When I enter the guild hall, I find Hailey standing behind the counter. This was a former guild hall already, so I didn't have to do much to set it up. I'm still paying for additional security measures to be added, though. Once I'm a little better at reading, I'll also start researching enchantments and stuff myself, then see how good the building's are and maybe even update them myself if needed.

"That's him!" A voice calls out as I go to approach Hailey.

I look over and find the young man from earlier seated at a table, standing as I look over. He's got several older men with him, including a man who I assume is his father. How is this going to go? Is the man going to try to force me into giving up my rightful reward? I received the full bounty after the System verified the kill. It registered only me as having done anything toward killing the beast.

Though considering my current Level and the fact that I'm a seven-affinity, they'll probably lose a fight against me. Five-affinities aren't all that common, after all, and they'd have to either have a lightning affinity or be a much higher Level than me to have a fighting chance at winning.

On the other hand, me fighting a noble probably won't go over so well.

Stealing someone's reward is against the law, however. I could probably get Lord Trenton's attention if I need to. Or if I can't, I can tell Colt and Thomas when I see them tomorrow. They're trying to make sure I'm happy with the kingdom, so they'd probably deal with this.

As much as I'd rather avoid doing anything like that, it might be necessary.

"I told them the bounty was already verified and confirmed through the official system," Hailey informs me, her speech slower, more careful. "But they insisted on waiting for you to arrive."

"That's fine," I tell her.

"She lied!" The teen exclaims. "My party and I killed that beast! You took it and ran off with it while we were tending to our injuries! You-"

"Harold," the man I presume is his father speaks in a firm voice. "Silence."

"Father-"

"Now," the man stands, then walks over to me. Wow, he towers over me. "You are the boy who encountered my son earlier?"

"Yes," I answer. "When he was in the process of having his arm chewed off by Krezdalim. Well, I arrived before your son attempted another attack against the beast estimated to have around 350 Constitution. You can check the bounty information regarding that. Your son and his team had done no damage. I interrupted the fight, drew the beast's attention, shot its attacks into nothing, let it charge into my [Air Barrier], and then slammed its head into the ground hard enough to crush it. The System has verified that I am the sole killer of the beast, so the reward is mine and only mine."

"So that is what really happened," the man says, then gives me a bow at the waist. "I apologize for my son's actions. I brought him to this city so that he could gain experience fighting monsters outside of the valley, and I did not expect him to attempt to kill a bounty beast. Nor did I expect him to claim someone else's kill. I thought I had raised him better than that, but it seems I still have much work left in that regard. I can assure you that my son will be punished for his actions. Thank you for saving my son and his friends."

This is not what I expected, and his son is clearly shocked by this as well considering he's opened and closed his mouth several times during this apology from his father.

"Father!" The young man exclaims. "Why are you apologizing to that thief?"

"Silence, Harold," his father straightens up. "You have less than 100 Strength, your strongest Attribute. Krezdalim was estimated to have around 350 Constitution. I knew you were lying to me the moment you fabricated that tale. Stealing glory is a crime, Harold. If you really did earn the bounty, you would have turned it in and claimed the reward yourself."

"But-"

"Silence," I amplify my voice for that one word, and Harold falls silence, stiffening up as everyone looks at me. "Your father has acknowledged that you have lied and attempted to steal the glory and bounty belonging to another. Even if he did not, this is a battle you would lose. Krezdalim is the weakest of the bounty beasts I have killed, and that counts four, with three of them being solo kills. In fact, I just turned in the kill for Nebvarul, an ice goblin knight estimated to have 780 Constitution. He only net me two Levels. Just today, I earned [Magus of the Elements]. If you don't know what that is, it is a Title obtained for becoming skilled in all seven elements. In other words, I earned what is at least my eighth Title today."

"You are in my guild," I continue. "Making false claims against me. If you value your reputation, you will shut up and never spread your dragon shit again. Continue to press these claims of yours which are easily proven false, and I will ensure you are locked up for your crimes."

Even his claims themselves can constitute a crime, whether or not he gets anything out of them. I just hope that his father doesn't retaliate against me for interrupting them and putting down his son like that.

As for the threat to someone's reputation, that's apparently a major thing. I have a reputation, myself.

