“Welcome to Adventurer’s Guild, how may I help you?”

There were three receptionists behind a long dark-mahogany like wood counter, all three of them had a pretty face. The other two were occupied, talking with other adventurer-like people. The area wasn't crowded and only a few people were around at the hall.

Right, pretty girls as guild receptionist, it's like an axiom already at this point, would I want things differently? Nah… this is fine.

Viers's musing lasted for an instant, he gathered his thoughts and replied to the receptionist. “Good afternoon, my name is Viers and I'm supposed to enroll at the Training Center. May I ask clarification about this?”

“Of course Mr. Viers, my name is Sherry, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Please wait a moment while I check the documents for your enrollment.” She said while taking a book, she looked at the contents intently and using her thin finger to search the list of names on the book page.

“Ah, Viers Isuel is it? Your name is indeed registered and the fee has been paid in full, this includes the lodging fee during the training period, which is one year.” Sherry said.

Hmm, they only checked my legitimacy just like that? What if I just hijacked someone else's place…? Well, can't ask for tight administration for this era I guess.

“Good, am I late? I met some obstacles during my trip.”

“Not at all, it's normal for trainees to show up at irregular intervals during the first month. They can begin their lessons when they arrived,” Sherry added while giving a professional smile.

Unlike Earth, it seems the school regulation isn't as strict. Make sense with the medieval era and how obstructions happened quite often in this world. Father sometimes complains he’s troubled because of the unreliable shipment schedule. Is magic not used for convenience purposes?

“That's great, so can I start the training tomorrow, Ms. Sherry? And while I’m at it, can I register as an adventurer now?” Viers asked.

Looking at the eager boy she gave a bit of a mirth-filled smile. “Yes, I shall notify the person that will be teaching you. Please come tomorrow morning at 9 o'clock at this place,” she said while giving Viers an address written on a piece paper. “Ah right, are you able to read and write?” She asked with concern.

“Yes, I can read and write just fine,” Viers said while thinking about the language.

The language that the people use is called Common, old Viers was at least not an illiterate whack ignorant of the world, there are other languages but the lingua franca in this world is Common.

“Good, the training center also provides reading and writing lessons for those who can't. As for your earlier request about registering as an adventurer, your studies will include that part and then you will be automatically registered. So don’t worry and focus on your studies.”

The literacy rate in this world is not yet universal. Most of the lower birth children can't receive a proper education because their parents can't afford them... sheesh, what a depressing thought.

Thank you Ms. Sherry, so where should I stay? And I would like to send a letter to my family, where can I do that?

“We have a dormitory for those enrolled at the Training Center. After you exit from here, take a left and walk until you find a two-story building with the sign - Training Centers Dormitory on it. You can't miss it.”

Sherry also gave Viers a letter to give for the dorm manager. “Without this, I’m afraid the matron won't let you stay,” she said a bit playfully.

“For the letter, you can use guild services for a modest fee. Bring the letter here and it shall be delivered. There are also a few options for the type of delivery such as delivery by bird or by magical means, or you can post a quest for the mail delivery.” Sherry explained patiently.

“Wonderful, I think that's all. Thank you, Ms. Sherry,” Viers said politely

“We are happy to help Mr. Viers. Good luck on your studies,” Sherry stood and gave a small bow.

She is a bit taller than me. Come to think of it, 15 years old is still considered a kid on Earth but here, you are already considered an adult and can get married at 15. Although it was rare, I have heard about early marriages happening once in a while… quite a culture shock. I hope I grow taller, my stature is quite short compared to my previous self. Viers replied with a smile and nodded before turning around.

I'm quite hungry, should I eat at the eatery? No, better go to the dorm first and get settled. Viers looked around before he went out of the guild.

This should be the hall area. Orderly chairs for those waiting their turn, the board filled with parchment on the sidewall should be the available quest. All in all, a clean and orderly area. I thought it would be more like a tavern. Big gruff men drinking with loud laughter… perhaps that's why they separated the eatery to the next door.

Viers walked out and started searching for the place he was going to stay for the year.

The dormitory looked like a small western mansion, two stories with orderly windows lining up on its white walls. Quite an old building but well kept, there were about two meters from the dormitory wall to the fence that served as a border with other buildings. The clearing was filled with green grass and elegant trees which gave the dorm a spacious feeling.

