Back at a carriage where an elderly man was working, Moonwine was flowing. Word seemed to spread around the city quickly, and before the man knew it, most of his product had already been gone. And as he sold another pint, his young friend, Anemone, arrived.
"Hi Father!" She called out.
He looked over as he received the payment, waving off the customer, and he looked to the young girl running toward him. Her eyes were sparkling like a child who had just tasted candy for the first time.
"I'm so proud of you, young one, I'm proud of you for going out there and pushing yourself. How did it go?"
She knew him very well and expected this question; she clutched the book tightly in her arms and smiled as she responded.
"I can't say, though, I feel disappointed. I am only a red core… and looking at the papers that I turned in, my results weren't good."
"What did it say?" He said empathetically.
"Don't be sad too! I am fine! Long story short, it said that I'm not consistent in magic. It compared the first casting to the second and the second to the last."
"Well, you are self-taught, that is to be expected! Plus, things will change as you grow."
"I guess…"
"…"
She then unclutched the book, beginning to show it off to change subjects.
"Look what I got, Father! It's about these people called the Seven Savants. I didn't know they existed, but that's so cool! It said the Savants are the most powerful and influential mages!"
"Oh, do you plan on reading it?"
"What else do you use books for?"
"…uh…" He became flustered. "To collect."
"Well, yes, I'm going to read it, Father. Now, how much did we sell today?"
"four liters (one gallon) of Moonwine, leaving us with nine. And we made twenty-six gold today."
Father stood up, stretching his back, and then bent down to turn the sign in front of the carriage around, making it say 'closed.'
"Let's go eat, young one. There is a place I want to try."
Father led the way while the young lady following him looked down at her book, looking at the golden inlay words that were on the front. Soon enough, they arrived. It was an inn with a hanging boar sign in the front, with another sign sitting on the ground that read 'Welcome to Boar Hat."
The pair entered, and behind the bar stood two men, one short with blonde hair and a suit, and the other was a tall man with blue-tinted blonde hair and a red, skin-tight, leather jacket and pants. Anemone found them both attractive, despite finding the short man to be the owner.
A young maid then walked up to the two of them. She was a brunette, her hair tied in twin pigtails with a generous, full figure. "Welcome, I am Liz! I will be your waitress today. Please follow me!"
The young maid soon led them to their table, and they quickly ordered.
"I would like Bernia Ale and whatever the Board Medallion is, please," Anemone ordered.
"The Board Medallion consists of thinly sliced boar tenderloin, seared with white glaze and plated with chestnut mash and berries; it is seven silver."
Father recoiled as he heard the price, but despite this, he didn't tell her to not order it.
"I just want a simple seared duck breast, please." He requested.
Soon enough, their meals were gone, and the stuffed young lady decided to open her book as Liz cleaned their table. She flipped to a page that consisted of a summary, deciding to save the rest for a later day.
The Seven Savants - The most powerful, enigmatic, and influential mages. Each Savant represents an element: fire, water, air, earth, light, lightning, and life.
Role - Mysterious mages that can decide the fate of an entire empire with their might, save them, or destroy them. Seal beasts, the likes of which most humans would never imagine.
Background - Each Savant is equal in rank and does not belong to any empire; instead, they work for the good of the known world, believing that the longevity of Earth is more important than one nation.
How to become one - Unknown
What each current Savant is known for
Fire Savant - The first person to ever kill a dragon with magic.
Water Savant - The first human ever recorded to become a pink core mage.
Air Savant - The first to use all elements at the level of an A-Rank adventurer.
Earth Savant - The first person to ever be able to conjure all metals and even create a new mineral.
Light Savant - The first to ever completely master both light and darkness.
Lightning Savant - The first to use lightning magic successfully to increase bodily speeds: Thoughts, movements, reactions, speech, etc...
Life Savant - She is the first known person to bring someone back to life with soul and memories intact, along with no defects.
***
It soon became midnight, and Father closed up the shop. The remaining stock they had would be all they had, as now that they had money, they could continue their adventure, searching for clues on where to find a rare seedling, not just any normal tree, even though they could, they requested a long-living tree, so that was what they must find.
"Hey Father, I am going to head to bed now!" she announced as she cleaned up, hugging him as they arrived at the inn.
"Goodnight, young one!" He wrapped his gentle arms around her neck.
Anemone smiled and then headed to her room, shutting the door behind her and finding a paper on her bed.
Dear Anemone. Please come to the Adventurers Guild tomorrow at 2 pm for your placement test. You may arrive an additional hour earlier to meet additional applicants and/or purchase equipment.
'How did they get my address?' Anemone wondered. 'Well, whatever.'
***
The next day came, and as the time hit noon, Anemone got dressed in a green gypsy skirt, a floral-designed, loose-fitting corset, and a white Victorian blouse. Once dressed, she grabbed her bag, putting it over her shoulder, and walked to the Adventurers Guild.
Anemone opened the wooden doors to see a vast space filled with adventurers, mages, swordsmen, assassins, bards, archers, priests, healers, many people, and many species. There was even a bard standing on a wooden pillar in the center of the room wearing a green bycocket with a feather sticking out, playing a mandolin while singing with an almost angelic voice.
