First Request
After a minor ruckus in the training grounds, one thing led to another and I officially became an adventurer.
"Here's your adventurer tag."
"You finally did it."
I took the adventurer tag from the receptionist who'd once been my colleague. My fingers traced the intricately crafted, magic-treated iron plate with a touch of melancholy. I'd been through so much just to reach this point. Even after that day, I'd rolled around in the training grounds countless times, pushing myself to the limit. After all that blood, sweat, and tears, the rank I'd earned was Iron upper-tier. To put it bluntly, the evaluation was that I was stronger than Iron but weaker than Bronze.
"They determine your final rank based on the results from completing five requests, so I'll need to work hard."
"Don't push yourself too hard. You went on field expeditions as a guild employee, so you know how it is."
"Of course I do."
How many times had I watched adventurers brawling with monsters in the field? I answered the receptionist's worried look with a confident smile and glanced around the guild interior. The first floor, with its solid stone flooring complemented by wood and various decorations, perfectly captured the charm of fantasy. The monster trophies mounted on the walls looked so lifelike they might spring to life at any moment, and I couldn't even begin to guess how enormous the monster must have been whose massive bones hung from the ceiling.
"Wahaha! Drink up and die happy!"
"Hey, rookie. How was your first request?"
"Excuse me, coming through! Urgent documents!"
Guild staff bustled about inside the building while adventurers wearing equipment made from various monster materials laughed, chatted, and clinked their mugs together. The place looked exactly like a tavern from a fantasy game, which explained why northerners considered the adventurer guild a landmark. After all, one of these buildings stood in every city across the North.
Surrounded by an environment that could easily rival anything from my previous life, I silently praised magic as I headed for the guild bulletin board. Once there, I examined the Iron-rank requests.
If Grid's assessment wasn't wrong, my abilities were indeed Iron-tier. Considering the gap between Iron and Bronze, Bronze was still a distant dream. Even with the contracts I'd formed through Mystery, the situation remained the same.
After all, one of the minimum requirements for advancing to Bronze is manifesting aura or possessing equivalent skill.
No matter how diligently I'd trained, I wasn't at the level of manifesting aura yet. So I ignored the Bronze requests and focused only on the Iron ones.
"Subjugate Wood Gore, subjugate Battle Wolf, scout and subjugate War Ants."
Nothing but subjugation requests. Well, that made sense. An adventurer's job was pretty varied, but their specialty was beating the crap out of monsters. Still, considering the potential of my Mystery, I had more options than just subjugation.
For example...
"Ecosystem survey of Asus Mountain."
There was a well-known survey request for Asus Mountain near Edenberg County. The mountain was so massive its peaks were shrouded in clouds, creating an incredibly diverse ecosystem. Moreover, since it lay along a leyline, Mystery phenomena were frequently observed there, drawing plenty of scholarly attention. The mountain also housed numerous monsters, so the adventurer guild took great interest in it as well.
"Since it's an Iron-rank request, they're probably only asking for a survey of the initial area."
I carefully tore the notice from the board and read the details. As expected, the request involved a general survey of the ecosystem at the entrance to Asus Mountain. It didn't require an extremely detailed investigation—just a comparison with previous surveys to identify any notable changes.
"Survey of the entrance to Asus Mountain, huh."
Usually, the more detailed the request and the wider the surveyed area, the better the reward. The problem was that the location was Asus Mountain. While the entrance might be manageable, even the mid-slopes were teeming with territorial monsters. Even though those creatures rarely ventured outside their domains, going alone would still be extremely dangerous.
But...
This is doable.
After all, this was exactly what adventurers existed for.
"This request should earn me good points on the final evaluation too."
The higher the risk of a request, the better the score. While I might fall short in pure ability, there were plenty of cases where people advanced through other specialties. Completing five requests was essentially asking me to prove my other skills since I couldn't demonstrate them through sparring.
"I learned exploration and scouting when I was young, so this is perfect."
Having chosen a good request, there was only one thing left to do. I immediately went to the reception desk and declared that I would take it.
The receptionist looked at me with worried eyes after checking the notice.
"Are you sure? This is a party request."
"I thought the location seemed a bit dangerous."