Hard to believe such a great location inside a town. However, if this is the dorm for the kids enrolling at the Training Center, some standards have to be maintained I suppose. At the very least, their parents had the money to send them here, so the kids shouldn't be from a poor background.

Viers walked past the low fence, opened a wooden garden gate at the height of his chest, stone pavement led the way to the red-brown door. He rang a bell attached to the wall beside the entrance door and clear sounds of metal ringing could be heard, before long, someone opened the door.

A woman with auburn hair tied to the side loosely, wearing a simple patterned lavender dress. She looked like she was in her mid-thirty, brown eyes, wearing a faint smile, and had a somewhat motherly feeling.

"Hello, can I help you?" She asked.

“Good afternoon, my name is Viers Isuel and I'm supposed to be staying here during my training. This is a letter from the guild I received earlier,” said Viers politely and he gave her the letter.

After she confirmed its content, she seemed convinced. “Welcome to the Training Centers Dormitory. I am Yisha, the matron here. Come in and have a cup of tea first.”

Yisha brewed him a warm tea, it was okay-ish even though he preferred a cold refreshment after being outside but he didn't let his feeling showed on his face. Viers drank the tea given to him with gratitude. She asked why Viers didn’t bring much luggage, he replied that he was robbed on the way. She expressed sympathy but Viers assured her that he was fine.

Viers now realized he must buy some clothes and other necessities. He didn't have much money and was considering that he should sell his staff. He asked where he could sell them and she recommended a place. Viers decided to visit that shop as soon as he was able.

After exchanging some pleasantries, she first led Viers to the common room and explained about the dorm rules. Pretty standard rules about conduct, property damage, blah-blah-blah... Viers wore a smiling mask but Yisha seemed to caught on to it, and decided to end it short, Viers felt a bit guilty.

Matron Yisha explained that the dormitory would provide dinner six days a week during the trainee's enrollment, she and another employee from the guild would take care of the cooking. But they needed help to cook for twenty people, the trainees were expected to divide the work among themselves to make their own dinner. It was supposed to nurture cooking skills since adventurers had to prepare their own meals in the wild. The trainees were also expected to clean the room regularly and washed the laundry themselves.

After that, she explained while leading Viers to his room. The dorm was co-ed, the boys stayed on the first floor while the girls on the second floor, strict warning for the boys to not go up whatever the reason. The maximum capacity in this dormitory is twenty trainees. There were two bathrooms, one for each floor, it was a shower type bath, and a sitting type toilet. He thanked whatever higher power in this world for the invention of flush toilets.

After he saw the bathroom, Viers realized that the technology in this era was quite a mess. The mirror reflection was crystal clear, the water for the bathroom supposedly available because of a magic item, no printing press but books were quite common. Viers decided not to think too deeply about this and focused on his goal, meanwhile, they arrived in his room, room number 105.

A small room with a comfy bed, a drawer, a table, and a chair with a lamp on top of the table. There was a white stone inside the lamp that acted as a light bulb, a common magic item that even the previous Viers recognized. The floor was made of wood and dark in color. Viers felt satisfied with the accommodation. He didn't want to share a room with another, with a single room it would be easier to hide his secrets.

After some more small talk, she bid her leave, gave him the room key, and told Viers to talk to her should he finds trouble. Viers accepted her offer with gratitude then said his thanks and farewell. Now alone in the room, he sat down, relaxed a bit, and thought about what to do next. Viers decided to eat and buy the daily necessities that he'd lost.

He visited a restaurant nearby and ordered two portions of food, some kind of quiche, the other portion was a fish dish he never heard of. He ate heartily since he felt his heart liberated from dangerous situations. After reaching the safety of a town, he was no longer in immediate danger.

The public security was quite good in Luxore town, there were rare and far in between but some guards could be seen patrolling the area. Viers suspected that criminal actions would be responded with severe punishment. Viers walked the streets while half sightseeing, he soon reached the magic shop.

He sold his staff for 15 gold, he felt it was undercharged but he wasn't in the mood to argue. He then bought clothes, shoes, soap, paper, ink, a quill for writing, and various necessities; all of the items he bought totaled about 1 gold. After he finished shopping, he returned to the dorm.

