Catherine, the new guild master of Mimul town, was at the guild training ground with the adventurer Ryuujin. Catherine was there to personally assess Ryuujin's abilities.

Catherine hoped that Ryuujin would take on more high-difficulty quests intended for higher-ranked adventurers in the future.

Adventurers with lower ranks are only allowed to take on quests with correspondingly low danger levels. This is to prevent those with insufficient abilities from accepting overly challenging quests and risking death.

However, the guild's ranking system is only a guild-certified classification and sometimes does not accurately reflect an adventurer's true capabilities. This could be considered a flaw in the system.

According to reports, the adventurer Ryuujin undoubtedly possesses A-rank strength.

It was a waste to limit an individual of Ryuujin's caliber to beginner quests simply because he was an F-rank. While he could be promoted, Ryuujin had declined the offer, making the situation difficult.

He seemed to still hold a grudge for the mistreatment he received under the previous guild master. He also cited his lack of experience as an adventurer and the lack of knowledge and skills in that field as a reason for not considering a rank upgrade.

Besides the rank, there is another metric known as "level" which represents a person's actual capabilities. This level also indicates an individual's ability value, but not their combat strength.

This is akin to how fast someone can run or how much weight they can lift. No matter how fast or strong one is, it doesn't necessarily translate to combat proficiency. Combat requires not only raw physical abilities but also technique, strategy, knowledge, and wisdom.

However, it's undeniable that superior capabilities can provide advantages in combat. Having overwhelming abilities almost certainly means higher combat proficiency. Compared to the guild's ranking system, which can sometimes be politically influenced, this "level" offers a more reliable indicator of someone's actual strength.

But the reports on Ryuujin contradicted this "level" system. No matter how many times they attempted to assess him, his level remained at "1."

Catherine convinced Ryuujin to touch the guild's appraisal crystal again, but the result remained the same: level 1, zero magical power, and no displayed blessing or class.

(It was expected. Ryuujin can manipulate his level at will. Even at level 1, his strength surpassed that of ordinary humans. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, he keeps it at the lowest level of 1.)

Although they had received reports that Ryuujin's level 1 was incomparable to a human's, the level system was designed to be a universal metric regardless of species.

Perhaps the dragonkin were an exception... However, dragonkin are a lost species only found in legends of this world, making information on them extremely limited.

Catherine had no choice but to classify him as "abnormal." But this created a problem: how should they treat Ryuujin?

Mimul town was short on high-ranking adventurers, making skilled adventurers highly valuable. If his rank and level weren't reliable, they had to find other solutions.

Catherine considered making an exception for Ryuujin, but first, she wanted to confirm his abilities with her own eyes.

Currently, the only "title" available for Ryuujin was an "F-rank adventurer who remained at level 1 for three years." While there was a rank-up test with Yoruma and others, most witnesses were no longer in town. This lack of evidence made it difficult to convince headquarters to make an exception.

Catherine could manage if Ryuujin only operated within Mimul's guild, but headquarters wouldn't believe reports about him being a dragonkin.

While rumors were circulating about Ryuujin being a "dragonslayer" who defeated a dungeon dragon, and the dragon materials he had submitted were authentic, no one had ever witnessed him fighting a dragon. People were bound to speculate that he obtained the materials from somewhere else. The issue was that Ryuujin spent a disproportionately short amount of time hunting.

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Catherine told Ryuujin honestly that she wanted to confirm his abilities. She proposed a light sparring match with her as an opponent.

Ryuujin: "You want to see my abilities... to be honest, I don't even know myself. I can't fathom it. I've never used my full power, not even once. If I ever went all out, this country would probably be destroyed."

Catherine, of course, didn't take him seriously. But it was true.

Ryuujin's level was "changeable," and even at the current level of "1," he struggled to suppress his power. He could freely increase his level if he needed to.

He had actually tested the limits of his level in a dungeon once. His level continued to rise, even exceeding 1000, and the dungeon began to shake from his mere presence. It was a frightening experience, and he decided to stop the experiment.

At level 1000, he felt he could crack the earth's crust with a single punch.

It was merely a confirmation that the abilities he requested from the goddess upon reincarnation were properly equipped. It wasn't anything surprising for him.

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Catherine, despite being retired, was once an A-rank adventurer.

However, her retirement was premature. The truth was that she became too busy with guild work and had no time for adventuring.

Catherine was confident in her swordsmanship. Even if Ryuujin was strong, she thought she could at least hold her own.

But when she drew her wooden sword, Ryuujin insisted on fighting barehanded. He even declared he wouldn't attack. This was ridiculous...

Slightly angered, Catherine decided to get serious. She needed to show him she could hold her own and knock his arrogance down a peg.

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Several minutes later, Catherine was sprawled on the training ground, while Ryuujin stood coolly.

It was Catherine who was humbled.

Her sword never even grazed Ryuujin.

Catherine's strikes were sharp, a testament to her former A-rank abilities.

But all it took was a slight movement from Ryuujin to send her sword slicing through the air.

