In a magnificent celestial hall, an old man sat upon a majestic throne crafted from gold and adorned with intricately carved diamonds. Before him knelt a strikingly handsome young man.
"WHAT!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE HERO WAS KILLED?" screamed the old man as if the world was about to end, and a tone of sadness could be heard in his voice.
The king had long, white hair that reached almost to his ankles, and he wore a captivating, magnificent crown that truly suited a king.
"My king, as I mentioned before, the Hero has perished, and the Demon King died as a result. It is believed that after a long and arduous battle, the Hero decided to unleash all of his magic to defeat the Demon King." A handsome young man with golden hair explained in a monotonous and cold voice.
A chilling silence fell upon them as they locked eyes for a brief moment.
"Notify the four duchies about the death of the first prince, The Hero." he sounded calm and collected, unlike before.
"As you command, my king!" the young man said with the same chilling and cold tone as before.
Leaving the hall, the young man entered a dimly lit room where he saw four massive crystals positioned in each corner. The crystals were circular in shape, but upon closer inspection, one could observe thousands, or even millions, of sides, it didn't look like it was evident that the intricate design was not accidental or a result of insufficient polishing, but rather a deliberate creation.
He walked toward the center of the room, and then the four crystals illuminated the entire space. Four distinct faces could be seen, but none of them appeared significant or influential regarding social status.
"Tell your masters that the Hero, the first prince, has slain the Demon King and perished in the process." said the young man.
The four individuals on the crystals showed no signs of emotion and nodded in response to the information that was given. And soon after, the lights of the crystals slowly started to dim, plunging the room back into darkness.
...
"Okay, so where can we find the Adventurers' Guild?" Dara asked a bald, elderly man who appeared to be so weak that even a single touch could kill him.
"Hmm, young lady, if you turn right from here, you will see a fountain. That's the center of the city. From there, you can follow the signs." The old man said, trembling on his knees. It wasn't from fear, but it seemed like a common occurrence.
"Thanks, old man, as a token of appreciation, I will give you something." Dara said, smiling.
Suddenly, a black sphere appeared. It was small at first, but it started to grow until it was the size of a hand. Dara reached into the sphere and pulled out something resembling a piece of candy.
"What!" The old man exclaimed, wide-eyed and mesmerized by the magic.
"I was an adventurer in my younger days, but I rarely saw this space magic. I only saw this magic with the S rankers in the guild. You have a bright future young lady."
Dara chuckled after being called "young lady", after all, she was one of the oldest beings in the world.
"Haha, thank you for the compliment, and here have this." Dara handed over the candy-like object.
"Now, eat it up. It will help your body."
The old man looked suspicious at the candy Dara gave him but still ate the candy. What could a simple piece of candy do to help his body?
As he ate the candy, nothing immediately happened, but soon after, the pain in his legs became better and better, and the trembling less and less. And not just his legs but his entire body felt much better.
"Wow, what kind of thing is this? My body and mainly my legs feel much better. Just who are you, young lady?"
Alisa watched from the side as everything unfolded, feeling just as perplexed as the confused old man.
"Let's go, Alisa!" Dara said with a smile as she held Alisa's hand.
Alisa looked at Dara and saw a big warm smile on her face as they locked hands. She smiled back at Dara and replied.
"Yes!"
...
After walking through the city, they began to see the adventurers' guild.
"Wow, it's pretty big isn't it?" Alisa said with an awe-struck expression.
"Yeah, I was expecting something more spartan and traditional." Dara said, looking at the unexpectedly large guild.
The adventurers' guild had stone walls, contrasting with the neighboring establishments that were made of plain wood. It had two floors and was spacious enough to occupy a significant portion of the city block.
"Well, let's try going inside, shall we?" Dara said, looking at Alisa.
"Yes, let's go!" Alisa spoke confidently, and it seemed like she had opened up more to Dara.
As they entered the guild, they encountered a spacious room filled with numerous tables, each capable of seating 4 to 5 people, and a few counters staffed by employees. All of the guild staff were very good-looking, especially the ladies. They were extremely beautiful women, but they still couldn't compare to Dara.
Dara looked around the guild and spotted a counter with a competent and efficient female staff. In just a few minutes, she had already assisted more adventurers than all of the other staff combined. It seemed like she was a pro at this.
"Alisa, let's go to that counter, okay?" Dara asked Alisa.
Alisa looked around the guild and noticed some intimidating adventurers. She decided to walk a little closer to Dara.
"Aren't the people here a little scary?" Alisa asked Dara with a frightened expression.
"Don't worry, they haven't even noticed us, have they? So just stay close to me, and everything will be fine, okay?"
For some reason, they were not attracting much attention. Alisa expected everyone to notice Dara because of her captivating figure, but they just ignored them as if they weren't even there.
"Okay!" Alisa calmed down slightly.
"Greetings, my name is Chloe, and I am a member of the guild. How can I assist you?"
Dara was about to speak to Chloe, but Alisa unexpectedly started to speak first.
"Ah, we wanted to obtain an ID card and an adventurer's card."
All of the time since Dara met Alisa, it was Dara who started the conversation and had the initiative to speak, but this time, it was Alisa.
'What a cute little girl!' Chloe thought for a moment before going back to work mode.
"Okay, just one moment."
Chloe started searching for something beneath the counter. After a couple of minutes, she grabbed two boxes: one blue and the other yellow. Each box had a hole where you could put your hand inside.
"The blue one is for your identification and the yellow is for your adventurer's card, just put your hand inside and you will feel a little tickle in your hand, just remove your hand and it's done!" Chloe said enthusiastic about it.
