Chapter 10. First Request
The moment Kim Do-yoon passed through the Dimensional Gate, a familiar smell entered his nose.
Wet earth.
Mana Stone dust.
Old metal.
Alcohol.
The unique air of another world.
Do-yoon stood with the blue Dimensional Gate rippling behind him and slowly looked around.
He had arrived on the outskirts of the royal capital, Arkel.
The sun had already gone down.
Yet the streets were not dark.
Mana Stone streetlamps installed along the buildings and roads glowed with soft blue light.
It felt completely different from electric lights in reality.
The light did not flicker like flames.
Instead, its brightness changed subtly like a living creature.
Do-yoon stopped for a moment and looked at the city.
Even after seeing it several times, everything about the other world still fascinated him.
In reality, he was an ordinary high school student from a poor family.
At school, he had been an outcast.
No one had expected anything from him.
But here...
Things were different.
He had not yet been fully recognized.
But he had been given the chance to become a mercenary.
Someone who carried a weapon and completed requests with his own strength.
The same person.
But depending on which world he stood in...
His life became completely different.
"Hey."
Do-yoon turned toward the familiar voice.
Liana stood a short distance away.
Her long blonde hair was tied tightly behind her.
Her arms were crossed.
Her usual longsword hung at her waist.
She looked at Do-yoon as though annoyed that he was standing there staring into space.
"Why are you standing there like an idiot?"
"I was just looking around."
"At what?"
"The city."
"It's strange every time I see it."
Liana snorted.
"You really are a country bumpkin."
"That's a little harsh."
"You can look around later."
"Hurry up."
"You said you were registering as a mercenary today."
Do-yoon's gaze changed.
He had not come merely to explore the other world or follow Liana around.
Today...
He was going to officially register his name with the Mercenary Guild.
And complete his first request using his own strength.
Do-yoon followed Liana toward the Mercenary Guild in the center of the royal capital.
The guild building was far larger than he had expected.
It was three stories tall.
Its thick gray stone exterior was decorated with various weapons and monster heads.
Above the main entrance was a huge emblem of a crossed sword and shield.
Countless people moved around the entrance.
A swordsman carrying a long blade on his back.
A warrior resting an axe the size of a human head on his shoulder.
An archer carrying a bow and quiver.
There were also people wearing long robes and carrying staffs.
One mercenary stumbled out wearing blood-covered armor while holding a bottle of alcohol.
Almost all of them looked stronger than Do-yoon.
Just before entering the guild, his steps slowed slightly.
In reality, Pride had given him confidence.
But here...
There was a good chance he was one of the weakest people around.
Liana noticed.
"Nervous?"
Do-yoon did not bother denying it.
"A little."
"That's a good sign."
"Why is being nervous good?"
Liana answered casually.
"People who know how to feel nervous live longer."
"Beginners who think they're strong are always the first to die."
It was a brutal thing to say.
Yet strangely...
It made Do-yoon feel calmer.
At least being nervous did not mean something was wrong with him.
The inside of the guild was even louder than outside.
Drunken mercenaries shouted in one corner.
Someone else argued with a staff member over the reward for a request.
Hundreds of notices were posted across a gigantic board covering an entire wall.
They were separated by rank.
Liana led Do-yoon to the registration counter.
A middle-aged staff member with a short beard and tired eyes sat behind it.
He looked Do-yoon over once.
Then pulled out an old sheet of paper and a quill.
"Name."
"Kim Do-yoon."
"Region of origin?"
Do-yoon hesitated.
He could not exactly say he came from reality.
Liana naturally stepped in.
"From the eastern frontier."
"His village was destroyed, so there are no registration records."
The employee nodded without much interest.
Apparently entire villages disappearing because of war or monsters was not uncommon in this world.
"Age."
"Nineteen."
"Weapon?"
"Dagger."
"Specialty or magic?"
Do-yoon hesitated again.
He could not openly reveal the power of the Fruit of Pride.
"Physical enhancement."
The staff member wrote everything down.
Then he took a single drop of blood from Do-yoon's fingertip and pressed it onto the bottom of the page.
After that, he placed the document inside a small Mana Stone device.
A faint light flashed.
The staff member opened a drawer and handed Do-yoon a metal plate smaller than his palm.
It was made of copper.
His name and rank were engraved on the front.
[Kim Do-yoon]
[F-Rank Mercenary]
Do-yoon stared at the plate for a while.
His first official identification in another world.
And proof of the first profession he had ever chosen for himself.
Mercenary.
Not a role someone else had forced onto him.
Something he had chosen.
He was only the lowest F-Rank.
But something inside his chest grew warm.
Liana looked at the mercenary tag in his hand.
"Congratulations."
"Thanks."
"Now you're officially qualified to die."
Do-yoon's expression stiffened.
"That was supposed to be congratulatory, right?"
"I'm joking."
Liana looked perfectly calm.
It did not sound like a joke at all.
After registration, the two moved toward the guild board.
Up close, every request listed the client, location, difficulty, reward, and expected risks.
Most F-Rank requests involved deliveries.
Herb gathering.
Driving away small monsters outside the city.
Liana looked through several pages before pulling off one from the bottom.
[ABANDONED MINE RAT EXTERMINATION]
[Difficulty: F]
[Reward: 3 Silver Coins]
[Objective: Eliminate at least 10 Gray Mine Rats inside the abandoned mine.]
Do-yoon read it.
"Is this easy?"
"Extremely."
"How easy?"
Liana answered without hesitation.
"Easy enough for a kindergarten kid."
Do-yoon relaxed slightly.
About thirty minutes later...
He realized that her statement had not exactly been a lie.
It simply had not meant what he thought it meant.
The abandoned mine outside the capital was dark and damp.
Rotting wooden supports stood dangerously around the collapsed entrance.
Cold drops of water fell from the ceiling at steady intervals.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Even tiny sounds echoed loudly inside the silent mine.
Do-yoon held a torch in one hand.
His other hand gripped a dagger.
It was a cheap weapon borrowed from the guild.
But its blade was thicker and heavier than the knife he had used in reality.
Walking ahead, Liana heard Do-yoon ask quietly,
"You're sure a kindergarten kid can do this?"
"Yes."
"Sorry for asking again, but I think the kindergarteners I know are a little different from the ones you know."
Liana answered calmly.
"A kindergarten kid from this world could do it."
"What's the difference?"
"Children here start using wooden swords at six."
Before Do-yoon could respond, an unpleasant cry echoed from deeper inside the tunnel.
Screeeech.
Both stopped.
Red points appeared one by one in the darkness.
At first, they looked like tiny lights.
It did not take long to realize they were eyes.
Huge gray rats emerged.
Do-yoon nearly cursed aloud.
"Those are rats?"
They were larger than dogs.
The biggest were almost the size of small wolves.
Chunks of ore were embedded in their gray fur like armor.
Their front teeth protruded like short daggers.
There were more than ten.
