Ball of Nothing

Madeline was very busy. After the queen announced that a new shrine was to be made in Freya's name, the artisan worship received a flood of orders. Everybody wanted to order objects of worship of the new goddess and her husband. Camie had to help her mother out so she was unable to accompany Truen and Zero for their journey to Rocket Mountain.

"Don't worry, we'll be back before you know it," Zero said. Truen also told Camie to help them pass a message to the Chieftess when she saw her.

"If Schaf doesn't win the contract tell lady Zenobia that Zoe can turn him into mutton soup."

Zero laughed at that and didn't stop Truen from expressing his dislike for the trader. From the very moment that Truen knew about Schaf and what he did in the abyss to the moment they met in the village, the wood elf had always disliked the goat and would find ways to make his disdain known. Nobody stopped Truen because the wood elf still knew where to draw the line. Still, it was entertaining to see Truen find new ways to rile the trader. Camie giggled.

"Sure, I'll tell him that you want him seasoned with Cleo's special spice mix too if that makes you feel better."

Truen gave the giantess a thumbs up and prepared to leave. Joseph escorted them to the borders of Magnus Hilda that would have taken them days on horseback. The garrison guard ran and walked for a long time to reach it in a few hours and Zero was amazed by how small Magnus Hilda's borders were.

"That's because we need a lot of living space and farming space. Most of the territory that has liveable conditions are used so this is what our borders look like, just a huge wasteland with nothing but rocks and a bunch of weeds."

Zero and Truen didn't comment about it but thanked the giant when he let them down. Joseph sighed. "Come back safely. The queen might have given you a letter that you can use to see the dwarf king but let it be known that their king is not the same as ours. He's a real stubborn one and you need to win him over to convince him to let you take any of his people away. No amount of money can move that man if he doesn't want to be swayed."

Zero nodded. They did not have much information about the king of Rocket Mountain but from the bits and pieces that they knew, the dwarves didn't really have a king. It was more like a figurehead to represent all their guilds.

The dwarves were a rather advanced civilisation compared to the giants. They had dwarves in all kinds of fields but they excelled most in smithing, carpentry, crafts, mining and wine-making. The dwarves were rich even though they didn't like to display their wealth. Zero didn't think the dwarves were very short either. Initially, he thought that they would be half his height but when he learnt that some of them were only a head shorter than him, Zero sulked.

The duo left on foot and Joseph stood at the border, watching them until they disappeared behind the bend of the mounting. The garrison captain had gathered the duo supplies and apps that they requested for. When Truen asked about guilds in Magnus Hilda, the man could only regretfully apologise. Their guilds had long closed down in the country ever since they plagued dragged on. If Zero wanted to be registered as an adventurer for travel access, they would need to register with a guild in Rocket Mountain. When Queen Rosalind heard about Zero's interest to register with a guild, she wrote a recommendation letter so that Zero would not have to use his real identity to register or take the aptitude test unless he wanted a higher ranking.

Zero was happy enough to know that he was going to be a C-rank adventurer right off the bat. Truen didn't tell his friend that he was already a registered adventurer and was currently a B-ranked one. For Zero, C-rank was more than enough for him to travel anywhere he wanted to.

"Truen, how come you're already an adventurer? When did you register?"

The archer smiled mysteriously and didn't answer him. Zero pouted. Truen was full of secrets but he didn't pry further when his friend showed no indications that he wanted to share. To fill in the silence, Zero asked another question.

"What does the different adventurer ranks mean?"

This time, Truen entertained his friend. They had a long journey to Rocket Mountain and if he estimated it correctly, Bob would have been done with his training by the time they were ready to leave Magnus Hilda for good. The duo had spent about two to three weeks with Camie and her family treating the plague. It would take about another month or so for them to find a craftsman in Rocket Mountain, bring him back and commission a Freya statue.

"There are seven different rankings for adventurers with the lowest being F and the highest being S. I'll start explaining from the lowest ranking."

Zero nodded but stopped Truen from explaining anything yet. "I want to summon a horse so that we can talk on the way. It's ridiculous to walk all the way to Rocket Mountain on foot. We should have brought horses along instead of accepted a ride from Joseph."

Truen didn't mind and waited as Zero pulled out a whistle from his inventory. It was going to be his first time calling such a fine steed for their travels and Zero was nervous. After waiting for about a minute, the doctor wondered if the horse wasn't appearing but his worries were for nought when he heard a weighing sound coming from the clouds.

Truen should have known something like that would happen. "Do you really have to summon Pegasus?"

Zero shrugged and patted the winged horse before asking it to transform and hide those wings away. Pegasus complied and Zero got onto its back before jerking his chin to indicate that Truen should get behind him.

"It was the only horse I had," he explained and Truen relented. Apart from being snowy-white and breathtakingly beautiful, Pegasus looked like any other ordinary horse. The wood elf would close one eye for now.

