"As soon as you officially become an adventurer," said the receptionist. "But I'll tell you in advance that this city's version only goes up to the 2nd evolution of most creatures. The complete version, which contains more creatures and goes up to the 4th evolution of some of them, is only found in large cities."

  "That's not a problem," said Alexander. "I have no chance against any creature that has reached its 3rd evolution."

  "That's true," she pointed out. "I've heard creatures at that evolution level can even put an entire city in danger."

  "That strong?" Alexander was surprised.

  "That's not even the worst part, it's just their average level," affirmed the receptionist. "Some are so strong they end up surpassing platinum-rank adventurers in power when they approach the 4th evolution. And when that happens, even the master of a Guild branch succumbs to their power and the city is potentially destroyed."

  Upon hearing this explanation, Alexander's entire body trembled, but not from fear, but from excitement. After all, who doesn't desire that level of power?

  The receptionist, who didn't know it was excitement, tried to calm him, as she thought she had frightened him: "Don't be afraid. Thanks to combat academies, the Empire has several powers to protect us."

  "Combat academies?" Alexander inquired.

  "Academies created by the Vermilion Empire to perfect its inhabitants' combat proficiency," she replied.

  "Can anyone enter?" Alexander asked with the brightness returning to his eyes. "Are there any around here?"

  "Yes, anyone can enter. But the spots are limited and the admission exams are quite difficult, even more so for the most prestigious academies," replied the receptionist seriously to warn Alexander, as she could feel his growing excitement. "This city doesn't have any academy. The closest one is the Twin Combats Academy, one of the hardest to enter."

  "Twin combats?" asked Alexander, not understanding the meaning.

  "Its name was given in honor of the city where it's located, Twin City," explained the receptionist. "Twin City, in turn, is one of the five largest cities in the entire Empire. It is the junction of a large commercial hub with a large adventurer hub, which keeps the movement and development of both always high."

  "Do they teach spells and skills in these academies?" Alexander asked, increasingly excited.

  "Some. But their focus is to improve those who enter in their respective type of combat," the receptionist explained patiently upon seeing Alexander seemed very interested.

  "Type of combat?" Alexander inquired, again not understanding.

  "…" Receptionist.

  "How have you survived until now?" teased the receptionist smiling. "The types of combat represent the role or the way the individual behaves during a fight. The most common types are Martial, Magical, Hybrid, and Support… There are still others, but they are advanced or heretical."

  While they talked, another guild employee approached them, delivered a small "tray" with a cord that had 3 pendants, 2 of iron and 1 of bronze, to the receptionist and told her something in a low voice.

  "Here is your identification," said the receptionist upon handing the cord to Alexander. "From now on you are an iron-rank adventurer under evaluation. In other words, you just need to demonstrate some feat compatible with bronze rank to be promoted."

  "Thank you," said Alexander before verbalizing his doubt: "But why are the iron medals linked and the other one is bronze?"

  "The bronze one is your familiar's identification, because familiars at the 1st evolution are rated for bronze rank," explained the receptionist. "The iron ones are yours, because in the adventurer's guild we have a tradition of double identification so companions can recover a memento of their fallen allies without leaving them without identification."

  "I see…" replied Alexander, remembering that some Earth armies had a similar tradition due to the high lethality of war.

  "One last thing… for now," he said, joking. "Could you recommend a store where I can buy an internal storage item and a decent place to spend the night?"

  "The Black Moon sells almost all types of items and still has the greatest variety in the city," replied the receptionist without any hesitation. "As for where to spend the night… I ended up not informing you, but, since adventurers travel a lot, the Guild offers lodging services to its members."

  "A room for you and your familiar will cost 1 small silver coin per day, but we will provide 3 meals per day for each of you," explained the receptionist without forgetting Ocean.

  "This price is high, but besides being very convenient to stay at the Guild, they also accept Ocean and I won't need to worry about buying food," Alexander pondered in his thoughts.

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  "Do I get a discount if I pay for a week in advance?" Alexander tried to bargain.

  "No," the receptionist replied quickly. "It will still cost you 7 small silver coins."

  "It seems the week here also has 7 days," thought Alexander before beginning to argue: "But what about our first two meals today? Will we receive them together with the last one of the day?"

  The receptionist cast a displeased look at him, but didn't yield on the price. "If you stay, I'll notify the kitchen that you'll receive 3 meals tonight."

  "I'll stay for 10 days then," said Alexander before paying and turning to speak triumphantly with Ocean: "Ocean, tonight we'll eat like kings."

  "Woolf," Ocean replied excitedly.

  The receptionist didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this duo that had appeared. But still received the money and called someone to show them the room.

  When Alexander was about to leave, the receptionist remembered something and called him back: "Come back here… You kept distracting me so much I almost forgot," she said, trying to pretend she was angry. "The identifications need a drop of blood to be activated."

