Volume 2 Chapter 1 Wake Up, To Destroy Everything
"...Wake ...up..."
In the darkness, I heard someone's voice intermittently, and I woke up.
I tried to speak, but my consciousness was still hazy, and my body wouldn't move properly.
"Hey... wake up..."
What was I doing in the first place? I couldn't remember things about myself very well.
"Wake up, Ark."
This time, I heard it clearly. As I slowly opened my eyes, I saw the face of a familiar girl so close that I could almost touch her.
Beautiful golden hair, blue eyes, and a well-proportioned face that matched them. I couldn't forget her.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Moderately."
It seems like she had let me use her lap as a pillow.
I tried to sit up, but I lost my balance and clumsily rolled onto the floor. Seeing me like that, she chuckled.
"It must be tough with one arm."
"One arm?"
I realized when she said that, my right arm was gone.
No, that's not it. I was "born without a right arm".
I sat back down, leaning on my left hand. The carriage's ride was still rough, but I had to be grateful for being given a ride.
"Sorry. I bet it was heavy."
"Not really. Despite appearances, I'm pretty tough."
"Well, that's good to hear. It seems like you can handle being an adventurer."
"Hey, can't you come up with more clever lines for a girl?"
"I believe in equality between men and women."
"In moments like this, you should say something that would make the other person happy, even if it's a lie."
My childhood friend, Leanne, smiled softly as she made that argument.
Leanne covered her right eye with her bangs.
Not only was she blind in her right eye, but she also had a horrible scar-like mark on half of her face. The villagers found it creepy and didn't want to get close.
We both lived being shunned because of our appearances. It might have been one of the reasons we lacked cuteness compared to other children.
As a one-armed person, I was slower at farming than the other guys, and I got beaten up a lot because of it. Leanne got rocks thrown at her because of her ugly face. The only good thing was that our parents didn't abandon us and made sure we had food.
With nowhere to belong, as soon as we turned sixteen, we left the village. There was no point in staying in such a hopeless place. Nothing good was ever going to happen there.
We talked about how we could survive, and we decided to go to a pretty big town and become adventurers.
We heard that the Adventurers' Guild, one of the top unions in this world, accepts anyone. They don't care about your background, so there was a chance we could find work.
But it all depends on our Ability Appraisal.
Our 'Level Cap' and 'skill' are what matters. If we're good at one or both of these, we might have a shot at turning our lives around and living better than we do now.
We're from a really poor village, and we don't have any money or decent clothes, let alone weapons. Leanne asked a passing merchant to give us a ride on this carriage, and we were just lucky enough to be given a ride.
Become adventurer, we might end up dying out there, but it's better than staying in the village.
"Looks like we're almost there."
"Can you show me?"
Leanne helped me lean out towards the coachman's seat.
I could see the tall city walls ahead on the road.
"Is that it? Voltana town, right?"
"You got it wrong again. Can't you remember anything?"
"Was it wrong?"
"That's 'Voljanath town'. The town where we might be living from now on."
"Oh, right. I remember now."
Voljanath was a big town. I could tell just by looking at the long, continuous wall. It made our village look like a tiny speck in comparison.
"Hey, you two, are you going to become adventurers?"
"Yeah."
The merchant sitting on the coachman's seat turned to us and asked, and Leanne replied.
"I hate to say it, but don't expect too much. If you die, there's no going back."
"I hope there's some other good job for us."
As the wind blew, lifting Leanne's bangs, the merchant frowned.
"Well, do your best."
That was the end of the conversation.
After a while, the carriage passed through the gates of the town. The merchant dropped us off without saying goodbye and hurriedly disappeared down the main street.
"So many people. I wonder how many there are."
"I don't know."
The town of Voljanath was bustling with many people. It felt like we had entered a completely different world.
"Alright, what should we do?"
"I think the first thing we should do is go to the Adventurer's Guild and register. We don't have any money, and we need to find work quickly so we can buy food."
"Yeah, you're right."
