Chapter 156: That is her home

"Oh, there he comes!" Mary cheerfully replied to Cole who could be seen nervously fidgeting. He was afraid that Aiden might have got into some sort of trouble, after all, the examiners weren't known for being merciful. People who went to take an exam, often became crippled, if they even managed to come back at all.

So, now that he also noticed the side door opening and the calm boy coming out, he sighed in relief. Looking at him, Cole was slightly surprised as he could see no tears on his clothing, or any kind of damages. It was as if he did not fight at all, which was clearly impossible.

"Aiden! Come here!" Mary happily waved at Aiden, who responded with a friendly smile and casually walked to them.

As soon as he arrived Mary started her bombardment of questions.

"So? What happened? How do you feel? Is everything okay? Do you need any healing?" It was just now that she registered that the boy in front of him looked completely unharmed, not even his hair seemed ruffled. Astounded by this fact, she asked another question. "Huh? Why do you seem completely okay? Did you not fight at all?"

Aiden silently smiled and waited for the girl to take a breather and stop before he calmly began to answer.

"Calm down, Mary, there is nothing wrong, we did fight. I was just a bit stronger than them, that is all. The person with the hooded robe said that I had passed."

"Ah, that is good. Well, just give me a moment then, let me go to the back and confirm the next steps. Just a moment, okay? Don't go anywhere!" Hearing Aiden's response, her expression turned even brighter, and turned towards the office door behind the reception area. She bolted as fast as she could, her last words were yelled as she was already at the door just before her slender figure vanished in the office hallways.

Turning towards Cole who was silent next to him, he noticed the utter shock that was set on his face and the disbelief that was visible in his eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Aiden asked with the same calm tone as he addressed Mary.

First, Cole couldn't even respond, he looked at the youth in front of him as if he was some kind of monster. After a few seconds, he eventually managed to gather enough willpower to voice the only thought that kept ringing in his mind.

"H-how are you fine?!"

Aiden didn't mind the question, he could feel there was no ill-will aimed at him. Cole was genuinely concerned about him when he went in and was baffled at the outcome.

"We fought, but I was stronger and faster. You already saw the strength I possess when I hit that strange energy barrier around the haunted mansion, so you shouldn't be that surprised by this outcome."

Only now did Cole seemed to calm down. Embarrassment set on his expression, he averted his gaze, looking at the ground. He nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Ehehe, yeah that is true. Sorry… I was just nervous, that you would suffer as everyone else did under their hands."

"Don't worry about it. I could tell those guys were strong, stronger than the average Adventurer." Aiden replied with a friendly smile. Then, as he looked at the closed office door in the back where Mary left just a few moments ago, with a thoughtful look he wondered.

"I just don't understand, why did that guy make me a Rank 2 immediately. I did not do anything special…"

Hearing his words, Cole almost fell on his back. With his mouth hanging open and wide eyes, he looked at Aiden with even more shock than before.

"W-what did you just say?!" He stutteringly asked.

"Huh?" Aiden looked at Cole with surprise. "I just said, I don't understand why did that hooded figure say that I am now a Rank 2 Adventurer. I just wanted to register, but for some reason he immediately upgraded me. I don't understand it, I didn't even show anything special."

"T-t-that's���" Cole looked as if he had seen a ghost, he stumbled and fell on the ground. Pointing his shaking fingers at the boy, he exclaimed with a mixture of shock and fright in his eyes.

"J-just what are you? H-how?! That's never happened before…"

"Uhm, are you okay? Why are you shaking? Did something scare you?" Aiden was puzzled, he did not know why Cole reacted this way. Why was the fact that he was unharmed such a big deal? Shouldn't this whole thing be just a test to measure the strength of the person?

"Nobody has ever become a Rank 2 as soon as they registered! You have no experience, no idea how the system's work, and no credits to your name! Simply put, you just can't be a Rank 2! It's impossible!"

Now, he understood the reason for Cole's seemingly strange reaction. The 'Reward' he got was simply too exceptional; it went against the Guild's rules. However, as he could feel a familiar life sign approaching, he simply smiled and nodded towards the window.

"If you don't believe me, then let's just listen to Mary to come back."

Just as Aiden finished his words, the back door opened and Mary rushed back, with a stack of papers in her hands. She had a flushed expression. 

As she got back to the desk, she raised her right index finger trying to catch her breath before she flusteredly began reporting back to the boys.

"Aiden... *pant* *pant* I got word from management! *pant*"

'It's okay, take your time, we are in no rush." Aiden smiled, trying to calm the girl. Unfortunately, he did not get the reaction he expected, instead, the flushed girl got even more flustered, she nervously fidgeted, averting her gaze to the ground. Her cheeks turned bright red in the process.

Aiden could not understand her strange reactions at all, unlike Cole who smugly smiled back at him. In the end, Aiden helplessly shook his shoulders and decided to just wait for Mary to calm down.

After about a minute, she finally managed to collect herself. With a faint rosy coloring on her cheeks, she coughed and continued with a forced cool in her voice.

"So, Aiden, I got the news from management, that you have received a pass on your exams. Also," She altered her gaze between the two boys as if trying to read anything from their reactions.

While Aiden remained calm and did not have any visible reaction at all, the other boy, Cole was already looking with expectant eyes, as if he was just waiting for confirmation on something.

"Aiden, I was specifically instructed to register you as a Rank 2 Adventurer. Honestly, I do not understand why, or what you did back there that made them come to such a strange decision, but nevertheless, I can now officially welcome you as the newest member, as well as one of the elite group of adventurers for the Higrove's Adventurer's Guild!" 

She pulled the top paper from the stack she brought over and handed it over to Aiden.

"Here's your registration details. Your Guild Card will require a day, and that's when you will be able to pick quests and join or create parties as well."

Then he picked up another paper, that was the map of the city, with several buildings circled over. 

"And this is the map for all the Inns that we are in contact with. If you would need accommodation in the meantime, feel free to contact these establishments, they will give you a discounted price."

Taking a look at the map, he noticed several buildings circled over and marked with their names such as "Lionhead Inn", "Swords and Shields" and so on, none of these names were familiar to him

As he looked over the map he noticed that there was another building that was marked with a different colored ink. While the rest seemed to come from the same pen, this last one, judging by the shape, it was hastily marked, with a different, blue ink. 

Looking at the girl, Aiden noticed some blue leftover stains on the edge of the sleeves of her dress. He had a guess that it was done by her, while the others may have been marked by a different person, maybe by that strange, hooded figure that spectated his fight.

"Mary, may I ask, what is this last building supposed to be? There's no name next to it. Is that an inn as well?" He asked with an honest, innocent stare.

"Uhm… That?" Hearing the question, Mary became flustered once again and began to fidget even more than before. Her face once again turned red as a tomato and couldn't look up from the ground. 

Although she planned to explain and even made up a viable excuse as to why she would mark that specific building, now, as she faced the question she practiced along the way, she couldn't speak up.

Seeing her helpless state, Cole already had an idea. Deciding to help her, he spoke.

"Aiden, I think that is her home."