Chapter 84

On the afternoon of October 3rd.

I found myself in a situation where I had to face off against a female spearwoman named Beatrice LaVal.

She was a third-class adventurer, and the condition was that if she acknowledged me, she would become my mentor. We decided to have a mock battle.

The guild's training ground was about twenty meters by thirty meters, similar to training grounds in other towns. About ten adventurers and mercenaries were training there.

Beatrice picked up a suitable training spear from the wall and said, "I've heard you're a magic swordsman, and a pretty good one at that," pointing to a wooden sword on the wall.

I chose a well-balanced wooden sword and stood about ten meters away from her. Then I asked, "What about magic?"

She smiled confidently and said, "At this distance, it would be difficult to cast a spell normally. I'll let you take the first shot." The adventurers who were training seemed to know her skills and smiled confidently as well.

(They're underestimating me. Even though I don't intend to hurt her, I can't use fire magic. Showing my original magic might be a bit much... No, maybe it's better to surprise her with my original magic.)

I said, "Then I'll take the first shot," and began to chant the spell for my most skilled magic, the Blade of Swallow's Wing.

"O god of the winds, ruler of countless breezes, grant me the blade of a swallow that dances in the sky. I offer the power of my life to you. Dance! Blade of Swallow's Wing!"

A transparent magical swallow took flight from my right hand. I made the swallow rise high and continued to chant the same spell.

About five seconds later, a second swallow appeared and headed towards Beatrice, skimming the ground.

I aimed for a simultaneous attack with the two swallows.

When I first showed the swallow to Sharon, I realized it could be controlled autonomously. While it takes time to cast the spell, maintaining the swallow requires only a minimal amount of magic power, and it flies on its own. In other words, I only need to concentrate when casting the spell, and once it's done, I can cast another spell.

When I released the first swallow, Beatrice looked intrigued by the magic she had never seen before. However, as the swallow began to circle the ceiling of the training ground, her expression turned to one of suspicion. When I released the second swallow, her expression changed to one of shock, and she exclaimed, "Multiple simultaneous spell casting!"

I smirked inwardly at her expression.

(They underestimated me by letting a mage take the first shot. I don't intend to hurt her, but I'll make her more surprised.)

After releasing the second swallow, I immediately used magic combat techniques on my legs and closed the distance quickly.

My plan was as follows:

I would make the first Blade of Swallow's Wing circle in the air while summoning the second one. The first swallow would follow my initial command and circle around to Beatrice's back after ten seconds, aiming for the back of her head. The second swallow would attack her knee from the side at the right moment. During this time, I would use magic combat techniques to charge at her from the front.

In other words, my plan was to attack her from three directions simultaneously.

Of course, I made sure the blades of the swallows wouldn't be sharp enough to cause fatal injuries. I chose the Swallow Cutter because it allows for such adjustments, which would be difficult with fireballs.

At first, Beatrice was caught off guard by the swallows' attacks, but she quickly understood the situation and took action.

When she realized I was aiming for a simultaneous attack, she approached me as if flying through the air.

This time, it was my turn to be caught off guard.

I had been somewhat cautious that she might come at me, but her movements were far beyond what I had imagined.

Despite her towering height of nearly two meters, she closed the distance as if propelled by a spring. Her speed, which surpassed my magic-enhanced movements, caused me to react a split second too late. Furthermore, this movement threw off the timing of my attacks, and my plan for a simultaneous attack from three directions crumbled.

She avoided the swallow coming from behind without even turning around, and as it flew past, she struck it with her spear. The magical swallow disappeared with a single blow.

I was astonished by her movements. She had avoided an attack from directly behind with perfect timing and anticipated that my swallow would attack again, preemptively knocking it down.

(How did she time it so perfectly without turning around? Is this what a top-tier adventurer is like...)

It didn't stop there.

She then extended her wooden spear, which was about two and a half meters long, with a sharp, whistling sound. I barely managed to deflect the strike aimed at my face with my sword, altering its trajectory.

However, it seemed to be a feint. She quickly pulled back the extended spear and launched a series of three thrusts. The speed was far greater than the first thrust. I received a direct hit to my abdomen from one of the meteor-like thrusts and was blown away ungracefully.

(Ouch! It's tough without armor in situations like this...)

I thought this as I vomited the contents of my stomach and writhed on the ground.

However, I wasn't completely defeated.

One of the swallows I had released, flying low, had hit the back of her thigh. Beatrice stumbled slightly but immediately pointed her spear at me, who was still on the ground.

While it didn't hit the intended weak point between her armor, it did hit the back of her thigh. If this had been a real battle with full power, my Swallow Cutter would have been able to penetrate her leather armor, and I would have been able to land a blow, even if it wasn't a decisive one.

I spat out the sour bile in my mouth and tried to stand up, using the wooden sword as a cane.

Beatrice, who had been cheerful until now, was now silent, looking down at me with cold eyes.

When I stood up and met her gaze, I said with a smirk, "How about another round? This time without magic."

She remained silent, only staring at me.

The adventurers who had been laughing and chatting before were now silent and expressionless.

