The Discarded Son's Skill Market
Chapter 26: Gio, the Mercenary (2)

Chapter 26: Gio, the Mercenary (2)

Zaid stood up. "Did I pass the test? Even though I lost..."

"Losing to Frank is only natural; he’s not just an instructor—he’s one of our best Masters and one of the country’s top hunters. Even so, you managed to demonstrate remarkable skill. I look forward to seeing you again," Lodrey praised him.

"Thank you very much, sir." Zaid thanked Lodrey and Frank, who praised him for his good manners.

Of all of them, the only one who was annoyed was Finn, and it showed in his gaze.

His judgment was off; that was normal. But a guy so young receiving so much praise from his teachers? Although he didn’t want to admit it, he felt an invisible weight on his shoulders.

As they were talking, a man came running up to them.

"Lord Lodrey, Lord Azrik is waiting for you," he whispered in his ear.

Lodrey nodded. "I’ll be going now, young Gio. If you have any questions about daggers, come to my apartment to learn. I don’t assign missions, but we have good teachers. Good luck!"

Lodrey, Frank, and Finn left.

Zaid was lost in thought over what that man had whispered to him.

’Azrik, the Fallen Raven.’

The guild leader—one of the strongest men in the kingdom—an S-Rank!

The capital really was dangerous around every corner.

"Mr. Gio, please follow me. We’ll give you your badge at the reception desk. I’ll explain the rules to you."

The rules of the Mercenary Guild are simple.

A registered mercenary has no obligations to the guild; they can come and take on missions from the Bulletin Board, or they can simply accept missions from clients they already have and receive their payment through the Guild.

The guild is merely an intermediary between contractors and mercenaries. And thanks to the guild’s reputation, there are so many missions coming in that it’s "easy" to make a fortune if you’re capable.

If you don’t want to do quests, you can join one of the guild’s departments, such as the Daggers department, run by Lodrey, and learn there. You’ll be required to complete certain monthly quests, but it’s no big deal.

The departments in this guild are like an academy; they don’t teach all that much. Not at the level of what you’d learn in a Great Guild, but they do teach enough to set themselves apart from medium-sized or small guilds.

Now, all registered mercenaries have a rank based on their abilities (or seniority); the ranks are: Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Adamantium, Diamond, Master, Grand Master, and Apex (a rank exclusive to the guild master).

Zaid started at the Iron rank, just like everyone else.

He looked at the poorly made iron plaque and smiled.

’A New Identity: Gio, the Mercenary.’

Somehow, it didn’t sound bad.

Determined to put his new identity out there, he went to check out the billboards.

They were tech-powered, and you could control them with your cell phone—either by connecting through the app or directly from the large screen on the wall.

There were two of them.

The one on the left was for the quests issued by the guild and contractors. It listed quests such as:

[Kill a Fire-Red Boar...]

[Kill the Con Artist...]

[Clear the Dungeon...]

There were all kinds of quests, including some to clean bathrooms, sweep streets, or help elderly women with their shopping.

Then there were the kinds of quests you’d find in a medieval fantasy novel: [Protect the caravan of mattresses traveling from the Capital to Lakeside City.]

There were plenty of those.

And that makes sense.

Ever since the portals appeared, it has been impossible to control the vast number of beasts invading the world. Even with hundreds of thousands of hunters in the country, it takes groups of at least five to clear low-rank portals.

It takes at least ten hunters to clear Rank B portals and higher!

And portals are appearing everywhere, plunging the world into chaos. Toluria—an independent and powerful country that has emerged from the problems of the first generation—is just one of the few fortunate nations to have figures like Roger Zachary, Azrik, and others in its ranks.

More than 100 countries weren’t so lucky!

Despite the tranquility behind the walls that are now beginning to surround smart, technologically advanced cities, the danger out there is deadly. Flying requires powerful fighter jets to protect the planes, which has caused ticket prices to skyrocket.

At sea, it’s even worse. The water is teeming with unknown creatures that no one dares to attack—because who can fight an unknown enemy on its own turf?

For all these reasons, many scientists believe the world won’t survive for many more years.

20... maybe.

Hopes had been pinned on the 9 Thrones... but currently, only 7 of the 9 are occupying their seats. The situation is precarious.

Zaid shook his head to clear it of pessimistic thoughts. He walked over to the other bulletin board.

This was where mercenaries posted their rates.

Most people didn’t do this, because it wasn’t profitable in most cases. Often, a mercenary could earn 10,000 dollars for a job if he found it on the other bulletin board, but if he was contacted through this bulletin board and the price for his work was lower, then he had to settle for it.

However, Zaid found it very useful.

’I’d just have to set a relatively low price, and maybe I’ll be contacted for hunting missions. I could be at the academy studying while this works for me here,’ he thought.

He could afford to think that way because, as a student, he didn’t have many expenses.

But this time, he was in a bit of a hurry to try out the quests, so he ruled out that possibility.

Instead, he chose a quest from the bulletin board on the left.

[Rank F Quest: Take me to find four Ironfang Rat Ears and three Poisonous Rabbit Claws in the Wasteland Zone.

Reward: $150]

Although the pay was low—considering that most Rank F missions involving killing beasts pay between $300 and $500—he accepted it because it meant going back to that place.

The place where it all began.

His lucky spot for hunting small but daring Ironfang Rats—the first ones to give him ME!