Hell Mode: Volume 6, page 27
Helmios’s servants made sure to have dinner prepared for Allen and his friends every time they finished their third day in the dungeon. It had become something of a tradition for them to eat with Helmios and Sacred.
“Well, since you’ve come all the way here, why don’t you join us for dinner?” The guild employee nodded at Helmios’s invitation and returned to his seat.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next day, Allen and the Gamers brought all of the items and equipment they had found during their three-day hunting expedition to the Adventurer’s Guild. The room they were escorted to for the negotiations was even more exquisite than the one he was used to.
Since starting their iron golem farming, the party’s war chest had continued to grow, and they now possessed over a million gold coins. Allen had even managed to buy up all the Rank A magic stones on the market thanks to the Gold Beans and their ability to ward off monsters, but their balance continuously increased even despite that.
Thinking back on it, when Viscount Granvelle was still a baron, the taxes he paid to the Kingdom of Ratash totaled around twenty or thirty thousand gold coins per year. Allen could currently afford to cover forty to fifty years’ worth of those tax payments in a single transaction.
Once the sale was finished, the group was brought to the local guildmaster general’s office, located on the top floor of the building. This was the same room Allen always came to in order to share information on the Rank S dungeon with the local guildmaster general once their sales were complete. Upon the door opening, Helmios turned to look at them as they entered.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Allen apologized. Just as he finished speaking, he noticed that Admiral Garara and Prince Zeu were also in the room. Even the golem pilots and the Ten Heroic Beasts were present, the latter of which had been allowed to stay in the dungeon thanks to the fact that their praises were still being sung in Albahal for having cleared the Rank S dungeon. Prince Zeu had also reported to the Beast King that the Ten Heroic Beasts had assisted him in the completion of his trial.
“Haven’t seen ye in a while, Allen.” Admiral Garara waved his hand, gesturing for Allen to come sit next to him. The rest of the dwarves hurriedly found their seats.
“You and Zeu were also invited, I see.”
“I s’pose we’re all here, then.”
As soon as Garara finished speaking, all eyes shifted to the door in the back of the room. When it opened, an elderly gentleman—the guildmaster general—stepped through, fixing his sharp gaze on each of the assembled members in turn. Judging by the way he looked at everyone, it was clear that he was no ordinary man.
So this is the head of the Adventurer’s Guild, huh? I wonder what brings him all the way out here from Giamut.
Just like religious sects and guilds that created magic tools, the Adventurer’s Guild was one of many massive organizations that spread all across the globe. It was nearly on par with the Elmea Church in terms of global influence. The head office was located in the Empire of Giamut, but there were also major offices in national capitals, branch offices in large domains and cities, and satellite offices in certain villages. Additional locations had even been set up in generally insular countries such as Rohzenheim, where the Church still had not managed to make inroads.
The main reason the Adventurer’s Guild had come to be accepted throughout the world was thanks to the knowledge they had collected over the past thousand-plus years of slaying the monsters that ran rampant throughout the world. Stories told of countries that expelled the Guild falling to ruin at the hands of these monsters. In a sense, this meant that the various guildmaster generals throughout the ages held more power than some kings. Even the Giamutan emperor of a thousand years ago, known to all as the Dreadful Emperor, had been unable to hold the Guild back.
Giamut, which was in the process of trying to unify the entire Central Continent at that time, had attempted to make the Adventurer’s Guild a part of the empire in a ploy to gain access to its wealth of information about slaying monsters. The Adventurer’s Guild had not been keen on this idea, however, and moved its head office out of Giamut, an action which took several hundred years to reverse. After several breakups within Giamut itself and multiple incursions by the Demon Lord Army, the Adventurer’s Guild and Giamut had finally reached the arrangement they were currently in.
Simultaneously with the Adventurer’s Guild, the Elmea Church had also relocated its headquarters from Giamut. However, the Church never returned, instead choosing to found and reside in its own country on the Southeast Continent, the Holy Land of Elmahl. Only a branch of the Church now remained in Giamut.
“Oh, look. It’s Carlova.” Krena was the first to speak, and Allen followed her gaze to see what she was looking at. Behind the guildmaster general was Carlova, their teacher back at the Academy, standing in the doorway next to Popokka, the head of the local Adventurer’s Guild.
“It looks like everyone’s here now,” the elderly man started. “I apologize for calling you all here on such short notice. My name is Makkaron and I am the guildmaster general of the Adventurer’s Guild.”
