The sea winds blew cold across Frostbound Coast.
Massive ships arrived one after another.
Sails fluttered proudly beneath the northern sky.
The harbor bustled with activity.
Merchants shouted.
Dockworkers moved cargo.
Explorers returned from distant waters.
And among them.
A certain silver-haired young man stepped off a ship.
Nameless.
At least.
That was the name everyone knew.
Nobody knew he was Count Kel von Rosenfeld.
Nobody knew he owned the very territory beneath their feet.
Nobody knew the roads they walked, the harbor they used, the exploration system they benefited from, and the banks storing their money all existed because of him.
To everyone present.
He was merely Nameless.
The mysterious swordsman.
The monster slayer.
The man who killed the King of the Forgotten Island.
The founder of the spoon catastrophe.
And somehow.
People remembered the spoon incident almost as much as the island king.
Return to Frostbound
The harbor became unusually lively.
Rumors had already arrived before the ships.
The story had spread.
Wildly.
Naturally.
Stories changed whenever people repeated them.
The original story:
"Nameless killed the island ruler."
Had transformed into:
"Nameless fought ten ancient dragons simultaneously."
Then:
"Nameless split the island in half."
Then:
"Nameless challenged the ocean itself."
And somehow.
The most popular version became:
"Nameless defeated the island king using a spoon."
Even Kel didn't know how that rumor started.
Raven suspected the sailors.
The sailors blamed the pirates.
The pirates blamed the merchants.
The merchants blamed everyone.
No conclusion was reached.
Claiming Rewards
The expedition's discoveries were enormous.
Ancient relics.
Rare ores.
Forgotten books.
Monster materials.
Mana crystals.
Ancient artifacts.
Everything was transported toward Frostbound Coast's Exploration Department.
A system Kel himself had established months ago.
Now.
He stood before one of his own officers.
The officer sat behind a large desk.
Piles of documents surrounded him.
The middle-aged man adjusted his glasses.
"Name?"
Kel answered.
"Nameless."
The officer immediately froze.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
His head lifted.
The man's eyes widened.
"You?"
Kel nodded.
The officer swallowed.
Hard.
Because even government employees had heard the stories.
Everyone had.
The officer immediately straightened his posture.
"No wonder the loot quantity is so absurd."
Several assistants behind him peeked at the inventory records.
Then immediately panicked.
The numbers were ridiculous.
The amount of wealth recovered from the island exceeded expectations by several times.
Ancient relics alone were enough to enrich entire noble families.
Yet.
Kel simply stood there calmly.
As if submitting mountains of treasure was an ordinary Tuesday.
Eventually.
The officer completed calculations.
"As per Frostbound Coast Exploration Regulations."
Another.
"Fifty percent belongs to the territory."
Another.
"Fifty percent belongs to the explorers."
Kel nodded.
The officer pushed several storage rings forward.
Inside them rested a fortune.
A literal fortune.
Enough money for several lifetimes.
Kel casually accepted them.
The officer nearly cried.
Because the young man looked less excited than people buying bread.
Telepathic Conversation
Far away.
Beneath Scarder Lake.
Seiren watched everything.
The Guardian sighed.
"You are collecting money from yourself."
Kel paused.
"Technically."
"You own Frostbound Coast."
"Correct."
"So you gave yourself loot."
"Correct."
"And paid yourself."
"Correct."
Silence.
Then Seiren laughed.
For nearly a minute.
Because somehow.
Only Kel could create such a situation.
A New Idea
After leaving the Exploration Department.
Kel walked through Frostbound City's central district.
The city had grown tremendously.
Streetlights illuminated roads.
Mana-powered heating systems warmed public spaces.
Markets overflowed with goods.
Travelers arrived daily.
The city felt alive.
Far more alive than when he had first arrived.
Kel watched the crowds.
The explorers.
The adventurers.
The merchants.
Then.
An idea appeared.
A simple one.
Guild.
If he wanted recommendations for the Aetherial Institute later.
If he wanted connections.
If he wanted merit.
If he wanted influence among adventurers.
A guild would solve many problems.
The more he thought.
The more reasonable it became.
Eventually.
Kel smiled.
The people nearby immediately became nervous.
Whenever important people smiled.
Something happened.
And unfortunately.
They were correct.
The Nameless Guild
Three days later.
A building appeared in Frostbound City's exploration district.
Large.
Elegant.
Beautiful.
A new guild headquarters.
A massive sign hung above the entrance.
