Tyler entered the familiar room. The wooden floors gleamed, scrubbed clean, reflecting the morning light. A polished black orb, mounted on the wall *below* a sheet of glass, seemed to absorb the light, adding to the stark cleanliness. The short, brown-haired man behind the desk was meticulously cleaning his spectacles with a damp cloth. His neatly combed hair reflected the room's orderliness. He perched the glasses on his nose and closed the drawer of his desk. Spotting Tyler and Charles, he said, "Oh, we have a guest this early. Good morning, young man."

Tyler smiled and replied, "Good morning."

Charles interjected, "Sir, it's that young man again. Tyler. You do recognise him, right?"

*Tyler thought, This guy must have a hard time recognising faces, or is it just me? He didn't recognise me the last time I was here. Was it to get my rank promoted to C-rank... or was it D-rank? I don't remember.*

The man said, "Ah, yes, Tyler. I do remember him. How could I forget such a unique individual? The fastest-rising hunter I've ever seen. Let me guess, you're here to assess if you're a C-Rank plus?"

Charles corrected him. "No sir, if I recall correctly, he was *already* a C-Rank plus when we assessed him last time. He is here to promote his rank to B-rank."

The man sank into his chair, his expression shifting from surprise to disbelief. "A B-rank?" He chuckled, shaking his head. "Kid, there's no way you could be a B-rank in such a short time. Your progress is astonishing, but this is absurd."

The man opened the drawer to his left, revealing a stack of *papers* with names on them—the familiar contracts Tyler had seen before. He placed them on the table. "Don't rush things," he said, "Now, let me do my paperwork. I need to copy and send these to the other assessment centres."

Charles chimed in, "That's the same thing I told him, sir." He turned to Tyler. "There's no need to rush. Plus, if you really want to get to B-rank, you'd have to be hunting at orange-tier monster zones, not here."

The man behind the desk raised an eyebrow, his attention returning to Tyler. "Yes. Why haven't you been hunting in Orange Tier Monster Zones? You could have made a lot of progress there. There aren't really any challenging monsters here."

Charles added, "He said it because he isn't ready. I'm assuming he's scared." Charles looked at Tyler.

Tyler laughed nervously. "No, actually… to tell the truth, I *have* been hunting at orange-tier monster zones. It's just that I, um… came here to get something, and then I realised that I didn't assess my rank in Lyria. So I thought I should just promote my rank here."

Charles and the man were silent for a moment. Tyler's heart was hammering. *Was that lie too obvious?*

The man sighed, "Alright, but even so, there's no way you can be a B-Rank."

*Tyler muttered under his breath, "A-Rank..."*

The man said, "What?"

Tyler replied, "Nothing."

Charles, keeping his eye on Tyler, thought, *Did he just say, A-rank"? Okay, this kid has lost his mind.*

As Tyler removed his leather glove, the man said, "To be honest, I'm not even sure if we have B-rank necklaces here. Let me check. You're an assassin, yes?"

Tyler replied, "Yeah."

The man opened the drawer, rummaging through the hunter-type necklaces. "Well, you don't look like one. If anything, you're dressed like a fighter-type hunter at the moment."

Tyler said, "Yeah, I had to buy new gear. This one just makes it more comfortable to move around while hunting."

The man looked and looked, then said, "Just like I thought, we don't have any of them, but what I can do is let you check your rank."

*Tyler, his hand inches away from the orb, then said, "Right, then can I..."*

Charles nodded and said, "Yeah, you can."

Tyler took a deep breath and looked at the orb, his heart beating fast. A nervous sweat started running down Tyler's head.

The man said, "Come on, we don't have all day. Check your rank already. You're wasting my time."

Tyler said, "Uh, yeah, sorry."

*He thought, Shit, shit, shit, something tells me I'm gonna get in trouble. Damn it, I shouldn't have levelled up so fast, but then again, I kind of had to.*

Charles rolled his eyes and walked to Tyler, placing Tyler's hand on the orb. "Channel your mana."