Allen watched the man closely as he inspected the faces of each of the members gathered in the room, bringing memories of his time at the Academy to his mind.
“Welcome, Makkaron. May I ask what brings you here today?” Helmios asked with a warm smile.
Leave it to the Hero to already be acquainted with such influential people.
Makkaron, however, did not return his smile, maintaining a cool, professional look on his face. “Ah, Helmios. It’s been quite some time since we last met, hasn’t it? I’ve heard that you successfully cleared the Rank S dungeon. Obviously, the Adventurer’s Guild must react to such news.”
How weird. News must travel pretty fast considering that it’s only been ten days since we did that. Maybe he already had plans to come here?
It took several days to get from Giamut to Baukis when traveling by a magic airship. Even if the news from the local Rank S dungeon branch had reached the head office by way of magic tools on the very same day that it happened, taking into account the time required to make preparations to travel abroad, he would have needed to make the decision to come within two, maybe three days at most.
“Now then, Beast Prince Zeu,” Makkaron said, turning his attention to the Beast Prince. “I’m told you were the leader of the group that cleared the Rank S dungeon. Is that correct?”
“I was the leader, yes. Is that important?”
“Hmm, I see. Then you will be certified as a Rank S adventurer.”
After being momentarily dumbstruck by this announcement, everyone in the room shouted in a mixture of excitement and surprise.
“Rank S?!”
Wow, didn’t they say that there are only a few Rank S adventurers out there? Even the Hero, Helmios, is only Rank A.
Adventurers registered with the Adventurer’s Guild were certified according to their skills and achievements. Rank A was generally the highest rank granted, but in cases so rare they were practically unheard-of, an adventurer would be certified as Rank S. Even the great Hero Helmios, who fought the Demon Lord Army head-on and gave hope to mankind, was Rank A.
“That’s correct. The Adventurer’s Guild has determined that anyone who can clear the Rank S dungeon deserves to be certified as a Rank S adventurer. I came all the way here as the guildmaster general is the only one who can give such a certification.”
Given how infrequently it happened, it made sense that the guildmaster general was the only person in the world who could bestow Rank S upon an adventurer. That certainly justified his traveling all the way here from Baukis.
“In that case, I should not be the one certified,” Zeu responded in a crisp, formal tone. “All I did was assume the role of leader over the four parties. Rank S should be bestowed upon the person who actually led the battle.”
“Oh? And who would that be?” Makkaron looked around the room.
“Master Allen.”
“Master Allen? The black-haired boy over there?” The guildmaster general, who had apparently already heard about him, fixed his gaze on Allen.
“He recently celebrated his coming-of-age ceremony.” The implication behind Prince Zeu’s words was that Allen should not be treated as a child.
“I see, I see. So the rest of you gathered here would say the same as well? Allen was the greatest contributor to your success in the Rank S dungeon?”
“That’s correct,” everyone in the room responded in unison.
Makkaron nodded and fixed his steely gaze on Allen. “I see. Popokka, is this the same person you told me about? The one who suggested the creation of a group for providing information to adventurers?”
“Yes,” Popokka replied in a much softer tone than he usually spoke with, likely because he was now addressing the guildmaster general. “And that’s not all. For the past half a year or so, Allen has been the focus of quite a number of occurrences here at the Rank S dungeon.”
Allen shook his head. “No, not at all. Helmios here was the one who provided the information. All I did was help.”
“Does he speak the truth, Helmios?”
“No, I just let him use my name,” Helmios answered with a smirk.
Hmph, so it seems like they’re pretty intent on making me a Rank S adventurer. In fact, seeing as they even dragged Carlova along, it seems clear that they were focused on me from the start.
As Allen’s head teacher from the Academy had been brought along, it was evident to him that Makkaron knew from the very beginning who they would certify as a Rank S adventurer.
“Well then, it seems like Allen here is the most suitable to be certified as Rank S. Any thoughts, Admiral Garara?”
“He saved all our butts.” The admiral’s response, which Dogora nodded along to, was short and to the point.
“I see.”
Just ten days prior, when all the people had gathered to catch a glimpse of the four parties daring to challenge the final floor boss, all eyes were on Helmios, Garara, and Zeu. No one had paid Allen any mind. Though Dogora had been frustrated at the turn of events, Dverg had tried to reassure him, saying, “When people find themselves in need of a hero, they eventually tend to find one.” This seemed to vindicate Dogora, as things had worked themselves out. Until Allen spoke up again, at least.
