Chapter 20: 19

(Oh no! I’m running out of time!)

 

 

The streets of Frelia were noisier than usual.

A young man ran frantically through the hustle and bustle of the town.

 

 

Bumping into several people several times, he somehow managed to run into the Adventurers’ Guild and slipped into the training room on the second floor of the Guild, which he usually doesn’t visit.

 

 

(Uwaahhh, that’s a lot of people……)

 

 

The training room, which is usually not looked upon by Adventurers, was now overflowing with young Adventurers.

No, looking closely, one can see that there are even some veterans, famous high-ranked Adventurers whose names even he knew.

 

 

(This training session should have been barely advertised, but wow……!)

 

 

It all started when one Adventurer said to the Guild Receptionist, “I’d like to teach the young ones the ropes of being an Adventurer, can you lend me a room?”.

 

 

The Guild then gladly decided to lend him a room, and the Guild also invited participants to join.

The result is this room full of people.

 

 

(……This is the influence of an A-Rank Adventurer!)

""

 

 

However, he couldn’t just stay impressed in place.

They will never have a chance like this again.

Knowing that he would regret it for the rest of my life if he stayed put, he resolutely entered the room.

 

 

[E- Excuse me, please tell me through!]

 

 

He managed to get in a position where he could see the lectern.

The Adventurer who was going to be the instructor had already arrived, but it seemed like he had only just begun speaking.

 

 

(Thank goodness! I managed to get here in time!)

 

 

He can’t sit on a seat, so he will have to stand and watch, but he doesn’t care about that at all.

He looked at today’s lecturer standing at the podium.

 

 

[Ahh, what. I just wanted to give some advice to a few people. Well, it looks like we unexpectedly have a good group of people, so let’s get this started.]

 

 

The somewhat troubled look on his face had a relaxed yet indescribable “awesomeness” to it.

 

 

(That man is the peak of the town’s Adventurers! The <Immortal Man> who had defeated several Demons with his lion-like strength, even though his body was pierced through, was seriously wounded and he was on the verge of death!)

 

 

They say that rumors are riddled with exaggerations, but once he saw the man standing in front of him, he couldn’t believe that those rumors were exaggerated at all.

 

 

The sharp eyes hidden behind his soft demeanor seemed to tell of his tremendous battle record.

He would almost believe him even if he said he had already dived to his death many times, or even that he had died once and came back to life.

 

 

[What I’m about to tell you is my idea of “how to become a strong Adventurer”. However, it’s not just me, it’s something that a lot of people, a really large amount of people have built together. So, please don’t think that this idea is just my achievement. And so, I want everyone here today to spread this to as many people as you can.]

 

 

His tone of voice conveyed that he wasn’t doing this for his own selfishness, but was simply wishing for the safety and success of the other Adventurers.

 

 

Perhaps, he’s the kind of person who can honestly admire and recognize when someone close to him becomes stronger than he is.

That, in itself, definitely makes one as great as being a successful Adventurer.

 

 

[First, do you know what the most important thing is to becoming a top-notch Adventurer?]

 

 

The first to respond to his words was a spiky-haired swordsman in the front row.

Vigorously raising his hand, he exclaimed “Power!”.

 

 

 [You’re not wrong, but that isn’t what I think. The most important thing to becoming an incredible Adventurer is an “unrelenting heart”.]

 

 

He looked around at the crowded room and grinned.

 

 

[Think it’s too simple? Think it’s too uncool? But you see, as long as you’re alive, you can keep on trying. And fortunately, we can “level up”! No matter how unsightly you look or how badly things go wrong, it doesn’t change the fact that we still accumulate “experience” inside us.]

 

 

It was a calm, but passionate speech.

All the people in the room, who had been buzzing at the beginning, were now clearly listening to what he had to say.

 

 

[That’s why, there’s no wrong path for Adventurers to follow. That’s why, all you have to do is keep going. As long as you don’t stop, the road will continue. Only those who keep moving forward, even if they look like fools or are ridiculed, will become a “top-notch Adventurer”.]

 

 

After he said that much, he scratched his head.

