Synthesis-type adventurers

Chapter 13, First Commission

The Rust Harbor Adventurers' Guild sits on the edge of the dock, its gray rock forming a dull fortress, with no trace of grandeur to be seen between the cracks in the stone.

Rainwater slid down the thick, sticky moss on the stone wall and fell into the muddy, foul-smelling pool of liquid at the entrance.

The salty smell of the sea, the deathly stench of rotten leather, and the sour sweat of men huddled together choked my throat and seeped straight into my lungs.

Rod pushed open the heavy oak door, the screeching sound of the dry hinges being crushed by the noise of the hall.

Hundreds of adventurers, dressed in tattered, mottled clothes and looking withered, crowded in front of a wooden frame covered with bounty posters.

The laborers argued fiercely over a few copper coins, their necks bulging, while swindlers whispered in the shadows, selling stacks of dubious "ruins blueprints."

Ivy La followed closely behind.

Her heavy, full-body steel armor pierced through the crowd, carving a narrow path through the throng.

Rod went straight to the registration counter.

Behind the wooden fence, a few clerks overhead were scraping and trimming their nails with a long, thin silver knife.

The clerk wore a guild badge with a quill pen emblem pinned to his chest.

This thing was insignificant in the guild, but in Rusty Harbor, it became the basis for his self-proclaimed nobility, representing that he was a low-level clerical staff member within the guild's structure—which usually meant that he had a higher social status than ordinary adventurers.

"Register, or submit a task?" The clerk didn't look away, but just blew on his fingernails.

"Register." Rhodes handed over two pre-filled parchment sheets. "Two-person team."

The clerk's cloudy eyes froze as they scanned the "occupation" column.

"Rhodes, a professional duelist... Ivira, a professional shield guard?" A sneer escaped his nostrils.

On this land atop ruins, professions are divided into three major systems:

Front Row: A class focused on absorbing damage, protecting teammates, and controlling the battlefield.

Output: Focused on generating damage, they are the main firepower of the team, with a wide variety of playstyles.

Support: A class focused on healing, buffs, debuffs, and providing tactical support; the brain and lubricant of the team.

The Shieldbearer is the most traditional tank class, proficient in shield blocking and aggro attraction, and is the most reliable bulwark of the team.

The duelists that Rhodes awakened were agile warriors who used one-handed swords or rapiers, and their numbers were so great that they could almost be described as "commonplace".

The clerk raised his eyelids, his gaze lingering briefly on the heavy iron coffin over the fence before turning to look at Rhodes' leather armor—the old clothes were clean, but there was no trace of magical aura about them.

"Listen, newbie." The clerk pointed his silver knife at the heavy armor. "This is the Adventurers' Guild, not a junkyard. Where did you salvage this tin can suit? If it fell into the water, it probably wouldn't even make a ripple before sinking to the bottom."

A burst of laughter erupted from the queue of adventurers behind them.

A muffled snort came from beneath the helmet, her iron gauntlets tightening slightly, her knuckles making a soft metallic sound as she pinched the edge of the tower shield.

In the past, such an insult to the honor of knights would have been enough to prompt her to challenge him to a duel.

Rod's expression remained unchanged.

If he and Avira hadn't previously only been considered support staff for the Anvil Adventurer's Guild and hadn't formally registered their adventurer status with the Adventurers' Guild, they wouldn't have had to deal with the clerk's unpleasant attitude.

These snobs are everywhere, and I've dealt with even more troublesome scumbags. Who do you think you are?

"Equipment appearance is not subject to guild review." Rhodes cleared his throat, intentionally correcting, "According to Article 7 of Volume 3 of the Guild Charter, anyone who passes the spiritual resonance of the 'Echo of Souls' and pays the registration fee in full should receive the Black Iron Adventurer's badge. Perhaps you'd like to change the rules for the gentlemen at Ulduar Headquarters?"

The clerk's mocking smile froze on his face.

He never expected that this seemingly poor young man could recite the guild's bylaws.

In Lapis Lazuli, most of the registrants are blind people who can't even recognize their own names.

