From Lowest-Class to Highest-Class in One Leap
The journey to track down the Witch was far more tedious and daunting than I’d expected. It was the second day since we’d left the inn, and we’d been wandering around, chasing down any rumors about her. But the very word “witch” was a taboo in this country—one that could get you summarily executed—so even the drunks in taverns and the information brokers were reluctant to open their mouths.
Still, even amid that long and fruitless search, my body was undergoing strange transformations by the hour. While walking down the road, I suddenly clenched and unclenched my fist, feeling an odd sense of power. The once-familiar density of hardened muscle seemed to be returning, and my vision had grown so sharp I could make out the trembling of leaves hundreds of meters away. Even the sensation of the ground beneath my feet felt different with every step.
As memories and power from my past lives fused together, my original physical specs were leaping far beyond common sense.
“Aren, what’s wrong? Is your head hurting again?”
Isilia, who noticed my condition first, grabbed my sleeve with worried eyes.
“No, it’s not my head… I think my body’s gotten way stronger than I realized.”
“Master, stronger. Much more than when we first met.”
Kaina wagged her tail and casually pressed her rear against my thigh. They were right. Without even realizing it, I had already outgrown the shell of a lowest-class mercenary.
Wandering the continent aimlessly like this to find the Witch was far too inefficient. To avoid the eyes of the Church and gain access to high-quality information, I needed a surefire way to instantly boost both my identity and social influence.
And there was only one method that came to mind.
“Alright. Once we reach the next city, I’m taking the mercenary rank promotion exam.”
The profession of mercenaries—who accepted requests, solved problems, and received rewards—was firmly established in this world. And their society was strictly divided by ranks based on pure meritocracy.
The ranks started at the very bottom with lowest-class, then lower, intermediate, upper-intermediate, upper, and finally highest-class—a rank only a handful of the continent’s strongest could ever reach. Six tiers in total.
I, who had been looked down on even in a third-rate mercenary band, was naturally a lowest-class mercenary. At that rank, I had no right to view information and couldn’t even dream of the high-level requests issued by cathedrals or lords.
If I wanted to chase clues about the Witch, I needed to climb to a position where the world’s information naturally gathered.
“A promotion exam? That sounds good! I’ll cheer you on from the side!”
Isilia spread her arms wide like wings and smiled brightly.
“Master, you were lowest-class, right?”
“How far are you planning to jump in one go?”
“Highest-class.”
At my answer, Kaina burst into loud laughter.
“Kahaha! My husband suits highest-class way better than lowest-class anyway!”
Silphid fiddled with her dagger and nodded quietly.
“Do your best, Aren.”
Five days later, we arrived at Kalen, the city of mercenaries.
We’d gone around taverns and information guilds trying to pick up rumors about the Witch, but we still hadn’t found any solid leads.
“Huu… Finding information on the Witch really is difficult.”
I leaned against the window of our inn room, exhausted, and let out a bitter sigh. Through the window, I could see the massive mercenary guild branch bustling with activity.
The lowest-class mercenary badge in my pocket, now covered in rust, suddenly made me chuckle.
At this point… calling me lowest-class feels a little embarrassing.
I clenched and unclenched my fist. A natural green aura and sacred light simultaneously leaked from my fingertips.
“Master, what are you doing alone again? Want to spar with me?”
Kaina hugged my waist from behind, her tail wagging. Her ample breasts pressed firmly against my back.
“Kaina, get off. Aren is thinking seriously right now.”
Isilia flicked her pointed ears and shoved Kaina away.
From that day on, until the day of the promotion exam, we dove into serious training in a quiet forest.
Kaina charged at me in her beast form while I dodged her attacks using stealth and assassination techniques before countering. Isilia attacked me with nature magic and wind manipulation, and Silphid launched surprise attacks from the shadows, pushing my senses to their absolute limit.
“Haa… I really have gotten stronger.”
If it were the old me, I’d probably have died in a single blow.
