Once the written test was done, the two were whisked away from the small room to a larger training evaluation room. The fairy woman who continued to be their guide snapped her fingers and cages appeared on the far end with monsters inside of them.

  “Kill the monsters and then you’ll face examiner Lee,” she said, pointing to a large man with a massive sword on his back. “This is to ensure how you do against both monsters and people such as bandits or raiders.”

  Ardonis nodded, “Ready whenever.”

  The two beasts were released from the cages with another snap and Ardonis, already having the magic charged, released a lightning bolt that pierced right through the chest of the large dog-like creature. The bolt yellow bolt continued on until it hit the wall, creating a flash of light and leaving behind a burn scar. Lucy on the other hand shot an arcane projectile that looked similar to a small gemstone. It pierced through the head of the monster, and a second one pierced through its heart.

  The fairy woman, who neither knew the name of at this point, blinked, her mouth agape. She cleared her throat, “I suppose we can skip the part with examiner Lee. Don’t want an unfortunate casualty…”

  Examiner Lee nodded, his own eyes wide, he wasn’t sure who the two examinees were, but he knew then and there not to mess with them. No hesitation at all, almost as if they were already veterans.

  “So the next step is seeing how powerful we are via some orb or something right?” Lucy asked, her eagerness showing a bit more than Ardonis’s.

  “That’s right, fortunately, we have a large monumental black stone for such a thing. An artifact from the gods from ancient times, or so our research suggests. Well, a replica created by the few archmages of the world. The original is with the Clarn kingdom as I’m sure you know.”

  The two did in fact know that from their research. It had been with the royal family for thousands of years. It was originally used to bestow gifts and blessings upon those found worthy. It was interesting that replicas were used to judge someone’s power level though.

  They followed their fairy guide out of the training room and down several staircases. Passing through a few doors until they were in a basement area of sorts. A large room made of white marble like stone with a reddish hue. In the center was a massive black rectangular obelisk. Based on the size, Ardonis estimated it to be around fifteen feet tall and six wide.

  “The stone will change color according to your power level,” the fairy said, “Since you already seem quite powerful I’ll skip the lower tiers. Expert will turn green, master red, and divinity a white-ish gold. Just walk up and press your hand onto the surface.”

  Ardonis gestures for Lucy to go first and she smiled at him in excited appreciation. She walked up to the obelisk and gently put her hand on it. For a brief second, it flashed white-ish gold before changing to a deep red. Thankfully it seemed only Lucy and Ardonis noticed the first color it showed as. Otherwise their cover would already be blown.

  The fairy gawked, “You are at high-master…” she trailed off in awe.

  “Ardonis, I do believe it is your turn now,” Lucy said with a smile as she took her hand off the stone. It returned to a pure obsidian black the moment there was no contact. He nodded and stepped up to it as Lucy backed away. He pressed his hand to it and the same thing as before happened. This time however, the fairy caught it before the color changed, making her even more curious and suspicious of who these two were.

  “Both of you are at the same level, I do have to ask though, how can you be so powerful yet never have been registered with the guild before?” she asked.

  “Well, for one thing, the both of us are magic researchers,” Lucy said, coming up with something on the spot that fit their story. “We’ve developed our powers and grown stronger over time, however, we never really thought about becoming adventurers until recently. There is only so much you can experiment with before wanting more from life. So we decided that since we are fairly powerful adventuring and exploring the world would be the next step for us.”

  “I suppose you could say that experimental failure of ours just jumpstarted us a bit sooner than we expected,” Ardonis chimed in as he moved beside her. “I didn’t think that we would wind up halfway across the planet though.”

  The fairy giggled, her suspicion dying down, “Well I suppose that makes sense. As much as I want to though, I can’t instantly make the two of you S-rank. The highest that can be given is A. Which is already incredibly powerful and where those at Expert usually are at.”

  “Oh and just so you know,” she added, “Those beasts that you took out were expert-level, or A-rank monsters. Examiner Lee is also an A ranker. Given the warm power I felt from the two of you, I figured you’d be able to handle it. Though I didn’t expect it to be done that easily and quickly.”

  “That’s all very interesting information, any reason you didn’t think to mention it sooner?” Ardonis asked.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Ehehe, I didn’t think there was much reason to,” she admitted sheepishly, causing the two to sigh.

  “Well what’s done is done, so we’ll be labeled as A tankers?” Lucy asked.

  Their fairy friend nodded, “That is correct and to achieve S rank you must complete at least fifty A rank bounties in total. As well as have a good rapport with the guild. The only challenging part I see for the two of you is the latter of those.”

  “So build a good reputation and make some friends within the guild basically,” Ardonis said, rubbing his chin, already getting a few ideas.

  “Yes, although that is a bit easier said than done as it could take months or years to do. Unless you are just charismatic by nature that is. But what are the chances of you two having everything, right?” the two of them stayed silent, glancing at each other, “Right?”

