The Adventurer's Guild
The bed in the luxurious mansion was nowhere to be found, nor was the gentle breeze that used to slip through the windows. Instead, what Bagan felt was a biting chill. The voice that used to wake him every morning had also vanished. He focused on his sense of touch and hearing first. Then he paid slight attention to his sense of smell. The scent of phytoncides tickled his nose. When he shifted his body, he noticed the rough texture of the blanket. Only then did Bagan slowly open his eyes.
The ceiling that greeted him was not the ornate one from the mansion, but a simple wooden one. He didn't react to it. More precisely, his throat was still too dry to make any sound at all.
'I'm starving.'
Considering he'd nearly died, his body was in perfect condition. The only problem was his hunger.
“Bagan!”
He hadn't realized anyone was beside him. At the sound of the voice, he turned his head.
“...Natalie?”
His voice finally worked now that his throat had loosened. It was Natalie, her face etched with exhaustion but brightening with surprise as she looked at him. Bagan couldn't understand why she was there.
“Where are we?”
“Ah, we're at the Evergreen Inn in De Meca. But thank goodness. You were breathing, but you didn't wake up for five whole days. I was so worried.”
“...Five days.”
Hearing that he'd been unconscious for quite a while, Bagan finally understood why his stomach felt like it was glued to his spine. But there was something more important than his hunger.
“So Dawn's Wolf saved me.”
What kind of fate was this? Bagan recalled the events. If not for them, would anyone have taken care of him like this? Making those connections had turned out to be the right decision after all.
Natalie nodded at his words.
“We found you in the Zairan Forest, a bit away from De Meca.”
“Thanks.”
Bagan wasn't the type to forget gratitude.
“More importantly, aren't you hungry? You haven't eaten anything this whole time, so you've gotten really thin.”
Bagan couldn't see his own appearance, but Natalie took one look at him and immediately sprang into action. As if it were a habit, she left the room without letting her heels touch the floor. The fact that her footsteps made no sound was an added bonus.
Once she was gone, Bagan sat up and perched on the edge of the bed. He checked his arms and hands, then lifted his clothes to inspect his torso. He was thinner than before, but his body still had the same sculpted, lean muscles. There were no injuries.
Next, he ran his hand over his face.
“Ugh! That stench.”
Why hadn't he noticed it until now? It should've been obvious from the start. The smell coming from his body was so foul it overpowered even the phytoncides. How had Natalie managed to stay in this room? He felt genuinely sorry.
In the end, Bagan walked over to the window to air out the room.
'At least they're ventilating it.'
As he reached to open the window, he caught a glimpse of his reflection in the glass.
'Has something changed?'
Since he'd checked his appearance frequently before, he would have noticed any differences immediately.
'It's a shame there aren't mirrors in every room.'
Bagan was already familiar with the Evergreen Inn. De Meca, with its abundance of adventurers, naturally had many inns, and the Evergreen Inn was one of the better ones.
'The lodging fees were pretty reasonable too.'
With that thought, Bagan opened the window.
CREAK!
WHOOSH!
He was instantly engulfed by the freezing wind. The resulting shiver was inevitable.
“What the...?”
The scene outside was utterly miserable. Whether it was morning or afternoon was unclear, but all the nearby shops were buried in snow, and not a single person walked the streets. It looked like the dead of winter.
'Did she say fifty days instead of five?'
The cold wind howled in, but it was still better than the lingering stench.
'Food can wait. I need a bath first.'
The easiest way to get rid of the smell was to wash. But Bagan quickly reconsidered.
'I'm broke, aren't I?'
Unlike life in the mansion, surviving in a city required money for almost everything. Separate fees for lodging and bathing were standard at any inn. Bagan could only let out a regretful sigh.
At that moment—
CREAK!
“Bagan! Let's get you washed up first.”
It was as if Natalie had read his mind. She'd already arranged for a bath at the inn. How wonderful was she? Bagan's favor toward her skyrocketed. He followed her to the bathhouse.
After finishing his bath, Bagan stepped out.
'The clothes have changed.'
The clothes he'd taken off were gone, replaced by a fresh set. Thinking about it, the old ones had been in no condition to wear again anyway. It seemed someone had thoughtfully taken them away and left new ones in their place. A rough brown cotton shirt, cotton pants, a winter coat, and boots. Everything looked brand new, with no signs of wear.
When he returned to his room after changing, the already cleaned space and prepared meal gave him a strangely familiar feeling.
'If someone saw this, they'd think it was Barret.'
Bagan thought of Barret and fell into quiet reflection. The fact that she was no longer by his side pierced his chest. Surviving alone left a bitter taste.
'If only I'd been a little stronger.'
If he'd been strong enough to crush Palamus without effort, he could have saved her. Bagan clenched and unclenched his fist repeatedly.
