"I'm very sorry, but your adventurer registration has now been completed. However, even though the two of you clearly appear to be quite powerful… since you've only just become adventurers, your starting rank can only be Copper. That's a guild regulation, and unfortunately there's nothing we can do about it."
A magic caster capable of chanting third-tier spells, and a monk who could casually terrify several Mithril-ranked adventurers into collapsing.
A team at that level was extremely rare—even within all of E-Rantel.
That was precisely why the guild employee who had processed Ren Kuroda and Yuri Alpha's paperwork now looked so apologetic. She was worried that someone with their obvious strength might refuse to accept such a low adventurer rank.
In this world, adventurer teams were assigned quests according to their rank.
The ranks were mainly divided into nine tiers:
Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum, and Adamantite.
Since Ren and Yuri had only just registered as adventurers, their current rank could only be Copper.
However, anyone with a discerning eye could clearly see that the strength Ren and Yuri had just demonstrated had already reached the level of Orichalcum-ranked adventurers.
"Well, if it's the rule, then there's nothing to be done about it," Ren replied calmly.
"Here's the registration fee, along with compensation for the damages."
"And if possible, please assign us the most difficult tasks currently available for our rank."
"You've already seen our abilities, after all. We'd like to raise our adventurer rank as quickly as possible."
As he spoke, Ren casually pulled out a large handful of coins and placed them on the counter with the air of someone who wasn't particularly concerned about money.
However, when the staff member saw the pile of coins on the table, her expression turned… somewhat speechless.
From Ren's aura alone, he looked like someone who wouldn't be short on money.
Yet the coins he had handed over consisted almost entirely of Kingdom copper coins and silver coins, with silver coins making up only a small portion.
The gold coins of the Great Tomb of Nazarick were not compatible with this world's currency.
And in order to avoid exposing the fact that they were players from YGGDRASIL, Momonga had suggested that they avoid using YGGDRASIL gold coins entirely.
After all, there was no guarantee they were the only "lucky ones" who had been transported to this world.
Ren agreed with that logic.
Based on what he knew of the story, the group that had arrived in this world along with the Sorcerer King was already among the strongest beings originating from YGGDRASIL.
But since the "story" of this world hadn't fully played out yet, there could still be unknown twists ahead.
Because of that, it was best to keep the fact that they were YGGDRASIL players hidden for as long as possible.
As for where Ren had obtained the Kingdom's currency—
That had naturally come from Momonga as operational funds.
Apparently, it was money that had been gathered as a gift of gratitude from the residents of Carne Village.
"Since you're dissatisfied with low-ranked tasks," a voice suddenly said, "and you clearly possess genuine strength…"
"I happen to have a job here that would suit you quite well. Would the two of you be interested?"
Just as the guild employee was sorting through the most difficult Copper-ranked quests for them, a middle-aged man suddenly descended the staircase from the upper floor and addressed Ren and Yuri.
This man was the Guildmaster of the E-Rantel Adventurers' Guild.
The commotion downstairs earlier had been so loud that it had obviously drawn his attention.
And after witnessing the strength displayed by Ren and Yuri, the guildmaster couldn't help but reveal a pleased expression.
The truth was, he had been quite troubled by a certain matter over the past few days.
But after seeing how powerful these two were, he suddenly felt as though his problem might finally have a solution.
———— Scene Break ————
In a small village located some distance away from E-Rantel, the Kingdom's strongest Adamantite-ranked adventurer team had gathered.
The team was known as Blue Rose.
At that moment, the team's captain, Lakyus, was using divine magic to heal another member of the group—a muscular female warrior with a rugged appearance named Gagaran.
Blue Rose was one of only two Adamantite-ranked teams in the entire Kingdom.
Not only were all of its members women, but each of them had reached—or was close to reaching—the Hero-class domain.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they were among the strongest humans in the Kingdom.
And yet—
Even this Adamantite-ranked team had been suffering repeated setbacks over the past few days.
In fact, this was already the third time they had retreated back to this village.
The captain of Blue Rose, Lakyus, was a beautiful blonde girl.
She was also a descendant of one of the legendary figures from two hundred years ago—the Thirteen Heroes.
The magic sword "Kiliniram" she wielded had once belonged to the legendary Black Knight, the Dark Hero.
The reason Blue Rose had come all the way out to such a remote location this time was because Lakyus had discovered a record within her family's historical documents that pointed to a ruin left behind by the Thirteen Heroes.
According to those records, Blue Rose had indeed succeeded in locating the ruin.
However—
The defensive mechanisms and guardian monsters inside the ruins had proven far more troublesome than they had expected.
Three days had passed since they first discovered the ruins.
And during those three days, Blue Rose had already been forced to retreat from the ruins three separate times.
"Boss, maybe we should head back to the capital for now," suggested the twin ninja sisters Tina and Tia, members of Blue Rose.
"We didn't expect the ruins to be this difficult, so our preparations were definitely lacking."
However, another voice immediately countered their suggestion.
"That won't work," said Evileye, the shortest member of Blue Rose and a masked girl who also served as the team's primary combat powerhouse.
"As soon as we entered the ruins for the first time, I examined the spell formula at the entrance."
"The heirloom passed down in Lakyus's family can only keep the entrance to the ruins open for one week at most."
"If the ruins stayed open permanently, then a relic left behind by the Thirteen Heroes would have been discovered by someone else long ago."
As an experienced magic caster, Evileye might not have been able to forcibly break through the magical formation at the entrance.
But she could understand its function.
Which was why she explained that if they chose to give up now, they would truly miss their chance at the ruins of the Thirteen Heroes forever.
"So we only have four days left, huh?"
Gagaran glanced down at the battered armor covering her body, her expression serious.
"Even if we returned to a nearby city to rest and resupply, we simply wouldn't have enough time."
"And the recovery potions we brought are almost gone. Our equipment is nearly at its limit too."
"Well… about that," Lakyus said.
"I already used the Message spell earlier to request assistance from the Adventurers' Guild in E-Rantel, the nearest town."
"I believe the guild will soon send a group of capable adventurers here, along with supplies, to support us."
"With reinforcements and adequate resources—and with the experience we gained from our previous attempts at exploring the ruins—we should be able to succeed this time."
Just as Lakyus finished explaining the situation to her teammates—
Knock. Knock.
Someone suddenly knocked on the door of the house where the members of Blue Rose were staying.
...
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