An Adventurer's Official Credentials

Being a Mage meant accepting that people would stare.

Rhode had grown somewhat used to those looks by now. He paid them little mind and continued filling out the registration form.

The process of becoming an Adventurer was simple. Once Rhode finished the form, Whitesteed, the clerk, gave it a quick look and handed him an iron Identity Tag and an Adventurer's Journal.

In other words, Rhode had successfully registered as an officially recognized Adventurer.

"Me too, me too! I want to be an Adventurer too!" Lilia clamored.

Rhode said nothing. He was still examining his Identity Tag and Adventurer's Journal.

Whitesteed looked down at the little girl.

She was stretching up on tiptoe, waving her soft little arms overhead. She looked utterly adorable.

Whitesteed smiled and couldn't resist teasing her. "Little girl, do you want to become an Adventurer too?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

"But you can't. You're still a child." Whitesteed laughed heartily.

"Why can't children do it?" Lilia asked.

"You just can't."

Adults never listened to reason, so Lilia resorted to her ultimate weapon: acting cute.

"Big brother, the most handsome big brother in the whole world..." she said.

Flattery could get through anything. Helpless, Whitesteed turned to Lieutenant Orinel.

Lieutenant Orinel nodded.

Since Rhode was a Mage, the little girl probably had a few tricks up her sleeve too. He might as well do them a favor.

It was only an Adventurer's certification, nothing terribly important. After all, the reward would only be paid once the bounty on the Wanted Poster was fulfilled.

So Whitesteed processed Lilia's registration too.

He put her age down as eight, but Lilia insisted that her class be listed as Warrior.

Then she received her own Identity Tag and Adventurer's Journal.

Lilia hung the Identity Tag around her neck, looking immensely pleased with herself. She wanted everyone to see it.

Rhode naturally did no such thing. He put his Identity Tag in his bag, then handed his Adventurer's Journal to Whitesteed.

Despite its name, the Adventurer's Journal was just an ordinary notebook.

It was completely empty, since he hadn't fulfilled a single bounty-or, rather, hadn't accepted a single commission.

But now Whitesteed began writing in it.

"Commission accepted: Wanted Poster for Yetius."

He tucked a map showing the target's approximate roaming area into the journal, then stamped both with a bright red seal shaped like the Lordaeron Coat of Arms.

That signified that Rhode had accepted the commission for this Wanted Poster.

In other words, all Rhode needed to do was kill Yetius to complete the commission and collect five gold coins!

Completing the bounty required proof: Yetius's horn.

After all, words alone proved nothing, and the great Abominable Snowman's horn was unique. Bringing back his horn would prove that he had been killed.

"Mine! Mine too!" Lilia held her Adventurer's Journal high.

Whitesteed accepted it with a smile and likewise wrote in it and stamped it.

"All right, let's head back and rest first. We'll set out to kill the monster tomorrow." Rhode had used quite a bit of mana today, after all. Going now was out of the question.

Besides, they still needed to make the necessary preparations.

So Rhode took Lilia by the hand and left the watchtower under everyone's watchful gaze.

Marshal Redpath followed them out.

"Adventurer, Adventurer, now I'm an Adventurer!" Lilia sang as she walked, hugging her Adventurer's Journal.

"Are you really that happy?" Rhode asked.

Lilia nodded emphatically.

"Didn't you say that anyone with an adventurous heart was an Adventurer? Yet here you are, making such a fuss over this diploma."

"Diploma?"

"Hmm... I mean this official proof that you're an Adventurer." Rhode opened his bag and put away his Adventurer's Journal, then looked at Lilia. "Give it here. I'll keep yours safe too."

"No." Lilia hugged her Adventurer's Journal tighter. "Mine."

"Fine. Keep hugging it, then."

"A Warrior needs a weapon." Just then, Marshal Redpath drew a shortsword from his waist and handed it to Lilia. "I'll teach you some basic sword techniques now."

"Yes! Thank you, teacher!" Lilia agreed eagerly, then asked, "Can you teach me Bladestorm? You know, that skill where you spin like a giant turbine and sweep through a whole crowd?"

"...Only higher-level Warriors can use that. You should start with basic footwork, thrusts, and slashes." Redpath sounded distinctly resigned.

"All right, then." Lilia looked disappointed.

Sword practice required an open space, of course.

So the three of them returned to Rhode's farm, where there was plenty of room and no one to disturb them.

Lilia began learning some basic Warrior skills from Redpath: Charge, Heroic Strike...

The little girl was genuinely passionate about being a Warrior and took her lessons seriously. She seemed to be progressing quickly too, and before long, her sparring with her teacher looked quite convincing.

Meanwhile, after reviewing Fireball, Rhode opened another elementary school textbook-"A Discussion Beginning with Jumping to Dodge Frost Nova"-to learn Frost Nova.

The book said that the spell's formal academic name was "Frost Nova," but everyone preferred to call it the "ice ring spell."

That was because casting it spread a layer of ice over a circular patch of ground, freezing enemies in place.

Eventually, even textbooks simply called it the "ice ring spell." That, too, was a consequence of how language spread.

Rhode's main consideration was that he needed a crowd-control spell to escape danger. After all, he couldn't possibly win every battle. If he encountered an enemy he couldn't beat, immobilizing them and running for his life was clearly the better choice.

And Frost Nova could clearly meet his needs.

Perhaps Rhode had become more proficient with spells, or perhaps Frost Nova was simply an easy spell to learn. Either way, he picked it up quickly. Within just a few hours, he was already getting fairly good results.

Of course, achieving more advanced effects would require further study. Otherwise, a low-level Frost Nova would only radiate a ring along the ground, and an enemy could dodge it simply by jumping.

That was where the book's title came from.

With so little time, this effect would suffice for now. Later, he could use spell models to test and reverse-engineer the effects and functions of the spell nodes, then experiment with different energy circuits to make the spell more powerful.

For example.

He could increase the height of the ice produced by Frost Nova, making it harder to jump over.

Or, for another example.

He could expand Frost Nova's area of effect and increase the duration of its freezing effect.

Combining the two could even allow Frost Nova to suffocate an enemy after freezing them, making it lethal.

Even crowd-control spells could become damaging spells!

Of course, Rhode's current Frost Nova wasn't nearly that powerful. For now, his best use for it was-

Making two cups of shaved ice as a treat for the two Warriors training so hard.