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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘As the Mercenary Guild is quite large, there are many expedition requests as well.’
It was the most suitable place to seize many of the opportunities I knew about.
At the same time, it was also where I had operated in the past.
I had come here after hearing rumors that there was a lot of work.
It was also the place where I, who had just escaped from slavery and was aiming for a brief freedom, had fallen into the abyss.
‘Come to think of it, it’s the time when that guy was most active.’
I had almost forgotten because I experienced so many terrible things later in life, but he was one of the top-ranking humans among those who had twisted my life.
‘If I run into him… I’ll have to deal with him.’
If he hadn’t grown too big yet, it should be quite possible.
In this life, my life wouldn’t fall into the abyss because of him.
In other words, the grudge from my previous life was essentially nonexistent, but…
‘If there’s revenge I can take, I should take it.’
It would just be to satisfy my feelings.
And considering his personality, he was bound to clash with me.
There was no need to rush.
“Halt!”
The guards at the castle gate who spotted us stopped us.
Although it was a viscount’s territory, it bordered the Monster Forest and the monster distribution in the area was quite strong, so it was much better defended than the average viscount’s territory.
‘The lord has five formal knights under him and even a small standing army.’
Some of the knights were even former mercenaries who had distinguished themselves, making this a territory where mercenaries were very active.
It wasn’t a level to be dismissed as a frontier viscount.
Even in the capital, quite a few people would know of the Doriem Viscounty.
“I haven’t seen you before. Mercenaries?”
“We’ve come to become mercenaries. We heard there’s a lot of work here.”
“Then you’re not mercenaries yet. Show your identity tokens.”
My companions and I immediately presented the identity tokens we had prepared, and after a cursory check, he asked Baldur.
“Why aren’t you showing your identity token?”
“He’s my slave.”
“Slave?”
Baldur showed the slave’s seal, and the guard’s expression changed slightly to surprise.
“A magic inscription?”
“Yes. He’s capable of using mana. I have the ‘whip’ with me.”
“…I see.”
The guard’s expression changed at the mention of being able to use mana.
He seemed to have realized we weren’t ordinary people.
“Now that I look closely, you’re quite well-equipped. With those worn-out robes, I thought you were vagrants…”
“We’ll do our part.”
“Hmm… You have a staff. A magician?”
“A warlock.”
The guard’s face hardened.
The hand gripping his spear visibly tightened.
“…A warlock?”
“Yes. A necromancer. 4th class.”
“4th class… You’ve passed the standard then.”
The guard’s face was filled with undisguised disgust.
Seeing that expression, Athena frowned, but I raised my hand as if to tell her not to intervene.
“Tch. Don’t cause any trouble inside. Doriem has a standing army, and above that, five knights protect it. If you act recklessly, you won’t be able to keep your life. Maintain that obedient attitude you’re showing now.”
“Of course. I have no intention of causing trouble.”
“I’ll assign you a guide. They’ll lead you to the Mercenary Guild.”
“Juterus!”
At the guard’s call, a somewhat naive-looking man appeared.
“Guide these people to the Mercenary Guild.”
“M-me, sir?”
“Do as you’re told!”
“Y-yes, sir!”
He didn’t seem to be a soldier, but rather someone who did various odd jobs.
“P-please follow me.”
“Sure.”
‘This is a new feeling.’
Since becoming a warlock, I had never operated outside.
I had always been confined to my master’s dungeon.
So this was the first time I was treated this way just for being a warlock.
It was something I had prepared for, and I was used to such treatment even when I wasn’t a warlock, so I didn’t feel any particular emotional disturbance.
‘I’ve seen other warlocks treated this way many times too.’
Again, it was something I was fully prepared for.
Having heard that I was a warlock, the man called Juterus sent fearful glances while hurrying his steps.
As we passed through the castle gate, Athena whispered softly.
“Warlocks are certainly disliked. But it’s unexpected. Even though they dislike us so much, they still let us in easily.”
“Because we said we’d become mercenaries.”
“Why is that?”
“Mercenaries can be conscripted in emergencies.”
Of course, in case of invasion, they needed to be formally hired.
Mobilization only happened when the castle was under attack to the point of danger.
Usually, they just posted requests.
If they were conscripted too often, there wouldn’t be any mercenaries operating in Doriem.
‘It means that regardless of one’s past, once you become a mercenary, you’re beneficial to the territory.’
That’s why identity checks were almost a formality.
‘Besides, even if four people went berserk, there are so many combatants inside that they could be subdued easily.’
Numerous mercenaries and over thirty standing army soldiers.
On top of that, five regular knights.
Including their retainers… even if the four of us went berserk, they could subdue us easily.
“So that’s why they assigned a guide. Because we could lie about becoming mercenaries.”
“That’s right. If we run away from here or attack the guide, we immediately become wanted criminals.”
“…That’s why the guide was afraid?”
Even if we became wanted later, he would already be dead or injured.
Especially since I was a warlock, they didn’t know when I might snap.
“It’s extreme. They hate us, but they’re also afraid…”
“It’s usually like this. Just get used to it.”
“I feel bad seeing you disrespected like this…”
“Once we prove our abilities, no one will say such things to our faces.”
