Chapter 4

# Chapter 4: The Rookie Adventurer Bern (2) – Competence of a Newcomer

As one becomes active in the Adventurer’s Guild, there’s a fact that becomes painfully obvious.

There are so many unimaginably stupid fools in the world, and they often blurt out lies that will immediately get exposed without any thought for the consequences.

So, when Bern claimed he had completed his first mission, Blankah had simply tried to laugh it off.

Thinking, “He looks strong, but he’s probably useless in practice.”

However, the moment she saw the proof in his hand, Blankah realized this was no laughing matter.

‘He stole it.’

Paul, the warehouse overseer, is an incredibly stubborn man.

Even if a rookie adventurer were to threaten or propose a ridiculous trade for the proof, he would never accept it.

Yet, the proof was in Bern’s hand, meaning that he must have acquired it through some unlawful means.

No, in fact, it’d be better if he had stolen it.

What if he had used force to take it?

As strong and burly as Paul is, it’s hard to imagine him falling to a mere rookie adventurer, but if Paul had been caught off guard by a surprise attack, anything is possible.

Blankah’s gaze turned momentarily grim.

Still, she quickly wiped the expression from her face and addressed Bern in a nonchalant manner.

“Hmm. It’ll take a little time to process this, so please wait over there. I’ll call you when it’s done.”

“Understood.”

Without any resistance, Bern went to the waiting area, and Blankah exchanged glances with another receptionist.

After confirming the nod of the other receptionist, Blankah quickly slipped out the back door of the guild and headed to the warehouse where the client was.

She thought it would be quicker to investigate the matter herself rather than summoning someone else.

Upon arriving at the warehouse, she saw Paul slumped over in front of it and shouted.

“Uncle! Are you alright? What happened!?”

“Uh….”

Paul seemed completely dazed.

Blankah, who had remembered Paul as the stern-eyed man responsible for moral education among the adventurers, worried that he might have been drugged or exposed to some kind of toxin.

“Was this because of the adventurer the guild sent you? What exactly did he do!!”

After blinking a few times, Paul eventually muttered out.

“That adventurer… He… did the job…”

“Did the job?”

“…Extremely well.”

“…”

Blankah’s eyes flickered wide.

Could his brain have been scrambled?

“I need to go to the temple quickly.”

“No, no, that’s not it! Look! The inside of the warehouse!”

Paul, declaring that he had never seen anyone do such good work in his life, was practically out of breath.

While she was slightly relieved that outwardly he appeared uninjured, Blankah couldn’t help but feel curious.

After all, how much could someone being good at their job really signify—

“—When did the expansion work happen?”

“Expansion? Nothing like that. The place hasn’t grown by even a finger’s width.”

“But…”

Among the requests managed by the Adventurer’s Guild are often of the kind, “Retrieve ~ amount of ~ item.”

These include meat, leather, fruits, plants, minerals, and sometimes even monstrous cores, if rare enough.

Naturally, keeping every item in the guild building for storage and management would be akin to wasting space.

While very rare or dangerous items are kept under direct supervision to avoid causing trouble if they were stored outdoors, other items are generally entrusted to storage facilities contracted to the guild and collected as needed.

Paul’s warehouse was also one of these guild-contracted warehouses, which was often used to evaluate the character of new adventurers. Consequently, it primarily stored cheap and plentiful items.

It was also notoriously untidy, no matter how much it was organized.

And yet, when Blankah arrived, the place had been transformed impeccably.

So much so that it almost gave the impression the warehouse had physically expanded.

Paul, scratching the back of his head, said,

“At first, it seemed like he was just moving stuff as instructed, but soon enough, he started organizing things on his own. By the end, he was even explaining how and why he sorted items by specific criteria. It was like being possessed by a ghost.”

“Does that even make sense? Organizing isn’t something that can be achieved by brute strength alone.”

“That’s not just brute strength. He handled boxes filled with metal swords like they were paper envelopes. The efficiency with which he worked was incredible. Do you really think I’d make up something like this to you?”