"...Go over there and put your fingerprints on." The clerk's face darkened as he pulled out a piece of cratered, cracked crystal. "Hurry up, the people behind you are waiting."

Rhodes pressed his palm against the surface of the crystal, and a faint blue light shone from within, echoing with a spiritual feedback of swiftness and skill.

Although the luster is dim, it is enough to meet the minimum requirements for the "Duelist" profession.

When it was Avira's turn, the crystal took on a dull, earthy yellow luster.

The light is not strong, but it is more stable.

"Your certificates."

Two minutes later, two rough, black iron nameplates were tossed onto the counter.

Between the engravings of the crossed swords are the names and job classes of the two people.

[Rhodes - Iron Rank - Duelist]

[Avira - Iron Rank - Shield Guard]

"Thanks." Rhodes put away the nameplate and casually pointed to the wooden board behind the counter covered with low-level quests. "Now that I've registered, I'll take on a job. I'll choose the 'Clear the Giant Crocodiles' quest in the 7th District Sewers."

This is already one of the simplest and shortest missions among the Iron-level missions, as it doesn't even require leaving Rust Harbor, thus saving a lot of supply costs.

Moreover, Rhodes mainly wanted to use this opportunity to test his newly acquired combat skills.

"Sector 7? Forget the miasma there could rot your brains, this bounty-hunting beast has devoured at least three Black Iron squads." The clerk's eyes widened, looking at him like he was a madman. "And the bounty is only five trade silver ingots, half an Orim. That probably wouldn't even cover the cost of repairing your pile of scrap metal."

You're actually quite nice; you were just mocking us, and now you're reminding us to be careful.

"Then there's no need for you to trouble yourself." Rod tore off the greasy sheet of paper. "We prefer a working environment where we won't be disturbed by outsiders."

……

The entrance to District 7 is huddled at the very bottom of the slum.

Pushing open the rusted iron fence, a stench so strong it was almost visible to the naked eye hit you.

Rotten flesh, excrement, and metallurgical waste fermented in the stagnant water, producing foul gas.

Avira paused in her steps.

Even through the steel armor, the stench of decay still clung to my nose, seeping in everywhere.

"Get used to it," Rod's voice echoed between the empty pipe walls. "It's better than the smell of poverty."

The two waded through the water.

The sewage was knee-deep, and colorful oil stains and garbage floated in the dark areas.

The walls were covered with glowing fungi, casting a pale green glow.

Rhodes walked slightly behind Avira, his longsword held horizontally, his [Analysis Vision] constantly scanning for any possible movement beneath the water's surface.

This area was so quiet that there wasn't even a squeaking of rats; the only sound was the sticky noise of flowing sewage.

There must be something strange about it.

"Watch your left," Rod whispered. "The water's ripples are messed up; there might be something there..."

Before the words were even finished, the once calm water surface suddenly burst open.

A bloody mouth full of sharp teeth burst forth from the water, its stench nauseating.

The beast charged straight at Avira, revealing a mass of swirling scales and flesh.

It was a five-meter-long mutated monster, covered with hard scales beneath thick, greasy moss, its dark yellow vertical pupils filled only with primal killing instincts.

This is a monster that no ordinary Iron-level adventurer could handle.

The speed was too fast and the distance too close; there was simply no time to swing the sword.

Avira exerted her strength entirely on instinct.

She lowered her shoulders, raised her shield, and pressed her weight into the mud... The [Guardian Knight] attribute on her suddenly lit up, and a faint force field, visible only to Rhodes, covered the surface of her shield.

"--when!"

A loud bang caused the dust and water stains accumulated on the vaulted ceiling to fall down in a rush.

Those sharp teeth, capable of crushing cow bones, gripped the edge of the tower shield and Ivira's left shoulder armor.

The imagined sound of flesh tearing apart did not occur; instead, only the harsh sound of metal scraping against metal filled the air.

The mocked "iron coffin" now reveals its true power.

Sparks flew from the several-centimeter-thick iron armor, leaving two deep dents, but it was not bitten through.