“…But they’ll say it behind our backs?”
“Of course they will.”
If we showed our strength, they might cower in front of us, but behind our backs, most of them would spit and curse like that guard did earlier.
Kayla, already knowing the reality of warlocks, showed no particular reaction, and Baldur, not being as close to me as Athena or Kayla yet, seemed less affected.
Of course, neither of them had pleasant expressions.
Kayla, though she knew, seemed angered to see me directly treated this way, and Baldur, while not as close to me as the other two, had developed some positive feelings towards me as I had never treated him as a slave and had treated him quite well.
“H-here it is. You can go inside. If you succeed in registering, please show me your badge.”
“Sure. Would you like to come in with us?”
“N-no, that’s fine.”
Leaving the man who actively refused behind, we entered the Mercenary Guild.
Befitting a thriving Mercenary Guild, it was quite a large building with many people coming and going.
Athena looked around quite curiously.
“There are so many people… Are they all mercenaries?”
“There are trainees, guild staff, and clients too, but yes, most of them are.”
“It’s fascinating.”
“It means there are a lot of requests too.”
For reference, there was also a branch of the Magic Tower here.
It was not for nothing that it was a territory known even in the capital.
Fortunately, there weren’t many people at the reception desk, so our turn came quickly.
“What brings you here?”
The receptionist was a burly middle-aged man, and judging by the unnatural movement of one of his arms, he seemed to be a retired mercenary.
Of course, it was a familiar face.
After all, I had once operated here.
He was indeed a mercenary who had retired due to injury.
‘Is it Servisso? Lucky.’
He was a relatively decent person with quick judgment.
He was also quite kind.
“We’ve come to register as mercenaries.”
“Register as mercenaries? That’s unusual. I haven’t seen your faces before…”
“We just arrived today. We heard there’s a lot of work here.”
“Hmm. Weren’t you assigned a guide?”
“He’s waiting outside.”
“…The guide is outside?”
Servisso’s face frowned.
It seemed that wasn’t supposed to happen.
“He seemed afraid because I’m a warlock.”
“…Did you say warlock?”
“We don’t recommend warlocks below 4th class to join.”
“I’m 4th class.”
“…I see. Then we have to accept you.”
Although his face hardened at the mention of warlock, he didn’t show it easily.
It was natural.
The receptionist couldn’t openly be hostile to someone saying they wanted to operate here.
He handed over a few documents and said,
“Please record your name and abilities. Since you said you’re a warlock, I assume you can read and write?”
Since Athena and Baldur couldn’t read or write, Kayla and I filled out the forms for them.
Servisso’s face hardened as he saw the completed documents.
His face, alternating between looking at us and the documents, was full of disbelief and shock.
“Is what’s written here… true?”
“There are no lies.”
“A 4th class warlock… and a necromancer at that, plus one advanced expert, one intermediate expert, and one lower expert…”
If it weren’t for the Wind Dragon’s Fang, we would have written Athena down as lower.
“You all look so young…”
There was no age information in what we submitted, so he could only guess based on appearance.
In this world, the majority of people didn’t know their exact age anyway, and this was especially common among mercenaries.
Moreover, in mercenary society, skill and rank were important, while age was often irrelevant, making it even more so.
“…Well, it will be revealed in the verification process anyway, so I’ll process it as is.”
“Thank you.”
“We assess skills through sparring matches. Is that alright?”
He said that with this level of skill, everyone would have to face advanced mercenaries.
Of course, even among advanced mercenaries, there were significant differences in skill.
Among intermediate mercenaries, skill differences were usually due to the completeness of equipment and proficiency in its use, innate or trained physical abilities, and experience.
However, among advanced mercenaries, the skill differences were often due to what was called differences in realm, making them incomparable to intermediate mercenaries.
‘Most advanced mercenaries are mana users, and among them, there are those who can use aura, those who mainly use artifacts, those who use magic, and even those who use divine power.’
While being an advanced mercenary guaranteed a minimum level of skill, there was still significant variation among them.
Just look at magicians.
Magicians, being mana users, were generally advanced mercenaries as long as they weren’t terribly lacking.
As a result, both 4th class and 5th class magicians were advanced mercenaries.
Because of this, even among advanced mercenaries, some developed what was called name value, and some of them were revered as so-called ‘top-tier’.
‘Officially, there’s no such rank as top-tier mercenary.’
In extremely rare cases, when one reached master or 7th class, ranks became meaningless and they were judged to be beyond ranking.
The reason why the Mercenary Guild officially didn’t create ranks above advanced was simple.
‘Once you’re at the level of using mana regularly, pride is no ordinary thing, and if they’re dissatisfied with their rank, it often becomes unmanageable.’
That was why there were only four officially created ranks: the hopeless trainee, the lower rank who could at least pull their own weight, the intermediate rank who had proper equipment and sufficient experience to be treated as elite, and the advanced rank who used mana and whom the Mercenary Guild didn’t judge carelessly.
That was why all of us were being judged as advanced.
‘In fact, the sparring is just to confirm if we’re mana users, so it’s not really done properly.’
They would check for minimum skill, but it probably wouldn’t get intense.
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