01x02 - The Hellish Trial at the Adventurer's Guild

[bunniefuu]

In the pursuit of becoming stronger,

the Beastkin strive for evolution.

They pride themselves

on achieving evolution.

For this reason,

Fran's parents took her on a journey

when she was little.

But no one of her clan,

the Black Cat Tribe,

has ever managed to evolve.

Her parents fell to exhaustion

and perished

before they managed

to learn the key to evolving.

Pledging to follow

in her parents' footsteps,

Fran is a child who devoted herself

to becoming stronger.

And…

Fran is gifted.

Sword Technique, Triple Attack!

FRAN, LEVEL 3

Be it sword or magic,

-Water Magic, Aqua Create.

-she is able to learn it all with ease

and with minimal guidance.

You're dirty, Teacher.

Most importantly,

Fran is the most considerate child!

I could not be more grateful

to have such a good girl be my wielder.

I will stake my life as a human…

No, I will pledge my life as a sword

to make this child stronger!

Fran? What's the matter?

Hey!

Curses! Don't come any closer! Stay away!

I've never heard of goblins

ambushing travelers!

Do something, Randell!

What can I do?

It stinks!

Double Slash.

Leave them to me.

Sword Technique, Aura Blade.

It allows you to unleash the power

of a blade without unsheathing it.

Its power leaves much to be desired,

but it's good for stealth attacks.

I will remember that.

Saved…

Fran,

don't let him find out that I can talk.

I'm using Telepathy to communicate

with you and only you can hear me.

Thank you so much!

You saved us. Would you like a ride?

We're headed to a town called Alessa.

Town?

He just wants you

to escort them safely to the town.

But you can accept his offer.

He doesn't look like a bad guy.

I can provide protection

until we reach the town.

Oh, good grief.

I guess you saw through me.

In the past month or so,

strife in the Marou Plains

has increased the activity of the Beasts.

Marou Plains?

An A-rank magic realm east from here.

Perhaps it's due to territorial disputes

of the larger monsters,

but it seems that

weaker monsters such as goblins

have been forced to move towards the town.

So that place is called the Marou Plains.

That means I'm the one who caused that!

Legend has it that

there was an S-rank monster

known as Fenrir that died there.

We're not sure if

it's due to its lingering influence,

but the center is said

to harbor only weaker monsters.

Dnd the opposite holds true

the farther from there.

But the Demon Wolf, Fenrir…

Do you know about the sword

in the middle of the plains?

Good going, Fran!

I might be able to figure out my origins.

I'm afraid not.

No luck…

That said, those goblins

might only have a threat level of G,

but you were able

to take care of so many of them.

You must be an E-rank adventurer, right?

Threat level?

Adventurer?

Oh, did you not know?

Well…

Threat levels are used to categorize

monsters by the level of danger they pose.

Those who take on requests

to subjugate those monsters

in exchange for rewards are…

Adventurers!

That's right.

Adventurers are also divided by levels.

The highest being S-rank

and the novice being G-rank.

Among the A-rank, the most famous

are Forlund of the Hundred Swords

and the Guardian of Children, Amanda.

I want to become an adventurer.

How can I become one?

You just have to register

at the Adventurer's Guild.

They also assess and acquire

materials and loot from monsters.

That means

we can exchange our items for money.

With that money,

I'll be able to feed you delicious food!

I want money.

Foolish.

A Black Cat child

wants to become an adventurer?

She looks exhausted.

Well, she was up until late last night,

training and dismantling the materials

we acquired from the monsters.

But an adventurer…

Is that something a child

can easily become?

So that's Alessa.

I'll cover your entrance fee.

You're a nice person, Randell.

We're here, Fran.

Our first town!

She is even holding a sword.

She can't be serious.

In any case, let's head

to the Adventurer's Guild first.

Adventurers from the guild…

There is quite a variety of weapons.

But I'm sure

there aren't many as rare as I am.

Let's see… Appraisal.

ATK 398?

MITHRIL SWORD

ATK: 423

ATK 423…

And this one, and that one too!

ATK: 503

I thought I was a rare sword…

But swords with higher attack stats

than me are a dime a dozen here!

Teacher…

You are a beautiful

and amazing sword who saved me.

