Chương 16: A Gift

"I also can't adjust his score for magic power from the first test. If he had been using an artifact… if he had a real sword instead of this trash you gave him, he probably would have doubled his score at least!" The Adventure Association clerk said, still confused at how a teacher like Ms. Teft could give her student subpar equipment for his licensing exam.

"Come on," Ms. Teft said impatiently.

"I know his score from the tests, but he needs you to say it and for you to give him his license." From what Ms. Teft said, Damion surmised he had passed his licensing tests and would soon be able to leave the city on missions.

"Of course. For you to pass and earn your F Rank license, you needed 100 total points. In the first test you scored 72, in the second 12. The third test usually just subtracts from your score. You normally lose 5 points for every injury, 5 points for each grade of your artifact, and 5 points for each minute over the time limit. But since you have no injuries, you get 25 points. And since you finished within the time limit you get a bonus of 25 points. This makes your total score 134.

"Follow me back to my desk and I'll get your license issued." Damion wanted to jump for joy but settled for a big grin. A few short minutes later, Damion took his license from the clerk which showed he was now an F Rank Knight Adventurer. To Damion's surprise as soon as he held the license in his hand the system sent him a notification.

Ding {New Quest Available} [Quest: Kill Ferocious or Demonic Beasts] [Description: As a licensed Adventurer it is your duty to protect and strive to improve the lives of those weaker than yourself.] [Reward: 100 Experience, 1 Store Credit] Oblivious to the fact that he was absentmindedly staring into space in front of the clerk and Ms. Teft, Damion quickly accepted the quest.

After the quest information vanished from his mind's eye, Damion realized he probably had a vacant look on his face as he was holding his license.

"Thank you," Damion said quickly, trying to play off his brief bout of oddness.

"Alright, come along now. I'm sure you want to show off your license to your parents." Damion followed Ms. Teft's lead and they headed to his home so Damion could tell his parents he had passed. His mother had not been in favor of him getting his adventurer license, but had relented when Ms. Teft had questioned what they thought he would do as a mage to grow stronger if not embarking as an adventurer. Sure, there were magical research paths, but those positions were reserved for mages that had experience.

Until Damion proved himself, there was no hope of him getting a cushy desk job. On the way to his house, Damion checked the quest to see if there was any additional information on his new quest. After all, the system just said he had to kill Ferocious Beasts or Demonic Beasts, it did not say how many he needed to kill to complete the quest. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

[Quest Status] [Kill Ferocious Beasts or Demonic Beasts- 0/10 (Repeatable)] When Damion saw the repeatable note on the quest, he was quite surprised. Damion did not believe for a moment that killing ten Ferocious Beasts or Demonic Beasts would be easy, but the idea that he could bring in the rewards over and over was enticing. Though, the question remained if the quest would become more difficult over time or if the rewards would diminish.

Damion figured he would only find out those answers after completing the quest at least once. The store credit seemed stingy, but since he could not open the store to see the cost of things, or even what was available, Damion had no real way to know how much 1 credit was worth. He only hoped that with this repeatable quest, he would be able to grind out some excellent treasures. When Damion and Ms. Teft reached his home he was greeted by his parents enthusiastically.

They had, no doubt due to Damion's own confidence, expected Damion to pass his licensing test. His mother had even baked a cake for the occasion.

"Congratulations son!" His father said while giving Damion a good slap on his shoulder.

"Go ahead and give him his gift Caleb" Ms. Teft said as the four of them sat down at the dinner table. Damion's father quickly presented Damion with a long thin box and Damion's heartbeat suddenly sped up in anticipation. Birthday presents were not a thing on Nerotath like they were on Earth.

With both knights and mages having extended life spans due to magic and even normal people having longer than the average lifespan compared to Earth because of magical remedies, people only gave gifts at truly momentous occasions. Everyone had a birthday every year, other than the first one, it was hardly an actual achievement. Getting a good job or making a real-world contribution, however, were events that people would provide gifts for.

Thus, following the customs of his new world, Damion had only received gifts twice in his life. The first was when he entered school and the other time was when he graduated. Both times his parents had given him a bit of pocket money and books, since he evidently liked to read. Today, the gift his father was presenting him appeared to be something special. And if Damion had to guess, it was a sword. Since it turned out that Ms.

Teft had Damion training with a normal sword, it stood to reason that if this was a sword for him being a licensed adventurer, it would be a real artifact. As Damion opened the box he gasped at what he saw. The blade was about 75 centimeters long and hilt about 25 centimeters, giving the sword an overall length of around 1 meter.

The length and width of the blade and the size of the hilt meant that Damion would be able to wield it one handedly, but he could also get two hands on the hilt for more powerful blows if he wanted. The metal of the blade had a reddish hue and seemed to shimmer with a fiery light. Damion could not help himself and reached out and took the blade in his hand and channeled his mana into it.

He was amazed at how easily he channeled his mana and the blade almost seemed like it was going to burst into flames at any moment.

"Thank you dad, thank you mom," Damion said as he pulled his mana back out of the blade and placed it back in its box.

"This is wonderful."

"It's a D Rank artifact, the sword is a spatha, made from red steel. The sheath is under the cloth there. We would have gotten you a C or even a B Rank artifact, but Helga said you needed to earn such a high-grade artifact yourself." Damion's father explained as Damion was still looking over his new sword.

"Indeed," Ms. Teft agreed.

"Starting with a high-grade artifact would be a crutch and likely cripple your growth. It is the same reason that I had you train with a common steel sword so you could grow to your potential. Still, this grade of sword should serve you for several years and by the time you outgrow it, you should be able to afford something better on your own." Damion understood Ms. Teft's line of thinking, as the same had occurred to him as well.

He was fifteen years old now and had pretty well adapted to his new world, but today felt like he had finally taken a step towards achieving what he had been striving for since he reincarnated here. Power.