A bustling adventurer's guild in a bustling town.

Pushing open the doors, Ryu found himself in an atmosphere familiar to any adventurer's guild, no matter the country.

He walked up to the reception desk.

"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild! What can I help you with today?" the receptionist greeted him with a practiced smile.

But...Ryu's gaze was drawn to the receptionist's head. She had cat ears. She was a beastkin!

He hadn't seen many beastkin in the Garyza Kingdom, so he was instantly captivated by the novelty of it all.

"She's not bad, actually," he thought, quickly averting his eyes before he stared too long.

"I'd like to register as an adventurer."

Ryu was in the town of Bymark in the Fermar Kingdom, neighboring Garyza to the south.

"Certainly, please fill out this form."

The registration form was simple, asking for name, age, skills, class, birth blessings, and contact information. There was no space for past experience.

The receptionist noticed Ryu's hesitation.

"Is something wrong? Oh, you can just put your inn name as contact information."

"No, it's...I'm re-registering. I was an adventurer for about four years."

"Re-issuing your adventurer's guild card?"

"No, it's not that. I quit once, but I want to register again."

"Oh, well, that's fine then."

"Huh?"

"Re-registration is treated the same as new registration. You can just fill out the application form and submit it."

"I see..."

Ryu finished the application and handed it to the receptionist.

"As I mentioned earlier, re-registrations are treated the same as newcomers. Normally, previous experience is not taken into consideration. But...four years is a long time, so I'll check your previous registration information to see if there's anything I can transfer."

The receptionist went to the back and started fiddling with a magical device.

But when she came back, she said,

"There's no record of an adventurer named Ryujeen...which town were you registered in?"

"Mirmul, in the Garyza Kingdom. The kingdoms might be different, but the adventurer's guild shares information across borders, right?"

"Yes, that's why...well..."

"Huh?"

"You were looking at my ears...there aren't many beastkin or demi-humans in the Garyza Kingdom, are there?"

It seemed his attempt to quickly avert his gaze had failed.

"...Oh! Could it be...that Mirmul...the one rumored to have been destroyed by demons?"

"Yes, that Mirmul..."

"Then, the information might have been lost during that incident. Are you a survivor of that attack?"

"No, I was out of town when it happened."

"I see...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"No, it's alright."

"I can't find any records, so you'll be treated as a new registrant. I apologize..."

"No, it's fine. I was an F rank in my previous town anyway."

"An F rank after four years? ...I apologize for the rude comment..."

"Ah, it's okay. You see, I didn't get along with the guild master, so he wouldn't let me advance."

"Oh, I hear that sometimes. This guild is fair and impartial, so there's no need to worry about unfair treatment! But..."

"But?"

"This is a unique system in this town, but all new registrants must undergo training. Would that be okay with you?"

"Oh, I see. Mirmul had a similar system, a school for beginner adventurers. I even taught there."

"You were an instructor? So you were a veteran adventurer. Even experienced adventurers must go through training, I apologize for the inconvenience..."

"No problem. It's nice to be able to learn again."

".........Yes, your registration as an adventurer is complete. This is your guild card."

The receptionist quickly created a guild card, which served as an ID, and handed it to Ryu.

"Normally, adventurers start at F rank, but you'll be G rank until you graduate from training. G rank only allows for activities within the city, you won't be able to take requests outside of the city. Please be aware of that.

After graduating training, you'll be certified as F rank and can work outside the city.

However, it takes at least a few weeks for some people to graduate, while others take more than a year. But since you have experience, you might graduate quickly."

"Is there an exam?"

"There might be an exam, but it's not set in stone. Your instructor will decide when you graduate. Some people register in other towns to avoid training, but a lot of beginner adventurers end up dying because they push themselves too hard. But everyone who graduates from our guild's training program survives and thrives! So I highly recommend you take training here."

"I see. It's important."

"I'm glad you understand. Even veterans might learn something new or be reminded of things they forgot."

"Right. I'm looking forward to it."

"Then you'll start tomorrow? ...Oh, alright then. Please come here at 8 in the morning. The training takes place in the training field behind the guild. There will be a lot of other trainees there. Good luck!"

Ryu left the counter, being waved off by the smiling receptionist.

He had the day free since training started tomorrow. As he glanced at the request board, he was approached by a man.

"Hey, you're new, aren't you? I've never seen you around."

"Yeah, I just registered."

The adventurer looked Ryu up and down.

"You're not going to be able to take any quests just after registering. And besides, you're gonna flunk out of training with a weak body like yours, right?"

"It's none of your business. Leave me alone."

"What's that, kid? A senior is trying to be nice, and you can't even speak properly?"

"Nice? I didn't hear it that way. Besides, I'm re-registering. I have some experience, so you don't need to worry."

"What? Re-registering? Really?"

The man looked Ryu up and down with a serious expression.

"Hmph."

He grinned.

"Lots of guys brag about being experienced when they're not. But you're only gonna hurt yourself later if you try to act cool without any skills."

Next Episode

He's got the day off, so why not mess with him a little?

Stay tuned!