You are the only one

who can use all those skills.

Thank you, Fran…

I have you to thank as well.

Fran is a good child indeed…

That's right.

I will use my skills to support Fran!

That is the purpose of my existence!

If only they would die…

You heard that, didn't you, glasses lady?

How nice would it be if they just died…

What is that woman thinking?

Ripping us off with that little amount…

If only those scum of mercenaries

would just drop dead.

No, no. I must maintain my smile.

I, Nell, am the proud receptionist

-of Alessa's Adventurer's Guild after all.

-Excuse me.

Well…

This is the Adventurer's Guild.

I know. I want to become an adventurer.

A child?

An adventurer is a dangerous occupation.

It's almost impossible

for children like you to make it.

I know.

But not anyone can become an adventurer.

To become one, you must first pass

the test of an examiner.

All right.

But you might get hurt.

The guild will not take responsibility

for anything that happens.

That's okay.

It looks like

she will have to learn the hard way.

Well, then, please come with me.

This is more formal than I expected.

Are you the one

who wishes to join the guild?

I am the examiner

of the Adventurer's Guild of Alessa,

Donadrond!

As expected of an Oni.

Mr. Donadrond's aura

is as menacing as ever.

Most examinees

are scared off by his Intimidation

before they even begin.

She doesn't stand a chance.

This is the test we put to those

who are unlikely to pass through.

She doesn't seem fazed at all.

Are you all right, Fran?

Anyway, let's use Appraisal first.

Donadrond of the Oni.

That's a lot of "D."

Hold on.

This guy's really tough!

NAME: GIGANTIC BATTLEAXE, ATK: 650

ATK 650?

Don't worry, Teacher.

You're right.

I do not hold back.

I always go all out,

no matter who I am up against.

I would expect nothing less.

Fran, he is undoubtedly

your strongest opponent to date.

No need to hold back anything.

The exam begins now!

That girl actually took the exam.

She'll have her hind

handed to her in an instant.

Here he comes!

Take this!

She dodged.

That was a close call!

Fran!

Slam Slash!

Well done, Fran!

Nice dodge!

Power Swing!

This is not good!

Wait! You're overdoing it!

I will protect Fran!

You used your sword to reduce the impact.

Fran, you can't use the sword

to resist his attacks.

But I can't just keep running.

You're right.

I will cast magic to support you.

You need to turn things around

and get on the offense.

Teacher uses supportive magic.

Fran's STR and AGI

have been temporarily increased.

Your Sword Art mastery is high.

But you still have a long way to go!

His wounds are healing!

I'm going to continue with my attacks!

I…

I will become an adventurer!

What? Earth Magic?

I handle the magic!

Fire Magic! Tri-expl*si*n!

No way! Non-verbal chain magic?

Not to mention the fact

that it was advanced Fire Magic!

We can win!

Sword Technique!

Dragon Fang!

Chaining powerful sword attacks

while using magic?

You can't do this

unless you have two brains!

I've never seen this

even among high-leveled adventurers!

Did I pass?

Well… It would seem so.

It was my defeat!

Donadrond.

This is no laughing matter.

I am very sorry.

Now, then, Miss Fran.

To be able to use

intermediate sword technique

and casting Level 10

fire magic spells non-verbally.

-Where might you have learned to do this--

-A secret.

A secret…

It is wiser

to keep our powers a secret, Fran.

We mustn't expose

our weaknesses carelessly

to those we cannot deem trustworthy.

I cannot tell you anything.

How troublesome.

In that case…

Appraisal!

She can even block my appraisal!

Thank goodness.

I used Self-Evo points to get this skill

in advance to prepare for such events.

Will you fail me because of this?

No.

There are things

I cannot figure out still,

but the spirits have not shown

any signs of restlessness.

Spirits?

Spirits are sensitive to malice and evil.

I know

you're not hiding it out of ill intent.

NAME: KLIMT, SPECIES: WOOD ELF

A Great Elementalist Elf.

His stats are incredibly high.

The preparations are ready.

I will issue you your guild card.

Please place your hand on this crystal.

We will need to register

your mana wavelength.

Next, please choose a class.

Class?

