Click.
When Geon-hyeok stepped outside, he saw a small well sitting alone on the bare earth.
He used a cart to draw water, then rinsed his mouth first.
Next, he poured water over his whole body while still wearing his cloak.
“Haa…….”
It feels refreshing for the first time in ages.
Geon-hyeok glanced around furtively.
There's no one here, right?
He took off his upper and lower garments and quickly washed them in the water.
“Hmm. Even if I wring them out…… this isn't great.”
I should buy some clothes as soon as I get paid.
Geon-hyeok went back into the guild soaking wet.
“You…… really did take a shower.”
“Ha ha, I'm sorry. More importantly, the payment…….”
“Yes. Forty-eight one-star magic stones and fifty-seven two-star magic stones……. We will buy them for a total of 1,389,000 wid.”
The clerk placed a purse of money on the counter.
Geon-hyeok let out a small, hollow laugh.
The magic beasts he had killed over two days had earned him a staggering 13,890,000 Korean won.
And that was after all taxes had been deducted…….
'Being a mercenary seems like a pretty decent job, doesn't it?'
He needed to hurry to an inn and wash himself properly, but…….
First, he had to deal with the color of his eyes.
“Is there a magic tool shop in this village?”
“Yes. It is small, but it is directly across from the guild.”
Right across the street, then.
The closer, the better.
“Thank you.”
Geon-hyeok took the purse and left the guild at once.
He went straight to the old building across the street.
The sign clearly said ‘Magic Tool Shop.’
The building is…… really small.
Click.
Inside, he saw display shelves thick with dust.
An elderly woman in her eighties sat behind the counter, staring blankly at him.
She peered at him through narrowed eyes.
“A customer…… What a rare sight.”
Customers were rare?
Did that mean business was so poor?
“The mercenaries all left for other regions, you see. I have not had a single customer in three months.”
And yet the shop was still open…….
“Do you have ‘Hus's Ring’ and ‘Saran's Necklace’?”
“Hmm?”
The shopkeeper furrowed her brow and tilted her head.
“‘Hus's Ring,’ you say…… Are you an assassin?”
Hus's Ring was a magic tool that concealed its wearer's presence and demonic energy, among other things. Assassins generally used it.
Saran's Necklace was a magic tool that turned the fighting aura used by beastfolk and some magic beasts, and the demonic energy used by demons, into pure magic power.
“I turned twelve this year, and I'm a mercenary. I heard some magic beasts are sensitive to magic power, so I came to get one. I also know a beastfolk who wants to use magic. They were looking for Saran's Necklace and asked me to pick one up if I found a magic tool shop…….”
“Looking at you, I would have taken you for a child from the slums…….”
Geon-hyeok's brows twitched, and he showed her a wad of cash from inside his clothes.
“I have enough money. I look like this because I got lost before reaching the village and had to sleep outdoors for three days.”
The old woman chuckled and smiled.
“Very well. If you say so.”
“Oh, and Alpha's Ring, please.”
Alpha's Ring was a magic tool that changed the color of a person's hair and eyes.
That was what he had come for.
Hus's Ring and Saran's Necklace were merely a cover.
Of course, they would be a great help if she had them.
But…….
Apparently, his cover had not worked at all.
Alpha's Ring was an item often sought by criminals with bounties on their heads.
The shopkeeper regarded Geon-hyeok, her face stiffening slightly.
“Surely…….”
Geon-hyeok pulled his cloak's hood low over his eyes.
“As I said, the items are for someone I know. They are rabbitfolk(rabbit people), so their eyes are a little red.”
“……I see.”
Though she looked at him suspiciously, the shopkeeper brought the items without protest.
“That will be 200,000 wid for all of them.”
That's fairly cheap.
“They used to sell for as much as a million wid, but hardly anyone asks for them these days.”
“I see.”
Geon-hyeok paid 200,000 wid and took the magic tools.
“I'll be going, then. Thank you for your help.”
The shopkeeper nodded but silently watched his back.
He was a child not even 160 centimeters tall.
Surely a child that small could not be a criminal.
Even if he was, he would only be a petty pickpocket.
Yet the magic tools he had just bought were not things a mere pickpocket could afford.
'A pickpocket would buy food first…….'
Yes. She should stop imagining things.
The shopkeeper sighed softly and sat down on the chair behind the counter.
Click.
As soon as Geon-hyeok left the magic tool shop, he put on Alpha's Ring.
Then he approached the Mercenary Guild and examined his face reflected in its window.
The moment he fed magic power into the ring, his eyes turned black.
'……Amazing.'
Geon-hyeok went looking for an inn straightaway.
Washing the grime from his body was the priority now.
His mouth felt stale, too.
'There it is!'
A small, two-story inn.
When Geon-hyeok entered, the proprietor tilted his head.
Why did he look like a drowned rat when it had not even rained?
“I'd like to stay for one night. And could I…… get some clothes? I'll pay for them, of course. Toothpaste and a toothbrush, too, if you have them…….”
“Yes, well…….”
Looking somewhat reluctant, the proprietor gathered the things Geon-hyeok had requested.
“The clothes belonged to my son. I have washed them, so…….”
