YM778.TV (256) To the mercenary guild
Chapter (256) To the mercenary guild
“Thank you for your hard work.”
“Yo, good job.”
The same guard had been on guard duty the whole time without changing shift.
“Hn? What’s that spear?”
“Spear —? Ah, I forgot I was carrying it.”
It was the Scorpion Spear that was dropped by the boss monster.
Oh right, the guard was an Apprentice Spearman.
He was holding a bronze spear and he did tell me a lot of information.
All right, there would be no meaning if I held onto it so I guess I’ll give it to him.
“Erm, this was dropped by the boss and you may use it if you like.”
“Eh? But —”
“This has the effect of inflicting paralysis during attacks. I feel that it would be perfect for a guard to use it? I would be very thankful if this could help just a little to maintain security.”
” … In that case, I will receive it with gratitude. When soldiers receive goods, we have an obligation to report it to our superiors so I will put in a report. If my superior takes it … I hope he doesn’t.”
“Hahaha … if he takes it, you may obediently hand it to him and use it to progress in your career.”
I didn’t really have much experience in that since I only had experience working as a part-timer.
In actual fact, when I was working part-time for a family diner, it was my superior instead who told me to treasure my free time.
The situation would probably change if I became a full-time employee.
“By the way, I wish to become a mercenary but where should I go to do so?”
“Ah, you wish to become a mercenary? In that case, you should walk straight ahead on this path three hours after tomorrow’s morning bell rings. You should be able to find it immediately even without knowing the exact location. Since you could defeat this labyrinth’s boss on your own, I believe you will become a great mercenary. Also, don’t forget to bring your weapon.”
“I got it, thank you very much.”
I bowed to the guard and left after asking him for the location of an inn.
Then, I cleaned off the dirt from crossing the desert and investigating the dungeon with Clean and headed for an inn.
Next morning.
I immediately understood the meaning behind his words that I would be able to tell the Mercenary Guild apart.
Rugged men were all walking toward the same direction and it was the same direction as the one the market aunty told me so I could tell where to go with a glance.
About 50 men hoping to be mercenaries were lining up so I joined the end of the queue.
Perhaps because everyone heard that they only had to take a simple interview test to be hired as a mercenary?
For some reason, there was an air of nervousness and impatience.
In the end,
“Don’t cut in line!”
“What! This was originally my spot!”
“Don’t lie, you were never here!”
I heard voices from the front of the line and I unconsciously failed to contain my laughter.
Well, I didn’t know if the young man actually cut in line, or it was because of the poor queuing arrangement, or that he was actually queuing properly but the guy was picking a fight.
It wasn’t something to be proud of but I was used to lining up like that.
Waiting for my turn for a job interview — there would be chairs prepared for interviews but that sense of nervousness was the same as those waiting for their number for the Mercenary Guild. Well, that was the result of failing to get a job a hundred times so it really wasn’t something to be proud of.
“Yo, brother. You seem relaxed.”
The middle-aged man (about 40 years old?) with a faux mohawk lining up in front of me said.
“Hn? Ah, well I am used to tests and interviews like these … although I am used to them because I failed.”
“Hahaha, I see. By the way, is brother a swordsman?”
“I am good with a sword. How about you — Ah, Axe-user?”
“You bet. I’m able to kill any monsters with a single hit as long as I have this axe.”
“So reliable.”
But his job was Lumberjack.
I tried investigating the man’s job.
【Lumberjack: Lv17】
Well, a Lumberjack would acquire the Axe Equip skill as they level up and will be able to handle it but a moving monster is completely different from a stationary tree. If his job was Lumberjack, he would not be able to become an Adventurer but looking at the people lining up, I could tell there were many with non-combat jobs.
Of course, even among non-combat jobs, there are some that are stronger than combat jobs which are lower level than them and there are skills from non-combat jobs that can be used for combat.
For example, by using the Thread Manipulation skill from the Angler job, it would be possible to attack with steel thread.
Incidentally, speaking of combat jobs, there was nobody with criminal jobs such as Thief, Bandit, and Pirate.
“Hey, do you know what kind of interview and test are there?”
“The test is the same for everyone except for magicians. Whether we will be able to damage a wooden dummy efficiently. The content of the interview would be based on the test results.”
Wooden dummy huh. Certainly, with a stationary wooden target, even a Lumberjack would pass — no, using an axe that has outstanding destructive power seems to be more advantageous instead.
Should I buy a good weapon instead of using my steel sword? No, they are currently at war so the weapon prices would probably have soared and a weapon shop would probably not sell a good sword. Even if they did sell one, it would probably be very overpriced.
“By the way, are we allowed to use any weapon?”
“Yes. Since the weapon you carry has become a criterion of the test. The country can’t even supply weapons to its soldiers, not to say the mercenaries. Even if a skilled swordsman is hired as a mercenary, he’ll still be useless if he only has a worn out sword.”
“I see …”
This guy is quite knowledgeable. Should I call him the male version of Carol? I thought to myself but I decided to not use Carol’s cute name on a rugged middle-aged man just for the sake of convenience.
Nevertheless, I asked the question that was difficult to ask.
“Why do you plan to become a mercenary?”
“Hn, let me see. Do you think we can win this war?”
“Er …”
They would probably face a crushing defeat. The scale of the forces was completely different.
There were also rumors of a portion of the country’s soldiers fleeing.
“I understand just by your lack of an answer. This war would not be won by normal means. So I decided to become a mercenary.”
“I totally don’t understand how you got to that conclusion.”
“Soldiers will be more useless as the war seem more likely to be lost. Leaving aside nobles who have their own territory or knights, there will be soldiers who are hired that will start running away when the country is in danger. When the country is faced with a lack of manpower but has no choice but to continue the war, their only choice would be to hire mercenaries. That is why the country is spending a lot of money to hire mercenaries. And then, even if the war is lost, or if the war reaches a ceasefire or truce, there have been cases where mercenaries who gained achievements in the war were given knighthood. There were stories of mercenaries who saved the life of a country’s great aristocrat and received territory in return. Even without that, the advance payment is a considerable amount too.”
I see, it was supply and demand. When the demand for a product was high but there is low supply, the price of the product would soar. In this country’s case, that product was — military power.
In other words, the country was desperately in need of people who are capable of fighting.
That means I would be able to pass even if my identity is somewhat uncertain.
“Thank you for teaching me all this.”
I thanked the middle-aged Lumberjack and turned to look at the front of the line. It seemed that four people at the front of the building entered. Incidentally, the two who were quarreling seemed to have finally reached a conclusion and the young man who tried to cut in line obediently lined up behind me.
The wait continued but I was happy inside.
Regarding my job, I had a fake certificate as an Apprentice Swordsman that Miri made while my sword skill was that of a Sword Saint. There were some with non-combatant jobs among the mercenary candidates in line.
In other words, I should have no way of failing this test.
As long as I don’t screw up the interview later.
Is my employment luck finally taking a turn for the better?