The daily life of a Guild mber followed a routine. Adventurers would wake at dawn and head to the guild to look for promising quests. If nothing worthwhile ca up, they would take the day off or run personal errands.
Naturally, the Guild remained quiet from midday onward, after the adventurers had co and gone in a rush. It only got busy again near sunset, when they returned to report results.
This cycle repeated day after day and veteran receptionist Lize, now in her fifth year, expected today to be no different. Well, it was, right up until now.
In the midday that was supposed to be quiet, a sack was dropped on her desk with a loud thump!
Staring at the sack with the confusion evident on her face, Lize asked, “Are these all Ratman tails?”
“Yes,” Leon answered.
Lize looked pale as she hefted the bag. It was heavy. She’d handled her fair share of Ratman tails. One tail weighed maybe a hundred grams, tops—so even dozens shouldn’t amount to more than a few kilograms.
Curiosity got the better of her and she set the bag on the scale. The needle spun.
“Twenty... twenty-three kilograms?!” Lize exclaid as her jaw dropped.
That weight, by simple math, ant Leon had exterminated over two hundred Ratn. She’d have been impressed if he’d brought back just ten, but for a “welco quest,” this was absurd.
The Sewer Monster Extermination quest wasn’t one that yielded great results. It was easy to ruin your equipnt with the filth and stench, and the sewage tunnel was dark and dirty. Other than those being sent on a punishnt quest by the Guild, there were rarely any doing it, almost none.
Leon had volunteered for that very quest. And not only that, but he had also gone so far above and beyond it bordered on insanity.
“Ah, one mont,” Leon said, reaching into the bag, seemingly oblivious to the stunned silence that had gripped the Guild.
It wasn’t just the tails he had brought. When he pulled out a small, blunt, and stubby horn, the crowd’s hushed murmuring surged into open commotion.
Lize’s eyes widened as she muttered, “A horn? Don’t tell ...?”
Leon nodded casually. “Yes. Ratman horn. When you go through two hundred of them, I guess you end up running into a few variants. Do you think I could sell these as well?”
Lize imdiately raised her voice. “Of course! I’ll give you a good rate!”
Unlike their tails, Ratman horns had significant value. Not only were they rare—most adventurers avoided sewer hunts altogether—but many mages studied curse-type magic and needed the materials.
Ten tails went for six cupers while a horn went for three silvers [1]. That was more than fifty tis the price.
“You’ve got... two hundred and one tails and four horns,” Lize confird. “Three containing the Curse of the Plague, one with Berserk.”
A horn with Curse of the Plague was rarer and more valuable than one with Berserk, which was more common. Drawing on her experience, Lize ntally calculated the market rate and quickly determined a fair price. Very few vendors offered better rates than the Guild, so adventurers stuck with it.
“Altogether, that’ll be thirteen silvers and fifty cupers. How does that sound?”
“That’s more than I expected,” Leon replied.
“Ratman horns fetch a good price. Lots of demand.”
Without bothering to haggle, Leon accepted the amount. Thirteen silvers would more than cover his living expenses for a while. Even if he wanted to buy new gear, he’d have plenty left over. As his coin pouch gained weight, a satisfied smile tugged at his lips.
Lize smiled as she watched. She said, “You’re the first to go that far for your first quest. I’m genuinely impressed.”
“R-really?”
“Most people would’ve impressed just by turning in regular Ratn... but four variants? You seem to have already refined your Aura to quite the degree at such a young age... that’s remarkable.”
It was a sincere praise. Berserk, which simply enhanced the physical abilities of the Ratn, wasn’t nearly as big of a threat as Curse of the Plague, especially for D-rank adventurers. Even mild symptoms like fever or chills could ss with one’s body. In the middle of a fight, it could be fatal. A blocked nose, a coughing fit, a sneeze at the wrong ti—and it was over.
Leon had taken down three of them. To soone unaware of the Holy Sword’s influence, the only conclusion was that his Aura was so advanced it nullified curses outright.
“Haha, well, it’s nothing really...”
Leon gave a sheepish smile, but Lize quickly picked up on the mood and tactfully changed the subject. It wasn’t uncommon for adventurers to want to keep their abilities under wraps. Now, only one final step remained.
“Congratulations, Leon. As of today, you are officially registered as a D-rank adventurer with the Blaine branch of the Guild. The seal on this token represents the Blaine the Freedom City.”
“Can I use it anywhere?” Leon asked.
“Yes. However, until you reach B-rank, you’ll have second priority when accepting quests at other branches. It’s to prevent people from cherry-picking the best-paying jobs across branches.”
Leon nodded, understanding the logic, and looked down at the copper token which read “LEON.” It now served as proof of identity—not as an Academy cadet, but as an adventurer.
After waiting for him to finish inspecting the token, Lize asked a few extra questions. They weren’t required—but she saw Leon as a promising rookie, and worth investing in.
“Leon, if you have any preference for the types of quests you want to take, let know. I don’t have much authority, but I can try to help a little.”
“Hmm, then...”
Leon paused to think.
Lize smiled patiently, already narrowing down what she expected: quests that would fast-track him to C-rank? Sothing lucrative, perhaps? Maybe he would ask to be introduced to a reliable party since he lacked field experience.
However, to Lize’s surprise, his answer was none of those.
“Then I’d like more monster extermination quests. Even if they don’t pay well, I’d prefer ones where I won’t run into other people. Night-only quests are fine too. Sothing like the one I did this ti would be perfect.”
“Excuse ...?”
“Oh, and nothing too easy, please. I’m okay with things like undead—stuff that doesn’t make much money.”
Lize was baffled. Adventurers usually chased either fa or fortune. Leon’s request fit neither. He was willingly signing up for unpleasant, unprofitable work—and even asked not to be given easy kills.
