Chapter 191 ~ Swords of Darkness
<span style="font-weight:400">The next morning.
<span style="font-weight:400">After Momonga and Lupu finished setting the “gear in motion” the previous day, the four headed to the Adventurer’s Guild to start the first step to the rise of their fame and heroism.
<span style="font-weight:400">Upon arriving, the first thing they saw as they entered the hall was the counter, where three of the guild’s receptionists greeted the adventurers with business smiles on their faces.
<span style="font-weight:400">There were warriors in full te armor, nimble fellows in light armor and bearing bows, people in priest’s garb and adorned with all manner of holy symbols, as well as robed arcane magic casters with their staves.
<span style="font-weight:400">On the left was arge door, and on the right was a notice board. There were several pieces of parchment upon it which Yuuji and the others had not seen yesterday during their registration. There were several adventurers chatting in front of it.
<span style="font-weight:400">As soon as they entered, all eyes quickly turned towards them…
<span style="font-weight:400">And quickly, after an initial look of shock, many didn’t even hide their look of curiosity, awe, and most of all, envy.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Gods… Who are they? I’ve never seen them before.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“A warrior, two magic casters, and that brown-skinned woman… a fighter?
<span style="font-weight:400">“Damn, look at that armor though… Those look expensive as hell!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“The magic casters also seemed to be repping some expensive robes.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Damn, those women look hot!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Sssh! They look strong. Don’t say that so loudly!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Bah, are you blind? Can’t you see their copper tes?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Eh, are you serious?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Tch, is it another rich kid ying adventurer with bodyguards hired by their papas?!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Oh? Then I guess it’s time for me to teach them a couple of lessons! As for the payment… Guess I can settle for a night with those chicks!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hahaha! Count me in! I’ll take the tanned one. I like my woman feisty!”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Fine by me! I like that masked woman better anyway.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The whisperedments of envy, which was to be expected given the quality of armor Yuuji donned, the robes Aika and Momonga had adorned, and the massive, jet-ck mace strapped behind Lupu, quickly devolved into the cries of men riddled with inferiorityplex and lust they could only satisfy with their own hands.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was the only way they could cope with their own pitiful pathetess; by disrespecting and degrading women so they could feel more superior in their own empty heads.
<span style="font-weight:400">But these too, were unshocking. In fact, Yuuji and Aika knew they would hear such cliched lines from no name mobs in the many isekai light novels they’ve read.
<span style="font-weight:400">They were pitiful… But unfortunately, Aika had no pity for such disgusting insects. So, she didn’t even bother with them.
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji, Aika, Momonga, and Lupu made their way to one of the counters which had been freed up just as they arrived.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Good morning. We are here to take on a quest. Would it be possible for you to provide us with a list of requests avable for the taking?”
<span style="font-weight:400">The first reaction he received from the matured receptionistdy was stunned awe as she looked with widened eyes at the immacte and majestic white and gold armor in the image of a dragon.
<span style="font-weight:400">While she had seen plenty of adventurers, no adventurers in E-Rantle had ever donned armor of such level…
<span style="font-weight:400">“A-Ah, yes of course! I mean- If you wish to take on a quest, please head to the billboard there, where requests are posted. Once you find a suitable quest, you may bring one back to me to register your party for the quest.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Very well. Thank you for your help.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The receptionistdy nodded in a daze as the armored dragon knight turned and walked away with hisrades, her eyes still lingering on his back.
<span style="font-weight:400">She could still feel her heart reverberating when she was in his presence and when he spoke to her.
<span style="font-weight:400">Such a force of presence, not overwhelming and forceful, but all epassing, majestic, and… warm. Just by being in his presence, she felt somehow… safe.
<span style="font-weight:400">She had never seen a hero, a knight in white armor who would always save the day and the princess and vanquish all evil she read in so many children’s books. But this feeling…
<span style="font-weight:400">A thought quickly came to mind. Could she perhaps… be in the presence of one?
<span style="font-weight:400">Meanwhile, looking at the billboard, Yuuji studied the myriad request parchments one by one.
<span style="font-weight:400">But, as he expected, he could not read the words written on them. Aika and Momonga also looked around curiously at the billboard, but just like him, the two couldn’t read them as well.
<span style="font-weight:400">And while they perused the billboard, Lupu just waited while looking around the guild hall, waving at the female adventurers and ignoring the men, while silently remembering the faces of those who had insulted her masters.
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji studied the parchments for a while.
<span style="font-weight:400">He had a spell called “Comprehend Language” which would grant him the ability to read anynguage written on a surface he could touch. However, casting a spell while being the center of attention of literally every single person in the guild would undoubtedly raise some eyebrows.
<span style="font-weight:400">So, in the end, Yuuji took the parchment with the highest number written on it, hoping it’d correspond to the rank.
<span style="font-weight:400">He brought it back to the receptionist, and the moment Yuuji gave her the parchment, her eyes went wide in shock.