  Ardonis cracked a smile and Lucy began to giggle, “Not that I think we are charismatic, but we do know some tactics to get people to trust us. It worked with you for example, hasn’t it?” he asked.

  She opened her mouth to say something but then brought a hand to her chin and went into thought. “How?” she asked looking up at them.

  “It isn’t anything too difficult, just kindness, friendliness, and understanding,” Lucy said. “The brain is very easy to deceive in that sense.”

  “And what about those that are wary of others, like most adventurers tend to be?”

  Ardonis shrugged, “Then it will just take a bit more time. And it isn’t like we are faking anything, it is genuine if a bit exaggerated. Now back on subject, even though we can start at A-rank, I don’t think that would be the best idea. It would be better to start us off at about D or C rank. That way we have a more believable upbringing you could say.”

  The fairy shook her head, “The two of you really must just be researchers if you think that. Sure it may not exactly be common and is rare, but there are many cases where people get A rank upon registration. Unless of course, you are specifically looking to hide your power even further than what starting out a rank lower gives you.”

  Ardonis looked over at Lucy, “What do you think? Being A rank means we’ll be able to take on tougher challenges and I imagine have more freedom with less questions asked. At least to an extent.”

  She nodded, “I’m in agreement with that, I think it would be a great idea to start off as A rank. Besides, it isn’t like we can’t just fib an excuse or something if it is required later on.”

  “Fair point,” he looked back at the fae, “Then I guess we’ll be starting out as A rank.”

  She smiled and nodded bringing them back to the front where she handed them two golden badges with the guild’s insignia. A couple adventurers had their eyes on the duo, but most ignored them and kept up the festivities of the night. Though it had died down a bit from earlier.

  “The color represents your rank if that wasn’t already obvious. Drop some blood on it to bind it to you, it also comes with tracking magic in case anything bad happens or you go missing. Once bound it also will not be able to be lost, always appearing in your possessions somewhere.”

  “Is it possible to know exactly where it will end up?” Lucy asked.

  “Unfortunately not, well the two of you being such powerful mages will probably be able to figure it out if I’m being honest. You can pin it wherever is visible as well. For example, it can be a collar, a bracelet, pinned onto your chest, etcetera. As long as it is somewhere visible where others can see it, for identification reasons.”

  Ardonis nodded, “That makes sense, thank you for all the help miss.”

  “It is my great pleasure,” she said with a giggle. “I’m not sure who got more benefit out of this, me or the two of you. As a small reward for making this boring night eventful, allow me to share some information about this small country of ours.”

  She cleared her throat, “I’m sure you’ve noticed all of the mix of different species around here. Whereas that is common in adventure guilds all across the planet, you’ll see a mix more here than anywhere else. Even outside of the guild, in other countries, such as the main human, elven, dwarven, etcetera, you will of course see them as the majority. You won’t get anywhere near the mix this town has even in one of their cities.”

  “This is because that although this country is on the smaller side compared to others, it is also more of a country for misfits and outcasts. Those that don’t or didn’t typically fit into their old societies. Granted, a good number are just born here. But for the longer-lived species like myself, it serves as more of an escape. I personally never cared for how fae society was, so I left to journey around and eventually found and settled here. You’ll hear many tales similar if you ask others of long-lived species.”

  Ardonis nodded, “I can’t say I wasn’t curious, but now I can say I’m more interested in this country than ever now. I do have a question though, does that also apply to demons? I can’t say I know much about them unfortunately.”

  The fairy, who either didn’t have a name or had some mischief about not telling it, nodded, “Yes, just like other species, as long as they follow the laws of course, which does not align with some of them. They are a bit more of a… ruthless type by nature. Most have a hard time grasping that other species can’t tend to handle their power and strength. Which causes issues as you can imagine. They also go by the philosophy that might is right. They are certainly more entrenched in war than most other species as well due to their bloodlust and fighting nature.”

  “This is not to say they are evil, just… warmongers. Unlike us, they are born immortal as well because of their ancient powers linking them to demons of old. There is a stigma worldwide about them and many are not pleased to be in the presence of one.”

  Lucy spoke up, “I assume this does not extend to all of them?”

  The fairy shook her head, “No, hence why some are welcome here, but the stigma still exists. Especially when there is an outburst from a few every once in a while and doesn’t help matters. As I said, part of it is because it is in their blood.”

  “In their blood or not, having control over it and themselves is something everyone should learn how to do,” Ardonis said wisely. “Whether it be bloodlust, vanity, pride, or anything else.”

  “That’s easy to say, but many demons don’t even want to change, which complicates things further. They aren’t a big bad evil, but at the same time, it’s hard to blame those that do think that way. Anyway, I went off topic a bit there, but that’s the gist of our humble country."