There were multiple large tables with adventurers sitting, drinking ale, and discussing, large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and a staircase leading to a second floor. This scenery filled Anemone with a sense that she was home, among fellow peers, family, and people to look up to. Suddenly, a woman with blonde hair and a red dress approached her.
"Hello, miss, are you an adventurer or an applicant?" the woman asked.
"I am an applicant," Anemone replied.
"Well, let me show you around, ma'am," she said with a bright smile. "I am Helen, just think of me as a clerk, or someone to go to when any questions may arise. The second floor is available for everyone, but quests ranked B, A, and S are all located there. Any higher-ranked quests are given away in an isolated room, dedicated to only our top adventurers. While the floor we are on has F, D, and C are all located here. Each rank has its own dedicated boards, as these ranks have lots of quests."
Anemone simply nodded while taking in all the information, trying not to be overloaded. Helen then led her to the stairs and took a right before approaching them. There were two doors, one leading to a storage dedicated to magic-related or enhancement items, beads, gems, wands, necklaces, etc. The other was a storage room dedicated to blunt weapons, swords, maces, shields, etc.
"Each weapon or accessory will have a price tag, with two available currencies for adventurers: one is coins, copper, silver, gold, and platinum. The other is tickets. After each quest, you will get a ticket relating to said quest, so an F-Rank ticket from an F-Rank quest, alongside your actual pay of a few copper, for a D-Rank, it would give a D-Rank ticket, etc. Each ticket of a higher rank can be traded down if needed, though most people do not. So, any questions?" Helen explained.
"No, ma'am," Anemone said with a nod of her head.
"Okay, well, as you will be given the placement test, it means you have already been accepted as an adventurer and, at minimum, will be put in F-Rank. So may I please have an adventurer's name for the foreseeable future? You can change it every time you advance in a rank, and if you start at D-Rank, then you start with two extra changes, C-Rank has three, etc," Helen said.
Anemone simply nodded, unable to say her adventurer's name due to the front door opening as two people walked in, a tall, dazzling, muscular man with golden hair down to his waist, a sword on his side, in shiny, black armor. The other was a woman with blonde hair, the same as Anemone's, green eyes that seemed to be able to see right through her, and a small wand on her left side with a blue jewel at the tip, wearing a blue robe.
Helen then walked up to them and bowed as Anemone overheard, "Welcome, Master Malbeze and Madam Eline, we already have one applicant here! I have yet to get her adventurer's name!"
The two spectacular people talked for a few minutes and then walked past Helen up to Anemone, the elegant woman, who Anemone thought was much taller than her, was standing at the same height of about 167 cm (5'6), she looked at Anemone's eyes with her mouth closed. After what seemed like an eternity, she opened them, and a bright smile spread across her face. She reached out with warm hands, grasping Anemone's own.
"It's lovely to meet you! I swear I must have seen you before somewhere! I am Eline, and I am a water mage. I do have other talents, but as you are an applicant, I may not disclose more information," Eline said.
"That's okay! It is lovely to meet you, miss! Please, call me Aurora as that will be my adventurer name! So, when will the test start?" Anemone asked.
"You have one hour remaining, you may prepare by practicing in the courtyard that has dummies, shopping, exploring, or you may relax and wait. But I must go, so good luck, and I wish you the best," Eline replied.
"Thank you, ma'am!" Anemone said.
'I wonder who I remind her of,' Anemone thought.
***
Over the next hour, Anemone walked around and eventually found the small arena where the placement test would commence. It was a small dirt arena with a radius of about fifteen meters (50 feet), then three stair pathways leading up in between seats, which revolved around the arena, almost like a small colosseum. She sat about halfway from the top in the exact center while looking at everyone else.
Twelve applicants were present currently, some were mages, some were swordsmen, one other applicant was a healer, and Anemone was curious about how they would be tested.
She overheard two people who both seemed to be late teens.
"This test will be so easy, B-Rank will be easy, anything below that is for losers and peasants," said the young man with blonde hair.
"Look at that man sitting alone, the one with black hair and glasses. I will bet fifty gold that he will be D-Rank," the other young man said.
Overhearing such controversy, she was astonished. Fifty gold was a lot for children, no matter their lineage.
Both of the men were in blue silk outfits, whom she assumed to be noble or spoiled brats.
'I know I may not be the best here, but I hope they both get placed below everyone,' Anemone thought.
She then focused on the young man they were talking about, who was sitting alone. Wearing a white shirt that had a large shield on it with the Rod of Asclepius in the center, signaling he was a healer, he seemed to be the most skilled of all applicants here. She could tell from looking at him that he was keeping an eye on everyone, including her. He knew what those brats were talking about; nonetheless, he kept a level head, unlike most.
The last person Anemone looked at was sitting just a few feet to her left. He was a short, young boy, muscular with short blue hair, carrying a large sword on his back with two straps of leather holding it on to him. He was extremely handsome and seemed to be around twenty. Anemone felt her heart skip a beat when she looked at him.
Then the two instructors whom she had run into earlier entered, and the space became as quiet as a mouse, besides the two brats speaking, who didn't seem to care.
"QUIET!" said Malbeze. "The placement test is about to commence."