Legend

Chapter 46
Legend Chapter 46

It had been 5 days since the fight against Arogan……or rather the farcical show . In the afternoon on this day, Rei could be seen in the meeting room on the 2nd floor of the guild .

Yes, the meeting room where Hobbes had given the description of the Orc subjugation force .

Other than Rei, the figures of 5 other adventurers could been seen in the meeting room . A total of 6 people, including Rei . These were the people taking the rank up test to rank D .

In addition, among them, the figure of Arogan could be seen, his original plan of spreading his name had been carried out in the opposite meaning after the farce with Rei . The moment their eyes met, as Rei walked into the meeting room, if you observed Arogan’s expression as he quickly glanced away, you could understand his feelings about Rei .

(The rank up test, is it?)

The day before, Lenora, who could be said to be in charge of Rei, had called out to him as he entered the guild . He recalled the conversation he had with Lenora at that time .

『Ah, Rei-san . About the rank up test, because it will start tomorrow, please come to the meeting room in the early afternoon tomorrow . 』
『……That’s awfully sudden . Can’t you inform us in advance normally?』
『Well, you’re certainly right . However, in the end, this part of the adventurer rank up test . For urgent and emergency requests, as there would be no time, would you be able to ask for them to wait a little longer?』
『Indeed, that’s certainly true . So tomorrow afternoon?』
『Yes . Registering with the guild and taking the rank up test in under a month, this is the fastest time recorded in the city of Gimuru . Please do your best . 』

While recalling such a conversation, he turned his eyes to the other people who were also taking the rank up test .

First of all, needless to say, was Arogan . Nevertheless, even if he disgraced himself in that event the other day and was a rotten person, he had a magic sword at rank E . His personal skill aside, since he had a considerably high quality magic sword, he liked to fight by pushing forward with raw power .

2nd person . It was a woman who had her hair cut short to allow easy movement . As with her hair, she wore leather armour, made from the skin of some monster, so as to not obstruct her body’s movements . She had two daggers at her waist . She might be a thief, who’s job was to scout ahead and handle traps . Her age looked to be in her late teens .

3rd person . Wearing a robe on his body, similar to Rei, he held a cane in his hand . This man was a typical magician and had a plain face . As Rei was looking around, the man smiled at him before continuing to talk with the previous woman, who was sitting next to him . He was probably acquainted with the her . His age also looked to be in his late teens .

4th person . It was a male warrior who had a sharp gaze . His equipment was overwhelmingly inferior when compared to Arogan’s magic sword, it was a common long sword that could be bought in the city . However, Rei felt that his ability as a warrior was better than Arogan’s . His age was similar to Arogan’s, probably in his early twenties .

5th person . Sitting on a chair was a woman with her eyes closed . If anything, it could be said that she had decent features . What should be mentioned specially were her ears . She had ears with a much sharper point compared with ordinary humans, that showed that the woman was an elf . Seeing the the large bow placed on the table in front of her, she was probably an archer . She appeared to be in her late teens .

(Then there’s me, it seems . I wonder what kind of test will be held . )

While thinking about that, his eyes coincidentally met those of the female thief .

『……』

They stared at each other in silence for a few seconds . In the end, the female thief’s patience ran out and she spoke out .

「Do you have any business with me?」
「No, nothing in particular . 」
「But you were staring at me just now . So what do you want? Or what, are you trying to hit on me right now?」
「Wai-, Culotte . Suddenly picking a fight . Umm, I’m sorry . Because Culotte is taking the rank up exam for the first time, she’s a bit tense . Please don’t mind it . 」

The male mage who was sitting next to Culotte, the female thief, bowed his head as he apologised for her .

「Scola, why are you lowering your head . This is a bad fellow . Staring at people indecently . 」
「Ah, come on . I’m sorry . I’m really sorry about this . I’m sorry……I mean, usually she isn’t this stubborn……」
「Don’t worry about it . I don’t really care about it at all . 」
「What, is my worth to you……」
「It’s noisy . 」

In the room with Culottes noisy cries, a voice suddenly sounded . Aside from Rei, who had felt a person coming towards the meeting room, the others reflectively turned their eyes to the voice .

A man in his mid forties could be seen . However, with his trained body, it would be fair to say he was comparable to an active adventurer .

「Hey, I will begin the explanation of the rank up test . Are you all ready to listen?」

(……I should have seen his face somewhere . If I’m not mistaken……ahh, it was during the dispute with Goblin Drool . )

That was right, it was the person who had determined Rei had enough fighting strength to get to rank G after the dispute with Claws of the Hawk, it was Gran .

While remembering his face, Rei turned towards Gran, ignoring Culotte .

Culotte probably also realised who Gran was . She scowled at Rei for an moment before finally turning her eyes towards Gran .

In addition, Scola turned to Gran after giving Rei another apologetic bow .