Sweat-soaked, I stared at my fist in admiration. Without my past-life memories, the old me would have had my neck taken clean off by any one of their strikes.
Of course, once night fell, the three wives would use the ridiculous excuse of “comforting my exhausted body from the day’s training” to engage in fierce, passionate courtship that left me drained in an entirely different way.
Finally, the day of the promotion exam arrived.
We reached the massive mercenary guild branch in a nearby territory. The examination hall was already packed with mercenaries and spectators.
In the grand central training ground built of majestic marble, I walked up to the reception desk, confidently held out my lowest-class mercenary badge, and spoke.
“I’m Aren, a lowest-class mercenary. I’m here to apply for the promotion exam today.”
The guild employee checked my badge and tilted his head.
“Mister Aren? Is this the exam to advance from lowest-class to lower-class?”
“No. I’d like to apply for the highest-class mercenary promotion exam.”
“……Excuse me?”
The employee’s voice suddenly grew loud, and the noisy surroundings fell silent as if cold water had been poured over them. Every mercenary who had been maintaining their weapons turned to stare at me at once.
“Hey, did that greenhorn just say what I think he said?”
“A lowest-class nobody wants to take the highest-class exam in one go?”
“Puhahaha! The crazy bastard must’ve crawled in here drunk! Does he think highest-class is some dog’s name?”
“Look at this guy. Jumping straight from lowest-class to highest-class?”
Open mockery and ridicule began pouring out from all directions. It was only natural—never in history had a lowest-class mercenary skipped every rank to challenge the absolute peak. It was the height of arrogance.
At the same time, many men swallowed hard as they looked at the three wives standing behind me. Their gazes were filled with a mix of envy and jealousy.
Once they saw the overwhelming beauty of my wives, the mercenaries’ mockery quickly became stained with envy and inferiority.
“Tsk tsk, looks like a guy with zero sword skills who only knows bedroom techniques, dragging around beauties like that.”
“Hey, greenhorn! Hiding behind women and getting all that attention making you blind?”
“Thinks he’s the continent’s strongest just because he swung his hips all night?”
“Why are women like that clinging to a pathetic lowest-class loser? What a waste.”
When their vulgar taunts crossed the line, the eyes of the wives beside me instantly turned ice-cold. Kaina’s hand moved to her greatsword’s hilt, a black-smoke-coated dagger flickered between Silphid’s fingers, and spirits began to flicker around Isilia. They looked ready to take those mockers’ heads off right then and there.
I quietly stepped in front of my wives and raised a hand. There was no need to waste words on them. In the world of warriors, all you had to do was prove yourself with overwhelming force.
I stared straight at the receptionist, whose pupils were trembling. He swallowed dryly and recited the rules.
“According to Guild Regulation Article 14… even a lowest-class mercenary may directly challenge a higher rank if they pay a special guarantee deposit. There is such a special clause, however…”
“The condition for highest-class promotion is to fight a total of three matches against currently active upper-class and highest-class mercenary representatives and win at least two of them. Are you certain you wish to proceed?”
“Yes. Please proceed.”
Following the guild enforcers’ guidance, I walked to the center of the vast circular training ground.
In the spectator seats, rough mercenaries who had come to enjoy my miserable defeat and desperate begging spat on the ground as they claimed their spots. Of course, not everyone was mocking me.
A few honorable warriors looked at the crowd with distaste and whispered among themselves.
“As expected, these ignorant mercenaries are only good at jealousy and envy.”
“Is that the guy who requested the jump from lowest-class to highest-class?”
“Hey, young man! Show them what you’re made of! You got this!”
“Tch, let’s just watch this arrogant bastard’s bones break while he screams.”
A short while later, the heavy clank of armor echoed as the opponents prepared by the guild entered the training ground. The representatives were two upper-class mercenaries and one highest-class mercenary wielding a massive two-handed axe. A heavy, veteran killing intent that came from surviving countless battles radiated from their bodies.
The first representative, an upper-class mercenary, drew his sword with a sneer.