"Where was I?" he asked after the horse started galloping. "Oh yes, the rankings. Basic adventurers start off at F-rank. This usually meant that adventurers holding this card cannot travel freely out of their city and can only take low levelled guests that didn't involve high combat abilities. You can think of them as hunters who search for animals and plant ingredients in the wild. They take on small jobs posted by various merchants or business owners and turn in their hunts according to the requests for payment."

Zero nodded. That didn't sound too difficult. Just about anybody can become an F-rank adventurer.

"To progress from an F-rank adventurer to an E-rank adventurer, one must complete at least thirty hunting quests. At this stage, think of them as professional hunters who can take on higher risk prey and work in teams. E-ranked adventurers have the right to travel freely in between cities but not in between countries and territories. They can start taking on slightly more difficult tasks that involve combat difficulty or difficult terrains."

Zero noted that down. While E-rank adventurers sound like they have a better life, Zero didn't know if they suffered more or less than the F-ranked adventurers. Either way, there didn't sound like there was a huge benefit being an F-rank or E-rank adventurer.

"To get promoted from an E-rank to a D-rank adventurer, the adventurer must successfully complete fifty quests in a party that have been registered with the guild. This is the starting point where the ranking becomes more difficult and the quests become more complex."

Zero gave his friend a questioning look. There was only a rank difference, what was so complicated?

"At D-rank, travelling between countries and territories are allowed but only with a permit by the issuer of the quest. D-rank adventurers are able to take on missions like escorting a merchant caravan or exterminating bandits. Think of them like mercenaries who also hunt. Some D-rank quests involve delivering items from one place to another so the variety of quests and demand for D-rank adventurers increase. D-rank adventurers are not allowed to progress further without a suitable sponsor or passing the aptitude test from the guild. That's because from D to C rank there is a huge gap in skill difference."

Zero swallowed and his heart raced. "What's that requirement?"

Truen looked at Zero. "You just must be able to handle magic and life-threatening situations. All C-rank adventurers and above are able to withstand magic or use magic of some kind. It is also the reason why C-rank adventurers and able are allowed to travel freely anywhere with their pass. Any individual with the ability to use magic is a valuable asset."

Zero nodded. No wonder he was immediately recommended to a C-rank position by Queen Rosalind. Zero displayed his ability to use magic and that was the minimum rank he would get for his ability.

"What about the higher ranks? Since C-rank can use magic, do the higher ranks mean anything?"

The archer smiled. "Of course. To get from a C to a B rank, the adventurer must be able to win a match against a party of five other C-rank adventurers of any kind. The adventurer taking the duelling test must enter alone, no external help is allowed during the test. Think of B-ranked adventurers as masters of their craft."

Zero clapped and his eyes shone with respect. "Then does that mean A-rank adventurers must defeat a hundred C-rank adventurers?"

The wood elf laughed. "No, they are a little different. A-rank adventurers must successfully complete one long-term mission before they are awarded the rank."

"What's a long-term mission?"

Truen smiled bitterly. That was where his progress stopped as an adventurer. "A long-term mission is a mission that lasts anywhere from three months to a year. Most of these quests are complicated. They have missions like information gathering, guarding a target, fighting a war to defend a place against monster raids. A-rank adventurers are hard to come by simply because most of the adventurers trying to get to A-rank either give up halfway or die trying."

Zero swallowed. If it was so difficult to get to A-rank, what about S-ranked adventurers?

Truen smiled at Zero's unasked question. "S-rank adventurers are special. There isn't a fixed requirement for anyone to become an S-rank adventurer. Think of S-rank adventurers as national treasures. They must possess a one-of-a-kind value or talent that all other adventurers don't have. It's not something that hard work can bring. It's more of a talent thing. S-rank adventurers are described as Heroes most of the time because of their impossible feats that nobody else can accomplish. They do things like splitting mountains, slaying mythical beasts and reviving the dead from what I heard. However, becoming an S-rank adventurer comes with a heavy price. They don't have the freedom to choose their jobs and report directly to the king of the country that appointed them as S-rank adventurers. Their jobs are assigned by the guilds and while they are treated well, they cannot leave the job until they complete ten years of service to the country."

The doctor frowned and leaned back against Truen's chest on Pegasus' back. "That sounds horrible. Why would anybody want to be an S-rank adventurer?"

The wood elf shrugged. "People do it for many reasons. Some do it for money, others do it for fame and honour. Most S-rank adventurers do it because it is their dream to become heroes."

Zero was silent after that, his mind in a mess. Heroes... he never really liked them even if Vrald and Gerlad are doing their best to become them. Many of the heroes in stories have loud personalities and troublemaking tendencies much like Zero was in the past. The doctor vaguely wondered if the existence of these hours and S-ranked adventurers were considered a tragedy or a comedy before he yawned and took a nap. It was a long road to Rocket Mountain and an even longer road to understanding what he wanted. Either way, Zero was in no hurry.