Kael was walking through the streets, still dumbfounded from the result of his evaluation. He was thinking while looking at the silver ring on his middle finger.
No matter how he thought about it, he still couldn't understand how he got ranked as B. Throughout the evaluation, he did nothing but dodge. He couldn't even rest. And at the last minute, he only managed to survive because of his ability.
Even the young girl, the one who processed his registration, was shocked by the decision. Before he left the dungeon, the young girl handed him this silver ring, saying he should not lose it. Apparently, each adventurer was given a ring depending on their rank. Stone for E, bronze for D, iron for C, silver for B, and gold for A. He did not know what kind of rings S-ranked people wore, since this small village never saw one. Even the young girl did not know what ring they would give to an S-ranked.
He let out a breath of air and closed his eyes.
"Anyways, it doesn't really matter. What I need to do now is to…"
Kael frowned his brows.
"Is to…"
Remembering his father, his uncles, and his family getting massacred and torn apart limb by limb, he couldn't help but shudder. He also remembered how they shielded him using their bodies just so he could escape.
"Is to live."
He has no goals now. If before, he wanted to be an awesome adventurer, now, he just wanted to live. Treasuring the life that his family sacrificed with their own. He set that as his goal for now.
And for that, he should refrain from fighting and, most importantly, use his ability. In fact, as a B-rank adventurer, many quests are available to him now, so it was not entirely bad.
He went back to his inn and rested for the rest of the day.
The next morning, he went back to the guild to look for jobs.
Opening the door and entering, the young girl greeted him with a stiff smile. It seems like she still hasn't forgotten what happened yesterday.
"Hello, mister Kael."
Kael just nodded and went straight to the quest board, where the guild posted all their quests.
"Uhh… mister Kael. I'm Fria, by the way. If you ever need something or have questions, don't hesitate to approach me."
Kael turned to Fria and bowed slightly.
"I will. Thank you."
Kael then went to the quest board. While walking, he realized that he only knew Fria's name now.
He arrived at the board, and there are a few adventurers here as well, searching for jobs. He browsed through the board and found various jobs. Collecting herbs, finding stray pets, escorting someone, hunting an animal, clearing a dungeon, and such.
Most adventurers would party up, so clearing a dungeon is not impossible. However, Kael planned to work alone. He feared getting attached to his party members only to lose them in the end. He doesn't want to go through that pain again.
He stayed for a while and then walked to the door leading to the other hallway, meant for B-ranked adventurers and up.
Opening the door, he realized that the layout is basically the same, just with fewer people inside. A simple wooden chair and tables, and a quest board near the wall.
He walked to the quest board, inciting surprised glances from the adventurers here. They looked at his finger and indeed found a silver finger.
As the highest power holders known in this village, the B-ranked adventurers knew each other. It has been so long for anyone to get promoted or evaluated as one, so they were fairly surprised.
What surprised them more was his young look. They would have never expected that someone this young could become a B-rank so quickly.
Looking through the quest board, he realized that the jobs were much harder here. Clearing out a higher-tiered dungeon. Being a bodyguard for someone travelling to other nations.
After looking for a while, he shook his head.
These are not for me. I better go back to the main hall to get easier quests.
Not willing to take any risk, and not wanting to be in a party either, he could only choose the easier path.
Walking back to the main hall, the adventurers inside were surprised.
"He's too young to be a B-ranked adventurer. Is he new? "
"Apparently, yes."
"Why did he not take any quests, though? "
The adventurers were whispering to each other. With his enhanced senses, he was able to hear a path for himself.
Here in the main hall, nobody cared about anyone unless they were within their party; thus, he was spared from questions.
Looking through the quest board, he picked a quest that is fairly easy.
As he presented it to Fria, Fria couldn't help but be shocked.
"Picking herbs? Really? "
"Yes, please."