“Looks like the greenhorn wanted to show off in front of his women… This is going to be your grave.”
“I won’t go easy on you, so try not to get your bones broken.”
I slowly drew the ordinary iron sword hanging at my waist. The moment I gripped the weapon, sensations from my past lives raced through my entire body like an electric current.
From my dantian, majestic holy power and mana surged wildly, gently coating the blade of my sword.
“…If you’re ready, come at me.”
At my quiet words, the opposing upper-class mercenary shouted in fury, as if he’d been insulted, and kicked off the ground.
“Die, you rookie!!”
His sword sliced through the air with a massive gust of wind and came crashing down vertically toward my head. It was the exact moment the mercenaries in the spectator seats were about to cheer.
Swoosh—
There was no sound of air being torn apart. I had simply swung my sword lightly in a diagonal arc.
Clang!!
Thud-thud-thud—
There wasn’t even the sound of swords clashing. The overwhelming mass of mana wrapped around my blade shattered the opponent’s sword into pieces, and the tremendous shockwave struck his entire body directly.
“Kuh, uaaaaagh!!”
With a scream, the upper-class mercenary’s body rolled dozens of meters across the training ground floor before slamming into the guild wall.
Boom!!—
Embedded in the wall, he hadn’t even managed to swing his sword properly. After a single strike, he foamed at the mouth and fainted.
“……Huh?”
The mockery and cheers that had been about to erupt from the spectator seats froze solid. The mouths of the jeering mercenaries hung open.
A single strike. A lowest-class mercenary had swatted an upper-class mercenary away like a bug.
“W-what the… Just what the hell happened?”
The guild employee overseeing the exam declared in a trembling voice.
“F-first match… lowest-class mercenary Aren wins!”
First Bout — Aren Victory
One strike KO against an Upper-class Mercenary
The second match followed immediately. The second upper-class mercenary stepped into the arena with a deathly pale face. Clearly unable to believe what he had just witnessed, he took an extremely defensive stance, trying to drag the fight into a war of attrition to look for an opening.
But to my eyes, every one of his movements looked as slow as if time had stopped. Compared to Silphid, his movements were on the level of a child showing off.
Whoosh—
I moved lightly and vanished from his field of vision.
“W-where did he… ugh?!”
Before he could even turn his head in panic, I was already standing behind him. I lightly tapped him with the pommel of my sword.
Thump—!
“Guhk…!”
The opponent couldn’t even let out a proper scream. His eyes rolled back and he collapsed forward.
“S-second match… Aren wins as well!! You have fulfilled the promotion requirements!”
An overwhelming gap in skill that hadn’t even taken three minutes. An eerie silence fell over the entire training ground.
The mercenaries who had mocked me now looked at me with eyes full of fear, while my wives simply smiled at each other as if it was only natural.
“Hehe, as if our husband would ever lose to the likes of them?”
Isilia lifted her chin proudly.
“Master’s sword. Excellent.”
Kaina stood her tail straight up in delight.
“If a little more time passes, he will surpass even the peak of his past life…”
Silphid whispered softly.
The examiner looked at me with an incredulous expression before declaring in a shaky voice.
“……Lowest-class mercenary Aren, your rank adjustment to highest-class mercenary is hereby appro—”
“Wait.”
A heavy, low bass voice that seemed to tear through the air interrupted the announcement. The one who silenced the entire square in an instant was none other than the highest-class mercenary who had been sitting silently in the guild’s representative seat.
He easily lifted the massive two-handed axe he had embedded in the ground with one hand and slowly walked toward the center of the training ground. The overwhelming pressure of mana radiating from his entire body violently scattered the sand on the floor.
“Greenhorn, I heard you requested promotion to highest-class.”
He pointed the edge of his axe right in front of my nose and smiled coldly.
“But all you’ve defeated are two measly upper-class mercenaries.”
“Between upper-class and highest-class lies an impassable wall of lamentation.”
“If you truly believe you are qualified to reach highest-class, prove it by defeating me.”