<span style="font-weight:400">“E-Eh?! U-Uhm… This is a mithril-ranked quest…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji nodded.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Indeed.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“...”
<span style="font-weight:400">His response silenced the receptionist, not out of awe, but out of sheer shock and confusion.
<span style="font-weight:400">“...Please forgive me. However, since you and yourrades are all still Copper-ranked adventurers, you are not permitted to take requests above your rank. This is a rule created by the guild to protect its adventurers from foolishly diving into danger they are not ready to face for coins. And even if you were able to return with your limbs and lives in tack, you will be dealt a heavy penalty for failing the quest!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The receptionist raised her voice and began breathing heavily to catch her breath. She looked at the white armor-d man with eyes filled with annoyance, frustration, and concern.
<span style="font-weight:400">A mithril-ranked quest was not something a new adventurer should even begin to imagine doing!
<span style="font-weight:400">Moreover, the quest he brought back was of the highest difficulty! Although he might have expensive armor and three possibly skilled bodyguards to protect him, just four people would not be able to clear it if at least one of them didn’t have the strength of an Adamantite level adventurer.
<span style="font-weight:400">The receptionist expected a number of responses from the adventurer before her.
<span style="font-weight:400">If the man was indeed a rich son of a noble, then his bodyguards might be upset with her for daring to be rude to their master.
<span style="font-weight:400">If the man had a high pride, then he would be mad at her instead for insinuating hisck of strength.
<span style="font-weight:400">And if the man was sensible, then he would ept her words and apologize.
<span style="font-weight:400">But to her shock, none of her assumptions were correct as the man gestured to the beautiful woman in white robe and fox mask, and the man d in ck robe.
<span style="font-weight:400">“My partner and my friend here are magic casters capable of casting spells up to a third level.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji then gestured towards Lupu.
<span style="font-weight:400">“While me and my female friend here are warriors and fighters of the same caliber. So, while we may have a copper te hanging down our necks, it does not reflect our skill, but rather the time we had spent as an adventurer, which was 2 days. I assure you of our skills, and we wish to take a quest that suited our level.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The hall went silent, before murmurs of shock and disbelief quickly filled the guild once again.
<span style="font-weight:400">Even the receptionist was shocked by his deration. And at this point, she had be unsure if what he said was the truth, or a false bravado spoken to save his pride.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I-I apologize. But we cannot let you take on this request as per the guild’s rules… ”
<span style="font-weight:400">“... I understand. It seems I have put you in a difficult situation. I apologize.” Yuuji bowed his head slightly.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Then, please give us the most challenging copper-ranked quest we can take. There should be others besides the ones in the notice board, right”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes! Right away!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The receptionist finally smiled and bowed in gratitude before leaving to select a quest suitable for the group of adventurers before her.
<span style="font-weight:400">And as Yuuji and the others were waiting, a voice calling for their attention resounded.
<span style="font-weight:400">“How about helping us with our work, then?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Hm?”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji, Aika, Momonga, and Lupu turned to see a four-man adventurer team, their silver tes glittering on their ne.
<span style="font-weight:400">The one who spoke was the young man at the front, typical blonde hair and blue eyes typical of the Kingdom, wearing some sort of banded armor with strips of metals woven together with metal threads of leather or chain backing. He carried himself like a warrior, and the leader of the party.
<span style="font-weight:400">And upon seeing them, Yuuji, Aika, and Momonga hid the look of recognition underneath their helm, mask, and hood as they all thought the same thing in unison.
<i><span style="font-weight:400">‘Ah, there they are. The Swords Of Darkness.’</i>
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji observed the three young men and the one slightly smaller “boy” for a moment, looking at them in silence as he was reminded of their figures in the anime.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was a casual observation. But somehow, to the ones being observed, they suddenly felt like they were being seen throughpletely by the man from beneath his cool draconic helm.
<span style="font-weight:400">They couldn’t help but straighten up nervously.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I see. Worthwhile jobs are certainly what we seek. But before we ept, I would like to hear what sort of job it might be.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The young man at the front nodded, and asked the receptionist to prepare a room for them.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was a normal meeting room with a long wooden table lined with chairs on both sides in the middle.
<span style="font-weight:400">The members of the Sword of Darkness party streamed in and sat down, followed by Yuuji and the others.
<span style="font-weight:400">And before discussing the job, the leader of the Swords of Darkness began introducing themselves.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I’m the leader of the “Swords of Darkness”, Peter Mauk. That fellow over there is the eyes and ears of our team, the ranger, Lukrut Volve.”
<span style="font-weight:400">The leather-armored blond man nodded in acknowledgement, his brown eyes seemed to have a spark of delight in them. He was slender and long-limbed, kind of like a spider, but his lean torso was wiry and muscr.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Next is our spellcaster and the brains of our group, Ninya, The Spellcaster.”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“Pleased to meet you.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Probably the youngest in the group with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Though “he” was an adult, the smile on his face looked too youthful.
