## Chapter 111 – Soul Ascension Match
Arriving at the Adventurer’s Guild just before sunrise, it was predictably deserted. My supposed party of three was nowhere to be seen.
“Looks like no one’s here yet.”
This is the problem with this world. The concept of time isn’t as precise as in modern times. You can’t clearly define morning as morning or noon as noon.
There’s a large clock tower in the city’s central square, but people who live where it can’t be seen don’t even care about it, and for most people, it’s just a useless structure. They’re so relaxed about time, it’s like Korean time itself. I felt a sense of my ancestors’ spirit, which was quite nice.
ㅡCreak.
Wondering if they might be inside the guild, I looked around and called out the three names I heard yesterday, Custo, Serka, and Roel, but no one responded.
Did I just come too early?
It’s definitely a bit early if it’s just before sunrise.
I went back outside and slumped against the guild building wall.
Should I take a nap? If I just wait here, they’ll probably come.
The sunlight felt nice, and I started to doze off. I burned quite a bit of energy last night, but Cloudie was considerate enough to say that doing more might interfere with the ascension match. What a kind and gentle woman, I only got half my usual fill before sleeping.
And when I woke up, she even gave me a “come back soon” kiss-buff as her husband left for work. Damn it! Blood rushing to my lower body!
I dozed off for a momentㅡ
“Hey, you.”
“ㅡUgh?”
A shadow fell over me. Someone was standing in front of me, calling to me. I rubbed my eyes and saw a woman with orange hair wearing a martial arts uniform.
“Are you Katt?”
“Ah, yes. That’s me. Nice to meet you, I’m Katt, an E-rank adventurer and swordsman who will be joining you for the quest. Are you Custo, Serka, or Roel?”
I stretched my neck from side to side as I answered.
As it was an ascension match, my greeting was filled with exaggerated courtesy and hypocrisy.
Judging by the uniform and the knuckles on her hand, she seemed to be a martial artist… A martial artist. I had a lot of grievances against them. But I don’t remember any women among the guys who beat me up back then, so it doesn’t really matter.
In the first place, it’s an E-rank quest, so it doesn’t really matter if they’re martial artists or whatever. Even mediocre monsters die when you punch them. Just like my Taekwondo used to. Well, it’s true that using weapons is more convenient.
“…A swordsman, huh.”
I was waiting for her to introduce herself, but that’s what she said instead.
Okay.
No, calm down, Kim Katt. She can say a rude thing or two at first meeting, man.
It’s not a big deal. Swearing is something friends do all the time.
C-calm down! Please!
It’s an ascension match! She’s a martial artist, so she might look down on swordsmen a little! I understand! She looks like a young girl in her prime, so she might be sensitive!
It’s an ascension match!!!! Calm down!!!!! You bastard!!!!!
“Are you a fist-fighter then?”
However, seeing the bitter look of disgust on her face, my mouth opened on its own, contrary to my resolve. From my long experience as an F-rank, I was very good at noticing the malice of others.
Calling me a swordsman right off the bat, and not even trying to hide her unpleasant expressionㅡ this was clearly picking a fight. The usual martial artist’s provocation towards swordsmen. This, along with martial artists not carrying weapons, was one of the bad social trends.
“What?”
“No, I’m asking if you use your fists. I’m asking because I’m a swordsman. Seeing you use two fists, you must be a double-fisted fighter? If you use your feet too, then you’re a foot-fighter too. So, a double-foot, double-fisted fighter? Damn, that’s a cool name. No need for a Double Bubble.”
“Is this swordsman picking a fight with me…!”
“What fight? You ball-busting bitch.”
It had been so long since I came to this world that I had forgotten.
It was such an obvious story, but for an ascension match to go smoothly was as unlikely as the sun rising in the west.
An ascension match meant enduring an extreme competition where even your allies became enemies, all by your own strength. Only by winning here could you pluck the fruit of ascension.
This was harder than picking a star from the sky.
“Wh-what?! B-balls?!”
Ah, maybe it’s a bit much to say that to a woman.
The martial artist was horrified by the explicit language.
Anyway, I had a bad feeling about this.
That this quest would never go in a normal direction.
Just as the martial artist was about to growl, a voice came from the distance.
“Serka! What are you doing? If you found the last person, let’s go quickly… Huh?”
The martial artist’s name seemed to be Serka. The owner of the high-pitched voice was a female mage with striking green hair. A mage, another unpleasant profession…
“Who’s that barbarian? Don’t tell me that’s our party member?”
Good heavens.
Are you doing racial discrimination as soon as you see me?
Are you Copson, you racist bitch.
“…I think so. Roel.”
My mouth dropped open.
The green-haired mage’s name was Roel. Serka, Roel. Both were definitely the names of the party members participating in this quest. I had a bad feeling about this (x2).
The law that five humans will always include trash must still be valid. But there are only three here, so why are two of them already showing signs of being trolls? Isn’t this still the pick phase? Here?
“What? Really? You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m not kidding. This barbaric swordsman is apparently our party member.”
“So, I have to party with a barbarian?”
“Yes.”
I had been listening to their conversation in silence, but I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Oh, damn it. This is just laughable. Aren’t you old geezers being too harsh right off the bat? Already got dementia?”
“What? Old geezers? What the hell is this guy saying… You wanna try me.”
Unable to hold back, I burst out with curses, grinning and wrinkling my face, rolling my eyes back.