Tyler swallowed and decided to channel his mana. The orb glowed with a faint blue shimmer, which quickly dimmed. On the screen above the orb, the reading appeared: Lv: 120. Below that number, the letter A. *An A-rank.*

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Charles' eyes widened. "What?"

The man was in shock, his mouth agape. He was holding a smoking pipe, which he unknowingly dropped to the floor.

Tyler let out a nervous laugh. "So, yeah, I'm an A-rank. It seems."

The man quickly stood from his chair, pushing it backwards with a screech across the wooden floor. He said, "But that's impossible, Charles! I told you to clean that thing!"

Charles responded, "But I did clean it! I cleaned it this morning. You can clearly see everything is clean."

The man said, "No, but this can't be. This has to be a malfunction." He walked around the table, staring at Tyler. "Kid, remove your hand and place it again."

Tyler said, "Okay." He removed his hand from the orb and placed it again.

The words shimmered into existence on the screen, repeating the same information. Charles and the man were baffled.

Tyler looked at them. "As I told you, I'm an A-rank."

Suddenly, the man and Charles quickly *crouched* down and bowed their heads, their foreheads touching the wooden floor.

Tyler quickly snatched his hand from the orb. His gaze darted between the two men, utterly bewildered. "What's going on? What are you two *doing*?" *He was clearly taken aback by their sudden prostration, and Charles's face was etched with a fear he'd never seen before. The sheer shock of the situation sent a shiver down Tyler's spine.*

The man, his voice hushed with reverence, pleaded, "Sir, please forgive us. We're so sorry we didn't…"

Charles cut him off, his voice trembling, "We didn't *know* what you were all this time! I'm so sorry for disrespecting you, sir. I swear, we didn't!"

Tyler stammered, "What are you talking about?"

Charles risked a furtive glance upward, his eyes wide with a mixture of awe and apology. "Please, sir. We didn't know that you were a hero."

Tyler's heart hammered against his ribs. "A hero?"

*A wave of disbelief washed over Tyler. Was this really happening? Did they truly believe he was a hero? He couldn't fathom how his rapid levelling could lead to such a misunderstanding...*

The man, his mind reeling, desperately sought to understand how he'd missed such a monumental development. How could he have failed to recognise the extraordinary nature of Tyler's ascent? This boy was levelling up at a pace that defied comprehension, far surpassing even the most legendary heroes! A single month, and he'd vaulted from E-Rank to A-Rank!

Tyler sighed, his voice laced with frustration. "Okay, I'm not what you think. I'm not a hero, alright?"

The man, still kneeling, met Tyler's eyes with an unwavering gaze. "Sir, please, is this a test? If you don't want other people to know, we won't tell."

An awkward smile played on Tyler's lips. "But… I'm not."

Charles, his expression now carefully neutral, said, "Right. As far as we're concerned, you're not a hero. No one needs to know about it."

Tyler said, "Oh, come on, how many times do I have to say it?" He sighed, his shoulders slumping. "Is it because of how much I'm levelling up?"

Charles replied, "Uh, yes, sir."

Tyler said, "What if I told you it's just because I fought a lot of monsters?"

The man countered, "That alone can't be possible, sir. Fighting a lot of monsters, especially in yellow-tier monster zones, isn't enough."

*Tyler sighed inwardly. Even their logic doesn't make sense! Heroes at my age are supposed to have passed level 100 already, right?* He continued, "Okay, most heroes my age would have passed level 100, right?"

Charles said, "Yes, but the way you're progressing is the same as a hero would."

Tyler met Charles' eyes, and Charles quickly averted his gaze.

Tyler asked, "But think about it. I was a G-rank. How can you explain that, huh? Aren't heroes supposed to be levelling up even without killing monsters?"

The man said, "Yes, my lord, that is strange, but the way heroes are levelling up is strange to us. We can never really understand how their amazing powers work. They simply work beyond our comprehension."

*Tyler sighed internally, My lord, really? I don't even know what to say anymore.* He sighed aloud and said, "Okay, you may rise."

Charles and the man straightened quickly.

