Three days later, the training officially commenced. I arrived at the guild an hour before the designated gathering time, finding the young adventurers—likely the students—already beginning to congregate. I slipped past them and made my way to the second floor.
"Excuse me."
The moment I stepped into the assigned meeting room, eight sets of eyes locked onto me. None of them were familiar, and some of their gazes seemed to practically scream, Who is this kid?
"Hey!"
For a split second, I wondered if I was about to be harassed.
"You're Ryoma, aren't you!?"
"Eh? Yes, that's right, but..."
The middle-aged man who had called out to me approached with a carefree smile. He seemed incredibly friendly and even knew my name.
It made sense, I suppose. Everyone in this room was meant to be an instructor, not some random thug. But still…
"I'm sorry, have we met somewhere before?"
"Haha, I suppose it’s only natural you’d forget. I'm Roche. You probably don't remember, but you saved my life once. You guys, come over here!"
Beside the man named Roche, two rugged middle-aged men and two middle-aged women lined up.
I definitely felt a flicker of recognition. Their faces were buried somewhere in the back of my mind, but I couldn't quite place the memory.
"Still can't remember?"
"It’s not surprising. There were so many people gathered around us back then."
"You can't be expected to remember every single face, can you? We only met that one time."
"……? I'm sorry, I still have no idea."
"Back in the spring, at the northern abandoned mine—the time we had to exterminate that massive goblin outbreak. Does that ring a bell?"
"That was—!!"
The memory flooded back. I finally placed the faces of Roche and his four companions.
"Are you the patients I treated back then?"
"You remembered! You really saved us that day. If it hadn't been for you and your Heal Slimes, we might not have made it."
"By the way, this guy and I were treated for minor injuries by you, too."
"I'm Howard, and this is Lucas," the two rugged men said, pointing at one another.
Looking closely at the two women, I realized they were the ones who had thanked me through a mess of tears back then. I felt terrible for having forgotten them.
"Don't sweat it. More importantly, since you're here, does that mean you're serving as an instructor?"
"Yes. The Guild Master asked if I’d be interested."
"I see! Well then, let me introduce myself properly. I'm Roche, and I'll be serving as the leader for this request. I'll give a brief explanation later, but if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."
"Thank you. While I'm quite comfortable with camping, I have almost no experience teaching others. I look forward to your guidance."
I was relieved that I could start the job on good terms. It was a strange twist of fate, indeed.
The two women were Lucy and Miml, both of whom were mages.
"Students! Listen up!"
Once all the instructors had arrived and we finished a brief meeting, we headed out. As soon as we showed our faces in a corner of the guild, Roche raised his voice to address the gathered students. His tone had shifted slightly, taking on a more authoritative, instructional edge.
I had heard that he and his party had semi-retired from active adventuring over the last few years to focus on mentoring newcomers. Just as Wogan had said, they were seasoned veterans who were clearly experienced in leadership roles.
Once the rules and precautions were explained to the students, each instructor gave a brief self-introduction. We started with Roche's party, and as the fifteenth person in line, I was the last to speak.
"Good morning, everyone. My name is Ryoma Takebayashi. Before I came to this city, I lived in the Gana forest for about three years, surviving through camping and hunting. Because of that, my rank is currently E, but the Guild Master has recognized that my skills in camping, securing food, and identifying medicinal or poisonous plants are more than sufficient. I know some of you may look older than me, but please rest assured regarding my qualifications.
My preferred weapons are the bow and Katana. I have mastered the basics of magic and can use Healing Magic up to High Heal, so please feel free to call out if you sustain any injuries during the trip.
I look forward to working with you for the next five days."
"We look forward to working with you."
……Hmm. They weren't making a scene or complaining, but their reaction was a bit tepid. I suppose that was to be expected.
"That concludes the introductions. There are five carriages waiting outside, so divide yourselves into groups of six! Three instructors will ride in each carriage. We depart in ten minutes! Use the time to find your seats or use the restroom. Got it? Ten minutes! Dismissed!"
The crowd began to move all at once. There were fifteen instructors and thirty students—forty-five people in total trying to squeeze through the guild entrance. I decided to head to the restroom first to let the crowd clear out.
When I finally stepped out of the guild, most of the students had already boarded. I looked around for where I should sit when a voice called out.
"Yo, Ryoma!"
"Oh? Beck, you guys are participating too?"
The group of six I knew from the slums was sitting in the middle carriage.
"We managed to save up enough money for the whole group after Jeff-aniki taught us the ropes."
"And since Jeff-niisan had his own work to do..."
"We decided to take this training while he was busy, desu."
"I see."
"We were wondering why you were here, but man, an instructor?"
"I was recommended by the Guild Master. Let's both do our best."
With that, I took my leave. There seemed to be an empty seat in their carriage, but since I was an instructor, I thought it best to avoid showing favoritism. In the end, I boarded the carriage with Roche and a party of boys I didn't recognize.
