Sargadis (3): The Pressure Stone

“Unfortunately, it seems it’s time for us to part ways.”

Jorma spoke to us with clear regret after we passed through Sargadis’s main gate and stepped down from the carriage. After racking up more than seventy coppers in sales from us in a single day, it made sense that he hated to see us go. Must have been heartbreaking to lose such perfect suckers.

“I’m heading to another city now, but I hope our paths cross again someday.”

“Same here. I’ll put what I bought from you to good use.”

The fat middle-aged man answered while shouldering a much heavier load than when we’d first met. He’d started with jewelry and ended up emptying his pockets on all sorts of random goods and food, yet he looked genuinely happy about it.

“You take care too, Mr. Nord. An adventurer’s body is his greatest asset.”

“Yeah. And you try not to get killed by bandits outside the city.”

“Hahaha! Guess I don’t have much room to talk, do I?”

After a light handshake with Jorma, we each went our separate ways. The middle-aged men scattered in different directions, and that bastard Semmus had already vanished without so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠much as a goodbye. Typical for a savage mohawk-wearing barbarian—completely clueless about manners right to the end.

I let out a long sigh. Man…

I planned to head straight to the adventurer guild. I’d considered finding an inn first, but the guild might recommend decent places, so I decided to go there directly.

“Excuse me. Could I ask for directions?”

“Hm? Are you a traveler?”

Not wanting to wander around blindly, I stopped a kind-looking older man passing by and asked for help.

“No, not a traveler. I’m here to become an adventurer.”

“An adventurer? Then you’re looking for the guild’s location, I take it?”

“Yes. You’re very sharp. Good thing I asked the smartest-looking person around.”

“Ahem. I do have some education, if I say so myself.”

People in this world were weak to flattery—especially those who weren’t part of the literate class. After my perfectly measured compliment, he cleared his throat and answered in a voice that tried way too hard to sound impressive.

“Well. There are three adventurer guilds in our Sargadis.”

“I’d already heard that much.”

At first I’d wondered why the hell there were so many thug organizations in this other world, but thinking about it, it made sense. People who didn’t even share a common language weren’t going to band together under one roof and play nice. Every adventurer guild was founded for its own power and profit. That was why different kinds existed in every nation and every city.

Most operated like franchises—the main guild setting up branches across the country. It even gave off that slight web-novel hunter vibe.

Before arriving in Sargadis, I had already decided which guild I wanted.

“Where is the Audumla Guild located?”

“Audumla? With so many other guilds to choose from, why that one?”

“Huh? Is there some bad rumor about it?”

The way he said “that one” didn’t sound promising. I’d picked it because it matched exactly what I needed, yet the evaluation seemed pretty harsh. Felt like choosing a company to apply to only to hear shit about it before even getting an interview.

“Bad rumors follow adventurers everywhere. Still, the Audumla Guild is considered relatively lower-tier compared to the other two.”

“Damn.”

Adventurer guilds were directly tied to the safety and daily lives of citizens. To think it had such a poor reputation. It really was the very definition of a struggling small-to-medium enterprise.

“If you’re set on going there, I’d recommend another. The Sekhmet Guild only accepts women, so that’s out. How about the Gilpy Guild?”

The uncle was kind enough to recommend both local and foreign options. I shook my head anyway.

“I’m sorry for wasting your kind explanation, but I’ve already made up my mind.”

“Hmm. If that’s what you want, it’s not my place to interfere.”

The man reached his own conclusion and stopped asking questions. Instead he raised his hand and pointed down the opposite street.

“The Audumla Guild should be… that way. Sorry. It’s not very famous, so I’m not entirely sure of the exact spot.”

“No, thank you. I really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠appreciate the help.”

After thanking the kind uncle, I followed his directions. Would there be an interview or something? I’d never done anything like that back on Earth, yet here I was doing it in another world. Clutching my nervously pounding heart, I headed for the Audumla Guild.

The Audumla Guild was tucked away in a slightly remote corner. It wasn’t in a back alley, but it definitely lacked the bustling energy of the main streets. If even half-rural Sargadis treated it like this, there was no way the building would be neat or flashy. It looked like a relatively large neighborhood general store.

Should I just go somewhere else even now?

I stood in front of the door agonizing for a long time, but after coming all this way, turning back felt too wasteful. With the mindset of at least checking out the atmosphere inside, I stepped through the entrance.

—Lively chatter.