<span style="font-weight:400">And Yuuji’s group knew very well who “he” truly was. A poor vige “boy” trying to gain money through adventuring using the meager skills in magic “he” had to try and buy back his elder sister, who was kidnapped, used, and sold off by a scummy noble who unfortunately came to their vige and saw her.
<span style="font-weight:400">A tragic story that would end in tragedy. At least, if they don’t do anything about it.
<span style="font-weight:400">“...But Peter, can you not use that embarrassing nickname?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Eh? But it’s a good one.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Eh~? You have a nickname? That’s cool~”
<span style="font-weight:400">Lupu asked, her beautiful voice stunning the four Swords of Darkness members for a moment.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Y-Yes, he’s a talent-holder, and a genius magic caster.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Wow~ That sounds amazing~”
<span style="font-weight:400">Lupu did not understand what they meant by “talent-holder”, but it was fun seeing them being proud of something so seemingly insignificant and small.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That is amazing.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuujiplimented, causing Ninya to blush and waved his hand around in denial.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I-It’s nothing much! It’s just that I happened to have a talent pertaining to that area.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Much like martial arts, talents were abilities that did not exist in YGGDRASIL but which were unique to this world. About one in every 200 people was born with a talent. While talent-holders were not rare, the abilities themselves varied greatly in potency and type.
<span style="font-weight:400">For instance, there were things like being able to predict tomorrow’s weather with 70% uracy, the ability to strengthen summoned monsters, hastening the harvest by several days, using the magic of dragons that once ruled the world, and so on.
<span style="font-weight:400">But these were all inborn abilities which could not be chosen or changed. And it wasmon to encounter situations where these abilities could not be applied.
<span style="font-weight:400">If someone was born with the talent to improve the destructiveness of their magic but they never had the chance to be a magic caster, then the magic would be useless.
<span style="font-weight:400">There were very few people who could make good use of their talents. And there were almost no talents that could dictate someone’s direction in life, except for a few very powerful ones.
<span style="font-weight:400">And even without talent, some could go on to be a prominent figure, such as Gazef Stronoff.
<span style="font-weight:400">But despite everything, Yuuji do n on gathering the people with useful and powerful talents. Not only to strengthen Nazarick by having talented people under his banner, but to also prevent them from being taken by those in opposition to him and his friends.
<span style="font-weight:400">“I think his talent has something to do with being suited to studying magic. I mean, he only took four years to learn what should’ve taken eight. I’m not a magic caster though, so I’m not sure how great that is.”
<span style="font-weight:400">And Ninya’s talent… with time and the myriad of magical knowledge within Nazarick, she would have the potential to be the continent’s greatest magic caster, barring those within Nazarick.
<span style="font-weight:400">It was a talent he won’t simply let go just like that.
<span style="font-weight:400">“That’s certainly amazing… I did not expect to find such talent so soon.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“A-Ahahaha…”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji praised, and the “boy” couldn’t help but rub the back of his head shyly.
<span style="font-weight:400">He didn’t press further. It wasn’t time for him to pull Ninya into his grasp. The right time… woulde soon.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Continuing, could you tell us about yourst friend?”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Yes. He’s a druid, Dyne Woodwonder. He uses healing spells and magic that controls nature, and he’s well versed in herbal lore. You can let him know if there’s anything wrong with your body; he has medicine that’s good for stomach pains.”<span style="font-weight:400">
<span style="font-weight:400">“Pleased to meet you!”
<span style="font-weight:400">The heartfelt and energetic greeting came from the burly, barbaric-looking man with a full, bushy beard. He seemed younger than he first appeared, and despite his manly, rugged appearance, he had a warm, friendly smile beneath his beard and a pair of soft looking eyes.
<span style="font-weight:400">“Likewise. Then, I shall also introduce myself and my friends.”
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji lowered his head slightly and ced a hand on his chest. The very movement elicited awe from themoners before him with sheer elegance.
<span style="font-weight:400">“My name is Alexander Kyrielight. The vanguard of our party. This is my partner…”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Lilith~ Nice to meet you~”
<span style="font-weight:400">The men all blushed inadvertently upon hearing her beautiful, alluring voice. And Ninya was simrly awed by it, entranced for a moment.
<span style="font-weight:400">Moreover, just from the glimpse they saw of her smile right beneath her fox’s mask… They were sure; She must be hiding an otherworldly beauty beneath it.
<span style="font-weight:400">Yuuji then gestured towards Momonga and Lupu with his hand.
<span style="font-weight:400">“This is Momon and Lupu, also a magic caster and the fighter of our party respectively.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Wonderful. I hope we can work well together, Sir Alexander.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Likewise. And please, simply call me Alex.”
<span style="font-weight:400">“Alright!”