Chapter 2: 2. Chaos in adventurer guild
A FEW HOURS LATER
ALEXANDER
The adventurer guild building was louder than I expected. Chairs scraping, voices arguing, metal clinking. People coming and going like it never stopped moving. Scarlet stayed right behind me the entire time, too close. Like if I took one wrong step, she’d erase the concept of distance itself. I ignored it and walked up to the counter.
"Registration or report?"The receptionist looked bored.
"Registration." I said.
She glanced at me, then at Scarlet, then at me again.
"Name?"A receptionist asked.
"Alexander Blackwood."I said.
"Class?"She started writing.
"Gacha card summoner."I hesitated.
Her pen stopped, slowly, she looked up.
"Repeat that."She said.
"Card summoner." I said. "Gacha system type."
Silence. Then a chair behind me scraped loudly. Someone at the guild hall laughed.
"Gacha what?" An adventurer asked.
"Is that even legal?"Another one asked.
"Did he say gambling class?"Third one grinned.
"We don’t usually register unsupported summoner types."The receptionist frowned.
Scarlet stepped slightly closer behind me. Not touching, just closer. The temperature in the room dropped a little, I felt it immediately.
"Just register it." I said quickly.
"Fine. Skill classified as unverified summoner system."The receptionist sighed and wrote
anyway. Then she glanced at Scarlet again. "And her?"
"My summon." I said.
That got worse reactions.
"Summon?"A nearby adventurer nearly choked.
"You brought a summon into the guild?"Another one asked.
"I am not supposed to be here?"Scarlet tilted her head slightly.
"THAT’S A PERSON!"A second of silence, then the guild hall exploded.
"That’s a summon?! That aura is insane!"Another one screamed.
"She looks like a high-tier boss NPC!"Third one gasped.
"Wait. Step forward."The receptionist straightened up slightly.
Scarlet obeyed and a crystal panel appeared above the counter and scanned her. It lit up instantly, the guild room went quiet again. The receptionist read the output, then slowly leaned back.
"...Saintess class."She said.
That word alone changed the atmosphere. Someone dropped their drink.
"No way... saintess type summons are myth-tier."Another adventurer stood up.
"Divine category... holy power reading off the charts... compatibility unknown... emotional instability flagged..."The receptionist continued reading.
"Where did you get this?"She looked up at me again.
"First pull."I shrugged.
"First pull?!"Then laughter returned, but nervous this time. "That’s impossible luck!"
"Nobody gets saintess-tier on a starter summon!"Another one screamed.
Scarlet turned slightly toward me.
"Master." She said softly. "Do they dislike me?"
I didn’t answer immediately, the receptionist spoke instead.
"Sir, do you understand what you’ve brought into the guild?"She asked.
I looked at the room, at the stares, at the fear mixed with envy. Then back at Scarlet.
"I think I am starting to." I said.
"Good."Scarlet smiled faintly.
The system flickered in my vision.
"Guild Reaction: ALERT LEVEL INCREASED. Public perception: broken. Recommended action: avoid attention."The system said.
"Too late for that."I sighed.
Scarlet stepped closer again. This time, she was definitely smiling more than before. And the guild room got a little quieter again. The guild hall slowly settled after the shock of Scarlet’s presence. The receptionist cleared her throat.
"Alright. Registration complete. Next step is class evaluation."She said.
"Class evaluation?"I blinked.
"Standard procedure. We measure combat capability and assign rank. S to E."She nodded and pointed toward a side room.
"S rank today?"A murmur spread through the guild behind us.
"Probably A at best."Another one said.
"That summon alone should push him higher."Third one added.
"Rank?"Scarlet tilted her head slightly.
"Just numbers." I said quietly.
She didn’t look convinced as we stepped into the evaluation chamber. A wide stone arena, target dummies, mana pressure arrays, basic testing setup.
"Step forward. We will test your personal capability first. Not your summon."An examiner stood at the center.
"That’s fine."I frowned.
Scarlet’s gaze sharpened immediately.
"Not me?" She asked softly.
"It’s standard." I said.
She looked like she didn’t like that answer, but she stayed quiet.
"Begin whenever ready."The examiner gestured.
I walked to the center. No weapon, no training, just me.
"Show us what you can do." The examiner said.
"Yeah... sure."I exhaled.
I raised my hand and tried to focus on the system. Nothing, just a faint flicker of energy. A weak ripple. The examiner watched for a moment, then wrote something down. After a short silence, he spoke.
"Physical capability: below average. Mana control: unstable. Combat aptitude: minimal."He said. "Assigned rank: C."
"C?!"Then the guild hall outside the room erupted again.
"That summon deserves A minimum!"Another screamed.
"Is the system broken?!"Third one gasped.
"No."Scarlet stepped forward immediately.
The room went cold. Everyone turned slightly toward her.
"He is not C rank."She looked at the examiner.
Her voice was still soft, but it wasn’t gentle anymore.
"Evaluation is based on the user, not summons."The examiner didn’t flinch.
"Then your system is wrong."Scarlet’s eyes narrowed slightly.
I stepped in quickly.
"Scarlet." I said.
She turned to me and her expression softened immediately.
"But Master-"She began.
"It’s fine." I said calmly.
"It’s not fine." She replied instantly.
"I didn’t expect high rank anyway."I sighed.
That made her pause as I looked at her directly.
"Listen. I just got expelled yesterday. C rank is already better than that."I said.
"You accept this?"She blinked.
"I accept starting point." I said. "Not final result."
Silence ten her expression slowly relaxed.
"Understood."Then she nodded once.
"Registration complete. C rank adventurer assigned."The examiner closed the file.
Behind me, I could still feel Scarlet’s attention burning into the decision like she wanted to rewrite it by force, but she stayed still, for now.
As we left the evaluation room, she finally spoke again.
"Master."She said.
"Yeah?"I asked.
"I will make you stronger."She said.
"I know."I exhaled.
"But I would have preferred S rank."She tilted her head slightly.
"Yeah. I figured."I smirked a little.
"Rank stability: questionable. Future growth potential: unknown. Warning: external pressure detected (Scarlet)."The system flickered quietly in my vision.
I looked ahead.
"Yeah." I muttered. "This is definitely going to get worse before it gets better."