'I won't forget you.'
Rather than dwelling in regret, he engraved his vow to remember her and pulled himself together.
Gurgle—
His stomach was growling. Bagan looked at the food on the small table. It was a meat stew from some unknown animal and hard, tasteless bread, but it was more than enough to satisfy his hunger. Even though his stomach felt like it was stuck to his backbone, he slowly ate every last bite of the carefully prepared meal before heading down to the inn's lobby.
“Does he remember us?”
“He recognized me and even said thank you.”
“That's a relief.”
In the lobby, Bagan saw the members of Dawn's Wolf in conversation. At that moment, Paul, who had been standing quietly, noticed Bagan descending the stairs and approached.
“Bagan!”
Seeing Bagan in good condition, Paul seemed genuinely relieved and flashed a bright smile.
“It's Paul, right? I didn't expect to meet like this, but thank you for everything.”
“Not at all. If not for you back then, we would've been in serious trouble.”
“Let's call it even for saving each other. I'll repay you for all the care you've given me these past days.”
While eating, Bagan had calculated how much money Dawn's Wolf must have spent on him. It couldn't have been a small amount.
“It's fine. We didn't do it expecting anything in return.”
“But I'm not fine with it.”
Bagan had his reasons. Adventurers were essentially people who lived day to day. A good commission could feed them for days, but without one, they had to dip into savings or starve. These people had taken care of him for five full days. That meant they hadn't been able to work for five days. For someone they'd only met once, he'd caused them quite a bit of trouble.
'Well, connections don't put food on the table... Wait, actually they do.'
The meal he'd just eaten was thanks to those connections. That made him even more determined to repay them.
“How much?”
He asked just in case, even though the calculation was done. Even if it exceeded his estimate, he'd pay it back.
'They might include the money they couldn't earn while taking care of me.'
At Bagan's words, Paul looked troubled but held up his fingers to calculate.
“Two gold.”
Paul was still counting when the voice came from the table where Natalie and Reina sat.
“Two gold?”
Bagan was surprised that it matched his own calculation. He'd expected them to ask for more.
“Reina, you should speak politely.”
Natalie seemed more concerned about something else.
“He spoke casually first.”
Reina said it like it was obvious. Meanwhile, Bagan was already thinking about how to earn two gold.
Pangea's currency consisted of copper, silver, and gold coins—called coppers, silvers, and golds respectively. Each was worth ten times the previous, so one gold equaled one hundred coppers. Ten gold was enough for a family of four to live on for a month, so two gold wasn't easy money. But Bagan had an idea.
“I'll earn it quickly. Just wait a bit.”
With those words, Bagan left the inn and walked with familiar steps.
'First, I need to go to the adventurer's guild.'
The Evergreen Inn wasn't far from the adventurer's guild. Since inns catered to adventurers, it was inevitable. Thanks to that, Bagan reached the guild without walking very far.
'De Meca really is diverse.'
The Seiros Kingdom was a multi-racial nation. Among its cities, De Meca had an especially high concentration of different races. Most non-human adventurers used De Meca as their main base. Of course, there were conflicts between races and difficulties in control due to clashing ideals, but seeing the races he'd only seen in games in real life made his heart race.
Goblins, orcs, lizardmen, kobolds, dwarves, elves. It was a rare sight in other nations or cities. One of the reasons this was possible was because the Seiros royal family were Dragonians.
“Dragonians. What a romantic race.”
“Hey! How dare you speak of the royal family like that!”
As soon as Bagan entered the adventurer's guild, someone shouted at him. He scanned the area but didn't see anyone at first. Only when he lowered his gaze did he spot the speaker. It was Bloomberg, the exclusive blacksmith who handled equipment repairs for adventurers at the De Meca guild.
“Ah, sorry.”
“...Kid, do you not know who I am?”
“Should I?”
Bagan knew, but since the other party didn't recognize him, he pretended not to know.
“Hmph. You look like a rookie who's never been to the guild before. There are people who revere the royal family, so they might take offense. Don't do it again.”
As a dwarf, Bloomberg had a bold personality and loud voice that often greeted adventurers.
“I didn't know. I'll be careful from now on.”
When Bagan spoke, Bloomberg raised one eyebrow and stared at him before saying,
“If you're here to register, go see Rina over there.”
“Ah, thanks.”
“But why are you speaking so casually! You look younger than me!”
WHOOSH!
As usual, Bloomberg swung a chopping hand at the new adventurer. But the descending hand blade cut through empty air.
“Whoa, that was close. You were aiming for that girl, right? I'm a bit busy, so...”
With that, Bagan walked over to the busy-looking female staff member. Bloomberg wondered if he'd made a rare mistake. He practiced swinging his hand blade through the air a few more times before returning to his spot.
'It's been a while.'
