Early the morning after he had acquired his new array of skills, Rei was back at the guild as a matter of course. Set was already lying in what had become his designated spot, purring happily as adventurers and passersby offered him snacks.
"Seto-chan has really become the star of the city, hasn't he?"
Rei was scanning the request board when someone suddenly spoke to him. He turned to find Mirene, the leader of Scorching Wind, who had fought alongside him against the Orc King during the subjugation mission.
"Are you looking for work too?" Rei asked.
"What do you mean 'too'...? So you really are here for a job, Rei? Usually, after a big mission like that, people take at least a week off to rest."
Despite her words, Mirene’s own eyes were glued to the request forms on the board. When Rei gave her a pointed look, noting the contradiction between her words and actions, she gave him an awkward, sheepish smile.
"Ah, well... truth is, my weapons and armor were trashed during the orc subjugation. And it wasn't just me—Sulnin and Ekryl's gear took a beating as well. By the time we paid for repairs and replacements, most of our reward money was gone. I’d been thinking about upgrading my equipment anyway, so I guess the timing was right, but it means we need to pick up a new request as soon as possible."
Rei glanced at the weapons and armor hanging from her waist. The gear was indeed different from what she had worn during the mission. If Mirene’s claims were true, her new equipment was significantly more powerful than her old set.
A short distance away, Sulnin and Ekryl were also scouring the request board. Noticing Rei, they offered quick greetings—Sulnin with a polite nod and Ekryl with a small wave.
As Rei acknowledged them, Mirene suddenly hugged him from behind.
"Hey, Rei. Since you’re looking for work anyway, why not join up with us? With your strength—not to mention Seto-cha... I mean, with your skills, you'd be a huge help."
Rei let out a dry chuckle, seeing right through her. Among everyone in the subjugation force—excluding the members of the Axe of the Thunder God—Mirene had been the first to bond with Set, and she was undoubtedly the one most obsessed with him.
However, Rei couldn't simply agree. His primary objective was collecting magic stones from monsters; materials and gold were secondary. Whenever he partied with others, his insistence on taking the magic stones almost always led to friction. Aside from a few rare exceptions, the magic stone was usually the most valuable part of a monster.
"Mirene, do not push him. Everyone has their own circumstances," Sulnin said, stepping in to rebuke her after seeing the look on Rei’s face.
"He's right," Ekryl added. "We know how much you like Set, but you shouldn't be so pushy."
"Muu... I know, but still..."
As her teammates lectured her, Rei’s eyes landed on a specific request form. It was an investigation mission for a forest near the Forest of Magic. The rank was unspecified, and it required a party of five.
Maybe I could take this with Scorching Wind? Rei thought. Fortunately, I’ve already planted the Seed of Restraint in them. Even if they see me taking magic stones, they won't be able to press me for details.
"Mirene, I wouldn't mind doing this one with you. What do you think?"
"Wait, really? Which one?" Mirene leaned in, her face lighting up with a brilliant smile. However, her expression quickly clouded over as she read the details. "Hmm, a forest investigation... These pay well, but 'investigation' usually means trekking into unknown territory where you have no idea what kind of monsters might show up. I really want to be with Seto-chan, and your combat power is a huge plus, but... Sulnin, Ekryl, what do you two think?"
Mirene turned to her party members. Rei was currently Rank E, while Scorching Wind was a C-Rank party. Unless it was a quest with no rank requirement like this one, they couldn't officially work together. While Scorching Wind could technically take an E-Rank request, the rewards were too low for a party that desperately needed to recoup their expenses.
Unspecified rank requests were usually either very low-paying or extremely dangerous. This mission fell into the latter category; since the forest bordered the Forest of Magic and its inhabitants were unknown, the risk was high. The orc subjugation Rei and Scorching Wind had just completed had been categorized similarly.
"I’m sorry, but I have to disagree," Sulnin said. "I’m still not used to my new staff. I'd rather not jump into a high-risk unknown when my gear doesn't feel like an extension of myself yet."
"Same here," Ekryl agreed with an apologetic look. "I haven't mastered my new bow yet either."
Mirene let out a long, defeated sigh and looked back at Rei. "They're right. I guess it can't be helped. We'll have to pass for today. Sorry for being so demanding, Rei."
"Don't worry about it. I'm staying at the Dusk Wheat Inn, so Set will be in the stables there. Stop by and play with him if you're bored."
"Oh, definitely! We'll be there. Anyway, we need to find a decent job soon, or we won't be able to pay for our own rooms."
Mirene gave a regretful wave and led Sulnin and Ekryl toward the C-Rank request board.
Rei watched them go and was about to turn back to the board when he noticed a figure approaching him. The person was clearly focused on Rei, walking with a directness that left no doubt about his intent.
The man looked to be in his late teens or early twenties. His equipment wasn't particularly high-level for an adventurer, but the sword at his hip was a striking exception.
A magic sword?
Rei had seen his fair share of magic items—Vargas's battle axe, Elk's war axe, and the Orc King's greatsword. All of them pulsed with magic power. Even without a specific skill to sense it, Rei could feel the distinct aura that magic items emitted. The sword at this man's waist gave off that exact same feeling.
"You're Rei, right?" the man asked, stopping in front of him.
Rei gave a shallow nod. "Yeah. And you?"
"I'm Arrogan. An E-Rank adventurer."
E-Rank. The same rank as Rei, though Rei had only reached that rank the day before.
"So, Arrogan. What do you want?"
"I've been out of Gilm on a job and just got back this morning... but I keep hearing this ridiculous rumor."
"A ridiculous rumor?"
