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Path to Prosperity - B1 Chapter 19
🕑 Added 2024-06-29 12:06:51 +0000 UTCPercy regained consciousness when something bitter-sweet trickled down his throat. His eyes shot open, and he coughed up, only to find a smooth hand covering his mouth. The hand pressed against his lips, forcing Percy to swallow the viscous liquid.
“Do you want to kill me?” Percy barely managed to ask when the smooth hand retracted.
“You are pretty good at killing yourself. I don’t think I have to help with that,” Olivia responded, flicking his forehead with enough force to hurt him.
It was supposed to hurt.
Percy groaned and rubbed his head, but he froze in his tracks. His arm didn’t hurt.
“There is no pain?” He tilted his head, pushed his body from the table – not knowing when he ended up on the wooden counter in the Guildhall – and inspected his body.
The gashes all over his body didn’t disappear, but the bleeding had stopped. The wounds healed at a visible pace.
“You should be fine now. I used one of the Guild’s emergency healing potions. Eat a lot and sleep early, and you should be fine,” Olivia explained. Percy nodded slowly, his attention lingering on the empty vial.
Note to myself. Buy some potions in case some Gnolls tear you apart again!
Percy’s gaze must have lingered too long on the vial. Olivia flicked his forehead again and smiled at him when Percy turned to stare at her.
“You don’t have to pay anything. The Guild is covering the expenses for emergency healing potions. They might be a little bit more expensive than the norm, but the Guild likes to keep their Adventurers alive, after all,” She winked and turned around before facing a particular batch of files. A heavy sigh escaped her lips, “The only trouble with emergency healing potions is the paperwork.”
A young man appeared next to Percy. It was a staff member of the Guild.
What was his name again? Thomas? Or was it Tom? I think he was Tom, the betting addict.
“Can you tell us what happened?” Tom asked while studying his wounds, “You are a rather low-ranked Adventurer, but the wounds don’t fit any low-ranked monster I remember. Furthermore, Olivia must write a detailed report to justify using the emergency healing potion, otherwise, she will be pu–...”
A loud clasp rang through the surroundings as Olivia slapped Tom on the shoulder, “Look how tired he is. Let him eat and rest first. I will write the report once he feels better!”
“Do you feel pain or anything, or are you fine now?” Olivia asked in worry.
“I’m fine,” Percy nodded. Other than feeling hungry, he was doing much better than expected. “I’m still alive thanks to you.”
He swallowed hard.
“Thank you!”
If he hadn’t upügraded his Tier, gaining the influx of mana and vigor simultaneously, Percy wouldn’t have made it to Raewood. Logically speaking, Percy should be dead.
“I’m glad you’re still alive,” Olivia smiled before waving him off, “Now go and eat something. Sleep and then come back to help me with the report.”
Percy nodded and left. He felt the eyes of many linger on him and heard some murmurs, but ignored most of them. All he imprinted into his mind was to thank the guards for bringing him to the Guildhall. They saved his life, just like Olivia.
But before thanking anyone, Percy had to eat something. He’d expected to feel like a starving beast after two influxes of mana swept through him, but the healing potion must have filled him with some nutrients. He was still starving, his body demanding more nutrients, but it wasn’t that bad. His physique improved over the last few days, and he’d amassed some meat on his bones by now. The mana influx from ranking up and the healing potions must have tapped into the nutrients in his flesh to keep him alive and tend to his wounds.
Percy’s sense of time was odd. Everything around him blurred at some point and he found himself in the Angel’s Brew Inn devouring a shocking amount of food. Bertha said something to him, but Percy recalled that she didn’t question his appearance or wounds. She merely studied him before he disappeared in his room.
It was already evening when Percy woke up. He found Bertha serving some customers and paid her for the food. The guards he’d met at the gates were also in the inn for a few drinks. Percy thanked them for their help and handed Bertha a small pouch filled with coins to pay for their food and beverages.