Worried that I had done something wrong, I asked, "So, is this good enough?"

Beatrice shook her head slightly and said in a hoarse voice, "Who are you?"

"I'm Zacharias Rockhart, a student at the Tilia Magic Academy. Nothing more, nothing less."

She shook her head again and murmured, "Ah,"

"It's been a while since I've been this surprised... I'm sorry. I underestimated your magic."

She apologized for letting me cast the first spell. Then she smiled and said, "I can't laugh at Terry now," and smiled at me. Her expression was refreshingly honest, and I felt a sense of respect for her.

I asked with a smile, "So, what now? Are we still going to fight?"

She replied, "This time, no magic," and readied her spear.

I nodded and secretly applied magic combat techniques to my legs and arms before slowly taking a stance with my sword.

(Magic combat techniques shouldn't count as magic. Still, her stance is completely different from before...)

In the end, it was one-sided.

She attacked with fluid movements, and I couldn't get close to her at all. Her spear created a wall of thrusts like a blanket, and then it would snake around to attack my body. Although the spear wasn't actually bending, the speed was so fast that it left afterimages.

She also attacked with the butt of her spear while spinning, making it impossible for me to get close even with my magic-enhanced leg strength.

At first, I managed to block her attacks with my sword, but soon my body couldn't react, and her spear began to graze my arms, legs, and torso.

I tried to break the deadlock with tricky moves like leg sweeps and cartwheels, but these last-minute attacks had no effect.

In the end, she pointed her spear at my throat, and I dropped my sword.

I panted and bowed, saying, "Thank you." I hadn't received guidance from a skilled martial artist in a long time, and the words of gratitude came naturally.

Beatrice finally smiled and said, "There's no need to thank me," as she relaxed her stance.

"But are you really ten years old? You can go toe-to-toe with those guys without magic."

She said this with a look of exasperation but quickly added, "I'll take you on as my mentee."

However, she continued, "But there's a condition."

"A condition? What kind of condition?"

When I asked, Beatrice smirked and said, "It's simple. Just join my party."

I couldn't help but exclaim, "Huh?"

It made sense. Beatrice was a third-class adventurer, a veteran. If someone like Ridi or Sharon's father, Guy, a top-tier adventurer, offered to form a party with a child like me, the normal reaction would be exasperation rather than surprise.

Thinking I might have misheard, I politely asked, "Could you repeat that?"

She smiled ferociously and repeated, "The condition for being your mentor is that you join my party."

I was struggling to understand and whispered to Ridi, "What does that mean?" But Ridi turned away, saying, "Do what you want." It seemed she was pouting because I had asked Beatrice to be my mentor.

Desperate, I asked,

"Is joining a party a permanent thing? Or just a one-time thing?"

"I'm basically a solo adventurer. But I like you. I thought it would be interesting to see how you develop."

I suppressed a sigh and said,

"I'm basically a student at the academy. I can't go into the forest every day, and I don't plan to adjust to your schedule. So if you mean a permanent party, let's just forget about it."

When I refused to form a party with Beatrice, the surrounding adventurers sighed.

I didn't know the details, but it seemed many people wanted to team up with her.

Beatrice also looked surprised and then exasperated.

"You might not know, but I'm in high demand."

She shrugged dramatically and joked, "I've been turned down."

"Well, that's fine. If it's just occasionally, that's okay."

When I nodded, she said,

"Got it. This Beatrice will be your mentor."

I bowed deeply and said, "Thank you very much."

After leaving the training ground, Beatrice started the process of becoming my mentor at the guild's reception.

Tina, the receptionist, was surprised to hear that Beatrice would be my mentor.

Beatrice took out her orb, a magical device that serves as identification, and began the procedure.

She then motioned for me to come over and said, "Show me your orb." I took off the orb I had made in Rasmoor Village.

Tina looked at my orb and said, "This orb can be used for adventurer registration." When I asked for more details, she explained that orbs made in villages often have limited information and might not be able to transfer adventurer data, requiring a new orb. However, the orb from Rasmoor Village seemed to be of high quality, and Tina was a bit surprised to hear it was from a small village.

(Grandpa must have thought of this and installed proper equipment, even though it must have been tough when we were poor...)

I now have the Magic Guild's orb and the Rasmoor Village orb, and with the addition of the Adventurer Guild's orb, I will have three. I was grateful to my grandfather for making it possible with just two.

At the reception, Tina explained the Adventurer Guild to me.

I had already heard about it from Ridi, so it was all familiar information.

The Adventurer Guild is a mutual aid organization for adventurers.

The headquarters is in Periclitus, which we passed on the way here. It was originally created by the Merchant Guild to efficiently eliminate monsters and harmful beasts that appeared on roads and near towns.

Therefore, the main focus of the Adventurer Guild is the elimination of monsters and harmful beasts, but it also handles the collection of herbs and minerals, which can be done using the skills of adventurers. It also handles the investigation of ruins and the study of monsters in the forest, but the protection of caravans is handled by the Mercenary Guild, so the Adventurer Guild does not handle it. This division of labor is related to the ranking system, which I will explain later.

