Infinity Is My Affinity?!?-Chapter 69: Guess I spoke too soon…

Nico drummed his fingers against the counter, letting the receptionist’s icy comment hang in the air for a long beat before he finally deigned to respond.

"Two new registrations," Nico replied flatly, completely ignoring the receptionist’s comment as he pointed a thumb at Nom-Nom.

The dragon in question was currently peering at a nearby quest board, scanning the illustrations of monsters with a curious tilt of her head.

While the receptionist stared at him for a second, her professional mask cracking slightly at his nonchalance and the literal dragon standing behind him, before she let out a shaky sigh and bent down to retrieve the necessary paperwork.

Taking the brief reprieve, Nico leaned back against the counter to survey the room that was currently wishing for his demise.

The layout of the Guild was designed for efficiency, yet it buzzed with the chaotic energy of a tavern.

At the far end of the hall where Nico stood, the row of counters were manned by employees in white shirts and black vests who worked beneath hanging wooden boards that labelled their stations: Reception, Exchange, Registration, and a massive board with Quests written above it.

To his right, a long bar served a sea of tables and chairs filled with adventurers nursing their drinks, while a staircase led up to an open-plan floor that overlooked the hustle below.

To his left was a wide, open waiting area where a stone staircase spiralled down, marked by a sign that read Arena in bold red paint.

"Standard procedure," the receptionist droned, pulling Nico’s attention back as she slapped two sheets of parchment onto the wood. "That will be one Gold Coin per person. One hundred Silvers for the processing fee, and nine hundred for the Adventurer’s Card itself."

Without even blinking at the price, Nico reached into pocket and from the inventory pulled out two heavy gold coins before sliding them across the counter.

The receptionist swept the coins into a drawer before pushing the forms toward him.

"Fill these out. Name, age, class... You can read right? Once you are done, place your hand on the Mana Seer," she said before gesturing to a clear, grapefruit-sized crystal resting on a velvet cushion between them.

Nico grabbed the quill and scribbled down the form for both himself and Nom-Nom while his mind began to race.

The Mana Seer was a standard appraisal tool designed to reveal a person’s Mana Circuits and Elemental Affinities.

But for Nico, it was a landmine.

Mana Circuits ranged from 1 to 9, dictating the sheer volume of mana a person could manipulate from their core at any given second. They also dictated how har in his Tiers a person can go.

Three through four was what the majority of the population had.

A person with five circuits basically had their life set. While six was the mark of elite talent.

Seven and Eight though, they were national treasures.

And Nine... the Ninth Circuit was a myth, reserved solely for the Destined Hero and the Demon God.

And Nico, being the actual Destined Hero, sat squarely at the Ninth Circuit.

[I obviously can’t let that show... If that crystal lights up with a nine, I’ll have just about every organization on my ass before lunch. And I definitely can’t let them see my Time or Infinity. So, System?]

-Ding!

{Spoofing Module initializing... Initialized.

Circuits set to Six.

Affinities visible: Ice, Nature, Metal.

Mana frequency set to slightly vary.}

[Yeah, six is the sweet spot... High enough to demand respect and explain why I have a Greater Dragon for a Familiar, but not so heaven-defying that I personally get dragged into national politics. And spoofing the magical equivalent of a fingerprint was a nice touch... Good work, my guy...]

Filling out the form, Nico slid back to the woman.

And after a glance over, she flatly said, "Now touch the crystal and pour our mana into it." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

With a nod and a ’hm’, Nico pressed his finger on the crystal before pouring his mana into it, and the next second-

-Hummm.

The crystal vibrated against his palm before exploding with light.

First came a sharp, biting azure glow that chilled the air around the counter.

It was immediately followed by a metallic silver light that seemed to weigh down the very atmosphere.

And finally, resolving into a vibrant, emerald green pulse.

The three colors swirled together in a perfectly harmonious triple-helix inside the sphere before six distinct rings of light formed around the crystal’s equator.

The noise in the immediate vicinity died instantly.

The receptionist’s jaw went slack as she stared at the display while her quill slipped from her fingers and clattered onto the desk.

"Triple... Triple Affinity?" she whispered with eyes wide with shock. "And Metal and Nature? Together?"

The whispers erupted behind him, but this time, the tone was vastly different.

"Did you see that? Metal Affinity? Kid’s basically rich..."

"And Nature? Holy hell, he’d be printing money...."

"And those Six Circuits... the kid is an elite talent. No wonder he didn’t flinch at the price."

"And that Soul Armament for that cherry on top? The kid is a monster."

"So what? You saw how he talked to the Chief earlier."

