Chương 51: 1.3.07 - The Perfect Candidate

The sun was barely shining over the trees in the distance when I exited through the gates of Saltmere. The guards that were on watch just gave me a sleepy wave as I left. They were less particular about people leaving, and paid more attention to people that would enter the city at this time of the day. My new pauldrons sat on my shoulders, the leather and metal plates resting comfortably underneath my leather bag straps. Well some extra padding wouldn't hurt, but it might just make it hotter in this weather.

My new mask sat on my face, the metal cool to the touch in the morning air.

"Hoooo~ I can finally breathe..." I started out with a light jog, heading in the direction of Hollow's Reach. While we were escorting the caravan to Saltmere, we were limited by the plodders' speed while pulling the wagons. On my own, I could go even faster, only stopping for occasional breaks when I needed. I kept my Electrolocation running now whenever I was awake as a habit, partially to prevent any unexpected ambushes, but partially to train the spell and level it up.

While I got the most progress during actual combat, regular usage of the spell also accumulated slowly towards the next level. The travel back was relatively peaceful for the first part, passing only two other groups that were on their way in. Considering the size of Hollow's Reach, there weren't that many merchants that travelled between there and Saltmere. It was mid afternoon when I reached the same clearing that we had stayed the night. I slowed down when I saw some figures prowling by the edge of the wood.

That had prompted what looked like a pack of wolves to emerge, walking towards the small clearing.

"Hmmm, I always thought wolves were nocturnal..." I said as I watched the wolves spread out and start to circle me. It was likely that they only approached because I was a lone traveler, and the previous groups that passed by were too big for them to tackle. Based on the size of the wolves, I estimated that most of them were only Red cores, with the biggest wolf being Orange at most. I recalled the entry I read about these as they were one of the more interesting beasts that did not have a common affinity.

They had an unusual Beast affinity that they used to strengthen themselves, giving themselves a temporary boost to their physicality. I also remembered that they usually only hunted prey that they thought they had a good chance of winning. CRAK I unleashed a bolt of Lightning Bolt at the largest wolf, adjusted to the lowest output. The bolt knocked it back, at the same time startling the nearby wolves and causing them to jump a step back. All the other wolves immediately froze in their steps.

The largest wolf whined and whimpered, trying to get up. Little arcs of lightning still jumping across its fur.

"That was a warning shot, get lost before I change my mind" I said, not really expecting the wolves to understand. The wolves seemed to hesitate, and I released a second bolt of lightning right in front of the largest wolf, kicking up a spray of soil. I primed a third spell and aimed it at another wolf this time before they got the message. The wolves slowly retreated backwards into the forest, the largest wolf limping a little as it stepped back.

I had remembered what Stannis said about leaving bodies on the road, and I did not want to waste time cleaning up after myself if I killed the wolves. They were hardly worth the experience as well considering most of them were only Red cored. I watched them disappear from my vision as they headed deeper into the woods. I let the spell in my hand fizzle away only after waiting a good few minutes, making sure the wolves did not try to circle back.

"Well, it's as good a time as any to take a break I guess" I stretched my legs as a slight soreness was starting to creep up from the hours of jogging. I stopped by the same clearing to have a quick lunch. The same logs we used when we gathered around the camp fire two nights ago were still there. The sun had already set by the time I could see the smithing rows south of Hollow's Reach. The smoke had already stopped rising as the blacksmiths had already banked their forges for the night.

I decided to turn down the Old Mill Road and head to the Orphanage to retire for the night instead of heading into the town.

"Hey Marta, I'm back. I hope there's still some supper left for me" I said as I opened the front door.

"Oh Ash, you're... what are you wearing?" Marta said when she stepped through the kitchen door. That prompted Thal to come out from the kitchen too, soap bubbles running down her forearms as she was probably in the midst of washing dishes "Pffft~! Hahaha! Did you just come back from some noble's dance party? What's with that look?" Thal laughed out loud. This story has been stolen from Royal Road.

If you read it on Amazon, please report it I quickly took off the new mask, feeling a flush of heat surging to my cheeks "You... I... This..." Words caught in my mouth as I did not expect that reaction at all.

"That's enough Thal, you forgot that Ash has to keep his identity hidden" Marta chastised her, though I caught the corner of her mouth twitching, like she was fighting a smile of her own.

"I'll whip something up for you. I haven't put out the kitchen fire completely yet""Thank you..." was the only thing I managed to say as I quickly removed my adventurer gear, glaring at Thal as she went back to the kitchen. To avoid Thal making fun of me the next morning, I decided to bring my gear with me and only change in a secluded spot in town. I brought a change of clothes as well and made sure that nobody was near me using Electrolocation before I changed.

