Chapter 15 - And the Crowd Goes Wild

I stood in the middle of the arena, basking in my victory amidst the cheers erupting all around as the crowd went wild, confetti shooting all around the stadium as I soaked in the applause...isl not what happened following my victory.

Nope, the crowd remained mostly silent, a few smatterings of quiet applause ringing out from some sections of the audience, but the majority were stunned silent, not making any noise whatsoever.

Out of all the Advanced Class Magic users that were in the tournament, not to mention the Arcane Class Magic user I just beat, I was probably the last person anyone expected to win the tournament.

There's a lot of betting on these fights, if by chance someone put a bet on me, that person just became filthy rich.

I'd have like to bet on myself, and I most definitely would have if I could, but unfortunately, the contestants aren't allowed to do so.

Oh, well, whatever, it's not like I've got all that much left anyway, the return wouldn't have been particularly substantial.

The ref just announced my victory, which didn't raise the volume of the crowd all that much. I was then told to wait in the arena for a while longer after being handed a Healing Potion, as some of the organizer staff showed up and took Aura away to get treated for her injuries, who had lost consciousness.

I then proceeded to pick up my weapons that were strewn across the arena, my nunchucks, the broken katana and a dagger. Wonder if the blacksmiths of this world are capable of repairing a katana? Guess I'll have to find out later.

I have to say, I'm enjoying the stunned silence in the crowd, I think this might be even better than cheers. I did this, I stunned a few hundred people into complete silence...yeah, that's pretty fucking awesome if you ask me.

Gotta say, despite how close the final was, this tournament went pretty well for me. I used a lot less bullets than I'd anticipated I would and prepared for, so that's great.

And, of course, most notably, I won the competition, and in doing so, I've guaranteed myself a place in the Astaroth Guild.

I then glanced up as I finished picking up my weapons and putting them back in my Item Box, as I heard footsteps approaching.

Oh, I think that's the Guildmaster of the Astaroth Guild, the guy who runs the place.

He had vertically black and white striped short, neat hair, dark gray eyes, with a tall and athletic build and a fair complexion. He had a medium-length, thick beard that was also black and white striped, and he was missing his right arm. His left leg seems to be injured too, he was using a walking stick and had a slight limp.

He had a kinda sour look on his face as he stepped onto the arena and approached me, not looking particularly pleased with the outcome of the competition...heh, looks like he was really hoping that I wouldn't win this tournament.

But since I did, he has no choice but to let me in. And if he comes up with some bullshit reason to deny me that, I'll kill him.

"Congratulations to you, Jaedfern Meraled, as the victor of the competition! With this, you have been accepted into the Astaroth Guild, made official by this Guild Card! Allow me to welcome you on board!" He declared in a loud, positive tone as he handed me a card.

Cool, it's got my name on it. Also, what a fake smile he's plastered onto his face...

"Thank you, I appreciate it. So, why don't you tell me how you really feel?" I goaded him with a smirk.

"Wha-...I, er, whatever do you mean?" He responded, playing dumb.

Heh.

I'm loving his expression right now.

Probably shouldn't push my luck though, so I'll leave it at that. Yeah...I'm feeling pretty damn good about myself right now...

...

...

"You seem awfully chipper for someone who's completely broke," Remarked Arkiela, as I strolled through the streets.

"Yeah, well, that's about to change. It's time for my first Quest as an Adventurer, here's hoping I find something good," I replied optimistically.

"So, does that mean you've switched from being a mercenary to an Adventurer?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Huh? Of course not, you stupid bitch. The label really doesn't matter to me either way, and that aside, I don't see any reason why the two would be mutually exclusive," I responded with a shrug.

"Jeez, no need to be a dick about it, shithead."

"I disrespectfully disagree."

A couple of days have passed since the end of the tournament, today's the 5th of December, 1029. After the tournament, I was pretty damn exhausted, so I headed straight back to the inn, buying some cheap but filling food on the way, ate and then slept.

I then proceeded to take yesterday off as well. Late last evening, when I went out to get some dinner, I saw newspapers with the headline reporting the names of all the competitors from the tournament who were recruited into a Guild.

Not too surprisingly, the Astaroth Guild had picked Aura, along with a number of the others who had participated in the tournament. Actually, the number of the participants who had been picked was surprisingly high this year, when compared to previous years.

Not all of those who got picked were taken by the Astaroth Guild, some were approached and recruited by other Guilds.

