Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 31

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Chapter 31 – Guild Training

Zink told me, “If it’s past noon, you’d better go to the guild soon,” and I left the three of them and went to the Hunters’ Guild.

It seems that the residents use the sound of the church bell, which rings three times a day in the morning, afternoon, and evening, as a guide for their activities, such as eating or getting ready to go out.

When I asked, “Is there a device to measure time?” They said there was, but only the royal court and a few rich people had such a device.

When I heard this, I thought, “I see…” and quickly took off my watch and put it in my leather bag.

Wearing something so obviously out of date would be conspicuous, and more importantly, I was now dressed according to the standards of the locals.

If I had worn the same clothes before I changed, they would have been hidden by my jacket and would not have been noticed, but now, even when I walk normally, my wrists are clearly visible.

I wear a loose-fitting tunic like a one-piece dress with loose pants and a leather belt around my waist to create a commoner’s fashion.

To be precise, this is the kind of clothing worn by people with low incomes, but I know I will grow taller in another year or two, and more importantly, I don’t have any money, so I don’t have time to worry about it.

I don’t even feel the need to go out and buy new clothes, so I bought two sets of cheap clothes from a thrift store for 3,000 beeke. If they last a year, that should be enough.

However, I could only buy a pair of sandals if I kept a tight budget, so I had no choice but to buy a pair of short boots that cost 40,000 beeke.

I thought that hunters were supposed to walk, and if I bought something half-baked and it would cause injury or death, I would have to consider it a necessary expense and just leave it at that.

I also bought some small necessities like underwear and had about 120,000 beeke left.

I still need to buy knives and other things, but it depends on my efforts from now on whether I can make it go to nothing or increase it.

By the way, I left all my clothes and bags at Billycorn, the inn Mei-chan recommended.

Although I don’t really know the state of people in this world… the rooms are equipped with locks, and I can’t do anything if I don’t think it’s safe to steal.

A night’s stay without food costs 3,000 beeke, dinner 1,200 beeke, breakfast 500 beeke, and a bucket of hot water 200 beeke, and a towel is provided.

This means that if I don’t consider lunch, I can spend about 5,000 beeke per day, so it’s a question of how much more I can earn in a day.

If I cannot earn at least 20,000 beeke a day, I will live the life of a corporate animal like a modern man… unable to aim for higher weapons and armor and unable to take enough time off.

I came to the Hunters’ Guild just as I was calculating such a break-even line.

The fact that it’s a small town means it’s easy to get around, which is great for me because I don’t have a lot of money.

I went in to see Anee-sama as per the rule and was told that she would be the instructor.

I was surprised to hear that the receptionist was going to be the instructor, and I let out an unintended “Eh? I was told to leave it to her because she was the most senior employee and knew the hunter situation around Bezart the best.

I thought that was true, judging by the way she looked, but I was afraid that if I said something like that, I would get punched in the face, so I replied with a big smile, “I’m glad to have someone who knows so much about it.”

Well, since the instructor is practically the receptionist in charge, it’s easier for me to ask questions than if a guildmaster or someone like that came out, so no problem there.

The training seems to take place in a private room in the back of the first floor, and following Anee-sama’s lead, I can smell a very nice scent…

Huh? Was she wearing perfume before? I thought to myself and was led to one of the rooms at the back of the first floor.

It was a small room with only a sofa and a chair facing a table.

It is not a room for training but rather a room for consulting with clients.

The guilds in this city were not originally designed for large group training, so this is probably the best place for them to hold training sessions.

Then, Anee-sama greeted me again.

“Fufu, after all this time, I am Amanda, the receptionist of the Hunter’s Guild in Bezart. Even my position is the third highest position in the guild, you know?”

“I am Loki. Nice to meet you.”

“By the way, you’ve changed your clothes a lot, haven’t you? After all… was it hard for you to move around in those strange clothes?”

“Hahaha… that’s part of it, and I wanted to take good care of it because it’s so expensive.”

“I see, but it looks good on you. There’s nothing to say if you could just replace it with something of a better quality.”

“Yes. And that’s why I’m going to learn how to make money today.”

“I’ve heard that you don’t speak the language of this country, Loki-kun, so I’m going to explain it to you in a very simple way, but if there’s anything you don’t understand, you can ask me questions even during the explanation.”

“Thank you.”

I greeted her normally, but I was surprised… to see the Hunters’ Guild, which is probably the largest building in the city of Bezart.

Even though a lot of people work there, she’s third in line.

And standing at the reception desk with a nonchalant look on your face, you never know what kind of position you’ll get in this world.

Well, if you think about it, the receptionist is the one who has the most contact with the hunters and can gather information from them.

It’s an effective way to hear the real voices of the hunters and make the best use of them in running the company.

But was it my imagination that more hunters took the trouble to get in line with the young girl working at the counter next to Amanda-san than with her?

And so the half-day class began.