I can’t touch the mage, but I don’t care about the martial artist. Let’s see how my Taekwondo compares to your martial arts skills. I’ll use swordsmanship to turn you into mincemeat.
“U-um, don’t, don’t fight… We, we have to do the quest, so, let’s get going…”
At that critical moment.
The one who appeared this time was a frail, pretty-faced young priest with blue hair. With his appearance, Serka, who was scattering a fierce aura as if she would punch me at any moment, fell silent.
“Ah, Custo…”
“Serka… C-calm down… Are you… picking a fight… again? I told you not to do that to people who use swords… I, I told you…”
“…”
The two seemed to know each other, and the overheated atmosphere slowly cooled down as Custo intervened… My heart hadn’t cooled down yet, but at least Serka’s had. She glared at me once and turned her head.
Seeing that, Custo gave me a friendly smile and offered a handshake.
“N-nice to meet you… I’m Custo, a lower-ranking priest of the Cheondo Order…”
“Ah… Yes… N-nice to… meet… you. I’m Katt, an E-rank adventurer.”
I tried to imitate his speech to create a sense of closeness, but I got bored halfway through and decided to stop. Judging by the fact that he was using honorifics, he seemed like a person without any major problems.
But Cheondo Order? I’ve heard the name a few times, but it’s such an obscure church that I don’t know what they do.
After greeting me, he approached the green-haired mage, who had a very unpleasant expression, and said.
“A-and Roel… We, we already formed a party…? If we back out… There, there will be penalties… Right?”
“Tch… I know.”
It seems the three of them know each other.
Judging by how skillfully he handles the two of them, have they been in a fixed party for quite some time? I don’t know about anything else, but I can tell that Custo’s personality must be pretty good.
No, let’s summarize. A priest who hangs out with a racist and a job-discriminator? This is such a bizarre combination.
“So, Katt-nim… Please don’t be too upset… Can I ask for your… generous heart…?”
“Sigh, well, I understand. There will be penalties if I back out of a quest that’s already started. Roel-ssi, Serka-ssi, was it? I’ll quietly collect my konpeito and leave, so let’s just focus on our own work. We’re only seeing each other this once anyway.”
Anyway, since the most rational-looking one mediated the fight and politely asked me, I decided to back down.
It’s an ascension match after all. Fighting would only be a loss for me. It’s so frustrating, but I needed to put my pride aside here.
“What? Are you ordering me around?”
“Roel-ssi, I’m not ordering you around. And don’t speak informally.”
“Seriously, this is ridiculous. Serka. Do we have to bring this along? The dark color is really unpleasant. And it smells. It’s magically ominous too. Let’s just apply for a party disbandment and do it again. How much of a penalty can they give us anyway?”
This fucking bastard.
Seeing him act recklessly because it’s not his ascension match, I felt like my head was about to explode from the steam rising.
Please save me. I can’t even beat him up. A scrub like me can’t do anything against a mage…! Seeing that he’s E-rank, I’d win if I threw a punch, but touching a mage is not just that kind of story.
Mages, united by a strong sense of elitism, never want their names to be tarnished. They’re even more vindictive than martial artists.
I don’t know for sure, but the moment I hit a mage, all the mages in the area, regardless of genre, would carpet bomb me. Then Kim Katt, who had literally exploded, would be reduced to dust and dumped into the sewers as if he had never existed in the first place.
Mages are all like that. Annoying, sinister, violent, acting as they please, and monsters full of useless self-esteem! This is why I fear the mages of the city!
“Roel… I, I told you to stop… If you’re going to be like this, what was the reason for… trying to find one more person…? Is it okay to… just say anything because you don’t… like the person…? I, I don’t like… that…”
“St-still, why that kind of…”
“Th-that… is… not… a, a barbarian…”
“…Okay.”
As I made dying noises, Custo calmed Roel down again.
Was this why he was the party leader?
Custo, who was sweating profusely, looked at me and smiled. And he gestured, which seemed to be the signal to start. At that moment, Serka, who brushed past me, glared at me and walked on.
I really don’t know the reason.
Hey, we just met today?
Why are you doing this to me?
“I’m… sorry… Those kids… have bad, bad personalities…”
“…Damn it. Yes. It’s okay.”
Anyway, since we said we’d start working, we started moving. However, Roel and Serka walked together about twenty paces away, and it was a strange formation with me and Custo walking together.
“Is it right that the mage knows the way?”
“Yes… She will… guide… us…”
“I see. Do you know how long it will take?”
“I heard… it takes a little less than… half a day…”
Half a day to get there, half a day to come back, so the travel time alone is close to 12 hours. He said it takes a little less than half a day, so I should assume a maximum of 10 hours.
This is bad.
I can only say that I’m completely screwed. That means it’s almost certain that we’ll be camping out or marching at night, and judging by the party’s atmosphere, it doesn’t seem like it will end well.
I prayed.
Please let me collect the konpeito without any problems and go home. Good. From now on, I’m going to swallow my pride, Kim Katt. You can do it. It’s an ascension match, an ascension match. If you fail, you’ll disappoint Cloudie.
Whether they despise me as a swordsman or discriminate against me as a barbarian, I’ll endure it all. I was too flustered earlier and just exploded with anger, but looking at Custo next to me, he seems like he’ll control their bad personalities to some extent.
Let’s trust him, he’s a priest after all.
And so, I began to walk endlessly towards the place where the magical ingredient, konpeito, was said to be. But after walking for about an hour, the mage collapsed. These fucking mages really do everything.
[Die, mage.]
As always, my motto was always right.
