Once we arrived at the receptionist's table, we each received our own guild membership card.
Apparently, the orb not only checks the amount of mana one has, but also, it somehow stores information about the person who placed their hands on the orb.
"There. With this, you're now officially a member of our guild. For beginners, they all start at rank F. So, you can only take low raking quest though, though. Depending on the users' skills, we do allow adventurers to take a quest one rank higher than their own. If you're strong enough, it's possible to go on E rank missions."
The receptionist explained.
There are six ranks an adventurer can have: F, E, D, C, A, S. Of course, all new members start at rank F the lowest rank and with enough effort it is possible to rank up until your rank at the top.
According to the receptionist, F rank adventurers are allowed to take on simple missions with a low chance of death, for example, missions like slime extermination or even missions where the adventurers could collect plants from an area where there is a less dangerous monster lurking.
Though the rewards are also low, depending on the type of mission.
"I see... thank you,"
I replied.
"Only rank F.... I think we should go on a mission with a powerful beast."
"I agree, there is no need for us to fear those pathetic creatures."
Nikita and Alya both seem to be fired up about the mission. Though I personally think we should go with something simple for now, I thought as I placed my hand beneath my chin, and I turned my attention to the quest board.
There were many different types of quests there, from F to S rank mission but, but I couldn't decide which one would be the better option.
"Hm, what about this?"
Alya stretched out her hand and took one of the quest sheets from the blackboard, then held it up for us to see the content of the paper.
"Mm, help exterminate goblins attacking a small village north of here. Rewards 10 gold coins."
Nikita said, reading the contents of the paper, the quest was ranked E while goblins were considered weak monsters; underestimating them in groups would certainly be a huge mistake.
I can still remember the last time I faced those goblins back in the Watanabe magic academy field exercise.
My expression became serious as I thought back to that day. Alya's face also turned serious as she spoke.
"Don't worry, Haruto, you have us remember."
Alya said, her lips turning into a gentle smile. Seeing that Nikita also decided to chime in.
"Right! Master doesn't need to worry about mere goblins after all, you managed to defeat one of the silver foxes, a race that is considered to be one of the strongest in this world."
Nikita said in a soft tone. Yeah, they're right to be honest, I'm not worried about facing a goblin, I'm just worried about other monsters attacking us while we are exterminating them. The last thing I need is to get ambushed.
The risk of danger will increase if some other powerful monster gets in the way.
(Well, with the use of "Magic sense" and "Presence detection", I guess it will be fine since I could easily detect them before any hazardous situation could occur.)
I usually use magic sense on a radius of 10 meters, but I guess I'll have to increase the range when entering the forest.
Wind magic would also be useful in this situation.
"The most dangerous monster I can think of in that forest is the Oger; they are trickier to handle than the goblins, and they shouldn't be too much of a problem for us."
Nikita informed in a fluent tone.
"I see... got it."
Nikita is the one with the most knowledge about that forest, considering she once lived there. Her confident attitude is really encouraging. With that, I can rest easy without worry. The village the quest informed is 10 kilometres north of here. If we leave now, we should get there within 2 hours if we enhance our physical body while moving.
Creak~
While I was pondering the preliminary stages of our departure, the creaking sound of the guild door opening caught my attention.
I slowly turned my head back towards the door, and a figure reflected in my vision.
A young boy wearing a long-hooded jacket that completely concealed his face. Though some of his reddish-black hair peeked out.
On his waist was a white scabbard with two dragon symbols on the side.
"Oh my, is this the boy who called himself the dragon slayer?"
"Yes, I heard he slew a hundred evil dragons single-handed."
"Yes, at this rate, he'll rank up in no time."
Many whispers sounded from inside the room.
With leisurely steps, he slowly made his way before us.
The closer he got, the more my body tensed up. That was because this person exuded a rather powerful aura that was impossible to ignore.
"Hm, this person is..."
Alya's face became serious as she observed the person before her, while a strong glint could be seen in Nikita's crimson eyes.
"Master! Would it be okay to challenge that person? My fighting instinct seems to be completely awakened."
Nikita suddenly asked in a rather serious tone. No, no, I immediately shook my head in refusal. Why would you want to cause trouble for someone you just met?
Is what I wanted to say, before I could the young man dressed in a blue jacket came up towards the receptionist.
"Good afternoon, Lady Emma. I'd like to turn in my quest."
He said before handing her the piece of paper in his hand, Emma took the paper and stamped it with a sign that said 'completed.'
"I'm surprised, usually it would take an A-rank adventurer at least three or four weeks to complete that quest, you completed it in less than two days despite being only a D-rank adventurer."
"It was nothing, slaying dragons is my speciality."
He said, shrugging his shoulders lightly in a show of modesty. Eh? Did he just say slaying a dragon?
And he just said it was nothing, isn't dragon usually seen as a natural disaster, and that guy slayed one of those 'natural disasters'. I was dumbfounded.
"Hmm, so my thought was correct."
Alya mumbled to herself. I looked at her in confusion, but she simply smiled lightly. It didn't seem like she was willing to share any information right now.
Forcing her to speak seems impossible; from her expression, she obviously knows something.
(Oh, well I can ask her to explain later)
I shrugged my shoulders as I gave up the thought of interrogating her right now.
The young boy dressed in a blue coat slightly looked at Alya curiously from the corners of his eyes. I could see a light of curiosity in them.
