Chapter 114 - 113 – Adventurer’s Time
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What is happening?
I turned toward the sides. Everyone was standing there, shocked.
Did I go too far?
Their eyes said that I did.
But inside... I knew I had fought using only a very small fraction of my power.
"Did I meet the requirement?" I said, turning toward the woman. "I defeated a lord of the second rank, perhaps. That makes me qualified, doesn’t it?"
The woman did not respond immediately, but she quickly composed herself.
"Yes," she said.
"They’re cheating," a voice came from the side.
I turned.
There was a girl sitting in a distant corner, with two men beside her wearing strange clothing.
The two men were wearing skirts, despite being men, while the girl wore trousers.
The girl stood up.
"He shouldn’t have run away from you," she said, then began walking toward me, adding as she approached,
"He should have taken the hit and counterattacked. That would have been the better choice for him."
"Ahhh," I murmured, clapping one hand against the other.
Then I laughed out loud.
Everyone was startled.
"It seems I forgot to inform you," I said.
My expression turned serious.
"My weapon... cuts 10% of accumulation, regardless of whether the strike is strong or weak."
The girl stopped moving.
Silence spread.
Suddenly, I became the center of attention.
After all that effort to remain unnoticed... here I was, standing out excessively.
"Why should we believe your words?" one of the skirt-wearing men asked.
"Are you an idiot?" I said, raising my chin mockingly.
"Why should I prove anything to an idiot wearing a skirt?"
I raised my sword and pointed it at him.
"If you doubt me, then come fight me. But I will not spare your life unless you pay 30,000 accumulation points. What do you say?"
The man’s face turned red.
He stepped forward quickly. The girl did not stop him when he moved, and the other man did not utter a single word.
"Guild rules."
A loud voice rang out.
Everyone turned toward the back entrance of the guild.
There stood a massive man wearing sandals and holding a large axe.
"Fighting inside is forbidden," he added.
He was wearing beach clothes with Hawaiian patterns.
"He’s a transferred lord, no doubt," I muttered internally the moment I saw his attire.
"Do you have a problem with Scandinavian clothing, boy? Aren’t you European?" the white-haired, bearded man said.
"What?" I replied.
The man laughed, then walked forward.
The three guild officials rushed toward him.
"Lord Kar, welcome," the woman’s voice rang out in greeting.
The man raised his axe and handed it to another official. The moment that man held it, he lost his balance and could barely stand, as if he were carrying an extremely heavy burden.
Lord Kar approached the arena.
My eyes focused on him. He looked at me and smiled.
"Are you trying to analyze me, boy? Hahaha," he whispered, then sat down in the middle of the arena.
He raised his hand.
"Everyone leave," he said.
"This isn’t over," said the man in the skirt, then moved to leave.
The others followed.
I did not move.
Everyone left. I remained alone. In front of me stood Lord Kar and his guild subordinates.
"You’re still here?" Lord Kar turned toward me.
"Ahhh," I murmured. "Wasn’t that meant for the others so that I would remain here?" I said.
"Hahahaha. You really are a man from Earth, boy. Tell me, from what year are you?" he said.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," I replied.
"Well, no matter," he said, then turned to his subordinate. "Mir," he called.
"Go and bring an adventurer’s badge. All ranks."
The subordinate hurried off. It did not take long before he returned carrying a box.
Lord Kar took the box and opened it.
Inside were seven medallions of similar size and identical shape.
They were compressed oval shapes, with two small holes at the top through which a chain could pass.
He picked up the first medallion. It was silver.
"First rank... in the adventurer ranking system," he said. "The silver medallion is granted, and its holder is called a Silver Adventurer. After gathering a certain number of mission points, your rank increases to..."
He returned the silver medallion and picked up another—shining silver.
"Shining Silver... the second rank of adventurers. Then..."
"Bronze," he said, lifting a bronze medallion. "This is the third rank."
"Then comes Gold, followed by Bone, then Crystal, and finally... the highest—Black."
I looked carefully at the black medallion.
"I noticed," I said, "that no one here wears those higher ranks."
Lord Kar smiled.
"Of course they don’t. Do you know what it means to be a Black Adventurer? Hahaha."
"What?" I asked.
"Hahaha, it means you are a true catastrophe above enemies and missions."
"Oh... then my goal is to reach that rank," I said.
He smiled, but did not respond.
"He thinks I’m some naive fool," I muttered internally.
In truth, I did not care about black, white, or even purple ranks.
I needed the guild to move more easily toward my goals.
Lord Kar closed the box. Only one medallion remained in his hand—a shining silver one.
"Second rank," I thought internally.