Since assigning quest ranks wasn't part of my old job, I hadn't known. Adventurer parties were usually formed of two to five people. Considering that adventurer groups often numbered ten or more, this seemed like something those larger teams would handle. Now understanding why the request was rated Iron, I still didn't withdraw despite the receptionist's concern. This was a request that could showcase my specialty.
"You're planning to go alone?"
"All the Iron-rank adventurers have already left on requests. There aren't many left in the guild."
"Hmm. I won't stop you, but be careful. Since it's the mountain entrance, there are plenty of adventurers running requests there. If it gets dangerous, ask for help."
I accepted the request and left the guild building. I'd already stocked my inventory with supplies while preparing to become an adventurer, and I could purchase a few things from shops if needed. Without hesitation, I headed out of the city.
After walking for some time, I saw the massive castle walls and the guards stationed at the entrance. Wearing half-plate armor and wielding solid steel spears, their presence was formidable. One might wonder if plate armor was excessive for mere soldiers, but remember—this was the northern fantasy. The guy next door, Tom, was a mana user. The bakery girl Lily was a mana user. Even that unemployed bum Charles was a mana user. The grandmother next door learned magic as a hobby, so what was half-plate armor in comparison? When resources far superior to steel and monster materials were scattered everywhere, it was hardly surprising.
"Halt! State your identity and purpose of approach."
The guards at the entrance spotted me and crossed their spears to block my path. Since monsters roamed freely beyond the walls, their blades carried a natural sharpness. Having experienced this frequently while working as a guild employee, I smiled pleasantly and showed them my adventurer tag.
"I'm Argo, an Iron-rank adventurer. I've taken the ecosystem survey request for Asus Mountain."
"So you're an adventurer. May the soul of the Great Warrior dwell in your pilgrimage."
The moment I proved I was an adventurer, the guards' tension melted away instantly. They thumped their chests in a steady rhythm—a traditional northern warrior's salute. From their crisp, uniform movements, I could roughly gauge their level. The guards, who'd dealt with adventurers until they were sick of them, efficiently completed the procedures and opened the side gate.
Beyond the four-layered thick iron gates, what greeted me was lush nature. Life energy overflowed as if exploding outward. A wild land where intense presences could be felt from every direction. I smiled at the sensation that the Mystery dwelling in this land was turning its gaze toward the human who had stepped out from the city.
I really have become an adventurer.
I'd been outside the city quite a few times before, but this was my first time venturing out alone like this. I took a deep breath of the natural air, then exhaled as I heightened my focus. Spreading my mana outward, I drew summoning circles around me.
Three summoning circles formed rapidly. As soon as they completed, cracks appeared above them, and hundreds of large and small shards burst forth. The fragments gathered in one place to form wolf shapes—the Ikelos pack stared at me with eyes flickering with blue light.
Having manifested in reality through their contract with a unique dimension, the Ikelos displayed infinite loyalty through the spiritual threads connecting us.
"Good. With this, I don't have to worry about moving alone."
The northern environment was dangerous. Powerful monsters, perhaps influenced by Mystery, could create 'domains' that let them dominate their surroundings. And the North was overflowing with such creatures. That's why adventurers usually avoided traveling alone, but my situation was slightly different.
I had three Ikelos who had endured Grid's slash, even if it was just one hit. To be precise, their shard-based nature gave them strong resistance to cutting attacks, but they had still endured. After evaluating the Ikelos's abilities through several days of sparring with Grid, I'd concluded that operating alone would be fine.
"Shall we go then?"
"Arf!"
I set off at a run with the vigorously responding Ikelos. There was no point in taking it slow, so I planned to reach the destination as quickly as possible, complete the request, and return. Thanks to the Ikelos displaying movements impossible for ordinary wolves, we reached our destination without taking long.
It also helped that the location wasn't far from Edenberg County.
"So this is Asus Mountain."
Upon arriving at the mountain entrance, I immediately noticed the distinctly different mana density.
"One of you take point as scout. The other two, stay centered around me."
At my command, the Ikelos moved swiftly. The one assigned as scout dashed forward while the remaining two transformed, taking the form of soldiers in plate armor. Satisfied with their perfect guard formation, I drew my sword from my inventory.
I'd visited this place several times as a guild employee, but this was my first time here as an adventurer. Recalling my memories from before, I stepped toward the mountain.
The real exploration was beginning.