The wooden wheels of their carriage rattled against the smooth, paved cobblestones of the Imperial Capital. The difference between the dirt roads of their home and the immaculate streets of Vireldria was staggering.
Humongous stone buildings towered on either side of the wide avenue, casting long shadows over the bustling crowds. Merchants shouted over the noise of armored patrols, and the air smelled of roasted meat, foreign spices, and heavy perfume.
Aria sat by the window, watching the city pass by. She did not wear the heavy, clanking metal armor that most frontline fighters favored. Instead, she wore a pristine, lightweight Adventurer's dress, specifically tailored for maximum mobility.
The dark fabric hugged her waist and flared out comfortably at the legs, allowing her to draw her weapon or pivot without any friction. Her long, silver-hilted sword rested comfortably at her hip.
With her golden-blonde hair catching the afternoon sun through the carriage window, and her striking, large green eyes taking in the sights, she looked more like a runaway royal princess than a seasoned Adventurer.
"Hey, Aria," Brielle, the party's Level 3 thief, leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She was fidgeting, clearly overwhelmed by the sheer size of the city. "Where exactly are we going first? Shouldn't we find an inn and dump all these bags? My shoulders are killing me."
Aria turned away from the window and shook her head. "We are heading to the Adventurer's Association branch first. We need to inform them that we arrived here."
"Inform?" Brielle tilted her head, confused. "Did the guard at the gate tell us to do that? I thought we just showed our badges and we were free to go."
"It is not a legal obligation," Aria explained in a calm, even voice. "It is a moral obligation. It is a long-standing custom that whenever Adventurers travel to a different city or cross into a new country, they must immediately inform the local Association branch. The Association needs to know the exact number of available combat personnel in the city at all times. If there is a sudden emergency, a monster stampede, or a high-priority urgent mission, they need to know who they can summon to the front lines."
Brielle blinked, digesting the information. She slumped back against the wooden seat. "I see. I guess that makes sense. If a dragon attacks the walls, they need to know how many meat shields they have lying around."
Elen, the Level 4 Healer, smiled softly from the opposite seat and interrupted. "It is completely natural that you didn't know the rule, Brielle. We have never left our home country before. We spent all our time taking quests from the exact same Association branch manager in the Kingdom of Aethelgard. This is the very first time we are visiting a different branch."
The carriage finally rolled to a halt. The driver tapped on the wooden roof, signaling they had arrived.
Aria pushed the carriage door open and stepped out onto the busy street, followed closely by the rest of her party. Before them stood the Adventurer's Association. It was a huge, sprawling structure built from pristine white stone and reinforced steel, easily five times larger than the royal palace back in Aethelgard. Giant banners displaying the Association's crest hung from the high pillars.
Taking a deep breath, Aria led the way up the wide stone steps and pushed through the heavy oak doors.
The moment they stepped into the grand lobby, the ambient noise of hundreds of talking adventurers seemed to dip for just a fraction of a second. Eyes naturally drifted toward the entrance. It was hard not to stare. Aria's group stood out entirely from the rugged, scarred, and dirt-covered Adventurers that filled the room.
Their equipment was meticulously clean, their posture was disciplined, and Aria herself was a massive big focal point. Her striking blonde hair and flawless features drew immediate stares of admiration from both men and women across the massive hall.
Whispers broke out among a few tables near the door, with several veteran Adventurers nudging their friends to look at the unarmored swordswoman who had just walked in.
Aria ignored the stares. She was used to them back home. She walked confidently straight to the grand reception desk, where a young woman in a sharp, official Association uniform was organizing a stack of parchment.
"Hello," Aria said politely, resting her hands on the polished wooden counter. "We would like to report our arrival. We're from far away country."
The receptionist looked up, offering a practiced, polite smile. "Welcome to the Imperial Capital Branch. May I see your badges, please? Standard protocol."
"Of course." Aria unpinned the silver badge from her chest and placed it on the counter. Elen, Brielle, and the other two girls quickly did the same, lining up their metallic tags in a neat row.
The receptionist picked up Aria's badge and placed it onto a flat, glowing glass plate built directly into her desk.
In this world, an Adventurer's badge was not just a simple piece of carved metal. It was a low-grade magical artifact. When a person first registered at any Association branch, a single drop of their blood was infused into the silver using a basic mana-seal.
This created a localized mana signature unique to the user, acting exactly like a modern identification card. When placed on a reading device, the Adventurer's Association's network could instantly verify the Adventurer's identity, their confirmed kill records, and their officially tested Certification Level, making it utterly impossible to forge a rank.
The glass plate flashed blue. The receptionist glanced at the floating text that appeared above the glass. Her polite smile warmed up into something more genuine.
"Oh, Level 3 to Level 5," the receptionist noted, quickly scanning the rest of the badges. She looked back up at Aria, instantly understanding their party dynamic. "You girls are quite young to have reached these ranks. Excellent work."
She handed the badges back across the counter. "Where are you currently staying in the capital?"
"We haven't found an inn yet," Aria replied, pinning the silver badge back onto her dress. "We came straight here from the gates. We will inform the desk later once we secure our lodging. We plan to stay here for a while, Ms. Receptionist. We will be coming to this branch every day to take jobs and clear quests."
The receptionist nodded, picking up a quill to write on a fresh piece of parchment. "Understood. I will leave the address blank for now."
Brielle stepped up beside Aria, crossing her arms. She still looked deeply annoyed by the interaction they had earlier. "Hey, let me ask you something. Is it true what the gate guards say? Is a Level 5 just considered a mid-level nobody in the Imperial Capital?"
The receptionist paused her writing. She looked at Brielle, then over to Aria, catching the slight tension in their shoulders. She offered a kind, reassuring smile.
"Don't let the guards get in your head," the receptionist explained gently. "It absolutely does not mean a Level 5 is weak. A Level 5 is still a Level 5. The physical strength, the reflexes, and the mana capacity required to reach that rank are about the same here as they are anywhere else in the world."
She gestured toward the massive, crowded hall behind them. "But Vireldria is the center of the world. Because the dungeons around the capital are so dangerous, the strongest people from every single country eventually travel here to test themselves. Because there are so many Level 5s and higher levels gathered in one single place, they became statistically common around here. The locals perceive them as mid-level simply because they see them every day. But in truth? You are strong. It's just that there are too many strong people here."
Aria felt a heavy knot in her chest instantly loosen. A wave of profound relief washed over her.
A Level 5 is still a Level 5.
Hearing those exact words from an official Association representative brought her shattered confidence rushing right back. The guard at the gate hadn't been completely wrong, but he had twisted the perspective. She wasn't weak. She just needed to prove her strength in a much larger, much deeper ocean.
The receptionist stamped the parchment with a heavy wax seal. "Alright, the Temporary Transit Log is done. Welcome to the Imperial Capital of Vireldria, girls. Let me know if you need help finding a good inn."
Aria leaned a little closer to the counter. She lowered her voice to a quiet, discreet level, mindful of the crowded room around them. "Actually, I have a question about a specific Adventurer. We are looking for a Level 8 named Kian Astor."
The receptionist's eyes widened slightly in recognition. "Oh? You mean Thousand Strings?"
Instead of whispering or looking around in terror like the gate guard had, the receptionist simply pointed her quill toward the large window on the far side of the lobby.
The five young ladies, intrigued, were waiting for her next words.
She continued speaking.