The forest did not release Ren easily. It clung to him in the form of mud, memories, and the lingering, metallic scent of iron. But as the wooden palisades of the village came into view, silhouetted against the dying orange light of the sun, Ren stopped.
He needed to disappear before he even arrived.
With a thought, he accessed his Inventory. The interface shimmered in his mind's eye.
'Return,' he commanded silently.
The two subordinate wolves and the Alpha dissolved into particles of blue light, sucked into the digital void. Next, he unequipped the Weaver-crafted Assassin Armor. It was too conspicuous. Now, he stood in a simple, ragged tunic and trousers. He looked small. Thin. Just another refugee spat out by the chaotic world.
He walked toward the gate alone.
The entrance was a bottleneck. A line of wagons waited, but off to the side, a group of adventurers loitored. Ren's Appraisal scanned them.
[Adventurer – Level 4 (Rank E)]
[Adventurer – Level 5 (Rank E)]
They were loud, drinking cheap wine, oblivious to the predator walking past them.
Ren approached the guard station. One guard leaned on a spear with a serrated tip; the other was chatty.
"Halt," the spear guard said, looking bored. "Entry fee is standard. Where's your ID?"
"I don't have one," Ren said. "I need to register."
The chatty guard leaned forward. "Another stray? We're on high alert, kid. Hobgoblins in the East Woods. Nasty D-Rank monsters."
Ren's face remained impassive. "Hobgoblins?"
"Yeah," the guard chuckled. "Village scraped together 800 Yen for a contribution fund to hire the Guild. Guild laughed at the price, said it was below standards. So they brokered a side deal—hired those drunks over there for 500 Yen a head."
Ren looked at the E-rankers. They were celebrating a payday they hadn't earned yet.
"You don't need to send them," Ren said quietly. "The Hobgoblins are dead."
The guards laughed. It was a wet, mocking sound. "Sure, kid. And I'm the Emperor. Beat it."
The guard blinked.
Ren was gone.
He hadn't teleported. He had used Speed to step through the gate the moment the guard's eyelids lowered. To them, he had vanished. To Ren, they were just moving in slow motion.
Ren entered the Adventurer's Guild. The noise hit him like a physical wave—ale, sweat, and boasting.
He walked to the counter. The receptionist, a woman with ink-stained fingers, looked up.
"Registering?"
"Yes."
"Name?"
"Ren."
"Class?"
Ren paused. He had the Flexible Class Card, but he decided to let the System speak for him.
"Check it," Ren said.
She shrugged. "Registration fee is 3,000 Yen. We need to measure your mana capacity to assign a Rank."
Ren paid the fee. She placed a small, white crystal orb on the counter. It was the standard model, used for testing the hundreds of F-Rank farmers and E-Rank novices that passed through.
"Place your hand here. Push your mana into it."
Ren placed his hand on the cool glass. He didn't know how to "push" mana gently. He only knew survival. He pushed his energy the way he threw a dagger—fast and hard.
CRACK.
A spiderweb fracture appeared instantly on the white surface. Black smoke hissed out of the crack.
"Ah," Ren said.
The Guild Hall went silent. The receptionist stared at the ruined orb.
"You... you broke the limiter," she whispered. "That orb is rated for up to Level 10."
"My apologies," Ren said. "How much?"
"Forty Yen," she stammered, still staring at the smoke.
Ren placed four ten-yen coins on the counter. "Do you have a better one?"
The receptionist swallowed hard. "Wait here."
She disappeared into the back and returned a moment later with a heavy, velvet-covered box. She opened it to reveal a deep blue orb, pulsing with a faint inner light.
"This is the Officer's Orb," she said, her voice trembling slightly. "It can measure up to B-Rank."
Ren placed his hand on it.
This time, the Flexible Class Card in his inventory hummed, syncing with his mana signature. It read his dominant stats—High Speed, High Graceful Hand, High Lethality—and projected the truth he had been hiding.
The orb hummed. A deep, resonant sound filled the room. The light inside swirled, turning from blue to a sharp, crimson red.
[Processing...]
[Mana Density: High]
[Agility: B-Tier]
[Lethality: B-Tier]
[Calculated Rank: C]
The symbol "C" projected into the air above the orb in red light. Below it, the class designation formed in jagged letters.
[Class: Assassin]
The silence in the guild hall was absolute. Even the drunk D-Rankers stopped drinking.
You you you…
"C-Rank... Assassin..." the receptionist breathed. "We... we haven't had a C-Rank register in this village in three years. You're the fifth one in the history of this branch."
She looked at Ren with new eyes. He wasn't a skinny kid anymore; he was a killer. Assassins were rare, dangerous, and usually worked for the crown or the dark guilds. To see a freelancer Assassin was unheard of.
"I have a quest turn-in as well," Ren said, breaking the tension.
He opened his inventory.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Five Hobgoblin heads hit the counter.
The D-Rank axe-man at the back table dropped his tankard. Ale spilled onto the floor, but nobody moved.
"Confirmed," the receptionist said, her voice professional but shaky. "Five D-Rank Hobgoblins. Since you are... C-Rank... and this was an open field threat..."
She typed into the terminal. "The village contribution fund was 500 Yen per head. That's 2,500 Yen."
She opened the drawer to count the money, then paused to explain the policy.
"Normally, the Guild takes a 20% commission on all assigned jobs," she said. "However, since you completed this work without a Guild Card or a prior contract, the 'Freelancer Clause' applies. We also deduct 10% for processing."
Ren did the math instantly.
2,500 Yen total.
28%=700 Yen
Payout = 2,000Yen.
"Acceptable," Ren said.
She handed him the stack of bills—2,000 Yen—along with a silver-tinted Guild Card. "Welcome to the Guild, Ren."
Ren took the money and the card. He could feel the eyes of every person in the room burning into his back—fear, envy, and calculation.
He turned and walked out.
Ren found the "Rusty Spoon" down the street. It was a restaurant with a few rooms upstairs, recommended for newbies, though Ren was hardly a newbie anymore.
"700 Yen for the month," the owner said, eyeing Ren's silver card with suspicion. "Food plan is another 1,000. Breakfast and dinner."
"Done."
Ren paid the 1,700 Yen.
He entered his room. It was small, smelling of old wood and sage. He sat on the bed, the frame groaning under him.
He pulled up his interface.
[System Status]
Name: Ren
Class: Assassin
Rank: C
Funds: 397,100 Yen
Start: 400,000
Total: 397,100
He looked at the number.
397 Stat Points.
He was strong. C-Rank strong. But in this world, C-Rank was just the beginning of the real monsters. He had made a splash today, which was dangerous, but necessary to avoid being treated like fodder.
'Assassin,' Ren mused, looking at the card. 'At least I don't have to pretend to be a hero.'
He closed his eyes, the dagger in his boot warm against his ankle.
Sleep took him.