Nature Chose Me

Becoming Adventurers

“Over here, sir. We’ll be conducting a little interview before we move on to your adventure.” The human receptionist moved out the counter to lead Staas into the next room on the left side, while the elven one leads Gytha to the right side. They’ll be tested separately.

“Interview? What is that?” Staas never heard nor read such a word.

“I’ll be asking you some questions, and then you’ll answer them. As simple as that.” The lady explained.

“Okay… but I don’t know much about this world, I might not be much of help.” He’s a bit downed for knowing so little.

“Oh no need to worry, sir. All of the questions are about yourself.” She smiled. Interviewing a kid is an easy job since they don’t lie as adults do.

"About me?"

They both then entered a room through the door on the far left side of the receptionist's table. This room is called the grading room. All new adventurers will be tested here and they’ll be given a grade according to their performance.

From outside of the room, you could see a small square above the entrance. This square will show two things to the entire adventurers in the tavern. A shape and color.

The shape will show the type of class of the newbie. Shield means a tank, sword means a single-target melee damage dealer, ax means an area melee damage dealer, bow means a ranger, staff means a mage, and cross means a healer.

However, some adventurers might get two shapes at once. If that's the case, the class will be combined and create a new one. For example, sword and staff can create a swordmage, shield and cross can create a paladin, ax and bow can create a raider, and so on.

Meanwhile, color defines the potential of the newbie as an adventurer. People are created equal, but not everyone has the talent to be an adventurer.

This talent is called grades, they are categorized into 7 letters, which means there are 7 colors. Grey for F-grade, green for E-grade, blue for D-grade, orange for C-grade, purple for B-grade, gold for A-grade, and red for S-grade.

“What color do you think will pop up from those two?”

“The little one said they are recommended by the Naiad, so it must be at least orange or purple.”

“I thought so too, well, let’s see about that.”

It’s not rare to have a newbie with a high grade, but even so, every group wanted the best member to adventure with. Teaching an untalented individual is also a hassle that no one wanted to deal with.

Now, let’s just head inside and see how Staas doing with his interview.

*

“So… Staas correct?” Asked the receptionist. Her left hand wields a clipboard with sheets of paper attached to it, while the other hand holds a pen.

“Yep.” Staas nodded.

“You also called yourself a druid…” The receptionist went on. She wanted to see if this is valid since he’s far too young and not a fae.

“Oh, Elder Isergia gave that title to me. I don’t know what it does, but she poked a stick once on each shoulder and said to use that title whenever I introduced myself.” The boy explained, recreating the motions Isergia did when she gave him that title.

“Ah… I see.”

Even if Staas doesn’t do any Druid duty, his title is valid since it was given by the elder herself. So he’s still formally a druid.

“How old are you, Staas?” The questions continued.

“I… don’t know? It’s been two years since I first woke up, but what happened before that is… unclear.” The boy answered.

“Memory loss?”

“I think so…”

“Well, I knew a kid that looks as young as you do, so let’s just put… 11.”

“Okay.”

They both agreed to the number, the lady used humans as a reference since Staas have round ears just like they do. Other creatures like giants, ogres, and angels also have the same ears, but Staas is far too small to be any of them.

“Where are you from, Staas?” 

“Spirit Grove.”

“Ah… well, I guess the Adventurer’s Guild hasn’t built a branch yet in the Fatherwood Forest.” Said the receptionist. “Are you here in Songmire just to be an adventurer, Staas? You said you’re recommended by the Naiad.”

“I’m here to meet the Naiad, but she said I should become an adventurer so I have a badge that gonna help me travel between villages and cities.” Staas implied.

“So you only becoming an adventurer to get the badge?” The receptionist straightly asked.

“Is that not allowed?” The boy seemed a bit scared.

“Not really, everyone has their own motives in becoming an adventurer. But I advise you to still take some commission every here and then to increase your standing as well gain some money.” The lady suggested. “You also need to finish your first commission to get a badge.”

“What’s a commission?”

“It’s a job that is requested by the people of this world, you can find them on the ‘Commission Board’ at every guild’s branch. There is also one on the left side of this tavern.”

“Ah… okay.” The boy nodded understandingly.

“Now that we’re done with your identity, let’s move on to something that is more… practical.”

After finishing with the introductory, they head on to a skill-based test. This will test one’s combat, magic, exploration, and survival capability. Knowledge didn’t matter in this particular test, as the one that’s being tested is the applicant’s talent.

“Hey look! The girl’s square is glowing!”

Gytha finished her test earlier than Staas, and now she’s being graded by the Adventurer System. The square in her room slowly draws a shape and everyone’s attention is now pulled to witness it.

A cross came out, and everyone was struck in awe. It was exactly what they expect from someone as angelic and mesmerizing as Gytha. But those adventurers are still holding to their seats as the color still painting itself.

Behold, a purple! And the whole room went insane with excitement. Everyone shouting, dancing, jumping around like wild animals. A B-grade healer is a member to behold. S-grade healer means they only know how to heal and be an adventurer, while B-grade means they also carried other talents with them like cooking for example. It’s a perfect grade for supporting class.

“I knew it!”

“My love grew even greater!”

“My wife! I finally found my wife!”

But soon the room grows quiet, as Staas’ square began to glow. They head back to their seat, looking all serious, with attention straight to the square.

“Huh…?”

“Is that even… possible?”

“Yo miss receptionist, I think there’s an error in the boy’s square.”

Gytha went outside of the grading room, and she saw everyone seem to be looking at one spot. She walks closer to them to get a better view and moves her gaze to the same place as the adventurers.

On Staas' square, all the six shapes drew themselves. This can only mean one thing.

“An all-rounder?”

“I thought they only appear in theory.”

“Shh! The color about to pop out.”

That’s right, the color will be the determining part. Even if the boy can do every position, if his talent is on the lower grade, it won’t mean anything.

Yet when the atmosphere goes tense, the square painted itself. A shade of red appeared. The boy is an S-grade all-rounder.

Not a single sound came out of the adventurers, they were completely stunned. Through hundreds of years since the Adventurer’s Guild was created. Moments like this were never once mentioned in its history.

The highest the guild ever had is an A-grade pure damage dealer. They held the shape of a golden sword, ax, bow, and staff. To be also a tank and a healer is just beyond impossible.

“Ah… Staas, it seems I forgot to ask about your race. Usually, it’s easy to tell, but you have brown hair like a forest nymph and faerie and round ears like a human and angel. If I may know... what are you?” The human receptionist asked while she was still in disbelief with Staas' class and grade.

“Oh yeah… I never actually know what I am. Until today…” Staas turned his gaze upward, trying to recall his meeting with Riviera.

“Did the Naiad tell you? What did she say?” The lady curiously asked.

“Godling.”

Truth be told, as the creator of all beings. Staas is talented in every aspect of life. Even though some of his perfection were taken away from him by the Goddess, he’s still able to master anything that is taught to him.

Alas, Staas finally left the grading room. As soon as he opened the door, Gytha was already waiting for him with a soft smile on her lips. Behind her, lines of adventurer groups stood with an opportunistic grin on their face, excitedly staring at the boy.

“What’s with the crowd Gytha?” Staas confused.

“Never mind them, let’s pick our first commission! I can’t wait to head on and fight some monster.” The girl pulled Staas' hand as usual and took him to the Commission Board.

And as they went there, the crowd also left their table and slowly approached them in order to seduce the two to their group. This is a competition among veterans, the future of their group depends on which newbie they brought along with them.

“I hope things won’t turn out bloody.”