Who Says I'm Not a Proper Adventurer?
Chapter 13: Requirements to Become a Swordsman

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: Requirements to Become a Swordsman

Lance stepped forward, his expression blank. He pulled the Short Sword from his back and plunged it into its throat, ending its suffering.

Afterwards, he didn’t rush to sheathe his blade. Instead, he patiently delivered a final blow to the vital points of each corpse.

Many rookie Adventurers had been killed in counter-attacks while looting because they failed to realize Goblins had an incredible talent for playing dead.

It was a lesson paid for with the blood of countless predecessors.

Only when he confirmed the ground was truly deathly silent did Lance finally let out a sigh of relief.

If any other Senior Adventurer had been present, they likely would have had only one assessment of him:

Unbelievably cautious.

To be this meticulous when facing just a few Goblin minions.

’No experience point notification?’

Lance glanced at his tranquil panel.

’It seems the standard experience bar system from killing monsters wasn’t implemented in the real world.’

’Or maybe it’s because I’m not a Professional. I’ve heard some Professionals can get stronger through combat.’

’For now, it looks like the only way to gain Skills or Knowledge Experience is to accept an official "Demon Sweeping Mission" from the Guild and get credit for it.’

’And later, I can ask about how the Professional system in this world works.’

Lance checked his system panel and found there were indeed some hidden gains.

A line of faint text had appeared at the bottom.

[Castro Swordsmanship Skill Level +4]

Lance raised an eyebrow.

’That’s a pretty significant increase.’

’Considering that tedious solo practice would require an hour or so of non-stop sword swinging to get this kind of boost.’

As expected.

True combat was the best teacher.

Lance crouched down, enduring the nauseating stench, and skillfully cut off the left ears of the four Goblins.

Even though he hadn’t accepted a sweeping mission, these ears served as proof of a Demon kill and could be exchanged for a bounty at the Guild.

Each one was worth about 20 Copper Coins, so four would fetch 80 Copper Coins.

’A nice little windfall.’

He then rummaged through the tattered pouches on the corpses’ waists.

Aside from some moldy berries and a few unknown animal teeth, they were empty.

"What a bunch of paupers."

Lance wiped the filthy blood from his gloves on the grass in disgust.

He glanced again at the data on his retina.

The environmental stability reading had begun to slowly recover, returning to a reassuring green.

’But it’s clear this area isn’t safe anymore.’

’Who knows if the disappearance of this patrol will attract the main force from a nearby nest.’

Not getting greedy, Lance packed up his spoils and immediately turned, striding quickly toward the edge of the forest.

He needed to hurry back and report the anomaly to the Guild.

Lance hurried all the way back to the Adventurer’s Guild.

He deliberately pulled his hood lower, obscuring all but the lower half of his face, and walked quickly to a less crowded transaction window.

He pushed the full bag of Silver Leaf Vine Juice across the counter, along with the four still-dripping Goblin ears.

The receptionist skillfully tallied everything up.

As the coin pouch landed in his palm, its substantial weight instantly lifted Lance’s spirits.

Nearly two Silver Coins in total.

Lance did a quick calculation in his head.

That was equivalent to four days’ salary from his previous job as a Copyist.

As he’d thought.

Even a small taste of blood licked from a blade’s edge paid far more than grinding away at a counter until his hands were callused.

Besides the monetary reward, because he also reported the intelligence about Demons roaming near the gathering point, the Guild also issued him an additional 2 Merit Points.

This was part of the Adventurer’s Guild’s internal honor system.

Adventurers with higher Merit could not only increase their rank privileges but also redeem their points within the Guild for rare items unavailable on the open market.

For instance, certain Illustrated Guides containing advanced monster Knowledge, or special Potions and equipment with Magic effects.

There was also information on Professionals, as well as some special Skills.

These were all scarce resources that money couldn’t buy in Gray Rock Town.

As Lance turned to leave, he casually glanced at the request board in the center of the hall.

Just as he expected.

Due to the recent Magic Power surges, the board was filled with new "Sweeping Requests" stamped with red Seal Paste.

The objective of these missions was very clear: to eliminate the Demon threat in specific areas and clear the way for subsequent gathering teams.

The rewards included not only high bounties but also a considerable amount of Merit Points.

Lance looked on with envy.

Unfortunately, the Adventurer’s Guild had a strict rule.

Due to limitations in carrying capacity and safety, individual Adventurers had a strict cap on the number of requests they could accept.

Only registered adventurer parties could bypass this restriction and take on multiple sweeping missions at once.

Of course.

He’d heard that true, ranked "Professionals" could use their Professional Level privileges to accept additional, exclusive requests.

After all, some high-difficulty subjugation missions could take a very long time.

The Guild tacitly allowed these powerful individuals to pick up small side jobs along the way to earn extra cash during their long tracking and hunting processes.

Just as Lance was lost in thought staring at the high-reward mission postings,

a somewhat young voice suddenly spoke from behind him.

"Um... excuse me, are you looking to take on a sweeping mission?"

Lance turned around instinctively.

Standing behind him was a blond-haired boy.

He didn’t look very old, maybe sixteen or seventeen, with a face that still held a trace of youthful immaturity.

However, the Short Sword at his waist and the worn marks on its hilt showed that he wasn’t a complete novice.

Looking at the boy’s face, Lance had a vague feeling that he looked familiar.

’I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before.’

Seeing Lance look at him, the boy quickly straightened his posture and introduced himself.

"Hello! My name is Damian."

"I just got back from White River City and registered as an Adventurer today. Right now, I’m putting together my own adventurer party."

At this, his eyes shone with anticipation.

"Our party’s initial goal is to focus on clearing out the surrounding Goblin nests."

Seemingly afraid that his youthful face lacked persuasiveness,

Damian hastily pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket—his adventurer qualification certificate.

"Don’t let my age fool you. I’ve already studied two forms of Swordsmanship."

"My primary Swordsmanship has already reached Master Level, and even my secondary Swordsmanship is at the Skilled Level."

The boy held his head high, a hint of pride in his voice.

"I’m working toward the ’Swordsman’ Profession and I’m just one step away."

After he finished,

he looked at Lance with eyes full of expectation.

He was clearly impressed by Lance’s fine equipment and calm demeanor and wanted to recruit him.

As the boy’s words faded,

a system notification box suddenly popped up on Lance’s retina.

[Key Information Detected: Swordsman Profession Requirements]

[Profession: Swordsman]

[Prerequisites:]

[1. Basic Attributes: Power 10, agility 8, Perception 8]

[2. Skill Requirements: Main Swordsmanship LV5 (Expert), Secondary Swordsmanship LV4 (Mastery), train in one Swordsmanship-type Breathing Combat Technique]

[3. Trial Requirement: Independently kill ten different types of Demons using Swordsmanship]

[4. Additional Condition: Achieve a certain level of renown for your Swordsmanship in a region. Completion will grant a minor Profession bonus.]