Zofia was spat on wherever she went in the capital Canaco of the Kingdom of Relum. Even the Guild here did not welcome her. However, the Guild headquarters of the Kingdom of Relum was not in the capital but in the port city of Nigrum, further to the southeast.
Therefore, she only needed to leave Canaco. Zofia could easily register at any other place in the Kingdom of Relum, just hoping those rumors didn't spread faster than her travel speed.
"Got everything? How much money total?"
"20 silver coins and 1 gold coin." Nathan poured the money onto his hand and counted.
"Is that enough for us to get to Nigrum?"
"Nigrum is very far, it's not enough. At best, we can reach the nearest city, Iusium. But how do you know about Nigrum and want to go there?"
"I read it on the Guild notice board here."
"No need, every big city has a Guild. Here, surely you were chased away because of that incident, right?"
Zofia nodded. Nathan didn't know what to say except shake his head.
The two checked their luggage one last time and then headed to Iusium.
Although called the nearest, it took them a whole day by carriage, costing them 10 silver coins. Upon arrival, Zofia was extremely upset to learn that one silver coin could buy ten cakes. Perhaps walking would have saved a sum.
"Later, I will definitely repay you ten times the amount you helped me with."
"It's okay, having you as a companion is the most precious thing."
Zofia looked at Nathan with suspicious eyes.
"Don't tell me you like me."
"No way, I see you more as an older sister."
"You scared the hell out of me."
Zofia laughed loudly and patted Nathan's shoulder.
Suddenly, the system screen displayed a line of text.
"Achieved title 'First Long Journey', effect reduces fatigue by 5% when riding a carriage."
Zofia was speechless at this silly title. She felt it was too nonsensical, even its effect. How effective was 5% anyway?
She ignored it, equipped the title for the sake of it, and quickly went to the Guild to register. Indeed, unlike in the capital, people here didn't know who she was. She tried asking around to see if anyone knew about the person who slandered the Hero, but they only knew the story, not what that person looked like.
Zofia breathed a sigh of relief.
"What class do you want to register as an adventurer?"
"Class? What do you mean?" Zofia asked the receptionist.
"Adventuring is a dangerous job, so to avoid loss of life, registrants must choose a class, meaning the ability to use a type of attack. For example, a Fire Mage with the ability to use fire elements or a Swordsman. Based on class and rank, an adventurer will be allowed to accept corresponding quests."
"Ah, then my class is Mage."
"What kind of Mage? What magic do you use?"
"Uh, probably Elemental Mage. I don't know, I can use Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wood, Water."
"Are you sure? Because a high-level Mage can only use a maximum of three elements. Only those with extremely special aptitude can control that many." She looked at Zofia with eyes full of suspicion.
"Let me cast a spell for you to see."
Zofia raised her hand to posture but was immediately stopped. The receptionist invited Zofia to the back. There was a large, strange crystal ball here.
"This is an object used to identify an adventurer's information in case they don't know what their strengths are, and also to determine power ranking. Please place your hand here."
Zofia placed her hand on it. As soon as she touched it, the ball glowed brightly, but after a moment, the light died out.
"What's wrong? This is truly the first case. Please wait a moment."
The girl guided Zofia outside to wait. She didn't know what else to do. Although sitting still on the chair, she was burning with anxiety inside. Zofia hoped she wasn't so weak that the ball couldn't even light up. After all, she was only level 2.
"Thank you for waiting. Here is the result. Zofia Mason, Class: Apprentice Mage, Rank: Bronze."
Zofia happily accepted her information card and skipped over to the quest board to see if there were any suitable jobs. Only then did she discover that Bronze was the lowest rank, and the quests on the board were just menial chores like finding lost pets or helping with cleaning.
She thought perhaps the measuring device was faulty because, based on what she saw on the Status screen, she could do much more than Bronze rank.
While Zofia was busy thinking, a man rushed into the Guild in a panic. His face was pale as a leaf, gasping for breath as he spoke.
"Outside... outside the forest... a pack of goblins appeared, two guards and three civilians have been killed!"
"I apologize, Sir, currently all adventurers are out on quests, there is no one left to help right now. Please provide full information so I can post it on the notice board."
"Notice board my arse! There are so many of them. If not dealt with immediately, once they enter the nearby village, everyone will die."
"I apologize, but I must follow procedure."
"Just kill them all, right? Lead the way for me."
Zofia spoke up. She realized this was a good opportunity to level up.
The man heard that and was overjoyed, immediately leading the way for Zofia.
"Wait! Killing monsters is a quest for Iron rank and above..." The receptionist hadn't finished her sentence before the two were gone.
It was exactly as the man predicted. If they had delayed any longer, the goblins would have flooded the village. The two returned just in time to see them gathering a short distance from the village gate.
They were short monsters with pointed ears, flat noses, green skin, and stubby bodies. However, according to the information the man provided, they weren't strong individually but strong in numbers.
"System, determine the number of monsters."
"Answer. Currently, there are 12 level 1 Goblins, 2 level 3 Goblins."
"Lightning Strike!"
Zofia pointed her hand toward the monsters. A bolt of lightning immediately struck down from the sky. The strike surprised the goblins but didn't cause panic. They realized she was the one who cast the spell and immediately rushed to attack.
"Earth Trap! Fireball!"
14 goblins were destroyed in a flash.
"Congratulations Master, you have reached Level 3..."
"Increase potential points as before."
"Command received."
The man was astounded that the monsters were destroyed in the blink of an eye. He just gaped at Zofia.
"Th... thank you. But the quest hasn't been listed on the board, you won't receive a reward from the Guild."
"It's okay. What is power for if not used to save others?"
The villagers, who had been hiding inside their houses, heard Zofia's words and cheered happily, clapping their hands. Then, each person contributed a little food for her. Although there wasn't much individually, with everyone giving a little, Zofia ended up hugging a large bag.
This food would make her journey less expensive, so Zofia happily accepted it as payment.