「Now then, it seems that everyone is ready to listen . Then I’ll begin the explanation of the rank up test to rank D immediately . First of all, I’ll have you fight each other . 」

The moment Gran said that, Arogan who had watched Rei’s exchange with Culotte indifferently, looked at Rei, startled .

It had only been 5 days since he had been reminded of the difference in fighting strength . The colour slowly drained from his face, if he had to fight Rei, he had no chance of winning .

However, Gran continued to talk as if to reassure Arogan .

「That said, you won’t be disqualified immediately just because you lose the fight . ……Well, I won’t deny that it will be referred to during the assessment . The main purpose of fighting each other is to learn each others abilities . So, for the compulsory part of the rank up test, you will have to clear a bandit hideout about 2 days from here . The bandit subjugation is the trial for the rank up test . 」

Subjugating bandits, after that was said, the meeting room fell dead silent .

Because everyone was here to take the rank up quest to rank D, they had more or less only received requests up to E rank . Though tentatively speaking, it was possible to receive a request one rank higher, hearing of the barrier between rank’s E and D from senior adventurers, there were very few adventurers who would take rank D requests at rank E .

Because of that, there were less requests at rank E and more at rank D . There was also a clear difference when the target of a subjugation request were humans, such as bandits .

In this world, fighting monsters was a daily occurrence . However, there were still a lot of people opposed to the act of killing a person . Therefore, the type of request for subjugating bandits and the rewards from it were normally higher than rank D .

「Although everyone here seems to know the circumstances, a request to subjugate bandits or act as escorts to merchants and travelers is rarely D rank and is usually higher . In these types of requests, if you hesitate to kill the enemy in a dangerous situation, your companions or the people you are escorting might be killed, that’s the worst thing that could happen . The former is still better, in the latter case, there will be an issue relating to the trust of the whole adventurers guild . That’s why, the rank up test to rank D is basically asking you to kill people . 」

Only Gran’s words could be heard in the meeting room, the people taking the rank up tests, listened quietly .

However, among them, Rei wasn’t as strained . After all, He had killed the 4 members of Dark Night’s Star with his own hands during the Orc subjugation request . Though it wasn’t that he wanted to kill a people willingly, he had no weakness such as hesitating in an emergency .

There was also one other person .

(Him as well, it seems . )

It was the warrior other than Arogan, whom Rei had glanced at earlier . Though he was concentrating on listening to Gran’s words, he didn’t have the feeling of being tense like the others . With just that, Rei more or less understood that he probably had a similar experience in killing people .

「Now then, that’s all the information . Then I’ll have you fight each other at once . Since you have come to take the rank up test, I assume you’ve naturally brought the weapons you use?　Follow me . 」

Saying that, Gran left the meeting room . Rei followed next .

「Listen up, because there’s a training ground at the back of the guild, you will fight there . 」
「Training ground?」

To Rei’s unintentional words, Culotte looked at him with an amazed face .

「I’m shocked . Didn’t you know there was a training ground at the back of the guild . And you managed to get to rank E . 」
「Ahh, come one . Why do you keep lashing out at him . I’m sorry, I’ll be glad if you don’t mind Culotte’s words . 」
「Don’t worry about it . 」

He thought about the training ground while a wry smile floated onto his face at the combination of the pair .

(Goblin Drool and Arogan, when they fought me, why didn’t they use the training ground and fought with me in front of the guild insted . ……Ah, I see . They wanted to defeat me in front of a crowd of spectators . )

While understanding somewhat, he followed Gran to the first floor of the guild . As Kenny saw the figure of Rei, she gave a small wave . As a wry smile floated onto his face at the scene of Lenora admonishing Kenny, he stepped out the back door of the guild .

Continuing walking for a few minutes, the training ground Gran mentioned could be seen .

That said, it didn’t mean that there was particularly high quality equipment . It was just a wide space surrounded by a fence, there wasn’t even a roof .

The training ground had a considerable size, it was at the size where a simulation battle between knights could be carried out . Currently, there were about 10 people scattered around, training in the training ground .

「Hm? Hey, what’s that group over there?」
「Ah, you know . With Gran leading rookies, it’s probably the rank up test . 」
「Ahh, I see . 」

The voices of the adventurers who were exchanging blows with sword and spear could be heard by Rei . Maybe the other people were also interested in the training, all their eyes were focused on the people following Gran .

Whether or not Gran noticed those looks, he moved to the center of the training ground .

However, there was no wonder . It was like this at every rank up test . After all, if they could add a promising rookie to their parties, the possibility of surviving a dangerous request would increase . The number of parties who wanted rookies, who were like uncut gems, were endless .

「Hey now, you lot . Don’t get distracted by all the looks around you . Even though I said the results of the mock battle won’t be directly linked to the results of the test, it doesn’t change the fact that they will be referred to . First of all, introduce yourselves . First, your name, then your occupation, the all the skills you have that you want to make known . First, starting from you . 」

The person who Gran pointed out, or should it be said arranged before hand, was Rei .

To Gran’s grin, Rei gave a wry smile and started to speak .

