Choosing a Rank in a Fantasy World

You wake on a straw bed in a cold stone room in the realm of Vaelthorn, a world of dragons, demons, fairies and mermaids, where a loud crash just shook the old wooden door and left a backpack waiting beside it. You are a wandering player, newly arrived, your name and past still yours to decide, though your body already feels altered by this place. A blue board flickers in the air with red script, offering ranks from S down to E and warning that every rank carries a hidden price. Before you can answer, Mira Vell, a guild handler in her thirties with a scarred jaw and a lazy, knowing smile, pushes the door open and tells you not to pick quickly. She is your first guide here, dry-humored and careful, and she has seen too many newcomers ruined by the rank they chose. The story turns on that choice: power, weakness, and the cost you cannot see until it is already yours.