“Aweso! We've already earned enough tolls for six people, and there’s still more!”
After wrapping up our last sale, Emily exclaid excitedly as she calculated our earnings in a nice restaurant we had entered for a celebration.
Everyone except seed to expect this outco, as they weren’t particularly surprised.
I certainly hadn’t anticipated that crafting would be this lucrative.
If it had been just alone, achieving this level of success in such a short ti would have been difficult.
Indeed, the foundation of business is publicity.
The contributions of my companions were enormous.
‘Above all, the new skill has been the biggest benefit.’
I could feel a smile creeping onto my face.
The Quick Crafting skill, born from the process of repeating dozens, perhaps hundreds of repairs and crafting.
As the na suggests, it allows for instant production.
If the materials are ready, I can create equipnt by consuming them.
If materials are lacking, it uses the magic conversion skill to fill in the gaps.
And the gains from running this stall didn’t end there.
I discovered sothing when I perfectly repaired the Aspetra earlier.
I can recreate equipnt I’ve thoroughly understood while repairing it.
And given that this is a border area, a wide variety of adventurers gather here.
Among them, there were a few who entrusted with special equipnt.
For such equipnt, I poured my heart into the repairs.
Was it because they were valuable to the custors?
No, it was because they would beco my precious equipnt.
‘Thank you for letting use it well.’
I silently conveyed my gratitude to the adventurer, who I imagined was diligently hunting sowhere.
“Oh, Ken is smiling.”
“Of course, he didn’t expect to earn this much.”
“I thought Ken could do it.”
It seed my delight was evident, as I couldn’t help but beam.
Well, there were still limitations to Quick Crafting.
For example, if the weapon is above a certain level, like the Aspetra, it cos with a one-ti-use condition.
It’s likely because creating the original itself is impossible, so it’s classified as a replica.
For instance, the [Poison Hydra’s Throwing Knife], which gives a severe stiffening effect, disappears after one throw.
If you want to use it again, you’ll have to spend magic.
While the equipnt itself becos a skill, it’s still a fantastic gain.
Having achieved such excellent results, we laughed and enjoyed delicious food during our celebration.
With ample funds to pay the tolls, we soon moved toward our next destination.
Now, we just had to pass through one village to reach the city where the Tower of Tarros is located.
“This place looks smaller than D'Amon.”
As Raphne pointed out, the village we were passing through was indeed smaller than the city but quite substantial for a village.
The previous D'Amon was surrounded by high walls, and the roads inside the city were paved.
However, this village called Parion had relatively shabby buildings compared to D'Amon.
Yet, the population was quite large, so it wasn’t small.
“Well, it’s not dostic. We’ll be traveling for about two weeks after passing through here.”
“Ugh~ again that long?”
Emily, looking more tired from the traveling than from camping, pouted.
Unfortunately, the route confird on the map was the best option.
I reassured Emily to hang in there a little longer.
“Then let’s register as adventurers here.”
I conveyed this as I looked around at my companions.
Only registered adventurers in the guild can enter the Tower of Tarros, so we needed to register ahead of ti.
Of course, we could register at the guild in D'Amon or the academy’s city, but...
Being cautious about registering as adventurers within the Lillias Kingdom seed prudent.
Given that the tolls at the border had risen, it seed wise not to rush into registering.
There might be so hidden interference.
If that were the case, it would have tied us down once again.
“Ken, what do you think my rank will be?”
Emily, who looked like a child headed to a gift shop, asked while walking toward the guild.
It seed she had a preference for this sort of thing.
She was the most excited about traveling.
“Well, I’d guess about rank B?”
“...That sounds very realistic. C’mon, can’t you just say I’m S-rank at tis like this?!”
She playfully laughed and lightly hit my shoulder.
Since I had been seeing her adventurer rank so often, I responded reflexively.
Speaking of adventurer ranks, the others, except for Emily, would surely be at least A-rank.
It was only natural for Raphne, who had recently knocked out an A-rank adventurer, to be so.
Then naturally, I beca curious about my own rank.
‘...What will it be?’
To be honest, I felt a bit nervous.
I had been receiving training from Ziegfried, and the monsters I had defeated were also high-ranked.
Of course, it was only due to using cheat-level skills.
‘If I used Calorie Burn during the rank assessnt...’
No, let’s not go there.
I only needed the adventurer rank to enter the Tower of Tarros, so there was no need to worry about getting a high rank.
There was a chance I could suddenly receive a high rank and cause a commotion.
So adventurer might complain about not being able to accept my rank due to my appearance.
‘Let’s just receive the rank based purely on skill.’
We soon entered the village and headed straight for the adventurer guild.
“Whoa! Isn’t that Ken?! We can see you here!”
“Ha ha! Ken! The weapons you repaired are being used well!”
