After returning to the teleport location at the beginning of the Third Floor, the trip back to the First Floor didn't take long.
"Nameless" walked in silence, touching his head from time to time, as if searching for memories that simply didn't exist.
Jay walked beside him, trying to break the heavy mood.
"You don't need to be so stiff," he said. "You walk like you're stepping on glass."
The man took a deep breath.
"It's just that… all of this," he made a broad gesture around them, "is new to me."
"Yeah," Jay replied, not quite sure what to say. "But we'll figure it out."
The Adventurers' Guild was only a few meters from the portal exit.
The main hall looked just as they remembered it: adventurers negotiating requests, mission boards packed with notices, clerks lined up behind service windows. Even so, when the group entered, several heads turned.
Not because of the five.
But because of the sixth.
The stranger was far too clean for someone lost, far too confused for a recruit, and above all, there was no icon floating above his head. That alone unsettled everyone immediately.
Ethan approached the green-haired receptionist who had helped the group on previous floors.
"We need help," he said. "We found him unconscious on the Third Floor, with no memory. We'd like a full identification. Level, affinity, class… everything."
She nodded and brought out a Registration Crystal, placing it on the counter.
"Sir, please place your hand here."
"Nameless" did as instructed.
The crystal glowed.
Trembled.
Flickered.
Then… went dark.
"That… shouldn't happen," the attendant murmured. "I'll try again."
She repeated the process.
Nothing.
No light, no symbol, no error.
She tried once more, this time with a larger crystal, used only in special cases. The result was identical.
"I'm… sorry," she said, visibly uncomfortable. "The system can't read anything about him. This has never happened since I joined the Guild."
Ethan thanked her, doing his best to keep his composure. When they stepped away from the counter, Marcus rubbed the back of his neck.
"Alright… now what? We didn't get any information at all."
"Great," Sienna muttered. "The walking bug is already in a safe place. Looks like he can stand on his own now. There's not much more we can do."
"Sienna," Ethan called her, for the second time that day. "No one is abandoning him."
Elenya took a deep breath.
"The question is: what do we do now?"
Jay raised a finger.
"Idea. Taiga. On the Second Floor. The crazy blacksmith might be able to mess with anything. She might find some kind of clue."
Sienna narrowed her eyes.
"Uh-huh… 'Taiga,' right? Funny how every solution you think of involves her."
Jay turned red.
"I-it's not like that! I just know she understands artifacts, okay?! It has nothing to do with—"
"Of course," Sienna replied, dragging out the word. "Nothing at all. I can imagine."
Elenya let out a small laugh.
"Jokes aside… Jay's right. If the system can't read him, someone who works with ancient mechanisms might be able to."
"And Taiga's good at that," Marcus added.
The Second Floor was hot, lively, and loud — a complete contrast to the silent emptiness of the Third. The forge glowed in shades of orange when they arrived. Taiga was hammering metal against metal when she noticed the group.
"Oh!" She raised an eyebrow. "You're back fast. Did something break? Want a new sword? Or…" she glanced at Jay, "were you missing me?"
"Something like that," Jay replied.
"So you were missing me?"
"No, that's not it! Look," he pointed at the stranger. "We found him passed out on the Third Floor. He… needs to be identified."
Taiga wiped sweat from her forehead with her forearm and studied "Nameless" with almost scientific curiosity.
"Come closer. I want to see something… Wow. He doesn't have an identification icon."
"Exactly," Ethan confirmed. "He has no memory. We don't know if he's an NPC, a player, or some kind of system failure."
Taiga opened a stone box, revealing small colored crystals, each emitting a soft glow.
"Elemental affinity," she explained. "If they're compatible, they react. If not, they stay dark. At least we can find out if he's connected to magic."
She brought the blue crystal, water.
Nothing.
Then the red one, fire.
Nothing.
The green one, nature.
Nothing.
The purple one, arcane.
Nothing.
"Hm… strange."
Then she picked up a golden crystal — extremely rare.
The crystal glowed.
Not just glowed. It lit up intensely, radiating a warm, steady light.
Taiga's eyes widened.
"Affinity… with light. And very strong."
"Nameless" took a step back, startled.
"Is that… good?"
"Good?" Taiga replied, impressed. "I've never seen anyone with this attribute in here. This is the first time."
Sienna leaned against a column and smiled faintly.
"Well, at least we know he's not a monster."
"I hope," Jay muttered.
Excited, Taiga rummaged through another box and pulled out a beginner's grimoire, its simple white cover marked with golden details.
"If he has light affinity, I can give this to him."
She handed the book to "Nameless."
"Don't try to use magic yet," she warned, serious despite her smile. "Without training, you could pass out if you don't know how to control your mana."
He accepted the grimoire carefully, as if holding something sacred without understanding why.
Ethan nodded.
"We'll train with him before moving on."
Jay gave the newcomer a few light pats on the shoulder.
"Welcome to the beginning of chaos."
He took a deep breath before continuing:
"Alright… now that he's going to be traveling with us, we need to settle something. We can't call him 'Nameless' forever."