Alisa was worried about Dara and the possibility of the identity of the Demon King being discovered.
Dara patted Alisa's shoulder and said "It's okay!" and placed her hand inside the blue and the yellow simultaneously. After just a couple of seconds, she removed her hands from the boxes.
"Thank you, now just a moment please."
Two wood cards were "printed" from behind the boxes. The two of the cards had her name, but her adventurer's card was a little more detailed with information on her status.
[Dara Myac]
[Rank - F]
[Strength - 30]
[Agility - 20]
[Mana - 99]
It showed pieces of information.
"Okay, and it's done, here you go." Chloe handed the cards to Dara.
"Only you, and the people you have permitted, can see the information on the adventurer's card so that any information leak does not happen."
Alisa tried to peek at the information status on Dara's card, but it was all blank, even her name, the only thing that showed it was her rank.
"All adventurers begin in F rank, you can rank up only two times a year. And about your status, you can choose what status you want to make public by sliding your finger on top, we recommend displaying just your name, so that it is easier to identify in case it is lost."
Dara slid her finger on top where it was displaying her name.
"Can you see it now, Alisa?"
"Yes, I can see your name now Dara!" Alisa said cheerfully and happily, like a child who just saw magic happen.
'sooo cuuuteee!' Chloe thought to herself.
Chloe liked it when girls came to her counter because it changed her mood.
"Your last name is Myac, Dara?"
"Yes, but I usually avoid using it." Dara said with a dim face.
"Now it is your turn next, right, little girl?" Chloe said smiling at Alisa.
Alisa put her hands on the boxes, and she felt a little tickle on her hands, right after she removed her hands and two cards, just like Daras appeared. But the special one was the adventurer's card, she took a look at her stats.
[Alisa]
[Rank - F]
[Strength - 8]
[Agility - 9]
[Mana - 99]
She wasn't surprised by the first two stats, but in the last one she was quite confused as to why the value was so high.
"The adventurer's guild gives you a test to determine your rank, as I said earlier, we do that two times each year." Chloe said.
"Well, we forgot to ask this first but do we have to pay anything?" Dara said to Chloe.
"No, it's not necessary while acquiring the guild card and the ID card, but if you lose any of the cards and need to get one again, then the fee is 2 silver for the first time lost."
"Okay, that's fine we won't let it her lost. Let's go find somewhere to stay, Alisa."
"Oh if you girls want a place I recommend the Night Blunder Inn, it looks pretty rundown from the outside but it is one of the best in the city."
Dara nodded at Chloe.
"Thank you." said Alisa.
They left the adventurer's guild and walked through the city again trying to find Night Blunder Inn, now it was already dark.
"Dara, I have a question."
"Ask right away."
"What does each status mean?"
Alisa wanted to know what each status meant, and most importantly what is the norm.
"Well, strength is really simple is just the force that your body has, for example, a Knight has a value of 20 to 30. Agility is a little more complex because it measures your speed and your ability to dodge objects, Hunters and Scouters have a value of 30 to 40 if they are good."
"What about mana?"
"Well, mana is a little delicate because it usually measures your affinity with magic, but it also measures your mana pool, a Court Magician usually has a value of 20 to 25, definitely lower than the other status, but in exchange just going one number above it can increase your mana pool and affinity immensely. Magic is the easiest to learn and can be the strongest stat."
Alisa froze a little hearing about the abnormal mana status that she has.
"Then what is your status, Dara?"
"Oh, mine are all above 99." Dara said with a smug face.
"What about your Alisa? Well, you are quite young and tiny so maybe all are inferior to 10 I assume?"
normally children usually have lower stats and just when they reach puberty their stats start to grow rapidly.
Alisa, now with a smug on her face said,
"Hehehe, I have a 99 on mana!" Alisa said loudly.
"Eh? Wow that's incredible." Dara said cheerfully to Alisa, but not entirely believing her.
"Now you just need some training right?" said Dara, intending to tease her.
"Eh? M-maybe? I-I think I see the inn over there!" Alisa said trying to change the conversation thinking she was serious.
"Umm, let's go then." Dara said in a joking tone.
The inn was pretty rundown from the outside, but after entering they were surprised by how different it was, it was comfortable, clean, and gorgeous.
They walked to the single counter in the inn and ranged the bell that was on, after a couple of minutes a tall man walked to the counter and said,
"How can I help you?"
The man was tall had pretty clothes and was polite, completely different from what you expect looking from the outside.
"We would like a room for two, please."
"Ah, yes, would you like to include breakfast and dinner?"
"Yes, please."
He looked quite startled to see people in the inn.
"Okay, that will be 4 silver for each night."
They were a little surprised by the price, after all, it was pretty cheap if you compared it to the inside of the inn.
"Okay, here it is."
Dara gave the man a gold coin.
"Eh? That will be 25 days, is that okay?" the man said sweating a little, he never had a customer who paid with a gold coin before, after all, who would want to stay 25 days in an inn?
"Yes, it is okay."
Dara wasn't really worried about money, because when she was still the Demon King she had accumulated quite a bit of goods. She had acquired a large amount of gold when she killed the hero, probably coins given by the king.
"Thank you very much for staying at Night Blunder, your room is at the end of the corridor."
The name was a little strange, but everything was pretty good.
They walked through a corridor full of rooms in each side, but it was complete silence, maybe it was just because it was late at night?
After walking to the room, the beds were pretty comfortable and the room was shiny and clean. Alisa laid on the bed.
"Fufu~~" Dara chuckled a little seeing Alisa falling asleep immediately after laying down.
"Good night, sweetie." Dara whispered in Alisa's ear.