“Thank you. I'd like a room with a shower, please.”
Geon-hyeok took the clothes, soap, toothpaste, and toothbrush, then paid for everything along with his room.
The proprietor had been eyeing him suspiciously, but as soon as he received the money, he handed over a key with a friendly expression.
“You may use Room 203.”
It was a small, single-room bedroom on the second floor.
Geon-hyeok immediately washed in the private shower attached to it.
After brushing his teeth and scrubbing himself with soap, he felt clean and refreshed.
“Whew. This takes more magic power than I expected.”
The shower produced water when supplied with magic power.
To use warm water, he had to feed magic power into a magic tool that raised the temperature.
Mercenaries usually seemed to use magic stones instead.
After showering, Geon-hyeok went downstairs.
“The clothes…… seem to fit you well.”
“Yes. More importantly, may I order some food?”
The inn used its ground floor as a restaurant.
That meant he could get both room and board here.
The proprietor nodded as if to say of course.
“Then I'll have the A set meal and the C set meal, please.”
“Certainly. Payment is in advance, though…….”
Geon-hyeok promptly handed him 2,000 wid.
“Please wait a moment.”
The proprietor went straight into the kitchen.
“One A set meal and one C set meal!”
Apparently, his wife worked in the kitchen while he handled the reception desk and dining room.
When the food was served at his table, Geon-hyeok began to eat ravenously.
How long had it been since he had eaten proper food instead of fruit?
Well, only about two or three days had actually passed, but…….
It felt as though he had eaten nothing but fruit for months.
“Thank you for the meal!”
Smiling with satisfaction at being full again, Geon-hyeok went up to his room.
Just as he was about to lie on the bed, he remembered the faces of the people he had met that morning.
“……I should brush my teeth.”
The experience had stayed with him like a trauma. He went straight into the shower room.
After brushing his teeth at the small sink, he lay down on the bed and fell asleep in an instant.
The cozy bed and the soft, warm blanket.
A place to sleep that ordinarily seemed like nothing now made him deeply happy.
The next morning, he ate downstairs at the inn and went straight to the Mercenary Guild.
“Ah, you were the one from yesterday…….”
She could not have seen his face yesterday under the cloak…….
She must have recognized his voice and build.
“I'd like to get a mercenary badge.”
“What? You…… do not have a mercenary badge?”
Had he brought in that many magic stones without even being a mercenary?
“I…… I see. In that case, please fill out this application first…….”
Geon-hyeok began writing his personal information on the mercenary badge application the clerk had handed him.
“Your age…… You are twelve?”
“Ha ha. Did I look that old?”
He was about the same height as an average twelve-year-old boy, after all.
“I thought you might be a dwarf when I saw the goblin magic stones you brought in yesterday. But you are a human, and only twelve…….”
Elves, dwarves, beastfolk, and various other races lived in the Rabadian Empire.
They were simply fewer in number than humans and faced some discrimination.
“Unfortunately, we cannot count what you accomplished yesterday.”
“I understand.”
“I will issue you an F-rank mercenary badge for now. If you wish to be promoted, you can complete requests of a higher grade. Please note, however, that A~S-grade requests have separate rank requirements.”
“What grade would a request to kill goblins be?”
“Depending on the number killed, such requests range from D~C grade.”
Once he accepted a request, he had to complete it within the time limit set for its grade.
“For reference, you must complete a D-grade request within three days and a C-grade request within five.”
Geon-hyeok nodded and rubbed his chin for a moment.
The ‘F’ rank printed on the badge bothered him a little.
He did not know whether Rabin Village had a Mercenary Guild…….
He might as well raise his rank a little now.
“I'd like to take a request nearby. Is there one that would help me get promoted?”
“Then how about this C-grade request? Kobolds have apparently appeared on the grassland about three kilometers away. You would need to kill fifteen kobolds and bring back their hides and magic stones.”
“Are there any B-grade requests……?”
“There are requests to kill ordinary orcs, goblin generals, and goblin shamans. The locations are ten kilometers away…… no, some may be farther than that……. Ah, you can also earn promotion to B-rank by completing several C-grade requests.”
Then it would be better to do C-grade requests nearby.
Geon-hyeok nodded and chose three C-grade requests to kill goblins and kobolds.
He would have to kill fifty magic beasts in total.
“Uh…… as I said, you must complete C-grade requests within five days. If you fail a request, you will have to pay the guild a penalty of 10,000 wid. It might be better to finish one before taking another…….”
“I'll take all three.”
“Hmm…… very well.”
Looking a little uneasy, the clerk wrote Astan's name beside the requests on the list.
“Could I have a map showing where the goblins and kobolds have appeared? I also need to visit a place called Rabin Village later, so I would like a map of that area as well.”
“Yes, of course.”
Geon-hyeok paid 2,000 wid and received two maps.
'Good grief…… what a difference.'
They were nothing like the detailed maps he was used to seeing online.
Maps in this world showed only rough drawings, distances, and directions.
It appeared someone had drawn them by hand and copied them with a magic tool.
And they charged 1,000 wid apiece for maps like these?
“May fortune favor you in battle.”
“Thank you. Have a good day.”
Geon-hyeok left the guild with a dubious look.