“Can an adventurer reject the certification?”
“What?!” everyone in the room cried out in surprise.
“You’re saying that you don’t want to be a Rank S adventurer? May I ask why?”
Being classified as a Rank S adventurer was practically on par with a once-in-a-lifetime miracle coming to pass, so obviously Makkaron was interested in hearing his explanation. However, his tone of voice betrayed that he was not particularly surprised.
“Frankly, I’m just not interested. I’d rather not gain unwanted attention due to such an unnecessary title.”
Just how crazy has the world gotten that they’re trying to make me a Rank S adventurer, a designation that even the great Hero Helmios hasn’t been granted, in the midst of a war for survival against the Demon Lord Army?
Frankly speaking, Allen saw no benefits to becoming a Rank S adventurer.
“Hm, you’re still quite young, Allen. While the title may carry with it some responsibilities, I’d hardly say that it’s useless.”
“What do you mean?”
“Twenty years ago, I was rejected out of disinterest when I tried to certify another as a Rank S adventurer. However, after giving me an opportunity to explain, they changed their mind.” It was pretty clear that Makkaron had already anticipated that Allen would turn him down.
“Is being known as a Rank S adventurer really that valuable?”
“It certainly is. Could I tell you a little bit about what Rank S adventurers are?” Makkaron didn’t wait for Allen’s response before continuing. “Generally speaking, Rank S is the rank granted to those whose skills and achievements are greater than a Rank A’s. This is why it’s so uncommon for someone to be certified as such. Believe it or not, only one person is certified as Rank S every few decades.”
I’m guessing my achievements are having cleared the Rank S dungeon and providing information to the Adventurer’s Guild. But how useful is the system if they’re only granting it to one person every couple decades?
“That’s not a whole lot of people, then. How many are there alive with the rank?”
“I believe there are two. Three, should you accept it.”
“You believe?”
“Rank S adventurers tend to be rather strong-willed and do as they please. I haven’t seen Bask, an adventurer I certified as Rank S twenty years ago, in at least a decade or so.”
The other Rank S adventurer had been certified multiple decades ago, so if they were even still alive was uncertain.
“Bask?”
It sounds like even the Adventurer’s Guild doesn’t know where he is. Or rather, they’re comfortable letting him run around as he pleases. But still, it’s odd that I’ve never heard about a Rank S adventurer considering the dire times we’re in with the Demon Lord Army trying to destroy us all.
At present, the world was under continuous assault at the hands of the Demon Lord Army. If there was an adventurer out there with skills and achievements so great that they had been named a Rank S, now was certainly the time to make use of them and further their triumphs.
If this had all happened twenty years ago, that would mean it was before Helmios had even entered the picture. Allen and his friends had learned about him, as well as all the other heroes and generals who had fought against the Demon Lord Army, in their Demon Lord history class back at the Academy, but this was the first time he had ever heard of anyone named Bask.
“You know, Helmios has fought against the Demon Lord Army and saved humanity on countless occasions,” Rosetta noted. “Why doesn’t that count as an achievement worthy of being granted Rank S?”
Makkaron nodded in response. “What you say is certainly true.”
“I guess it’s for the better. If Helmios up and disappeared for a decade, the world would fall to ruin.” Everyone got a good laugh at Rosetta’s statement, which seemed to reduce the tension that had built up since Allen’s announcement that he would not accept the certification.
“Shall I tell you about the rights granted to a Rank S adventurer, then?” Makkaron asked once the laughter had died down.
“Rights? You mean there are privileges granted to adventurers?”
Although adventurers had the backing of the Adventurer’s Guild, they were basically freelancers who stayed out of politics and religion; the concept of there being rights and privileges associated with being one had never even occurred to Allen. The only real advantage that came with it was that countries—not including Rohzenheim and a few others—eased immigration procedures as it would be beneficial for them to have skilled adventurers working within their borders.
“Rank S adventurers, you see, are granted the same authority as a deputy guildmaster general.”
The room was filled with gasps of surprise. People exchanged glances and repeated his words in hushed tones to one another.
Being on par with a deputy guildmaster general would grant a status even higher than a managing guildmaster. That’s quite impressive indeed.
The Adventurer’s Guild was structured like a pyramid, with Makkaron sitting at the very top.
