Chapter 191 ~ Swords of Darkness

The next morning. 

After Momonga and Lupu finished setting the "gear in motion" the previous day, the four headed to the Adventurer's Guild to start the first step to the rise of their fame and heroism. 

Upon arriving, the first thing they saw as they entered the hall was the counter, where three of the guild's receptionists greeted the adventurers with business smiles on their faces. 

There were warriors in full plate armor, nimble fellows in light armor and bearing bows, people in priest's garb and adorned with all manner of holy symbols, as well as robed arcane magic casters with their staves. 

On the left was a large door, and on the right was a notice board. There were several pieces of parchment upon it which Yuuji and the others had not seen yesterday during their registration. There were several adventurers chatting in front of it.

As soon as they entered, all eyes quickly turned towards them… 

And quickly, after an initial look of shock, many didn't even hide their look of curiosity, awe, and most of all, envy. 

"Gods… Who are they? I've never seen them before."

"A warrior, two magic casters, and that brown-skinned woman… a fighter?

"Damn, look at that armor though… Those look expensive as hell!"

"The magic casters also seemed to be repping some expensive robes."

"Damn, those women look hot!"

"Sssh! They look strong. Don't say that so loudly!"

"Bah, are you blind? Can't you see their copper plates?"

"Eh, are you serious?"

"Tch, is it another rich kid playing adventurer with bodyguards hired by their papas?!"

"Oh? Then I guess it's time for me to teach them a couple of lessons! As for the payment… Guess I can settle for a night with those chicks!"

"Hahaha! Count me in! I'll take the tanned one. I like my woman feisty!"

"Fine by me! I like that masked woman better anyway."

The whispered comments of envy, which was to be expected given the quality of armor Yuuji donned, the robes Aika and Momonga had adorned, and the massive, jet-black mace strapped behind Lupu, quickly devolved into the cries of men riddled with inferiority complex and lust they could only satisfy with their own hands. 

It was the only way they could cope with their own pitiful patheticness; by disrespecting and degrading women so they could feel more superior in their own empty heads.

But these too, were unshocking. In fact, Yuuji and Aika knew they would hear such cliched lines from no name mobs in the many isekai light novels they've read. 

They were pitiful… But unfortunately, Aika had no pity for such disgusting insects. So, she didn't even bother with them. 

Yuuji, Aika, Momonga, and Lupu made their way to one of the counters which had been freed up just as they arrived. 

"Good morning. We are here to take on a quest. Would it be possible for you to provide us with a list of requests available for the taking?"

The first reaction he received from the matured receptionist lady was stunned awe as she looked with widened eyes at the immaculate and majestic white and gold armor in the image of a dragon. 

While she had seen plenty of adventurers, no adventurers in E-Rantle had ever donned armor of such level…

"A-Ah, yes of course! I mean- If you wish to take on a quest, please head to the billboard there, where requests are posted. Once you find a suitable quest, you may bring one back to me to register your party for the quest."

"Very well. Thank you for your help."

The receptionist lady nodded in a daze as the armored dragon knight turned and walked away with his comrades, her eyes still lingering on his back. 

She could still feel her heart reverberating when she was in his presence and when he spoke to her. 

Such a force of presence, not overwhelming and forceful, but all encompassing, majestic, and… warm. Just by being in his presence, she felt somehow… safe. 

She had never seen a hero, a knight in white armor who would always save the day and the princess and vanquish all evil she read in so many children's books. But this feeling… 

A thought quickly came to mind. Could she perhaps… be in the presence of one?

Meanwhile, looking at the billboard, Yuuji studied the myriad request parchments one by one. 

But, as he expected, he could not read the words written on them. Aika and Momonga also looked around curiously at the billboard, but just like him, the two couldn't read them as well. 

And while they perused the billboard, Lupu just waited while looking around the guild hall, waving at the female adventurers and ignoring the men, while silently remembering the faces of those who had insulted her masters. 

Yuuji studied the parchments for a while. 

He had a spell called "Comprehend Language" which would grant him the ability to read any language written on a surface he could touch. However, casting a spell while being the center of attention of literally every single person in the guild would undoubtedly raise some eyebrows. 

So, in the end, Yuuji took the parchment with the highest number written on it, hoping it'd correspond to the rank. 

