New Profession: Contractor
"Prepare yourself! Crowww!" Just as Sion was about to unleash her 100% sincere ultimate technique, Regina Gura's urgent voice rang out from afar. "Everyone stop, is the case! Ten minutes have passed, is the case! The exam is over, is the case!"
I'd been sensing that the end time was drawing near. Looks like my instincts were right after all. My biological clock, honed in that pitch-black ruined world over 365 days, still works perfectly. Though I haven't been in this world for even three days yet, each day has been so packed that it feels like a week has gone by.
"Nooo nyang! My revenge nyang!"
"Revenge?" At Regina Gura's declaration that the exam was over, Sion looked as devastated as if she'd just watched her mortal enemy of twenty-three years fall off a single-log bridge. From the way she was muttering about Dungeon Lord this and tails that, she'd clearly been holding quite the grudge. I thought we'd already settled the Dungeon Lord matter, but cats really do hold onto things.
Still, crows can be just as petty as cats. Thwack.
"Unyaa nyang! Why'd you hit me all of a sudden nyang! You damn crowww!"
When I lightly tapped the dazed Sion on the head, she reacted instantly like a squeaky toy. The difference is that while toys whisper sweet nothings to their owners in Western languages, this cat hisses with murderous intent. Even a cursed doll wouldn't be this bloodthirsty.
"Call it punishment for betrayal."
"Betrayal my ass nyang! When did this body ever betray you nyang!"
Asking when she betrayed me? Typical rogue, I guess—her standards for betrayal are on another level.
"Ugh, put your head here too nyang! I can't be the only one getting hit nyang!"
Put my head there? Does this cat not understand the concept of learning, or is she just too angry to think straight? After our Terraforming-style bonding session left her head all fired up, Sion's eyes rolled back like a rabid raccoon. She kicked at my indestructible Plague Doctor Mask, sprained her ankle in the process, and started limping toward me with clear murderous intent.
Sensing the resolve in her clenched fists and golden eyes bulging with veins, I warned her quietly. "I'm warning you. Don't come any closer. Rogue."
"Warning my ass! This body only feels satisfied when I pay back twice what I received nyang! Come here, crow nyang! Just two hits... exactly two hits nyang!"
As expected, verbal warnings had no effect. This is why I should carry a revolver at all times. Sion began swinging her nyang-nyang punches in the air, creating an unsettling atmosphere as she limped forward. Just as I pulled out a syringe-like device from my chest to stop her, Regina Gura stepped between us with arms spread wide.
"Sion! That's enough, is the case! The exam is over, is the case!"
Senior, you've come to help your junior in danger? Regina Gura's back looked especially broad today.
"Regina nyang! It's unfair nyang! That crazy crow hit me first nyang!"
Sion, Sion... are you really tattling to the teacher?
"I have no such memory."
This is how adults win through incitement and fabrication. Got it?
"...This body will make you remember nyang!"
Realizing that fists speak louder than the law, little Sion gave up appealing to Regina Gura and resorted to direct action.
"Ah! Sion! What are you doing, is the case!?"
We traded punches around Regina Gura as we made our way toward the contractor. Though something felt like I'd forgotten...
"Hey..."
Someone please untie me. Please.
***
I'd only just remembered the test subject I'd wrapped up with the ineffable terror's ropes and tossed aside. When I retrieved them, they immediately thanked me.
"Thank you, Demon-nim."
The test subject with grayish-brown ears was flapping them while expressing gratitude. Thanking the very person who bound and threw you into a corner? Did they develop Stockholm syndrome in that short time?
"No, I'm sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?"
But I wasn't about to say something like that to their face. Image management is life for a demon. Though whether I even have an image left is questionable.
"No, Demon-nim held back so I'm fine. But... could you please put me down now?"
"Are you uncomfortable...?"
"Um... yeah."
"I see."
I'd heard that puppies feel comfortable when picked up by the scruff, but apparently beastkin dogs are different. After setting the test subject down and taking a few more steps, I heard Sion's voice that never failed to irritate me.
"Oh! Crow! The one you left behind was that useless Canis who got subdued two minutes into the exam nyang?"
"Shut up, you damn Felis. I'll kill you."
The polite puppy from earlier was nowhere to be seen as the test subject bared their teeth and growled at Sion.
"Oh my, how dare a perpetual bottom-ten-ranker talk back to the runner-up nyang? Know your place nyang!"
"Says the one over twenty still ending every sentence like a baby with nyang-nyang..."
"...You done talking, Six?"
"Yeah. What are you gonna do about it?"
"Ha?"
Seems like dogs and cats don't get along in this world either.
"Raven-nim, you worked hard."
While I was watching the beastkin engage in their nerve-wracking staredown with foreheads nearly touching, the contractor's voice drew my attention. But...
"...Hello? Demon-nim?"
"Haha... Good work..."
"......."
The test subjects, bound by black tentacles extending from the contractor's robe, were awkwardly greeting me. 'So Kkachi got all of them in the end.' One test subject was still unconscious. I hoped they weren't badly hurt.
"Kkachi, this is enough."
At my command to release them, Kkachi gently withdrew the tentacles.
"Kkyu!"
While I was squishing and praising Kkachi who'd puffed up their chest expecting compliments after popping out from the contractor's shoulder, Regina Gura's voice came from beyond.
"Everyone worked hard, is the case! This concludes the defense combat evaluation, is the case!"
Thus, the second exam of the familiar combat performance evaluation ended without any major incidents (?). Now only the final third exam remained.
"Originally, one-on-one sparring with the test subjects was planned next, but after consulting with the record keepers, we've decided to replace the evaluation with the battle against Sion, is the case! Raven junior's combat performance evaluation is complete, is the case!"
"That's fortunate."
After a short rest, we decided to proceed with the contractor's rank-up exam. The contractor's new job seemed ordinary enough, so it probably wouldn't take long. I hadn't even fed the kid yet because I thought we'd finish early. Hope it ends quickly.
***
Certain growth and rewards that come after trials and hardships. The recognition of the benevolent Goddess who embraces all things. Spreading fame and steadily accumulating wealth. In Bastion, there's a saying: "You can quit alcohol, tobacco, women, and male courtesans, but you can't quit adventuring!" That's how captivating and addictive dungeon expeditions are. However, this only applies to a handful of capable and talented adventurers.
To elevate their family's name. To obtain great wealth. To live a better life. With vague hopes clutched in their hearts thinking "Wouldn't I be different?" over 80% of adventurers who set foot in the dungeon either fail to leave the Green Zone or lose their lives in a moment of carelessness. The dungeon is an open land of opportunity for everyone, but few can seize that opportunity and soar. Even those who do soar mostly end up falling again.
That's why the Adventurer's Guild exists. To collect information about the dungeon and educate adventurers to increase their survival rate. To help them live longer, gain experience, and grow. To collect adventurers' statuses, research skills and magic, and provide direction. So that beautiful gemstones buried in the mud can shine brilliantly in their proper place.
Over two hundred years have passed since the Adventurer's Guild was founded. The amount of information accumulated from adventurers' blood and sweat was vast. Not only information about the dungeon's structure, ecosystem, and anomalies, but also information about the "status"—the miracle the Goddess bestowed upon adventurers—had become so diverse that no new information had been updated recently.
But now.
"Hey, did you check the rank-up application data for that adventurer named Yuri?"
"...Contractor? The job name is literally just Contractor? Not something like Demon Contractor? That means..."
"...A new profession that appeared after a year and a half!"
"Damn, that's crazy."
A new wind was about to blow through the stagnant Dungeon City.