Adventurer’s Guild Structure
Guildmaster General: The role filled by Makkaron.
Deputy Guildmaster General: Assistant to the guildmaster general. Only a handful of people hold this title.
Managing Guildmaster: The top member who oversees all of the Adventurer’s Guilds in a given country. Even large countries only have one. They are broken up into groups, each of which reports to a deputy guildmaster general.
Deputy Managing Guildmaster: Assistants to the managing guildmaster. Each managing guildmaster has several that report to them.
Guildmaster: The head of an Adventurer’s Guild founded in any given domain, large city, dungeon, etc. This is the role held by Popokka and Carlova.
Chief: The head of an Adventurer’s Guild satellite office. Only one person is assigned to a village or other place which does not have a Guild.
In that respect, Carlova may seem like something of a meathead, but he’s actually got a pretty impressive resume.
Allen could not help but take a slight jab at his former teacher.
“If you become a Rank S adventurer, you will be granted the authority to provide guidance to each country’s managing guildmaster and other guildmasters as needed. This is just an off-the-cuff estimation and I can’t speak for all cases, but your influence in foreign countries should be greater than your current status as the grand strategist of Rohzenheim considering that they don’t have much in the way of diplomatic relations with other countries.”
Makkaron spoke about the title given to Allen by Rohzenheim as if it were obvious that he already knew about it.
Well, he’s got a point. I picked up on that too. My title in Rohzenheim only holds any meaning to countries that have diplomatic relations with Rohzenheim and larger nations that hold it in high esteem.
The only countries Rohzenheim maintained diplomatic relations with were Ratash and a few others. His title of grand strategist would only be met with confused stares from royalty belonging to countries that did not have any such relations.
The only reason I even asked the queen of Rohzenheim to grant me a court rank was to prevent Ratash from trying to place me in their court. I never actually intended to use it.
“In other words, you’re trying to tell me that it would be most advantageous for me to be a Rank S adventurer if I intended to travel around the world without being bothered?”
“That is correct. To a certain extent, a Rank S adventurer is the most unencumbered person in this world.” Makkaron fixed his gaze on Allen as he spoke.
Hmm. I gotta admit, that’s not too bad of a deal. To be honest, it sounds almost like a system created specifically for adventurers like me, though I guess it only makes sense that the Adventurer’s Guild of all places would do that.
“Well, since you’ve come all the way here, why don’t you join us for dinner?” The guild employee nodded at Helmios’s invitation and returned to his seat.
＊ ＊ ＊
The next day, Allen and the Gamers brought all of the items and equipment they had found during their three-day hunting expedition to the Adventurer’s Guild. The room they were escorted to for the negotiations was even more exquisite than the one he was used to.
Since starting their iron golem farming, the party’s war chest had continued to grow, and they now possessed over a million gold coins. Allen had even managed to buy up all the Rank A magic stones on the market thanks to the Gold Beans and their ability to ward off monsters, but their balance continuously increased even despite that.
Thinking back on it, when Viscount Granvelle was still a baron, the taxes he paid to the Kingdom of Ratash totaled around twenty or thirty thousand gold coins per year. Allen could currently afford to cover forty to fifty years’ worth of those tax payments in a single transaction.
Once the sale was finished, the group was brought to the local guildmaster general’s office, located on the top floor of the building. This was the same room Allen always came to in order to share information on the Rank S dungeon with the local guildmaster general once their sales were complete. Upon the door opening, Helmios turned to look at them as they entered.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Allen apologized. Just as he finished speaking, he noticed that Admiral Garara and Prince Zeu were also in the room. Even the golem pilots and the Ten Heroic Beasts were present, the latter of which had been allowed to stay in the dungeon thanks to the fact that their praises were still being sung in Albahal for having cleared the Rank S dungeon. Prince Zeu had also reported to the Beast King that the Ten Heroic Beasts had assisted him in the completion of his trial.
“Haven’t seen ye in a while, Allen.” Admiral Garara waved his hand, gesturing for Allen to come sit next to him. The rest of the dwarves hurriedly found their seats.
“You and Zeu were also invited, I see.”
“I s’pose we’re all here, then.”
As soon as Garara finished speaking, all eyes shifted to the door in the back of the room. When it opened, an elderly gentleman—the guildmaster general—stepped through, fixing his sharp gaze on each of the assembled members in turn. Judging by the way he looked at everyone, it was clear that he was no ordinary man.
