I felt a surge of relief as I realized there was solid ground beneath my feet. Looking up, the sunlight was so bright it made me squint. It seemed the world hadn't been destroyed quite yet.
"Hey, look! A Dungeon Returnee has appeared!"
"Someone actually cleared the Dungeon!"
I turned toward the voices and saw a group of people who looked like Villagers staring at me in awe.
A Dungeon Returnee? What were they talking about?
"Ah..."
I looked down and realized I was standing on a pedestal—the very spot where those who conquered the Dungeon were said to emerge. In my right hand, I was clutching the <Sword of Raging Flames>, the Clear Reward for the 【Kataroff Dungeon】.
It seemed I had been transported here the moment I stepped into the Teleportation Circle back in the depths. However, Ageha was nowhere to be found.
I had made it out of the Dungeon alone. A strange sense of hollow loss settled in my chest at that realization.
"Hey, traveler, what's your name?" one of the Villagers called out.
"Wait, what?" I stammered, caught off guard.
I was bewildered by the question. In my time, there wasn't a single person in Kataroff Village who didn't know who I was. I had been a pariah, discriminated against from birth because of this detestable silver hair.
"I'm... Kiska."
"Kiska, huh? Man, I knew there were some incredible Adventurers out there, but you’re something else!"
The villager clapped me on the shoulder with easy familiarity. His expression was bright and friendly. This wasn't how anyone treated an Alcusian.
Suddenly, the Observer's parting words echoed in my mind: Off you go to 100 years ago.
"So, I really did come to a time a hundred years in the past..."
"Hmm? Did you say something?"
If I truly had been sent back a century, then the fate of the world rested entirely in my hands. But even if I was told to "save the world," I had no idea where to start.
Right. I needed to set a more immediate, tangible goal for myself.
"No, it's nothing. More importantly, could you show me the way to the Adventurer's Guild?"
"Oh, sure thing! Follow me."
"First," I muttered to myself, "I'm going to find Ageha."
If this was a hundred years ago, she shouldn't be under the Seal yet. To find her, I’d need to gather information at the Adventurer's Guild first.
"Well, here we are. This is the Adventurer's Guild. See ya around, Hero!"
The villager who had guided me gave a friendly wave as he walked off.
"Thank you for the help."
"Hero," huh? That felt like a bit much.
I gave a wry smile and saw him off. The Guild occupied the same spot it did in my time, though the exterior of the building looked completely different. Stepping inside, I approached the counter and spoke to the Receptionist.
"How can I help you today?" she asked professionally.
"I have something I'd like to discuss."
I had come here hoping a Guild employee might know something about Ageha's whereabouts.
"A consultation? Certainly. However, before we proceed, would you mind showing me your Adventurer Card?"
An Adventurer Card. I knew every professional Adventurer carried one, but since I had effectively zero experience working for the Guild, I didn't have one.
"I don't have a card."
"Oh? Does that mean you're looking to register as an Adventurer today?"
"Yeah, something like that."
"In that case, let's start by issuing you a card. Please fill out the necessary details on this form."
The Receptionist handed me a document, and I began filling it out. Name: Kiska. Class... I suppose my Class would be Swordsman. Then I reached the section for Rank.
"Excuse me, how am I supposed to know what my Rank is?"
"You can check that on your Status Screen," she explained patiently. "It should be listed right under your name. If the field is blank, that means you're a Novice. Though, in very rare cases, some beginners start at Bronze."
I didn't remember seeing anything like that before. Curious, I summoned my status.
▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽▽
<Kiska>
Rank: Platinum
△△△△△△△△△△△△△△△
It was there, plain as day.
It said Platinum. That definitely hadn't been there in my original timeline.
"It says my rank is Platinum."
"What?! Platinum? That's impossible! Almost every beginner starts as a Novice, or maybe Bronze if they're lucky!"
"I mean, even if you tell me that..."
I was just reporting what the screen said.
"If you're serious, then please let me see your Status Screen!"
"I don't mind."
I adjusted the display settings so only my name and Rank were visible and turned the screen toward her.
"I-it really does say Platinum..." she whispered, her face pale as if she were looking at a ghost.
"Is being Platinum really that rare?"
"It’s more than just rare! Sir, excuse me for asking, but are you truly a beginner...?"
Strictly speaking, I was a beginner as far as the Guild was concerned, but I did have one major achievement under my belt.
"Well, I did just clear the 【Kataroff Dungeon】."
"What?! You conquered the unexplored 【Kataroff Dungeon】?! Well... if that’s the case, I suppose a Platinum-Rank makes sense."
I didn't think it was that big of a deal, considering I hadn't cleared it entirely on my own.
"Is Platinum actually that impressive, though?"
"Are you kidding?! Do you really not know? Listen closely, because Ranks work like this..."
The Receptionist leaned over the counter, overwhelming me with her intensity as she began her lecture.
Apparently, there were eight tiers for Adventurers. From the bottom up, they were: Novice, Iron, Bronze, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Master. That meant Platinum was the third-highest rank possible.
"Novice refers to people with no combat ability—most of the population, really. If you have the strength to defeat even a single Monster, you can move up to Bronze. Generally speaking, you aren't even considered a proper Adventurer until you reach Bronze."
That made sense. Before I was thrown into the Dungeon Depths, I was just a farmer with no combat skills. My status had been blank back then, so I must have been a Novice.
"A Platinum-Rank means you've been recognized as being in the top 0.1% of all active combatants. And keep in mind, that 0.1% is calculated from the total pool of everyone from Bronze to Master—it doesn't even count the Novices. So yes, Platinum is incredible! I've never even seen a Platinum-Rank in person before today."
When she put it that way, it did sound fairly significant.
"But there are still Diamond and Master ranks above it, right?"
At the end of the day, it was still only the third-highest. It didn't feel like I'd reached the summit or anything.
"Goodness, no! Diamond is a rank reserved for the 'strongest,' representing the top 0.01%. And as for Master... that’s a legendary rank limited to only the ten most powerful people in the world. It’s not something a normal person can ever hope to achieve."
I see. With that context, I could see why she was so excited about Platinum.
"The point is, Platinum is a massive deal! Do you understand now?"
"Yeah, I think I get the gist of it."
To be honest, even after the explanation, I still didn't have any real sense of being "strong."