With the Adventurer's Guild still open, Gauss hurried to the branch ahead of time to ask about the requirements for ranking up as a professional adventurer.
To advance from Bronze 1-Star to 2-Star, he needed not only to become a Level 2 professional, but also to accumulate enough completed quests.
He asked the receptionist and confirmed that, after completing a Winter Hunt, he had met the quest requirement. He then booked an assessment for the following day.
Once he passed the assessment, another six-pointed star would be added to the Adventurer Badge hanging at his chest.
He would finally leave behind the rank of the lowest-tier professional adventurer.
There was nothing particularly special about being a Level 2 professional. They were simply a little stronger than Level 1 professionals, without any dramatic leap in power.
But advancing to Level 2 in a short time meant something entirely different from taking a decade or even several decades to do so.
For the former, Level 2 was merely a stopping point on the way to a higher stage. For the latter, it might be the end of their career.
There might be rare cases of late bloomers in this world, but they were few and far between.
The truly strong often showed their edge early in life.
After having dinner at a street-side eatery, he returned home beneath the deepening night.
Gauss went home and rested for the night.
The next day.
The Adventurer's Guild branch.
Alya watched Gauss walk through the closed door of the testing room, envy filling her eyes.
She had become a professional before Gauss, but he had overtaken her and reached Level 2 faster.
She was genuinely happy for him, but a trace of disappointment still crept into her heart.
Once she noticed the feeling, she quickly