The guards were more than happy with such a reward and didn’t hesitate to show their happiness. They jumped up, swaying left and right, clinked their mugs, and emptied their beer at once. The guards ordered another beer – for Percy as well – but Percy did not notice that anymore. He disappeared before Bertha saw how much trouble his generosity had caused.
They will be fine, right? There shouldn’t be an issue. The guards know when to stop… I guess.
He shrugged and paved his way to the Guildhall after buying bandages and a simple ointment for flesh wounds.
Olivia and Tom were waiting for Percy when he arrived at last. Olivia nodded subtly as her eyes fell upon his bandages, but her expression gradually worsened when Percy told her and Tom what happened in the forest. The report stopped with the Gnoll’s death. That was all they had to know.
“Did you rank up?” Tom asked, oddly excited. Olivia and Percy frowned at Tom, who could only smile wryly.
“You fought above your weight class. If your alignment toward combat – maybe hunting or something along those lines – is as high as I think it might be, you must have ranked up. Am I right…or am I right?”
Percy studied Tom and was unable to tell what the receptionist was thinking. It was only a matter of time before someone would find that he could rank up rapidly. Telling others about his Ego was possible, but Percy read enough about Egos to know that some nobles didn’t like commoners with powerful Egos. Precisely, they disliked Egos, who weren’t affiliated with them.
Percy understood how powerful [Coin of Prosperity] was, and he did not want to tell anyone about it just yet. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Olivia and others, but Percy didn’t want to be treated differently, which was the case for Egos. Olivia made that quite obvious the day they met.
“Yes, I did rank up,” He nodded. But not because of the battle. I ranked up after consuming the Gnoll.
Tom grinned, “That’s great!”
Olivia continued frowning, “Great?! Percy almost died!”
“What? I know he nearly died, but he is still alive and he will be stronger than ever once he is fully healed. We don’t have many Adventurers with a high alignment toward anything combat-related in Raewood. Percy is a perfect addition,” He clasped in his hands, still grinning foolishly, “I will add him to the next Adventurer training.”
He turned to Percy, “You want to train and grow stronger, right?”
Tom’s eyes glimmered. That wasn’t a determining factor, but Percy nodded nonetheless.
He might not love training and sparring with others, but Percy realized how dire professional training was. If he wanted to hunt in the wilderness and return every time, he had to train. Otherwise, the next Gnoll he met would tear him into shreds.
**
His wounds took longer to heal than expected, but that was something Percy should have known. The Gnoll’s claws had cut deep into his flesh, leaving several-centimeter-deep wounds behind. It was already a miracle he managed to reach Raewood alive. He didn’t even catch an infection either.
Gnolls weren’t exactly known for being clean monsters. If anything, they spread disease faster than other monsters. Even Goblins were less likely to spread disease than Gnolls.
The mana acquired from two rank-ups provided enough energy to push his body past its natural limit and block any infections. However, his wounds were still severe. If not for the emergency potion, which did the Goliath portion of healing, Percy would probably be crippled or on his deathbed.
Maybe it was luck to be alive, but Percy didn’t want to leave it at that. He joined the Adventurers’ training two days after returning from his ‘glorious’ hunt.
It was still early in the morning when he arrived at the training ground. It was a large area behind the Guildhall with several stations for workouts, sparring grounds, parkours, studying, and much more.
Am I the last to arrive?
Percy looked around the training ground and saw a familiar hulking giant and company. Dave was the first to see Percy and waved to him. Mike turned around as well, his expression hard to read.
“After your last stunt, I expected you to be too scared to leave the town. To think you would be the one to join our Adventurer training.”
“Good morning,” Percy greeted the duo and others, “Receptionist Tom told me to join the Adventurer training.”
A stocky man appeared beside Mike, “Is that kid already about to advance? Isn’t he the one who was nearly killed by a half-dead Gnoll?”
Mike shrugged, “He doesn’t meet the other requirements to reach the Silver Rank.”
“I doubt he knows that the Adventurer training is for Silver Rank Adventurers in the first place,” He studied Percy, who responded with a confused look.
Dave nudged Mike, who cursed quietly.
