The next morning, Luciana woke up with one thought already waiting for her: Silvermere.
More specifically, she wanted to see everything she had not yet seen.
She had barely finished breakfast when Alex placed his cup on the table and looked at her thoughtfully.
“Luciana, have you decided what you want to do after leaving Silvermere?”
Luciana paused with a piece of bread halfway to her mouth before slowly lowering it.
“Leave?”
“Yes.”
“I…
hadn’t thought that far yet.”
Sara laughed softly.
“You said you wanted to travel beyond Cresent Roseville.
Silvermere is only your first stop.”
Luciana glanced toward the window.
That was true.
There were still so many places she wanted to see—different cities, mountains, magical forests, and perhaps even a real dragon if she was lucky.
Preferably from a very safe distance.
“Then how do travelers actually move from one place to another?” she asked.
Alex raised an eyebrow.
“You mean legally?”
Luciana nodded.
“You should register at the Adventurer Guild.”
Her eyes immediately brightened.
“The Adventurer Guild?”
Sara smiled.
“They don’t only handle adventurers.
Travelers can register there as well.
Once you have an identification card, traveling between regions becomes much easier.”
Luciana leaned closer.
“What can I do with it?”
“You can use it to prove your identity, take certain quests, receive payment for completed work, and access some services available to registered travelers.”
Luciana’s expression became increasingly serious.
“Wait.
People actually get paid for doing quests?”
Alex already knew where this was going.
“Yes.”
“How much?”
Sara laughed.
“Now you’re interested.”
“I’ve always been interested.”
“You were interested in magic shops yesterday.”
“I can be interested in two things.”
Alex shook his head, amused.
“You can take beginner quests to earn money while traveling.
Some travelers make their living that way.”
Luciana stared at him for a moment.
“So I can travel…
and earn money while traveling?”
“That is one way to do it.”
Luciana slowly turned toward Sara.
“I like this system.”
Sara burst out laughing.
“Just remember that not every quest is harmless.”
“What kind of quests are there?”
“Deliveries, gathering herbs, helping merchants, finding lost items…”
“That sounds fine.”
“Then there are monster subjugation quests, escort missions, exploring dangerous areas, and requests involving magical creatures.”
Luciana’s smile gradually disappeared.
“Ah.”
Alex chuckled.
“You don’t have to accept those.
Your rank determines which quests you’re allowed to take.”
Luciana nodded thoughtfully.
“So I can start with easy ones.”
“Exactly.”
She immediately stood.
“Then let’s get my ID.”
Alex laughed.
“We haven’t even finished breakfast.”
“I can finish it on the way.”
“You’re not taking your breakfast into the guild.”
Luciana looked down at the remaining food, then back at him.
“Why not?”
“Because people generally don’t walk around Adventurer Guilds carrying half a breakfast.”
Luciana considered this with genuine seriousness.
“That seems like a strange rule.”
Sara covered her mouth to hide her laughter.
“Come on.
Finish eating.”
The Adventurer Guild was considerably louder than Luciana had expected.
The moment she stepped inside, conversations seemed to come from every direction.
Adventurers discussed quests around wooden tables, merchants spoke with guild employees, and several groups stood in front of the large quest board arguing over which requests they should accept.
Some people carried swords, while others wore robes or had bows strapped across their backs.
One woman passed by with a small fox-like magical creature sitting proudly on her shoulder.
Luciana’s eyes followed it.
The creature looked back.
They stared at each other for a moment before its owner continued walking.
“Cute,” Luciana whispered.
The creature’s ears twitched.
Luciana reluctantly looked away, remembering Sara’s warning from the previous day about touching unfamiliar magical creatures.
At the registration counter, a guild clerk greeted them.
“Registration?”
“Yes,” Alex answered.
“She’s a new traveler.”
Luciana stepped forward.
“My name is Luciana Aldrick.”
The clerk began filling out the registration form.
“Age?”
“Eighteen.”
“Origin?”
“Cresent Roseville.”
The clerk paused briefly.
“Cresent Roseville?”
Luciana nodded proudly.
“It’s a small village near Silver Rose Lake.”
“I see.”
The clerk continued with several more ordinary questions before asking her to place her hand against the registration crystal.
The crystal glowed softly beneath her palm.
For the briefest moment, the light shimmered with a faint silver hue.
Luciana blinked.
