Tradition

"Nor do I know you. Begone." There was no point in bothering with crooks like the one that dared to lay his hand on the archmage. But there was no way for Layn to ignore it if any insults or threats were thrown his way.

That's why, rather than instantly flaring up or outright ignoring the intruder, he gave him a way off. A nice chance to reconsider and stop his foolish actions. But it would ultimately be that man to decide the route he would take.

"Hah! A good answer!" Instead of going for the usual bullying of the new, the huge troglodyte that almost assumed this role was somehow placated by Layn's words.

"Excuse me, but I really do not care whether the answer is right or wrong. Would you mind not bothering me any longer?" Shaking the giant hand from his shoulder, Layn looked coldly at the man in front of him. And he would be pretty much willing to go further with his narration, if not for a sudden tug on his sleeve.

Turning around, Layn once again saw the faces of the ancients. This time though, they were warped by anxiety and unease.

"Not letting others push you around is a good thing, young lad." Shaking his smiling head, the man then suddenly stopped moving it as his expression darkened. "But one should know their limits. After all, what would you do if I could smash you with just two fingers of mine?"

With a slightly devious smile creeping up on the lips of the giant man, Layn could only sigh with defeat. If that man really wanted to force a clash, then he wouldn't be a rowdy adventurer if he were to refuse!

"Those words are truly wise." Nodding his head to the smart sentence of the giant man, Layn quickly added. "But let me reiterate them. What would you do if I could squash you with a single finger of mine?"

From the instant wave of whispers that shook the entire building along with constantly sinking expressions of his teammates, Layn could tell that the man in front of him was a figure he shouldn't anger. But at the same time, rather than worrying about that man's strength, he could use his authority to establish his own position!

For a moment, the man went silent. Glancing at the confident eyes of the archmage, he attempted to guess how much of his words was a bluff. But in the end, what was the outcome of his inner calculation remained confined safely behind the man's skull.

"You are actually right. I know not your strength, nor you do know mine. But to not make you pressured any longer…" With his smile widening, the man finally revealed what he had in mind "I'm actually the guild master of this mercenary branch. Meaning, whenever I see someone new, I need to assess their strength personally."

And that was it for calmly resolving the situation. With how this man put the situation, there was little that Layn could do to avoid the clash.

But doing so was never his intention in the first place.

"So the leader of the local mercenary guild is an arrogant prick who bullies everyone into submission then? I think it's great that I came here then!" The easiest way to gain an advantage over others was to act completely unpredictable.

Layn could tell that what this local master expected, could be generally rounded up to the two basic options that humans had in a dangerous situation.

To fight or to flee. But rather than openly standing against the man or submitting to his pressure, Layn actually managed to confuse him.

"What?" Rather than answering, Layn turned around and looked at the anxious ancients from his group.

"Or maybe I'm mistaken, maybe I'm a naive and stupid kid who doesn't know anything about life at all. While the last part of what I said is actually true, let's pretend that everything is. How else am I supposed to take your actions then rather than as a provocation?"

If the man wanted to test his strength, there were many ways to go around it in a pleasant and cultured manner. But he came here to pick a fight with the archmage, and Layn's pride didn't allow him to ignore the glove he was unlitarely smacked in the face with.

"I… I'm not a guild master for nothing. If you think you can just go around and slander me…" After a moment necessary to push his thoughts back on the right track, the guild master attempted to sound threatening, only for his intent to fail completely when Layn interrupted his words.

"If someone steals, they are a thief. If someone overestimated their strength and meaning, they are arrogant. If someone is bullying others, then he is a bully. There is no slander when one names things as they are." Layn didn't intend to let this man do as he wished. Even if this place was just a temporary stop for him, given how he would most likely spend quite a lot of time at this age, there was an urgent need for him to gain common acknowledgement as a powerhouse.

"You… Well, you are right. I'm a big, arrogant bully. What are you going to do about it?" Unable to keep up with Layn's sharp tongue, the giant man finally decided to drop the appearances and be true to his real desires.

"What am I going to do about it? Absolutely nothing." Replying to the man's smile with one of his own, Layn finished. "Your childish act is not a grudge that would make me take your life. You will need to try a little bit harder for that."

Waving his hand in an attempt to shoo the man away, Layn turned his face back towards the counter. Ever since this unexpected raffle began, the ongoing exchange of tokens stopped. Only when Layn threw him an annoyed look did the attendant scrambled to finish the work.

Given how Layn just acted rude to the guild master, it was understandable that the attendant wanted to have nothing to do with the scuffle.

"Great then!" Placing his hand at the handle of a large sword strapped to his belt, the giant man suddenly let out a low growl, which quickly turned into hearty laughter.

"Everyone! This is the attitude that the mercenaries should have!" After exclaiming and taking Layn by surprise with that, the giant man suddenly turned back and looked at the archmage's face. "Pardon the earlier. You could say it's a tradition of sorts to put down any potentially arrogant newbies. My name is Kasher, what is your name, young lad?"