The Adventurer Guild not only mediates various requests from clients to adventurers but also buys herbs and monster parts collected by adventurers.

The fee for a request is 20% for the guild and 30% for taxes. However, to make it easier for adventurers to understand, the guild deducts the fees from the initial payment, similar to salary tax withholding.

If a request fails, the adventurer must pay the guild double the reward, which is the same amount the client pays, to compensate the client. Therefore, the guild is often cautious about allowing adventurers to take on requests that are beyond their capabilities.

Additionally, if an adventurer's annual reward amount does not reach 1,000 crowns (approximately 1 million yen), they must pay the difference to the guild. If they cannot pay, they will be expelled, as the guild pays the taxes on their behalf to prevent tax evasion. In general cities, citizens other than adventurers and mercenaries pay nearly 50% of their income in taxes, so adventurers are tax-advantaged.

There are ten ranks for adventurers, from first to tenth. However, there are no restrictions on the requests they can take based on their rank. The rank only indicates the adventurer's contribution to the guild and does not necessarily reflect their actual skill. Therefore, a tenth-rank adventurer can take a first-rank request without any problems. However, due to the penalty for failing a request, the guild rarely allows adventurers to take on requests that are beyond their capabilities.

To advance in rank, an adventurer must complete one hundred requests of the same rank as their current rank. This counts as one request whether it is taken as a party or individually.

Completing a request one rank higher than the adventurer's current rank counts as ten requests, and completing a request two ranks higher counts as one hundred requests. In other words, successfully completing a request two ranks higher will immediately advance the adventurer's rank.

On the other hand, the Mercenary Guild also has ten ranks from first to tenth, but these are based on simple skill levels, such as swordsmanship or archery, and are divided accordingly.

The difference is that the Adventurer Guild considers the convenience of the client. When adventurers eliminate monsters, they can use methods other than weapons and magic, such as traps. Since trap users have a harder time advancing in level, a level-based system would not evaluate them properly. Therefore, it is easier to understand the adventurer's performance based on the number of requests completed rather than a simple level comparison.

In contrast, mercenaries are primarily tasked with protecting clients rather than hunting monsters. They are required to be versatile and able to handle any situation, so a level-based system that clearly indicates their skill is more suitable for client needs. However, having a wider range of levels makes it easier for clients to choose, so the guild decided to use a rank-based system.

Both adventurers and mercenaries are tax-advantaged and can travel freely across borders. In return, they are held to high standards of discipline.

If an adventurer or mercenary commits a serious crime, they are immediately expelled from the guild and often become criminal slaves. For less serious crimes, such as assault or theft, the guild branch can impose penalties. If they cause damage to others, they can be forced to work to repay the debt using a magical collar.

Breaking the guild's contract, such as intentionally committing murder or theft or intentionally violating the contract, leaves a record on the adventurer's orb, making it impossible to hide the crime even if the orb is remade. The record is said to remain on the adventurer's magic crystal, but the details are not publicly known.

This is the knowledge I currently have about the Adventurer Guild and the Mercenary Guild.

It took a few minutes to add the information to the orb I made in Rasmoor Village.

When I received it, Beatrice took out a half-silver coin (5C = 5,000 yen) and paid the registration fee. I thought I could pay 5C myself and offered to do so.

However, she shook her head and said, "Don't embarrass your mentor," and refused to take the money.

"Now you're a tenth-rank adventurer. In a normal town, you would take requests with your mentor, but this town is special. If you hunt monsters on your own, you can report them whenever you want."

Beatrice patted my head and said,

"That's it for the registration. Is there anything else you want to ask?"

At that moment, I brought up Sharon. I felt a bit sorry that I could become an adventurer while she couldn't.

I had just refused her offer to form a party, but I thought I would ask anyway.

"I have a friend named Sharon who is a level nineteen wind mage. She's the same age as me. Could you be her mentor?"

Beatrice shook her head and said, "I need to see her skills."

I agreed and apologized, "You're right. Sorry."

She kept her hand on my head and looked into my face,

"Can you try to be less formal? You talk to Lydia normally. I want you to talk to me the same way."

I glanced at Ridi, who turned away as if to say, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Got it. Then, Beatrice, call me Zack. Is that okay?"

When I said this, she nodded and said, "That's fine."

At the age of ten, I became an adventurer.

I had become an adventurer, a staple of fantasy. I forgot about the bullying at the academy and savored the joy of the moment.

After leaving the guild branch, Ridi spoke to me in an unhappy voice.

"Of course, you want to get along with beautiful people. She's a beastgirl you're interested in, and that tail. You were staring at it so much, it was ridiculous."

I tried to argue, "That's a misunderstanding," but she continued her attack.

"When you first saw her face, you were captivated. She's a strong and beautiful woman, a type you don't usually see around you. And those breasts. Men like big breasts, so it's understandable."

I realized it was pointless to argue and remained silent.

"Well, it's fine. She doesn't seem like a bad person, and it's good to have connections with people like her in this town."

It seemed Ridi had