Showdown at the Adventurer's Guild
As the massive stone walls of Lumen drew closer, the clamor of the crowd and the rumble of wagon wheels assaulted my ears. A long line of merchants, mercenaries, and wanderers stretched before the gates, waiting to enter the city. We joined the throng and slowly made our way toward the entrance.
“Sir Graus, there are so many people....” Seria clung tightly to the hem of my cloak, hiding behind my back as if to shield herself from the unfamiliar stares. Her strikingly silver-gray hair and purple eyes were all too likely to draw unwanted attention in this place.
'Best to cover her up before we get dragged into any trouble.'
While waiting in line, I approached an old street vendor hawking various trinkets. I tossed him one of the Dire Wolf tail hides I had stuffed into my pockets after traversing the labyrinth and forest, then picked up a large, worn brown robe in exchange.
“Put this on. Pull the hood down deep so your face isn’t visible.”
“Ah.... Thank you.”
Seria accepted the drab brown robe with both hands and let out a small sound of wonder. Her slender fingertips gently caressed the fabric. Her purple eyes looked up at me from beneath the hood’s shadow.
Soon it was our turn at the gate. The two guards on duty leaned lazily on their spears and scanned my blood-and-dirt-caked armor from top to bottom.
“Who are you with? Identification.”
“Just came out of the Forest of Magic. I’ll register for an ID at the guild once I’m inside.”
At my flat reply the mustached guard stroked his chin and let out a sneer.
“Aha, a greenhorn knight fresh from the woods. You know the toll is higher without ID, right? Five silver per person. Ten silver total for you and the little tagalong. Pay up.”
It was blatant extortion. According to the original setting, the standard entry fee for the pioneer city of Lumen was one silver per person. Shaking down clueless travelers without identification was a common racket for these guards.
The original Graus would have clicked his tongue and paid helplessly or been driven away. But I was different now.
I pulled out a thumb-sized gray magic stone I had extracted from a Dire Wolf skull and tossed it at the guard’s breastplate.
“Whoa! W-what is this?”
The guard’s eyes widened as he caught it by reflex.
“A Dire Wolf magic stone. The merchants will give you at least fifteen silver for it. Keep the change as a tip and open the gate.”
“Ha, look at you. Acting high and mighty just because you got lucky and killed one mangy mutt… Hey, you think this pebble covers the toll? Let’s search your bags. I know you’re hiding more.”
The guard reached greedily toward Seria behind me. In that instant I snatched his thick wrist and twisted hard.
“Aack! You crazy bastard, what the—AAAAAAGH!”
My grip, boosted by the Ring of Fighting Spirit, crushed down as if it would shatter bone. The pressure radiating from me—raw strength stats combined with overwhelming force—was more than the guard could handle.
“Open it while I’m asking nicely. Or I’ll break that hand so you never hold a spear again.”
The guard’s face turned deathly pale at my voice and killing intent.
“Open the gate! Let them through! Pass!”
Only when his wrist was about to snap did he scream and stumble aside. I walked through the gate without a backward glance.
Seria, robe pulled low over her head, stuck close to my back and followed with quick steps, staring dazedly at the man who had twisted a guard’s wrist in a single motion.
'Sir Graus… is truly strong.'
Seria’s heart fluttered with relief. For a girl who had spent her life treated as baggage and kicked around, having a solid shield that protected her from violence was an utterly new and overwhelming feeling. She gripped my cloak tighter, determined not to lose my pace.
The city reeked with a strange stench. Listless vagrants with unfocused eyes lay sprawled in every dark, narrow alley, while drunk mercenaries shouted and brawled on the main streets from morning onward. It was a scene truly worthy of the name Lawless Zone.
Proceed to the Adventurer's Guild to advance the main quest.
Following the system’s guidance, I arrived at a massive three-story wooden building in the central square. The Adventurer’s Guild emblem was embedded above the door.
With a heavy creak I pushed the wooden door open. Acrid tobacco smoke and raucous noise rolled out. Dozens of burly mercenaries and adventurers sat at tables, gulping drinks or checking request forms.
I ignored the commotion and walked straight to the reception desk at the center of the first floor.
“Welcome to the Lumen branch of the Adventurer’s Guild. How may I help you?”
The red-haired receptionist with freckles offered a professional smile.
“New registration. For both of us.”
“Understood. The fee is two silver per person.”
I had no silver on hand, but that was no problem. I dumped the Dire Wolf hides and miscellaneous items I had stripped that morning onto the counter. The receptionist appraised them expertly, handed me twelve silver coins, and slid two sheets of parchment forward.