 

 

[Whoops, got a little heated there. Just talking motivation must be boring, so I’ll talk about some practical things. It is said that the Gods have given us Divine Protection in the form of six abilities, which are these……]

 

 

 

STRENGTH – Power when fighting with weapons

VITALITY – How well you can take an attack

AGILITY – Speed of your action

MAGIC – Magic strength and frequency

MIND – Power of any magic attacks you take

FOCUS – Skill at using magic and techniques

 

 

 

He frantically copied the words scribbled on the blackboard into my notepad.

He knew that you were stronger when you leveled up, but he didn’t know what power or effect they would have.

 

 

As expected of an A-Rank Adventurer.

Not only are they strong, but they’re also smart.

 

 

[A person’s aptitudes are dependent on these six stats, but in fact, it’s said that your species has a large effect on them as well. Like how Dwarves have tough bodies and Elves are good at magic. Well, most of us are mixed bloods and you can figure out to some extent which part of your blood is the most dominant by looking at which of your abilities you excel at. It’s good to remember that.]

 

 

As soon as he heard those words, buzzing could be heard in the room.

Everyone looked at each other, and conversations like “You look like a Dwarf.”, “No matter how you look at it, I’m clearly more of a Fairy!” appeared.

 

 

He’s slender and has pointed ears, so he conjectured that his aptitudes would lean more as an Elf.

Having this thought, he started pondering if it would be good to stop being a Scout and aim for being a Wizard.

 

 

[Ahh, calm down. I’ll let you guys settle on that later, but for now, I’ll talk about abilities now.]

 

 

At the sound of his voice, the noisy room immediately quieted down.

 

 

[Listen. You were bestowed six abilities, but all of them are equally important. ……You’re mistaken if you think “I’m a Warrior, so I don’t need Magic” or “I’m a Mage, so I don’t need Strength”.]

 

 

His heart skipped a beat at those words.

That was exactly what he had been thinking earlier.

 

 

[That’s a big misconception. Magic is necessary for a Warrior to use Arts, and you need Strength to equip strong equipment as a Mage. There’s no such thing as “useless ability” in this world.]

 

 

That statement was truly eye-opening.

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If he were to be honest, just hearing that statement was worth attending today’s training session.

 

 

[Though I say that, the truth is that having balanced abilities doesn’t automatically make you “top-notch”. So, what are you supposed to do? That is……]

 

 

Thereupon, trying to bring suspense to his words……

 

 

 

[————-Having a strong point unique to your own.]

 

 

 

With a grin, he said.

 

 

[And so, from these six abilities, you need to choose one to consciously raise to create a “main ability”. And well, if I were to recommend one ability to prioritize, I would say “Agility”.]

 

 

Agility……

Hearing this, the young man remembered what he had been taught earlier, about how Agility means “one’s speed”.

As the young man thought it’s kind of plain, seemingly as if he could see right through his thoughts, the A-Rank Adventurer said.

 

 

[Well, I know why you’re all making that face. It’s because you think that rather than Agility, raising Strength or Magic is better because it’s flashy and cool, right? Like, if you had twice the power of a normal person, you might be able to defeat a strong Demon twice as fast. If you have twice as much Magic, you might be able to kill more monsters than other people when you use magic. However, that’s all there is to it.]

 

 

Thereupon, he firmly said.

 

 

[Double the Strength won’t help you when you need to shoot magic, and double the Magic won’t help you when you need to physically hit an enemy. However, Agility is different. If you are twice as fast, you can hit twice as many enemies and use twice as much magic. If things are going bad, you can escape faster than anyone else, and if your allies are in a pinch, you can rush in to save them. There’s no situation in which it’s bad.]

 

 

He felt surprised by those words.

 

 

It was indeed as the A-Rank Adventurer said.

If they were to focus only on attack power or magic , it would be overwhelmingly impractical.

On the other hand, being able to move faster than the enemy isn’t worthless in any situation.

 

 

[But well, this is something I only figured out recently. I’m not very fast myself.]

 

 

Seemingly embarrassed, the A-Rank Adventurer chuckled.

In such a relaxed atmosphere, he spoke with a hand on his head.

