chapter 68

Frey immediately received a new Mercenary Card.

Unlike the C-rank card which appeared to be made of bronze, the A-rank Mercenary Card seemed to be made of sparkling gold.

The one-eyed man, Domki, gave him a warning. (TL: you guys can’t understand the forbearance it took to not give him a dumber name)

“As you can see, this Mercenary Card is made of gold, so it’s worth a lot. They can be sold for dozens of gold at a general store so they also cost a lot to reissue. So you should pay attention not to lose it.”

“I understand.”

“…are you a 5 star Wizard?”

“Yes.”

Domki’s eyes flashed with amazement.

Looking at his reaction, Frey thought back to Eizek’s advice.

Eizek told him that it would be the most convenient to act like a 5 star Wizard whenever working externally.

This was because it made it easier for him to have people recognize his strength without raising any suspicions.

If it was a wizard who was above 5 stars then it would be strange for them to be a mercenary who wasn’t already a part of a group or well known.

Especially if it was a young Wizard like Kain.

Therefore, while Frey donned the face of Kain, he did not intend to use any spells above 5 stars.

He didn’t expect to encounter anything that would force him to.

“You’re amazing even without a staff.”

Staff.

Now that he thought about it, Frey realised that he had forgotten to find a staff.

This was because he already had the Staff of the Great Sage.

‘A Wizard without a staff would raise some doubts.’

Because of this, he would need to carry a staff, just for appearances.

Frey decided to get one that very day.

Fortunately, Domki didn’t say anything else about the staff.

“Are you a part of a Mercenary Group?”

“I’m not, and I don’t intend to join any groups at the moment.”

“I see.”

Domki smacked his lips with a slightly regretful expression.

As the leader of a Mercenary Group, he desperately wanted this young man standing before him.

No matter which Mercenary Group they wished to join, a 5 star Wizard would be welcome with open arms and treated like royalty.

This was because there was always a lack of Wizards in their line of business.

That was why even 3 star and 4 star wizards were paid more than ten times other Mercenaries in the same rank.

Domki’s Mercenary Group already had a 5 star Wizard which was already impressive, however, no matter how he looked at it, Frey was much stronger.

Of course, he couldn’t force him since Frey had already told him his thoughts.

“A-rank Mercenaries are given free accommodation within the Mercenary Guild and you can request free equipment repair once a month at any affiliated blacksmith. In addition, there are no restrictions when entering or leaving the borders of the empire and its allies, and you can create a Mercenary Group of your own. There…”

Domki began explaining the benefits of being an A-rank Mercenary.

Frey listened to Domki.

A-rank Mercenaries made up less than 1% of the Mercenary population, and it was the goal that most Mercenaries aimed for.

This was because they knew that the S-rank and SS-ranks which were filled with monsters were dreams that could never be achieved.

After listening to the benefits, Frey understood why so many Mercenaries would risk their lives to reach the A-rank.

“…that’s it. Do you have any questions?”

Domki’s voice was gentle and it was nothing compared to the cold and harsh tone that he’d used before.

Frey felt like the man in front of him was trying to obtain his favor.

“I have a request I’d like to make.”

“What is it?”

“There is a mission to escort a group of peddlers to the Great Reynols Forest.”

“Great Reynols Forest…at this time…”

“Huh?”

Domki shook his head.

“There are much better missions for you to choose.”

“Is it difficult?”

“It’s pretty standard, but something terrible happened recently.”

“Something terrible?”

“I’m sorry but I can’t talk freely. It’s confidential for now. If you really want to take the mission then you can directly talk to the person who made the request.”

“I understand.”

“If it’s money you want, then it’s not a bad mission. I’ve heard that that mission pays quite well.”

The pay.

Although he still had one platinum coin left, Frey intended to wander the continent, so the more money he had, the better.

Frey decided to tell Domki his plans and seek a second opinion.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to return with them after taking them to the forest…would that be okay?”

“One way escort…hmm. It’s a tricky condition, but…”

For an A-rank Mercenary and a Wizard at that, the requestor would be willing to accept a few conditions.

After doing some calculations, Domki nodded his head.

“I’ll tell you in advance. The pay will drop to less than half. Are you fine with that?”

“Yes.”

“Stay in the guild today. I’ll inform you as soon as the date of departure is coordinated with the peddlers.”

“Thank you.”

It didn’t matter because Frey could use Warp whenever he wanted to anyway.