(Hmmm... was he interested in Alya, or something?)
I wondered, curiously to myself. Well, Alya is extremely beautiful, I couldn't blame him for falling for her.
Well, anyway, it really isn't our problem. We now have the quest we want to take, and even though the rewards aren't much, that doesn't matter to me since I still have a lot of money left from the Watanabe royal family. With that, I tried to speak to Emma, when...
"Excuse me... do you mind sparring with me?"
Nikita asked the young man dressed in a blue jacket. Silence descended inside the guild.
Oi, oi, what are you doing, Nikita? I promptly bowed my head to apologize.
"I'm sorry for her rude behaviour."
"No, it's fine, please stop bowing your head."
The young boy dressed in a blue jacket said to me in a somewhat awkward tone before his gaze turned towards Nikita, who was gazing at him with a strong glint in her eyes.
He then opened his mouth and replied.
"Okay, I accept."
It was then decided that they would have a one-on-one battle outside.
***
We relocate ourselves to an open field where they would have plenty of space to fight to their hearts' content.
Nikita and the young boy wearing a jet blue jacket were now facing each other. Meanwhile, Alya and I were standing at a fair distance away to not get dragged into their fight.
"Is this really okay?"
"Yes, since he agreed to Nikita's selfish wish, I can say with certainty that you have nothing to worry about."
"I see... well, that's a relief, what are her chances of winning?"
"I'd say the odds are against her. This boy is not to be taken lightly."
Alya said with a serious face. Seeing that I turned my attention to the two who would now face each other.
"Fufufu, I don't know why, but my instinct is itching for a fight."
Nikita said while doing some light stretching. Seeing her eagerness, the young boy dressed in a blue jacket chuckled lightly before removing his hood.
His long reddish-black hair went down to his brow, and his light crimson eyes glittered slightly as a smile formed on his handsome face.
(As I thought, he is about the same age as me or maybe even younger, I suppose)
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Leo the dragon slayer."
He said while placing his hand on his chest and bowed his head politely.
"It's nice to meet you. I am Nikita."
Nikita said and bowed her head lightly. Leo nodded his head as he drew the sword sheathed at his waist, a beautiful, long sword with a deep red blade resembling the colour of blood on the flat side of the blade. There was flame like making there.
"Mm, that sword. Is that crimson sabre?!"
Alya exclaimed.
"Hmm, crimson sabre, what is that?"
I asked, confused, for it to make Alya react like that; it must be something important.
"One of the five great mythical swords created by the elemental goddesses."
She explained.
"You know how the god of creation created the weapons for the heroes, right?"
"Yes..."
"Well, three hundred years ago, during the war, the elemental goddesses decided to create similar weapons. Though there is no match for the ones created by the god of creation, they are still powerful. I thought they were all lost during the war, but...."
Alya added. Her expression looked stern as she gazed at the sword in Leo's hand. In contrast, Nikita's reddish lips were upturned into a fearless smile.
She then created a sword made of ice and took a stance.
"You're free to attack whenever you're ready."
Leo said, casually offering Nikita the chance to attack first, it seems that struck a nerve as Nikita's feet moved swiftly, she shortened the distance between them in one breath, then swung her sword downwards.
"!!!"
Nikita's eyes widen when her sword cuts through space; the place Leo should be standing in is now empty. Nikita promptly observed her surroundings when suddenly her fox ears twitched.
She then swung her sword horizontally behind her back.
Clang!
The clear sound of metal rang out.
"Oh, not bad, you were able to detect my presence."
Leo said, praising Nikita's skills. Leo was easily pushed back due to the difference in strength. A smile appeared on his lips as he fixed his grip on his sword.
Meanwhile, Nikita slowly took some distance between herself and Leo.
(He's strong, really strong. It was only an instant when our swords met, but...)
Nikita's hands trembled. It was just an instant, she could feel the difference in strength between them, if it came down to pure swordsmanship, Nikita didn't think she could win, or rather, there was no chance for her to win, it's impossible, but....
"I won't lose."
She once again charged forward and thrust her sword towards Leo's abdomen. However, he easily warded off her attack by hitting the side of her sword, using her left hand, a dagger made of ice materialised as she jabbed at his side.
Leo twisted his sword and used the flat part of his blade to intercept the dagger targeting his side.
Leo then raised his left leg and lightly kicked Nikita's chest to gain distance from her, before his leg made contact with her body, her hand quickly reacted to it and caught his raised leg, with his leg now in Nikita's grasp, Leo skilfully used his right leg and easily shifted his field of gravity before raising his sword upwards.
"Hmm?"
The red blade of the sword then glowed brightly as he brought it down, a red beam of light shot out from the blade and went in Nikita's direction; she quickly lowered her upper body, dodging the sudden attack.
She then promptly distances herself since it was dangerous to get within close range when the opponent could fire such speedy attacks.
Leo showed a slight smile as he saw her reaction. He then aimed his sword at her once again red beam of light went straight towards Nikita's direction.
She easily dodges that by moving around. Wherever the light travelled, the ground was scorched black by the high temperature left by the rad beam of light.
Nikita ran around dodging all the light beams while sometimes countering with her own ice beam, the two-attack met from the front, but....
"Guh."
Nikita was pushed back as her ice melted the moment it made contact with Leo's light beam.