Valerius listened to my account without interruption, his weathered face giving nothing away. When I was finished, he gave a slow, deliberate nod. He believed me.
"I see," he said, his tone final. "Reyn has always been... zealous in his duties. Your report is noted."
He then turned his sharp gaze to Kerina. "Now then, Kerina. You wouldn't bring an undocumented traveler directly to my office. What is it you really want?"
Kerina met his gaze without flinching. "You're right. There's more. I want to register him with the Guild."
She placed a hand on my shoulder, a gesture of declaration. "Under my name. I will be his official sponsor. I will cover all of his registration fees and initial accommodation costs. I take full responsibility for him."
Valerius gave a slow nod, his gaze shifting from Kerina back to me. "For a Rank-A to offer full sponsorship to an unknown... that is a significant vote of confidence. But she mentioned an ability. Before I can approve this registration, I need to know what I'm dealing with."
He leaned forward, his eyes locking onto mine. "What is your power, Hayato?"
I met his gaze, my mind racing. I can't tell him the truth. 'Perfect Illusion' sounds like a cheap trick. It implies deception. If they know it's an illusion, they'll immediately stop trusting what they see and start looking for the real me. The moment they know the trick, the power becomes a weakness. It's too dangerous.
After a deliberate pause, I gave my prepared answer. "The power is 'Duplication' I can create a perfect, physical copy of myself."
Valerius considered my claim, his expression unreadable. "Duplication," he mused, the word hanging in the air. He pushed himself up from his chair. "An impressive ability, if true. Let's verify it with a formal reading."
He walked to a locked cabinet and retrieved a wrist ring, this one more ornate and finely crafted than the one the guards had used. He brought it over to me. "Your wrist."
I complied, holding my arm out. I already knew what would happen. He slid the ring on. It hummed for a brief moment, faint golden lines glowing before immediately flickering and dying out, leaving the metal dark and inert. Empty.
"Nothing. No mana signature at all."
Kerina stepped forward. "Master, his registration from the village confirms it. Officially, he's a commoner." She took a deep breath before adding the final, impossible piece to the puzzle.
"But I saw it, Master. On the way here, in the carriage. A divine messenger, an angel appeared directly to him and bestowed a blessing. I witnessed it myself."
"The ring was correct. I don't have any mana power. I was born without it."
I then added the crucial lie, the piece that made the whole story work. "My 'Duplication' ability isn't magic. It consumes my stamina to create and maintain the copy."
Valerius's eyes narrowed, not with suspicion, but with a new understanding, and then he gave a slow nod, categorizing me with other mundane people.
"I see," he said, his voice now purely administrative. "So, to be clear, you are incapable of casting even the simplest of spells? You cannot produce a flicker of fire to light a lamp?"
I shook my head. "No. I am incapable of using any magic."
The Guild Master stared at me for a long moment, his expression a mixture of deep thought and resignation. "Very well," he finally said, turning to Kerina. "I'll approve the sponsorship. An adventurer with your reputation vouches for him, and the Guild can always use unique assets, however strange they may be."
He turned back to his desk, pulling out a thick ledger and a blank, metallic card. "Alright, for the official record then," he said, dipping a quill in ink and looking at me expectantly. "State your full name."
"Hayato Mikami."
Valerius wrote it down. "Age and place of birth."
"I'm 28," I replied. "Born in Yokohama."
The quill in the Guild Master's hand stopped moving. He looked up, his brow furrowed. "Yokohama? I have never heard of such a place."
My heart skipped a beat. It was a critical mistake. Of course he hasn't.
"It's a small, remote village in the far east," I lied quickly, trying to keep my voice steady. "Very isolated. It wouldn't be on any official maps."
Valerius held my gaze for a moment, his eyes filled with a new layer of suspicion, before making a note in his ledger. "I see. And your profession before you began traveling?"
I knew better than to make the same mistake twice. "I managed trade and logistics," I said.
Valerius finished writing in the ledger and nodded once, satisfied. He picked up a plain, handle-less metal stamp from his desk. Holding it in his palm, he closed his hand, and a soft, golden light seeped between his fingers.
When he opened his hand again, the face of the stamp was glowing, embossed with the Guild's intricate crest in pure, shimmering mana.
