So I’m a Fish, So What?

Right now, I’m comfortably seated opposite the border town’s guild master, Miss Barrietta Hafton, who’s generously briefing me about adventurer’s guild.

“All right. Listen up carefully, ‘cause I’m only gonna give this long speech once! The Adventurer guild is one of the two major guilds on the Daztrudia continent, the other being the Commerce guild.” She started off. “What do you know ‘bout those two?”

W-wait! Why’d this briefing session suddenly turn into some sort of general knowledge pop quiz?! Goddammit, this woman really reminds me of teachers back on Earth…

“To my knowledge, the Adventurer guild’s main purpose is mainly to defend against sudden monster attacks on human settlements until the fief knights arrive, and also to explore labyrinths and bring back precious monster materials. As for the Commerce guild, it was created to facilitate the trade between different countries, collect and distribute the information concerning products to those who require it, and act as a safe global bank where members can store and withdraw their belongings without safety concerns.”

I made full use of my Memory skill to let out this exemplary answer, though I’m pretty sure everything I said is outdated by now.

This subject was one of those my tutors taught me about back when I was only about four or five years old, after all.

The thing is, I heard that both guilds have undergone a revamp just recently, and it was a massive one at that.

“Correct, but several more additions were made a few years ago. Basically, while both guilds retain relative independence, they have actually become one and the same in all but name.” She explained, narrowing her eyes at me.

Wait–What?! Are you for real?! Why haven’t I heard a word about this before?!

Do you realize what the hell you’re saying right now, lady? If the nobles smell a word about this, they’d undoubtedly do everything in their power to destroy both guilds!

After all, no one would want another global power to interfere in their territory management after the experience with the church!

Unconsciously, I started fidgeting around in my seat, thinking about the grave consequences that could come about of me knowing this.

This shit is serious, okay? I could potentially get killed just for knowing this, y’know?! They might wanna silence me and all…

Apparently picking up on my worry, Barrietta chuckled before further explaining.

“Gosh, are all kids so smart nowadays? You don’t have to worry ‘bout your safety, Miss Anabald. You have the highest tier authority token, so unless it’s my brother himself, none of the people working in both guilds can lay a hand on you.” She said while eyeing my forearm.

Following her eyes, a noble purple colored bracelet entered my sight.

My eyes widened as I realized just how deep the waters I got myself into right now.

The fucking mermaids are behind the guilds?! And judging by the respect and reverence her eyes convey when looking at the bracelet, I seem to be wearing the scales of some incredible bigshot!

Tomoko seems to be doing great for herself….. I’m glad. I really am.

Also, did she just say her brother? Her family name is Hafton, and if there’s any Hafton I know that has high authority among the guilds, it must be the Business God Ellois Hafton.

Holy shit, this woman’s brother is actually the guy who can destroy a small country by business means alone!

Why’s the Commerce guild’s chairman’s sister working as an Adventurer guild guildmaster?! I guess her words about the guilds being united really are true then…

Me meeting her here can’t be a coincidence…! Or so I’d like to think.

Something’s bugging me about this entire token thing however.

“I basically understand what you mean, but… how are you sure this isn’t something I picked up by chance or through unsavory means?” I inquired, nervousness evident in my voice.

“Through this.” She answered while pointing above the office’s door.

Cleverly hidden above the door frame, there was a small black box.

My perception didn’t actually register its presence until she pointed it out to me, so it’s most likely a magic tool enchanted with a very high level Stealth skill.

Also, I sensed another magical signature inside the box, meaning that they’re possibly using two very expensive magic tools to distinguish which of their visitors is a real VIP.

While it is still a rather luxurious setup, spending the money on such practical tools is much better than using it to hang some colorful paintings on the walls.

I’m curious about these magic tools’ functions, but I feel like I’d be sticking my nose in too deep if I ask about that.

“Fine… Can I register now? And would you kindly inform me of the guild rules as well?” I asked, forcibly changing the topic.

“Certainly, follow me.” Standing up, she started walking towards the door. “Since you want to register under an alias, I’ll oversee your practical test. As for the rules, just read them in the archive room. You’ll be asked about those in future promotion examinations, by the way.”

As I followed her down the stairs, I readjusted my cloak to make sure my true identity remained hidden from the others.

Even if Barrietta discovered it, I’d rather no one else does. Who knows where the spies of the major powers could be lurking.