So this is the head of the Adventurer’s Guild, huh? I wonder what brings him all the way out here from Giamut.
Just like religious sects and guilds that created magic tools, the Adventurer’s Guild was one of many massive organizations that spread all across the globe. It was nearly on par with the Elmea Church in terms of global influence. The head office was located in the Empire of Giamut, but there were also major offices in national capitals, branch offices in large domains and cities, and satellite offices in certain villages. Additional locations had even been set up in generally insular countries such as Rohzenheim, where the Church still had not managed to make inroads.
The main reason the Adventurer’s Guild had come to be accepted throughout the world was thanks to the knowledge they had collected over the past thousand-plus years of slaying the monsters that ran rampant throughout the world. Stories told of countries that expelled the Guild falling to ruin at the hands of these monsters. In a sense, this meant that the various guildmaster generals throughout the ages held more power than some kings. Even the Giamutan emperor of a thousand years ago, known to all as the Dreadful Emperor, had been unable to hold the Guild back.
Giamut, which was in the process of trying to unify the entire Central Continent at that time, had attempted to make the Adventurer’s Guild a part of the empire in a ploy to gain access to its wealth of information about slaying monsters. The Adventurer’s Guild had not been keen on this idea, however, and moved its head office out of Giamut, an action which took several hundred years to reverse. After several breakups within Giamut itself and multiple incursions by the Demon Lord Army, the Adventurer’s Guild and Giamut had finally reached the arrangement they were currently in.
Simultaneously with the Adventurer’s Guild, the Elmea Church had also relocated its headquarters from Giamut. However, the Church never returned, instead choosing to found and reside in its own country on the Southeast Continent, the Holy Land of Elmahl. Only a branch of the Church now remained in Giamut.
“Oh, look. It’s Carlova.” Krena was the first to speak, and Allen followed her gaze to see what she was looking at. Behind the guildmaster general was Carlova, their teacher back at the Academy, standing in the doorway next to Popokka, the head of the local Adventurer’s Guild.
“It looks like everyone’s here now,” the elderly man started. “I apologize for calling you all here on such short notice. My name is Makkaron and I am the guildmaster general of the Adventurer’s Guild.”
Allen watched the man closely as he inspected the faces of each of the members gathered in the room, bringing memories of his time at the Academy to his mind.
“Welcome, Makkaron. May I ask what brings you here today?” Helmios asked with a warm smile.
Leave it to the Hero to already be acquainted with such influential people.
Makkaron, however, did not return his smile, maintaining a cool, professional look on his face. “Ah, Helmios. It’s been quite some time since we last met, hasn’t it? I’ve heard that you successfully cleared the Rank S dungeon. Obviously, the Adventurer’s Guild must react to such news.”
How weird. News must travel pretty fast considering that it’s only been ten days since we did that. Maybe he already had plans to come here?
It took several days to get from Giamut to Baukis when traveling by a magic airship. Even if the news from the local Rank S dungeon branch had reached the head office by way of magic tools on the very same day that it happened, taking into account the time required to make preparations to travel abroad, he would have needed to make the decision to come within two, maybe three days at most.
“Now then, Beast Prince Zeu,” Makkaron said, turning his attention to the Beast Prince. “I’m told you were the leader of the group that cleared the Rank S dungeon. Is that correct?”
“I was the leader, yes. Is that important?”
“Hmm, I see. Then you will be certified as a Rank S adventurer.”
After being momentarily dumbstruck by this announcement, everyone in the room shouted in a mixture of excitement and surprise.
“Rank S?!”
Wow, didn’t they say that there are only a few Rank S adventurers out there? Even the Hero, Helmios, is only Rank A.
Adventurers registered with the Adventurer’s Guild were certified according to their skills and achievements. Rank A was generally the highest rank granted, but in cases so rare they were practically unheard-of, an adventurer would be certified as Rank S. Even the great Hero Helmios, who fought the Demon Lord Army head-on and gave hope to mankind, was Rank A.
“That’s correct. The Adventurer’s Guild has determined that anyone who can clear the Rank S dungeon deserves to be certified as a Rank S adventurer. I came all the way here as the guildmaster general is the only one who can give such a certification.”
Given how infrequently it happened, it made sense that the guildmaster general was the only person in the world who could bestow Rank S upon an adventurer. That certainly justified his traveling all the way here from Baukis.
