Ch.3333. Adventurer’s Guild (1)
by fnovelpia
After finishing my lecture as a special instructor and “persuading” the assembly leader to provide appropriate compensation for my lecture.
‘So many precious books…!!!’
Not wanting to miss this rare opportunity to visit an assembly with such a vast collection of resources, I explored the library located in the basement of the tower, which served as the headquarters for the entire Druid Assembly, investigating various books.
In this cruel and cold barbaric age, besides what individual druids or the Druid Assembly possessed, there would be no way to obtain such precious ancient texts related to druids.
While druid magic training is highly metaphysical and focused on mental and spiritual aspects, when it comes to advancing in druid magic, the theoretical influence on techniques for casting various spells by borrowing the power of nature cannot be ignored.
So after briefly marveling at the various spells developed by the assembly’s druids.
‘…Ah.’
Lost in the seemingly endless piles of books and materials, I had diligently studied fifteen ancient texts without rest before finally remembering why I had come to this archive in the first place.
Looking back, the reason I visited this underground library was to confirm exactly what my mother had been doing in the past.
Judging by the reactions of the assembly druids when they heard my mother’s name or mine, it was undoubtedly true that my mother’s past was extraordinary… but the real issue came next. In short, I wanted to see books that described my mother’s true past.
Therefore, having hastily regained my senses, I searched through the library’s books one by one, gathering information and…
‘…Sigh.’
After exactly four hours of investigating materials and collecting information, I couldn’t help but sigh at my mother’s great yet embarrassing past clearly recorded in dozens of books.
From an objective perspective, my mother’s past deeds recorded in the ancient texts were certainly close to those of a hero.
According to the records, in the distant past, my mother accompanied Charlemagne de Frank, who would become the first king of the Frankish Kingdom—then known as Knight King Charlemagne—and made great contributions to the founding of the Frankish Kingdom.
At first, I thought it might be someone with the same name, but when I read that this druid named “Dalia” rode a silver stag and called herself Aleinos, I could no longer deny that this recorded figure was indeed her.
And… my mother’s recorded deeds in the Frankish Kingdom were subtly similar to what I had seen while living with her, but with many more differences.
My mother’s deeds recorded in history books portrayed her as a hero’s advisor and a great magic user—a druid. She appeared to be a veritable founding hero who guided the sword-wielding thug Charlemagne and his knights in the right direction, greatly influencing the formation of chivalric spirit.
According to the records, my mother annihilated an orc army of 30,000 by causing a localized earthquake, killed countless lords and heroes by striking them with lightning, and exterminated armies of evil demons with mysterious magic.
However, examining documents that dealt with deeper and more microscopic areas, all of my mother’s deeds seemed like… something from a misunderstanding novel, from the perspective of the one misunderstanding.
Various anecdotes, including how she joined Charlemagne’s group, were formed without her clear consent, and descriptions such as always wearing her hood pulled low seemed merely like shyness.
And after this journey ended, from the point when my mother began acting alone… there was a strong feeling that the genre had somehow changed.
To put it bluntly, it shifted from a fantasy adventure novel with a strong misunderstanding atmosphere to something closer to a slasher movie or a munchkin rampage story.
After Charlemagne de Frank’s ascension to the throne, my mother, who had built up considerable fame—whom I’ve decided to comfortably call Master for now—attracted parasites.
Moths drawn to the wealth that Charlemagne had dumped on Master and the honor of being a founding hero and the Knight King’s companion. Idiots with rampaging lower bodies trying to seduce Master. Add to that muscle-brained groups just seeking the strong.
From here on it’s just speculation, but it seems Master finally exploded after numerous encounters with these annoying people who visited every day.
In other words, she began to rampage with her limiter completely removed.
Processing those who invaded the forest she received from Charlemagne into animal feed, repeatedly chemically castrating lords who insulted druid rights and tried to cut down trees with magic.
Master, who at first seemed to act within the bounds of self-defense, eventually couldn’t forgive those who crossed the line, and went berserk with about half her screws loose.
The method Master chose was, so to speak, making examples. She would “spread out” troublemakers according to her hometown customs and hang them on poles, or openly crush those who did strange things as a way to vent her anger.
Furthermore, while still affiliated with the Druid Assembly, she physically educated the radical faction… a group close to eco-fascists revived in this era.
‘……..’
Looking at it now, I could understand why Master’s reputation was quite… something.
※ ※ ※
While spending time practically living in the underground library, I was so absorbed in my exploration of this windowless basement that… I literally lost track of time.
To what extent? I spent a full ten days just reading books, so much so that my official druid certificate had already arrived days ago, prompting the assembly leader to personally come find me.
“The certificate has arrived from the royal palace. Here, take it.”
“Ohhh… It’s beautifully made!”
The certificate was so beautiful that even I, with my modern mindset and memories making me relatively dull to entertainment stimuli, couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
This certificate—with jade leaves hanging abundantly from vines also made of jade, embracing a white gem—was clearly a product of magic, though not druidic magic.
About the size of a plum that could easily be held in one hand, the certificate appeared to be the work of a tower mage and possessed one very simple yet important magical effect.
When magical power is channeled into it, the certificate glows green and implants information into the mind of anyone touched by the light that this certificate proves the bearer is indeed a druid.
Lower-level individuals cannot resist this, and for mid-level individuals who would naturally block it, they can recognize each other without certificates anyway, making proof of mid-level status easily resolved.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yes. I still have much to do.”
Anyway, now that I’ve received my certificate and mostly completed my exploration of ancient texts, it was time to leave. Though I felt sorry for the assembly leader who seemed sad about my early departure, I had to leave to pursue my travel goal (scouting animal friends).
“Thank you for everything these past few days, Assembly Leader.”
“…Yes, I enjoyed our time together too.”
After bidding farewell to the assembly leader who came to see me off, I summoned Astra after a long time, mounted her, and arrived at Frank, the capital of the Frankish Kingdom.
Frank… though a medieval fantasy city, boasts a scale and splendor befitting the capital of one of the greatest powers in the Western continent.
With a resident population of 200,000 in Frank alone. In an era where cities exceeding 10,000 in population are extremely rare, the scale of this city with 200,000 residents is by no means something to be taken lightly.
The considerably high city walls are clearly wrapped in protective mysteries that appear to be traces of magic. The moat surrounding the castle is controlled by magic. Moreover, from what I can sense, there is a considerably large sewer system underground.
Built on the site of an ancient imperial city that had already perished, the streets are quite clean due to the use of the ancient city’s water system, and the attire of passersby is incomparably superior to that of smaller cities.
Add to this a mage tower prominently situated in one corner of the city, and the grand temple of the pantheon responsible for the entire Frank diocese in another corner.
It is undoubtedly the most prosperous city in the Frankish Kingdom, but… there was a reason I needed to visit, as someone who should be roaming nature looking for animal friend candidates.
‘…I might as well register my name.’
The reason was to join the adventurer’s guild to earn travel funds in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances.
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