Chapter 12

"Subhuman?"

"......Wanderers have been mocked as such since ancient times. They lack combat ability and can't adapt to ordinary life."

The receptionist answered Tou's question, and beside her, Estelle's eyes narrowed.

"Take it back! Tōru is not a subhuman! Tōru protected me from a group of goblins!!"

"Hey, hey, lady. Then why is he so red?"

"Lies are not good. You must have saved him from the goblins, right?"

"No, I was the one saved!"

"Why are you defending a subhuman so much?"

"Could it be that you're already into this guy?"

"Stop joking around!!"

Estelle snapped at the men's remarks.

Estelle drew her sword. Before she could—

"Estelle, calm down a bit."

"Wh-What!? T-Tōru..."

Tou placed his hand on the hilt, stopping the sword from being drawn.

With a red face, Estelle stepped back, and Tou moved forward.

He glared at the two men in the bar and intimidated them.

"I'm in the middle of registering as an adventurer, so could you please be quiet?"

Tou was a bit irritated that not only himself but also Estelle had been belittled.

He directed his full <Intimidation> at the men.

Instantly, the air in the guild became so tense it could shatter at the slightest touch.

"Ugh!?"

The men's bodies reacted excessively to the atmosphere.

Their muscles stiffened, and their breathing stopped.

"What... is this kid..."

"Crushing..."

As Tou continued to glare, the men fell over with a loud thud.

The area under their crotches quickly became wet.

The sound of someone swallowing saliva echoed unusually loudly.

The noise that had filled the room just moments ago had completely disappeared.

When Tou looked around, the adventurers turned their faces away as if avoiding his gaze.

Although this reaction caught Tou's attention, he took advantage of the silence to resume the procedure.

"Please continue the conversation."

"A... u... m..."

The receptionist, seemingly intimidated by Tou's presence, moved her mouth as if gasping for air but couldn't form words.

(Huh? I didn't use <Intimidation> on her...)

Just to be safe, he consciously shut down his <Intimidation>.

"Hey, what did Tōru do to those guys?"

"Nothing?"

"Then why did they fall over?"

"Maybe they just passed out from being drunk. They seemed pretty wasted."

Tou answered casually, having no interest in them.

"So, to continue, it's true that some people call wanderers 'subhumans.' However, the Adventurer's Guild does not discriminate against wanderers. We would like Tōru to become a member of the Adventurer's Guild. What do you think?"

"Of course. I would like to register as well."

Tou added, "I also have something I want to sell."

"Sell, you say?"

"Yes. I'm not sure if it will sell, but it looked beautiful, so I thought it might be valuable as a material."

Saying this, Tou took out the glowing stalactite.

"Wh-What!?"

"Figures..."

While the receptionist looked bewildered, Estelle seemed to understand.

"Tōru, do you perhaps have a <Void Storage>?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. Tōru's weapon disappeared, so I guessed it was in a <Void Storage>."

"Ah, yeah, that's right."

Tou's [Magic Sword] wasn't technically in a <Void Storage>, but he didn't know where it was while it was gone. Explaining the [Magic Sword] would be complicated, so he decided to let Estelle's assumption stand.

"About the appraisal. This is definitely a Spirit Crystal."

"Really? So this is a Spirit Crystal."

"Did you bring it without knowing what it was?"

"Yes. I thought it might be valuable because it was beautiful."

"I see..."

The receptionist smiled slightly at Tou's words.

" Spirit Crystals are a general term for stones that contain special power. They are called Spirit Crystals because it is believed that they have been transformed by the power of spirits over a long period of time.

This Spirit Crystal seems to contain the power of earth, based on its glow. It is a very rare and valuable item, so we will buy it for 1000 gold each."

"Wow!"

A Spirit Crystal the size of a fist for 1000 gold—equivalent to 100,000 yen in Japanese currency.

Tou was surprised by the price.

A stone he had collected just because it was beautiful was worth 100,000 yen.

(Glad I picked it up!)

"Shall we buy this for 1000 gold?"

"Ah, I have more. Can you buy the rest as well?"

"Understood... Wait, what?"

Tou kept taking out Spirit Crystals from his <Void Storage>. In total, there were 15, which would be worth 150 silver coins.

Considering that a commoner's living expenses in Ealgarde were about 5 silver coins a month, this would last for 30 months if he was frugal.

(I should have collected more if they were worth this much...)

"Let me appraise these immediately. In the meantime, would you be willing to take a strength test for adventurer registration?"