“In that case, I should not be the one certified,” Zeu responded in a crisp, formal tone. “All I did was assume the role of leader over the four parties. Rank S should be bestowed upon the person who actually led the battle.”
“Oh? And who would that be?” Makkaron looked around the room.
“Master Allen.”
“Master Allen? The black-haired boy over there?” The guildmaster general, who had apparently already heard about him, fixed his gaze on Allen.
“He recently celebrated his coming-of-age ceremony.” The implication behind Prince Zeu’s words was that Allen should not be treated as a child.
“I see, I see. So the rest of you gathered here would say the same as well? Allen was the greatest contributor to your success in the Rank S dungeon?”
“That’s correct,” everyone in the room responded in unison.
Makkaron nodded and fixed his steely gaze on Allen. “I see. Popokka, is this the same person you told me about? The one who suggested the creation of a group for providing information to adventurers?”
“Yes,” Popokka replied in a much softer tone than he usually spoke with, likely because he was now addressing the guildmaster general. “And that’s not all. For the past half a year or so, Allen has been the focus of quite a number of occurrences here at the Rank S dungeon.”
Allen shook his head. “No, not at all. Helmios here was the one who provided the information. All I did was help.”
“Does he speak the truth, Helmios?”
“No, I just let him use my name,” Helmios answered with a smirk.
Hmph, so it seems like they’re pretty intent on making me a Rank S adventurer. In fact, seeing as they even dragged Carlova along, it seems clear that they were focused on me from the start.
As Allen’s head teacher from the Academy had been brought along, it was evident to him that Makkaron knew from the very beginning who they would certify as a Rank S adventurer.
“Well then, it seems like Allen here is the most suitable to be certified as Rank S. Any thoughts, Admiral Garara?”
“He saved all our butts.” The admiral’s response, which Dogora nodded along to, was short and to the point.
“I see.”
Just ten days prior, when all the people had gathered to catch a glimpse of the four parties daring to challenge the final floor boss, all eyes were on Helmios, Garara, and Zeu. No one had paid Allen any mind. Though Dogora had been frustrated at the turn of events, Dverg had tried to reassure him, saying, “When people find themselves in need of a hero, they eventually tend to find one.” This seemed to vindicate Dogora, as things had worked themselves out. Until Allen spoke up again, at least.
“Can an adventurer reject the certification?”
“What?!” everyone in the room cried out in surprise.
“You’re saying that you don’t want to be a Rank S adventurer? May I ask why?”
Being classified as a Rank S adventurer was practically on par with a once-in-a-lifetime miracle coming to pass, so obviously Makkaron was interested in hearing his explanation. However, his tone of voice betrayed that he was not particularly surprised.
“Frankly, I’m just not interested. I’d rather not gain unwanted attention due to such an unnecessary title.”
Just how crazy has the world gotten that they’re trying to make me a Rank S adventurer, a designation that even the great Hero Helmios hasn’t been granted, in the midst of a war for survival against the Demon Lord Army?
Frankly speaking, Allen saw no benefits to becoming a Rank S adventurer.
“Hm, you’re still quite young, Allen. While the title may carry with it some responsibilities, I’d hardly say that it’s useless.”
“What do you mean?”
“Twenty years ago, I was rejected out of disinterest when I tried to certify another as a Rank S adventurer. However, after giving me an opportunity to explain, they changed their mind.” It was pretty clear that Makkaron had already anticipated that Allen would turn him down.
“Is being known as a Rank S adventurer really that valuable?”
“It certainly is. Could I tell you a little bit about what Rank S adventurers are?” Makkaron didn’t wait for Allen’s response before continuing. “Generally speaking, Rank S is the rank granted to those whose skills and achievements are greater than a Rank A’s. This is why it’s so uncommon for someone to be certified as such. Believe it or not, only one person is certified as Rank S every few decades.”
I’m guessing my achievements are having cleared the Rank S dungeon and providing information to the Adventurer’s Guild. But how useful is the system if they’re only granting it to one person every couple decades?
“That’s not a whole lot of people, then. How many are there alive with the rank?”
“I believe there are two. Three, should you accept it.”
“You believe?”
“Rank S adventurers tend to be rather strong-willed and do as they please. I haven’t seen Bask, an adventurer I certified as Rank S twenty years ago, in at least a decade or so.”
The other Rank S adventurer had been certified multiple decades ago, so if they were even still alive was uncertain.
“Bask?”