From that alone, he didn’t sound like an adventurer at all. More like... a holy knight.
Wait... could he actually be one? Lize grew suspicious.
Young, ascetic, chasing hardship, and seemingly immune to curses like Curse of the Plague... the more she thought about it, the more it felt true. She had heard real holy knights trained in secret before being officially anointed.
This would explain everything. Her eyes sparkled with mistaken revelation.
Guess that sounded weird... Leon thought as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
To him, adventuring was just a stepping stone to becoming a Hero. His goal was to gain more experience, absorb monster power, and refine himself.He didn’t need cushy jobs or weak enemies. Only hardship and adversity can mold a Hero.
Lize straightened her posture and replied with extra formality, “Understood. I will designate you as the first-priority applicant for all D-rank quests of that nature. Since you volunteered for such an unpopular task, the Guild will see to it that you’re rewarded.”
“Rewarded...?”
It wasn’t sothing he was expecting to hear. Looking confused, Leon tilted his head—but Lize seed to misinterpret his hesitation and quickly clarified.
“We don’t an to reduce your noble intention to re money. Please accept this as our thanks. A proper token of appreciation for soone spreading the goddess’s teachings.”
“Uh, I... okay.”
Leon nodded, clearly a little flustered.
The goddess? Did she sohow find out he was a Hero? No, Lize’s reaction wasn’t nearly shocked enough for that. Maybe she just felt guilty about giving him such a nasty job?
And when Leon didn’t say anything in line with rejecting, she looked genuinely relieved.
—Keke.
El-Cid chuckled knowingly, but Leon didn’t have ti to ask why.
***
With his business at the Guild finished, Leon stepped outside and began walking back to his lodgings under the midday sun. It felt like the stench and shadows of the sewers were finally being washed away.
Thanks to the purifying light, no filth lingered on his body—but spending hours in that environnt had left his spirit thoroughly worn down. That’s when El-Cid decided to break the news.
El-Cid called out, —Leon.
“Mm?”
He reacted instantly, and El-Cid chuckled.
—That receptionist girl earlier—looks like she mistook you for a holy knight.
“Huh? What makes you say... oh!”
Only then did Leon recall her talk about his noble purpose and the Goddess’s blessings. At the ti, he’d assud she was just especially devout, but now that El-Cid pointed it out, it made too much sense.
—In a way, I suppose a Hero is a kind of holy knight. Not that far off, really. Imagine when she finds out the real truth—she’ll collapse in shock.
“But I can’t even tell her the truth.”
—Who said you have to? The receptionist who accepted the Hero into the Guild. Give it a few decades and the story of ‘the receptionist who managed the first Hero’ will probably go down in guild legend. She could live off the royalties from her moirs alone!
El-Cid was half joking, but it was also true. Leon had to agree.
Managing a Hero from his early days would be enough to earn soone a spot in the history books. From that perspective, it wasn’t such a bad connection for her.
It’s not like he had claid to be a holy knight. And the church wasn’t about to show up accusing him of impersonating one.
Actually... it’s not all that different from a pilgrimage.
He might be doing it for self-discipline, but if it helped others along the way, what was the harm? Having fully rationalized the situation, Leon closed his eyes tightly.
He’d be operating in Blaine for a while anyway, so it was better to avoid drawing suspicion than stir up trouble. He figured he’d stay at least until he reached B-rank.
“B-rank, huh... still a long way off.”
B-rank was the point where one beca a core force of the guild. Even with enough achievents, you couldn’t rank up without learning how to wield Aura Weapon. Leon hadn’t even awakened Aura yet. How long would it take to climb that far?
Sensing his worry, El-Cid chid in, —A hundred days is enough.
“What...?”
Leon choked at the sudden declaration.
—I was planning to take it slow and train you over six months but forget that. My successor wasting ti squashing sewer rats? That’s an embarrassnt!
“That’s your reason?!”
—Hey, how are you going to stump on so dragons if you don’t get strong real fast?
Leon was speechless at the absurdity, but El-Cid, all fired up now, kept going.
—You’ve already learned the basics of vision and footwork. What’s left is to ingrain them through real combat. Every bit of energy you absorb from monsters will go into honing your Aura. Even exterminating a thousand Ratn won’t be enough, so once you’re used to it, we’ll switch to stronger prey.
“You weren’t joking?!”
As the conversation continued, it seed El-Cid’s true feelings were slipping out.
—Of course not! I’m a Holy Sword, not so glorified janitor! I wasn’t forged to purify air and do laundry! Rember what I said? About that arrangent I left in the Titan Mountains.
“Arrangent? You said you forgot what it was.”
—That’s just because my main body forgot. I’m sure it’s sothing that’ll help you. Let’s make reaching the Titan Mountains within the next six months our first objective. Sound good?
Leon didn’t answer imdiately. He thought, Why the hell does it have to be the Titan Mountains...?
The na alone was enough to tighten his jaw. The Titan Mountains weren’t just another range. It was such a colossal threat that people living a thousand kiloters away still kept an eye on their activity. In this age, they were a powder keg—an infamously dangerous region.
Ruled by the Giant King, even dragons avoided it. Over the centuries, multiple kingdoms and empires had tried invading and paid the price for their arrogance. It was a cursed land.
They said it wasn’t a dangerous place as long as one didn’t venture in too deep, but even Swordmasters had fallen victim there on bad days.
—You’ll be fine. It’s not like you’ll be slacking along the way. You’ll be able to at least keep yourself in one piece, right?
“Ugh...”
—Just trust ! I’m the Holy Sword!
Leon gave El-Cid a deeply skeptical look but eventually sighed and nodded. To be fair, he’d never once been disappointed by the results so far.
And so, the hundred-day hell training boot camp began.
1. One silver is worth around one hundred cupers. ☜
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