Disappointingly, the Astaroth Guild hadn't picked Declaque Snare, the cat guy with the Trap Magic I fought in the semi final, though he was picked by a different Guild, so he's officially become an Adventurer too.

Apparently, the Astaroth Guild had also picked a couple of new members from the leftover participants of the entrance exams held by the other Guilds in the other cities here in Septen.

Which Guild you're picked by is a pretty relevant matter...while Adventurers can take on Quests from any of the Guilds, not just the one they're officially registered with, there are disadvantages in doing so.

When taking on a Quest from another Guild, that Guild will take a small percentage of the reward if the Quest is completed successfully that the Adventurer would normally be fully entitled to, an Adventurer can only get the full stipulated reward if it's a Quest from the Guild they're officially registered with.

Another thing, only the registered Guild can raise an Adventurer's rank. No matter how good the performance, a Guild other than the one they're registered with can't raise an Adventurer's rank.

So, to put it simply, it's a lot more beneficial to take on Quests from the Guild you belong to.

New Adventurers all start off at C-Rank, which can be raised at the discretion of the Guildmaster, though it's rare that someone is ranked up when their performance and results aren't good enough to justify being ranked up.

Of course, there are some who would've raised their rank through bribes or influence, but people like that don't last long, they're forced to take on Quests beyond their capabilities in order to justify the promotion and end up dead.

So, for the most part, while there may be some exceptions, the majority of Adventurers are properly ranked based on their ability level and performance.

C is the lowest Adventurer rank, followed by B, A and then the highest rank of S. I suspect I'm going to have to work harder than most to ensure that I rank up, since a lot of the Adventurers, and the Guildmaster himself, very clearly consider me an eyesore.

Normally I wouldn't give two shits about something like that, but the higher your rank, the larger the range of Quests you're given access to, not to mention that higher ranked Quests have better rewards, so it's crucial that I rank up as soon as possible.

And today, I'll be taking on my very first Quest.

I ran out of money after buying dinner last night, so I need to complete a job and get paid if I don't want to be kicked out of the inn I'm staying at.

Would've been nice if the winner of the entrance exam tournament received a cash prize or something as a bonus, but guess that was too much to hope for.

Anyway, as I arrived at the Guild, I pushed open the doors and stepped inside, a few gazes lingering on me as I entered and walked towards the reception desk, ignoring the stares.

Hm, I don't see Aura anywhere. I wonder if she's holding a grudge over the fact that I defeated her?

Considering her attitude and personality as I've assessed it, she doesn't seem like the type to hold an unjustified grudge like that, but then, I don't really know her all that particularly well, at least not yet, so you never know.

Oh, well, she isn't here, so I'll worry about that later. For right now, I should focus on finding the best paying job I can get, earn some money and then consider my options afterwards.

"Hi, welcome back to the Astaroth Guild. It's nice to see you again, congratulations on winning the tournament. You put on a pretty impressive showing, Mr Jaedfern Meraled," The receptionist greeted me with a friendly smile.

Oh, it's the cat girl receptionist I met when I came here to register for the tournament a little over a month ago, the one who messed up by revealing my Skill to everyone.

I should respond in a friendly tone, it'll be beneficial to earn the favor of the staff here in the long run.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. And please, feel free to call me Jade, Miss, uh...," I prompted her for an introduction politely.

"Oh, my apologies, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sifa Kruco," She replied with a smile.

Huh, it's only been a month and she's gotten a lot more professional. That's pretty impressive...yes, it should definitely be worth the effort building a good rapport with her. Plus, you know, she's pretty cute, that's a pretty solid bonus.

She looked about five or so years older than me, she had long, straight red and black striped hair like a tiger's fur pattern, sharp black eyes with a fair complexion, was of an average height with a slender body that had curves in all the right places. Additional bonus, she wore glasses, with a red, rectangular frame.

"Got it, Miss Kruco-..."

"Oh, you can just call me Sifa," She interjected with a slight laugh.

"Alright, Sifa it is, then. I'd like to take on a Quest, whatever pays the most that's available to my current rank, I-...," I requested, before trailing off as the doors to the Guild hall suddenly swung open and several individuals wearing dark blue robes stepped inside.

Oh, those are the Knights. Wonder what brings them here? Knights and Adventurers usually don't directly interact with each other all that much, after all.