"……"
……The air was heavy.
This carriage was traveling right in the center of the line, and while I could hear cheerful voices from the carriages ahead and behind us, the participants here seemed to be individuals who had signed up alone. An hour had passed since we departed, and not a single person had spoken.
"……Ryoma."
"Yes? What is it?"
"Your luggage is awfully light. Are you going to be okay?"
Perhaps unable to stand the silence any longer, Roche finally spoke up.
He had a point; my only luggage was a single fur backpack. Compared to Roche and the others, who had multiple bags or bedding and camping gear strapped to their persons, I looked practically empty-handed.
"I’ll be fine. I have five days' worth of supplies stored with Space Magic."
"You can use Space Magic?"
"Yes. I prefer to move as lightly as possible, so this backpack only holds the bare essentials. I’m confident I could survive for two or three days with just what's in here, but with my Item Box, five days is easy."
"Man, people with Space Magic have it so easy. We tried to learn it back in the day, but none of us had the Space Attribute. We looked into magic tools, but they were so expensive for such a small storage capacity that we eventually gave up.
By the way, everyone, feel free to talk. This isn't the kind of training where you get penalized for talking."
"You'll just tire yourselves out if you stay that tense," Lucy added. "Let’s keep things relaxed until we reach the campsite."
The atmosphere in the carriage seemed to thaw a bit after that. However, the six students still seemed at a loss for what to talk about. I understood the feeling—it’s awkward when someone suddenly tells you to "talk freely."
"Mr. Roche, do you have a topic we could all discuss?"
"A topic, huh? Let's see... what do you all think is the most important skill for an adventurer who wants to reach the top?"
"……Strength?" one boy answered tentatively.
That broke the ice, and words began to flow little by little. Some said it was skill with weapons or magic, while another suggested perseverance.
Roche nodded, acknowledging that those were indeed necessary, before giving his answer.
"The real answer is 'cooperation' and 'communication skills.' The difficulty of an adventurer's work increases with their rank, and so does the danger of extermination requests. That's why adventurers form parties. It’s not strictly mandatory, but once you hit D-rank, solo adventurers become rare. At C-rank and above, there are only a handful. That’s when cooperation and communication become vital."
"Ideally, you want a party where everyone compensates for each other's weaknesses," Lucy explained, "but don't expect to find the perfect comrades on your first try. It’s not just about ability; personality and coordination are key. Most people go through several different parties, dissolving and reforming groups until they find the right fit."
Whether it was temporary departures due to injury or retirement, or dealing with disputes over reward distribution or difficult demands from clients, adventuring involved far more negotiation than people realized.
"The guild usually handles the negotiations for reward amounts," Roche added, "but plenty of clients will try to talk adventurers into a lower price directly. At high ranks, the rewards get pretty steep, after all."
Regardless of one's profession, those were skills worth having.
"It certainly doesn't hurt to learn them," I noted.
"Exactly. But don't think your answer about 'strength' was wrong, either. You’ll never rank up without the strength to back it up—unless there's some massive clerical error. And if that happened, you'd only end up suffering more than if you had worked your way up the right way. Any questions?"
"Is there a trick to forming a party?" one student asked. "Like, where's the best place to look, or which taverns are good?"
The students were finally starting to get proactive.
"The guild is usually your best bet," Roche replied.
"True," Lucy agreed. "If you talk to the receptionists, they can give you introductions. It's much safer than teaming up with a stranger in some random place. If an adventurer has a bad reputation, the staff will usually warn you."
I recalled the group back in Lenaf who had been used as decoys by someone they had met at a tavern.
"One thing to watch out for is 'frequency,'" Lucy continued. "If a party is constantly recruiting, it means they have a high turnover rate. There’s usually a reason people keep leaving. Long-standing recruitment notices are also a red flag. If a party is solid, their slots usually fill up quickly."
As Lucy answered the questions, Roche seemed to remember something else.
"You should also be careful about who they hang out with. Horizontal connections between adventurers are important, but sometimes people form groups outside the guild. That's not inherently bad, but some of those groups are up to no good. Even here in Gimul, we had a group of delinquents called the 'Fangs of Obtemo' back in the spring……"
……I remembered those guys.
As I listened to the two of them explain the details to the students, I realized the six boys in this carriage probably hadn't been in town when that happened. They were all hanging on every word.
"……And so, they were defeated by their target, and the whole thing came to light," Roche finished.
The students all had grim expressions. I wondered if they would remember this story when they searched for companions in the future. I hoped it would help them find good comrades.
"By the way," Roche added, "that boy adventurer who took them all down is Ryoma over here, the one trying to look innocent."
"!?"
"No way!"
Six pairs of eyes snapped toward me in shock.
A barrage of questions followed immediately. The students, now fully energized, didn't stop their interrogation until the carriage finally came to a halt.