24: Overflow
“Overflow?”
“Yeah. Right now, the agency over there has a request for an escort mission for the territorial army, and depending on that, there might be a request for a large-scale raid.”
A few days after the escort mission. Neil, with a serious face, told me this in the dining room of the agency. The other party members sitting there also had subtle expressions on their faces.
Overflow refers to a special individual with great power, a magical beast that appears suddenly.
The exact definition is “a special individual who exhibits movements that are far removed from the norm.”
The source of their occurrence has not been clearly identified, but the general reasons are said to be “sudden generation of magic power or something else,” “emergence from the Tower of Babel or a dungeon,” or “a magical beast that has grown powerful in an untouched wilderness suddenly appearing in a place where people live.”
Since the reasons for their occurrence are different from the norm, and most of the individuals act alone, they are generally called overflows.
By the way, if this happens on a large scale, it is called a large overflow or a stampede, and it develops into a situation where the country changes its attitude and starts to exterminate them.
By the way, what my brother Dain exterminated the other day was probably an overflow.
“It’s near the border between the Rayland district and the lord’s territory, and they’re in a panic over there.”
“I suppose so.”
The Rayland district is under the direct control of the king, so anything can be done, but if there is damage to the territory held by the lord, they basically have to make up for it themselves. For example, if a village or town is lost, it simply means a reduction in tax revenue for their territory.
Well, I understand that. But then.
“What about that?”
“What about Jas?”
“What about him? It’s none of our business.”
“That’s what I thought you’d say.”
He chuckled and drank his fruit water. It was still morning. It wasn’t time for alcohol.
Lately, I’ve been stopping by Jalnaar’s in the morning to receive the certificate of sale and purchase of goods, and I’ve been taking it to the brokerage myself. I’ve told Jalnaar to let me know if there are any messages at that time.
The reason I’ve been making a point of going to the brokerage in the morning is because I’m curious about what kind of requests are coming in. I thought about it during the recent escort request. They have their own information network.
It’s probably just the fluctuation in the value and quantity of things, or maybe they get it from informants.
I thought that maybe one of them would be something that would show up in the brokerage’s request content.
Gathering, materials, subjugation, escort, and other miscellaneous tasks. There must also be some kind of flow to the large-scale requests posted on the guild board.
After looking at it several times, I realized that there was definitely a trend, so I’ve been trying to look at it as much as possible in the morning.
And then, as if to take advantage of that, I was caught by Neal and ended up having this conversation in the dining hall.
“So, is there a reason you’re telling me this?”
“Well, yeah…”
Neal hesitated, but I could guess what he was going to say.
“The truth is, our credit rating is only 2.”
“Hmm? So?”
“Well, listen. If the alliance happens this time, our group will probably get a mandatory request to join. Our skill rating is 3. But… our credit rating is only 2.”
Neal said in a hushed voice. A credit rating of 2 means that there is no guarantor, the activity history is short, and there have been no requests or achievements that would raise the credit rating.
“You don’t say it outright, but you probably have a credit rating of 4. Someone like that can turn down a mandatory request. Someone with that much rating doesn’t lose much, even if it goes down.”
“That’s right.”
“So, you know, adventurers with a credit rating of 2 basically can’t turn it down. If you turn it down for no reason, your credit rating is likely to go down, and if it goes down to 1, it will be very difficult to operate.”
“I see.”
Credit rating literally indicates the degree of trust in that adventurer or mercenary. If this is low, there are various disadvantages. One easy-to-understand thing is that sales and purchase contracts with stores and merchants will be almost always rejected, or you will be bought out cheaply. You won’t be considered for escorting, and you’ll probably be turned down for requests to transport goods. That’s why credit rating is very important for adventurers.
That’s why, as Neal said, adventurers want to avoid anything that could lower their credit rating, which is like a lifeline.
Even though I knew that, my reaction was bland. My eyes were only on the meal in front of me. It was going to be a conversation about rejection anyway. It wasn’t worth listening to.
“I’ll ask you one thing. What do you want to say?”
“Would you come with us?”
“No.”
“Please reconsider…”
Neal must have expected it. His response to my curt refusal was also quick. As I listened to his voice, I thought to myself that the other three basically never spoke at times like this.
