The morning sun came peeking through the old wooden shutters, shining right into Souta Kael's sleepy face. He groaned and rolled over, smacking the pillow over his head.
"Five more minutes…"
Too bad the birds didn't get the memo.
He sighed.
"Yeah, right. SSS-rank hunter life… real glamorous."
He went downstairs and had some weird breakfast, soup and bread that felt like chewing rubber. Then he headed back to the place he worked yesterday, ready for another round of sweaty lifting and sore arms. But hey, 30 coins was 30 coins.
By the time the sun was way up, he was done. He walked back to his room like a zombie, tossed the money on the table like a boss, and flopped face first on the bed.
"I need a bath," he mumbled.
For once, the world didn't argue.
The inn had a small washroom, and the water was actually warm, thanks to some glowing rune thing. He chilled in the tub like he was royalty, just staring at the ceiling.
After finally not smelling like a wet goblin, he stepped outside again. This time, he was gonna explore the city properly not as some confused weirdo, but like a someone who totally belonged here.
He walked around for a while. Saw a lady playing an instrument that looked like a harp and a guitar mashed together. Tried some snack that was blue and kinda spicy (not even gonna ask what it was). Then he found this tall building made of stone with a sign:
City of Drelmire Public Library
Knowledge Isn't Power Unless You Touch the Ancient Sealed Books
"Perfect and weird," knowledge Isn't Power… Souta grinned, and walked in.
Inside was all warm and quiet, smelling like old wood and candles. Books everywhere. He wandered a bit and found a cool section called World History & Dungeonology.
He grabbed a huge book called The Origins of Power and Dungeonkind, crashed onto a couch, and started reading.
What he found out?
This world was wild.
Back on Earth, dungeons just appeared one day and caused chaos. But here in Nythra, dungeons had always been part of the world. Dungeons were here since day one.
Also, people didn't just awaken randomly. They were born with power, and they leveled up as they trained. Everyone had ranks, from F (bottom of the top) to S.
And then there were the legends…
SS-rank — rare heroes.
SSS-rank — only Ten ever existed. Only two in this generation, they are said to be so powerful on pair with a demon god. This SSS-RANK hunters all so called demi-gods.
"…Nice," Souta whispered. "Guess I'm number three."
He kept reading about monsters, magic stuff, weird creatures, and demons. Then something popped up that made him sit up straight.
Guilds.
Groups that handled dungeon hunting, monster jobs, protection missions, and got paid big time.
"Jackpot."
He slammed the book shut.
"Step one to becoming OP and rich: join a guild."
***
Drelmire Adventurer's Guild
Near the city center was a big fancy building with white stone walls and a huge banner:
Drelmire Adventurer's Guild
— Become a Legend —
Souta walked in like he knew what he was doing.
The place looked like part tavern, part military base. Wooden floors, big open space, people everywhere, some sharpening weapons, some laughing, some arguing about goblins probably. One dude was straight-up yelling at a giant mole with armor. (Yeah, something you wouldn't want to know.)
He went to the front desk, where a lady with short white hair and a serious face stood with a clipboard.
"Welcome to the Guild," she said. "You registering?"
"Yup. Name's Souta Kael."
She handed him a paper. "Fill this out. Then we'll test you."
He scribbled stuff down and gave it back. She nodded, then pulled out this glowing glass orb from under the counter. It was the size of a watermelon.
"Place your hand on the orb," she said. "It'll scan your magic and rank."
He put his hand on it.
At first, nothing.
Then the orb lit up. First blue… then white… then it started pulsing. The air shook a little. A weird breeze kicked up around him.
CRACK!
The orb made a sound and a thin crack split across its surface. Then a loud ding echoed across the guild hall.
Everyone turned.
Souta blinked.
"…Cool."