 

 

[Well, with that out of the way, I will end things with one last topic. The “equipment” that protects us Adventurers.]

 

 

The young man leaned forward when he heard those words.

 

 

He had actually been wondering about this as well.

He really would like to know what A-Rank Adventurers think about their equipment.

 

 

Receiving the expectant gazes of the audience, he calmly began to speak.

 

 

[There’s this story, where two sword-wielding Adventurers started at the same time. They were both about the same level of ability, and had leveled-up several times before becoming Adventurers, hunting stray monsters. However, there was one difference between them. One was poor and one was rich. So, they differed only in the quality of the swords they carried.]

 

 

The way the A-Rank Adventurer told the story made the young man secretly nervous.

His family was poor, and compared to other people he knew who had become Adventurers at the same time, he didn’t have very good equipment.

 

 

What if the A-Rank Adventurer said “You can’t be a good adventurer if you don’t have good equipment”?

Filled with such anxiety, as if in prayer, he waited for the rest of the story.

 

 

[One of them was holding a worn-out Iron Sword. The other was holding a brand-new Mithril Sword. The two of them crossed paths in the dungeon, and they both slashed at the same monster at the same time. What do you think happened?]

 

 

It was obvious.

If both of them have equal ability, the one with the stronger weapon would win.

And so, he was sure that the one with the Mithril Sword would win……

 

 

[The monster knocked the Mithril Sword away and only the Iron Sword was able to cut the monster down.]

[Eh?]

 

 

The young man couldn’t help but gasp.

 

 

After all, that would be strange, right?

He never thought that the one with the weaker weapon would win……

 

 

[Of course, it’s not like the Mithril Sword was defective. Listen here, okay? Equipment isn’t just about, having a more expensive and sharper weapon, the better. A strong weapon requires its wielder the ability to match it. It doesn’t make any sense to spend money on something that doesn’t fit your stature! No, on the contrary, it may even be your downfall!]

 

 

Those were shocking words.

He felt as if his values took a 180° change.

 

 

[Besides, I’ve been thinking. I think that the Adventurer Know-hows has spread a bit and everyone’s wearing the same gear. But you know what? Adventurers aren’t slaves to the equipment! Strong weapon, weak weapon, that doesn’t matter to an Adventurer! A truly strong Adventurer should work hard so that they can use whatever weapon they like, right!?]

 

 

His every word, his passion, struck a chord in that young man.

He had always felt inferior because his equipment was weak.

He has even thought several times that his failures were due to his weak equipment.

 

 

But now, he’s clearly aware that it was just escapism, that he was being naive.

 

 

Perhaps this argument may have sounded like a trivial argument to someone who had just spent a fortune to become an Adventurer, but those words had saved him.

 

 

[……Now then.]

 

 

It seemed like the end of the lecture was approaching.

As if the passion he had earlier was just a lie, the A-Rank Adventurer quietly nodded, before slowly looking around the classroom.

 

 

[……Well, I said a lot of things, and it’s up to you to follow it or not. You can also forget it all the moment you leave this room.]

 

 

The words, which seemed to turn everything upside down, caused a stir in the area.

There were some people among them who chuckled at him, saying how he was being irresponsible with his words.

 

 

However, this was needless anxiety.

Amidst the buzzing of the hall, he reassuringly exclaimed.

 

 

[I believe that Adventurers are free. Besides, I already said it at the beginning. Leveling up is our path forward. No matter what path we take, we will always end up where we want to be. So I say, you don’t need to look for the shortest path. There are no shortcuts to getting stronger. Use trial and error, struggle, take a break along the way, fail, think, make mistakes, but by no means…… should you ever give up!!!]

 

 

Their hearts were shaken by his loud voice and even more by his passionate soul.

The young man is convinced that what he had heard today and what he was taught were things would never forget.

 

 

And not only that.

At the end of the lecture, the A-Rank Adventurer said something that made him and many like him very happy.

 

 

[Well, if that doesn’t help, you can come consult me. Yes———-]

 

 

As the lips in the middle of his well-arranged beard warped to a grin, he slammed on his thick breastplate……

 

 

 

[————-To this Rank-A Adventurer, the <Immortal Verteran>!]

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