Chapter 28: Scars and Growth
Hannah trundled down the guild hall's stone steps, shoulders hunched, knuckles white around a crumpled D-rank rejection slip.
Her power, dungeon kills, rune and herb knowledge meant nothing—floor three's boss kill wasn't the issue.
The guild didn't care about raw strength; D-rank required guild contributions, steady mission experience, the wisdom to lead novice adventurers—
all things she hadn't built in just three months.
Fifty gold, scraped from monster cores and herb sales for the test fee, gone in a single stamp.
Ren's snicker echoed in her skull, thick with mockery.
"Fifty gold wasted, little human.
Could've bought a whole cake from the baker's, sweet milk by the barrel, or shiny trinkets from the jewelry shop—far better than your sad dry herb bread."
"Shut up," Hannah muttered, kicking a loose stone into the dirt.
The street's afternoon bustle blurred past her—adventurers bragging, vendors haggling, kids chasing a stray dog.