As we opened the door to the adventurer guild, a few adventurers who were drinking during the day greeted us.
They seed to be the adventurers who had entrusted their weapons for repair or crafting back in D'Amon.
Of course, I couldn’t rember them as I had been busy with the overwhelming requests.
“Oh! Mr. Ken! I see you here!”
Emily, however, recognized one of the custors she had served and greeted him warmly.
“Hey, ladies! You’re as lovely as ever. Ha ha! Ken is lucky to have such beautiful companions!”
“Ken, are you an adventurer too? Are you here to take on quests? No more crafting, huh?”
“I ca here to register. I was only crafting for a short ti back there... haha.”
“Wow! You must have beco quite a renowned craftsman in the kingdom; that’s unfortunate!”
The adventurers, who approached us sowhat familiarly, seed to be intoxicated.
Their deanor reminded of the local tavern folks I had seen before my reincarnation.
It was rely a relationship between a custor who entrusted their weapon and the craftsman.
“Ha ha! Anyway, do your best! With a craftsman like Ken, I’m sure you’ll be at least B-rank, no, I’d guarantee A-rank!”
“Of course! Soone with that talent deserves that kind of treatnt!”
With the excited adventurers, fueled by alcohol, patting us on the back, I felt a sense of warm camaraderie.
So, I might be B-rank, or maybe even A-rank.
That strange anticipation made my shoulders lift slightly.
I couldn’t help but wonder.
We quickly headed upstairs to begin our adventurer registration.
And the results ca out in no ti.
“Ta-da! It’s rank B! Ken was right. Hehe.”
Emily proudly held up her registration card, showing she was B-rank.
“I got A-rank.”
“ too, A-rank.”
“I’m A-rank as well.”
Mary, Adrian, and Ziegfried all received their A-rank without a hint of surprise.
As Emily bead confidently, she carefully tucked her registration card into her pocket.
“W-What about Raphne?”
Then, with a slightly awkward smile, we all turned to look at Raphne, who hadn’t revealed her rank yet.
With a sly grin, Raphne lifted her registration card high.
It was S-rank.
“S-rank?! …Well, I can understand it’s Raphne, but Ugh! I’m the lowest rank!”
“Fufufu, Emily. You should now call ‘big sister’ with respect.”
It seed we were creating a strange competitive atmosphere, and Emily stomped her feet in frustration.
Then, with a glum expression, she looked toward .
“What about Ken? ...You’re A-rank too, right? You’re so strong…”
“No, I’m D-rank.”
“Wha?!”
The group gasped in surprise at the registration card I held up.
Why were they so shocked?
Did they all expect I’d be A-rank? Ha ha, there’s no way I could be A-rank.
...I honestly didn’t expect that either.
Though my magic capacity had increased significantly and my crafting skill proficiency had improved, I judged that my combat ability had diminished, resulting in a low rank.
It was only natural not to assign A-rank requests to soone with low combat abilities.
After all, I hadn’t used Calorie Burn, so the outco was understandable.
But it seed I was the only one who found it comprehensible, which led to problems.
“Wha?! Excuse , Miss registrar?! Is there a mistake here? Ken is a D-rank?!”
“That’s impossible! Have you seen the weapons he makes? There are even specialized crafting parties; this can’t be right! I even bet money on this!”
The adventurers who had just been lavishing praise on began protesting at the reception desk, getting agitated.
But honestly, betting money was just asking for trouble.
Had they drunk a little too much and made bets?
Thus, the guild beca noisy with the voices of drunken adventurers.
‘Things didn’t go as expected.’
If I had known this would happen, I might have used Calorie Burn to get a higher rank.
“Let’s get out of here. It won’t do us any good to stay longer.”
“Uh, okay.”
So, I hurriedly led my companions out of the guild.
With the loud voices and commotion, other adventurers were looking curiously at us, the cause of the uproar.
Why was it my embarrassnt to bear?
I covered my flushed face with one hand and lowered my head as I stepped outside.
“It’s okay, Ken. Don’t be too down.”
“Hmm?”
At that mont, Raphne, who was beside , spoke up to comfort .
“Who cares if you’re D-rank! Hmph, it’s fine! I’ll protect you… Hehe, I’m S-rank after all.”
Then she bashfully showed off her registration card.
“Wait! If that’s the case, I can do it too! I’m at least B-rank!”
“No, Emily. You need to be A-rank or higher to protect soone.”
“Ugh! If I had known, I should have trained my attack magic more!”
Leaving behind a frustrated Emily, Mary ca up beside .
“I’ve wanted to protect you from the beginning, Ken. So don’t be too disappointed about being D-rank. I’ll always be there to protect you.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it.”
Ziegfried also patted my shoulder in support.