"Some nonsense about a G-Rank adventurer killing an Orc King. Pretty unbelievable, don't you think?"
He peered into Rei's face with a smug look, clearly aware that Rei was the subject of those rumors.
Jealousy? Rei thought. Whatever. No point in humoring him.
Rei let out a deliberate, theatrical sigh.
"Hey! What's with the sigh?"
"I asked what your business was."
Ignoring Arrogan's rising temper, Rei kept his tone flat. Arrogan looked ready to explode, but he seemed to realize that losing his cool would mean letting Rei control the conversation. He clicked his tongue and straightened up.
"It's simple. I want a match. I want to see this 'strength' that supposedly took down an Orc King for myself."
It was a predictable challenge. Rei glanced toward the counter. He had hoped a receptionist might intervene, but Lenora—who usually handled these things—was away reporting to her supervisor. Instead, he saw Kenny staring at Arrogan with a gaze that radiated pure murder.
"What do I gain by accepting?"
"Huh?" Arrogan blinked, looking confused. He had clearly expected Rei to jump at the chance to prove himself.
"Hey, is that kid serious?" a nearby adventurer whispered. "He's only E-Rank and he's picking a fight with Rei?"
"He's been out of the city for a while. He doesn't know any better."
"Still... Rei's small and looks pretty frail if you don't know who he is."
The murmurs of the other adventurers rippled through the guild, but Arrogan was too focused on Rei to hear them. The others looked at Arrogan like he was a hero—specifically, the kind of "hero" who charges a dragon armed with nothing but a club.
On his first day of guild registration, Rei had single-handedly crushed the D-Rank party Falcon's Claws and stripped them of their assets. It was a legendary debut that had made him a figure of fear. Falcon's Claws were still working off the massive debt Rei had saddled them with. To any adventurer with even a shred of common sense, Rei was a taboo.
The regulars had also seen him chatting familiarly with Scorching Wind, a rising C-Rank party, and knew he had ties to the A-Rank Axe of the Thunder God. And above all else, they knew about the monster waiting outside. An A-Rank gryphon. To make an enemy of Rei was to make an enemy of the Grim Reaper of the Skies.
Arrogan, however, had done zero research. He was on the verge of his D-Rank exam and considered himself a powerhouse. In his mind, a rookie who had just hit E-Rank was beneath him.
"Just fight me! Then I'll recognize your strength. Or what? Are you telling me the 'Orc King Slayer' isn't confident he can beat an E-Rank like me?"
I see. He's the same type as Seril from the Stars of the Night, Rei realized. The type who only believes what fits his own narrative. The only difference was that Arrogan didn't seem quite as morally bankrupt yet. Rei decided that crushing his ego now might prevent him from ending up like Seril.
Not that it's my job to fix him, but...
"I didn't say anything about confidence," Rei said. "I'm telling you to provide an incentive for me to bother with you."
"T-Then what are you putting up?"
"Are you stupid? You're the one asking for the match. Why would I pay you for the privilege of wasting my time?"
"Guh... Fine! You're clearly a master at making excuses. If you win, I'll give you three silver coins. How's that?"
"Good enough. It’s better than standing here listening to you shout. Where do we do this?"
Thinking he had finally cornered Rei, Arrogan looked toward the door with renewed bravado.
"We don't need a special arena. I'll finish this quickly right outside the guild."
Arrogan strode out, and Rei followed him with a weary sigh.
"Draw your weapon!"
Arrogan drew the magic sword from his hip, the blade singing as it cleared the scabbard. He leveled the point at Rei. Rei simply reached into the air, pulling the massive Death Scythe from the Misty Ring and taking a relaxed stance.
A crowd of curious onlookers began to form. Arrogan had clearly chosen this spot to humiliate Rei in public, but many in the crowd remembered how Falcon's Claws had been shamed in a similar way. The eyes of the crowd were fixed on Arrogan, but they weren't looking at him with the admiration he expected.
Set, noticing Rei coming outside, started to stand up, but Rei stopped him with a glance. The gryphon settled back down and watched the spectacle with mild interest.
"So that's the rumored item box," Arrogan said, his eyes practically licking the Misty Ring on Rei's arm.
Rei ignored the man's greed and focused on the sword.
So his confidence comes from that magic sword. It's too high-tier for an E-Rank adventurer... I wonder where he found it.
The blade was jet black, etched with glowing red patterns. Even from a distance, the weapon radiated an intimidating pressure.
"Here I come!"
Arrogan lunged, swinging the sword down with a shout. To a normal observer, it might have looked fast, but to Rei, the movement was sluggish. It lacked precision, sharpness, and weight.
Compared to the Orc King, who had wielded a magic greatsword with terrifying efficiency, Arrogan’s strike was a joke. Rei could have dodged it with a yawn.
Rei stepped back an inch, letting the tip of the magic sword pass harmlessly in front of him. In the same motion, he brought the Death Scythe up from below, catching Arrogan’s blade in the inner curve of the scythe. With a sudden, violent twist, he flung the weapon upward.
A sharp clang rang out as the weapons collided. A second later, Arrogan’s magic sword was spinning high into the air. It arced through the sky and slammed into the ground a few paces away, the blade burying itself deep in the dirt.
The crowd—and Arrogan himself—fell into a stunned silence. The defeat was so total, so instantaneous, that no one knew how to react.
Rei stored the Death Scythe back into the Misty Ring and looked at the motionless Arrogan.
"Even with a first-rate weapon, the user is still third-rate."
Rei's voice carried clearly through the silent square, reaching Arrogan and every single onlooker.