There was nothing to say to that.

“Send that guy again sometime. Even if only once a week, he would make my work so much easier.”

Paul, who was usually stern, had a relaxed expression as he looked around the warehouse. Not easily accustomed to such a sight, Blankah shook her head as she returned to the guild.

At the back door of the guild, the staff including the guild guard were standing by. They asked Blankah seriously about the situation.

“It’s nothing serious. It seems he finished the job well before the deadline.”

“Huh, really? What’s with that picky guy today?”

“Phew, I was worried for nothing.”

The staff all visibly relaxed.

Suppressing a single rookie adventurer might not be much of an issue, but the accidents such rookies could cause might lead to everyone having to work overtime.

When Blankah returned to the reception desk, the primary culprit, Bern, sat calmly with his arms crossed and eyes closed in the waiting area.

His tranquil appearance evoked an inexplicable annoyance in Blankah, who called him over.

“Yes, the completion has been confirmed. Here’s your reward.”

Blankah placed a few coins on the desk.

The compensation of a request given to 1st-grade adventurers isn’t much.

A stone-hard bread loaf and a soup that smelled slightly of water was all it could afford.

The amount would vanish almost instantly, barely covering a stay in a shared dormitory.

To rise to 2nd grade, one needed to complete approximately 30 requests.

Assuming one completes one request per day, surviving at the lowest conditions would take nearly a month without saving any.

Furthermore, if during this period one does a poor job or causes trouble, it would only require even more requests for promotion.

For no reason, this phase was nicknamed the “strainer” by skilled adventurers.

Those who enter with grand dreams of the adventurer’s life, or those lacking in either physical strength or resilience, typically don’t even reach the 2nd grade before dropping out.

Therefore, Blankah’s words to Bern were almost a gesture of kindness.

“The guild takes a cut from commissions, so simple labor might actually pay better if hired directly on-site. Since the client was extremely satisfied, wouldn’t it be better for you to take up some on-site work?”

At Blankah’s suggestion, Bern blinked and smiled.

“Thanks for the advice. However, becoming an adventurer is one of my dreams.”

“Ah, I see.”

Blankah didn’t push the matter further.

Trying something firsthand was often faster than hearing about it a hundred times.

Though the warehouse organization incident had seemingly gone well, she was sure that, as this young man continued to endure the harsh life at the bottom of the adventurer hierarchy, he’d come to understand the reality.

“So, would you like to take another request? You still have time for one more.”

“In that case, I’ll take the sewer cleaning request. I’ve heard about it, but I’ve never done it.”

“You’ll end up wishing you’d never gone once you’ve returned.”

As Bern left after hearing the overview of the request, Blankah watched his back with a vaguely distant look.

“His dream is to become an adventurer.”

—A job about as opposite of “dream” as they come, she thought.

Swallowing the words she couldn’t bring herself to voice.

***

After that, Bern continued diligently completing his 1st-grade adventurer tasks.

He would hunt rats in the sewers, deliver little items within the city, pull weeds, and even clean the streets.

“How ridiculous.”

From within Bern’s shadow, Lucidra rolled her eyes in disbelief.

Without speaking, Bern responded mentally to Lucidra’s silent reproach.

‘What is your issue now?’

[Why the attitude?]

‘I’ve always used this tone.’

[What are you talking about? You clearly used a formal tone befitting someone of high status before.]

‘That person back there is the Crown Prince of the Empire, and I am different.’

[…….]

Lucidra eyed Bern strangely.

She knew that this guy would revert to a polite, high-tone when talking through his connection with the crown prince’s shadow.

However, after her experience so far, she realized engaging in an argument with this audacious human would only tire her out. Thus, she quickly changed the subject.

[Why are you bothering with all this? Is weeding really that fun?]

‘It’s not particularly fun, but it’s necessary for promotion.’