Tyler said, "Okay, you may be right."

Charles and the man sighed in relief, Charles even closed his eyes, which surprised Tyler. It was almost as if they'd been holding their breath the whole time.

The man said, " I knew it... the orb *never* malfunctions."

*Tyler thought, Maybe that argument would have worked. I simply could have called it a malfunction, and maybe I would be somewhere else right now.*

Charles said, "If you don't mind me asking, sir, but how are you related to James Grone?"

Tyler looked at Charles. "It's complicated. Well, I'm not really related to him. I've known him for some time."

The man then asked, "Does he, too know you're a hero?"

Tyler shook his head. "No, he doesn't." Tyler felt ridiculous, lying to men who wouldn't accept the truth, that he wasn't a hero. Honestly, it was either this or telling them he's from another world, and also telling them that he massacred an entire guild days ago to gain this much progress.

The older man then said, "Sir, if you also don't mind me asking, but… the disaster that took place in Aria… Were you there when it happened?"

Tyler looked at the older man, his expression hardening. "No."

As the older man met Tyler's gaze, he quickly looked down, averting his gaze. He clenched his teeth, looking at himself. *What was I thinking? I shouldn't have asked that.*

Tyler then said, "So, you said that I can't get an A-rank necklace here."

The man said, "Yes, my apologies, but they can only be found at orange-tier monster zones and red-tier ones."

Tyler then said, "Alright, I'll just have to take my leave."

The man said, "Wait!"

Tyler, who was about to leave, stopped and turned. "Huh?"

The man then said, "But, sir, won't other people also realise you're a hero?"

*Tyler stopped, turned back, and said, "What do you mean?"*

The man cleared his throat. "You see, every time a hunter gets their rank assessed—as you realise—you have to sign and write it down. But that's not all. These documents are copied and delivered to all other assessment centres."

"Wait," Tyler said, "So are you saying that every *hunter* assessment centre knows that I'm currently a C-rank?"

The men nodded.

Tyler facepalmed. "I'm screwed." *But it's not like they are also going to come to the same conclusion, right?*

The men both shook their heads, quickly cutting Tyler off.

Charles said, "What other conclusion may they be, sir?"

Tyler said, "Okay, stop the 'sir' thing and calling me 'my lord.' Just call me Tyler."

"Sorry," Charles said.

Tyler continued, "So what the hell am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to just walk around with a C-rank necklace?"

The man said, "Well, no, you cannot. How about I do this? How about I let you sign a document saying you've reached B-rank?"

Tyler said, "Well, that's a good idea, but you said you didn't have any necklaces."

The man said, "Oh no, you'll take the document with you and go to either Lyria, Veridia, or Aria to get your necklace. They'll recognise my signature."

Tyler said, "Oh, wow, okay, that might work, but why are you helping me? You guys were acting… well, afraid."

Charles looked to the side, his face etched with a mixture of concern and shame.

The man said, "Well, to be honest, sir, most of the heroes are… let's just say, they aren't fond of the common people."

Tyler asked, "Oh, but why?"

The man quickly cut Tyler off, saying, "But, you see, I have known Grone for a long time. And Grone is the kind of man who acquaints himself with good people. This was the second time I've seen him hunt with someone else. The second time I've seen him hunt with a partner."

Tyler said, "The second time?"

Charles said, "Well, yes. Grone *had* a partner once. He hunted with them for a very long time. But their life was ended by a monster. After that, he's been hunting alone again."

Tyler said, "Oh, I didn't know."

The man said, "Even though you're not who we thought you were, we still had faith in Grone's judgment."

Tyler said, "And that's why you're helping me?"

The man nodded.

Tyler said, "I'm alright. Please don't tell anyone about this."

The man said, "No, we won't."

Charles said, "We wouldn't."

Tyler said, "Then bring out the document, so I can sign it."

Quickly, the man went behind the desk, pulling out the document.

Charles then asked Tyler, "Which family of heroes are you from?"

Tyler looked at Charles and said, "That I can't tell you."

*The first conclusion is that I am a hero. *

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