“The Adventurer training has to be completed if you want to advance to the Silver Rank. Once you complete the Adventurer training with a passing grade, you will receive the stamp of the Guildmaster and be able to advance. The higher your rank in the Guild, the more prestige you’ll receive. You’re gaining more access to knowledge, missions, and other benefits, but I don’t think that’s important to you right now. You’re still far from reaching the requirements of a Silver Rank Adventurer.”
The stocky man next to Mike grumbled, “If the nearest Guildhall with the authority to advance Adventurers to the Silver Rank wasn’t Yirash, I would leave this place to reach the Silver Rank and come back. Why is Lexter so adamant about this Adventurer training?!”
“The Adventurer training is something new. It was added to the requirements to advance to the Silver Rank not long ago. So, even though we’re already Silver Rank, we have to undergo the Adventurer training again because Guildmaster Lexter told us he would revoke our rank if we didn’t,” The man explained to Percy, who nodded thoughtfully.
They don’t seem to like this training, but they’re not cursing the Guildmaster for adding the training to the requirements. Is that respect I sense?
Percy was unsure, but one thing he could tell was that Mike and his stocky friend didn’t like the training.
Adventurer training seems useful. I wouldn’t have been so close to death against the Gnoll if I had received proper training earlier. If all Adventurers undergo adequate training, fewer would die stupid deaths.
Teaching all Iron and Bronze Rank Adventurers was probably not possible because of the shortage of experienced staff, but getting taught before advancing to a Silver Rank Adventurer was already good enough. At least, it indicated that all Silver Rank Adventurers reached a certain threshold—that they had been adequately taught in theory and praxis.
“Silence!” A silent grumble reverberated through the training ground, silencing everyone.
Michael shuddered involuntarily but spun around to watch the entrance of a middle-aged man. He wasn’t particularly tall for a full-grown man with a height that couldn’t exceed 1.7 meters. Most men in and around Raewood were above 1.8 meters tall. Nonetheless, nobody could compare to the pressure the short man exuded naturally. He was short, but his strides were long and graceful.
Once he reached the Adventurers, he stared them dead in the eyes – one after another – and grunted as if displeased by what he saw. The only time he nodded was when he looked at Dave. At some point, he noticed Percy. He stared longer at him than others and sighed deeply.
“You’re the new kid, right?”
Percy nodded.
“Look. I really don’t know why Tom was so adamant about adding you to this month’s training regimen, but we’re already in the middle of training. You are too weak to keep up with the others. Telling you to spar with them might help you, but it’s useless for the others. I could spar with you and help you if I had the time, but I gotta make sure these other idiots are ready for the dangers of the wilderness.”
“I don’t have anything against you, but looking at you hurts my eyes,” He scratched his bald head. You might have something in your head, but your body is a disaster. I can see the aftereffect from mana shaping, which is quite impressive because I don’t think anyone taught you how to utilize mana to reshape your physique, but that doesn’t make up for the lack of training your body has undergone.”
“Simply put, I don’t have much time to spare for you. At most, I can give you a few minutes every day. You can ask me questions and spar with me during that time. Other than that, I will create a training plan for you to fix your body,” The Instructor said, still inspecting his body intently,, “Once you’re about to reach the requirements to advance to the Silver Rank, I can train you properly.”
He shrugged lightly as he ended, “Maybe you will be better off than others if you follow my training plan, but I won’t promise you anything.”
That was a little bit unexpected, but Percy responded with a nod. He didn’t know the training was for Silver Rank Adventurers who had to be re-examined or soon-to-be Silver Rank Adventurers. That was fine, though. A proper training plan and a few minutes to ask questions and spar with a true expert were more than enough.
“Thank you for the opportunity,” He said, “Thank you for the opportunity to train with everyone!”
The man nodded, seemingly satisfied with Percy’s response, “Call me Instructor Merle.”
He clasped in his hands and turned to the rest.
“No more wasting time,” A chuckle escaped his lips, but Percy couldn’t help but feel shivers run down his spine, “Warm up first!”
