Novel Full Chapter 472: Registration in the guild
Chapter 472: Registration in the guild
The forest stretched endlessly around Ethan as he walked.
He had been moving for nearly an hour now, following what looked like an old game trail that wound quietly between the towering trees. The silver glow above him never changed. It did not dim or brighten. It remained fixed in the sky like an eternal moon.
It made the entire world feel strangely suspended.
As if this place had no concept of day or night.
Every so often Ethan passed enormous trees whose bark faintly pulsed with a dim light. The slow rhythm reminded him of breathing. Like the trees themselves were living creatures silently watching his passage.
The air felt different too.
Denser.
Not heavy enough to slow him down completely, but enough that every step required more attention than usual.
“Yumiko,” Ethan said quietly, breaking the silence, “do you have any idea where the nearest settlement is?”
Inside his mind the familiar voice responded.
[Searching fragmented data…]
A brief pause followed.
[There is a human settlement approximately forty kilometers to the northeast.]
[Spatial patterns suggest organized construction. Most likely a town with guild presence.]
Ethan nodded to himself.
“That works.”
He adjusted his direction slightly and continued walking.
As he moved, he carefully tested the limits of his body.
A simple leap sent him upward.
But the result was disappointing.
In his original universe a casual jump like that would have carried him across dimensions if he wanted to, or at least several kilometers if wanted to keep his power suppressed, but here he barely reached fifty meters before gravity dragged him back down.
The descent also felt heavier.
Not painful.
Just oppressive.
As if gravity itself possessed additional weight.
Ethan landed softly and frowned.
“This is going to take some getting used to,” he muttered.
The difference in physical laws was clear.
This world restricted power far more aggressively than the one he had left behind.
If even basic movement felt like this, combat would feel very different.
He continued down the trail, studying everything carefully.
Two hours passed.
Gradually the forest began to thin.
The massive trees became smaller and more spaced apart until eventually Ethan stepped out of the treeline and onto a worn dirt road.
And there, in the distance, he finally saw it.
A town.
Stone walls surrounded it completely.
They rose roughly ten meters high and stretched in a wide perimeter. Strange glowing runes covered the surface of the stone. The symbols pulsed slowly in repeating patterns, like a quiet heartbeat.
Beyond the walls Ethan could see rooftops of various sizes.
Some were simple wooden structures.
Others appeared to be reinforced with metal.
Rising above them all was a tall tower constructed from bronze colored metal that gleamed under the silver sky.
The town gate stood open.
Two guards stood on either side.
Each carried a sword at their hip.
As Ethan approached, both of them watched him carefully.
Their gazes were not hostile.
Just alert.
“Halt,” one of them said once Ethan came within speaking distance.
“State your business in Valdris.”
Ethan stopped and looked at the guard calmly.
“I’m looking to join a guild.”
The guard studied him for a long moment.
Then he let out a short snort.
“Another one, huh?”
He scratched his chin and glanced briefly at his companion.
“You’re the third outsider this week. Did you come here from a space rift or ritual?”
Ethan was surprised that they could tell he didn’t belong to this world and they were not that surprised.
“Umm, through a space rift I guess.”, he said.
One guard snorted coldly as if looking at a garbage pile.
Then he gestured lazily toward the interior of the town.
“Go straight down the main road.”
“You’ll see the Guild Hall at the end.”
“Bronze Dawn handles all new registrations.”
Ethan inclined his head slightly.
“Thank you.”
He walked past them and entered the town.
The moment he passed beneath the stone archway, he felt something change.
The air shifted.
It became more structured.
More controlled.
Ethan looked up.
The runes embedded into the walls had brightened slightly as he passed through the gate.
Ethan continued walking without reacting outwardly.
Valdris looked like an ordinary medieval town at first glance.
The streets were paved with cobblestone that had been worn smooth by centuries of footsteps.
Merchants called out prices to passing customers.
Children ran through the streets laughing loudly.
Craftsmen worked inside open front workshops while tools rang steadily against metal or wood.
The smell of bread drifted through the air from a nearby bakery.
Everything felt normal.
Peaceful.
Yet Ethan noticed things most people would never see.
A woman walked past carrying a basket full of bread.
Her footsteps touched the ground lightly.
But Ethan noticed something strange.
Each step she took displaced small grains of dust and stone.
Yet the moment her foot lifted, every particle returned to its exact original position.
Perfectly reset.
Nearby, a blacksmith hammered glowing metal on an anvil.
The sound of each strike rang out clearly.
But the anvil itself never vibrated.
The force of each blow vanished into the metal without creating resonance.
The energy simply disappeared.
A small girl ran past Ethan, laughing happily.
As she moved the air around her rippled faintly.
Ethan immediately recognized what was happening.
She was unconsciously manipulating space to accelerate her movement.
