As I glanced down at my new Adventurer's card, I was quick to notice the empty fields where my race and age should be.
"Do you know why my race and age are undefined?"
Darius inspected my card as well.
"That's strange. I've never seen that before. I wonder if this has something to do with why you weren't recognized in our registry."
"Well, could you please manually add them for me?"
"I'm afraid not. This magic item was developed ages ago. The only thing I can modify is your rank, but don't worry, it won't prevent you from accepting jobs."
I took my new card and went back to the main lobby where everyone was waiting for me.
"Took you long enough", Paul said with a smirk. "Did you get everything cleared up with your card."
"Yeah... I had to get a new one. The Guildmaster mentioned that my mana signature wasn't recognized. I think this is most likely related to how my mana had changed after the incident in the Teleportation Labyrinth that caused me to lose control of my mana."
"That makes sense", Sylphy agreed. "Ghislaine did mention how your mana looked different."
"Huh? Why is your race and age left blank?", Eris asked.
"I'm... not sure. It's possible it could also be related."
The thought of not being seen as human is a bit unnerving. I briefly thought the age might be due to my previous life, but if that were the case it would have happened when I got my adventurer's card the first time around.
"Eh, don't sweat the details. I'm just excited to finally get to adventure with my son. We'll be an unstoppable father/son duo!"
"It's going to be more than just you two! It will be a whole family affair!", Eris added excitedly.
"That's true. You're a Greyrat as well, and Sylphiette, Laws, and Hope are by all means members of our family at this point."
"I meant me, Sylphiette, and Roxy as Rudeus' wives."
Sylphy's face turned red as a tomato.
"Eris! What are you saying! We haven't even broke the news to anyone yet or made any wedding plans!", Roxy chided her.
"We don't need any fancy wedding. Once we say we're husband and wife, then we are."
"Woah, Woah, Woah, Woah, Woah!", Paul said as he tried to take in the unexpected turn in our conversation. "I thought you'd be able to get away with two wives... but three? And they're all ok with it? How in the world did you pull that off!?"
"Love conquers all."
"Haha. You're my son, alright. Your Mother's going to faint when you tell her. Make sure to wait until I'm in the room so I can see it."
"That's not very nice", Sylphiette scolded him. "Although, I'm worried my parents will respond the same way."
"Nah, you'll be fine", Paul said with a smile. "We've known for a long time now that you two would wind up together."
"What? You guys gossip with my parents about Rudy and I?"
"Are you kidding? Of course we do. All the time!"
I could see Sylphy continuing to blush in embarrassment, so I pulled her in for a hug.
"We were going to tell them soon anyway, right?"
"Well, yes. I was hoping the reveal would be a bit more... emotional, you know? Like how Therese and Aurora's announcement went."
"No worries. I won't tell anyone", Paul said as he patted her on the back. "I'll act surprised. I've always been a good actor."
"That's up for debate", I joked.
"I wanted to wait a while before breaking the news", Roxy sighed. "Things have been so incredibly hectic lately. I'm with Sylphy. This is a once in a lifetime occasion and I want it to be special."
"Whatever. I guess I won't say anything either, then", Eris agreed. "Just don't wait too long."
"What do you say we go out and celebrate the news, just the five of us", Paul suggested. "I know the perfect bar."
"Zenith is expecting us to be home for dinner shortly", Sylphy reminded him. "She's going to be mad if we all are late and come home drunk."
"We'll just tell her we were celebrating the formation of our new party."
"Why don't we celebrate tomorrow instead? We don't have classes at the academy tomorrow, so Roxy should be free."
"That's true", Roxy agreed. "I'm a bit exhausted and hungry anyway."
"It's settled then", Eris announced. "We'll all meet here tomorrow morning and take on our first job as a whole party!"
"I don't think that's what anyone had said, but I'm game", Paul replied.
"Sure. Sounds like fun", I agreed. Sylphiette nodded to indicate she agreed as well.
~ The Next Day ~
As promised, the five of us gathered outside the Sharia Adventurer's Guild branch to pick out our first job as a newly formed party. We walked inside and perused the bulletin board where all the active jobs were posted.
"This one looks pretty interesting", Eris mentioned as she pointed to a job to escort travelers through the Red Dragon's upper jaw to the Fittoa Region.
"Eris, that job would take several weeks, even accounting for our ability to teleport back home. I have to be back the day after tomorrow for next week's classes."
"Roxy has a good point", I agreed. "Let's pick out something that we can do in one day."
"Would this one be difficult?", Sylphy asked as she pointed at a gathering quest.
"That fungi only grows in Mossveil Cavern", Paul replied. "It's an 'A' ranked dungeon north of here."
"That doesn't sound too bad", Sylphy answered.
"Well, it's about a three hour trip to get there by carriage. Also, that cavern is filled with monsters; there's a reason that's an 'A' ranked job."
"We should be able to handle it", Eris said as she picked the job sheet off the board.
"What about this one?", Roxy mentioned while pointing to a monster hunting quest.
********************
TASK: Monster Hunting
REWARD: Eight Silver Coins.
DETAILS: Eliminate the Snow Buffalos in the Silverpine Woods.
LOCATION: Silverpine Woods, west of Sharia.
DURATION: Until the Snow Buffalo have been exterminated.
DEADLINE: None.
CLIENT: Ranoa Ministry of Public Safety
NOTES: Bring any pelts to the Adventurer's Guild as proof of kills. The guild will pay an extra sum for pelts if they are in good quality.
********************
"Ooh. That one's close by!", Paul said. "And that bonus for the pelts could net us a hefty sum!"
"Yeah, I like it!", Eris said as she grabbed the job off the board. "Let's do that one too."
"Let's just do one of them to start", Sylphy mentioned.
Eris begrudgingly put the first job back on the board.
"We'll need to make sure we keep an eye out for treants if we take that one", Roxy warned.
"Ah, don't worry", Paul said as he shrugged her off. "Any one of us could do this one on our own. We'll be fine."
While I can't help but feel the same, I'm not a fan of saying it out loud. I don't like making death flags. Regardless, we all agreed that this job was the best selection on the board. Eris walked up to the Clerk to accept the job.