"Pardon the sudden intrusion, but there's a bit of an emergency situation. A dangerous, powerful criminal has appeared near the city, we've cornered him in a cave on the outskirts of the city, but we're lacking the necessary manpower to apprehend or eliminate him. We would like to request the assistance of volunteers to help us," One of them remarked in a loud, clear voice.

Volunteering means no pay, right? Yeah, count me out.

"Excuse me, but unfortunately, our S-Ranks and many of our A-Ranks are currently unavailable. To come here and make such a request of us must mean that this criminal is highly dangerous, yes? We cannot allow or authorize our more inexperienced and lower-ranked Adventurers to take on such a dangerous job, especially without compensation," Responded one of the receptionists, approaching the Knights.

"Ah, allow me to correct a misunderstanding, miss...when I said volunteers, I did not mean that we wouldn't compensate those who choose to volunteer. Let's see...yes, how about 25,000 Erons for each volunteer once the job is complete?" Suggested the Knight after a brief pause.

Oh? That's enough money to last me well over a week quite comfortably, and it's a lot more than I could get in any C-Rank Quests.

"I'd like to volunteer for this," I called out, before anyone else could respond.

"Y-yeah, me too!"

"You can count me in as well!"

"If all of us go, this should be a simple task, not to mention easy money."

"Hell, yeah! Let's do this!"

Huh, damn near everyone is volunteering now.

"E-er, hold on...I hate to burst your bubble, but we only need about fifteen volunteers. In fact, that's the maximum number we can afford to pay 25,000 Erons each," The Knight informed everyone sheepishly, a subdued silence falling over the Guild hall.

If I were them, I'd have offered maybe 10,000 Erons, that way they could afford to recruit and pay two and a half times the number of volunteers that they can currently afford. Of course, now that they've set the reward at 25,000 Erons, it probably wouldn't go too well if they reduced that amount by a significant proportion.

"Well, that sucks."

"Yeah, just when I got my hopes up too..."

"Hello, disappointment, my old friend."

Wait, what?

"Okay, how about this...we'll take on the fifteen highest ranked individuals among those who are present and are willing to assist us," Decided the Knight, after mulling it over with a nervous look on his face.

Well, guess that rules me out. Oh, well, it is what it is. No need to get too greedy, I'll just settle for whatever Quest available to me is equal parts easy and well-paying, so-...

"Excuse me, sir, but I'd like to make a suggestion," One of the other Knights approached the one who was doing all the talking, glancing at me as he added in a whisper, though still loud enough for most everyone to hear him, "The young man with the green stripes in his hair, he won the entrance exam tournament, he used some rather unusual and strange, but powerful, weapons. We may need something outside the norm to take down that man, so I believe we should include him."

"What? You've gotta be kidding, he doesn't even have any Magic!"

"Yeah, he only won the competition because his weapons tricked his opponents into underestimating him!"

Hey, that's on them, not me.

"That's right, he's just a no good coward, he's got nothing but cheap tricks at his disposal!"

Please, my cheap tricks can kill you in an instant. Keep talking and I'll do just that, assholes.

"H-huh? How did they all hear what I said?" Stuttered the Knight in bewilderment.

"You idiot...learn to keep your voice down, who the hell whispers that loudly?" Sighed the other Knight in exasperation, before glancing at me, "You were the first to volunteer, I take it that means you're confident that you can be of assistance, yes?"

"I won't make any guarantees, but yeah, I think I should prove to be quite useful. Since I'm being paid, I'll do what's required of me to ensure I've earned that pay, or at least try," I responded with a shrug.

"Oh? That's a rather grounded answer, especially for someone who just emerged as the victor of a Guild entrance exam tournament."

Yeah, no, I'm not about to set off a death flag for myself.

"I mean, I could declare that I'd accomplish so and so if you recruit me for this job, but I have a distaste for such premature declarations. I'd much rather set expectations low and then shatter those expectations, instead of setting them too high and falling short," I stated bluntly, earning me several disapproving looks from some of the Adventurers and the Knights.

I mean, come on...except for the semi final and final, every single one of my opponents in the tournament arrogantly went on about how they'd beat me only to get completely demolished by me.

They must've felt real foolish afterwards...well, the one that I spared, anyway.

"Hm...alright, then, I've decided. You're in," He declared with a nod as he met my gaze.

Sweet.

I'm being hired for a job to kill a specific target, it's just like old times...ahh, how nostalgic, it sure has been a while. For the first time in the eight years since I reincarnated into this world, I finally feel like a mercenary again...well, sort of.

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