The Soldier Mage 17 Chapter 17

The lobby of the building was pretty quiet. A few rugged looking people, likely adventurers, talked among themselves and some sat at a table drinking. Past the main entrance of the lobby, a small section that looked like a welcoming desk took Wilfred's attention.

Walking over, he then greeted the female clerk behind the counter.

"h.e.l.lo, aww, what are you doing here?"

Wilfred almost pouted, he hated being treated like a little kid but he resisted, people tended to be much more forthcoming when they thought he was only a kid.

"Hey there. So what is this place exactly?"

He had a good idea but it never hurt to get another opinion. Also, this way, he would get an unbiased opinion.

"This is the Adventurer's Guild silly! We help manage the requests for adventurers and a.s.sist in managing how to send out people. We're very proud of our 87% success rate! It's the highest in all three kingdoms. "

Ouch, that means 13 % of adventurer missions ends in failure and/or death?

"Oh, I see. But I mean...how does it all work?"

She tilted her head to one side and thought about it.

"Well, people come and register to be adventurers, usually cultivators but also mages rarely. Once everything is done and they're registered, they get an identification. When we get a request that they qualify for, we created a system to determine optimally what an adventurer is capable of doing at their current strength, we pa.s.s it on to them. After the request has been successfully completed, they report back and get paid after everything is verified."

"So anyone can register?"

She nodded enthusiastically.

"They must be at least 16 years old. Initially, the pay isn't great and there aren't a lot of requests for newcomers. Many quit after a few months due to it. It helps weed out those not very interested and only looking for an easy way to make money. "

"But how does the guild make money out of it, are you taking a commission?"

"Very smart of you! Yes, we take a cut from the person making a request and also from the adventurers when they complete the request. This way, we can say we're impartial, we want the highest success chance so that we make the most money. Still, fighting dangerous monsters isn't always easy. Even with simple fetch requests, adventurers can get ambushed by much stronger foes. Did you want to become an adventurer when you grow up?"

"I had thought of it a bit but I think joining the Mage Corps will be better. It's still early so I can't quite say yet. "

"Oh my, are you a student at the academy? Please wait here for a moment."

Before Wilfred could cut in and mention he was wondering if they could exchange some of his gold coins for smaller ones, since they probably have a bunch on hand to pay out the adventurers, she darted off in the back.

A short time later, she came back with a small girl in tow. Wilfred rolled his eyes and spoke before they reached him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't have time to tutor students for magic today, perhaps another time?"

"Oh, you misunderstand! This is the guild leader, Solana. She looks young but she's an elf, in reality she's closer to 60."

With the large top hat she was wearing, Wilfred had not noticed how her ears curved upwards and were pointy. Before he could apologize, a long staff suddenly whacked him on the head with moderate force, causing him to wince.

"Hmpft. Such disrespect towards your elders!"

Rubbing his head gently, Wilfred lifted his head to look at her once more. Her narrowed piercing red eyes were staring intently at him while her face was frowning. Her long blonde hair went down to about half her body and she looked no older than 6 or 7 years old. Her skin was very pale and her body frame was quite small, Wilfred could have lifted her without much trouble even while still only being 9 years old. Curious, Wilfred muttered an [a.n.a.lyze] very silently.

Solana Elharice [Lv. 26]

Health: 275/275

Mana: 4120/4120

Str: 18

Con: 53

Agi: 44

Dex: 46

Int: 120

Wil: 95

Wis: 102

Lck: 24

Skills & Spells: [Elf Magical Ability], ???

At that time, Wilfred wished he had managed to a.n.a.lyze the Headmaster so he could compare. Aside from his own, her stats were the highest he had seen so far in this world. However, he hadn't seen much yet. It appeared she was more of a mage herself and given she's an elf, she still likely has many years to get stronger.

This made Wilfred think about how humans compared to the other species in this world, was there any kind of balance or are humans on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of strength?

It also bothered Wilfred that he couldn't see her skills, perhaps it was due to the level difference between them? He recalled such a feature from a game he played once. While her stats were high, it didn't quite explain the huge jump in mana compared to his friends for example, Wilfred attributed it to the Elf racial ability. He was brought back from his thoughts when the Guildmaster spoke once more.

"I suppose you have enough talent...you could do yes, good find Lyone."

Solana left abruptly as she had come, her long hair dangling freely behind her. Visibly confused, Wilfred questioned the clerk, Lyone.

"What was that all about? I just wanted to know a bit more about the guild and to ask if i could exchange some of my coins for smaller ones."

