As Rintaro entered the Master Guild, the walls was as bright as the trees from before. It wasn't as small as it was before. There were stairs were led to the upper rooms. That was probably where the adventurers slept.

  There were many tables. There were many adventurers he saw.

  Rintaro, there were more people here than there were before, I guess that's what happened with time changing.

  But he noticed the same yellow-haired girl who threw her dagger into his neck. Rintaro didn't want to be killed again. So, he saw a fresh seat and sat there and waited for her to leave. But when he looked at the left side of him, there was a girl with black clothes, who had a witch hat, and had long black hair that covered her eyes. She was holding a staff that even Rintaro could tell that she wasn't confident holding it.

  "Hi. Who are you?" Rintaro asked.

  The girl flinched slightly at his sudden greeting. "M-My name is Maria Windbreaker," she answered softly.

  My name is Rintaro Natsuki, but you can just call me Natsuki.

  You want to know why, Maria's gaze drifts to the floor. "Y-Yes... I guess..." She fidgets with her sleeve.

  Rintaro says this name is inspired by his favorite protagonist, S. And that's why he took his name.

  Do you get it?

  Maria tilted her head. "I still don't understand... Who? What's a protagonist?"

  Rintaro stands up from his chair. "A protagonist is someone who will change this world, become the hero, and everything in this world is appointed to him."

  Maria shrugged, her eyes drifting to the side. "Um... that sounds interesting, but... I don't think that's what a hero is. Actually, its kind sounds like... someone who's... I don't know, maybe self-absorbed? Or, like, trapped in their own head? They... think everything's about them... I-I don't think a hero would think that way, right?"

  Rintaro realized that she was shy about talking her own opinions, so he switched the subject and compliment her name.

  You have a nice name,

  Maria blushed; her voice soft. "Th-thank you... no one's ever said that to me before."

  Rintaro smiled. "By the way, why are you here?"

  Oh, as Maria glances at Rintaro, still a little shy. "I... I want to be an adventurer. I just started, though. Haven't done any requests yet."

  Rintaro looks puzzled. "Requests? What's that? Is there some kind of quest system here?"

  Maria answers, in Adventurers Guilds, there are things called requests. Someone will post a paper and ask you to do something for them. That's a request. If you do a request, you can gain money or other things.

  "So, a request is like a job?" Rintaro clarified.

  "Yeah," Maria nods, her hands fidgeting. "Requests are ranked by the adventurer's level. For example, if you complete 10 out of 20 requests, you'd be a B-tier adventurer. As for the Mastery Guilds, they only accept the best of the best."

  Maria looks down, voice small. "You have to be good at something to be allowed here... Most of the requests are really difficult. That's why I don't take any. I'm scared I'll fail my first one." She hesitates, then adds, "The only reason they let me become an adventurer... was because I begged them. With everything I had, really."

  Rintaro's eyes widen in disbelief. "You begged?"

  Maria nods, looking embarrassed. "I was desperate."

  She begged? Rintaro scoffs in his mind. I'm the protagonist. I will never beg. The protagonist doesn't beg for anything. The story follows him and only him. If I asked to become an adventurer, they'd probably just say I'm cool and accept me right away…

  But then, a memory creeps in. Wait. Last time I asked, they killed me.

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  His confidence wavers for a split second. They freaked out when I told them I was from another world… and a ranger. He exhales. Yeah, I probably shouldn't mention any of that this time.

  "Okay, Maria, what about you? Why did you become an adventurer?"

  I guess it was as Maria's voice dropped lower, and Rintaro could tell she wasn't comfortable answering. He decided to switch topics.

  Hey, who are the other adventurers? When I entered, I saw other adventurers. They were some unique ones.

  "Oh, you're talking about Rex and Isha?" Maria asked.

  Who are they?

  Isha, she's the one with the yellow hair and the ninja outfit with her dagger. I don't know really much about her, but they said that she has done at least 30 requests and she's already completed them. I think she's a B-tier adventurer. She's even a master of Solid Improvement Breathing Style 1.

  Solid Improvement?" Rintaro's fantasy-loving brain latched onto the phrase. "What kind of magic system is that?"

  Maria, what is a magic system?

  "It's nothing," Rintaro dismissed quickly.

  Rintaro frowned but let it slide. "Who's the other one?"

  He's not here, but his name is Rex. He's the one with the two swords. I think they said he went to catch a fish,

  Rintaro. I do remember seeing a big guy trying to cut a fish. I guess that's the effect of time changing,

  Maria: In her soft voice "I don't know much about Rex, but I do know that he was once part of the Dragon Party. It was a party full of demi-humans, and Rex was the only human. That's about all I know about them. But Rex isn't in the party anymore. Now, all he talks about is the Rangers. He warns the Adventurers about them."