  Alexander found it strange, but took off the cord, took a kind of pin the receptionist offered him, pricked his finger, and placed a drop of blood on each of the iron plates/pendants.

  As soon as the blood touched them, the plates began to absorb it. When the absorption ended, the plates began to display his information.

  He found that fascinating, because, although he knew blood contained iron, he had obviously never seen anything like it.

  Seeing that Ocean's identification still showed nothing, Alexander called her and extended his hand: "Your paw, girl."

  Ocean, who was observing him, understood what he wanted and, even though not liking the idea much, placed her paw in his hand.

  With Ocean's cooperation, the process ended quickly and calmly. Thus, the attendant called by the receptionist led them to the room.

  Arriving at the room door, the assistant warned him not to lose the key and not to leave anything of great value in the room, because although the Guild always investigates and punishes possible thefts, it doesn't take responsibility for the losses.

  Upon entering, Alexander thanked the assistant, who turned and left, placed his bag on the floor, and assessed the room: "It has an internal bathroom, the bed seems comfortable, has a window for ventilation, a chest to store personal items, and a small table with a chair… This room isn't bad at all. It would be perfect for travelers if the price weren't so high."

  "Wait for me here, girl. I'm going out, but I won't be long," Alexander said to Ocean.

  Even though not understanding everything Alexander said, Ocean still felt the main point was him leaving without her and wasn't at all happy about it.

  Seeing her reluctance, Alexander went to her and began to pet her. "I know you don't want to be alone, but I promise I won't be long. So stay here and watch our room."

  Even though not liking the idea, Ocean accepted it over time. And with that he managed to go to the Black Moon store.

  Arriving there, Alexander was quickly attended by a very qualified employee who asked him if he was there to buy or sell. And upon learning he was there to buy, directed him to a counter on the 1st floor.

  "Tell me, how can I help you?" asked the salesperson politely.

  "I need an item with internal storage capacity at low cost," replied Alexander, emphasizing low cost.

  "One moment, please," said the salesperson before turning and walking to the back of the store. But it didn't take long for him to return with some different items and explain to Alexander the advantage of each one.

  After thinking a bit, Alexander ended up choosing the cloth bag with adjustable opening, because it looked very much like the item most adventurers used on their waist to carry what they wanted more at hand.

  This item would cost him 1 small gold coin, which wasn't a small amount for that moment in his life, but Alexander still appreciated this investment, because having another item with internal storage capacity would serve as cover to use the [Ring of the Thief God] with more freedom.

  "By any chance, do you have any item I can throw at my opponents during combat?" he asked after paying for the storage item. "But it has to be small and hard to detect."

  "I think we have exactly what you desire," said the salesperson confidently before going to fetch something. But what he brought didn't look at all like the specifications provided by Alexander.

  The item the salesperson brought was a rectangular object about 30cm tall and 15cm in the other measurements.

  "Here they are," announced the salesperson. "Combat needles."

  As soon as he announced them, he opened the object, which was a case full of large and robust needles, and began to explain: "The combat needle is a throwing tool that aids in combat. Its surprising weight and balance increase its piercing capacity and make it an excellent choice for throwing at enemies."

  "They are a bit expensive for basically disposable items, costing 1 large bronze coin per needle," confessed the salesperson. "But we guarantee they can penetrate the bodies of most 1st evolution creatures and even some 2nd evolution creatures."

  "They are exactly what I want," admitted Alexander. "I'll take 100 of them."

  "Anything else, sir?" the salesperson asked after Alexander paid.

  "No, that's all for today. Thank you," said Alexander, who after his purchases was completely out of money. But still tied his storage item to his waist, placed the needles in the [Ring of the Thief God], and returned satisfied to the adventurer's guild.

  Arriving at the Guild, he went to the receptionist to ask for the glossary, and this time there were no obstacles. But she also told him to return it to the reception before sleeping, as there was only one, and it was for collective use.

  With the glossary in hand, Alexander returned to his room to read calmly. But as soon as he opened the room door, Ocean almost knocked him over by jumping on him happily.

  Alexander could feel her anxiety from not being accustomed to such an enclosed space, especially alone, and felt guilty. But he also knew there was nothing he could do about it, as there would be times he would need to go out alone. All he could do was reserve some time for them to walk together.

  When Ocean finally calmed down, Alexander managed to sit beside her on the floor to read the glossary while petting her.

  His focus with the glossary was clear, the information about the possible evolutions of goblins and wolves. And after spending the rest of the day just reading, he finally managed to decide what their respective evolutions would be and see what the requirements to achieve them were.

  "This evolution is certainly the best from a strategic point of view among those registered in this glossary, but I don't know if I'll be able to achieve it. Its requirement is quite… strange," he pondered. "Not to mention I still have to worry about Ocean's evolution… Fortunately, there are various ways to fulfill the requirement that opens the evolution line I chose for her."