“The main purpose of this class is to explain what the Hunters’ Guild is all about, the rewards, and the rules. There is a book in the reference room on the first floor that outlines the Hunters’ Guild, so if you want to check it out, you can use it or ask me to check it out later. However, since the book is quite valuable, you are only allowed to read it on the spot. If you damage the book, there have been people in the past who became debt slaves because they couldn’t pay for it, so please be very careful how you handle it.”

Oh, it was somewhat predictable that books are valuable, but slaves?

If you cannot pay back debts and damages, you become a debt slave… I have to understand.

“First of all, the basic idea of the Hunters’ Guild is to ‘help those in need.’ There is no connection to country or race. That is why we operate throughout the continent as an independent organization, completely separate from the national government.

If the number of monsters increases, the people living there will be in trouble, right? That’s why feudal lords, countries, and sometimes even villages pool their money to make requests to the Hunters’ Guild. Part of the money is then used to reward the hunters who subjugate the monsters.

This is called a subjugation reward or a permanent subjugation reward. The former requires urgency, but the rewards are high, while the latter can be accepted at any time. You will be able to see this later on the request board.

Hunters are also rewarded with magic stones, materials, and monsters that can be used as food, so if you have materials that can be turned into money besides killing monsters, you can also earn income from them.

So think of Hunter as a job that involves danger but also has the potential to make you a great fortune all by yourself.

However, it is not only large problems in villages and towns that are in trouble. For example, a restaurant is in trouble because it is running out of animal ingredients. So, the restaurant in need asks you to hunt animals for ingredients and distribute them to them.

This is also a request to help those in need, and since there are not enough people to carry the felled trees into the city, you carry them for them. This is also an excellent request.

Please understand that subjugating monsters is not the only job of a hunter.”

“I see. Of course, the hunter has the right to choose which request they want to do, right?”

“Of course. If possible, I would like you to prioritize safety over money when your rank is low, but… you can take the risk of subjugating monsters to increase your income, or you can take on tasks other than subjugating monsters and live a solid life. It’s up to each person here. However, please note that we have set ranks for each hunter and restricted their requests so that they don’t do anything reckless.”

“Is that what you mean by F and E ranks?”

“That’s right. There are eight ranks from G, F, E, D, C, B, A, and S, and they go up as your performance and ability are recognized. In addition, requests are only accepted from hunters of the same rank or lower. In other words, if you are an F-rank hunter, you can accept F-rank and G-rank requests.”

“Huh? If that’s the case, then I can only accept G-rank requests… does that mean I can’t take on an F-rank Horned Rabbit subjugation?”

I looked at the request board earlier.

I think it said that the request for permanent subjugation of the Horned Rabbit was described as F-rank…

“I don’t want people to die because of reckless requests, so in general… yes. As a special exception, if the Guild Master allows it, it is possible to accept requests one rank higher. If it is a base guild, it will accept all requests one rank up, but if it is an off-base guild, you will have to apply for each request individually.”

“So, if I am in Bezart, I can accept F-rank requests as long as the guild master… Yagov-san gives me permission? If he doesn’t give me permission, I’ll be in trouble…”

“Loki-kun, you successfully subjugated a sword-wielding goblin and even saved someone, so at this point, you should be able to get permission first. But outside of the base, it’s hard to see such individual accomplishments. So you’ll have to apply on a case-by-case basis, and you should expect it to be difficult to get permission.”

“I understand that. I can understand that, so it’s okay. By the way, what are the requirements for promotion in rank?”

“Unfortunately, we don’t disclose them. It’s a simple matter; it’s a loss for the guild to put useful personnel to sleep, so if we think someone will be fine if we promote them, we’ll promote them. On the other hand, if we think they will die if we promote them, we will not promote them, no matter how many achievements they have.”

“I thought there was a standard for how many cases you have to achieve to be promoted… I see, so your first priority is not to let anyone die?”

“Of course. No matter how many F-rank requests you manage to complete, if you’re not strong enough to defeat E-rank monsters, you’ll end up dead. Hunters are the guild’s most valuable asset, and we can’t let them die in vain.”

“I understand.”

“By the way, for promotion to B-rank and above, there is a practical test, and for promotion to S-rank, there is an interview with the Headquarters Grand Master. If you have the determination to rise to that rank, you’d better keep that in mind.”

After that, she explained the finer points, such as penalty rules, penalties for failing to meet deadlines, rules for escort requests, and so on, that it would indeed be difficult to remember them all.

Honestly, I would have liked to run a pen through my notebook as a matter of social etiquette, but I couldn’t do that here, so I just listened to the explanation and tried to memorize it.

Mei-chan’s information was almost all from left to right, and to be honest, there was so much information that Potta-kun probably couldn’t remember any of it.

After Amanda-san finished explaining everything, she asked me if there was anything I was curious about. So we started the question time.

Let’s just keep asking questions that I don’t understand!

“I’d like to confirm a few things. First, you don’t mean that I can’t kill monsters above my rank, do you?”

“Of course. But since you can’t accept requests, just assume that there will be no reward for subjugating them.”