Even her most powerful and fastest attack, delivered with everything she had, was effortlessly dodged.

She tried varying the pace and tempo, employing feints and surprise attacks.

She utilized every technique she possessed, but none of them could even touch Ryuujin, who remained with his arms folded behind his back.

Finally, her body exhausted, Catherine collapsed.

The outcome was inevitable.

Ryuujin had not held back, deploying all his special abilities.

Firstly, Ryuujin possessed "Divine Eyes."

This ability had a vast range of applications, including a constantly active precognitive ability that enhanced his awareness of future dangers. He could anticipate all attacks. Surprise attacks were useless against him.

Furthermore, he could read minds. He could constantly read the minds of those around him through his "Divine Eyes," making him privy to their next attack, at least on a basic level.

While "precognition" could sometimes be inaccurate, as the future is always uncertain, combining precognition with mind-reading rendered his attack predictions nearly perfect.

Ryuujin also possessed the ability to manipulate time. This passive ability allowed him to seamlessly accelerate his actions as needed.

From Ryuujin's perspective, he wasn't speeding up. It was the world around him that slowed down.

(If he focused intensely enough, he could even stop time by slowing it down to an extreme. But that was unnecessary in this situation. Simply reducing Catherine's speed by a certain percentage was sufficient.)

It was impossible for Catherine's sword to land a hit on Ryuujin with such overwhelming cheat abilities.

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Ryuujin: "Enough?"

Catherine: "...Frustrating. I was an A-rank adventurer... How is it that you're so strong?!"

Ryuujin: "I told you. It's immeasurable."

Catherine: "Well, it's clear you're above A-rank. I'll have to summon an S-rank adventurer to fight you sometime."

Ryuujin: "I won't fight without a reason."

Catherine: "I'll classify you as A-rank, using my authority as the temporary guild master."

Ryuujin: "What?! No way. I refuse. You can't just promote me without a test. That's abusing your power!"

Catherine: "Fufufufu. Consider this sparring match your rank-up test."

Ryuujin: "I'm saying no...

...Maybe I should just destroy the Adventurer's Guild after all?"

Catherine: "My apologies. I was lying. You can stay F-rank. That was just a practice match."

Catherine immediately backtracked.

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However, Catherine then asked to join Ryuujin on a hunting trip.

He tried to refuse, but she was relentless, so he agreed to take her along.

Ryuujin's hunting involved teleporting into the dungeon, gathering the monsters' magic stones within that floor using teleportation, and then teleporting the corpses for storage, all in one swift move.

It was over in an instant. He didn't even engage in combat with the monsters.

Suddenly, Catherine was teleported into the dungeon. She found herself surrounded by piles of monsters' corpses and magic stones that Ryuujin had magically stored there.

Catherine: "Wait, wait, wait! What just happened?!"

Teleportation? Storage magic? All the outlandish information was overwhelming. Catherine's eyes darted back and forth in disbelief.

Catherine: "Teleportation magic is a lost ancient magic! There's someone who can actually use it?

And storage magic?! Not magic tools for storage?"

Ryuujin: "Teleportation magic and storage magic both fall under the category of "space-time magic." So if someone can teleport, it's not surprising that they can also use storage magic, right?"

Catherine: "The monsters? You mean you've been storing those monsters you've defeated before?"

Ryuujin: "We'd be back at the training ground if that's the case. These are fresh, newly defeated monsters, just gathered."

Catherine: "Just gathered... They're still warm."

Catherine touched the body of an Orc that Ryuujin had produced.

Catherine: "And it's completely unscathed..."

Ryuujin: "I extract the magic stones using teleportation. Like this."

Catherine: "?!"

Ryuujin extended his hand, and in an instant, the sword Catherine was wearing at her waist was now in his hand.

Ryuujin handed the sword back to Catherine, who was speechless.

Ryuujin: "I can also teleport monsters from within the dungeon."

A magic circle appeared on the ground behind Ryuujin, and a Minotaur emerged. Ryuujin had found it in the dungeon and teleported it here.

Catherine: "A Minotaur?!"

Minotaurs are A-rank danger level monsters.

The Minotaur hesitated for a moment, looking at Ryuujin and Catherine. It raised its battle axe.

But its movements ceased, and it slowly fell to the ground.

Ryuujin: "Just like this..."

In Ryuujin's hand rested a slightly larger magic stone. It was the Minotaur's.

Ryuujin: "Let's go back."

Ryuujin stored the Minotaur in his subspace and activated teleportation.

Catherine, with her mouth agape, found herself back at the guild training ground. It felt like a dream.

After a long silence, Catherine spoke.

Catherine: "So... that power... can you do that to humans too?"

Ryuujin: "Humans don't have magic stones, but I suppose their organs would be extracted if I did it. I've never tried, so I don't know what would happen."

Catherine swallowed nervously, imagining her organs being removed.

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Meanwhile, a different problem was unfolding at the guild reception.

A young girl entered the Adventurer's Guild, asking for a request to deal with some bandits.