There wasn’t even a proper door, so I simply walked in. The interior was brighter and far busier than I’d expected. The lighting came from proper magic lamps rather than cheap ones, the bulletin board was large, and one side even had a combined bar and restaurant area. The people inside didn’t look dirty and the building itself felt clean, which was a relief. This world was surprisingly advanced in hygiene and other areas compared to its apparent historical period.

Careful not to gawk around like some country bumpkin, I approached the counter. Several adventurers had just left, leaving one window open. I seized the chance and stepped up to it.

“Aah… welcome.”

Is this person a grad student?

Her face looked so exhausted that the thought crossed my mind instantly. She was quite beautiful, but the deathly tired expression—like she’d crawled out of a grave—was eerily identical to Dana after three straight all-nighters. What the hell? Had I somehow returned to Carmine University after a five-day journey?

“What brings you here today? Are you here to register as an adventurer?”

“Huh? Ah, yes. That’s right. How did you know?”

I was surprised again by the half-dead woman’s question. No, seriously—how did she know? Was this some racist assumption that a guy like me wouldn’t have money to post a request at the adventurer guild?

“You’re wearing armor and carrying weapons, and you have luggage on your back.”

“Ah.”

Now that she mentioned it, that was true. I still hadn’t unpacked. Feeling a little awkward, I deliberately cleared my throat.

“Ahem. Yes. I came today to register as an adventurer with the Audumla Guild.”

“Ah~ I see.”

Even though she’d guessed correctly from the start, the receptionist pretended to be surprised. Contrary to her first impression, she had good reactions.

“Then may I have your name?”

“It’s Nord. I haven’t decided on a family name yet. Is that a problem?”

“No, not at all. Could you show me your identification?”

At her request, I pulled out the ID I’d prepared in advance. It wasn’t the emblem that doubled as a university graduation certificate, nor the item proving I was a field scholar. It was a standard citizen’s ID. The card remained valid as long as my degree was maintained—basically a long-term visa.

“Confirmed. This is a valid official citizen ID.”

The receptionist took the wooden plaque, examined it briefly, and handed it back.

“Our Audumla Guild’s primary focus is the discovery and exploration of ruins. You’re aware of that, correct?”

“Yes. I heard you also handle monster subjugation requests, but you place greater emphasis on ruin exploration.”

That was exactly why I had chosen the Audumla Guild. To balance my scholarly duties, joining a guild where ruin exploration was the main focus was the most practical choice. If I failed to produce results for too long, my master’s degree would be at risk. They wouldn’t revoke it outright, but they could reject my field position maintenance or slash my research funding to nothing.

“Do you have any prior registration with another guild or a different branch of Audumla?”

“No. This is my first time anywhere.”

“Understood. The joining fee is fifty coppers. You’ll need to pay additional fees each time you rank up in the future.”

I already knew about the fee, so I simply nodded. The receptionist slowly pulled some documents from a drawer and slid them toward me.

“If you agree to the terms, please sign here or stamp it.”

“Understood. Can I use this pen?”

“Yes. Ah, if you cannot read or write or don’t have a seal, you may dip your fingertip in ink and press it instead.”

A thumbprint, huh? They used fingerprints here too. After thinking it over, I deliberately signed with horribly messy handwriting.

“Hmm. How well do you know Britannia?”

The receptionist asked after seeing my writing. I figured she was checking in advance because many people could only write their own names.

“I can read and write basic things. There are some difficult words I don’t know, though.”

It was a complete lie, obviously. There wasn’t a single word I didn’t understand. Just looking at the letters let me grasp every meaning. But I couldn’t tell the truth. If I did, there was a chance they’d discover I was an elite research student at Carmine University with a master’s degree. That was the last thing I wanted.

Because I’m such a ridiculously competent master’s holder that everyone would fight to employ me.

It’s not overconfidence or narcissism. It’s one hundred percent fact.

In this world, archaeology and linguistics were high-level fields with plenty of practical applications. The moment they realized I was a Carmine graduate who could read ancient languages, the guild’s upper management would try to recruit me as an internal translator instead of letting me work as an adventurer.

From their perspective, that would actually be the smart move.

Better to have a smart guy decipher ancient texts and artifacts from dungeons than let him die doing adventurer work. But that was the guild’s perspective. I came to Sargadis to become an adventurer, not to be a translation slave at some small company.

“Yes. Then please read this text aloud. If you can, I’ll note that ‘basic reading and writing is possible.’”

“…What is this?”

“It’s a simple test we use to verify literacy. The content changes every week. This one was taken from an adventurer’s journal.”

“I see.”