“If you were recognized by the badge, then the chances of you being a Heretic or Space mage are fairly high. However, you should not actually use those two in public, it’ll only bring you loads of trouble.” She warned.

“Ah, I did think about that. I would like to register as a magic swordswoman who specializes in fire magic.”

“Like I said before, kids are getting too smart nowadays…” She mumbled as pushed open a door that led outside.

As the sun’s bright rays enveloped me once again, I found myself standing in a relatively wide, open area filled with all sorts of training dummies and shooting targets.

“A fire mage, right? Come here and throw your strongest spell at this.” She gestured towards a dummy covered in reddish yellow scales.

Are those… Fire Wyrm scales? I believe those can only be found in volcanic areas, right?

 I wonder if the guild figured out an easy way to get them since they’re going as far as to make dummies with them and all.

Fei’s reincarnation skill would progress much faster if she got her hands on more of those, especially if they’re from different elements.

Standing behind the designated line, I quickly built the rune construction and began inputting my magical power into it.

Just a few seconds later, the scaled dummy and a small area around it were both enveloped in a huge, scorching pillar of flames.

“Daaamn, that’s thick.” She whistled, ignoring my incredulous double take. “An intermediate fire mage at this age, huh? Are we gonna have another Bloody Witch…?” She murmured.

“I don’t really understand what or who you are talking about, but how high do I rank amongst the guild members?” I asked with anticipation.

What I just released was a slightly modified version of the level 2 Flame Magic spell, Fire Pillar.

Instead of indiscriminately attacking everything in a specified area, it locks onto one target and focuses the entirety of its firepower on them.

Don’t underestimate the modification though, the locking function was added using Spatial Magic, so the spell is actually considerably more advanced than the original.

“You’re among the top 25% of all adventurers with that spell alone, kid. Would’ve been much higher if it weren’t for the Bloody Witch allowing A rank and higher adventurers to freely browse her magical books.” She commented.

Again with that name. That Bloody Witch person must be incredibly strong if her books alone raised the combat level of all A rank adventurers… I’d love to meet her someday.

“What now? Should I release a couple more spells?” The dummy wasn’t damaged in the slightest by my attack.

So it’s true that wyrms are completely immune to attacks from their element, huh…? Wait, doesn’t that mean that Fei might gain total elemental immunity in the future?!

My entire body shuddered at that thought. I’m really really reeeaaally glad she’s my ally.

Fei’s reincarnation skill is directly related to her racial skill, Earth Wyrm. 

It’s called Elemental Affinity and it removes all restrictions on elemental skills her race can acquire while simultaneously increasing her overall elemental affinity.

Meaning, as long as it’s an elemental skill that’s not locked behind a racial wall, she can learn it with just a bit of practice.

And since she’s a wyrm… she can actually acquire every single type of elemental wyrm skills, and their dragon counterparts in the future.

Talk about an overpowered skill! I can’t help but feel envious every time I compare her and Shun’s skills with my own useless skill.

Whoever gave us our reincarnation skills must have had an incredible grudge against me! There’s no other explanation!

“Keep on releasing it until you can’t. I need to have an accurate estimate of your abilities if I wanna pick suitable requests for ya.” Barrietta motioned me to continue.

I released three more flame pillars, stopping when the ground beneath the dummy turned red from the excessive heat.

My MP bar was still around half-full, but that’s as much as I’d usually release since the remaining MP is reserved for escape teleportation spells.

“Well, that’s about it. It might not be much, but I am releasing my ultimate magic, after all.” I stated, wiping the non-existent sweat off my brows.

“Low B rank strength it is then.” She nodded. “ You’re still gonna have to go through the ranks from bottom to top though. It’s guild rules.”

“I have no problems with that.”

“Now, you should run a few laps around the training ground so that I can gauge your stamina. Try to keep a constant speed at all times.” She emphasized the last part.

Nodding, I made my way to the edge of the grounds and jogged several laps around it.

 I kept my sword and cloak on my body in order to get a better judgment of my current capabilities from an expert.

As the last bit of yellow in my SP bar disappeared, I halted and sat down on the ground, panting.

“About the average of a speed-type C rank adventurer.” She estimated. “Your overall unofficial rank is high C-rank, which is honestly incredible considering your young age.”

“Thanks, I guess? Do I need to test my strength as well?”

