Bab 83: Registration
Seeing that everyone in the reception hall didn't dare gossip anymore after seeing someone being punched flying, I was quite content. That's what they get for going too far in their antics!
From the look Bob gave, I knew he also agreed.
Heh, I can't believe I'm acting as if I didn't already know that. All his actions were too predictable to me considering I'd taken his identity once. Who knew that that this 'timeline' would be different?
I'm not talking about the events that occurred but the fact that I still had my Sun Halo with me despite going back into the past. Hmmm, does this mean Chaos will be aware something is up now?
Oh, it doesn't even matter. I'll beat him regardless.
"Are you here to take a request?" Asked the receptionist girl with a formal smile on her face.
My eyes glanced behind me to see some workers dragging away the three stooges I beat up. They were probably going to charge a hefty sum for healing their injuries. No wonder the Guild lets people injure each other to a certain extent...
"I'm here to sign up." These words surprised the people in my surroundings probably because it wasn't often that a strong individual would be going through the process of getting a license.
"...Are you aware of the standard procedures that entail getting an Adventurer's License?"
"Of course." After all, I'd worked as an Adventurer before. The procedures weren't foreign to me.
All newbie Adventurers were put through a series of tests decided by the Branch Manager on the spot, and even after getting a license, a person's magical signature will be recorded, therefore stopping people from making multiple attempts.
There were many opportunities waiting inside a License Test, but it was also something the Branch Manager had full control of. As whether I'm a bad nut or a good one will reflect on the whole branch.
If they were to give me a wrong assessment, then the reputation of the branch would plummet.
It was how those stooges from before had might have had the audacity to start a fight, but that was only because they didn't care about their 'License Colour'. Like fools, they only accepted requests while being ignorant to the true meaning of the cards. After all, most people only had a vague grasp that the colour of it changed their treatment.
"Then please go towards the back over there. Your assessment will be done by the Branch Manager." I nodded my head and followed the direction she had pointed to, all while knowing Bob would wait for me here to see what results I'd get.
"As for Adventurer Bob, you have completed a great Achievement!" Were the last words I heard before closing the door behind me, the celebration mood they were in almost seemed to affect me.
But I didn't let my mind wonder and focused towards the samurai-like gentleman who seemed to be taking care of his blade. Even though his clothes were of high quality, the feel he gave was quite different from the 'Manager' I expected.
There was a very traditional vibe coming from this old man as he was cleaning some kind of dust off his blade intently. From what I could see, the weapon he was holding was hilt-less for the moment until he noticed my sudden arrival.
He didn't rush over to greet me, only after finishing off did he start to put the handle of the blade back onto it. From the guard that stops a swordsman from both slipping his hand on the blades edge and gives some form of protection of the hands from other swordsmen, and then attaching the handle itself with deft hands that cared about little details.
After putting everything together, the katana he held looked as good as I'd expected. There was a feeling of grace from the Branch Manager as he bowed towards me before speaking apologetically:
"I am sorry for making you wait."
"No problem. A blade is like a companion that must be taken care of." He seemed happy after hearing those words, as if he'd found someone of similar qualities that enjoyed these sort of conversations.
"Come. Please sit down here." He sheathed his blade on his waist, put the sword cleaning kit in his drawer, and gestured me to sit down on the seat in front of him. Since he didn't seem aware, I decided to tell him why I'd come in here to make sure.
"I've come to register for an Adventurer's License."
"Oh? Then please... put your hand on this crystal ball. I'm going to have to give you an interview, if that's okay with you. This is just so we know enough about you and clear up your identity."
"That's fine," It didn't really matter much as long as I could get my card rejoin with Bob waiting outside.
After he took out a small crystal ball like on the table, I put my hand on it. However, since I wasn't exactly paying attention, it was only after touching it did I realise what it was for, and stopped myself from sending any magical energy into it.
"Is there a problem?" His tone suddenly turned doubtful as he couldn't understand my actions.
"This crystal magical records magical signatures with Affinities, right?" I asked him to make sure.
"Is there a problem with this procedure?" The man asked while overlapping his fingers on the desk.
"Actually, I don't have a 'Mana Origin' to send magical energy from." These words caused just stoic face to harden as he was stopping himself from widening his eyes after hearing my words.
"That's impossible...! Then how will you be able to protect yourself?" Not only was having a 'Mana Origin' (That flame-like energy centre) within all residents of this world at birth, but not having it could lead to serious issues of personal safety.
"I was an F Rank who created a Skill Root." These words surprised him, as I've already heard that the odds of being born with a below average Magical Talent and forming a Skill Root was unusual.
"...So you ended up losing all your Magical Talent in exchange for a Skill Root?" He asked for clarification on my circumstances, which I nodded my head towards. This made him calm down.
"May I see it?" Seeing how polite he was, I didn't see a reason to not oblige. The Halo of the Sun God I had hidden in my body released above my head while radiating its golden light gently. There was even the five Affinity Marbles as well that seemed to orbit around me like tiny planets. This scene was so mesmerising that he got off his seat.
"You were also a Universal Specialist?!" There was a disbelieving look on his face as he asked me.
"Oh yeah, there was that as well."
He face-palmed after hearing the nonchalance in my tone, as I didn't think much of this. His eyes focused on the the D Rank Affinity Marbles for a moment before his disbelief turned into pure speechlessness, as if he saw something crazy.
