The Mercenary Order (2)
Following the instructions of the man he had just met, Sora found himself in front of a building that was indeed larger than the others but whose cleanliness left much to be desired.
"So this is the Mercenaries' Order?
It’s not any better maintained than the other buildings; it’s just bigger.
Oh, the doors are open, so I guess that means I can go in."
After stepping through the two large open doors, Sora walked towards the back of the building, where a desk with several people seated behind it was located.
"Hello, this is the Mercenaries' Order, right?"
"Yes, that’s correct. Can I help you?"
Addressing the people behind the desk, it was a young woman who answered him.
"I’d like to know how I can make some money."
"By finding a job, like everyone else."
"Oh, I think you misunderstood my question. I want to know how I can make money without having a full-time job."
"Excuse me, but are you doing this on purpose?"
"Huh?"
"You came here looking to make money without even researching what this place is?"
"Uh… I guess so."
"People come to this place primarily to earn money."
"Oh, so you can help me earn money? How can I do that?"
"Hold on, one step at a time. Before you can even think about earning money, you first need to register."
"Register? What’s the purpose of that?"
"By registering, you’ll be able to take on the missions posted on the board at the entrance of the Order."
"Oh, I see. And by completing those missions, I’ll earn money."
"Exactly. So, do you want to sign up?"
"Yes, of course, that’s why I came here."
The young woman then pulled out a sheet of paper filled with personal information fields. Some lines looked very similar to registration forms found on Earth, but others, like the one asking for the USHI Level, were completely unknown to Sora.
"Uh, excuse me, but what am I supposed to put for ‘USHI Level’?"
"It’s written clearly. You need to indicate your current level of mastery over USHI."
'System0, what should I put in this field?'
[ System0 Cannot Process the Climber’s Request ]
"Wait, you won’t even tell me why?
Damn, I’ll have to make something up."
"Uh, I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t know my level."
"Oh, no problem. I can measure it for you here if you’d like."
The young woman took out a strange purple stone along with a floating screen hovering above it.
"Place your thumb on it and press firmly."
"And, what’s the minimum score needed to be accepted?"
"Normally, we accept anyone with a minimum score of 20, which is very low even for this floor."
"I might be intruding, but what’s the lowest score of someone in this establishment?"
"If I remember correctly, it’s 49."
"Oh, I see. And yours, where does it stand?"
"I see you’re interested. I’m ranked Copper, so my score is much higher. If you want, I can show you an example right now."
"I’d love that."
The young woman placed her thumb on the stone, and immediately, the screen lit up as numbers started spinning above it.
365
"Oh, I improved again."
"Wow, that’s huge."
"Oh no, not really. With my current level, I can barely make it to Floor -4."
"Really? Are the people on Floor -4 that strong?"
"No, not at all, it’s just that we’re very weak. But you really don’t know anything about this world. No one asks questions like that."
"Yeah, I figured as much. But let’s just say I have a memory gap and barely remember anything about this world."
"Oh, I see. That must be really inconvenient. Anyway, please place your thumb on the reader."
Expecting an extremely low score, Sora pressed his thumb onto the device.
0
"Wait, excuse me, the device must be broken. I’ve never seen it display a score of 0 since I joined the Order."
"Don’t worry. I’m sure that if we redo the test, my score will still be just as low."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, absolutely. In fact, I have to admit, I don’t even know what this ‘USHI’ you mentioned earlier is."
"What? You don’t even remember what USHI is?"
"No, I have no recollection of it. So, if you could explain it to me, I’d really appreciate it."
"Uh, yeah, no problem, I can explain.
Okay, to put it simply, USHI is the energy present in all creatures of this world, whether living or not. This energy is most commonly used to create spells—fire, water, ice, or even lightning. Every human has a specific type they can use in particular. Some of them, especially those who want to become stronger or simply explore the world, decide to climb the Tower. These individuals are called Climbers."
"And you, what type of USHI do you control?"
"For me, it’s water."
"Then why don’t you want to climb the Tower as well?"
"Because I’m not strong enough for that, and also because I don’t want to become the Tower King."
"The Tower King?"
"Sorry, but I don’t have time to explain everything. Let’s finish this paperwork quickly so you can take on your first mission."
"Oh, of course."
With the young woman’s help, Sora completed the registration form and then walked over to the mission board.
"Well, I learned a lot. I’m glad I came here.
System0, can you use the Collector’s Catalogue on this woman, please?"
[ Affirmative ]
[ COLLECTOR’S CATALOGUE ]
[ - Name: Emma VARASKY ]
[ - Age: 28 years ]
[ - Sex: Female ]
[ - Status: 90% ( *** HP ) ]
[ ABILITIES ]
[ - Strength: *** ]
[ - Intelligence: *** ]
[ - Agility: *** ]
[ - Speed: *** ]
[ - Vitality: *** ]
[ - Magic: 3.65 ]
[ - Magic Resistance: *** ]
[ SKILLS ]
[ - *** ]
[ - *** ]
[ - *** ]
[ - *** ]
"Damn, just her magic level alone is four times higher than that of the Lapenard.
Oh, and I guess it’s because I’m too weak that I can’t see the rest of her information?"
[ Affirmative ]
"Well, instead of complaining about other people’s levels, I should focus on the missions in front of me.
They’re sorted by rank.
I’m in the Leather class, so I should stick to the missions in that section."
…
"Uh, why are there only three missions here, while the other ranks have dozens?
And more importantly, the rewards are low, and the tasks are ridiculously easy.
Well, might as well take the first one."
Mission Title: Plant Hunt
Mission Objective: Kill 20 Assassin's Nettles
Reward: 2 Leather Coins
"Oh, this doesn’t seem too difficult.
Alright, let’s go. I found my first mission!"