The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 227

"Hmm, I see."

Thwack-

"Not helpful at all."

Lee Shin grumbled as he closed the manual he had received from the junior guard.

He had a rough idea when he saw how thin it was, as if it would fly away in the wind, but after opening it and checking the contents, it was beyond his expectations.

-You there, what's written in it to make you react like that?

'What, you didn't see it when I was reading it?'

At Lee Shin's words, Irehgue tapped the back of his head with his tail and said.

-It was I who interpreted your younger sister's memories on the way here and taught you how to speak and how to read and write. Therefore, you should show the sincerity of explaining such simple content.

'Ah, alright. I get it, so stop hitting my head.'

As he kept hitting his head, Irehgue seemed to have learned some degree of force control, so it didn't hurt that much.

But since he was hitting his head while he was walking, his head kept shaking, which was a bit annoying.

'First of all, most of this is useless talk, so there's nothing particularly important, but if I had to pick a helpful part, it would be the part where the basic common sense of this world is written.'

It was also a part that couldn't be properly known from Irin's memories, who had been continuously confined in a room.

'The phenomenon of absorption and cataclysm that the guard mentioned earlier is also written here.'

Lee Shin said, shaking the manual.

'Unlike what we know, it's not caused by their attacks, but it's introduced as a part of a very strange natural phenomenon.'

-It probably means it's not worth letting them know.

'Probably so.'

Lee Shin nodded his head slightly and agreed with Irehgue's thoughts.

'Other than that, if I had to mention something a little strange… it seems they don't use the name of the territory here.'

-Hmm? You mean the territory has no name?

'Ah, I misspoke. It has a name, but it seems they prefer to use a number to indicate it. Look at this.'

Lee Shin said, pointing to the letters in the corner of the manual cover with his finger.

'In other words, this territory has the name 'Brasan', but the expression 'Territory 519' is used more often.'

Walking down the street, it seemed that even the residents here preferred the number 519 over the name Brasan.

-Hmm, does this number get bigger as you go to the outskirts?

'That's right.'

The center, where all resources are concentrated, is classified with a single digit, and the territories ruled by high-ranking nobles are expressed with two digits.

And three digits meant a remote territory ruled by low-ranking nobles.

-For reference, how many three-digit territories are there?

'According to what's written here… it seems there are 689.'

-No wonder I thought the village was shabby, it was because it was in the countryside.

Perhaps because it was a territory built by absorbing buildings created through the phenomenon of cataclysm, there were quite a lot of buildings, and the scale of the territory was also large.

But the most important thing, the number of people, was not that large, and the people who were visible were walking around in shabby-looking clothes.

-It seems the king of this place likes to classify by dividing into classes. To even put numbers on the territories and manage them…

'Ah, there's no king here.'

-…There are nobles, but no king?

At Irehgue's dumbfounded voice, Lee Shin nodded his head.

'That part was a little strange to me too.'

Lee Shin chuckled and added to his words.

'Comparing it with Rin's memories, it seems that in this country, the church takes on the work that the royal family should do. The form seems a little different, but it's a kind of theocratic society.'

-Since it's a world where a god directly exerts influence, did it naturally solidify into this form?

'That's highly likely. Maybe the kingdom collapsed and the people naturally gathered under the church.'

In fact, since there was only one kingdom in Carnia, it wasn't such a far-fetched guess.

-It's certainly strange.

Even though it takes the form of a kingdom, the one that exists at the top of power is the church, and below it, there are noble families starting with the three ducal families.

'For reference, it seems the nobles are beings who protect the territories on behalf of the church with the church's permission.'

-It seems there are some differences… but if you think about it simply, it's not that different.

'Right.'

Lee Shin nodded his head.

Because the key was, after all, that the church was taking the place where the monarchy should be.

-Is that the end of the manual's content?

'Other than this, what's left is… an introduction to the basic facilities in each territory?'

Perhaps because of the power structure where the church rules the kingdom, it seemed that each territory was required to operate at least one church facility.

Like that church, each territory had one facility that could be called a bridge between various forces.

And the place Lee Shin was going to now was one of those facilities.

"Hmm…"

Lee Shin muttered as he looked at the mercenary guild he had arrived at.

"I wish there was a moderately useful slave…"

If you don't know something, it's best to get help from a local.

And it would be even better if it was at a level that should be called devotion, beyond the level of help.

For that, Lee Shin was thinking of getting a slave who would listen to his words moderately.

Because if the manual had been good, he wouldn't have known, but this much was of no help at all.

-Can you do it?

'I don't know, maybe it's possible?'

Lee Shin said that and slightly raised the [Gourmet's Mask] so that his expression would not be revealed.

'Mercenaries are usually guys who have hit rock bottom in life and wander around a lot. So if I coax them and beat them up moderately, they'll understand. Ah, since I'm here, I should also register as a mercenary.'

Lee Shin himself didn't know how the situation would turn out, but he was sure of one thing: he would be traveling to many places in the future.

So it was better to secure a means of proving his identity quickly.

Kiiik-

"Hmm…"

Lee Shin entered the mercenary guild and looked around.

-It's cleaner than I thought.

'I know, right? It's a bit surprising.'

When he heard the guard's words, the mercenary guild Lee Shin had imagined was a place filled with rough-looking people, exuding an atmosphere where a fight could break out at any moment.

But when he actually came in, it was the complete opposite.

The facilities were not so excellent as to be called good, but it was a much better building than the ones he had seen on his way, and it was also quite large.