"Yeah... talent or not, that was uncalled for."

"Exactly. He uses his S-Rank status to protect us, and this rich kid waltzes in and spits in his face?"

"I don’t care if he has six circuits or sixty. Anyone who disrespects the Chief walks alone."

"Agreed. Let him solo his dungeons. No self-respecting party in this guild is going to watch his back."

"Are you blind? He may not even need a party... He’s got a Greater Dragon."

Nico suppressed a smirk as he pulled his hand back.

He had successfully sold the narrative: A high-potential elite with three rare affinities, six circuits, a Soul Armament, and a Greater Dragon.

From a slot beneath the crystal stand, a sleek metal card slid out with a hiss, with a glowing rune etched onto its surface that pulsed for a second before fading into the steel.

The receptionist stared at the cooling metal, her professional mask cracking for a fraction of a second as the sheer absurdity of a Triple Affinity with Metal and Nature sank in.

But then, her gaze flicked toward the guild entrance where the Chief had left, and the awe instantly curdled back into an icy rigidity.

"Your aptitude is... noted," she said in a stiff and clipped voice as she placed the card on her stack of papers. "Step aside. Next."

Nico suppressed a smirk at the cold shoulder, unbothered by her loyalty to the bald mage despite her constantly flicking her gaze at Nom-Nom, making sure she didn’t offend the dragon with her attitude.

"Nom, you’re up," Nico said, stepping back with a casual shrug.

Nom-Nom stepped forward with her long, wild hair swaying behind her like a cape of midnight silk.

She stared down at the crystal with violet eyes narrowing slightly as she inspected the magical device with a mix of playful curiosity and the absolute, unshakeable confidence of an apex predator about to show what she can do.

"Just need to touch it and pour mana into it, right?" she asked with a grin.

"With a finger, and do it gently..." Nico chuckled as he stared at her expression while his thoughts turned to the System.

[Spoof her to be a standard greater dragon... handle her Mana Frequency too.]

-Ding!

{Done.}

While the receptionist in front of them flinched as Nom-Nom stepped before her,

"If you would... Madam," she managed to choke out, forcing the title through gritted teeth out of respect to the power the entity before her demanded, and pure self-preservation.

With a nod, Nom-Nom placed her hand gracefully onto the crystal before-

-BOOM.

The crystal roared with a dense, violet light that flooded the sphere while seven distinct rings of light slammed into existence around the sphere.

"Seven Circuits, Dragon Fire, as expected of... Madam," the receptionist breathed out, with a slight bow.

It was a tactical lie. Nom-Nom, being a half-Wendigo and half-Dragon Chimera, actually possessed Eight Circuits, but standard Greater Dragons usually capped at seven.

The receptionist grabbed the card that slipped out with slight tremors in her fingers before getting up from her seat.

"I... I need to take these to the back to imprint your personal data onto the cards," she said, finally looking up at Nico with a gaze that was equal parts fear and disdain. "The process will take ten minutes. You may wait in the lobby."

With a stiff nod to Nom-Nom, she turned on her heel and disappeared into the back room, clutching the documents to her chest as if they were a shield.

"I like that one..." Nico chuckled as he turned around and leaned back against the counter with his shotgun resting comfortably on his left shoulder as he surveyed the room.

"But why?" Nom-Nom asked.

"Because she didn’t care how many affinities or circuits or cool weapons I had..." Nico replied, noting how the adventurers now looked at him with a complicated mix of professional envy and personal disdain, "All she knew was that in my arrogance, I had disrespected the person she genuinely respected and admired..."

Jerking his chin towards the adventurers, Nico continued, "Same goes for adventurers here... Nom, as far as I know, you’re the only Greater Dragon in the entire country, and yet... none of them gives a flying... damn... all because I disrespected their Big Bro..."

Nom-Nom’s slit eyes surveyed the room as the realization dawned on her.

"Loyalty..." she whispered the word she understood all too well.

But as he looked at the wall of backs turning away from him, effectively shunning him from the guild’s social circle, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

It wasn’t the result he had planned for, but it had its perks.

[They respect our strength enough to leave us alone, but hate my guts enough to never ask for favors,] Nico thought as he felt the sweet, degenerate satisfaction of a successful bridge-burning. [No party invites, no rookie mentorship requests, and no awkward social gatherings. Though I would love the classic ’isekai adventurer’ experience... But I gotta focus on making that dough and the EXP.]

Adjusting the sling of his shotgun, he got comfortable while waiting for the paperwork.

And just as he did, a party of five began approaching with swaggering steps and grins full of yellowed teeth.

[Guess I spoke too soon...]