?The hustle and bustle of the rowdy adventurers came to a stop. All of their eyes shifted to the door of the guild.


    Leunderk was a small town, almost everyone had some idea about everyone else. So for adventurers, who thrived on connections, knowing about the people who would have business in here was natural.


    "Who''s that behind Kone?"


    "Why is Kone back already in the first ce?"


    The sight of a new person was enough to stop them for a bit, maybe have a little fun or something. But the man that just entered looked nothing of the sort.


    Wild red hair that fluttered with the wind. A sharp jawline framing his sharper features. A nasty grin on his face and an evil curve in his eyes with a deep scar on them. The man''s chiseled muscles not hidden well by his tunic and ck cloak did not help and neither did his bnced posture.


    A strong and handsome man, it was a sight one wouldn''t expect to see in Leunderk, so the people watched with interest, some of thedies with more interest than the others.


    Then, another person stepped in.


    Weak. Compared to the first, this person was crazy weak. A constitution not much better than farm child''s in the countryside and skin smooth and unblemished as if bathed in milk. This was just a protected person blessed with an alright physique. But the looks.


    If the first one was a handsome man on the level of a noble, then this one''s beauty transcended people. It made the hearts of some throb and the eyes of some burn.


    But the adventurers decided not to bother these ones.


    They were adults, and they seemed to know how to handle their weight.


    There was no need to rough up people not disillusioned by adventures. These guys were not here to forfeit their lives.


    And so, all of Elric''s reason foring to the adventurers guild was blocked from him in mere moments.


    Elric and ude followed the two adventurers of Kone to the reception desk. Elric''s mood had taken a strange turn, the people around were quiet, but no one came up to them and tried to rough them up.


    "C-Ranked Jamie and Quinton,"


    "Who''s that?" ude whispered to Elric at the receptionist''s words.


    The wide desk of the reception couldn''t hide her perfect posture as her long brown hair tickled the top of the desk, cascading down her charming face. The receptionist greeted the party Kone with a short bow.


    "Are you here to pick up a new quest?" she asked.


    "Uh, no… We''re here to rmend these two…" Jamie pointed at the two behind him with an awkward smile.


    The receptionist noticed ude and Elric and nodded as they stepped forward to the desk.


    "It is great to see new people interested in adventuring. You all look strong too, with a referral of one of the best parties of the branch, it would be possible to increase your starting rank if you''re strong enough," the receptionist recited in one breath as she pulled out some files and documents from underneath the desk. "You may already know, the ranks start from F to A, and then proceed onward to Gold, Diamond, tinum, and Mythril ranks, based on your achievements."


    "Ooh!" Elric wowed and pped, perfect fantasy, very cool, approved.


    The receptionist giggled at Elric and extended her hands. "Can I see your soul stone, please?"


    "Soul stone?" ude tilted his head.


    "Yes, the stone with your abilities. Do not worry, you can set it to spectator mode and only show me the stats."


    ude raised his chin in understanding. He remembered it being called God Stone back in the Church of Ephis. Was it something different, or were they just called differently due to being in a different kingdom?


    "Unfortunately, neither of us has one."


    The receptionist looked slightly stuck for a moment but quickly retrieved her smile. "Then, as a special consideration, you can register with a Soul Stone from the adventurer guild, free of cost, of course."


    "Register now? Don''t we have to pray to a statue or something?"


    The receptionist visibly tilted her head this time as the people in the guild started gossiping.


    A screeching noise sounded out as a burly man stood up. The greatsword on his back nged against his iron pauldron as he smirked and slowly made his way toward the desk.


    "Looks like you guys are greenhorns who know nothing," he said with a smirk.


    ''It''s here!! YES YES!'' Elric cheered internally as the wild man walked up to them, a condescending look on his face.


    He stood right in front of ude, narrowing the distance between them to zero. ude stared back into the man''s eyes, not backing down for a second.


    Then, the man reached into his pockets.


    ude readied his mind.


    Out came a small book, the size of a pocket diary, with a hand-drawn stick man carrying a sword on the cover.


    "This is my guide for new adventurers," the man said. He smirked and walked back to his desk. "It''s a freebie from a senior."


    ''FUCKING FIGHT US INSTEAD!''


    Yet again, Elric''s dream was crushed.


    The receptionist sighed and tapped on the desk to take ude''s attention. "Then, you two. Here is the Soul Stone. There is no need to pray as this one is linked to your soul and not defined by the gods. It''s less urate and cannot show as many details or aptitude, but it updates as your stats and skills increase."


    "Oh?" ude picked up the white stone b and inspected it in his hands. There was an aptitude tab in his stats back at the temple. He remembered his being an ''All Aptitude.''


    As for Elric, though the person himself had notid an eye on the god stone, ude had seen it well. A ''Zero Aptitude.''<novelsnext></novelsnext>


    ude picked up the knife from the receptionist''s table and shed it across his palm. Red blood glistened out of the shallow wound. Clicking his tongue, ude clenched his fist over the stone b and let his blood drip on it.


    A bright light gleamed out of the stone, filling the ce with brightness before dissipating into the air. Strange characters jumbled around on the b,ing together in a line.


    And ude''s status revealed itself.


    [


    Name: ude Almstedt


    Age: 18


    ss: Light Hero | Vessel of the Lord of Shadows


    Title: Fallen Hero


    Stats:


    Strength: 72


    pαndα`noν?1--сoМ Agility: 75


    Endurance: 90


    Vitality: 120


    Intelligence: 56


    Charm: 68


    Perception: 60


    Spirit Control: 12


    Mana: 114


    Mana Control: 40


    .


    .


    .


    Skills: [Weapon Mastery: Beginner], [Wild Swordsmanship: Advanced], [Trinity Magic: Unutilized], [Spirit Talk: Unutilized], [Hero''s Strength], [Hero''s Constitution], [Hero''s Growth]…


    .


    .


    .


    Unique Skills: [Possession Resistance: Intermediate (Active], [Light Hero''s Potential], [Acquisition], [Stat Absorption], [Skill Acquisition], [Shadow Control (+)], [Light Hero (+)]


    .


    .


    .


    Equipment: [Armor Set of the Shadow Lord(???)], [Shadow Lord''s Soul (Hostile) (Constant Danger)]


    ]


    The list of skills just kept going and going.


    "Hey," ude hid the b and called out to the receptionist. "What''s the plus sign after my skills?"


    "Oh, that means you have derivative skills. Amazing. Your skills epass a further number of skills."


    "Is that so…" ude looked at the b again.


    Everything else seemed pretty normal to him. Yup, it was all urate, a bit too much. In any case, there was no way could he show some of the stuff on here to people. At the bottom of the b was a small sigil of an eye. That was likely the spectator mode she talked about.


    ude seeped some of his mana from his fingertips into the button. Another bright light emerged from the b as the Skills, Unique Skills, Equipment, ss, and Title sections disappeared from the stone, leaving only his name, age and Stats open.


    With a shrug, ude pushed the Soul Stone to the receptionist who epted it with a graceful smile.


    "Let''s see here…" she said as she held the Soul Stone in front of her eyes—


    "WHAT!"


    —And dropped it right after.