CH 42

[Well, I was originally approached about this matter a long time ago.]

The man who spoke was Verteran, a former A-Rank Adventurer who had suddenly become Frelia’s Guildmaster after retiring from adventuring.

The man who recommended him for the Guildmaster position was the aging Guildmaster, who was also a former Adventurer.

[The Guildmaster is the “face” of the Guild. According to the old man who preceded me, Guildmasters are of course responsible for practical work, but it’s more important to be well-known and to have a good personality.]

“Especially in times like these”, added Verteran.

For example, in the event of an incident such as a monster attack, the Guildmaster must take the lead in organizing the Adventurers.

If the Guildmaster is some unknown person or someone who isn’t trusted by the Adventurers, a catastrophe could ensue.

[It seems that my predecessor has high opinions of me. Even though I told him that I had no intention of taking over the Guild, he still made a few moves, such as introducing me to various people as a potential successor, and giving me the opportunity to meet the Guild members through small Quests.]

“Well, I thought it was just an unwelcome favor at that time”, Verteran said, scratching his cheek.

[You weren’t planning on being the Guildmaster?]

[Well, I thought of it as an option for the future. It’s just, there were still many things I wanted to do as an Adventurer. As long as I didn’t screw up and someone died in my group, I was going to stay on the job for another ten years. ……That is until I met you.]

Thereupon, he sighed deeply.

Looking at me in the eyes as if he was reminiscing about something, he spoke. 

[Every single thing you told me was a shock. My whole life was turned upside down in that one day. I regretted it, knowing that I had caused so much trouble for the youngsters with my vague knowledge. But———— That’s why I want to bet it all on you.]

Leaning his body forward on his seat, he declared.

[There are guys who wonder why I became the Guildmaster even though I admitted my mistakes. However, they got it backwards. It’s because I admitted my mistakes that I became the Guildmaster. What difference does stopping do after you apologize? If you want to make amends, you have to move forward.]

For a moment, Verteran’s eyes glinted sharply.

[Your knowledge will shake the world. Even without me doing anything, I’m sure it would eventually spread across the world. ……But while I’m here, I can do something to make your knowledge spread faster. I’m certain that I’m currently in the best place to help you right now.]

[Thanks for that.]

The incident that had spread across the world because Maisie spread the word.

There were many miscalculations, but I now recognize that the main cause was the difference in values between me and the people of this world.

Everything is different between this world and Japan.

The values of the inhabitants of this world, this ideal world “as pictured by its developers”, except for the monsters, are far apart from mine, and the people of this world, who really put their bodies on the line, have a different attitude toward adventuring from me, who just presses buttons in front of the screen.

But well, once I understood that, this matter was quickly settled.

If you don’t know about something, consult someone who does.

After repeated discussions with Verteran and the Guild’s receptionists who were actually doing the paperwork, we started the Guild’s semi-official “Status Appraisal” and “Aptitude Appraisal” services with the full cooperation of the Guild.

There were countless decisions to be made, but I guess the most important ones were: “The fee is based on Guild Rank”, “Appraisals will be held once a week, on an application basis”, and “participants must prepare their Classes and Equipment in advance”.

As for how it’s set up, it was filled with my hope of a very reasonable price with as less of a burden on me as possible.

First of all, the program is meant to help new Adventurers who aren’t originally suited to the path they are taking.

So, I decided to charge a modest fee for newcomers, and a reasonable fee for high-ranked Adventurers with lots of money.

I would only appraise on the “Light Day”, which was something like a Sunday in this world, and the Guild would take care of everything, including payment of fees, guiding participants, and taking up space in the Arena.

All I had to do was simply appraise the client, write down the results on a piece of paper, and hand it to the person in front of me. This would be much more efficient than if I had done it alone.

According to Verteran……

[You may not get it, but the benefit to the Guild is immeasurable. This is a project that already has the approval of all of our Guild staff, without me having to push for it. Listen closely, okay? Your time is a valuable commodity to mankind. Leave everything that anyone else can do to us.]

I thought he was being very arrogant since he was saying this with a straight face, but if they were willing to do this, there was no reason for me to refuse.

The rest is just a matter of detailed income distribution and measures to be taken in case the event is canceled due to my circumstances.

Moreover, they always take a course before the first “Status Appraisal” and listen to a thankful talk like “the Status isn’t all there is to a person’s strength” or “your aptitude is just that, it doesn’t dictate a person’s path”, and worked out a lot of details,  such as making a contract that said “we will not force them to show their Status to others”.

Their ability to adjust to new situations, in which the content of the discussion is immediately implemented, can be said to be a positive effect of the loose worldview of this pseudo-fantasy world, where the social system is, in a sense, less developed than in modern Japan.

Furthermore, in this world, there are Gods’ Relics and magic, and there are spells that can make contracts and detect lies.

Having such a thing in a world could make its society utopian or dystopian, but whatever the case, it’s certainly easier for those who make the rules.

