon his signal, Mike immediately jumped back as he chanted a spell. "Wake up, my protector!"

[Fire Guard]

A pillar of fire erupted in front of him, fading to reveal a two-meter-high humanoid made of fire.

"It looks like we have a special little talent today. As expected of someone from the Rolland Family," the Augimenter examiner whistled in admiration.

The fire guard ran towards the examiner, leaving smoldering footprints in his path as Mike began chanting another spell.

So he does have some skills to support his ego.

The female examiner was clearly a little impressed but she responded skillfully with a wave of her gray staff and a few words to light her spell.

[Earth Tomb]

Three triangular planes of solid ground surged from the ground, trapping the fire guards inside the stone pyramid.

That was a good response. The fire guards would naturally disappear after using a limited amount of oxygen inside the tomb.

However, Mike chuckled in response, as he finished his chant. "It's too late, Miss Tester."

[Ember Wadding]

The ruby embedded in his staff emitted a dazzling orange color as sparks exploded in the air. The seemingly innocuous spark exploded like fireworks, splitting into dozens of tiny sparks floating about. The tendrils remained floating around the stage, surrounding the two of them.

"Boy is good" praised Viona, giving a rare sign of approval.

The examiner's face turned serious now.

I was a little confused by the meaning of the floating embers, but my question was answered immediately.

"Ejection!" Mike raised his cane above his head while continuing to run backwards.

Suddenly, dozens of flame tendrils emitted a bright red color before firing a ray of fire at the examiner.

The examiner pointed his staff towards the ground below as he calmly continued his chant. The surrounding surface glistened bright yellow as many parts of the earth started to emerge from the ground.

[Stone Fractional Field]

Luminous stones shot into the formation to block the flame laser. It's just that, it not only blocked the laser, but pointed it at Mike.

"Deliver!" Mike paled as he cried out in despair. The wisps in the air disappeared but the flames that had already been fired were still heading towards him.

Directing his huge staff into several fire lanes quickly approached him, he cast another spell.

[Fire Players]

Fire cyclones large enough to surround them are produced from the ground. Traces of flames were trapped within the vortex of the fire tornado, merging into it.

"Pierce," the tester commands with smooth movement. Fragments of rock directing the flames swayed before they shot forward at the fire tornado that Mike had hidden inside. Large rock fragments shot through the fire tornado, tearing it apart. The fragments stopped right in front of the angry but trembling Mike, who protected himself with a stick held in front of him.

"How dare you! This unreasonable lack of politeness for a mere ranking exam should be noted and handled appropriately!" Mike shouted with sad eyes. His once creamy skin became several colors brighter as a layer of sweat covered his body.

"Calm down, Mr. Rolland. I have enough control to keep myself from stabbing the arrogant little boys," the examiner calmly assured, leaving Mike to secretly utter a curse on the woman.

"Your control and creativity in your spell combination is great. As long as you remain cautious and know your limits, you will have a bright future ahead of you, Mr. Rolland.I think it is safe to say that you can be placed in class B. Do you agree, George?" He turned to the augmenter examiner.

He shrugged his simple shoulders in response, indicating he had no problem with it.

Whatever wrongful act Mike accused the examiner of seems to have simply disappeared as Mike, once again, grinned complacently at the end result.

"Wow!"

"Little monster again!"

"Damn, I want to go home!"

"What's with the crowd today?"

Some members of the audience all shouted and complained enviously, as some of the other spectators who had taken the examination muttered excitedly among their peers.

"What do you expect from a monkey who makes a mistake? Do you think I'm at your level?" Mike scoffed loudly while cleaning his robe.

He walked back to his seat before the examiner, who was not even tired, swapped places with an augmenter tester named George.

The scarred man got up, stretching his body like a lazy cat. Casually doing a tos on the other examiners as he walked past, he stared at his notes.

"Next check, Note! Please down!" he screamed without looking up.

Viona put a hand on my shoulder. "Hopefully lucky."

Giving a firm nod in response, I walked down the stairs, leaving Eve worried in Viona's care.

"It looks like you are here to be tested under special conditions, given that there is no information here written about you. Okay fine! Let's see what you're made of." George looked at me curiously, trying to look through the slit of my mask to see who I was.

The examiner smoothly unsheathed his sword, so did I.

"Start!" he announced while lunging at me. The impulse was aimed directly at my head, most likely meant to frighten me.

Instead of dodging or ducking, I faced the tip of the incoming sword and took a step forward, putting mana into my feet. Tilting my head enough for the flat part of the blade to graze harmlessly past my mask, I raised my sword in one swift motion.

George's sharp eyes widened near my desk as he desperately pulled back in hopes of being able to make it in time to block my swing, but the tip of my sword was already stuck in the man's throat. The examiner immediately stopped, fearing that any sudden movements and my sword might be completely embedded in his neck, regardless of mana reinforcement.

"Enough," a voice interrupted. "Retreat, George. I'll test the examinees."

Turning my head away, I saw a skinny, bespectacled man named Kaspian walking towards us from the corridor where Viona and I were coming.

"S-Master? you're going to check on this participant personally?" George backed away from my sword as casually as possible, but a drop of blood ran down his neck.

"I'm sorry if this sounds presumptuous, but does AA class really need to lower itself to test the examinee? I will be more than enough to assess this suitor!" he continued, quickly wiping the blood with his hands.

Peter's gaze descended upon George's neck, silencing the examiner. The man, despite what he considered a simple mistake on his part, seemed perplexed by the fact that this branch head would be the one to test me.

It's a lie to say that I'm not surprised either. A person who was classified as an AA class adventurer had a much higher level of strength compared to an A class. As class rank increases, each jump is exponential, meaning that compared to class D to class C, the jump from class A to class AA is incomparable. Being an AA-class adventurer signifies that you have the strength of ten A-class adventurers, and that is just a rough estimate.

He should be at a completely different level of strength compared to other humans. I wonder which stage it is at, but there is no way for me to see without him knowing.

"His sponsor has a deep bond with me so I feel obligated to test it personally," he chuckled as his right hand grabbed the thin rapier on his waist.

Waving George away, we both stood in the middle of the arena ground.

"Let's start."