According to Hailey, my reputation in the slums is of a fidgety, paranoid guy who is more willing to stab someone than accept a coin from them. Someone who is also good at keeping their agreements when they're honorable, and who is not someone to cross. Apparently, I'm considered terrifying by half of the slums even though I tried my best to keep to myself.

Outside of the slums, I'm developing a reputation as a powerful monster hunter. The development is small right now, but it's only going to spread as I continue to be, well, me.

"Four bounty beasts?" The older man asks. "I only just learned of this guild when my son mentioned it, and could not find much information on it other than that it was founded yesterday and consists entirely of kids. I assume you are the Maxwell Zanroval listed as the founder, then?"

"I am," I answer. "And yes, it was founded yesterday."

"Though it may be rare," he says. "It is not impossible for a child to kill bounty beasts. Lord Benjamin, our eldest prince, slayed one when he was but ten years old. I have not heard of the Zanroval family before, are you a recently-elevated noble? I did hear you had Titles."

"F-Father!"

"My family is irrelevant to this," I state. "So you do believe me, then?"

"Yes," the man answers. "As I said, though uncommon, it is not impossible for a child to be as strong as you claim. How many affinities do you have?"

"Seven," I answer.

We're not exactly hiding the fact that I'm a seven-affinity anymore. It probably isn't the best of ideas, but I'm a high enough Level at this point at this point that it would be suicide to someone's reputation to come after me.

I performed an equal assist in the kill of the most powerful goblin beneath the Goblin Kings. That's not exactly something that can stay secret, which is why we're not hiding the fact that I'm a seven-affinity anymore.

There's also the fact that I'm apparently rather bad at hiding it, myself. I used shadow magics in front of Aaron, Cyrus, and Nicholas within minutes of meeting them. That was something I only just realized yesterday, too. If they've realized it, they haven't mentioned it, but I find it hard to believe they aren't the only ones I've slipped up in front of. The secret is bound to get out, especially considering how much Colt and I are around each other.

"You should try to be believable!" Harold exclaims.

"Seven-affinities?" His father asks. "I heard of a Max with seven-affinities this morning. He helped two royal guards kill Na'Maerul two days ago."

"The one and only," I say.

"You can't really believe him!" Harold protests.

"Forgive me," his father says. "I believe I neglected to introduce myself. I am Walter Nelzredas, Lord of the Nelzredas Duchy. Would you like to exchange Statuses?"

Harold looks smug once his father requests that. His father likely wishes to see my Status in order to verify my claims of being a seven-affinity. The reason I was hiding my Level from Colt was to keep it a little secret because I was weaker and I don't trust him to keep his mouth shut.

Right now, however, I'm around the Level that less than half of all hunters, guards, adventurers, and so on – and less than one percent of all people – ever reach. Combined with being a seven-affinity, that puts me as more powerful than one percent of the entire population.

I access my Status and change my active Title.

[Magus of the Elements] Name: Maxwell Zanroval Age: 13 years Species: Human Sex: Male Level: 49 Experience: 18.93% Mana: 1,700/1,700 Mana Regen: 1.700/second Strength: 840 Constitution: 841 Agility: 841 Perception: 842 Magic: 850 Vitality: 843

"Since you made the exchange request," I state. "You show yours first."

This is mostly because I don't trust him enough to actually share his if I show him mine first. By making him show his own Status first, I can ensure that he doesn't see mine unless I see his.

"That is fair," Walter says, then his Status appears in my vision.

[Magus of Fire] Name: Walter Nelzredas Age: 42 years Species: Human Sex: Male Level: 47 Experience: 92.28% Mana: 240/240 Mana Regen: 0.288/second Strength: 480 Constitution: 433 Agility: 196 Perception: 150 Magic: 192 Vitality: 151

So I'm pretty sure that he has a fire affinity since his son does, but I'm going to assume he has other affinities as well. My math isn't that good, but I can tell he has at least two. Maybe lightning as another? Though that is the rarest affinity, so he might not have an affinity for lightning.

After reviewing his Status and getting my head mixed-up from trying to do the math on it, I send Lord Walter my own Status. He takes much longer than me to say anything. So long, in fact, his son beats him to it.

