Caelus stepped into the Adventurer's Guild, the place was busier than he imagined, voices overlapped, chairs scraped, someone argued loudly in one corner while another group laughed over drinks, and yet none of it felt chaotic.
When he stepped in, one paid him any real attention. A few glanced his way out of habit, then looked away just as quickly. No flashy armor, no oversized weapon, no loud entrance. Just another face walking in.
He calmly made his way to the counter.
The girl behind it looked up as he approached. She looked to be in her early twenties, with a neat appearance and a composed posture.
"Welcome to the Adventurers guild, I'm Eina" She greeted him with a warm smile "How can I be of service to you?"
"I'm Caelus," he said feeling a bit nervous. "I'd like to register as an adventurer."
"Ohh sure one second." She replied as she reached beneath the counter and placed a form in front of him along with a pen. "Fill this out."
He nodded, stepping aside to a nearby table. The form was straightforward; name, basic details, a few questions about combat ability. Nothing too complicated. He finished it quickly and returned it.
"Thank you," she said, taking it from him. "Give me a moment."
Caelus stepped back again, leaning lightly against the counter as he waited. His gaze drifted across the room, watching people move, talk, laugh. As always, It still hadn't fully sunk in yet that all this was real.
A few minutes later
"Caelus."
He straightened and walked back over.
She slid a small card toward him. "Your guild ID."
He picked up the card, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes as he looked it over but in under seconds, that excitement faded
"…D-rank." He thought to himself still staring at the card "Honestly, I thought I'd be just as over powered like all the fantasy MCs I've read about"
Eina quickly noticed the visible disappointment on his face. "Something wrong?"
He shook his head quickly. "No, it's just…" he hesitated for a second before exhaling lightly, "…I thought it'd be a bit higher…..rank wise and all"
She let out a soft laugh. "It doesn't work that way."
"Eh really?"
"Everyone starts at D-rank," she explained. "Doesn't matter who you are. Strength, talent, background, it doesn't change the starting point. You take requests, build experience, and move up."
"Ohh that makes sense" Caelus stroked his chin. "Thank you Miss Eina."
"Eina is fine also, you're welcome." She smiled softly before gesturing toward the center of the hall. "If you're looking to start, the request board is over there."
He made his way towards the direction she pointed
The board was crowded, a few adventurers already gathered around it, scanning through requests and pulling some off. Caelus slipped in between them, made his way to the front, and started browsing all the available requests.
After looking around for a while, he finally found a quest that matched his rank: Goblin Subjugation.
He pulled it off and headed back to the counter.
"I'll take this one."
Hoo, back already?" Eina greeted with a soft smile as she took the request form from his hand, but instead of immediately stamping, her hand paused mid-motion as her eyes shifted slightly past him.
"…Is something wrong?" Caelus asked, tilting his head a bit confused by the sudden hesitation.
"Caelus...don't you have a party?" she asked.
"Nope I'm all by myself...is that an issue of some sort?."
"In a way yeah" she replied "unfortunately I can't accept your request"
Caelus jaws dropped as soon as those words left her mouth
"Sadly new adventurers aren't allowed to take solo requests. It's for safety reasons." She continued, tapping the paper lightly with her finger.
Caelus let out a quiet breath, his shoulders dropping ever so slightly.
"…So what do I do now?"
"You'll need to form a party," she replied. "It doesn't have to be large. Even one other person is fine."
"…Right."
Eina gave him a small, apologetic look, like she knew exactly how inconvenient that sounded. "You could try asking around, sometimes there are people who are usually looking to fill spots."
"Yeah… I'll do that."
——
He asked different people and groups but unfortunately got turned down. Either they were already full, or they were looking for people within their rank or higher. No one wanted to take in someone completely new.
After a while, he stopped trying.
"…Guess that's not happening today."
He let out a breath and sat down at one of the empty tables, resting his arms lightly against it. Not upset, just a bit stuck on what to do next.
That was when the door opened, while it wasn't loud anyone could tell the atmosphere had completely shifted
The conversations didn't stop, but they dipped, voices lowering just slightly. A few people glanced toward the entrance, then quickly looked away. Others pretended not to notice at all.
"…What's that about?" Caelus murmured tapping the guy who sat next to him
"Ohh you're the new guy so you're probably clueless" The man sitting at the next table glanced at him. "That's Cypher."
Caelus followed the man's gaze.
It was a girl who stood at six feet with Black hair, messy and uneven, a lean, toned build more refined than bulky. Dark tattoos traced along one arm, partially exposed by her sleeveless outfit, while belts wrapped tightly around her waist and a katana wrapped in bandage rested casually over her shoulder as she headed straight for the counter.
"So why'd everyone become…..you know all of a sudden?" Caelus asked.
"Rumor has it that people who've teamed up with her in the past ended up dead" The man leaned back slightly. "Even if they do survive they are in such a terrible condition that they are forced to retire"
"…That so."
"Take my advice," the man added. "Stay away."
Caelus didn't answer immediately.
He watched as she handed something over to the receptionist. Even the woman behind the counter seemed a bit more careful than before, not scared, just a bit nervous.
He tapped his fingers lightly against the table.
"…Not like I've got better options." He muttered to himself before standing up and walking over to the receptionist area and waited
The woman finished what she was doing at the counter, the receptionist slid her some gold coins. Then she turned back and found Caelus standing there.
The Guild was filled with gasps and murmurs
"…What."
Caelus didn't flinch, but rather went straight to the point "Recently joined the guild and apparently, I need a party to take a request," he said. "I was hoping you'd join."
"…Sure."
The word dropped so casually it didn't register in his mind immediately
"Come again?" Caelus blinked.
"I'll join," she said, already turning slightly back toward the counter. "For a few raids till you can find a party."
Caelus was still trying to process how fast she had accepted his request with how everyone behaved, he assumed he was about to be shot down hard. He proceeded to ask her why only for her to reply with:
"Because you asked...or were you joking perhaps?"
"No no thank you" Caelus replied a bit flustered
"Well then, I'll see you tomorrow" she walked past him without saying anything else
——
Later that evening, Caelus found himself standing in a small room inside an inn, looking around with quiet curiosity.
"…So this is it."
It wasn't anything special. A bed, a small table, a chair and a window.
He set his bag down, walked over to the window, and pushed it open slightly allowing the cold wind of the night to drift in.
A faint smile tugged at his lips just thinking of the fact that he had now officially become an adventurer he fell to the bed and laughed like a maniac
Eventually staring at the ceiling for a bit longer in silence before his eyes slowly closed.
——-
[Back on Solaris, inside the palace]
"…He left?" The words came out sharper than intended.
The man standing in the shadows didn't react. "Yes, my lord. It's been several days since he did."
Kaelen's expression tightened.
"…Several days."
"Yes."
"…And no one thought to report that?"
"Your father seems to be aware so we assumed you'd be too," the man said calmly.
Kaelen clicked his tongue softly, turning away and began pacing around the room. "…First the dining hall. Then his performance drops. Now this." He thought to himself before speaking out loud "Find him."
The man in the shadows lowered his head slightly. "Understood."
"Do not approach him," Kaelen added. "Do not engage. I want information. Where he is, what he's doing, who he's with."
"…Yes, my lord."
The figure stepped back and completely vanished into the darkness.
Kaelen remained where he was, staring out the window, his reflection faint against the glass. "…What are you planning, Caelus?"