[Well, isn’t it pointless, though? Why not just storm into the guild, show them an aura, and make them understand your strength? Displaying power should convince them right away, wouldn’t it?]

Based on what Lucidra had observed, the adventurers here were generally of modest skill.

A 2nd-grade adventurer was just a slightly trained ordinary person, and a 3rd-grade adventurer was just barely capable of channeling mana into their body for enhancement.

If Bern were to wield his sword with mana and display an overwhelmingly powerful technique, it would easily place him at the level of a 4th grade.

But Bern was not convinced.

‘Adventurers are not street thugs. While strength is important, integrity and responsibility in completing commissions take precedence. I doubt they’d recognize me as a high-ranking adventurer just for showing off brute strength.’

[Still, wouldn’t there be some kind of bonus points?]

‘That’s likely true.’

This time, Bern nodded without hesitation.

However, he continued,

‘But do we really need to rush so much? Since I’m unfamiliar with the adventurer business, it’s better to start from the bottom and steadily climb. I’ll have more to learn that way.’

[Huh. You’re sticking with this tiresome method, I see. I can’t say I get it.]

‘Ah, seems like you’re addicted to efficiency, isn’t it? It’s unfortunate, but a life with ease is what one should strive for.’

[…….]

Lucidra didn’t understand exactly what “efficiency” meant but could tell she was being called out as foolish.

Just as she was about to voice her frustration—

Pffft!

While walking, Bern bumped shoulders with someone.

To be precise, even though Bern had stepped to the side, the other person had purposefully followed to collide.

“Hey? What’s wrong? Aren’t you gonna apologize first? Huh?”

“Hey, calm down. That’s just some rookie trying to catch a rabbit. He’ll cry before you know it.”

“Oi, rookie! Apologize quickly! That guy gets really angry!”

Behind the man Bern had bumped shoulders with, several companions smirked mockingly.

From within the shadows, Lucidra inquired,

[Have you quarrelled with these folks before when I wasn’t looking?]

‘No, I’ve never even spoken to them.’

[Ah, then it’s just jealousy.]

Bern’s pace of completing requests was quite fast, and the client satisfaction rate was high.

Not due to any extraordinary secret techniques but simply because of his strength, efficiency, and diligence, he had gained high recognition within the Adventurer’s Guild, sufficient to earn praises like “the next ace.”

There are people in this world who simply dislike others succeeding or gaining recognition.

“Hey, respond, damn it!”

“Look at this little punk.”

“Who did you think you were to pick on?”

With the pack sneering and mocking, Bern blinked for a moment.

He then lightly pushed the shoulder of the ruffian who had initially bumped into him.

Although it looked like no particular force was applied, the effect was dramatic.

Ker-SPLOSH!

As if struck by a carriage, the ruffian flew through the air, tumbling across the ground.

Choking and convulsing, he quickly lost consciousness, lying limp like a sack of potatoes.

Freezing the atmosphere were not only the ruffians who were mocking Bern but also the onlookers who were watching how the situation would develop.

Then Bern said simply,

“Ah, I’m sorry for the collision.”

“…”

An indescribable silence ensued.

From within the shadows, Lucidra exclaimed in disbelief,

“What? Didn’t you just stress about rules and restraint moments ago?”

‘I’ve just learned another rule of being an adventurer. “When someone acts irrationally, give them another reason to react to.” The world has much to teach, doesn’t it?’

It wasn’t an adventurer’s rule; it was likely just this guy’s twisted personality.

Lucidra thought it but didn’t voice it outright.

Naturally, the ruffians who had been late to recover came yelling and charging forward. No need to witness it further.

Once someone clearly displays abnormal strength, anyone attempting to charge rather than flee is destined to perish sooner or later.

[Hmm?]

At that moment, Lucidra felt an odd gaze.

A woman with bright azure hair and eyes.

Perhaps named Blankah, the receptionist, stared intently at Bern effortlessly subduing the goons.

In her eyes, a peculiar gleam flickered.