"So he's lying, right?" Harold asks. "Guards arr-"

"Silence, Harold," his father says. "Maxwell here-"

"Max."

"My apologies," Lord Walter tells me. "Max here is, indeed, a seven-affinity with [Magus of the Elements]. He's also Level 49, a full two Levels higher than me. Considering his Mana and Mana Regen, he also has at least one other Title beyond the elemental ones, possibly two or three. His gains on them are doubled."

I forgot about that.

"Once again," Lord Walter tells me. "I apologize for my son's actions. You can rest assured that I will punish him appropriately for this. You have a great rest of your day, Max."

Lord Walter summons his son and leaves, their guards going with them. Only after they've left and the door is closed do I approach the counter, where Hailey is waiting. She and the rest of the guild all look amazed.

I'm pretty amazed, myself. I barely had to do anything and Lord Walter was apologizing to me. That doesn't make me any less worried about what retaliation he might be planning in secret, though.

"Did ya steal this?" I indicate an item on the counter.

It's a violet-tinted, clear crystal cube around three inches on each side, resting on a simple metal stand that holds it an inch above the counter. It's a System Jobs Crystal, the same device that job requests can be put through for more security, as well as which is used to verify when a bounty has been completed and how much the person is to be paid for it.

There are three on the counter, and I hadn't looked into buying them yet. I know they've got to be much more expensive than what Hailey can afford. While I did put some funds into the guild's coffers, I doubt Hailey would have actually used them without asking me first.

"No," Hailey answers, and I raise an eyebrow. "I's cleanin' the counter and it appeared on is own. All three of 'em did. They's just there."

The crystals simply appeared on the counters? Hailey isn't lying to me, but that still sounds weird. I'll need to investigate.

"Okay," I say, then hold up a box. "I need four of ya in the training room."

"Why?" Hailey asks.

"I found a training tool," I tell her. "Costs a pretty coin. Want to give it a try. Also, if ya are going to be behind the counter, ya need to work on speaking less like you're from the slums and more like ya are a worker of a guild. This goes even when we ain't got guests, and for all members who man the counter."

That will help them with speaking more clearly when we do have guests, as acting in their role will be easier.

"I's going to try," Hailey speaks a little slowly as she makes her attempt. "What's the training tool?"

"Let's close up the guild for the night," I tell her. "I'll show you in the room. Elemental affinities don't matter for this."

We close up the guild and make sure all of the entrances and windows are locked, then go to the training room. Everyone comes to watch us, though it's a ten-year-old and a nine-year-old who offer to help Hailey with this.

I pull off my pack, vest, tunic, and belt and set them down against one wall of the room, then add my boots to the spot. Wearing only my pants now, I open the box and reveal four balls in it. They're wooden balls three inches in diameter, perfectly-smooth and polished, and covered in thin, purple runes and lines connecting the runes.

"This," I hold up one of the balls. "Is an expensive training tool. They can store up to 25 Mana. I's going to put that much into each, then blindfold myself. I want four of ya to throw them near me. Ya ain't got to worry 'bout hitting me, none of ya are strong enough to hurt me."

The wooden balls will lose Mana at a rate of 1 Mana per minute, but that's more than acceptable for my purposes.

I could have bought ones that retained it better, but those cost even more than the fifty gold coins each of these cost. Apparently, enchanting an item to hold Mana isn't cheap. While fifty gold is cheap compared to my funds, I don't want to go to the extremes if something else will work for me.

These balls are also not actually training tools, they're tools used by enchanters to act as an additional supply of Mana when enchanting something.

I'm not sure how that works, but the fact that they hold Mana works for my goal here.

"I's not so sure 'bout that, Max," Hailey says.

"We can do it with the rest of ya after," I tell her. "If any of ya want to give it a try. I's trying to learn how to sense Mana and magic, so that I can tell if there are invisible attacks nearby."

Now that I know how they're sensing my invisible spells, I want to be able to sense any others might have. Being able to sense these things can also let me sense how much Mana someone has and how powerful they are. It should also help me figure out a way to hide my invisible spells from such senses.

That will probably take me longer, but I really want to do that.

"Never mind," Hailey says. "I's want to learn that, too. I's gonna help ya."

"Alright," I say. "Who else wants to help?"