「I’m Rei . My occupation is a magic warrior . My weapon is……」

He took the Death Scythe out of the Misty Ring and swung it . Just one swing . With just that, all eyes were glued to Rei and the Death Scythe .

「This large scythe, the Death Scythe . I am also proficient in fire magic . ……Also with respect to taming?」

Should he talk about Set here? Indirectly asking Gran, Gran replied with a small nod .

「I’ve also tamed a monster . Though I think some of you may already know, it’s the Griffon that’s lying down in the carriage waiting area at the guild . 」
「Wai-!　So you’re the one that killed the Orc King!?」

Griffon, realising who Rei was at those words, Culotte unintentionally cried out .

「Hey, killing the Orc King, surely……」
「Ah, that’s right . Though there certainly was a story that an adventurer called Rei had killed the Orc King, I heard he was at G rank . 」
「In that case, he went up from G rank to E rank for his achievement of defeating the Orc King, then to the rank up test for D rank?」

Voices could be heard from the surroundings here and there including all the rank up test participants, except for Arogan .

「Hey, quiet down, the rest of the self introductions still haven’t finished . Next, you . 」

Clapping his hands with a pam~ pam~ sound, Gran caught everyone’s attention before pointing to the next person . It was Culotte, the female thief .

Culotte, who was looking at Rei, shocked, pulled herself back together after Scola gave her a slap on the back .

「I’m Culotte . My occupation is thief . My main weapons, as you can see, are daggers . As for my skills, well……I’m good at scouting and placing traps . 」
「I see, a thief, is it . You’ll be playing an active part in this test in various ways . Next . 」

Next was Scola, who was beside Culotte .

「I’m Scola . My occupation is a mage, there are no weapons I’m particularly proficient at . As for magic, I can use water, wind and healing magic . 」

He finished the self introduction somewhat tensely because of the observation from not only the rank up test participants but also the other adventurers .

Gran turned his eyes to Scola with admiration after his self introduction .

「Hou~, you can use healing magic in addition to attack magic . Your future is quite promising . 」

A mage . Normally, one strong in attack magic would be weak in healing magic, vice versa, one strong in healing magic would normally be weak in attack magic . Therefore, mages like Scola who were proficient in both attack and healing magic were small in number . It wasn’t an exaggeration to call them a rare existence among mages .

「Our party has been keeping an eye on him . 」
「Hey, are you trying to steal a march?」
「Like they say, first come, first serve . 」

Hearing such voices, he was glad to hear himself being evaluated as such . Scola looked down with a smile, his cheeks red in embarrassment .

「Next . 」

Next to be called out was Arogan . Worried at Rei’s glance, he pretended not to mind it before speaking up .

「I’m Arogan . A warrior . My weapon is this magic sword . I’m confident in my skill with regard to direct attack power . 」
「A magic sword at rank E, moreover, it seems to be quite powerful . ……If it can be mastered, it’s power would be phenomenal . 」

Maybe he knew about the dispute with Rei that had happened a few days ago, Gran indirectly hinted that it was currently a useless treasure before looking at the next person .

Hearing those words, Arogan fell silent and frowned his eyebrows slightly without retorting .

「Next . 」

The next person was the male warrior with sharp eyes who seemed to be the only person aside from Rei who had experience in killing people .

「Supervia, swordsman . My weapon had no particular background, unlike the one Arogan showed previously . It’s a long sword . I have no particular skills aside from my ability as a swordsman . 」
「……I see . There seems to be no issues with your weapon . Next . 」

For an instant, Gran seemed to see right through Supervia’s weapon, before directing his gaze to the last person .

The female elf carrying the large bow gave a small nod at Gran’s glance before starting to speak .

「I’m Firuma Patron . My main weapon is a bow . My occupation is ranger, or spirit mage . As for skills, I can use spirit magic to some extent, as I said before . 」

At her words, the training camp became noisy again . That was a matter of course . Not only was it a beautiful elf, who usually stayed in forests and wouldn’t go out to cities, she could also use spirit magic .

Elves, it was known that from children to the elders, they were masters of the bow . In addition, because they had a greater magic power than most humans, they were superior as mages . As for those that could master both, they were rare . Their scarcity was similar to mages who could use both attack and healing magic, as said before .

And, Firuma Patron . The fact that she had a surname showed that she was one of the elves that had left their homes .

As for Gran, he had a grin after hearing Firuma’s self introduction .

「Hou~ . Though it’s already rare to see an Elf, to be able to use both the bow and spirit magic . Then there’s Rei and Scola, this time’s harvest is pretty good . 」

Muttering, he glanced at the test participants who had completed their self introductions .

「Well, a simple self introduction is good enough . The next step is to get to know each other’s respective abilities in a mock battle . Anyway, you guys will will have to subjugate bandits by yourselves . It’s better to experience each other’s strength yourselves . First round……Rei and Supervia . 」

Gran spoke out, selecting Rei and Supervia .