Ch.36The City of Three Magic Towers. Ortus (2)

“Hnngh….”

I wiped away my drool as I got up and looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

“11 o’clock…”

For having slept soundly, not much time had passed. Maybe three or four hours of sleep at most?

Rustle… rustle…

I tidied up my clothes, put on my armor, secured four swords to my belt, and left the room.

Clunk! Clunk!

With the sound of wooden stairs creaking under my weight, I came down to the first floor. I headed straight to the stable, mounted my horse whose belly was fully rounded, and untied the reins.

“Alright, let’s go!”

“Neeeiiigh!”

The horse responded vigorously, and soon I left the inn’s stable and started heading toward the Adventurer’s Guild.

This Ortus had three magic towers, which meant there was plenty of work for adventurers.

And I planned to stay in this city at least until I reached the Coal rank.

The money I currently had was about 2 gold coins, which would be more than enough for me to stay here until I turned twenty.

Clop-clop-clop-clop….

With that thought, I soon found the Adventurer’s Guild, put my horse in the guild’s stable, and opened the main entrance to go inside.

*

“Welcome. How may I help you?”

As I approached the reception counter, the receptionist came closer to me.

“I’m looking to rank up to Coal rank here. Is there some kind of promotion test?”

“If I may ask, what is your current rank?”

“Flint rank.”

“Ah…”

The receptionist said that while checking my credentials.

Up to Flint rank, there were quotas to meet, but from the next rank, Firewood rank, there were no quotas.

The Straw rank was the “HAHA! You? An adventurer? HAHAHA!” mockery stage.

The Kindling rank was the “Hey, look at this guy! Somehow you survived, huh? Hahaha!” half-complimentary stage.

And the Flint rank was the “Wow~ You’re tough, really tough! Still insisting on being an adventurer? Haha! Alright, I acknowledge you, you crazy bastard! Hahaha!” recognition stage.

In the Adventurer’s Guild, which used self-burning flames and their byproducts as rank names, I remembered hearing that from Flint rank onward, you had to take a separate test to be promoted.

“Promotion from Flint rank to Firewood rank isn’t that difficult. You just need to complete a request designated by the guild master of each city.”

“A designated request…”

In some cases, renowned adventurers received named requests specifically for them.

Especially when mercenary groups or armies couldn’t move rashly but powerful force was needed.

“Can I receive a designated request right now?”

“Of course. You just need to choose a suitable one from the request board.”

“Ah… from the board…”

I had expected the guild master to issue a request specifically for me, so I couldn’t hide my disappointment when told I just needed to pick something suitable from the board.

But what could I do?

The guild master was probably skilled enough to subdue a youngster like me in a single move, so I had to trust the judgment of the strong.

I decided to wait inside the guild until the guild master chose a request for me, so I sat down on a nearby sofa and sprawled out, taking in the sights of the guild.

While there might be guild-wide policies, the details varied quite a bit, but the overall atmosphere wasn’t much different from the guilds in Parcival and Rascal.

“Hmm… wait…”

As I looked around, I noticed something strange.

It was the small number of adventurers—despite it being early morning, there were only about thirty adventurers including myself.

Normally, an adventurer’s guild in such a large city should be bustling with people…

It could just be today, but I was too curious, so I called over a guild employee who was standing with a bored expression.

“Do you need something?”

“Is it… always this empty?”

To my question, he answered as if it were a familiar inquiry.

“There are many mages in this Ortus. And that means they can solve most problems themselves. They are… spellcasters, after all.”

“I see…”

Indeed, when mages gather, they can move mountains and change river courses. In this Ortus, where three magic towers for training mages were gathered, there wasn’t much need for adventurers.

Mages could cultivate most magical reagents themselves, and being mages, they could handle dangerous tasks quite well.

“But seeing quite a few adventurers here, I guess there’s still some work?”

“Well, most of it is doing odd jobs for mages, but at least the work never dries up. That’s one advantage. The adventurers in Ortus are essentially more like janitors for mages than actual adventurers.”

“Janitors…”

Having worked as a janitor myself when I was younger, I knew well how poorly they were treated.

Adventurers being treated like janitors…

It seemed like setting a goal to reach Coal rank in this city might have been a mistake.

“But, adventurer sir.”

“Yes?”

“You seem quite young, which might actually get you some decent work.”

“Oh? Why?”

It wasn’t often that being young was an advantage.

It was common sense that mages grew stronger with experience, so how would my youth be beneficial?

“Well… young female mages often stay among themselves and tend to be ignorant about men.”

“…Am I supposed to be a sex education textbook?”

“Well, that could be part of it, but girls that age all think about the same things, don’t they? They catch young adventurers and make them their boyfriends for days or even months, showing them off to their friends.”

“I see.”

Now I understood why being young was important.

They couldn’t exactly show off an adventurer who looked like their father or uncle as a boyfriend.

…Should I be happy about this?

As I was pondering this, I heard someone calling me from afar.

“Mr. Viktor! The guild master is calling for you!”

*

“So, you’re Viktor. I’ve heard about you. You made quite a splash in Rascal.”

The rumors have spread this far already…

I didn’t particularly plan to hide my abilities, but the fact that he brought up the incident in Rascal suggested he had something unusual in mind for me.

“Do you have a request for me?”

“Direct as I’ve heard. Good. I’d like you to give a lecture at one of the three magic towers—the Spell School tower.”

“A lecture at the Spell tower?”

I blinked.

It was surprising enough to enter a magic tower, but for me, a battler, to give a lecture there?

Seeing my expression that clearly said “What nonsense are you talking about?”, the guild master began to elaborate.

“Ah, I’m not asking you to teach magic. Spellcasters are physically weak, as you probably know?”

“More or less.”

Battlers like me strengthen themselves through aura, but aura and magical power seem to be opposites.

Scientists say that magical power affects hormone secretion, decreasing physical function while enhancing intelligence, while aura spreads throughout the body to strengthen it physically.

That’s why spellcasters could never have better physical capabilities than ordinary people, no matter how hard they tried.

To give you an idea of how weak they are, even mages who have trained their entire lives are about on par with ordinary women in arm wrestling.

“…So. Spellcasters are skilled at subduing enemies from a distance, but they’re practically useless in close combat. That’s why I’d like you to go in as an instructor and training dummy.”

“…Training dummy?”

When I said that, the guild master cleared his throat and began to make excuses.

“You’ll… probably get hit by a lot of magic.”

“That doesn’t sound like a good deal at all.”

Just in my recent duel with Evelyn, I would have died without potions, and if Seriya and the other members hadn’t distracted her, I would have died as well.

And now he’s saying I’ll get hit by ‘a lot’ of magic? How is that any different from saying “You’ll experience death many times”?

“In return, though it might not be enough… if you complete this request, I’ll promote you not to Firewood rank but directly to Coal rank.”

“A double promotion… seems like special treatment.”

“Because you’re worth it.”

The guild master said that and gave me more detailed information.

“My language was a bit harsh, but it’s not that difficult. The mages are all beginners, and an experienced mage will assist you.”

“By experienced mage, you mean…?”

“Someone skilled enough to serve as an assistant to the tower master… does that make sense?”

I nodded, and then asked him one final question.

“Just to be safe, the students I’ll be teaching have decent personalities, right?”

And I watched as the guild master’s eyes, nose, and mouth contracted, seeing just how awkward someone with nothing to say could become.