In Candela of Judgment, being an adventurer wasn’t exactly a prestigious job.
Because no special qualifications or abilities were required, just about anyone, man or beast, could easily slap on the “adventurer” label.
If you stripped the word “mercenary” of its professionalism and reliability and then added a scoop of background diversity, you’d end up with the term “adventurer.”
That said, there were still irregulars among the adventurers.
In the rank system divided by reputation and ability, those rated as “S-rank” adventurers could accomplish more than your average mercenary company.
In fact, one of the most famous named NPCs in Candela of Judgment was also an S-rank adventurer.
“Welcome! Are you here to register a request?”
The branch of the Adventurers’ Guild not far from the bank.
It wasn’t some sweaty, noisy den filled with rowdy men… or anything like that.
According to the guild’s policies, clients and contractors were strictly separated.
Once a request and its payment were submitted at the front desk, the guild would handle selecting a suitable adventurer and formalizing the contract.
So normally, there was no need to meet an adventurer face-to-face.
“I’m looking for a particular item.”
“A procurement request, then?”
“A mineral called Wisterium.”
“Let me take a look.”
The receptionist began flipping through a manual.
The sound of pages turning continued for quite a while before the receptionist let out a small groan.
“It’s not listed in the standard request manual. Must be a really rare item. Could you describe it for me? Maybe where it’s usually found?”
“Wisterium is a metal with a pale violet sheen. I heard it’s found in Ground Zero.”
“Ah! If it’s from Ground Zero, that would explain why it’s not in the standard manual. Would you mind waiting just a moment?”
The receptionist pulled out a separate book.
On the worn leather cover, the title Ground Zero Inventory was embossed.
“Found it! There’s something here that matches your description. Although… it says the item hasn’t been officially named yet. You called it Wisterium, right? By any chance, do you know what it’s used for? If you provide us with new information, we offer a small reward in return.”
Wisterium was a type of magical mineral.
Its key trait was its ability to change mass in response to magical power.
Depending on how it was used, its utility varied wildly. Equipment made from Wisterium was considered endgame-tier gear, only unlocked in the final stages of the original game.
Naturally, I had no intention of sharing that information.
“I don’t know what it’s for. I plan to research it to find out.”
“Aha, then I’ll just list the purpose as ‘for research’ on the request form for now. How much Wisterium are you looking to obtain?”
“The more, the better. But I doubt it’s a mineral that can be found in large quantities.”
“You’re right. So far, there have only been two recorded discoveries. And even then, the samples were no larger than pebbles.”
“Then let’s structure the reward based on the amount they bring back. The more they collect, the more they get paid.”
“What rank of adventurer would you prefer for this request? Since it involves Ground Zero, only adventurers of B-rank or higher are permitted to accept it.”
Naturally, higher-ranked adventurers come at a higher cost.
Hiring a lower-ranked adventurer would save money, but it would also increase the chances of failure or they might refuse the request altogether.
And I wasn’t someone who needed to worry about saving money.
“What’s the highest-ranked adventurer currently available?”
“As it happens, an S-rank adventurer, Miss Lieka Lazuli, is currently looking for work. She charges a hefty fee, but her skills are top-notch.”
One of the named NPCs I remembered from Candela of Judgment was this very adventurer.
Nickname: Cat’s Eye Lieka.
Her specialties were ruin exploration, excavation, and survival.
She was more than capable of handling this request.
“Then I’ll commission her for the job.”
“Just to confirm…. it’s going to be quite costly. Miss Lieka’s upfront fee alone is 2,000 Blanc, and the guild takes a 20% commission on the total request fee. Also, since Ground Zero is classified as a top-tier danger zone, a hazard bonus will apply, and then there’s also…”
With all the surcharges stacked up, the total cost soared to 250%.
It wasn’t an overpriced rip-off.
Ground Zero.
A land once ruled by a magical kingdom long ago, now ravaged by the aftermath of a catastrophic magical disaster that destroyed that kingdom overnight.
What exactly that disaster was, and why it occurred, remains a mystery to this day.
The only thing that’s been confirmed is this: the closer you get to the center of the disaster zone, the lower your chances of making it out alive.
Even so, the land still held value. Enough to risk entering.
Where the unprecedented magical calamity had torn through, even space and time had been twisted, and relics from the mythic age, powerful artifacts, and even materials transferred from other worlds had been discovered there.
In fact, the Empire’s Treasure No. 2 and the item Karaf’s mages most wanted to steal…. It was the pocket dimension pouch found in none other than Ground Zero.
Given that, it’s no surprise that various nations have previously dispatched military units in attempts to dig up treasure from the area.
Of course, they all got burned.
Nowadays, exploration teams are made up of criminals and adventurers…. disposable lives offered in quantity, not quality.
So if the price of retrieving something from Ground Zero is the fee of a single S-rank adventurer, that’s actually quite a reasonable deal.
I willingly placed the pouch of jewels I’d brought from the bank on the counter.
“I’ll pay the upfront fee and guild commission separately. And if Wisterium is retrieved, I’ll pay with jewels worth four times the volume of the metal.”
Gulp.
The receptionist swallowed dryly at the staggering sum.
“I’ll send the request form immediately. Is there anything else you need?”
“Hmm.”
After a moment’s thought, I asked,
“Could you ask that S-rank adventurer if they’d fight a dragon for the right price?”