With the encouragent and comfort from my companions, I stared at them blankly.
...Did I really look that gloomy?
No, it was just hard to lift my head due to embarrassnt.
Adrian, who was watching us, chuckled as if he knew what I was feeling.
Feeling a strange sensation, we headed toward our lodging.
Just then…
“Hey! You there!”
A voice calling from behind caught our attention as it grew closer, indicating they were calling us.
Turning around, I saw a slender man with sharp eyes and a notable mustache.
“Are you the adventurers who just registered?”
With a friendly smile, he approached us.
“Yes, but... what’s the matter?”
“Are you perhaps heading out of the village to another place?”
“...We’re on our way to the Tower of Tarros.”
I replied cautiously.
His sudden approach was a little alarming. Among adventurers, there are always those who would rob you.
Of course, attempting to rob us would be tantamount to suicide given our party’s strength.
“Oh! So you’re challenging the tower! What a coincidence! How about this? Do you need a guide? We know a shortcut!”
“A shortcut?”
“Absolutely! You’re looking at a seasoned adventurer who has worked in this area for quite so ti. I know the local paths better than any map. However…”
As he spoke, the man carefully ford a circle with his fingers, signaling for money.
He seed to be hinting at a fee for his guidance.
“I will ask for a small token of gratitude. So, what do you say? I hear you’ve earned quite a bit of money, so wouldn’t it be nice to travel quickly without monsters getting in the way?”
It seed he was trying to make a business out of guiding us.
I rember in the ga, if you hired an NPC like this in an unfamiliar city, it would skip the part where you wandered around lost.
And if his goal was rely to make money, it wasn’t necessarily a strange idea…
“Can I consult with my companions for a mont?”
“Oh, of course. Take your ti to discuss.”
I stepped back for a mont to gather my party and sought their opinions.
“What do you all think?”
“Hmm, I find it a bit suspicious…”
Emily was the first to voice her opinion.
“But Emily, aren’t you a bit tired of traveling? If it’s a shortcut, we might reach the city quickly.”
Mary, who seed confident in her abilities, provided a positive opinion.
She probably planned to retaliate if anything suspicious occurred.
Indeed, I was swayed by the fact that we could save ti.
Everyone was in a cheerful mood, but after camping and awkward sleeping arrangents, I could see they were getting worn out.
If it could save us that ti, it wouldn’t be a bad choice.
Raphne nodded in agreent with Mary.
“I’m okay. If anything weird happens, I can just kill them.”
“No, Raphne. We need to ask first before killing.”
“Oh! Right! Ken, you’re so smart!”
Both of them spoke casually about sothing so chilling.
I turned to Adrian and Ziegfried to ask for their opinions.
“I’m fine with it. I’m okay with not taking the shortcut either.”
“They don’t seem very strong. I think you could beat them, Ken.”
Neither of them seed particularly worried.
In that case, the decision was clear.
“Since the party agrees, then we’ll ask for your guidance.”
“Yay! That’s a wise choice! I’ll guide you safely!”
After hearing everyone’s opinions and accepting the proposal, the man was overjoyed and rubbed his hands together.
As a precaution, I disclosed our ranks to the guide.
I wanted to convey that if he didn’t want to die, he better not pull any funny business.
“Are your companions also part of the party?”
“Yes, they’re my long-ti party mbers.”
“Ah, nice to et you! I’m Babidi.”
“I’m Lion.”
The slender man who had first spoken to us introduced himself as Eric.
He was an archer who was missing a finger, which was rather unusual.
Babidi was a plump priest who seed heavier than .
He was likely the healer.
Lion appeared to be the most skilled swordsman among the three.
“Then let’s go safely. You can count on , buddy.”
I shook Lion’s hand with a smile as he offered it.
Although Eric gave off a sowhat lighthearted vibe, Lion seed a bit more trustworthy.
And not long after leaving the village following their guidance...
Of course, they struck us from behind.
But it wasn’t the robbery I had expected.
“Hey, guys! We need to take a quick trip!”
It all started with Eric’s shout as he led us down the path.
“What’s going on?”
“There’s a pesky monster nearby. I think you guys need to help out a bit.”
Eric quickly continued, smiling as if it were no big deal.
“With our strength, it’ll be a breeze. The ladies should rest for a bit while we handle this quickly.”
Hearing this, I, along with Adrian and Ziegfried, followed the three guides into the woods.
After all, Raphne and Mary were with us. While Emily wasn’t weak, the two of them together would ensure our safety.
The problem was that their intention was to separate us from the girls.
“Kha ha ha! You fools! You’ve fallen for our trap!”
“W-what?!”
My body gradually stiffened.
As we ventured deeper into the woods, a sudden burst of light emanated from sothing Eric pulled out.
It was a magical tool that petrified people.
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