"The Guildmaster was simply a.n.a.lyzing your potential and she thinks you'll have what it takes become a high ranked adventurer! It's amazing don't you think?"

"Uhh yeah sure, but what about my coins?"

"Oh, no problem, we can do that. We charge 5 % in fees however. If you were a guild member, we can also store your money here for you, free of charge."

Wilfred handed her 8 gold coins, getting back 2,500 copper coins and 710 silver ones.

"Thanks but I don't think I'll be joining, not yet at any rate."

Wilfred exited the building before any more unexpected surprises came his way. Events in this world seemed to be much more connected, perhaps it was due to his luck stat.

Seeing the sun starting to set, he decided to call it a day and headed home. The city of Drecos was almost a labyrinth, having slowly expanded on every side in a incoherent manner. Obviously, in medieval fantasy worlds, zoning laws are just about the last thing you worry about when death is just around the corner. As such, some streets suddenly became dead ends or abruptly ended, which made navigating the twists and turns such a nuisance.

It was in one such alleys of the city that Wilfred found himself in when he noticed a smaller boy being picked on by some bullies. The three of them had the child surrounded, couldn't have been much older than 7 or 8, and were proceeding to take their turns kicking him. Clenching his fists, Wilfred advanced towards their location unbeknownst to them.

Getting closer, he started to be able to make out their silhouette; an older boy with a bit of extra weight, a tall slim girl about his age...this all seemed eerily familiar. Remembering, Wilfred couldn't stop himself from muttering out loud.

"It's those f.u.c.king bullies from before."

Hearing him, they turned around, surprised that someone walked in on them.

"Hey, mind your own busi...Wilfred?"

The gang leader, the older chubby boy, paled slightly as he said Wilfred's name, recalling how the last incident ended. Wilfred reveled in the boy's fear.

"Still up to your same old s.h.i.+t huh?"

The boy nervously scratched the back of his head and moved off to the side slightly, ready to leave, his gang following him.

"We were just leaving, ain't that right guys?"

They nodded, shuffling towards one of the alleys that exited to the right.

Wilfred smiled and opened his arms wide.

"But it's been soooo long guys, won't you stay awhile and play?"

The color drained from their faces and they bolted for the alley as fast as they could. Wilfred however, was ready for them. Casting his [Wind Aura] and gained speed. They ran down the alley, nervously looking behind their shoulder but he was upon them in a few seconds and kicked the girl's legs, causing her to fall. Still running, he caught up to the other boy and elbowed him in the side of the head, making him falter and fall head first into the brick walls of the alley. The gang leader, for all his weight, was quite fast when it mattered and already had a good headway on Wilfred.

Wilfred stopped and used [Wind Blade], aimed at the bully's legs. The solid wind cleanly sliced the bully's left leg, missing the right one as it was currently up in the air from the running motion. The bully fell down, clutching his leg in extreme agony.

"AHHHH, I CAN'T FEEL MY LEG!"

Shaking with pain and wincing, he pressed his hands on his leg but not feeling anything under his knee, he brought them up to his face and saw them red and b.l.o.o.d.y. The shock from the pain and seeing his hands knocked him unconscious.

"I should just leave you here, you reap what you sow. But...you might bleed out and die."

Remembering his first aid training from the military, he ripped the boy's s.h.i.+rt into a makes.h.i.+ft tourniquet. Wilfred applied pressure and wound the bandage tightly on, stopping blood from leaving the wound. Satisfied with his work, Wilfred went back to where the child was being bullied but couldn't find him anymore. The girl that was part of the gang was also gone while the other boy remained crumpled on the ground, likely a concussion.

"Well, that should be the last time they bully people. Hope I didn't scare the kid too badly though, I wanted to check if he was alright."

The sky was now dark and Wilfred hurried on home, already many hours late. He experienced no guilt or regret for the events that had just transpired. It was not like he could have brought the bully to a police station and get him charged with anything. How many more children would they have kicked or worse, knocked unconscious like Wilfred was before he reincarnated into this body had they not been stopped?

His thoughts drifted to the actual fight or rather, when he violently punished the bullies. Now that he thought about it, he was almost as physically strong now as when he was a soldier. Obviously, the spells helped but he still had a lot of growing to do and would likely keep getting stronger. Soon, he reached home and had to stop thinking about all of this. After knocking, the door opened and he was caught in a warm embrace by his mother who ushered him inside, the whole family curious about his time at the academy.