What’s more, he had memorized the coordinates of the places that he’d visited before.

He knew the coordinates for Uthiano, as well as Grode, Pillat, the 3rd Magic Tower, and even Drake Mountain.

Frey returned to the first floor where he showed his new Mercenary Card to the girl at the counter.

“You became an A-rank Mercenary…”

Not even an hour had passed.

The man in front of her turned out to be much more amazing than she’d expected.

“I heard that I can rent a room for free.”

“O-, of course. Here’s the key.”

Frey took the key from the employee and put it in his pocket. He didn’t have any intention of going upstairs just yet.

Instead, he looked around.

Mercenaries.

In a sense, there would be no one who was as sensitive to the surrounding situation than this group of people.

The more skilled a Mercenary was, the better their understanding of the happenings in the world.

“A few days ago, I saw the S-rank Mercenary Elsie, and her face really is amazing. If I didn’t know it was her, I might’ve tried something.”

“Your fingers would’ve gotten cut off. Hehe.”

“They said there’s going to be another civil war in Silkid. It’s dangerous but it’s also a really good place to make a killing. Wanna come with me?”

“Geotanbul is also a great place to earn nowadays. I heard that there are pirates there that are working with undead so they are trying to draw in as many escorts as possible.”

“Undead again? Damn skeleton bastards. We’ve been seeing them a lot lately.”

There were many interesting stories, but they weren’t what Frey was looking for.

It was then.

“Did you hear that Count Isaka might step down from his post as the 5th Magic Tower’s Master?”

“Huh? Really? What for?”

“Well. I’m not sure. I just heard about it from my friend who does chores at the 5th Magic Tower.”

“Come to think of it, he has been staying at their family home for a long time. Hasn’t it been about two months?”

“It doesn’t make sense for the Tower Master to be away for such a long time. I feel like he will be fired.”

Frey got up from his seat and headed over to those Mercenaries.

There was a gentle smile on his face.

“Hello, seniors.”

“Huh?”

“Who the hell are you?”

The Mercenaries looked at him with suspicious gazes.

“I’m just an ugly junior who knows nothing about the world. I’d like to ask you some questions.”

“Well…”

“Of course, I can’t hear your experiences if your mouth is dry. Please bring plenty of beer and snacks.”

Frey made an order to a waitress who was passing by and the Mercenaries’ faces brightened immediately.

“Junior really has good eyes.”

“There is probably no one else in all of Pillat who has as much experience as our party.”

“Right. What do you want to know?”

It was much easier than Frey expected.

There were two reasons for this.

One was that Kain Rixton’s appearance gave people a good impression.

Kain’s face allowed him to easily gain people’s favor simply by giving them a gentle smile.

The other was the simplicity that came with people who were called Mercenaries.

Most of them lived in the present and enjoyed the simple pleasures in life.

The Mercenaries in front of him were either C-rank of D-rank but they would not find his actions strange.

Instead, they would only think that he was in a good mood that day.

“Are there any rumors about the Blake Family recently?”

“Rumors?”

“Even small things are fine.”

“Why do you want to know about that?”

Frey thought about it for a moment and made a slightly hesitant expression.

“I want to become one of the Blake Family’s guards.”

Taking a hint from ‘Frey’s memories, he knew that there were always many people who desired to become the Blake Family’s guards

The Mercenaries laughed and nodded at his words.

“Well. The salary is high and it’s a stable job.”

“Sometimes those guys can even eat what the nobles eat and enjoy other luxuries.”

“Except for the intense competition, it is a great job.”

Most of their words were useless, but Frey still smiled and waited for them to finish their chatter.

When the beer was finally brought out to them, a large man sitting on the right began speaking.

“Well, come to think of it, Hans did say that he saw several wagons entering the Blake Family property at dawn.”

“Why was that? Were they supplies from the capital?”

“There were too many for that. And I heard someone’s voice from inside. Sounded like they were screaming or something.”

Frey’s gaze became sharp.

He immediately thought about human sacrifice, but the other mercenaries simply laughed at those words.

“Puhahaha. Screaming? That’s a pretty good ghost story.”

“That sort of thing is common for those aristocratic families. It’s probably a servant from another province or country.”

“Well. I don’t think we need to take it seriously.”

After that, they told Frey a lot of information about the Blake Family, but most of it was unimportant.

They mainly praised the amazing talents of the eldest and second sons Mischael and Heinz, as well as the head of the family Isaka’s tremendous magic skill.