The words were simple.
NAMELESS GUILD
The moment people saw it.
Chaos erupted.
"THE NAMELESS?"
"THE ISLAND KING SLAYER?"
"THAT NAMELESS?"
The city exploded.
Lines formed immediately.
Explorers arrived.
Mercenaries arrived.
Adventurers arrived.
Everyone wanted to join.
Not because of benefits.
Not because of salary.
Not because of contracts.
Because of reputation.
The name Nameless had become legendary.
Recruitment Day
The guild hall overflowed.
Hundreds arrived.
Then thousands.
People waited outside.
Some camped overnight.
Others bribed nearby businesses for favorable waiting positions.
The entire district became crowded.
Inside.
Kel sat behind a desk.
Examining applications.
His expression remained calm.
The applicants.
Not so much.
One young adventurer stepped forward.
Nervous.
Excited.
"Sir Nameless."
Kel nodded.
The applicant immediately straightened.
"What are your strengths?"
The young man proudly answered.
"I learned Divine Spoon Art."
Silence.
Kel stared.
The applicant stared.
Kel stared harder.
The applicant became nervous.
Very nervous.
Finally.
Kel sighed.
"Next."
The Guild Expands
Weeks passed.
The Nameless Guild grew rapidly.
Faster than anyone expected.
Branches appeared.
Explorers registered.
Teams formed.
Contracts increased.
Resources accumulated.
The guild became famous.
And strangely.
Kel never used his authority.
Never acted superior.
Never revealed his identity.
He worked alongside everyone.
Joined expeditions.
Accepted missions.
Traveled constantly.
Which only increased his reputation.
Because people respected competence.
And Nameless possessed too much competence.
Expedition One
The first guild expedition targeted northern waters.
An unexplored archipelago.
Dozens participated.
The journey succeeded.
New islands discovered.
Rare resources collected.
Ancient ruins documented.
The guild returned richer.
Stronger.
More famous.
Expedition Two
The second expedition explored underwater ruins.
Dangerous.
Extremely dangerous.
Several teams nearly died.
Then Nameless appeared.
Killed a sea monster.
Saved everyone.
Returned to work.
As if saving lives was routine.
The survivors became loyal immediately.
Expedition Three
The third expedition entered frozen territories.
Blizzards.
Ice monsters.
Ancient caves.
Again.
Nameless participated.
Again.
The expedition succeeded.
Again.
His reputation grew.
Stories
The problem wasn't success.
The problem was storytellers.
Every successful expedition created new rumors.
Ridiculous rumors.
One story claimed Nameless walked across the ocean.
Another claimed he negotiated with monsters.
Another claimed he once threw a spoon so far it entered another kingdom.
That rumor was surprisingly close to truth.
Kel wisely chose not to comment.
Telepathic Conversation
One evening.
While reviewing guild reports.
Seiren spoke.
"You realize your guild is becoming famous."
Kel continued reading.
"Good."
"You realize people worship you."
Kel paused.
"That's problematic."
"Very."
"Can I stop them?"
Seiren laughed.
"No."
Kel sighed.
A rare sigh.
"Unfortunate."
The Guardian smiled.
Because despite everything.
Despite Frostbound Coast.
Despite his achievements.
Despite the guild.
Kel genuinely didn't seek fame.
He simply kept moving forward.
And people followed.
The Future
Months continued passing.
The Nameless Guild expanded.
More expeditions.
More discoveries.
More influence.
More connections.
Exactly what Kel needed.
Recommendations.
Merits.
Relationships.
Experience.
All accumulating steadily.
And all while nobody knew the truth.
Nobody knew that Nameless and Count Kel von Rosenfeld were the same person.
The guild members admired Nameless.
The citizens admired Count Kel.
Completely unaware they admired the same person twice.
Which would become extremely amusing later.
For now.
The silver-haired young man stood upon the balcony of the Nameless Guild.
Watching Frostbound City below.
Watching the city he himself had built.
Watching people live their lives.
The cold northern wind moved his hair.
His silver eyes reflected countless lights beneath the night sky.
The city continued growing.
The guild continued growing.
The future continued approaching.
And somewhere far away.
The gates of the Aetherial Institute slowly drew closer.
Waiting for the arrival of a student who had no intention of arriving as Count Kel von Rosenfeld.
But as a wandering adventurer.
A swordsman.
A guild master.
A monster slayer.
The mysterious young man known throughout the northern seas as—
Nameless.