I wasn’t sure if such a short passage could really prove anything. Typical sloppy small-business method. Still, this was a world with such high illiteracy rates. It was obvious how a multi-lingual elite like me—who could handle seven languages—would be treated. From the guild’s perspective, it would be massively profitable to have other adventurers copy down ancient texts from ruins and then have me translate them.

The guild management hated outsourcing translation work to the archaeological community because they didn’t want to share the profits and achievements. They wouldn’t miss a talent like me. Every time I came looking for work, they’d probably pester me with “Won’t you join our association instead?” That future was something I absolutely refused.

Rather than getting my neck caught by a small company, I’d rather finish my slave labor back at the university.

I’d already built up enough specs. There was no reason to become a free human translator at some rural adventurer guild branch. Did any shitty small company ever treat real talent well? Even if I did the work of ten people, they wouldn’t pay me ten times the salary. At best the boss would buy some meat with whatever was left after playing golf and call it a day.

Plus, there’s no future in it.

Even if I produced results, they would count as achievements for the Audumla Guild Sargadis branch, not my personal career. My name wouldn’t spread in academic circles, and I’d gain nothing from it. The one who becomes famous is Steve Jobs standing in front doing the PR, not the engineer who actually developed the iPhone in the back.

For all those reasons, I had no intention of revealing my true identity at the adventurer guild. That was also why I’d deliberately acted like my Britannia wasn’t perfect. For the time being, it was time to keep the “looks weak but is actually strong” mode turned on.

“Mr. Nord? Finally, could you squeeze this stone as hard as you can?”

The adventurer registration had reached its final step. I swallowed nervously as I looked at the black stone the receptionist handed me. In a way, this was more important than all the previous ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠questions combined.

“You really need to squeeze it hard, okay?”

The receptionist’s calm, repeated emphasis. I ignored the words and poured every ounce of strength into the hand gripping the stone. I imagined this was the moment right before punching that thief bitch Yerna in the face and went all out.

“Hup!”

I don’t know how long I kept it up. The receptionist, who had been watching quietly, finally nodded.

“Yes. That’s enough. You can relax your hand now.”

“—Puuhaa.”

Squeezing a fist with everything I had was no joke. As I slowly opened my exhausted hand, the black stone resting in my palm had turned a clear indigo.

“Indigo, huh.”

“Indeed.”

Oh thank fuck. I let out a sigh of relief. This stone—commonly called a Pressure Stone—changed color in rainbow sequence when subjected to strong pressure. Many adventurer guilds used it as a tool to roughly gauge a person’s physical strength.

“Indigo is quite impressive. Most people start with violet.”

The receptionist complimented me as she took the stone back. But the constant repetition of “indigo” made me feel vaguely uncomfortable, like it carried some weird connotation. Anyway, the indigo here didn’t refer to the Chinese characters for male homosexuality, but the actual color—second from the end in the seven-color rainbow.

Still, it was only one step above the lowest grade of violet. In other words, my average combat power was second from the bottom. It was fucking low, no doubt about it. Yet I felt relieved simply because it hadn’t turned violet. Proof that even I saw myself as a total loser.

I felt incredibly depressed.

It had just been proven that I was still lacking both physically and mentally. As the receptionist said, this level was indeed higher than an ordinary person. But was I an ordinary person? I’d been training under Professor Brammaton for over three years, yet the result was only indigo! I’d never touched a discrimination stone at the university, so I hadn’t known. Still, I’d thought it would at least reach blue.

“From what I heard, indigo to blue is the average for Bronze Class. Is that correct?”

I asked while clenching and unclenching my pale hand. That was what Professor Brammaton’s book had said.

“Yes. The adventurer plate has a stone embedded in it dyed the same color as the measured grade. Bronze average is blue or below.”

“The color itself doesn’t really matter for promotions, right?”

“Of course. Promotion reviews are based on performance and conduct. The color doesn’t directly reflect an adventurer’s true ability.”

The receptionist answered more kindly than expected. If she’d been one of those other-world tier-obsessed types, she would have started getting annoyed by now. I wisely shut my mouth so I wouldn’t ruin my image by asking unnecessary questions.

I took coins out of my wallet, counted them, and handed them over.

“Here. Fifty coppers.”

“Joining fee received. Your registration is now complete. This is a temporary plate. The official plate with your name and rank color will be ready in about five days. Please come back then to collect it.”

I received a thin iron plate and a string from the receptionist. I could tie it into a bracelet or a necklace. As I stared at the plain plate, the receptionist—despite her exhausted face—gave me a bright smile.

“Welcome to the Audumla Guild, new adventurer.”

And so, I successfully registered my name with the adventurer guild.