Deep within the armor, the [Kinetic Energy Absorption] attribute flashed with a ghostly light.

The powerful impact failed to knock Avira over; the force that shattered her organs was gradually dissipated, turning into the scorching heat of metal.

Avira let out a muffled groan, her feet carving two deep furrows in the mud. She stood rooted to the spot, like an iron nail driven into the mud.

The crocodile hadn't expected to bite into a metal plate, breaking two teeth and momentarily freezing its movements.

At that moment, Rhodes, who had been lying in wait to the side and behind, launched his attack.

The [Swift Steps] skill was activated, and his figure suddenly blurred, becoming a gray afterimage that swept across the wall.

Rod leaped three meters in one stride, flashing to the exposed belly of the beast.

[Analysis of Field of View] Fully open, amidst the cluttered white shadows, a gray mark comes into view.

[Weakness - Lower Abdominal Soft Tissue (Gray Inferior Quality)]: The abdomen is soft and without scales.

Rhodes' eyes were icy, and his longsword emitted a cold glint. The [Tearing Edge] on the blade seemed to sense the blood energy and emanated a chilling aura.

To pierce.

The sword pierced into that palm-sized piece of soft flesh, with no resistance between the skin and flesh, and went all the way to the hilt.

Upward flick, twist.

With a flick of his wrist, Rhodes churned the blade between the giant crocodile's internal organs, instantly slicing its heart and lungs into mincemeat.

"hiss--!"

The giant crocodile roared in despair, its heavy body convulsing wildly, its tail slapping the water's surface and splashing up a cloud of dirty water.

But all of this was destined to be in vain.

Its vitality rapidly dissipated with the gushing dark red blood.

A few seconds later, the pair of dark yellow vertical pupils lost their luster, and the broad, long body lay paralyzed in the sewage, turning into a lifeless mountain of flesh.

The battle ended quickly, but it was far from easy.

The sewage turned red and black, and a strong stench of blood mixed with malodor filled the nostrils.

Exhausted, Avira leaned against the wet wall, her chest rising and falling slightly, and puffs of white mist spewed out from the gaps in her visor.

She looked down at her left shoulder armor.

Two deep grooves were left on the surface of the armor, with deep tooth marks, and the steel was bitten and deformed.

If it were that old, flashy but impractical knight's chainmail... her left arm would probably be inside a beast's belly by now.

Avira lifted the heavy tower shield and stared at the mottled white mark on its surface. For the first time, she found the crude lump of iron quite pleasing to the eye.

"Can you still move?"

Rhodes stepped on the crocodile carcass and used a rag to wipe the blood and grease off his sword.

"...Yes, I'm not injured." Avira propped herself up, her slightly tired voice filled with genuine conviction. "This level of impact, yet you only felt a slight tremor...this armor is indeed very strong."

"That's right."

Rhodes sheathed his sword and turned around to examine the pile of dead flesh.

In his eyes, the corpses were not just chunks of flesh, but also a pile of materials and terms waiting to be dismantled.

Crocodile teeth can be peeled to extract strong or tearing flesh, the skin can be cut into armor plates, and even this pile of rotten flesh can be sold to black market vendors.

As long as the source of the goods is not mentioned, driven by profit, there will always be greedy people who dare to swallow them.

"The trial is over." Rhodes kicked the crocodile's head, a smile playing on his lips, his eyes shining brightly in the darkness. "It seems we not only survived, but we thrived."

You're so strong, why were you willing to endure humiliation under a scumbag like Kell von Hohenheim before?

Avira hesitated for a moment, then swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and gave a silent, self-deprecating laugh.

Aren't I the same way?

Everyone has their own secrets or unspeakable difficulties.

Rhodes was like that, but he himself was even worse off, burdened with a fabricated charge that brought shame upon the Griffin name.

Rod, of course, had no idea of ​​Avira's complicated thoughts.

"Clean it up and cut off the most valuable part. This amount of money isn't even enough to fill a tooth gap, but it's an admission ticket."

Rod strode toward the exit.

Having acquired a certain level of self-protection capability, the next step is to take on the truly large orders.