The Yellow Revelation
The heavy smoker and the grim reaper of the wheat field (12).
Thump thump thump! Ta-da! Yellow! The color of a yellow monkey, an Asian.
“Pfft?! Cough, cough!” Franc choked upon seeing the color of the Pressure Stone.
The receptionist who had been about to explain widened her eyes. “Goodness.”
Even I felt inwardly flustered. According to the receptionist, indigo to blue indicated Bronze Class level. So green to yellow must mean Silver Class, right? Probably.
I had heard that since the Pressure Stone couldn’t withstand pressure beyond red, adventurers who exceeded Gold Class used different measurement methods. That meant my physical abilities in Beast Regression state were at Silver Class level. Insanely surprising.
Well, Vector Man Bear’s strength could easily achieve that much, but feeling it firsthand felt different. At this level, it wasn’t just ordinary bear-level power. I hadn’t tested it, but maybe I could smash rocks. At the very least, Bronze Class subjugation requests would be simple to handle.
‘Still, no room for arrogance.’
Silver Class adventurers could walk around Sargadis with their shoulders squared. But there were plenty of people stronger than me in this world. Just yesterday I’d been swaggering around beating goraani to death when Beast Regression wore off and nearly got wrecked.
Stare—. I felt Franc’s silent gaze on me. Her mouth twitched while her heart raced, clearly holding back with visible effort.
“Heh heh.”
That look made the macho Nord inside me swell with pride. A bit unseemly, but according to macho Nord, a girlfriend’s admiring gaze brings a man joy comparable to most drugs. Not my opinion. Definitely not.
“Is something the matter?” the receptionist asked, blinking.
I’d suddenly choked and started laughing; she must have found it odd.
“No. It’s nothing. More importantly, I’d like to ask about the promotion exam.” I cleared my throat and steered the conversation back.
Asking for the stone back now would be awkward. I needed to stall until its color returned.
“The exam content is simple. Our guild judges that anyone who completes three Bronze Class requests and succeeds in at least two is capable of performing at a higher rank.”
What kind of best-of-three promotion match was this? It felt ridiculous, but it was a pretty decent method.
“What happens if I fail?”
“You can try again after six months. Ah, and of course, you’ll receive the request reward if you succeed.”
“Six months…” Franc murmured softly.
She must think it was long. In twenty-first-century Korea, aside from major exams like the college entrance test, most things happened once every few months, so six months was indeed long.
“The two of you may take the exam together. Quite a few adventurers dislike forming parties with people taking the promotion exam.”
“They’re picky about their companions. I understand.”
The thought of what right do these Bronze scrubs have crossed my mind, but when lives were on the line, caution was inevitable. From Bronze onward, there were many subjugation requests. Even though Audumla focused mainly on ruin exploration, that remained unchanged.
“Will you take the promotion exam right away?”
“Do we have to start today?”
“No. When you take the exam is entirely up to you. There are even people who meet the promotion requirements but choose to stay at their current rank.”
I could relate to the receptionist’s words. Doing adventurer work occasionally made you realize your limits. It took courage to risk your life for higher pay.
“Franc. Should we hold off on the promotion exam for now?”
“Yeah. If we fail, we have to wait six months, so let’s prepare properly and take it later.”
We agreed to postpone the exam. Some people even put out water the night before to pray for passing, so charging in without preparation would be reckless.
“Receptionist, we’ll take the exam later.”
“Understood. Once you’ve made up your mind, come to the reception desk and let us know. We’ll provide a request selected by the guild at that time.”
“Got it. Have a good day.”
We greeted the receptionist and stepped outside. The moment we left, Franc glanced around at the passersby before sticking close to me.
“Nord! What was that just now?! Yellow?! It was yellow, right?!”
“Heh heh. I was surprised too. Looks like Beast Regression boosts my strength several times over.”
From blue to yellow. A two-rank jump. If I used Beast Regression well, I could protect Franc even if a Silver Class killer suddenly appeared. There was still some uncertainty on the technique side, but since my defense also increased, it would probably be fine.
“You’re already at the upper end of Bronze normally, so the promotion exam should be doable.”
“Bronze requests pay more too! We won’t have to worry as much about inn fees!” Franc said with an expectant face.
Inn. Come to think of it, we needed to discuss that too.
“Franc. What about our inn? Should I move to Beynya’s place?”
Since going back and forth between two inns was a waste of time, we had planned to consolidate into one. The topic had come up nicely, so we might as well decide now. We were going to stay at an inn starting today anyway.
“Hmm… I wonder. Mutarat’s Children is two copper per night. How much is the place you stay at?”
“Three copper. Storage access, stable, free breakfast. The owner looks scary but the food is delicious. Not as good as your cooking, though.”
“Thanks for the compliment.” Franc grinned widely and rested her chin on her chest as usual.
“Three copper… It seems a bit expensive, but since there’s storage, security is good, right? Almost no petty thieves.”
“That’s what I heard.”
If something stored in the storage was stolen, the guards would get involved. That was why inns with storage had good security—guards paid extra attention to those places. Thanks to that, amateur thieves were too scared to target them. Proper professionals were another matter, but why would they bother with ordinary inns? Unless the target was carrying ancient relics or something.
“Hmmmm…”
“Having trouble deciding? Then let’s just stay a few days first. It’s morning, so if we pay the inn fee we’ll get free breakfast too. If it doesn’t suit you, we can move.”
I felt a bit guilty about leaving Dorka after all he’d done for me, but what could I do? Men were creatures who’d hand over their liver and gallbladder for the woman they liked. He’d surely understand.
“Yeah. That sounds good. The room… we’ll share one, right?”
