章 225: Tuition (3)
The Hunter's Guild "Sherpa," an outsourced dispatcher of hunters and guides for monster hunting.
This guild was not known for its mercenaries, but it was known for having many guides who were familiar with the ecology and geography of monsters.
These guides, all of whom were native to the area for at least three generations, knew the ins and outs of where rare monsters lurked and swarmed.
Not to mention they know all the shortcuts and stealthy escape routes.
However, with only a few classes available to send out, such as guides and porters, guilds have always been at a disadvantage.
This is because they're often treated unfairly, with no credit for their work and reduced pay at the end of the quest.
However.
The presence of the Sherpa Guild's leader has been a constant source of support for the guild's members, even in these difficult times.
kkigigigig-
The guild gates opened.
The guild members who were practicing in the training center looked back at the front door of the guild office and shouted in unison.
"The Guild Leader is coming to work!"
"Attention! Salute!"
"Good morning!"
A man who commanded the respect of all the guild members.
He stood at least 2 meters tall and 30 centimeters wide, and weighed close to 180 kilograms.
A tightly cropped sporting haircut, scars running horizontally and vertically across his face, heavy armor-like muscles covering his entire body, and even the martial arts skills on the graduator.
The name of this man, who looks like a huge beast of prey, is 'Miniature Pinscher', also known as 'Minpin'!
How many people could punch out labor costs based on his appearance?
As long as Minpin reigns supreme as Guild Leader, the Sherpa Guild will continue to survive, as he is both terrifying in appearance and terrifying in skill.
He's even known to be relentless when it comes to training his guild members, as he's a strict meritocrat.
"The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in battle!"
Minpin's thunderous words made the guildsmen in the barracks stiffen once more.
It was all thanks to him that the Sherpa Guild's porters and guides were armed with the physical and mental strength of steel.
What's more, Minpin's rank was Graduator. He could be a member of any of the top mercenary guilds.
Even the Imperial Army was sending scouts to train him as an officer.
But Minifin had rejected all of these offers.
'I love hunting. Fighting monsters is my calling.'
These were Minpin's beliefs.
There was a small part of him that hoped to one day join the Baskervilles on the Western Front, but that was out of the question, as they wouldn't be the first to send him a scouting offer.
So Minpin's main goal is to preserve and protect his current guild.
"And to do that, I need to keep my employers in check."
Minpin walked into his office and scanned through the new requests.
"Let's see, this is a request for a courier from another mercenary guild. They want to capture a Venompion for research... but they have too few people. If we get involved, the couriers will die. Dismissed. Is this a request for directions to a merchant? Hmm, but the mercenaries escorting them are too underpowered. We may lose them. Dismiss this one...."
We do not accept requests from strangers.
I've weeded out nearly 90% of their requests.
Minpin clicked his tongue.
" ... I wonder how many of them will be alive next year."
There were too many who didn't know their place and wanted to slay powerful monsters.
Attaching porters or guides to such creatures would almost always result in their annihilation.
"They are weaker and slower to escape, so they are the first to be used as shields in a crisis, and we cannot afford to lose members of our own guild."
So Minpin interviewed and thoroughly weeded out weak or reckless clients.
Only clients with a mercenary plaque or mercenary credentials, or who have served in the military, are accepted, and those with lesser credentials are rejected, no matter how insignificant.
... This is exactly what happened.
"What, an academy student, even a first year?"
Minpin reviewed the last request in front of him.
A newcomer to the Academy had requested to hire a guide.
<Request
Name: Vikir
Affiliation: Colosseo Academy
Request: Hire a guide
Purpose: Defeating monsters
Students from the academy don't usually visit places like this. They're all rich kids, after all.
However, every once in a while, an oddball will come here, mostly out of mere curiosity and a desire to experience the low life.
And for the hunting guilds, if they allowed themselves to be entertained by the children of the rich, they would lose some of their most valued members, some of whom had been with them for decades.