He brought it back to the receptionist, and the moment Yuuji gave her the parchment, her eyes went wide in shock. 

"E-Eh?! U-Uhm… This is a mithril-ranked quest…"

Yuuji nodded. 

"Indeed."

"..."

His response silenced the receptionist, not out of awe, but out of sheer shock and confusion. 

"...Please forgive me. However, since you and your comrades are all still Copper-ranked adventurers, you are not permitted to take requests above your rank. This is a rule created by the guild to protect its adventurers from foolishly diving into danger they are not ready to face for coins. And even if you were able to return with your limbs and lives in tack, you will be dealt a heavy penalty for failing the quest!"

The receptionist raised her voice and began breathing heavily to catch her breath. She looked at the white armor-clad man with eyes filled with annoyance, frustration, and concern. 

A mithril-ranked quest was not something a new adventurer should even begin to imagine doing! 

Moreover, the quest he brought back was of the highest difficulty! Although he might have expensive armor and three possibly skilled bodyguards to protect him, just four people would not be able to clear it if at least one of them didn't have the strength of an Adamantite level adventurer. 

The receptionist expected a number of responses from the adventurer before her. 

If the man was indeed a rich son of a noble, then his bodyguards might become upset with her for daring to be rude to their master. 

If the man had a high pride, then he would be mad at her instead for insinuating his lack of strength. 

And if the man was sensible, then he would accept her words and apologize. 

But to her shock, none of her assumptions were correct as the man gestured to the beautiful woman in white robe and fox mask, and the man clad in black robe. 

"My partner and my friend here are magic casters capable of casting spells up to a third level."

Yuuji then gestured towards Lupu. 

"While me and my female friend here are warriors and fighters of the same caliber. So, while we may have a copper plate hanging down our necks, it does not reflect our skill, but rather the time we had spent as an adventurer, which was 2 days. I assure you of our skills, and we wish to take a quest that suited our level."

The hall went silent, before murmurs of shock and disbelief quickly filled the guild once again. 

Even the receptionist was shocked by his declaration. And at this point, she had become unsure if what he said was the truth, or a false bravado spoken to save his pride. 

"I-I apologize. But we cannot let you take on this request as per the guild's rules… "

"... I understand. It seems I have put you in a difficult situation. I apologize." Yuuji bowed his head slightly. 

"Then, please give us the most challenging copper-ranked quest we can take. There should be others besides the ones in the notice board, right"

"Yes! Right away!"

The receptionist finally smiled and bowed in gratitude before leaving to select a quest suitable for the group of adventurers before her. 

And as Yuuji and the others were waiting, a voice calling for their attention resounded. 

"How about helping us with our work, then?"

"Hm?"

Yuuji, Aika, Momonga, and Lupu turned to see a four-man adventurer team, their silver plates glittering on their necklace. 

The one who spoke was the young man at the front, typical blonde hair and blue eyes typical of the Kingdom, wearing some sort of banded armor with strips of metals woven together with metal threads of leather or chain backing. He carried himself like a warrior, and the leader of the party. 

And upon seeing them, Yuuji, Aika, and Momonga hid the look of recognition underneath their helm, mask, and hood as they all thought the same thing in unison.

'Ah, there they are. The Swords Of Darkness.'

Yuuji observed the three young men and the one slightly smaller "boy" for a moment, looking at them in silence as he was reminded of their figures in the anime. 

It was a casual observation. But somehow, to the ones being observed, they suddenly felt like they were being seen through completely by the man from beneath his cool draconic helm. 

They couldn't help but straighten up nervously. 

"I see. Worthwhile jobs are certainly what we seek. But before we accept, I would like to hear what sort of job it might be."

The young man at the front nodded, and asked the receptionist to prepare a room for them. 

It was a normal meeting room with a long wooden table lined with chairs on both sides in the middle. 

The members of the Sword of Darkness party streamed in and sat down, followed by Yuuji and the others. 

And before discussing the job, the leader of the Swords of Darkness began introducing themselves.

"I'm the leader of the "Swords of Darkness", Peter Mauk. That fellow over there is the eyes and ears of our team, the ranger, Lukrut Volve."

The leather-armored blond man nodded in acknowledgement, his brown eyes seemed to have a spark of delight in them. He was slender and long-limbed, kind of like a spider, but his lean torso was wiry and muscular. 