He pressed the glowing stamp firmly onto the center of the blank metallic card. There was a soft hiss and a flash of light, and the crest was left perfectly seared into the card's surface.
As he worked, Kerina gave my shoulder a light pat. "Normally, you'd channel a bit of your mana into the card now. It acts as a unique signature. Since you don't have any, you have to use a drop of blood. It will bind the card to you just the same."
The Guild Master slid the newly stamped card across the polished desk towards me. He then reached down below the desk for a moment and placed a small, sharp-looking knife on the table beside the card.
"Your signature," Valerius said, his voice flat and expectant.
I stepped closer to the desk and picked up the small, sharp knife. Alright, I thought, trying to psych myself up. It's not a big deal. Just a quick slice, one drop of blood, and it's over. It won't even hurt.
I pressed the keen edge of the blade against the pad of my thumb and drew it firmly across.
Nothing happened. The blade slid across my skin, leaving a faint white line of pressure, but it didn't even break the surface. No pain, and certainly no blood.
I stared at my uncut thumb, confused for a second, and then I remembered. The light in the carriage. The feeling of power. The [Superhuman Body] skill. Hardened skin.
I looked up from my hand to the two powerful individuals watching me. This was awkward. I turned to my new sponsor, holding out the knife and my thumb. "Kerina. It seems I can't do it myself. Could you... try to draw some blood for me?"
Kerina looked at me, a grown man apparently unable to prick his own finger. A slow, amused smile spread across her face. She clearly thought I was just scared of the pain.
"Having a little trouble?" she teased, her tone light. She walked closer, taking the small knife from my hand. "Of course, I can help with that. Just hold still."
With a confident smirk, Kerina took my hand and held my thumb steady. "Don't worry, this will only take a second," she said, her tone teasing.
She pressed the edge of the sharp knife to my skin and drew it across with a light, practiced motion.
Skkkrt.
The knife made a faint scraping sound, like metal on stone. But it didn't cut. There was no blood.
Kerina's smile vanished. She stared at my completely unharmed thumb, then at the blade, her brow furrowed in confusion. "That's... strange. You seem got some hard skin."
She repositioned her grip, her expression now serious. "Alright, hold still for real this time."
This time, she put a deliberate and significant amount of pressure behind the blade, drawing it firmly across my skin. The knife bit deep, the pressure immense, but it still didn't break the surface. It was like trying to slice through solid leather with a letter opener.
From his desk, Guild Master Valerius just stared, his eyes wide, watching the entire impossible display in silence.
Kerina pulled the blade away, her face a mask of pure disbelief as she looked at my still-unmarked hand. "What are you?" she whispered, her confusion total. "Your skin... it's impossibly strong."
She stepped back slightly, eyes narrowing in thought. Then, without a word, she reached down and unfastened the sword at her hip.
I tensed. My instincts surged. "Wait! wait!" I backed up a full step, hands raised defensively. "What are you doing?!"
Her eyes twinkled with amusement, the sharp edge of her blade catching the light. "We need the blood, don't we?"
"With that?! I didn't even know how tough my skin was until two minutes ago! What if you actually swing hard enough to take something off?!"
Valerius didn't move, but his brow raised slightly, clearly intrigued by the absurdity unfolding before him.
Kerina tilted her head, smirking again that same look she wore before challenging a bad idea just for the thrill of proving it right. "You said you can't be cut. I'm just testing your theory."
I let out a long sigh, rubbing the back of my neck. "Okay, fine. But not the hand. If this fails and you cleave off a finger, that's going to be a pretty bad first day as an adventurer." I gestured to my side. "Go for the torso. Less... permanent."
She gave a small chuckle, her grip tightening around the hilt. "Alright, brave man. Shirt off."
Valerius muttered something under his breath, possibly a prayer or just an old man's curse for how strange his job had become.
I pulled the shirt up over my head, baring my torso. The air hit my skin cool, clinical. I braced myself. "Ready?" she asked.
"As I'll ever be."
She brought the sword down in a controlled, slicing arc not a swing to kill, but one meant to pierce flesh.
Clang.
The sword bounced off my skin.
A clean, metallic ring filled the room, louder than it had any right to be. Kerina took a full step back, blinking in disbelief. I looked down. Not a scratch.
To Be Continued.