‘Frey Blake’s name was not even mentioned once.

Was he simply forgotten, or was simply not important enough to discuss?

He didn’t think too deeply about it because he wasn’t that interested.

After asking the Mercenaries for forgiveness, Frey stood up from his seat.

Then he went to a nearby store and purchased a suitable staff.

“That will be 10 gold.”

The price of a staff had been ridiculously expensive 4,000 years ago and it remained the same now. It was the same for all magical items.

Frey paid the bill without complaint.

Then he decided to explore the city of Pillat since he had nothing to do until it was time to sleep.

He also had the slight expectation that he’d be able to receive a clue about Isaka’s actions.

But, of course, he found nothing.

The next day.

A waiter approached Frey after he came down to the first floor after washing his face.

“Mr. Kain Rixton, Mr. Domki asked me to pass this to you.”

It was a flyer.

On it, was the information about the escort mission to the Great Reynols Forest.

‘It’s a union of peddlers. So they handle many kinds of goods.’

It ranged from simple clothing and local specialties to precious metals, magic items, and scrolls.

If there was such a large collection of precious goods, then it was understandable why thieves would target it.

“There will be a total of twenty-five Mercenaries.”

This was a mission with a fairly large number of people.

The specific numbers were 1 S-rank, 7 A-rank, 12 B-rank and 5 C-rank Mercenaries.

Frey tilted his head slightly when he saw the 5 C-rank Mercenaries, but then he realised that they all had specific professions such as Scout, Priest and Herbalist.

Such professions did not need to have a high combat ability.

‘But 7 A-rank Mercenaries?’

Turk.

Then someone sat beside him.

Turning his head to look, he found that a bearded man who appeared to be in his thirties was looking at him.

“Are you Kain Rixton?”

“And you are?”

The man smiled cheerfully and stretched out his hand.

“I’m Alkon, leader of the Great Reynols Forest escort mission.”

The leader.

If that was the case then there was a high chance that this man was the sole S-rank Mercenary on the mission.

Frey grabbed his hand/

“I am Kain Rixton. Please take care of me.”

“Haha. We weren’t able to leave because we lacked a Wizard, but you arrived just in time. Domki is famous for being incredibly strict, but he couldn’t stop praising you.”

Alkon laughed as he shook his hand.

His grip was so tight that not even a needle would be able to fit between their hands.

He carried a large axe on his back, so it was almost certainly his weapon.

‘If he’s an S-rank Mercenary then he should be at least a First class Magic Warrior.’

This meant that this person was stronger than the Dark Elf Liamoson, or Honor Fianne from the Trowman Rings.

Of course, there were not many people who had reached such a level of strength.

From what Frey had heard, the number of people on the continent who had done so didn’t surpass 100.

“Is this mission so dangerous that it requires an S-rank Mercenary?”

At Frey’s question, Alkon’s face became a bit solemn.

“Something terrible happened recently. Have you heard about it?”

“I only know that something bad happened.”

This was because Domki did not tell him what happened.

Alkon nodded.

“I see. Well, you will need to know since you are now a part of the group. A group of peddlers who were headed to the forest to deliver their goods was annihilated.”

“Including the Mercenaries?”

“That’s right.”

“Who did it?”

Then he heard something that he would never have expected.

“Undead.”

“…?”

Frey’s expression became a bit strange.

At most he thought that it would be a monster or a bandit who was after the goods.

Alkon sighed.

“These days, undead are being spotted all over the continent. They say that sometimes they join hands with other races. Either way, it’s not good.”

‘Come to think of it…’

Frey recalled the Lich who had attacked the Cortez.

The 6 star Undead who had joined hands with the pirates to attack the ship was a creature that had an unreasonable hatred toward living beings.

The stronger an undead was, the more intelligent, but they could never get rid of the hatred they felt.

Frey frowned.

It wasn’t about the problem with the undead.

The problem was that they might slow him down.

‘I don’t think I’ll have to worry too much about this mission because the guild is paying a lot of attention to it.’

He spent the rest of the day conversing with Alkon.

Alkon seemed to like Frey. No, he simply pretended to feel that way so that they could be closer

Perhaps it was because he was a Wizard.

It was almost as though he was afraid to show any dissatisfaction.

Frey simply conversed with him while maintaining a certain distance.

And the very next day, Frey got onto a carriage and headed toward the Great Reynols Forest.