A sound of knocking echoed through the room.
"Hey, Alan, Bob...wake up!"
Why so loud this early? It felt like I had just closed my eyes. I stretched and yawned, tossing the blanket aside.
"Yeah, I’m coming..." I mumbled, dragging myself to the door, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.
I opened the door slightly, squinting. Standing there were two girls.
"Why are you calling us this early, Maya, Evelyn?"
"Early? It’s already afternoon. The sun’s right above your head. Did you two stay up late again?" Maya asked.
I scratched my chin. "Yeah... we finished the trial pretty late last night."
"Is Bob still asleep?" Evelyn asked.
"Ida told us the Guildmaster wants to see both of you. We’ve been waiting for you since morning. Come on, don’t make her mad again," Evelyn said.
She then pushed the door open and marched straight toward Bob.
"Hey! That’s an invasion of privacy!" I said, half annoyed.
"Nope. Not if it’s a woman doing it," Evelyn replied nonchalantly.
She walked up to Bob’s bed and yanked the blanket off him. Bob was sleeping on his stomach—with his butt sticking up.
"What kind of pose is this?" Maya said as she entered the room, following Evelyn.
"Hey Bob! Wake up! The Guildmaster wants to see you!" Evelyn said, shaking him.
"Ashhhd fus slippen his..." Bob mumbled incoherently.
Evelyn kept shaking him, but there was no proper response.
Then her eyes gleamed with mischief. She smirked.
"Alright, if you’re not waking up, I’ll just tell Yui you canceled the date. Poor girl, she was so excited, said she couldn’t wait for today."
Bob instantly bolted upright and started fumbling around for his glasses. "Please wait a minute!"
He grabbed a towel and dashed to the toilet.
The three of us looked at each other.
That guy is truly hopeless.
After finishing our wash-up, Bob and I put on our adventurer gear, comfortable outfits we had bought earlier using what little gold we had left.
Yeah, we were nearly broke. We needed to take a quest soon or we’d be sleeping on the streets.
As we made our way to the Guild Headquarters, we immediately ran into a familiar face.
"Good afternoon, Alan, Bob! I heard you’re officially becoming guild members today. Congrats!" Linus said with a bright smile. "After your registration, let’s go do the quest I mentioned yesterday."
This guy really doesn’t know how to give up.
"Who is this?" Evelyn asked.
Bob answered, "He’s Linus. He’s... ermm... what do we call it... hmm?"
"You know, the term we use for people we’re close to."
"Friend?" Maya offered.
"Yes! Friend. He’s our friend," Bob said with heavy sarcasm. Yeah, Bob definitely had issues with Linus.
"Hello, Linus. Nice to meet you. I’m Evelyn," she said, extending her hand.
"Me too. And you must be Maya, if I’m not mistaken?" Linus said politely.
Maya nodded, her arms crossed. She didn’t say a word.
"Oh, you two, go straight to the Guildmaster’s room. She’s waiting for you," Evelyn said.
Bob and I exchanged a quick glance, then headed up the stairs to the first floor.
"You two already knew them for long?" Linus asked.
"No, we just met them back in Lily Town. How about you?" Evelyn replied.
They exchanged a brief smile.
Then came the awkward silence.
Without the noisy duo around, things suddenly felt a bit... stiff.
"You’re late! I’ve been waiting for you two since morning!" Mirinda snapped.
"We’re so sorry!" Bob and I bowed deeply. The memory of her previous fury still haunted us.
Beltimore and Ida stood beside Mirinda, who sat behind her desk with her usual air of command.
"Whatever," she huffed. "I called you here today because, after the assessment from Beltimore and Alice, they’ve agreed, you two are worthy to join the Dawnbloom Guild. So I’ve decided to accept you both. Bob, you’ll join as an S-Rank. Alan... you’ll be a G-Rank."
"...I’m still G-Rank?" I blinked, disappointed.
Honestly, after what happened in the cave, I expected at least a bump up. Maybe not S-Rank, but something better than the bottom.
"Yes," Mirinda said flatly. "Even though I know you’re far stronger than that, even stronger than many in this guild, we rank members based on their Orb assessment. And yours was G-Rank."
"I see..." I muttered, trying not to look too bummed out.
"Don’t be so sad," she said with a sly smile. "Think of it as a blessing in disguise, for you and for the guild."
Ida and Beltimore exchanged looks. Both looked uneasy at Mirinda’s expression.
’She’s planning something wicked for Alan. Poor guy,’ Ida thought with a sigh.
"But Alan," Mirinda continued, her tone suddenly turning serious.
I straightened up instinctively.
"I don’t know how you’re able to use Time Magic, and I won’t ask but you need to be careful. Avoid using it in public. If word spreads, it could cause a major uproar in the kingdom." Her gaze was sharp. "And also, regarding the secret cults... keep that information quiet. We don’t need panic spreading."
Time magic... is that forbidden or taboo in this world? I need to find out more.
As for the cult part, I understood, Mirinda wanted to prevent unnecessary chaos.
"Understood, Guildmaster. I’ll follow your orders," I replied, standing like a soldier at attention.
"No need to be that tense," she chuckled. "This isn’t a military camp. Now, sign the contracts that Ida will give you. Once that’s done, you’re free to take quests. Tomorrow, we’ll have a full guild meeting to announce the upcoming tournament selection. Make sure you attend."
"With that," she said, rising slightly from her seat, "I officially welcome you to the Dawnbloom Guild. And please, try not to do anything that would give our guild a bad name."
Her eyes locked onto us with a knowing look, especially Bob. It was clear she already anticipated chaos.
Ida stepped forward and handed us each a contract. I signed mine immediately. Bob, however, squinted at his.
"So... my request for a fixed salary and loyalty bonus was rejected?" he asked.
"Okay," he said without hesitation, and signed. He clearly didn’t want to test her patience further.
Beltimore approached us and handed out our badges, a five petal flower,a golden one for Bob, and a bronze one for me. Even the badges had a hierarchy.
Still, despite the gap in our ranks, it didn’t matter.
Because from this moment forward, we were officially adventurers in this new world.