The people filling the inside were armed, but they were quietly eating at their seats or looking at the bulletin board with requests, as if they had no intention of causing a disturbance.

'It doesn't seem to be a problem on the outside… so why was that guard so annoyed when he was talking about mercenaries?'

At that moment, Lee Shin's ears caught the muttering of the mercenaries who were eating soup.

"Tsk, I ended up coming down to a countryside territory like this because I have no money."

"I know, right. It was comfortable when I was taking requests in a two-digit city."

"Because it's the countryside, the facilities are poor, so my body is uncomfortable."

"Well, it's a good environment for work, so let's just put up with it."

"Kekeke, by the way, isn't it funny? The guards are running around with shabby armor and a single sword."

"Kikik, I wonder if they can even swing a sword properly."

'Ah, so that's it.'

Hearing their words, he could roughly grasp the situation.

'It was jealousy.'

The mercenaries were looking down on the people of the territory.

So, from the perspective of the original residents, it was natural for various complaints to arise.

And the guards who had to resolve those complaints had no choice but to dislike the mercenaries even more.

Lee Shin, who had roughly grasped what kind of treatment the mercenaries received, weighed his options for a moment, then decided to just get a mercenary tag.

Because even if it was a reluctant identity, it was much more advantageous than having no identity at all.

Lee Shin, who had decided that, approached the man who was sitting at what looked like the reception desk.

"I want to become a mercenary, what should I do?"

The man who was filling out the documents looked Lee Shin up and down as if appraising him, then clicked his tongue and said.

"Tsk, can you read and write?"

"Yes."

"Then please fill out this form."

The man said 'form' grandly, but it wasn't much of a form.

It was a piece of paper that Lee Shin, whose place of origin was unclear, could scribble on with a pseudonym or words he had heard on his way.

The man received the form without any particular review.

-Unbelievable. To receive it so easily.

'He probably knows the problem but doesn't intend to fix it. The more guys to do odd jobs and be meat shields, the better.'

Kwaang-!

The man said, stamping something on the form.

"To become a mercenary, you need an entry fee and the recognition of an examiner."

"What do you mean by the recognition of an examiner?"

"That usually depends on the examiner's discretion. But it's usually a spar with the examiner."

"Hmm…"

At the examiner's words, Lee Shin nodded his head with an unimpressed expression.

As a result of Lee Shin's observation, among those he had encountered so far, from walking through the village to entering the mercenary guild, there was no one who exceeded LV. 3.

So, of course, he wasn't expecting anything.

"Then please call him quickly."

Flinch-

Was it because Lee Shin's expression was somewhat annoying?

The man's face, looking at Lee Shin, wrinkled slightly.

"…Please wait here for a moment."

The man who said that got up from his seat and went upstairs through the stairs.

Judging by the thumping footsteps, it didn't seem to be that far.

Lee Shin quietly raised his hearing with his internal energy.

"…I don't want to. Why should I have to be an examiner for a new recruit?"

"Don't be like that, just do it. You know I wouldn't come to you if it were just any guy. He's obviously an arrogant guy, so we have to step on him beforehand! I'll buy you a beer!"

"Tsk, you're not going to buy it for me a month later like last time, are you? If you do, I'll kill you first."

"Hoo, alright. But make sure you finish that guy off! Especially that face!"

"Pfft, what's with you, was it because of that inferiority complex again?"

"Shut up!"

Hearing the two's conversation, Lee Shin quietly touched the corner of his eye.

'Come to think of it, I used to get into a lot of fights because of these eyes.'

It was a pretty fun school life.

Because when a fight was picked, he could beat people up to his heart's content thanks to that pretext.

Was it because of the memory that had come up after a long time?

Grin-

'Shall I play a little after a long time?'

A smile like a cat that had found a mouse appeared on Lee Shin's lips.

◎ ◎ ◎

"Hah~"

Robin, who was idly killing time at the mercenary guild, yawned languidly and came down.

Then, he saw an unfamiliar face in front of the reception desk.

'It's no wonder this guy is annoyed.'

Most of the guys called mercenaries were guys who had rolled around here and there and had rough faces.

But the guy in front of him was different.

His clothes looked a little dirty, but his face and the skin revealed outside his clothes were clean.

It wasn't clearly visible because it was covered by a mask, but just from the revealed appearance, it seemed enough to be called a handsome man.

But what caught Robin's eye was not that.

"I certainly don't like it."

Robin thought, glaring at the abundant red hair that contrasted with his own bald head and the sassy-looking eyes that got on one's nerves.

'It seems some young master has come for fun.'

It wasn't that this didn't happen.

The mercenary guild makes a mercenary tag for anyone with money and skills.

It wasn't for nothing that it was said that half of the registered mercenaries were criminals.

'I'll have to show him the bitter taste of society.'

Robin, who had decided that, gestured for him to be moved to the training ground outside.

"Now, the test is simple. You pass if you get my recognition."

At those words, the gallery who had come to watch chuckled.

That was a kind of unwritten rule.

The original mercenary acceptance test was to land a blow on the examiner.

To change it like that was to officially say that he had no intention of letting this guy pass.

Whether he knew it or not, the red-haired guy nodded his head roughly.

Pajik-

'He's certainly a guy who will climb up if I don't step on him now. I'll show you the difference in level today.'

Robin beat his chest and shouted.

"Hey, come at me. I'll give you one move."

Pfft-

At those words, the red-haired guy raised the only revealed corner of his eye and said.

What was contained in the curved pupils was a clear sneer.

"You come, you bald musclehead."