"Strength test?"

Hearing 'test,' Tou immediately thought of an academic test. Did you need specific knowledge to become an adventurer?

"What does the strength test involve?"

"A test of your combat ability."

The words 'combat ability test' filled Tou with an indescribable unease.

"Don't worry. We just want to see your physical strength and skills. You won't get hurt."

"O-Okay..."

"Please ask the official for more details. Even if you don't do well, we won't reject your registration. The test results are just for reference to better support your development. If you do well, you can start at E-rank instead of F-rank. Good luck."

Tou received the form for the test from the receptionist and trudged to the training hall.

The training hall was a large hall, about half the size of a gym. It was currently empty because it was late, but it was usually used for combat training by adventurers. Various wooden weapons were leaning against the walls. Unlike the reception hall, the floor was made of compacted sand.

"Hey, you're the one registering as a new adventurer, right?"

While observing the training hall, a rough voice came from behind Tou. Turning around, he saw a muscular man with a shaved head. His face was intimidating, not at all like a regular person.

He was dressed in a shirt and slacks, but his muscles bulged so much that the clothes lost their original shape.

The man's eyes widened in surprise for a moment when he saw Tou's face, but he quickly recovered and extended a large hand.

"Hand over the paper. You got it from the reception, right?"

Tou handed over the paper he had received from the receptionist. The man quickly scanned it and his face fell in disappointment.

"So, you're a 'subhuman.'"

"That's not a very nice thing to say."

Estelle, who had accompanied Tou, snapped at the man's words. However, the man pretended not to hear her.

"Ah... Just be careful not to get hurt. I'll hold back, but there's a limit to how much I can. It would be troublesome if I accidentally hurt you and got complaints."

"My words—"

"Easy, easy."

While calming Estelle, whose ponytail was standing on end, Tou stepped forward.

"So, what do I need to do for the strength test?"

"Ah, I won't do anything. Use one of the weapons over there to attack me. If you have a preferred weapon, use that. But a 'subhuman' like you probably doesn't have one."

There was no provocation in his words, only resignation.

A subhuman couldn't be strong. The test was unnecessary; the result was already known from the start.

(He must have faced wanderers a few times in the past.)

Tou sensed this from the man's demeanor.

"Are wanderers really that weak..."

Holding a wooden sword from the wall, Tou thought.

Wanderers who hadn't grown up in Ealgarde from infancy lacked the abilities that one would naturally acquire through normal life.

For example, language.

If you grow up normally, you can speak the language of the region where you were raised.

If you grow up in a high-altitude area, your cardiovascular system becomes stronger.

If you learn piano from a young age, your hands grow larger, and your cerebellum enlarges.

Tou thought that wanderers might be missing these 'natural abilities that one acquires from their environment.'

Tou had adjusted his abilities with the Skill Board.

(But there might be a decisive difference that wanderers lack compared to Ealgardeans.)

Therefore, Tou stood before the man without any complacency.

He was a challenger.

He would fight with all his might, assuming that everything would be countered.

He closed his eyes once and focused his mind.

"..."

He took a deep breath and delved deep into his concentration.

His extended hand reached the limit of extreme focus.

A second felt like an eternity.

Then, Tou opened his eyes.

He held the wooden sword in a middle guard position and looked straight at the man.

"..."

"I'm ready. Come whenever you want."

Tou slightly lowered his stance and held his breath.

In the next instant,

"!?"

Tou caught the man within his reach.

The man's eyes widened.

But the man still didn't move.

(Chance!)

Tou swung the wooden sword and struck.

—Thud!!

The sound of flesh being hit echoed through the training hall.

Tou's strike landed perfectly on the man's side.

The man was sent flying backward.

He rolled three times before finally stopping.

Tou froze, still in the position to deliver a second strike.

"..."

"Wh-What?"

Tou had assumed the man would block the attack.

But the man showed no sign of defending.

Tou couldn't hide his surprise.

(I thought he would block it...)

Or perhaps Tou had assumed the man would take the hit with his muscles.

But it seemed the man's thick muscles couldn't withstand Tou's attack.

"Ugh..."

The man crouched by the wall, trembling.

He showed no sign of getting up.

"Great job, Tōru!"

Behind Tou, Estelle cheered.

"Go, Tōru! Finish him off!"

"No, that's not the rule, right!?"

Clearly, the man's provocation had gotten under her skin, and Estelle was celebrating. However, pursuing the man now would be assault, not training.

Tou sighed and lowered the tip of his wooden sword.