  Rintaro's mind lingered on the name "Rangers." It wasn't the first time he'd heard it, but it was starting to get under his skin.

  "Rangers," huh? But he didn't pay it much thought.

  Instead, he shifted his attention as Maria pointed toward the last member of another adventurer.

  Maria: "That's Alex. His father is a noble who lives in the capital Kingdom."

  Rintaro: Confused "The capital? You mean... I'm stuck in a village, and I'm not even close to the capital? How far away are we from it?"

  Maria: Shakes her head "We're nowhere near it."

  Rintaro's frustration bubbled up again. "Oh, great. My bad luck is just following me around, huh?"

  Maria looked at him, puzzled by his sudden outburst, but she chose not to press further. She just wanted to finish the conversation.

  As Rintaro noticed how she seemed to retreat into herself, as though she wanted to end things quickly.

  As he stood up to leave, he saw that Isha, the yellow-haired girl, was no longer around.

  Rintaro: Smiling as he stood up "It was nice talking to you, Maria. Remember the name Rintaro Natsuki. I'm going to be a hero one day." Pauses "Uh, thanks."

  Maria looked away quickly, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. "What was that? Why was I blushing? Do I like him? No... we just met. But he's my first real friend in a long time..."

  Rintaro walks up to the receptionist. As he looks, the receptionist is putting her makeup. She glances at him and asks what he wants.

  Rintaro responds, I want to be an adventurer. "What will I be here for?" Rintaro thought to himself.

  As she stands up Oh, you want to be an adventurer? How good, I'm proud of you for taking the next step. I guess you need my name. It is Sai Oral.

  Your name? It's Rintaro Natsuki! Just call me Natsuki, the protagonist of this story.

  I love your name, but I've never heard of a protagonist. No matter. I'm guessing that's some title you have She says that Rintaro has a nice name. Mostly, she likes the name Natsuki.

  Replying with, take that name, Rintaro Natsuki, to the day you die. That is something you will never forget, Rintaro. Why are you acting so nice? Don't be mad. It's been a bad day, okay? Let me guess, you want to become an adventurer so you can help your family, or your starving brother. Stop with these sob stories. I'm sick of you adventurers.

  All you tell me is about your days and about how you fought these monsters. Guess what, I don't care! Oh, sorry, I guess I didn't see you there. Do you want a card?

  Rintaro, okay. As Rintaro feels some unease, realizing maybe he came at the wrong time, but it was either talking to her, or being killed by Isha, or the old hair guy.

  My name is Rintaro Natsuki. I am 17, black hair and red eyes. I'm wearing a black sweat pant with red lines in, a black sweat jacket with red lines on it.

  Sai, I didn't ask for your entire outfit, but I guess that's what you wanted to answer.

  I guess that's what you wanted to tell me, huh? Wait, so you didn't ask for it?

  Sai, no, but you're 17. That's young for an adventurer.

  Rintaro, I'm experienced. I have fought some goblins and wolves.

  Sai, okay. What skills are you good at?

  As Rintaro explains, he's good at using swords, and he's smart sometimes. Talks about the time where he used a sword to fight a goblin. Obviously, he's lying, because he used a stick. But to make himself somewhat cooler, he says it was an easy job.

  Sai, how interesting. I didn't ask for that again. I guess it's now time for your mana test.

  As she brings out the mana scanner, Rintaro, it's starting again. Rintaro, already knowing the outcome, reluctantly places his hands on the device. The scanner vibrates once and turns black. "Well, well,"

  Sai says, eyeing him skeptically. "You have zero mana." She raises an eyebrow. "I've never met anyone with zero mana. Where do you come from?" "I'm from... this village," Rintaro answers stiffly, avoiding the question.

  Sia shrugs, clearly uninterested. "Okay, I guess you don't want to answer, huh? Fine." She stands up, ready to finish this. "I'm sorry, but you can't be an adventurer. You don't fit the qualifications."

  Rintaro's jaw tightens. "What? After everything I went through, I can't be an adventurer? This is nonsense! I'm the protagonist!"

  "Uh, you can rent a room here, though," Sia says, turning away as if she couldn't care less.

  Rintaro, fuming, stands there in shock. "I'm sick of this stupid world!" he exclaims.

  Sai smirks and leans back in her chair. "Welcome to the real world," she says with a chuckle. "Next one."

  as the chapter ends.