The sky had started to turn dark as the sun was setting, Viers went to his room and started to write a letter to his family. The content was quite simple, he explained that he had already arrived at Luxore town and shall begin his training tomorrow. The caravan was attacked but he managed to reach the town safely. Roland was most likely dead and asked his father to provide assistance to the bereaved family if he could. In the end, he wrote well-wishes to his parents and siblings.

After he finished, he heard a knock on his door. Viers opened the door and met a red-haired boy, a bit taller and a lot leaner than him. The boy offered his right hand and spoke, “You must be Viers the new kid, I’m Maxwell but call me Max. I arrived three days ago. Let’s do our best, buddy. By the way, dinner is ready, let’s eat.”

“Yeah sure, nice to meet you too Max,” Viers said while shaking his hand. They went to the dining room together. When they arrived, there was a lot of food ready to be eaten on the table. There were five round tables and each table had five seats, Viers saw some of his new classmates and felt a bit out of place.

Another school life? They did say it was the most fun moment in your life... Since most of us here aiming to be combatants, shouldn’t this be considered military academy? Oh well, just focus on training for now Viers.

Viers sat with Max and ate; the menu was meat stew with potatoes, vegetable soup, and some chicken. Viers wondered if this is the standard menu for this town, it was quite luxurious for a medieval age by Earth's standard. He ate in silence while Max chatted with another kid next to him. After he finished eating, Viers washed his plate and returned to his room, he made a -do not disturb- sign and put it on his door.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and gathered his thoughts.

Tomorrow I shall learn the Path of Power, turn into those superheroes in the fiction. But I don’t want to be a hero, I want to be... oh right! Like that catchy song said, ‘I wanna be the very best, like no one ever was.'

Yes, strength is important, very important, but those who seek only strength will destroy themselves.

I have been blessed to learn this from the Spring of Wisdom on Earth, in another name it’s called… the Internet. The power of imagination of billions of people has reached the domains of fantasy greatness. They have created a great number of stories, stories that I can use to avoid plunging into my doom.

Let’s see… my healing factor for example, even if it was more potent, a thousand times stronger to the extent it can make me regrow from a single cell, I can still be drowned, they can use anti-healing, overload my healing factor, destroy my soul, seal me in a jar for a thousand years, banish me into another dimension of nothingness, feed me to some eldritch abomination, and other things. Some of those are even worse than death, that could be my fate if I go power-mad or go For the Evulz.

Countless godlike beings have been defeated in the fantasy of my world. Almost every power there is already imagined and there are ways to counter, negate, defeat even the most omnipotent of them. Even if you succeed and obtain the ultimate power or goal, your enemy will time travel to the past and undo all that you have achieved! This has been proven by the purple-skinned guy, his fate is dust! It has happened before and it would happen again, truly there is nothing absolute or eternal in the world.

So I must reflect… I want to be strong, to see the wonders of the world, to have the power to make my own choices! These three shall be my foundation goals, I mustn't be hasty, grow stronger by step, and don’t lose myself in the bloody path that I must walk.

But I am human, human’s greed knows no bounds, I will have other goals as well…

Wealth? Meh... once I get strong enough, I can just take it from those who have too much.

Woman? Hmnn, every reincarnation or transported to another world story will have the MC find true love at some point… that or a harem. Does harem not count as true love…? Bleh, I am not a philosopher, so whatever. For now, love/woman/harem shall not be my objective, strengthening myself will be the number one priority. Spring of Wisdom told me life without love nor companionship is hollow, on this I agree but it can wait after my quest for power.

Eternal life? Another common goal for those in my position, my healing factor should be a plus point for me. It healed me from grievous wounds and restored my eyesight, should decelerate my aging then. I also should seek the origin of that mysterious flower. Well it’s great I have it, let’s leave it at that. My focus should be finding ways to strengthen my healing factor, eternal life can be my side-quest as I get stronger.

Let’s end the journey to the soul right here, time to sleep, and go to school tomorrow. G’night me.

Viers lay down, closed his eyes while imagining the aria music of a room clad in velvet...