Chapter 256
(256) To the mercenary guild
Translator: Tseirp
“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 grat.i.tude . 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 n.o.body 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 pa.s.s — 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 n.o.bles 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 pa.s.s even if my ident.i.ty 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?