"Next is our spellcaster and the brains of our group, Ninya, The Spellcaster."

"Pleased to meet you."

Probably the youngest in the group with dark brown hair and blue eyes. Though "he" was an adult, the smile on his face looked too youthful. 

And Yuuji's group knew very well who "he" truly was. A poor village "boy" trying to gain money through adventuring using the meager skills in magic "he" had to try and buy back his elder sister, who was kidnapped, used, and sold off by a scummy noble who unfortunately came to their village and saw her. 

A tragic story that would end in tragedy. At least, if they don't do anything about it.

"...But Peter, can you not use that embarrassing nickname?"

"Eh? But it's a good one."

"Eh~? You have a nickname? That's cool~"

Lupu asked, her beautiful voice stunning the four Swords of Darkness members for a moment.

"Y-Yes, he's a talent-holder, and a genius magic caster."

"Wow~ That sounds amazing~"

Lupu did not understand what they meant by "talent-holder", but it was fun seeing them being proud of something so seemingly insignificant and small. 

"That is amazing."

Yuuji complimented, causing Ninya to blush and waved his hand around in denial. 

"I-It's nothing much! It's just that I happened to have a talent pertaining to that area."

Much like martial arts, talents were abilities that did not exist in YGGDRASIL but which were unique to this world. About one in every 200 people was born with a talent. While talent-holders were not rare, the abilities themselves varied greatly in potency and type.

For instance, there were things like being able to predict tomorrow's weather with 70% accuracy, the ability to strengthen summoned monsters, hastening the harvest by several days, using the magic of dragons that once ruled the world, and so on. 

But these were all inborn abilities which could not be chosen or changed. And it was common to encounter situations where these abilities could not be applied.

If someone was born with the talent to improve the destructiveness of their magic but they never had the chance to become a magic caster, then the magic would be useless. 

There were very few people who could make good use of their talents. And there were almost no talents that could dictate someone's direction in life, except for a few very powerful ones. 

And even without talent, some could go on to become a prominent figure, such as Gazef Stronoff. 

But despite everything, Yuuji do plan on gathering the people with useful and powerful talents. Not only to strengthen Nazarick by having talented people under his banner, but to also prevent them from being taken by those in opposition to him and his friends. 

"I think his talent has something to do with being suited to studying magic. I mean, he only took four years to learn what should've taken eight. I'm not a magic caster though, so I'm not sure how great that is."

And Ninya's talent… with time and the myriad of magical knowledge within Nazarick, she would have the potential to become the continent's greatest magic caster, barring those within Nazarick. 

It was a talent he won't simply let go just like that. 

"That's certainly amazing… I did not expect to find such talent so soon."

"A-Ahahaha…"

Yuuji praised, and the "boy" couldn't help but rub the back of his head shyly. 

He didn't press further. It wasn't time for him to pull Ninya into his grasp. The right time… would come soon. 

"Continuing, could you tell us about your last friend?"

"Yes. He's a druid, Dyne Woodwonder. He uses healing spells and magic that controls nature, and he's well versed in herbal lore. You can let him know if there's anything wrong with your body; he has medicine that's good for stomach pains."

"Pleased to meet you!"

The heartfelt and energetic greeting came from the burly, barbaric-looking man with a full, bushy beard. He seemed younger than he first appeared, and despite his manly, rugged appearance, he had a warm, friendly smile beneath his beard and a pair of soft looking eyes. 

"Likewise. Then, I shall also introduce myself and my friends."

Yuuji lowered his head slightly and placed a hand on his chest. The very movement elicited awe from the commoners before him with sheer elegance.

"My name is Alexander Kyrielight. The vanguard of our party. This is my partner…"

"Lilith~ Nice to meet you~"

The men all blushed inadvertently upon hearing her beautiful, alluring voice. And Ninya was similarly awed by it, entranced for a moment. 

Moreover, just from the glimpse they saw of her smile right beneath her fox's mask… They were sure; She must be hiding an otherworldly beauty beneath it.

Yuuji then gestured towards Momonga and Lupu with his hand. 

"This is Momon and Lupu, also a magic caster and the fighter of our party respectively."

"Wonderful. I hope we can work well together, Sir Alexander."

"Likewise. And please, simply call me Alex."

"Alright!"

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