It sounds like even the Adventurer’s Guild doesn’t know where he is. Or rather, they’re comfortable letting him run around as he pleases. But still, it’s odd that I’ve never heard about a Rank S adventurer considering the dire times we’re in with the Demon Lord Army trying to destroy us all.
At present, the world was under continuous assault at the hands of the Demon Lord Army. If there was an adventurer out there with skills and achievements so great that they had been named a Rank S, now was certainly the time to make use of them and further their triumphs.
If this had all happened twenty years ago, that would mean it was before Helmios had even entered the picture. Allen and his friends had learned about him, as well as all the other heroes and generals who had fought against the Demon Lord Army, in their Demon Lord history class back at the Academy, but this was the first time he had ever heard of anyone named Bask.
“You know, Helmios has fought against the Demon Lord Army and saved humanity on countless occasions,” Rosetta noted. “Why doesn’t that count as an achievement worthy of being granted Rank S?”
Makkaron nodded in response. “What you say is certainly true.”
“I guess it’s for the better. If Helmios up and disappeared for a decade, the world would fall to ruin.” Everyone got a good laugh at Rosetta’s statement, which seemed to reduce the tension that had built up since Allen’s announcement that he would not accept the certification.
“Shall I tell you about the rights granted to a Rank S adventurer, then?” Makkaron asked once the laughter had died down.
“Rights? You mean there are privileges granted to adventurers?”
Although adventurers had the backing of the Adventurer’s Guild, they were basically freelancers who stayed out of politics and religion; the concept of there being rights and privileges associated with being one had never even occurred to Allen. The only real advantage that came with it was that countries—not including Rohzenheim and a few others—eased immigration procedures as it would be beneficial for them to have skilled adventurers working within their borders.
“Rank S adventurers, you see, are granted the same authority as a deputy guildmaster general.”
The room was filled with gasps of surprise. People exchanged glances and repeated his words in hushed tones to one another.
Being on par with a deputy guildmaster general would grant a status even higher than a managing guildmaster. That’s quite impressive indeed.
The Adventurer’s Guild was structured like a pyramid, with Makkaron sitting at the very top.
Adventurer’s Guild Structure
Guildmaster General: The role filled by Makkaron.
Deputy Guildmaster General: Assistant to the guildmaster general. Only a handful of people hold this title.
Managing Guildmaster: The top member who oversees all of the Adventurer’s Guilds in a given country. Even large countries only have one. They are broken up into groups, each of which reports to a deputy guildmaster general.
Deputy Managing Guildmaster: Assistants to the managing guildmaster. Each managing guildmaster has several that report to them.
Guildmaster: The head of an Adventurer’s Guild founded in any given domain, large city, dungeon, etc. This is the role held by Popokka and Carlova.
Chief: The head of an Adventurer’s Guild satellite office. Only one person is assigned to a village or other place which does not have a Guild.
In that respect, Carlova may seem like something of a meathead, but he’s actually got a pretty impressive resume.
Allen could not help but take a slight jab at his former teacher.
“If you become a Rank S adventurer, you will be granted the authority to provide guidance to each country’s managing guildmaster and other guildmasters as needed. This is just an off-the-cuff estimation and I can’t speak for all cases, but your influence in foreign countries should be greater than your current status as the grand strategist of Rohzenheim considering that they don’t have much in the way of diplomatic relations with other countries.”
Makkaron spoke about the title given to Allen by Rohzenheim as if it were obvious that he already knew about it.
Well, he’s got a point. I picked up on that too. My title in Rohzenheim only holds any meaning to countries that have diplomatic relations with Rohzenheim and larger nations that hold it in high esteem.
The only countries Rohzenheim maintained diplomatic relations with were Ratash and a few others. His title of grand strategist would only be met with confused stares from royalty belonging to countries that did not have any such relations.
The only reason I even asked the queen of Rohzenheim to grant me a court rank was to prevent Ratash from trying to place me in their court. I never actually intended to use it.
“In other words, you’re trying to tell me that it would be most advantageous for me to be a Rank S adventurer if I intended to travel around the world without being bothered?”
“That is correct. To a certain extent, a Rank S adventurer is the most unencumbered person in this world.” Makkaron fixed his gaze on Allen as he spoke.
Hmm. I gotta admit, that’s not too bad of a deal. To be honest, it sounds almost like a system created specifically for adventurers like me, though I guess it only makes sense that the Adventurer’s Guild of all places would do that.
