C Rank Adventurer
I drunkenly stumbled back to my inn in the evening.
'Ugh... can't handle alcohol like I used to, huh?'
The Odyssey party seemed like good people, even if I felt a little nervous due to the topic of conversation.
Thankfully, they did not spend hours only talking about my master.
I did get some information on my master through their talk, which was interesting to me.
'That elf, Judari... he has a grudge.'
I wasn't sure what exactly my master had done to him, but his eyes burnt with hatred when he spoke of the lich king.
It felt a little weird that I might have been studying under a terrible villain.
By all means, I would consider my master to be a decent guy.
Sure, he was quite cold, but he didn't seem like an evil person.
But, I mean, realistically, his fortress filled with thousands of undead...
They came from somewhere.
Still, it wasn' something that particularly bothered me.
The fact my master might have done terrible things was something anyone could guess.
But considering he had been my biggest benefactor since I entered this world, I would not betray him so easily.
Thud
I plopped on my bed without changing my clothes, too tired and drunk to even try.
Contrary to what I had expected, the two women did not try to pitch me any sort of recruitment offer.
My ego wasn't particularly bruised by this, as my thoughts had changed once I understood they were an independent party unafilliated with any guild.
I was still a complete newbie when it came to the ways of the adventurer's city, but I could guess that getting involved with guilds would be troublesome.
Matter of fact, I had been warned by the group that sooner or later guilds would come knocking at my door.
'...Annoying.'
I dozed off to sleep with such thoughts.
Going to the eastern association branch in the morning, I met receptionist Alina to receive my license.
"Outis, welcome to the adventurer's association, you have been awarded the status of a C- rank magic swordsman."
She congratulated me with a practiced line and a smile on her face.
Of course, even though it was the morning, there were plenty of adventurers inside of the building.
"Hooo! Damn, y'hear that? Kid's starting off as a C rank! I had to slave away for two years to reach that point!"
"Fuck, guess some people are blessed, aren't they? I've been at work for three years and I'm only at D+!"
"At work? All you do is drink for morning to evening, isn't it a miracle that you aren't an F rank?"
"Wanna say that to my face!?"
I took the silver card and analysed it with interest.
It had some sort of magic engraving in it, as when I applied pressure letters displaying my information would light up.
Outis - C Rank Adventurer
Magic Swordsman, Third Layer Mage
Age: 14 Gender: Male
Features: Black Hair, Blue Eyes
Missions Completed: 0
Beside my information was a simple sketch of my face.
'When'd they get the time to draw that?'
"Since you're below the age of eighteen, you'll have to get your license updated every year. Once you've passed the age of eighteen this duration increases from one to three years, and if you last that long, once you reach the age of thirty, the duration increases again to five years."
I nodded my head at the explanation.
I would only stay here for two years anyway, so it didn't matter much.
"The reason your information has been recorded on this card is so that in the scenario you suffer an unfortunate end, your body may be identified. This card also serves as identification to enter the various floors of the library, better known as the Tower of Babel and may also allow you preferential treatment in certain places throughout the continent."
"That all?"
As the receptionist finished her longwinded explanation, she gave an unknowable smile.
"Hm... on a personal note, I'll give you some advice. I'm sure you realise, but, starting off at C- is incredibly impressive, but don't think that makes you invincible. For adventurers, death is only a blink away, so be humble, understand?"
It seemed like honest advice, so I responded with respect.
"Thank you... senior. I know my own strength well, so I'll survive long."
"Well... let's hope that's the case, I don't like seeing kids die, after all."
It was a bit concerning for her to say that to a newbie adventurer, but I accepted it and went over to the C rank mission board.
There were dozens of posters strewn around, so I read through them slowly.
For me, the ideal kind of battle would be one with large numbers of weak monsters, rather than one powerful boss monster.
If I could just sit like a turret far away and shoot monsters from a distance, I could clear missions without breaking a sweat.
On top of that, Blue would get a decent meal.
'If you eat a lot, I'll grow a lot, so I'll get us a good meal, buddy.'
...
After a few minutes of reading, I found one that seemed satisfying.
It was a C rank mission to exterminate a goblin outpost.
The boss of the outpost was a goblin shaman, which was preferable to me.
I could just snipe the shaman from a distance before taking down the rest of the outpost.
Alternatively, if it were being led by a great goblin warrior, I'd have considerably more trouble.
Goblin warriors had strong physical stats as well as light regeneration, meaning that going for a one shot was less reliable.
Shamans had far lower physical stats, but naturally had strong magical power.
They preferred to stay in the backlines and buff their allies, whilst simultaneously debuffing their enemies.
But if I could just kill the shaman first, I'd have an easy enough time dealing with the rest of the goblins.
I ripped the paper off the wall and took it to a different desk.
A tired looking man silently notioned his hand, as if expecting me to give him something.
I took out my card after a moment of hesitation and gave it to him.
"Zero missions? Oh... you must have been the kid they were talking about... Ya sure you wanna take this as your first mission? It'd be wise to take a few D or E ranks before takin' a C rank, even if you are a C rank yourself."
"I'm sure I'll be fine."
He sighed at my rebuttal, beforing asking another question.
"Then, at least tell me you're gonna be going with a party? I'm sorry, but I can't let a kid go do this kind of thing alone."
I frowned at this.
Obviously I could respect the fact that he was trying to keep a kid safe, but it was just goblins, nothing crazy.
"...Yeah, I have a party to help me, so we'll be fine."
The man raised his eyebrows with an exasperated expression before calling my bluff.
"That so, then, tell me the name of the party as well as the names of the members."
For a moment, I thought about naming Odyssey and its four members, but that would probably be stupid.
"Alright, you caught me, I want to go solo. Listen, I'm stronger than I look, so I won't die."
"We have the right to refuse to give an adventurer a mission, sorry kid."
'Really?'
This kind of goodwill was annoying.
It's not like I could disregard his warning and go find the outpost myself, since it was on the receptionist to give me the full details of the mission.
"Fine, damn, you give me a mission, why don't you?"
He gave a wry smile before opening a drawer filled with papers.
Searching through the papers, he eventually took one out and handed it to me.
'D rank works, I suppose.'
"This one is similar to the goblin outpost, except it's just a camp, look, if you come back to me after doing this one successfuly, I'll let you take on C ranks, but trust me, even this won't be easy."
I nodded my head in satisfaction.
I had two years, so I was by no means strapped for time.
This guy probably expected that after facing the difficulty of a D rank mission, I'd be hesitant to take on a C rank.
'We'll see about that.'
After I accepted the mission, he handed me a more detailed paper giving me the precise location and some details scouts of the association had found out.
I left the association quickly after that, ignoring the shouts of people who wanted to drink with me, probably curious about who I was.
"Right, before I do this, I should probably stop by the library, right?"
The Library of Babel, better known as the Tower of Babel.
As a C rank adventurer, I was permitted to go to up to the fourth floor.
I wasn't expecting to find some sort of legendary hidden scroll, but perhaps something useful would be there.
LOG 33 - ELVES
Elves are a species known for their beauty, longevity, and affinity for magic. For humanity, only about one in a hundred humans are born with magic circuits, but for elves, almost all of them are born with circuitry. But as if the world knew elves would be too powerful, they are held back by extremely low birth rates, which prevents them from ruling over the entire continent.