The Rina that Bloomberg had recommended was the guild employee in charge of registrations, commission acceptance, and completions. She had a beautiful appearance matched with a confident voice, and her charisma in handling even the most difficult adventurers earned her many secret admirers. She could rightfully be called the mascot of the De Meca adventurer's guild.
“Name's Bagan. Register me.”
The sudden casual speech startled Rina for a moment, but she quickly recovered her smile and responded. It was still better than people who came in cursing or the non-humans who barely spoke at all.
“Yes! Bagan. This is your first time, right? First, let me explain the rules of our adventurer's guild.”
“I already know them. Just register me quickly.”
Out of all his game playthroughs, half had been as an adventurer and the other half as someone affiliated with or ruling a nation. He'd heard the rules so many times he was sick of them. But perhaps because of Bagan's attitude, Rina's expression darkened slightly.
“...Understood. Then I'll guide you to the next step.”
At that moment—
“Hey, buddy! If you're trying to become an adventurer, shouldn't you be nice to Miss Rina?!”
A rough voice that reeked of thug energy rang out, as if the speaker had been monitoring Rina's expression by the second. It was a muscular man with blond hair who had taken the table closest to Rina and was eating with his party members. He slowly approached and stood in front of Bagan.
“If you've just become an adventurer, you should know the rules. Do you know what the first rule of the De Meca adventurer's guild is?”
“What is it?”
“Don't catch Clorsus's eye.”
“Oh, did I just catch your eye?”
“This crazy bastard!”
Unable to control his anger, Clorsus swung his fist without warning.
WHOOSH!
But to Bagan, the attack was far too slow. He dodged and said,
“What should I do about this?”
Bagan never ignored a provocation.
“I'm kind of busy right now.”
He searched for the mana in his heart to use magic. But something was wrong.
'It's gone? There's no mana?'
Instead of mana, he sensed something foreign.
'What is this?'
WHOOM!
THUD!
Because of the strange energy in his heart, Bagan couldn't pay attention to Clorsus. The punch sent him rolling about two meters.
“Hah, this punk. See? This is what happens when you catch Clorsus's eye. Watch carefully!”
At that moment, Rina tried to stop Clorsus.
“C-Clorsus! I'm fine.”
But her words only fueled him further.
“No, bastards like this with no manners need to be taught a lesson! So they never act up again!”
Clorsus charged at the fallen Bagan. He raised his knee to chest height and stomped down.
BOOM!
The sound of the floor breaking made the surrounding adventurers gasp in shock.
“I-Is he dead?”
“That's too much.”
But Clorsus himself looked puzzled. What his heel had crushed didn't feel soft like a human body.
Clap, clap, clap, clap.
At some point, Bagan had moved behind Clorsus and was applauding.
“Wow~! That was almost dangerous just now.”
“You... you little shit. You're pretty good, huh? Perfect timing. I've been feeling a bit stiff lately.”
“Oh, really? Same here.”
Bagan decided to worry about the strange energy in his heart later. For now, he needed to deal with the guy in front of him. Clorsus rolled his shoulders and glared like he was looking at prey. He was clearly used to using his fists—he raised his guard and used his lead hand to create confusion. But Bagan didn't prepare at all.
Because—
'It's Release.'
“You bastard!”
BANG!
Bagan exploded power from the soles of his feet and instantly appeared in front of him, swinging his fist.
CRACK!
The punch tore through the guard as if it didn't exist and slammed into the man's face.
CRASH!
Clorsus flew backward dramatically. He wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.
'I hit him properly.'
He'd struck hard enough for his own fist to sting. It was the price of getting cocky after landing a surprise attack.
The man's party members—or subordinates, it was hard to tell—rushed over to check on the fallen Clorsus. Ignoring them, Bagan turned back to Rina as if nothing had happened.
“Register me.”
“Y-Yes!”
The adventurer's guild had turned into a mess in an instant. While fights inside the guild weren't uncommon, it was rare for a complete newcomer to defeat a well-known adventurer.
“Clorsus of the Iron Fists got taken down in seconds!”
“He's the leader of the party ranked twelfth, Iron Fist!”
Amid the commotion, someone appeared to calm the chaos.
“So you're not just some transient after all!”
It was Bloomberg, whom he'd seen at the entrance. The dwarf, who had seen many strong adventurers, approached with the air of experience.
“No matter how close to lawless adventurers are, that was too much. Still, if you're going to kill him, do it outside the city.”
“I wasn't planning on that.”
“Kahaha! Maybe not. Looks like we'll be seeing each other often. Let's introduce ourselves! I'm the blacksmith for the adventurer's guild. Name's Bloomberg.”
Bloomberg extended his hand. Bagan shook it and replied,
“I'm Bagan.”
It was the moment the two letters of his name became engraved in the guild.