The strange color disappeared almost immediately, and the crystal returned to its usual glow.
The clerk didn’t seem concerned, and neither did Alex.
Luciana simply shrugged.
Probably another strange Silvermere thing.
Once the registration was complete, the clerk handed her a small identification card.
“This is your traveler’s ID.
Keep it with you while traveling.
You can use it when accepting quests or dealing with guild branches in other regions.”
Luciana took the card with both hands and examined it carefully, turning it over as though she had just received something extraordinarily valuable.
“I have an official traveler’s ID.”
Sara smiled.
“You sound very proud.”
“I am.”
Alex crossed his arms.
“Don’t lose it.”
“I won’t.”
“Don’t sell it.”
Luciana looked offended.
“Why would I sell my own ID?”
“You were asking about money five minutes ago.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to sell my identity.”
Sara laughed as Luciana carefully slipped the card into the small leather pouch attached to her belt.
For the first time, the journey ahead felt a little more real.
She wasn’t simply a girl who had left her village anymore.
She was officially a traveler, and somehow, that tiny piece of identification made the enormous world beyond Silvermere feel slightly less frightening.
Several streets away, in a quieter part of the city, another registration was taking place.
The man standing before the guild counter attracted little attention.
His dark clothing was simple, his expression calm, and there was nothing about him that suggested he wanted to be noticed.
The guild clerk looked over the registration form.
“Name?”
“Raizen Zeith.”
“Age?”
“Undisclosed.”
The clerk glanced up, surprised by the answer, but entered it without comment.
“Origin?”
“Undisclosed.”
Another glance followed.
Raizen remained perfectly calm.
The clerk continued filling out the form until the registration crystal suddenly stopped responding.
A notification appeared across its surface.
IDENTITY RESTRICTION — MASTER GUILD AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
The clerk’s expression changed immediately.
“Sir…”
Raizen looked at him.
“This identity is under Master Guild restriction.”
“Yes.”
The clerk hesitated before asking, “Do you wish to continue?”
“Yes.”
There was no further question.
The restriction was not something an ordinary branch could override.
The clerk could confirm that the person standing before him was authorized to register, but the information hidden behind the restriction was completely inaccessible.
He carefully completed the registration and finally asked, “Traveler rank?”
“Beginner.”
The clerk stared at him.
“Beginner?”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes.”
The clerk decided it was probably wiser not to ask why.
He issued the identification card.
Raizen accepted it and slipped it into his coat.
A simple card.
A simple name.
A simple rank.
Exactly what he wanted.
No one around him knew who he truly was, and no one needed to.
He wasn’t there to announce himself or reclaim the past.
Most importantly, he wasn’t going to walk up to Luciana and tell her that he had waited a thousand years to see her again.
She deserved better than that.
She deserved to meet him as though they were strangers and discover who he was naturally.
If she eventually wanted him beside her, it should be because she chose him—not because of memories she didn’t even possess.
Raizen stepped out of the guild and looked across the busy streets of Silvermere.
Somewhere in this enormous city was Luciana.
He already knew where she was.
He could find her in an instant, but he didn’t.
Instead, he continued walking at an ordinary pace.
A thousand years had taught him patience.
Apparently, patience now required pretending to be a beginner traveler.
The faintest amusement touched his expression.
Perhaps fate would provide the opportunity soon.
And if it didn’t…
He already had a plan.
Back at the Adventurer Guild, Luciana stood in front of the quest board with Alex and Sara.
Her eyes moved from one request to another.
“Gather moonleaf herbs…”
She checked the reward.
“Deliver a package…”
Another reward caught her attention.
“Assist a merchant caravan…”
Her eyes brightened.
Then she spotted another notice.
Beginner Quest — Find Lost Magical Creature.
Luciana leaned closer to read the details.
Alex immediately noticed.
“No.”
“But you don’t even know what it is.”
“Exactly.”
Sara laughed.
“Maybe start with herbs.”
Luciana sighed dramatically before looking back at the board.
“Fine.”
She studied the beginner quests again.
There were dozens of them, each offering a different destination, reward, or little glimpse into life outside the city.
For the first time, the world didn’t feel like something she was merely dreaming about.
It was waiting for her.
And Luciana had every intention of seeing as much of it as she could.
She simply didn’t know yet that someone else had quietly registered for the same road.