Chapter 4: Creating Request Forms, Rank Points, and “Sheep’s Fighting Spirit”

The regular A-rank party “Sheep’s Fighting Spirit,” consisting of six members, said they would accept a subjugation request.

“Sheep’s Fighting Spirit” was so famous that even other countries said, “That party from the town of Arys.”

I had known of them since my days as an adventurer.

When I once asked about the origin of the “Sheep” in their party name, which had piqued my curiosity back then, they told me it was because sheep had been raised in this area long ago.

The reason sheep were no longer herded was that a vast dungeon had appeared nearby, causing frequent stampedes.

A stampede referred to when monsters inside a dungeon—vicious beings that attacked humans—multiplied excessively and poured out in groups.

Since they rampaged in large numbers, the townspeople began living barricaded within the city walls.

And that was how things had remained until now.

“Sheep’s Fighting Spirit” symbolized the indomitable spirit of this town and was a party deeply rooted here.

Their composition consisted of five A-rank members and one B-rank member, totaling six.

I placed the received request form and registration card into the designated position of the magic tool—something close to a scanner, in terms of my previous life’s knowledge.

When a party accepted a request, as long as the leader’s card was used, the acceptance would be registered for all party members.

The request involved subjugating monsters.

A-Rank Request
Subjugation (Information Gathering)
Location: Biginu Forest
Details: Sightings of B–A rank monsters. Subjugation or information gathering required.
Recommended人数: Around six people
Reward: If subjugated, Rank Points 300P. Fifteen gold coins. Additional reward depending on monster condition.
Reward: Information gathering only, Rank Points 60P. Three gold coins

It was a request stating, “If possible, please subjugate them, but information gathering alone is acceptable.”

Rank Points were the points required for a registered adventurer to increase their rank.

The Adventurers Guild ranks began at G, then rose through F, E, D, C, B, A, S, with SS as the highest.

Those who registered as adventurers started at G rank with zero points.

By gathering medicinal herbs or subjugating monsters, they accumulated points, and upon reaching the required amount, their rank increased.

This request form placed on the counter.

Like all requests, upon completion, the points would be divided among the party members.

If “Sheep’s Fighting Spirit” went to the forest and successfully subjugated the target, 300 points divided by six meant 50 points per person.

The fifteen gold coins were also a reward for the party as a whole.

If they brought the defeated monster back to the guild and sold its fur or fangs, they would earn additional payment.

“Oh. You’re heading out for this request.”

“If we don’t deal with it quickly, the kids using that dungeon and forest will have trouble.”

There were two dungeons near this town, and the one prone to stampedes was on the southeast side.

The other was a cave dungeon in the southern forest.

It was an ultra-beginner dungeon frequently used by low-rank adventurers.

With only a few floors, it was easy to clear.

In fact, the recent sighting of monsters had come from those low-rank adventurers—specifically, children.

Today, they had entered the forest to hunt low-rank monsters to add meat to their dinner when they heard something.

When they secretly went to check, they saw what appeared to be a high-rank monster.

They fled at once and reported it to the guild.

They had apparently thought that no one would believe them because they were children.

But by using my [Appraisal] on one of them, I could tell.

One of them possessed the [Monster Analysis] skill, which allowed them to determine a monster’s strength.

I did not think their assessment was far off, so we decided to issue it as an A-rank request.

A-rank requests could be accepted by adventurers ranked B through S.

The blond, narrow-eyed elf sub-master—hereafter referred to as Submaster—had initially hesitated.

“You’re going to take children’s words at face value?” he had asked.

I suggested that making it a subjugation request including information gathering would be acceptable, and we adjusted the details together before creating the request.

It probably helped that I added with a smile, “If you’d like, I can go gather information right now. Please handle the reception desk while I’m gone.”

When this guild had restarted two years ago, we had been understaffed.

So it had been a rule that even the Guildmaster had to stand at the counter if things got busy.

Thankfully, that was no longer necessary, but the Submaster had shown a weary expression.

The Submaster of the Arys Branch of the Adventurers Guild appeared to be in his late twenties to thirties, but he was actually the oldest person in this guild.

Earlier, he had been laughing at the beastman taken away by the Guildmaster.

I did not quite understand what he found amusing, but apparently he had.

Though he may not have wanted to create a high-rank request based on vague testimony, it seemed he weighed that against having to stand at the counter himself.

“If it includes information gathering, that’s fine. There are plenty of B- and A-rank adventurers. Someone will take care of it.”

Perhaps unwilling to go to the counter, he quickly signed the confirmation on the request form.

To post a request, either the Guildmaster or Submaster’s confirming signature was required, so I always asked them.

At this guild, we used a magic tool equipped with magic detection for request processing.

If the Guildmaster or Submaster’s magic-infused signature was not confirmed, it would emit a loud warning sound.

Incidentally, magic power was automatically infused into a signature when writing it, even without conscious effort.

It might seem excessive.

However, it was necessary to prevent staff from skimming rewards into their own pockets.

It also prevented the creation of requests with outrageous rewards.

In either case, it was a measure to stop fraudulent requests from being made.

One reason for implementing this system was a request form I had seen back when I was still an adventurer.

At that time, a receptionist at this guild had assigned a request to a male adventurer.

If I remembered correctly, it had said, “400 Rank Points per Horn Rabbit subjugated.”

Horn Rabbits were weak enough that five or six G-rank children could defeat one.

As you could tell from the Biginu Forest request earlier, that reward had been beyond outrageous.

I still could not believe someone had come up with such a thing.