Level 1 beings.
Every single one of them.
In the outside universe, these people would be considered gods.
Here they were ordinary citizens.
Bakers.
Blacksmiths.
Children playing in the street.
The scale of power in this world was almost absurd.
Even Ethan felt slightly overwhelmed by the realization.
Eventually he reached the town square.
And there it stood.
The Guild Hall of Bronze Dawn.
The structure dominated the entire square.
It was built from dark stone reinforced with bronze trimming along the edges. The building stood three stories tall, and the tower Ethan had seen earlier rose directly from its center.
The entrance consisted of two enormous bronze doors.
Each one stood nearly five meters high.
The metal surface was engraved with detailed carvings that depicted warriors battling enormous monsters.
Ethan pushed one door open and stepped inside.
The interior atmosphere surprised him.
It felt warm.
Almost welcoming.
A massive hall stretched out before him.
Long wooden tables filled the space where groups of people sat eating, drinking, and talking loudly.
The smell of roasted meat mixed with something that resembled spiced wine.
Along the walls were large wooden boards covered with sheets of paper.
People gathered around them constantly.
Missions.
Requests.
Contracts.
At the far end of the hall stood a large counter.
Several clerks worked behind it, organizing papers and speaking with guild members.
Supervising them all was a tall woman with silver streaks in her dark hair.
Ethan walked toward the counter.
The woman looked up as he approached.
Her eyes were sharp.
The kind of gaze that missed nothing.
“New face,” she said flatly.
“Outsider?”
Ethan nodded.
“Just arrived today.”
The woman snorted slightly.
“You have no idea where you are, do you?”
“I know I’m in the World of Elysium,” Ethan replied calmly.
“Beyond that, not much.”
One of her eyebrows lifted slightly.
“At least you’re honest.”
She placed the papers she was holding onto the desk.
“I’m Sera.”
“Reception administrator for Bronze Dawn.”
“If you want to join, there’s a process.”
“I’m listening,” Ethan replied.
Sera pointed toward a wooden board beside the counter.
“First you register your name and current level.”
“Then you complete a basic assessment mission.”
“That proves you’re not completely useless.”
“After that you receive provisional membership for thirty days.”
“If you survive that long, you become a full member.”
Ethan glanced toward the board.
It contained a long list of names followed by numbers.
“Levels,” he said.
“How are they measured?”
Sera looked at him strangely.
“You really don’t know anything. Did you arrive here by luck? ”
“Yeah”, Ethan nodded.
She reached under the counter and pulled out a small crystal sphere.
It was roughly the size of a fist.
A faint light glowed within the crystal.
“Place your hand on this.”
“It measures your strength.”
“It will assign you a level.”
Ethan looked at the sphere briefly.
Yumiko.
[The device is safe.]
[It measures dimensional resonance only.]
[It cannot detect me.]
Ethan placed his palm against the crystal.
For a moment nothing happened.
Then the crystal flickered.
A faint pulse of light spread through the sphere.
Suddenly the glow intensified.
The crystal blazed with powerful light that filled the entire counter area.
Sera’s eyes widened in shock.
The light faded as quickly as it appeared.
Inside the crystal glowing characters slowly formed.
Symbols Ethan did not recognize.
Sera stared at the numbers.
Then she looked up at Ethan.
Then back at the crystal.
“That’s…”
Her voice faded uncertainly.
Ethan waited patiently.
Finally she cleared her throat.
“Level 2.”
Her tone sounded strange.
Half disbelief.
Half confusion.
“You’re Level 2.”
Ethan blinked.
“Is that bad?”
Sera let out a short laugh.
“Bad?”
“No.”
“It’s just unusual.”
She shook her head slowly.
“Most outsiders arrive here at Level 0.”
“If they’re extremely talented they might reach Level 1.”
“But Level 2 immediately?”
Her eyes examined him again.
More carefully this time.
“What exactly were you before you came here?”
Ethan considered the question briefly.
Then he answered.
“Something like a traveler.”
Sera studied him for several seconds.
Then she shrugged.
“Fine.”
“Keep your secrets.”
“Everyone does at first.”
She grabbed a form and began writing.
“Name?”
“Ethan.”
“Just Ethan?”
“For now.”
Sera snorted but wrote it down anyway.
“Alright Ethan who arrives at Level 2.”
She reached behind her and pulled a sheet of paper from a neatly organized stack.
Then she handed it to him.
“Here’s your first mission.”
She tapped the page with her finger.
“South of town there’s a farmer named Garrick.”
“He’s been dealing with corrupted beasts attacking his livestock.”
“The creatures are weak.”
“Maybe Level 1 at most.”
She leaned back slightly.
“Go kill a few.”
“Bring back proof.”
“And you’ll complete your assessment.”