The Adventurer's Guild in Kent Town was the most imposing building in town, second only to the official residence of Baron Gareth Hawthorne.
The heavy oak doors stood wide open, and the two stepped into a noisy, bustling hall.
"Newcomers? Registering for identification tags?"
At the guild’s front desk, a capable-looking young lady with a few freckles on her face was buried in paperwork. She asked the question without even looking up.
"Yes, for two," Leon said, leaning his hands on the counter with a relaxed tone.
"Name?"
"Medivh."
"Age..."
The receptionist lifted her eyelids to size up the black-haired youth. He looked a bit thin, but his eyes were deep. Her pen paused. "Twenty-two?"
She pointed to a palm-sized metal plate embedded with a crystal. "Here, put your hand on it. This is a mana sensing stone; it can roughly determine your bone age."
Leon did as instructed.
The crystal plate emitted a faint glow. The receptionist glanced at it and raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just turn eighteen? How did you get twenty-two?"
Leon was stunned for a moment.
Eighteen? He had clearly been twenty-two before he transmigrated...
"Cough, our customs might be different. Where I come from, I’m considered twenty-two," Leon made up a lie on the spot without blinking.
"Black hair, black eyes... from the Far East Archipelago?" The receptionist was amused by him. She muttered something under her breath but didn't press further, beginning to register the information on a form.
"Profession is mage, right? Do you have an official title certification from the Mages' Association? That can help increase your initial adventurer rank."
"No, I'm self-taught."
"Then you're a bronze adventurer. Alright, next."
The receptionist's gaze moved past Leon to the little figure behind him, whose hood was pulled down tight and only reached his waist.
"Becoming an adventurer at such a young age?"
The receptionist frowned, her tone becoming stern. "Does your family know? Guild regulations state that minors under the age of fifteen cannot register as adventurers, little sister. This isn't a playground."
"I am not a little squirt!"
Lucrezia felt she had suffered a monumental insult.
She whipped off her hood, her dazzling silver hair cascading down like a waterfall.
She revealed a pouting, exquisitely beautiful face and proudly puffed out her flat but still imposing chest, loudly declaring:
"I am already eighteen! I am an adult!"
"Ha—?! You're also eighteen?"
The receptionist was laughed.
She looked speechlessly at Leon, who was over 1.8 meters tall, and then at Lucrezia, who was at most 1.4 meters and looked like she couldn't possibly be an adult.
"Good grief, eighteen? Are you sure you don't mean eight?"
Leon held back a laugh as he watched the speechless receptionist and Lucrezia, who looked ready to explode. He explained slowly:
"She really is eighteen, I can testify to that. She was probably a picky eater as a child and didn't get enough nutrition, so she ended up as a pocket-sized model."
"You're the pocket-sized model!" Lucrezia stomped hard on Leon's foot.
The receptionist looked like she was done with both of them and told Lucrezia to place her hand on the sensing stone.
The light shone, and the patterns indicated that she was indeed an adult.
"It's actually true..." The receptionist was stunned. It was clearly her first time seeing such a 'legal loli,' and she marveled at the sight. "You two are really something... Fine, name?"
"Luc..."
Lucrezia was about to give her real name when she realized it was a mistake.
Her little brain whirled quickly, thinking of the words Leon had mentioned during their idle chats over the last few days—words she thought were incredibly cool and had a great villainous style.
Thus, she puffed out her chest and said in a tone she thought was very majestic:
"My name is... Lucifer!"
"Pfft..."
Leon couldn't help himself; he almost burst out laughing.
The receptionist's mouth also twitched, clearly seeing through the pseudonym. However, she was professionally trained and managed to hold back her laughter. "Lu... Lucifer, is it? A very... imposing name."
There were plenty of adventurers out there with weird names like 'Leeroy Jenkins' or 'Ragnaros,' so 'Lucifer' wasn't too outrageous.
"Profession is sorcerer, right? Also from the Far East Archipelago?" She glanced at the silver hair and red eyes, eventually putting a question mark in the 'Place of Origin' column.
"Fine, that's one silver coin each for the processing fee. Wait over there; come back in half an hour to collect your identification tags and adventurer's handbook."
The two paid a total of two silver coins—which made Lucrezia's heart ache for quite a while.
Half an hour later.
The two finally received their bronze emblems engraved with their fake names and professions.
"Hmph! From this day forth, I am the great adventurer 'Lucifer'!"
Lucrezia excitedly toyed with the cold bronze plate as if it were some kind of medal of honor.
Then, as happy as a squirrel that had found a pinecone, she ran straight toward the quest board covered in commission notices.
"Leon, come quick! I want to take on a grand quest! It has to be the kind where we slay an evil dragon!"
"Sigh, another young lady from some rich family out here to experience life."
The receptionist watched the retreating figure, who was clearly naive and walked with an air of nobility, shaking her head with a smile full of helplessness.
Leon shielded Lucrezia, and with great effort, they squeezed through a group of sweaty adventurers who were loudly boasting about how they 'almost killed a dragon,' eventually reaching the quest board at the back of the hall.
The board was clearly divided. From left to right, they were: bronze, silver, gold, glorious, palace, and the legendary section, which had been gathering dust in this city for a long time and was perpetually empty.
The two could only stand in front of the leftmost, most crowded, and messiest "bronze" quest board.
"Hmph, listen up, you scrubs!"
Lucrezia stood on her tiptoes excitedly, trying to see the contents of the parchment through the gaps in the crowd:
"The legend of the great adventurer 'Lucifer' begins here! Whether it's dragons or demon kings, bring them on!"
She held the newly acquired 《Adventurer's Handbook》, flipping through it rapidly while muttering to herself:
"The handbook says that bronze adventurers can only take bronze quests... Completing bronze quests and receiving at least ten 'Excellent' evaluations is required to apply for promotion to silver... Hmm, although it's a bit tedious, this is the inevitable path to becoming legendary!"
Leon remained silent, hands in his pockets. He listened to the chaotic chatter of the nearby adventurers while his calm black eyes quickly scanned the dense, sometimes yellowed commission slips.
【Finding a Lost Pet Cat】
Description: The owner of the 'Crispy' bakery in the south of the city lost her cat yesterday. It is black and white and named 'Mimi.'
Reward: 47 copper coins.
【Cleaning the Sewers (Non-monster)】
Description: The sewers in the alley behind the Town Hall are blocked for unknown reasons and smell terrible. Two strong laborers who aren't afraid of filth and have a poor sense of smell are needed.
Reward: 85 copper coins (Must bring own tools; medical fees not covered).
【Hauling Cargo at the West Warehouse】
Description: Assist the 'Strength Overcomes All' tavern in moving a new batch of ale barrels.
Reward: 50 copper coins, plus a filling meal of black bread (no soup included).
【Gathering 'Tranquil Grass'】
Description: Gather 10 stalks of fresh Tranquil Grass for the apothecary. Ensure the roots are intact.
Reward: 1 silver coin and 12 copper coins.
...
Lucrezia's excited little face deflated at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a punctured balloon.
"This... these are adventurer quests?!"
Rate on N.U.