“A dragon? Do you mean something like a drake or a wyvern?”
The receptionist tilted their head and asked, puzzled.
“Never mind what I just said.”
I had considered gathering a few named NPCs to take on Monastrell, but it was clearly not going to be easy.
In Candela of Judgment, dragons had long since vanished, treated as mythical creatures that disappeared centuries ago.
Instead, I arranged for several additional ingredients needed to make the elixir and left the Adventurers’ Guild.
When I returned home, Dahlia was acting suspiciously in the living room.
She had laid sheets of gold-plated toilet paper across the table and was cutting them neatly with scissors.
I asked,
“What on earth are you doing now?”
“Oh! Master, you’re back already? I was just cutting the gold-plated toilet paper in half. It’s pretty wide, so I figured we could use just half at a time…”
“….…”
Come on, there’s no need to go that far to save money.
When I showed her the money I brought back from the bank, Dahlia blinked in silence for a while.
Then, after a moment, she gently set the scissors down and asked,
“S-So… does that mean I don’t have to worry about getting kicked out anymore?”
“Even if I go bankrupt, I won’t kick you out.”
She let out a sigh of relief.
After stashing the money in the safe, I went up to my study and found a note I didn’t recognize lying on the desk.
From your most beloved secret friend.
On the back of the note was a red lipstick mark.
I had a pretty good idea who sent this ridiculous letter, and the thought alone made my mood sour.
I immediately set the paper on fire.
Fwoosh.
It was time to uphold my end of the deal I’d made with that bastard.
***
Lights-out had long since passed in the dormitory, now deep in the middle of the night.
A pale-skinned woman walked silently through the darkness, without even a lantern to guide her.
Her steps were light, and she made almost no sound.
So when she arrived at the first-floor lounge of the dormitory, the students who had snuck out didn’t notice her presence….even in the faint moonlight trickling in.
“Tonight’s stew was awful. Way too salty. I thought I was drinking seawater.”
“That’s why I just ate bread.”
“The drying rack’s broken again. I hung my laundry by the window… think it’ll dry by morning?”
“They said it’s gonna rain starting tomorrow.”
“What?!”
“And it’ll last through the weekend.”
“I’ve got volunteer work this weekend; this is bad.”
“Do you know where we’re going?”
“No idea, me neither.”
“I heard it’s the docks.”
“The docks? How would you know that?”
“Huh? What do you mean? How would I know? I don’t know.”
“What are you talking about? You just said it.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“…Then who said it was the docks?”
“I did.”
The last voice didn’t belong to any of the students.
“Eeeek!”
“A g-ghost!”
“Hmm. Do I really look that scary?”
“Supervisor Trisha?!”
Only then did the students recognize the figure in the dark and breathe a sigh of relief.
It was Miss Trisha, the dorm supervisor of Spring Hall, the first-year dormitory.
“You little rascals, didn’t I tell you not to wander around at night?”
“When did you even get here? We didn’t hear your footsteps at all.”
“Are you walking around without a lantern? It’s so dark in here.”
“I’ve got good night vision, so I don’t need one.”
“That can’t be true…”
The nightly game of cat and mouse between students sneaking out and the dorm supervisor was a small act of rebellion. It was an old tradition of the academy dormitory.
And the fact that the dorm supervisor had excellent night vision foreshadowed the hardships the students of Spring Hall would face for the next four years.
“So, what were you all doing out this late?”
“I couldn’t sleep, so I was just hanging out with my friends, chatting about this and that…”
Trisha’s eyes moved to the table.
A small assortment of snacks was spread out.
For kids their age, some lighthearted chatter and a few treats were more than enough to bond over.
Still, knowing they were in the wrong, the students fidgeted awkwardly and held out some snacks.
“Would you like one too, Miss?”
“Snacking at night makes you gain weight, you know.”
“But you’re so slim, Miss Trisha! You’ll be fine!”
“Oh my, what a sweet talker.”
Thinking the flattery was working, one of the girls wrapped her arm around Trisha’s and spoke with a playful grin.
“Come on, talk with us too, Miss. Please?”
“Aww, but what fun would you have talking to someone like me?”
“Miss Dorm Supervisor, you’re super popular with us, you know!”
“Is that so?”
It was practically impossible for a young and beautiful dorm supervisor not to be popular among the students.
And since Trisha treated the students far more gently than the other dorm supervisors, she’d even earned the nickname “angel”.
“Miss Trisha, do you have a boyfriend?”
“Tell us about your first love! Your first love!”
“Oh, you little—”
Trisha laughed and playfully tapped one student on the forehead.
“I’m going to finish my rounds, so you all have your fun but only for a little while, okay? Clean up your snacks properly, and promise me you won’t be late for class tomorrow morning.”
“Yes!”
“See? Miss Trisha really is an angel.”
After taking a light walk around the dormitory, Trisha returned to her office.
Click.
As she opened the door and stepped inside, a man’s silhouette stood waiting in the dark.
Her lips curled into a sultry smile.
The angelic expression the students so adored had vanished….it was replaced by a red, dangerous smile, like a poisoned fruit.
“My, Professor Winslet. What brings you here at this hour?”
“What nonsense. You were the one who summoned me.”
“That’s right. I’ve been waiting for you.”
With a soft chuckle, Trisha got straight to the point.
“The time has finally come. My Lord requires a great offering. And that offering… is you.”
Leave a Reply