Two days later, Rayleigh was summoned to the Guild.
Faced with his Advisor's questioning, he had no choice but to admit he was already Level 2.
Although an Adventurer's personal information was private, Level registration wasn't covered by this rule.
That one Familia where every member lied about their Levels—that was going too far.
The Advisor looked hurt. "So you were Level 2 all along. Why didn't you say anything?!"
Rayleigh felt a pang of awkwardness under her questioning.
Ever since he arrived in Orario and became an Adventurer, this Advisor had helped him immensely.
No matter what he needed, she always did her best to assist him.
She would pore over complex documents for him, sometimes going as far as to translate ancient texts.
She had worried about him venturing into the Dungeon alone as a Level 1, only relaxing after he teamed up with Ardi, Alise, and the others.
Even then, every time they met, she would ask if he'd encountered any difficulties on his adventures and if he was getting along with his teammates.
She was a good Advisor.
Seeing Rayleigh's silence, the Advisor sighed.
"Since this is your decision," she said, "I'll just register it in the Guild's records. That way, you won't be concealing it."
"Advisor," Rayleigh said, looking at her in surprise.
"How about we set the registration date to two days ago?" she asked.
"Yes, two days ago is perfect," Rayleigh agreed with a smile.
After the registration was complete, the Advisor asked, "So, when did you actually reach Level 2?"
Rayleigh's smile froze.
He hesitated before speaking. "Well... it was during my sixth month in Orario..."
"What?!"
The Advisor was stunned.
She had assumed it was a month ago at most, not several months back!
"Listen, Rayleigh," she said, "you know that when an Adventurer reaches Level 2 and becomes a Second-Class Adventurer, they receive an Alias from the Gods, right?"
"Yes, I'm aware of that."
"Then why not become an Alias-holding Adventurer? Wouldn't it be good to increase your fame?"
'An Alias...'
Rayleigh felt a headache coming on.
Now that he'd revealed his Level, he couldn't escape this ordeal.
He just hoped it wouldn't be some bizarre Alias!
After all, he was a man destined to become the Sword God. Having a pet name like "Sweetheart Darling" would be a dark stain on his history!
Although Hephaestus would do her best to protect him, the Gods' twisted sense of humor was notoriously terrible.
He had zero trust in those deities who named mortals based on their whims.
Fortunately, the last Denatus had ended half a month ago, and the next one was at least two and a half months away.
There were ways to secure a good Alias.
The Gods weren't bad at naming—they were just mischievous. For mortals they favored, their taste was quite refined.
For example, Alise's Scarlet Harnel.
Kaguya's Yamato Rindou.
Ardi's Vyasa.
These Aliases were all excellent, crafted from the individuals' unique traits and imbued with meaning.
As the saying goes, "Names can be given wrongly, but nicknames are never mistaken."
An Alias had a profound impact on an Adventurer's identity.
Soon, a major event—one destined to be recorded in the annals of history—would unfold in Orario.
If he performed impressively during this event, people would naturally associate him with a fittingly heroic Alias.
...
After leaving the Guild, Rayleigh headed back to the workshop.
As he reached the entrance, he saw a tall powerfully built figure standing there.
The man was like an iron tower, exuding an unshakable presence just by standing still.
"And you are?" Rayleigh asked.
The giant turned to face him. "Are you Rayleigh, the blacksmith of the Hephaestus Familia?"
"That's me," Rayleigh confirmed, "but you haven't answered my question."
"I'm Ottar of the Freya Familia. I've come to ask you something."
'Ottar the Warlord! The City's Strongest?'
Rayleigh was stunned, then took a closer look at the man.
A Boarman standing over two meters tall, radiating an extraordinary aura—it had to be him.
"You're here to ask me something?"
Rayleigh hadn't expected Ottar to seek him out. This was the first time he'd seen the City's Strongest since arriving in Orario.
The Boarman got straight to the point. "I want to ask about the Zanpakuto."
'Huh? He knows about Zanpakuto?'
That was unexpected.
Information about the Zanpakuto was known to only a handful of people, even though no one had tried to keep it secret.
Within the Hephaestus Familia, only he and the Goddess knew. Even the Familia's captain, Tsubaki, was unaware of it.
Beyond them, only the Ganesha, Astraea, and Loki Familias were in the know.
Across all of Orario, those in the know made up less than one-thousandth of the Adventurer population.
Rayleigh hadn't asked anyone to keep it a secret, and the few who possessed Zanpakuto didn't go out of their way to hide them, using them as needed.
Yet, so far, it hadn't attracted widespread attention.
"You know about Zanpakuto?"
"I heard about them from Finn."
Rayleigh stared at him, then took out his key, unlocked the workshop door, and said.
"Come inside. We can talk there."
The Boarman followed Rayleigh, ducking his head and turning sideways to squeeze through the doorway.
Watching him struggle, Rayleigh felt that the standard-sized door was a bit unfair to a man standing over two meters tall.
"So, what do you want to know?" Rayleigh asked, matching the man's directness.
Ottar didn't waste time. "Can a Zanpakuto make me stronger?"
"Yes," Rayleigh replied without missing a beat. "Stronger than you can imagine."
"What's the price?"
"Eight hundred million Valis." (This guy is bias af lmao.)
The Boarman fell silent.
Whether he was stunned by the astronomical figure or for some other reason, Rayleigh couldn't tell.
After half a minute, Ottar stood and left behind a simple "I'll be back," and departed.
His decisive style was truly that of a warrior.
Rayleigh poured some freshly brewed tea for himself and took a sip.
He hadn't quoted the price of eight hundred million Valis just to make things difficult for Ottar.
In the future, Ottar would acquire the Black Sword from the Floor Boss Udaeus and have it reforged by the Goibniu Familia into the Supreme Black Sword.
That weapon alone was valued at a staggering 410 million Valis.
A Zanpakuto suitable for Ottar, the City's Strongest, would have to be worth at least twice as much as the Supreme Black Sword to be considered worthy.
Whether Ottar could afford it was up to him.
Rayleigh didn't know how Ottar had learned about Zanpakuto, nor how much he understood.
But if Ottar seized this opportunity, he might be able to change his fate of being defeated by Zald.
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