[The Guild Hall of Void walkers.
9:05 Am
2 January, 3000]
The guild hall buzzed with the clamor of clinking tankards, crackling fireplaces, and boisterous laughter as air inside it smelled of roasted meat, ale, and the faint tang of polished steel.
'... I hate these people.' Xiaoya Feng pushed open the heavy oak door. For a heartbeat, the noise dimmed a bit as many eyes flicked toward her; It was drawn by the quiet authority in her stride.
She wore a traveler's cloak. Its hood shadowing her face, but the hilt of her sword — Eclipse Fang — which gleamed unmistakably at her side.
"New blood?"
"Think she's here for the bounty boards? Looks like she's never swung a blade thicker than a willow branch."
Near the hearth, A grizzled mercenary with a scarred cheek elbowed his companion.
His table erupted in rough chuckles, but a sharp-eyed archer across the room silenced them with a glare as she hissed. "Fool! That's no rookie. You've heard the stories — The one who dueled the Bleeding Lotus cult in the Misty Peaks. That's her."
"How do you kno- Oh wait, your abilities to speak with spirits."
'Why are they so loud, master?' Xiaoya ignored the murmurs, her gaze sweeping the room before she walked toward the registration room.
At the bar, A young guild scribe whose name was Johan, fumbled with his inkwell.
He stammered upon seeing her figure as his cheeks turned light pink. "M-Miss Feng! The Guildmaster's been expecting you… Uh; We've prepared quarters for exams-"
"Where do I have to sign?" She said while rolling her eyes and slapping her palm onto the crystal before he could finish.
The orb flared to life, its glow sharpening into a cold, invasive beam that climbed her arm. Xiaoya gritted her teeth as it siphoned her mana – Which was a familiar, icy tug, like a hook lodged in her ribs.
Ten percent. Always ten percent. The crystal's price for truth.
Zhen sat down on her shoulder. 'You could've let him explain. No?"
'He wastes a lot of my time. No?' Xiaoya Feng shot back, watching as glyphs flickered around the orb. The crystal never lied in history. It couldn't.
'I want my rank as E class Mage.' Xiaoya Feng's jaw tightened.
Its magic pierced through illusions, bloodline seals, even soul-deep obfuscations. It measured raw power, skill, and potential, distilled into a rank the realm respected—or weaponized. There is rank amongst Awakeners; F class to SSS class as hierarchy decided futures of 'em. F class Awakeners are considered trash here because a normal human can kill them easily while SSS Awakeners are god-like beings to the world.
"Can you hide it?" She asked abruptly to Zhen. "From all of 'em."
Zhen stilled for a second; Her fingers pausing over the temple and silence stretched, thick with unsaid things. It is not hard for her but she can't utilize her full potential at the present moment as Xiaoya Feng is miserable in raw power, including magic.
'You know the rules?' She said finally in a low voice. 'The crystal's verdict is absolute. Even if I altered the record here… The orb's light will glow after some hours. They can predict that you have done something unusual, No?'
"Nope. Also I'm just asking you to rewrite the truth." She analysed her surroundings from the corner of her eyes. "Just… delay it. Let the registry show the fake data. Just for a few more months."
'Why?' Zhen studied her – The defiance in her stance and the desperation that she'd never admit – Though she already presumed it.
Another beat passed. Xiaoya Feng didn't blink. "You know why."
'I can't help you after this.' Then, with a flick of his wrist, She pointed at the crystal ball as the letters blurring, rearranging her true rank — [E - Class Archer | Age: 18].
'Wouldn't dream of it.' Xiaoya exhaled, shoulders loosening.
'....' Zhen added. 'Just… try not to die before then. It'd be tedious to file the paperwork for them.'
Xiaoya Feng leaned against the bar as her fingers drummed on the counter. Johan did his job and handed her Identity card.
[Name - Xiaoya Feng
Guild - The Void walkers.
Class - F
Specialty - Assassin
Superpower - Error ]
"Done. I registered your class according to Crystal ball, Including your Abilities." Johan also suggested. "The Emberfall Academy's taking applicants. you are below twenty. They waive tuition for anyone under twenty with a registered rank – even F. You'd get access to spell libraries. Mentors. Jobs. It is better than scraping for scraps here."
She turned her gaze on a quest board that bristled with requests: [Slime cores, 5 silver coins for each… Extra money for red slime core.]
[Escort a cabbage merchant...]
[Exterminate basement rats…]
'It is for miserable people.' But there was something pinned at the edge that was a fresh notice as its ink was still glistening as she stared deeply at price. [Two-Headed Serpent Corpse Retrieval. Reward: 50 silver. Location: Blackroot Marsh.]
The serpent quest was decent — enough silver to keep her fed for a month. As she reached for the parchment, a shadow fell over her; Though money wasn't a problem for a few years.
Her coffers dripped only with the sweat of sleepless nights and scars earned in battle as she never pilfered a single coin from her master's vault.
She'd carved her fortune with bloodied hands, not borrowed gold. She is ruthless but it isn't her nature — It's her armor.
Her integrity isn't noble; It's desperate and clawed from the dirt of survival. Corruption tasted like ash to a woman who'd swallowed fire to rise. Let the weak cling to stolen riches—she'd starve before feasting on lies.
Xiaoya Feng massaged her chin between thumb and index finger. "Academies are for nobles and idiots."
"Suit yourself," Johan muttered. "Considering your rank, that rank on your card is gonna get heavier-"
"Hey, Are you looking for a party, F-Class?" Suddenly, Three figures loomed over her shoulder.
'Hidden malice?' Zhen crossed her hands on chest while Xiaoya Feng stayed quiet and looked at those adventurers.
There was a lanky female with a smirk, sword hanging on her back; And a broad-shouldered woman gripping a warhammer with a twitchy mage clutching a staff adorned with chipped amber.
"We're short a fourth. You in?" The swordswoman jabbed a thumb at the quest.
The warhammer woman snorted. "Relax, Kirin's just being polite. We need bait. You'll do it."
"Bait?" Xiaoya's eyes narrowed.
"N-not bait! More like… a distraction. Don't mind her language. Because she is rude to everyone." The mage, Noah, stuttered and flinched as the warhammer woman elbowed him and smacked his head.
"Oye, That serpent's nest is in a cave. Someone small to lure it out while we strike. I don't mind throwing you in front of it."
Kirin, the sword woman and leader of their team, flashed a grin and patted her shoulder. "Ignore Brina. She's allergic to diplomacy. Point is, the split's fair—25% each. Even for E-Class. We need coordination between teams. Not going to lie; You look like the perfect last piece for the puzzle to complete our squad."
"Lemme think a bit." Xiaoya glanced back at the quest details. Two heads meant two venom sacs which might contain three times risk as well. But 50 silver was 50 silver. And caves had shadows; Lots of them.
"Well? We don't have time." Brina leaned in, her breath reeking of onions. "You got the spine for it, or do we find someone else?"
'Pffhahah… It is going to be fun.' Xiaoya yanked the quest parchment off the board. "Sure. You'll carry the corpse."
"What did you say, Bit-?"
Kirin laughed loudly after calming Brina. "Confidence! Meet us tomorrow at the Exit gate of the city within ten minutes. Please, Don't be late."
As the trio melted into the crowd, Johan called out from the bar. "If you find adventure hard then Academy's still an option, you know!"
Xiaoya Feng crumpled the quest into her pocket. Academies taught theory. Protocols. How to bow to idiots in fancy robes. Or some combots fights? But out there? In the Marshes? Front of dangerous prey?
She smiled faintly. 'That's where you learn how to bleed when your life is at stake.'