[Well, I’ve “seen” all the special first-time applicants for this past week, so I’ll be free for a while.]

I look back at the memories of that time I had to use <Inspect> a lot of times in the Arena, and with my mind filled with optimism……

[Rex. I’ve said this many times already, but you can’t ignore how valuable your ability is.]

Verteran astoundedly shook his head.

[I’ve already had you look at my abilities numerically, and for an Adventurer, this is much more addictive than alcohol or cigarettes. At least, if it were me, I’d want to check every time I level up.]

[To make sure the results are as expected?]

[Of course, even if the results are as expected.]

If he’s that sure about this, I have no choice but to shut my mouth.

Including the times I was playing games, I have been in a position to see the Status at all times, so I don’t really feel anything about it at the moment, but for people who couldn’t see their Status, I suppose it would be very stressful.

[Besides, if I wanted to see if training had any effect on my abilities, I could only go for a “Status Appraisal”.]

[That may be right.]

“Besides……”, Verteran lifted a notebook from his desk.

[————–There’s no way people would pull away from something amazing like this. The clients requesting for you to look at them would only increase.]

In the notebook is a list I compiled of the conditions for Class Change and growth compensation for Classes up to the Third-Tier.

The reason I was able to write such a thing was of course…… not because I remembered the conditions for Class Change for all Classes that existed in B&B.

This is also a benefit brought by <Inspect>.

In fact, the ability values of the statues in the temple for Class Changing are the requirements for changing your Class to that profession.

In other words, by using <Inspect> on the statue, I can instantly find out the ability values required to change to that Class.

Well, for some special Classes, it may be necessary to have “certain abilities to be not exceeding a certain level”, or items or titles may be required, but since most of these are for the Fourth-Tier and subsequent Classes and there are no statues for them in the temple, they aren’t relevant at this time.

On the other hand, the growth compensation can be determined to some extent with some rules, and for some of the ones I don’t remember, I changed my own Class and verified them using the <Soul Test>.

In fact, Rex can Class Change to all Classes up to the Third-Tier, and he has learned all the skills of each of them.

Even so, he was easily outclassed by other people of the same level, but there’s no one better suited for verifications like this than Rex.

Clutching the fruits of my blood and sweat, Verteran leaned forward with his desk and vigorously declared.

[We now knew exactly what the requirements for new Classes are, which until now we have only vaguely understood. Once you publish this, it’s going to change the world! And every Adventurer would come to have you do a “Status Appraisal”! That I guarantee!]

Both Class Change Requirements and Status are useful information, but it is when the two are combined that their true value is revealed.

For example, if you were told that “the Class Change requirement was 120 STR”, it’s natural that you would want to know how much STR you have.

[D*mn it! Frankly, I’m jealous of all the beginner Adventurers out there! Knowing my own abilities and comparing them to the Class Change Requirements, deciding which path to take would definitely be fun!]

[No doubt about that.]

I agreed with those words without a second thought.

Improving your character’s abilities as you look ahead to your next Class.

That was a big part of the fun B&B brings, and something I had experienced firsthand.

(People in this world neglect Class Change too much.)

That’s what I’ve been thinking even when I was playing B&B.

Even if you find an event character who joins later in the game, or even a random character with good aptitudes, most of them aren’t as good as they could have been.

This is because the Class selection AI for NPCs is lousy, and by the time they can join your party, they have leveled up in a fatally nonsensical way.

I have seen many, many cases where a character who has top-notch talent as a warrior and could have reached the Fourth-Tier in the Warrior-line if I had raised them, but for some reason, they had a magic-user Class as some sort of SubClass.

I intend to open up the Ruins and accelerate the world.

To do this, I don’t want the Adventurers to stay useless.

In the future, I plan to set up something like a “Class Counseling Service” in the Guild to help those Adventurers who are too muscleheaded.

However, that’s still a long way off.

[……But is this really okay?]

Verteran, who was getting excited, looked at me with a mysterious look on his face.

[If you hadn’t spread this information and kept it in your inner circle, you would have had an advantage over other Adventurers. And yet……]

[That’s a needless worry.]

I shook my head, not needing him to continue.

[I’ll say this so that you won’t make a misunderstanding, but I’m not some sort of saint like you. I’m not going to do anything that isn’t in my best interest.]

[B- But……]

I laughed ferociously at Verteran, who was still insisting on this matter.

[I’m saying revealing this much is nothing to worry about. With this information, the other Adventurers can follow us as best as they can. However, we’re going far beyond that.]

I said with a hint of bravado, to which Verteran raised his hands in the air, as if to say “there’s no helping it”.

Then, after a moment’s pause, he sat deep in the Guildmaster’s chair and murmured to himself.

[I don’t know what you think about yourself but…… You really are more of an Adventurer than anyone else.]

His words echoed softly in the quiet room, and for some reason, I felt a hint of loneliness in them.