Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter SS6

Strength of the Silver-Class 

It was perhaps common knowledge to most individuals that adventurers were segregated by a ranking system, with the strongest being the Mithril-class. Second was the Platinum-class, followed by the Gold-, Silver-, Bronze-, and finally Iron-classes. New adventurers, in turn, started off as Iron-class. 

In addition to these, there was a tier system as well, with lower, middle, and upper ranks. This part of the classification, however, was mostly ignored. With the exception of certain special scenarios, most adventurers in the same class were equally capable. 

Of course, veterans were another story altogether, but other than a difference in experience, their capabilities were mostly on par. Having more experience simply made one’s job easier, and there were, of course, lower-class adventurers with plenty of experience. A quirk in the system, if one would put it so. 

That said, it was worth noting that I was of the lower-Bronze-class. Lorraine, for her part, was middle-Silver-class; she was, after all, quite capable. 

If I had to say, Iron-class adventurers were mostly newcomers, and there were a fair amount of Bronze-class adventurers found in any town. The Silver-class was mostly made up of veterans, and so on. Gold-class adventurers, on the other hand, were in a league of their own, with some being capable of almost superhuman feats. Needless to say, few of these adventurers existed. 

In other words, a typically successful adventurer ended their career as a Silver-class—such was just how things were. 

With that said, it was not wise to pick fights with a Silver-class adventurer just because they were relatively normal. After all, there were certain Silver- and Gold-class adventurers with monstrous capabilities, who did not look too different from my fellow adventurers and me. 

In fact, I had personally experienced such an event five years into my adventuring career—of course, this was when I had still lived. 

“Will you be continuing your research after this? Or will you be taking a nap?” I asked of Lorraine, who was partaking in her lunch at the same table as I was in one of Maalt’s busy eateries. 

Upon hearing my query, Lorraine swallowed the lunch she had been chewing on, washing it down with a healthy dose of red wine. 

“Why do you phrase it in such a way, Rentt? Do you think of me as some hermit who only sleeps and undertakes research? I do occasionally have other matters to tend to, you know... Occasionally,” Lorraine said with some feigned distaste. Ironically, she was the very picture of a hermit who only slept and researched. 

If Lorraine was to be believed, however, her arrangements for today were somewhat different. Curious, I decided to ask after her. 

“Is there anything special happening today? If I recall, the auction in the town center is the day after, and the new tomes only come in sometime next week. Also—” 

“Well, not quite. Besides, you are only following me on those days to assist with the transport of my purchases, no? It is not that. Instead, it is about how I was approached on the street a while ago...” 

Lorraine’s subsequent explanation was surprising, to say the least. Apparently, she had run out of supplies quite some time ago, having lost track of the time while engrossed in her research. Making a rare trip out to town, a young man had called out and spoken to her. The man then promised Lorraine a “special experience” if she had the time to follow him—at least, that was what he had told her. 

At the time, Lorraine was on her way to purchase supplies and hence refused, but she promised to follow him on another day, said day being today past noon at a somewhat chic café. 

“...He was so impassioned! Perhaps he had some revolutionary experiment to show me?! I would be most eager to witness such a thing!” 

I could only look on at Lorraine’s strangely high-tensioned behavior with exasperation. After all, if one were to interview a hundred people, most would say that the man in question certainly had not one experiment to show Lorraine. She was, in this regard, a young woman with not much in the way of common sense. Although such activities were on the downturn recently, I suppose it still happened. While the guild provided a kind of education to adventurers who signed up, street smarts could not exactly be taught. 

Back when I first met Lorraine, she was only fourteen. If she had to walk about at night, she would often call for me, or some other trusted associate. Having turned eighteen just a year ago, Lorraine now walked around the streets of Maalt at night as and when she pleased. Perhaps it was a question of luck, but Lorraine was now hardly ever accosted on her night walks. In addition, Lorraine’s reputation as a powerful mage preceded her, so few would call out inappropriately to her even if she was walking around at night by her lonesome. 

But of course, Maalt was a big town—new people entered through its gates on a daily basis. It wouldn’t be strange for some among them to not know of Lorraine’s prowess. 

Although I’d taught Lorraine all the basics of adventuring when I first met her five years ago, she only worked hard for a year and was mostly cooped up at home. I suppose that was just how Lorraine was, and there was no changing that. 

“Lorraine... That man most likely didn’t have experiments of any kind to show you,” I said, shaking my head in exasperation. 

“How do you know that, Rentt?” Lorraine asked, oblivious. 

While I could have simply told her of the dangers, I suppose everything was an experience. 

“You will know if you meet him in person... Well, in any case, I will hide nearby and look out for you. When and where are you meeting him?” 

Lorraine, confused as to why I needed said information, obediently provided the details to me either way. After, we went our separate ways, having finished our lunch together. 

“Is it that man over there?” I asked, pointing to a lone man seated at the café’s terrace. 

Lorraine nodded in response. “Yes, he is indeed the one. He doesn’t look like a suspicious person to me, no?” 

“Well... You’ll see. Go on,” I said, shaking my head as Lorraine walked toward the man. I then hid myself, observing the two of them from the shadows. 

The man was human, of course, but with his attitude, flashy clothing, and questionable sense of fashion, he was quite suspicious. One look at him was enough for most to understand that it wouldn’t be wise to associate with such an individual. 

While I had thought to observe them for a while, I did not have a chance to do so. Though the man merely engaged in casual conversation at first, he soon drew a knife from a hidden pocket in his shirt, pointing it at Lorraine. In fact, he had positioned himself so that the other patrons and the café staff wouldn’t notice him. He was well-practiced, if nothing else. 

From his general demeanor and smile, it did not seem like anything other than a casual conversation. If I were to leave her as she was, the man would take Lorraine away and enslave her or sell her to a brothel of some sort, where she would be forced to do all sorts of terrible things. Such was the trade that this man was involved in. But of course, that would only happen in the case of a normal girl. 

This man had no idea, not an inkling, of Lorraine’s monstrous strength. 

Mere seconds after the knife was pointed at her, I detected a surge of magic—Lorraine was weaving a spell while she sat. In the seconds after, the knife was bent and warped at an impossible angle as invisible ropes bound the man, immobilizing him. 

The man probably had no idea what had just happened. Specifically, he probably didn’t understand why he was prone on the ground, and why there was a great, big ball of fire hovering over him. Upon witnessing such a sight, he promptly fainted, most likely under the duress of thinking death was at hand. 

Lorraine easily dismissed the ball of fire with a flick of her hand, shaking her head disappointingly as she made her way back to me before speaking in a somewhat exasperated fashion. 

“I suppose what you would like me to say is, ‘Women should be careful of strange men who accost them,’ yes?” 

While I could have explained this all to her, there was a world of difference in personally experiencing something. 

I nodded, satisfied. “Well, if it’s you, Lorraine, you would do something about it either way, no?” 

Although the experience was enough to convince Lorraine of my warnings, I had to endure my own ordeal later, with Lorraine posing to me endless questions regarding such encounters deep into the night.