“No, I don’t want to. It’s a hassle and there’s no advantage.”
“In addition to the brokerage fee, we’ll also pay you directly for the request. It’s not an escort or anything, just form a temporary group.”
“It’s a hassle. Besides, I’m not short on money.”
Since then, I’ve been running around like crazy again, hunting everywhere. There’s no way I’m going to be in trouble. Lately, I’ve been hunting mainly at danger level 4, so the amount of money I’m saving is much faster than before.
More than anything, I have a magic tool I want to make right now, and I’m focused on that. I don’t have time for nonsense.
“Please reconsider.”
“Speaking of which, you’re a 3rd-class adventurer, right? Same as me. It’s meaningless. If that’s the case, why don’t you just join a guild party with your entire guild?”
“I thought about that. But the problem is my credit rating. If it’s 2, the bigger guilds won’t even talk to you. And if it’s a smaller guild, I wouldn’t want to join them.”
“What about ‘Liliano’ and ‘Grieg Mercenaries’ from the other day?”
“They were just an alliance because we had the same request. We got along well that time, but they’re a big guild despite their appearance. They wouldn’t help us in a situation like this.”
“That’s right, unless you had an adventurer’s copy card like the one you were given,” Neil muttered.
I see, so the copy card is useful in situations like this too.
“Let’s be honest.”
Neil’s face turned serious.
“Your adventurer rank is 3. But I’m sure you’re stronger than that. The reason you’re only a 3 is because you registered recently. And you don’t like to take on requests, so your rank won’t go up. But if you were to take on a request where your accomplishments would be clear, I think you’d be a 4 in no time.”
When I didn’t say anything, Neil glanced at Iriel.
As if taking his cue, Iriel spoke up.
“During the last request, a blade bird suddenly fell down. Jasper did that, didn’t he?”
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered that she had been looking at me suspiciously.
“So what if I did?”
“Only a colorist could do something like that. But I’ve never heard of a 3rd-class adventurer being able to use it. Even if it were possible, it would only be a very small number of 4s. Or maybe a 5. But Jasper has never used color magic while he’s been with us. Especially with such long hair. So…”
“You think I’m much stronger than you guys, don’t you, Jas?”
“It doesn’t matter…”
I appreciate that you’ve come to that conclusion, and I don’t blame you for realizing it. Neil and the others are probably aware of this as well, and I appreciate that. It’s a good decision.
Well, if you’ve been growing your hair this long and fighting with just a sword and no magic, it’s normal to be suspicious. Even I would be suspicious. Even though direct combat types need mental strength, it would get in the way if you grew it this long.
Neil, still not giving up, continued.
“We haven’t known each other for long, but I trust you. If I’m with you, my chances of survival will increase, and I can rest easy knowing you’ve got my back.”
“I have a chance of survival too, don’t I?”
As I said that, Cyril, who had been silent, took something out of his pocket. It was a stone that could be held in one hand. Maybe it’s because I’ve known women that my eyes are drawn to her large breasts instead of such a thing.
“This is called a memory transfer stone. It’s for one person, but it’s an escape item that transfers your body to a place you think of. It’s a rare item that activates as soon as you break it.”
“…So, you’re saying that at least I’ll be okay with this?”
When I said that, not only Cyril but everyone else nodded.
“Can I see it for a moment?”
“Sure. Just don’t break it.”
“Of course.”
Pretending to be nonchalant, I received it and cast [Magical Eyes] on it. In fact, my heart skipped a beat when I heard about its performance. It had similar elements to the magical tool I’m trying to create now.
If I could see it in use or analyze it, I thought it would be a factor in creating it – but then I understood how it worked. It seems that the 6th-class hero-level intelligence is more amazing than I thought.
For a moment, I thought it would be okay to participate in exchange for this, but I got the reward first. It’s not a reward, but it would be unfair not to pay for it. But since I’m here, I’ll get a reward from them in kind.
“I’ll join you if you give me this.”
“Really?”
“But on the condition that I get to keep it even if I don’t use it.”
“Of course.”
I nodded at Cyril’s immediate response.
The deal is set.