“Nah. Magic swordsmen only need strong magic and high speed to express their combat power. Magic will compensate for most strength deficits anyways.” She explained.

That’s true.

If I’m weaker than an opponent, I can just raise the temperature of my sword to make their weapon more fragile and make it harder for them to utilize their entire strength.

Or I can just force them into a stalemate and release a cast a flame pillar right under their legs. Dirty and costly, but much easier and safer for me.

“Got it.” I agreed. “What about defense?”

“Unless you wanna take a tank role we usually take your average tested rank as a reference and presume a hard hit from a monster from the same rank can incapacitate you.”

That makes things much easier indeed.

Backline fighters and agility-based are usually finished the moment they get hit anyways.

“Reasonable. Is there anything else I need to do?” I questioned.

“Nothing. You’re taking the entry practical test not a promotion quest, you did more than enough.” Barrietta answered while shaking her head. “You should head on to the archive room now. I’ll test your basic knowledge before you take your first request.”

“Huh?! Does every rookie adventurer have to go through this?” I highly doubted that.

The global literacy rate of this world is quite low, especially for folks who choose strength intensive jobs like adventuring.

“Not all of them have to, no. However, you’re a special case.” She clarified while eyeing my bracelet once again. “We must make sure you’re always well prepared for your quests, after all.”

Ahhh, so while I get many conveniences, what’s demanded from me also increases in exchange.

I guess it’s fair, and it’s not like she’s asking for the impossible or anything like that. The archive room was my goal from the very start.

Getting access to updated monster encyclopedias, monster location distribution maps, and skill encyclopedias are the real reason why I decided to join the guild.

The records obtained by folks who actually go out there on field are definitely more accurate and comprehensive than those of the ones who stay holed up inside the city walls.

We went back to the guild building’s second floor where Barrietta showed me to the archive room and left for her office.

I had only taken a few steps into the room when my breath hitched in my throat and my eyes went wide in wonder.

There were books literally everywhere. An incredible number of bookshelves filled with all sorts of books filled my sight.

My eyes were drawn to a conspicuous bookshelf that was placed in the center of the room by itself. It was basically screaming READ ME.

Moving closer, I spotted an arrow carved to the left of the topmost shelf.

This means I’m supposed to start reading from the top left book, right…? I’m gonna take a brief look through everything before I do that though.

I spent about half an hour reading through the prologues of each book on that shelf. There were several ones I personally found to be useful, but most either had outdated information or fairy tales.

Among them, what I found to be the most interesting were the ones I mentioned before along with The History of The Adventurers Guild and The Bloody Witch’s Beginner’s Guide to Magic.

The latter was the one that really grabbed my attention though, especially because all of my magic is self-taught through trial and error.

Having an actual guide book to review would simplify soooo many things! I wish I had one of those a long time ago…

Anyways, I first pulled out the book they had recommended me to start with and started reading.

Rule Guidebook was its title.

But while that title made it seem like it’d be a very rigorous book with precise, professional terminology, what it had was a more detailed overview of the guild’s system.

The rule section was just a two page FAQ where it went like Is this allowed? then a Yes or No answer coupled with a short clarification and a mention of the respective penalties.

What surprised me the most was how strict and well thought out their system is.

All promotions are done through both a practical and a written test where guild-hired adventurers act as invigilators.

Also, you can only take them at specific times and places and your goals differ each time, but the overall test is very comprehensive.

For example, one of the practical test contents stated that you need to defeat at least one monster from each classification on your own.

No matter which combat system you belong to, you must defeat a strength, speed, defense, magic, and status condition reliant monster before you pass.

Other than that, the penalty system is oddly similar to that of Earth’s legal system, but it is obviously biased towards the guild members when it comes to issues with outsiders.

But I guess it is understandable considering that the Mermaids are behind the guilds, and Tomoko is apparently a bigwig among them.

Looking outside the window, I discover that it’s way past afternoon. 

Crap, I’m running out of time. I needa be home by sunset to get in a couple hours of sleep before I meet up with Fei again at midnight.

Returning the Rule Guidebook to its place, I quickly grabbed the Monster Encyclopedia and Distribution Map, and got right into studying.

Today was a great day, honestly.

My goal was perfectly achieved, and I even got a bonus clue concerning Tomoko on top of that!

I might just be able to make it in this new world, after all!