Her gaze held a subtle expectation. I nodded so vigorously my head made a whooshing sound.
“Of course. Ah, it’s not because I have ulterior motives or anything? I just want to save money, so don’t misunderstand.”
“Hehe. If I’m not careful, I won’t be able to sleep at night.”
“I’ll hold back at just groping your chest. Ah, our inn is this way.”
We walked for a while and arrived at the familiar Spring’s Shelter.
Murmur murmur. There were many people since it was morning. I was nocturnal and rarely out during morning hours, but it still felt like there were more people than usual.
‘Traveling merchants?’
The increased crowd’s attire suggested as much. Merchants who had come to legally squeeze money from citizens who would soon have spare cash from the harvest. Such people were crowding the inn.
“Oh. The kid’s back.” Dorka, who had been carrying food, recognized me and spoke. I thought he’d be busy, but he seemed more relaxed than expected.
“What’s this? The merchants are just sitting around killing time. For a second I thought the inn owner had changed while I was gone and business had picked up.”
The gathered people hadn’t placed separate orders, which explained the leisure. Hearing my words, Dorka tapped his own head with the serving tray and laughed.
“Keh keh. During this season, guests usually flock to our inn. If you’d been even a few days later, there might not have been any rooms left.”
“Would you really kick out a regular customer for money? Weren’t you treating me like a sucker before? Is our friendship only this much?”
“You were probably thinking about changing inns before coming here too.”
“How the hell did you know? Get out of my head!”
“I don’t even need to go into your head. I can tell just by looking, you idiot. Is the lady over there the new companion you mentioned?”
Dorka looked at Franc. She flinched and stiffly bowed her head.
“I’m Francesca Aitrynen! Please take care of me!”
“Ah, you’re planning to stay here? Welcome. I welcome any guest who pays well and doesn’t cause trouble.” Dorka answered perfunctorily and immediately looked back at me.
I wondered why he reacted that way, but it seemed he was deliberately keeping his words short in case I got jealous. I trusted Franc so I wouldn’t feel that way, but I appreciated the consideration.
“Like you said, we’re thinking of staying for about a day. But I’m still discussing things with Franc, so we might not stay at your inn anymore. Sorry.” I said it prepared to be cursed at. This was better for my conscience than just disappearing without a word.
“I know. I already said I figured it would be like this from the start.” Yet Dorka replied with an even slyer expression.
“There are no guests who stay at an inn forever. Depending on their earnings, they move or buy their own house. A first-class inn accepts more new guests than those who leave, and makes the ones who left want to come back.”
“That must be tough. Respect.”
“It’s work you can’t do unless you enjoy it.”
Was this his professional pride as an innkeeper? After making a professional remark, Dorka shrugged his shoulders.
“Your companion doesn’t seem to have any luggage. Did you come straight here without stopping at the previous inn?”
“Yeah. Not yet. We’ll decide after staying one night.”
“Got it. The reason you asked about Mutarat’s Children last time was because this lady was staying there, right?”
“You’re right, but you remembered that well.”
“Even my stupid head gets better when I keep using it.” Dorka said, pointing at his own head. The frequent memorization and record-keeping required at an inn had apparently improved his memory.
But to still remember something I’d only asked about in passing… Was this guy’s memory actually better than mine?
“Well, decide after discussing with your companion whether you’ll keep staying at our inn. I won’t force you to stay.”
“That’s the plan. Ah, by the way, Dorka. Can two people stay in one room at your inn?”
Could two people stay in a three-copper-per-night room? If so, most broke adventurers would be doing room-share inn life. Dorka spun the tray and answered.
“There’s a two-person room for five copper a night. Stay there. Breakfast comes for two, but the other services are the same.”
So there were double rooms. Made sense, since many guests traveled in groups. Five copper, huh. That meant saving exactly one copper per day. Some people might prefer paying one more copper for separate rooms.
“The price is ambiguous. Is the room big?”
“Whether it’s big or small is a matter of personal opinion. See it with your own eyes and decide.”
Whoosh— Dorka pulled a key from his pocket and tossed it. I easily caught it and grinned.
“Thanks. And I’m going to mooch breakfast today, so prepare in advance.”
“Sure. What about the luggage you left in storage?”
“No. Sorry to say, but I’m still not sure if we'll definitely stay.”
“Keh keh keh. Half the guys who say that never come back.”
Look at this cocky bastard. I chuckled and gave Dorka a hand wave before heading upstairs with Franc.
“Inn owners all seem to have good personalities.” Franc said as we reached the second floor.
I checked the room number on the key and replied, “Isn’t it the opposite? People without good personalities went bankrupt long ago and disappeared.”
“Ah… What a sad reality.”
“Heh heh. Sargadis isn’t some rural village. Every inn has something to boast about in the competition for guests. Whether it’s price or service.”
We chatted as we found the room and entered. As expected of a five-copper double room, the overall size and interior were better than a single room. There was only one bed, though.
“Franc. How is it? Do you like it?”
“Just a moment.”
After carefully checking the bed, table, and curtains, Franc spoke with satisfaction a moment later. “It’s a nice room. Five copper isn’t a waste.”
“If you like it, that’s all that matters. Let’s stay one night and decide for sure. After eating breakfast too.”
“Yeah. Let’s just put down our bags and go.”
We returned to the first floor, ate the free meal, and spent the night together in the same bed. Since Franc was satisfied, we decided to stay here from now on as well.
“Keh keh. I told you you’d like it.”
“I’ve got nothing to say.” I admitted Dorka’s words while paying the inn fee. Following Gendrick’s advice, I paid daily each morning.