“Is that also the case for the permanent request to subjugate monsters that was explained earlier?”

“Hmm, you also hit me on a bad point… I don’t want you to prefer it, but in the case of permanent subjugation requests, it is allowed to a certain extent. In some places, there are areas with mixed ranks of monsters, so you may not be able to avoid fighting higher-ranked monsters. But it’s not always urgent, so you won’t get that much money, okay? I don’t think there’s much point in going out of your way to target higher-ranked monsters.”

“Of course, it’s not that I want to do that right now. It’s just that the ranks aren’t going up, and when I think about having to continue to subjugate monsters in places that I feel are too weak for me… it just seems a little too much.”

“I see… you are confident that you will become stronger. The guild also collects and keeps track of each individual’s battle data, such as the details of the attack and the day’s results. I think your rank will go up before that happens… If you’re unhappy with your rank at that time, let me know. I can’t promise to raise your rank, but I will tell the master to consider it.”

“Thank you. I’d like to know what kind of monsters are in the city of Bezart? I would appreciate it if you could tell me their habitat.”

“If it were your rank, Loki-kun, the first place to look would be the Great Forest of Palmera, but to be honest, it’s not very popular there. If that’s the case, the main hunting grounds would be the Rocker Plains, which is a top hunting ground for F-ranks, or the Lulub Forest, which is accessible to E-ranks and above.”

“Come to think of it, I think Zink-kun and the others said the same thing. Is it really that unpopular?”

“Yes. It’s too big a forest… so even the first layer facing the plains is huge. It took 60 days to reach the second layer. The strength of the monsters is clearly divided by layer, and it has been confirmed that only monsters of the same rank inhabit the same layer up to the third layer. This is probably because there are no predators, and they rarely form groups. Of course, there are a few confirmed goblin nests in the first layer, but the forest is too large for hunters to hunt consistently, so they decide it is too cumbersome and inefficient to search for monsters. And for the newcomers… I can say this because this is the city of Bezart, but did you know that there is a monster called the Hooley Mole?”

“Yes. I’ve defeated a few of them.”

“The Hooley Mole is a barrier for newcomers. When they wander around for the purpose of gathering, they can go unnoticed… so the injury and death rate is inevitably high, even though it is a place that can be called a low-level hunting ground.”

So that’s it. Now, I finally understood.

Why was I sent to a place in the forest with no plains in sight? Why was there no difference in the strength of the enemies, and why were they all monsters acting alone? And what would have happened to me if I had gone in the opposite direction?

But the first layer? The second layer? I wonder what it’s all about?

“Well, something else is bothering me. What do you mean when you say that the forest is too big? Does it mean that there are unidentified areas? And does it mean that in another city, even in the first layer, the composition of the monsters will change?”

“The Great Forest of Palmera is still a mystery. The vast forest is said to cover about a quarter of the continent. It is too large for humans to comprehend the third layer, which is just beyond the forest’s borders. It is said that in the past, birdmen flew over the forest and reached what is believed to be the fifth layer, but this has not been publicly acknowledged because there is no information on the distribution of the monsters. There is an anecdote that only a few of the birdmen survived the flight and were intercepted by something during the flight. So the truth is, we don’t even know if the forest is really contiguous. Also, the composition of the monsters in the Great Palmera Forest changes depending on where you enter, even in the same first layer. If you enter the forest from the eastern country, it’s said that the Hooley Mole turns into Slime, and it’s much safer, so unless you have family in the town of Bezart, the newcomer won’t stay in that town… It’s a real problem.”

“It’s a great place… no, really…”

I think I heard Amanda-san’s last, or rather the most serious hunter situation in the town of Bezart, but I won’t even go into that.

It really is a great place for roleplaying.

A mysterious and vast forest, just like the very last dungeon.

I can assure you that anyone who is not thrilled to hear that is not a roleplaying fan.

I mean, I have to play in the flesh, but…

“Hey, what’s that twinkle in your eye… don’t tell me you’re planning to head east right now!”

“No, no, I was scared at first, but now I don’t feel threatened by the Hooley Mole, so I’m fine, okay?”

“So… you’re not planning on going deep into the forest, are you? Do you know how, in the past, when a great power was explored with a formation of over 1,000 people, they stopped at the third layer? You definitely don’t want to do that!”

“Of course not. I’m still weak, after all… but it’s good to have a goal, right?”

“…..”

“Ah. By the way, I would like you to tell me the value of the magic stone and how to get it out. Also, what kind of places are the Lulub Forest and the Rocker Plain?”

So I asked Amanda-san as many questions as I could for my future life, just as the Guild Master had told me.

If there was a word in the answer that worried me, I would repeat it. If there was a word in the answer that caught my attention, I would mention it again.

As the church bells rang out to mark the evening, Amanda-san seemed to have aged another 10 years or so…

Needless to say, my impression of Amanda-san, who still responds well when I ask her for something, has increased greatly.

However, as a 13-year-old, I would never consider her 100% an object of romantic interest.

I’m sorry, Amanda-san.