If your class matches your skills,

you will receive a corresponding boost

in abilities for that class.

Miss Fran, you are compatible with…

Warrior, Blademaster,

Sword Mage, Quickblade, Summoner,

and many more classes…

Oh, dear. Is this because of

the skill-sharing settings?

What a mess…

But this fails to surprise me

when it concerns you now.

Sword Mage sounds cool…

Let's go with that then.

I think you will get a boost

in your mana and sword technique too.

I pick Sword Mage.

Wielder: Fran.

Registered class: Sword Mage.

Registration complete.

This is your guild card.

I'm an adventurer!

Is there anything else?

I see. You would like

to sell your materials to us.

If I don't do this, I won't have money

to pay for a place to stay.

I see…

Well then, Fran,

take them out

from the Dimensional Storage.

Pretend you're retrieving them

from your item pouch.

For now, we'll just sell the materials

from the low and mid-ranked monsters.

Did you dismantle all of these yourself?

Yes.

P-Please wait a moment!

That totals up to 195,000 gold.

I've never seen so much gold before.

Given the current market rate,

one gold is approximately ten yen.

So that's 1,9 million yen? For real?

The materials included items

from F-Threat Level monsters,

and they were dismantled properly

and in good condition.

Thank you, Miss.

Now I can afford to pay for accommodation.

Just call me Nell, Miss Fran.

Thank you, Nell.

All right. Let's find a place

to settle down for the night.

Hold it right there.

Ignore them, Fran.

Hey! Stop right there.

Didn't I tell you to stop?

Did you not hear me, brat?

What is it?

You got that money illegally, didn't you?

Illegally?

What nonsense is he talking about?

You stink!

Gross!

I do not.

I took a proper bath

in the river this morning.

How disgusting!

You'll dirty the river!

You're a dirty Black Cat,

so you must be a thief.

These guys too.

Has Fran been enduring

this discrimination all this while?

Fran…

We sold materials from a Twin-Headed Bear,

but we got paid much less.

That means something shady

must be going on.

You must be in cahoots

with that damned glasses woman.

Damned glasses woman?

Hand over the money

and I'll pretend I didn't see anything.

ill*gal? I cannot let such falsity slide.

The condition of your wares was poor

and your dismantling of them

was downright horrid.

You guys must have taken it on together

and brutally stabbed it to death.

What's wrong with that?

Adventurers looking to sell

their materials for high prices

must hone their skills in hunting

and perfect their dismantling techniques.

To use your ignorance

as an excuse and blame others…

You guys should just die after all.

Did you just tell us to die?

Miss Nell, you accidentally

let your real thoughts slip out!

Damned glasses woman!

You're the one who should die!

I won't allow you to lay a hand on Nell.

Miss Fran…

You, the weakest of Beastkin,

dares to defy me, a Red Hound?

Can I k*ll him?

Wait. I don't think it's a good idea

to draw your sword inside the guild.

We were mercenaries.

We burn brats like you

on the b*ttlefield for fun.

These insolent vermin…

I'll cut your head off and sell it.

But I doubt anyone would want

a smelly Black Cat head.

Wait!

My legs!

What? But I didn't do anything yet…

Don't insult the Black Cat Tribe.

Fran did that?

I didn't draw my sword.

I combined Aura Blade and Vibration Fang

to strengthen its power.

For real?

To master that

in such a short amount of time…

You!

You filthy Black Cat!

I'll rip you to shreds--

Vibration Blitz.

Y-You brat!

Well done, Fran.

Vibration Blitz damages

from the inside out.

They won't be able to get up

for a good while.

-Amazing, little girl!

-I can't believe you could do that!

You gave us a great show!

Good job, Fran!

What are you doing? Call the guards

to seize that dirty little brat!

What she did was only self-defense.

That's what

this evil glasses woman thinks.

That reminds me.

I will need you lot to pay 100,000 gold

for the damages you caused.

You will not be going anywhere

or recovering before you pay up.

Am I clear?

Fran, we must never

get on Miss Nell's bad side.

Leave the rest to me.

Thank you, Nell.

All right.

Let's hurry and find a tavern and use

the money we got to get you some armor.

I want armor!

You cannot fool my Godsight,

Intelligence Weapon.