Chapter 48 – A New Request

「His abilities are the real deal. But he can't get promoted because he's a Novice.」

「…A Novice?」

I handed the manager my guild card. Written on it was my job class, rank, and the words『Special Promotion』.

「…It's true. Or you have an actual job class but are hiding it for some reason.」

「I do and I'm not really hiding it. Not one Job Class Gems lit up, you see. If there was a Sage Gem, I'm sure it'll light up.」

「Sage? Is that a job class?」

「Yeah. It's similar to a Wizard.」

Actually, the only thing similar between the two classes is that they are both magic casters. The way they fight is different. Unlike a Wizard, a Sage has diverse and flexible fighting styles.

「…I haven't heard of it before. The way you took out materials out of nowhere… Is that one of this class's Skills?」

「Exactly.」

「I see… I'll keep it confidential so rest assured. I won't tell anyone about what you said just now too if you want.」

「All right, then. Please keep anything related to my Skills a secret.」

With that discussion done, Mylia spoke up at the exact moment we discussed beforehand.

「Like I said, Eld is a Novice so he can't get promoted. But with a branch manager's recommendation, he can. We both went into the Forest of Death and came back alive with materials. I think that's enough to get him promoted. Don't you agree?」

「…I do. In fact, it feels such a waste to only get promoted to rank D. But rules are rules. You can only get promoted once at a time. Moreover, promotion to rank C and up will require the consent of other branch managers as well so it'll take some time. Are you okay with rank D?」

「Of course. I'd like to get promoted right away, please.」

I'm getting promoted to rank D. That was fast. I got promoted to rank E only yesterday.

「So… The rest of the Blood Tigers are in this Sage Skill of yours, right?」

「Yeah.」I said, retrieving one more Blood Tiger.

There wasn't any room on the table so I set it on the floor.

「…With this many, the assessment will take some time.」

「You can't purchase them?」

「We can. There's plenty of buyers for high-ranked monster materials from the Forest of Death. We'd like to purchase all of them, but I'd have to check our funds. Is that all right?」

I suppose with this many B-rank monsters, the cash on hand becomes a problem. I still have space in my Magic Storage though. If they can't buy them all, I can just leave them inside for the time being.

「Sure… If the fund's not enough, can you at least send report about this to the guild's higher-ups?」

「Understood.」

Normally, killing monsters doesn't count as achievements unless taken as an official request. This is to discourage people from just buying the materials and then selling them to the guild for achievements.

…But when it comes to A or B-rank monsters, it's a different story. In the first place, they're not easy to come across. Plus if the guild puts out a request for one, plenty of adventurers die from errors in judgment because of the penalty when they don't fulfil the request.

That's why if an adventurer kills one and brings the materials to the guild, it'll count as an achievement. Still there are some adventurers that bring in purchased materials, but they get busted anyway. The guild probably places some unseen mark on the materials they purchased.

And so we waited for the assessment to be done.

◇

Approximate one hour later.

The assessment was over and we headed back inside to the special room.

「We have enough funds. We can purchase them all for 210 million gils. Will that be okay?」

That's a lot of money… Though it's nothing compared to the price of one Raging Ape. Only two of those and it's still more than the total for the Blood Tigers. I guess an A-rank is in a whole different league than a B-rank monster.

「That'll do. What about the promotion?」

「Your promotion to rank A? Hmm… There hasn't been such a case before, someone with a inferior job class getting rank A. But with what you've achieved so far, perhaps it's possible. I know. If you want achievements, would you like to take a request? It's a scouting mission to the Forest of Death.」

So there hasn't been anyone with a inferior job class who's rank A. I don't know how many rank A adventurers are out there, but there's no doubt that those with inferior job classes are treated horribly.

「A scouting request?」

「Yes. There's a place in the forest we need to get checked right away. But no one would take on a request that requires going in to the Forest of Death. If you complete it, I'm sure you'll get a lot closer to your promotion. I can't say how long it takes since there's no precedent, but if you accept this request, I'll help with whatever I can.」

「…What do you think, Eld? I want to take it if possible…」

Mylia looks like she wants to accept the request. But since it requires going deep into the forest, I have to carefully consider it first before promising anything. The degree of difficulty is different between just moving through the forest at your own pace while taking down monsters, and having to actually reach a certain destination. I might be able to do it alone if I use Magical Invisibility.

「I want to know the specifics before I accept. You'll tell us what it's about, right?」

「Why, of course. You may decide whether to accept it or not after you learn the specifics.」

The manager laid out a map of the Forest of Death. There was a spot with a huge red X-mark on it.

「There should be a huge pillar here. It's hard to miss. …It looks like this.」 he pointed at the X-mark and drew a pillar with a peculiar shape.

It looked familiar.