"Hmph. What's an Academy young master doing in a place like this? Did he feel like having some fun?"
It doesn't even say what monsters you'll be hunting. He just wanted to hire a guide.
Of course, it wasn't even worth thinking about.
Minpin crumpled up the request and tossed it in the trash.
"Give him a glass of milk and send him on his way. You little brat, you think this quest is for kids?"
Minpin shrugged off Vikir's request.
....
...And that was the beginning of all the tragedies that followed that night.
* * *
The night. A moonless night.
Mr. Minpin returned home from his night shift.
When he got home, he found his bunny like wife and bear like child already asleep in bed.
Passing through the living room and into the kitchen, Minpin was hungry and rummaged through the storage room. He was going to boil some potatoes for a late-night snack.
Then.
Minpin spotted the midnight meal on the kitchen table.
There were eggs, bacon, and toasted cornbread. It was cold, but it still looked delicious.
"... honey."
Minpin muttered softly as he looked over at his sleeping wife.
He was always grateful and sorry for her, for all the trouble he'd put her through when she was younger, for the daughter he'd never done anything for, but who was growing up so well.
"Just be patient. One day, I'll solve a big client and treat you well."
Minpin went into the bedroom, determined to work even harder as the head of the household.
My wife seems to have fallen asleep while putting my daughter to sleep, so today I have the large bed to myself.
Eventually, when Minpin put on his arm pillow and closed his eyes.
A rustle.
A small noise started coming from the second floor window of the bedroom.
"...What is that?"
Minpin yawned and stretched.
Then he saw a silhouette crash through the window.
A man in a black mask opened a second-floor window and stepped inside.
Minpin's heart sank.
He must be a burglar because he doesn't have a knife in his hand.
But he's really an unlucky burglar.
"Even if you do come in...."
The Guildmaster of the Sherpa Guild, the leader of all the guides, a man with a rank of Graduator, and even the imperial army and prominent mercenary guilds send him love calls, so why would he come to rob his house?
"I guess I'll have to take some care of it. After subduing him, should I report to Tyler and discipline him, or should I hand him over to the Imperial Guard?"
In fact, Minpin had done this a few times.
He'd scolded thieves who'd climbed over the fence out of hunger and turned them into siblings and subordinates.
So this time, after listening to their excuses for coming in to steal after being subdued, he was willing to look the other way.
"Hey, hey, hey. Wait, stop there. If you surrender now, I might let you off the hook...."
However, it was Minpin who really had his eyes closed.
Boom!
The black-clad man threw a fist with lightning speed.
It grazed the tip of Minpin's ear, severing a few strands of hair before shooting off to the side.
As Minpin gulped it down, a hole appeared in the wall next to him.
…Boom!
A fist-shaped hole was punched into the wall made of solid wood.
"This is a warning."
An eerie voice emanated from the masked man's mouth.
A cold bead of sweat trickled down Minpin's spine.
'If I got hit....'
If that fist had hit him straight in the face, his skull would have shattered like a grain of sand.
A level beyond human strength. Does he use mana? It doesn't make sense otherwise.
"You! How dare you think you know who I am!"
Minpin realized that this was no ordinary opponent and immediately raised his mana.
Minpin's fist pulsed with the whitish energy of a low-grade Graduator, something between gas and liquid.
But.
…snap.
His opponent raised his fist as well. Surprisingly, his fist didn't contain a single handful of mana.
Only then did Minpin realize that the opponent's fist that had flown out just a moment ago had been driven by pure muscle power.
'What kind of strength....'
A chill ran down my spine. If his body could exude such power without using mana, what would happen if he did use mana?
'I'm glad he's not using mana.'
It had been years since I had shuddered at the pure physical power of another.
Minpin breathes a sigh of relief.
Pfft!
To his surprise, the intruder's two fists began to erupt with mana.
...!?
But Minpin's surprise was short-lived.
Bam!
This is because my memory was cut off from the moment I thought the other person's fist was flying under my chin.
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