It doesn't matter where we sleep, but starving to death is not an option.
The sun is still high, so we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's get it over with.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
We walk together through the crowded streets. Leanne can't see with her right eye, so I hold her hand with my left, and we complement each other.
"Are you nervous?"
"Not really. How about you?"
"Nothing out of the ordinary."
"Yeah."
"You seem pretty calm."
"I don't really know either. But I have a feeling that we'll figure it out somehow."
"Oh, really?"
It's always better to think positively rather than assuming the worst.
After walking a little on the main street, we quickly found the Adventurer's Guild. It's a big two-story building.
Inside, there are people wearing armor, carrying various weapons, and robes. The noise of constant chatter can be heard from all directions, making it quite noisy.
"Hey Kasha! Where's the request form?"
"I'm working on it!"
"Elvira is so slow with her work! She needs to be more efficient!"
"Yes! Next person, please!"
At the counter, three receptionists are busy attending to the line of people. There are so many adventurers here. It must be tough work for them.
As I stop and look around, I spot a sign that says 'Adventurer Registration' on the left. There's a crystal ball placed there, and a young man is sitting there looking bored. Since there's no line, it seems like there are no customers waiting.
"That's where we go for Adventurer Registration."
"Seems like it. Let's go check it out."
The two of us head towards the counter, and the man raises his head with a bored expression.
"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, Voljanath Branch. I'm Eric, one of the staff. How can I assist you today?"
"We'd like to register as adventurers. Two people, please."
When Leanne started talking, this Guild guy named Eric gave us a look like he was fed up with us.
"Are you guys mistaken or what?"
"What do you mean?"
"We're looking for someone who can actually do the job as an adventurer. Skinny, dirty kids like you aren't welcome. Go beg outside."
"But anyone can become an adventurer, right?"
"Not just anyone. That guy beside you is missing an arm. Did you fight a dragon or something?"
"It's not written anywhere that you can't be an adventurer with one arm."
"The success rate of missions affects the organization's credibility. If you fail, it's on us. The Guild isn't a charity. That's why weirdos like you are rejected at the registration stage. Got it? Now scram."
I didn't expect to be turned away at the gate.
Is there any way out of this?
I'll start by sharing the first thing that comes to mind.
"But isn't it too early to come to a conclusion without even doing Ability Appraisal?"
It's true that we have problems with our bodies. But if it turns out that we have useful abilities through Appraisal, there should be a chance of getting hired.
"It's fine to dream, but us guild members see reality. If you have a Level Cap of 30, you're considered lucky. Most people have a lower level. And with your physical handicaps, your stats also become lower. Skills are pretty much the same."
Is this no good either? There's no place to turn to.
"We sincerely thank you for using our guild. If you don't want to get hurt, disappear now."
"'Are you sure about that level cap'?"
When Leanne asked again, Eric placed his hand on his mouth and made a gesture as if thinking.
"Um... I might have said too much."
What's up?
It feels weird how Eric's attitude suddenly softened.
Just earlier, it felt like there was even hostility."
"Well then, can I get an appraisal?"
"Yeah. But I won't allow registration unless you exceed the criteria I've set. The Level Cap has to be at least '40' or higher."
The conditions Eric presented seemed like an impossible task. Considering that it's lucky to even reach level 30, the chances of me or Leanne surpassing level 40 were extremely low. The situation hadn't improved much.
"40... By the way, what's the highest level someone has reached through appraisal so far?"
"According to the records compiled by the guild headquarters, it's 80. But that was a long time ago and only happened once."
"Hey Ark, can I try first?"
"I don't mind."
"Either way, just hurry up and give it a shot. That way, we'll know everything."
When Leanne waved her hand, the crystal ball started to shine. It seemed to be the Appraisal crystal that she had heard about.
Soon, letters appeared on the paper placed next to the crystal. Eric picked up the paper and read it.
"Whoa, what's this?"
Eric muttered as he brought the paper close to his face.
"Level Cap '800'...? Is the crystal broken?"
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