“Please write your name, primary weapon, and occupation. For your companion…”
Her gaze moved to Seria, whose face was hidden deep inside the robe.
“I’ll fill hers out.”
I scrawled Graus and a rough signature. Just as I started to write Seria’s name on the second sheet, a rough, familiar voice rang out from a corner table.
“Huh? Hey. That silver-gray hair. Isn’t that the baggage carrier bitch?”
I stopped writing and turned. A large man with a long scar across his face kicked his chair back and stomped toward us. The wolf-head emblem on his shoulder pads was unmistakable. Marcus—vice-leader of Barkan’s Exploration Team, the coward who had abandoned us as bait in the Labyrinth of Despair yesterday and fled.
“Hey, knight scum. You actually survived and crawled in here? And you dared to steal the girl our boss already claimed?”
Marcus’s shout drew every eye in the guild. Mercenaries drinking at nearby tables propped their chins on their hands, watching with open interest.
Seria trembled violently and hid behind me, clutching my sleeve.
“G-Graus, Sir Graus… that man is…”
“Stay quiet behind me. They aren’t even worth looking at.”
I picked up the pen again without sparing him a glance. Thinking he had been ignored, Marcus’s face flushed crimson.
“This bastard’s gone crazy!”
He drew the mace from his belt and swung it straight at my head. The attack came without warning in the middle of the tavern.
With a vicious whoosh, the spiked mace hurtled toward my skull.
'Too slow.'
I didn’t even rise from my chair. I simply twisted my upper body, letting the mace’s path slide harmlessly past.
Bang! The mace shattered the corner of the solid oak reception desk, spraying splinters everywhere.
“Wh-what…!”
His sure-hit attack missing so pathetically left Marcus flustered and gasping. He tried to yank the mace back, but I was faster.
“Don’t swing weapons around carelessly in front of me.”
I pinned the embedded mace handle to the table with my left hand, then grabbed his collar with my right—the hand wearing the Ring of Fighting Spirit.
“Urk?!”
Marcus struggled, but my strength didn’t let him move an inch. I yanked him forward and slammed my forehead into his face with all my weight.
A headbutt. My superior stamina stats and the ring’s power boost turned the blunt strike into something lethal.
“GAAAAAAGH!”
A sickening crunch echoed as his nose shattered. Marcus screamed and collapsed backward, rolling across the floor with a bloodied face.
The noisy guild fell deathly silent, as if cold water had been dumped over everyone.
“Next time I’ll smash your skull. Tell Barkan that if he shows his face in front of me again, I’ll make sure they can’t even collect his bones.”
The mercenaries who had been enjoying the show began averting their eyes, carefully reading my mood. Their expressions said they couldn’t understand why someone with this much strength and speed was pretending to be a mere low-rank knight.
I ruthlessly searched the groaning man’s belongings, taking two gold coins and a heavy pouch of silver from his waist. I tossed one gold coin to the stunned red-haired receptionist.
“For the broken table. Keep the change. Just finish my ID.”
“Y-yes! Right away! H-here you are!”
The receptionist jumped and hurriedly handed over two iron adventurer tags.
Identity Registration
📍 Reward: 50 silver, Beginner Adventurer Qualification
📍 Additional: Experience acquired
Along with the notification, the fifty silver reward slipped quietly into my inventory. Combined with the loot I had taken, my early-game money problems were now completely solved.
I smiled with satisfaction, took Seria’s hand, and turned to leave. She noticed the tiny spray of Marcus’s blood on my cheek and carefully reached out from beneath her robe to wipe it away.
“Sir Graus… are you hurt anywhere?”
Her voice brimmed with pure worry and tender affection. Even after watching a man turn into a bloody mess right in front of her, there was no fear of me in her eyes. Instead, she looked relieved that I had crushed the villain who had threatened her.
“I’m fine. I only used a little strength.”
When I answered indifferently and lightly stroked her hair, Seria lowered her head shyly but did not pull away from my hand.
“Let’s go. There’s no reason to stay any longer in this stinking tavern, and there’s something I need to secure first in Lumen.”
I wrapped an arm around Seria’s shoulders and left the guild, ignoring the stares. Novice players would be running around doing tutorial herb-gathering quests for pocket money, but I knew the game’s perfect strategy. It was time to claim the first hidden piece the protagonist must obtain—something tucked away in one of Lumen’s filthy back alleys.