"Y-you... t-those are... but how?" His words were all over the place as he ended up picking up the crystal ball and using the Spell Circle dream into it like a similar but different kind of recording tool.
He touched the Fire Marble orbiting around me with the crystal ball, then watched as it made a blinding red glow. Then he moved onto the Wind Marble, watching as it glowed green this time.
"T-true Affinities!?! How can someone have five True Affinities...? This is just impossible!"
Okay, even I was taken back by his outburst. He didn't look the nerdy-type, but I guess his samurai-esque appearance was misleading. His eyes were passionate as he looked at me like a gem.
"Please go out with me!"
"I didn't take you for this kind of man." I looked at him coldly as he realised he made a mistake.
He coughed a few times before regaining his previous bearing. I mean, I know I'm HOT with a capital H, but control your emotions. My heart is only for Bob and no one else... Not ever...!
"You misunderstand. You see, your Skill Root is quite precious. To the point of any man would want someone with such a thing as a spouse. Do you know why Skill Holder's are treasured in society?"
"Because they normally have strong Skills." That was my understanding, but he shook his head.
"That's only half of it. There are a myriad of people in this world and even though the amount of people who end of forming Skill Roots is not that many, those who have a Skill Root passed down by their family as a heirloom or stored for the sake of emergency are the majority of those who gained nobility. Although a Skill Root isn't a requirement, it is looked highly upon by anyone and everyone. A welcome addition to any family." He explained.
"And how does it excuse you for making a pass on someone who has yet to become even a newbie Adventurer? No, shouldn't you be more impartial and not let your personal desires show when evaluating an Adventurer?" This was different compared to my last life. What's with that embarrassed face your making...? Stop it, you're creeping me out! Just give me my license!
"Ahem, you are absolutely right. I apologise for my discourteous actions." His face turned back to the stoic face he had before, but after seeing that side of him, I couldn't really feel the same admiration for this creep that confessed to me out of nowhere.
"What is the abilities of your Skill Root?" Hey, don't you dare change the subject! I haven't even accepted your apology- Hah... Forget it, I'll go with the flow since I can finish things easier that way.
[Main Skill- Heavenly Sword]
[Support Skill- Complete Five Elemental Clads]
Five colour appeared on my body, causing the Branch Manager to look 'deeply' on the outside even though I was a hundred percent sure he was celebrating on the inside. Was this Guild Branch always this whacky or did I just not notice before?
"My Skill Root becomes a sword and I can do just about what any other D Rank Universal Specialist can do." I spoke while disengaging my Skill Root and hiding it back into my body, just wanting to get this over and done with to get back to Bob's side.
Although I kind of lied in the latter half of my explanation since I could do MORE than what a regular Universal Specialist could do, it wasn't as if I was lying anyway. Who cares about technicality?
"...Can't you show off more?"
"Why the heck do you want to see me showing off my Skill Root so badly?" I asked back in return.
"You are blessed by God, of course! I've never seen anyone with a complete set of True Affinities before~!" His attitude kept on flip-flopping when it came to my Skill Root as he spoke passionately like I was in fact an idol and he was my biggest fan.
Hey, don't look at me with those eyes! Stop drooling! At least act with professionalism, dammit!
"Meaning you don't care about my Skill Root?"
"Your Skill Root is the best part~"
"Okay. Can you finish the assessment already." I'm not sure why but even though he was being completely open about his intentions, I found his attitude to be quite refreshing compared to what my 'employer' was like at the Swordwick Mansion.
"Let me write down your details right now. Do you want a monicker? I'm going to go with God's Angel if you're fine with it." He took out a card and some kind of magical laminating machine on the desk.
"You're joking with me, right? I'm sure the Church would accuse me of blasphemy if I took such a name." I shook my head. The time I spent with that Apostle Knight gave me a good understanding of their teaching and how their religion worked.
"Then I'm going to write 'All Gifted'."
"Like Pandora?"
"What do you mean?"
I forgot that only mythology that closely related to Christian beliefs existed in this world right now.
In pop culture back on Earth from my time, this name was mostly attributed to a box rather than the woman herself. Even though in reality, the word actually translated to 'All Gifted', as the woman named Pandora gained everything from Greek Gods. If it wasn't for a certain godly jerk who set up a trap for her, she wouldn't have fell into despair.
"Pandora means 'All Gifted'." As soon as I spoke those words, he put the card into the laminator.
"Here is your Adventurer's License. As everyone starts at F Rank. You will be have to start from there before getting any promotions. Of course, I am the one who decided who gets promoted to higher Ranks or not." He spoke with a proud look.
"Sure, okay. Bye." I didn't even give him a second look before taking my license and leaving.
I could just imagine the look he made when I left~
When I got out, the first thing I was greeted with was Bob's face as he worriedly glanced over my shoulder. Perhaps he thought the Branch Manager was the stoic kind, because I'm sure he knew nothing of that brazen guy's true personality.
"Hey, look. I got my licen-" I quickly hid the card behind my back as I looked around to see if anyone realised. Seeing no one had seen it, I hid it in my sleeve before deciding to leave this place first.
Dammit, why did it have to be a Platinum License?!
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
FlowingWaves
FlowingWaves I wrote a new Oneshot if anyone’s interested. It was a request I wrote on the same day I got by Umair. A ‘Death Game’ short story. Who knew ‘not thinking’ could help me write so well? I never knew I could plot and write without taking days to do both!