I prepared myself to be laughed at by Sennika when I entered the guild hall. To her credit, she only froze for a moment before greeting me like usual.

"Damian?" her eyes went to the tag around my neck. Considering that I was the only masked adventurer around, it didn't take her much to put two and two together.

"Nice mask. How was the escort to Saltmere? You're the first one back" she asked as she received the signed writ from me.

"We were attacked by a group of bandits when we made camp. Group of 10. I didn't encounter any on the way back besides some wolves, and the groups I passed didn't seem like they were attacked either" I gave a brief report of our party's encounter.

"Hmmm, it should be clear for the time being. The bandits in the area likely congregated into that large group. It was a good thing your party took them down. I'll be sure to let anyone who's requesting an escort down to Saltmere know." Sennika said as she jotted something down.

"Here's your payment, 30 small silvers. Don't squander it" she gave me a wink as she placed 3 large silver coins on the counter.

"Thanks. So... about the Steel rank test..." I asked again, the age old question of whether I had enough contributions.

"Actually —""Ya ya, I know, I need more contribution. Haih~" I sighed, already turning to the mission board.

"ACTUALLY — if you had let me finish — I was gonna say that you have enough with that last escort mission. Question is, whether you'll be strong enough to pass the assessment" Sennika said with a gleam in her eye. I did a double take and halted my steps "What?!? Really? You're not pulling my leg right?"

"What? Why would I pull your leg? But yes I was serious. Would you like to register? Only if you think you're ready though""Yes please, are there any fees involved?" I asked, hands tightening around my hard earned silver already.

"Not for the first attempt. It would cost 10 small silvers for subsequent attempts after the first failed one. Come back in a few days, I need some time to prepare a candidate that would help with the assessment" Sennika said as she saw me out. I had thought through what I could use the few days for before the actual assessment. I decided to do two things. Until I solved the heating issue, Mark II could essentially only fire a single shot — which meant that I had to make the shot count.

I decided to pay the woodcarver and the potter's workshop in town a visit. I got very weird looks initially, especially from the woodcarver. He gave me a judging look and declined initially. I had to explain that it was for a weapon I was testing, and not something to insert into any orifice, before he agreed. I had asked him to carve a longer piece of wooden rod with helical grooves running down half the wood using a sketch I made. The front had to be rounded to be shaped like a bullet.

I wanted to optimize the design of the iron slugs I used for Mark II to increase the damage output while also increasing the accuracy. I visited the potter's workshop next to confirm if he could make the mold out of two clay pieces based on the design of the wooden rod.

"Hmmm... I need to see the actual thing... but it should be possible" the potter said as his eyes briefly looked down at my hips before looking up again.

"I'll be back with the rod" was all I said as I left. I could hear him muttering "young people these days..." as I left the shop. With that out of the way, I spent the next few days in the forest west of Hollow's Reach. I had heard that there was a dungeon nearby, which was what the town was named after. I never went that deep as all I wanted was to train my Lightning Infusion considering that it was almost at level 10.

I wanted to cap it out before I thought about how to upgrade it, and spent the next few days hunting for Orange cored beasts. I intentionally looked for beasts that lived in packs so that I could also practice my evasion with Electrolocation. The only interesting thing that happened was saving a lady from a horde of monkeys that was chasing her down. She seemed to be an adventurer but did not have great mobility. She was running while trying to fire shards of ice at the monkeys.

Unfortunately for her, there were too many harassing her and she could not get a good shot while trying to run. I managed to swoop in and carry her out, but did not even get a thank you before she ran off once we cleared the monkeys' territory. Nevertheless, I did manage to achieve my original objective on the last day before the assessment.

"Yes! Finally!" I pulled on the Weave to read the notifications. [Lightning Infusion leveled up 9 -> 10] [You have increased your Mana Core Capacity by 1, 000]"So, ready for your assessment?" Sennika asked when I walked into the guild hall. She had told me the day before that she had found a candidate and to come back the next morning.

"Yes! What's the assessment criteria?" I asked enthusiastically.

"It's simple really, you just need to last 5 minutes against your opponent" Sennika said with a slight smirk.

"Really? That's all? I don't have to defeat my opponent? No fighting while blind folded?" I asked, trying to figure out what the catch was.

"Just last 5 minutes against your opponent" Sennika repeated.

"Let's go, your opponent is already waiting in the sparring area in the basement" Somehow, her emphasis on 'last 5 minutes' stood out to me. Especially with all the weird tricks she played in the last assessment, I couldn't help but think that there was some word play here. Nevertheless, I followed her into the same basement where I first took the Bronze assessment. When I entered the sparring pit, my face dropped when I saw who my opponent was.

"It's YOU?!?" Fallic and I both called out at the same time.