"You deserve the second rank," Lord Kar said. "Your fight against that deceiver was neither staged nor agreed upon. It was a real battle that displayed your great skill. You deserve to start at the second rank."
He fell silent for a moment, then added:
"There is one condition for missions at your rank—you cannot take missions below your medallion’s rank."
"Alright... it’s not like I—"
{Ding... Ding... Ding}
{Global Mission Activated}
{Complete five missions successfully as a First Rank Adventurer – Silver – within 72 hours}
What...?
After a long time... the system finally returned to operation.
But...
I...
Had become a second-rank adventurer directly?
"Sir," I said, then sighed before adding, "I..."
"What?" he asked.
I did not answer immediately. I remained silent for a moment.
"I... want to start from the beginning," I said.
"Why? Are you afraid of facing what exceeds your ability in second-rank missions?"
"No, of course not, sir. I have enough strength," I said.
I was not lying. He had seen my battle. It would be foolish to pretend weakness.
"But..." I continued softly,
"I have a dream to start from the beginning... to climb the ladder step by step, not leap forward in a single bound."
I lowered my head.
Lord Kar laughed.
Then came the sound of something opening and closing.
I raised my head. He was holding the first-rank silver medallion.
"Then I shall grant your wish," he said, then gestured toward the second woman.
The woman was already holding a long wooden piece. On its right side was a silver circular base, and on the left side a base of the same shape and size—but black.
She stepped forward until she stood in front of me.
"Place your right hand on the silver circle," she said softly.
Then she placed the silver medallion on the black circle.
"Now," she said, "state your name—or the title you wish to be known by in the guild."
I fell silent.
What do I want?
Very well... I will choose.
"Black Crow," I said.
At that moment, a white beam of light emerged from the silver circle and moved toward the black one.
"My energy?" I whispered.
"Don’t worry," Lord Kar said. I turned to him as he added,
"The medallion is your mark. A part of your energy must transfer into it so it becomes yours."
My energy began to flow into the medallion. After some time...
The black circle turned silver, while the silver circle turned black.
"We’re done," the woman said.
I took the medallion.
"Black Crow," I whispered, smiling.
Then...
I took out a black bracelet, decorated with three ring-like loops.
"It’s your time," I said.
I had seen it before.
Its price exceeded fifty thousand.
Back when I had millions, it seemed cheap.
Now...
It felt extremely expensive.
But it was time.
I held the medallion in my left hand and brought the bracelet closer, then closed my eyes and gave the command to merge.
It was not an ordinary bracelet—it had the ability to absorb jewels and objects and merge them into itself.
In truth, I did not like the guild badge being a necklace.
Now, its form became better and more effective.
I looked at the newly merged bracelet.
It became pitch black, its rings resembling prayer beads. The central ring transformed, becoming a smaller embedded version of the medallion.
I wore it on my left wrist.
Instantly, it tightened and adjusted to my hand.
"This is better," I murmured, then looked at the others.
Their eyes were fixed on what I had done.
"I would have preferred if you kept it as a necklace. It gives a stronger impression of power," the woman said.
"Do you think power lies in a mere silver stone?" I replied. "I am the one who gives power to the stone, not the other way around."
Lord Kar smiled.
"That is my opinion as well. I hope you take the righteous path in your adventure."
I smiled.
"There is no such thing as a righteous or wicked path. Everyone seeks their own interests and wraps them in such names," I said.
I did not look back.
I walked back into the main hall.
As I entered, everyone’s eyes turned toward me.
They quickly noticed the bracelet.
Then... scattered laughter rose.
"Just silver."
"After all that display."
"Lord Kar exposed his trick."
I moved toward one side.
There was a large board filled with many stones.
I looked.
There were seven large sections on the board.
Each section contained a number of stones.
The most crowded section was the first one—first-rank silver missions.
After some time...
I extended my hand toward six missions and took their stones.
Immediately, a voice whispered inside my mind:
{You have been added to the list of active missions. The time limit for completing them: two weeks}
"What does this mean?" I murmured.
"Active mission list," said a nearby assistant. I turned—I hadn’t noticed her standing close.
"What does that mean?" I asked. "And why is there a voice inside my head?"
"The guild’s missions operate under a highly precise system powered by specialized magical tools," she explained.
"When an adventurer takes a mission, they are automatically registered in the guild’s records as having an active mission. When the mission is completed, it is removed from the list, and you are awarded points based on it."
"You can know the mission’s points by asking the guild’s registry. It has already communicated with you moments ago."
I looked at her and thanked her for the information.
It truly was an advanced system.
This meant no one could abandon missions easily.
Once you take one... it binds to you.
I exhaled.
"Well then..."
A faint smile appeared.
"It’s time... for me as an adventurer."