The interior of the Oakhaven Adventurer’s Guild was exactly what Shino had imagined during her long nights in the cave—only louder. The air was a thick mix of roasted meat, stale ale, and the metallic tang of sharpened weapons. High-level adventurers in gleaming plate armor rubbed shoulders with scruffy scouts in leather.
"Stay close," Kazuto whispered, his hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his sword as he guided her through the crowd. "The registration desk is toward the back."
The Registrar’s Gaze
The woman behind the counter was a sharp-eyed Elf with silver hair pulled back in a severe bun. She didn't look up from her ledger as they approached.
"Names?" she asked, her quill scratching against parchment.
"Kazuto Asada. Squire of the Northern Reach," Kazuto said, standing tall.
"And... Shino," Shino added, her tail flicking nervously behind her. "No house. Just Shino."
The Elf finally looked up, her gaze lingering on Shino’s patchwork fur cloak and the bone-daggers at her waist. "A Cait Sith from the deep woods? We don't see many of your kind with that scent of 'wild' on them. You’ll both need to undergo the Physical Assessment before we issue your Copper Plates."
The Training Hall
The Assessment Chamber was a large, sand-covered arena in the basement of the Guild. A group of veteran adventurers leaned against the railing, watching the "newbies" with amused grins.
"Next!" a burly Orc instructor barked. "Cait Sith, front and center. Weapon of choice?"
Shino looked at the rack of steel weapons. She didn't want to show off the Frost-Claw venom on her bone-daggers yet—it was too early to reveal her full hand. She picked up a simple, blunt wooden training dagger.
"The goal is to strike the Enchanted Dummy three times within ten seconds," the Orc explained, pointing to a heavy wooden automaton reinforced with mana-sigils. "Begin!"
The Blur
Shino closed her eyes for a split second. Analytical Eye: Active. The world slowed. She saw the mana-sigils on the dummy glowing blue—the "core" of its defense. She didn't just run; she used the [Cait Sith Agility] she had perfected by escaping forest predators for four years.
To the onlookers, Shino didn't move—she vanished.
There was a series of three sharp cracks. Shino reappeared on the other side of the dummy, her training dagger held in a reverse grip.
A moment of silence hung in the air. Then, the heavy wooden dummy—designed to withstand hits from Level 15 warriors—groaned. A massive fissure split down its center, and the mana-sigil shattered into dust. The dummy collapsed into a pile of splinters.
The A-Rank Potential
"Uh... whoops," Shino muttered, her ears flattening in embarrassment. "I think I pressed too hard."
The Orc instructor stared at the wreckage, then at his stopwatch. "Three strikes... in 0.8 seconds. And you broke a Grade-3 dummy with a wooden toy?"
He turned back to the viewing gallery, where a crystal orb was glowing with a brilliant, pulsing violet light.
"Potential Rating: A-Rank," the Orc shouted, his voice echoing in the hall. "We’ve got a live one!"
The Duo
Kazuto’s jaw was practically on the sand. He had known she was strong, but seeing her move at full speed in a controlled environment was terrifyingly beautiful.
An hour later, they stood outside the Guild in the cooling afternoon air. Hanging from their necks were two gleaming Copper Plates. On the back, their names were engraved side-by-side, officially registered as a party.
"A-Rank potential," Kazuto said, shaking his head with a grin. "I’m starting to think I’m the one who should be carrying your bags, Shino."
"Don't get used to it," Shino teased, though she felt a warm glow in her chest. She looked at the plate, then at him. "We're a team, Kazuto. The Knight and the Librarian. Just like the stories."
Kazuto looked at her, his eyes soft. "Better than the stories, Shino. Much better."9Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0G8SGxWbD
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