The atmosphere in the Mercenary Guild bar felt heavy. The usual light string music now sounded faint in the background, drowned out by the clinking of glasses and the quiet murmurs of mercenaries watching two figures in the corner of the room.
Aris sat silently but alert. His sharp eyes observed the short, messy-haired man with a scar on his cheek. That man — Juro — had once fought him during the Lysandra rescue operation. Aris's body tensed, almost ready to leap from his seat. But he held himself back. It was pointless, he thought. His combat strength had drastically declined after losing the blessing from Goddess Aqua, and... deep down, he knew what the man said back then was the truth.
Their eyes met. For a moment, the entire room seemed to fall silent.
Then Juro approached with relaxed steps.
"Hey kid," Juro greeted in a hoarse voice. "I thought you'd jump up and try to attack me right away. Looks like you've grown up a little."
Aris only snorted lightly. "Hmph. I'm not that foolish."
"Then," Juro grinned, "are you here because of your father?"
Aris sharpened his gaze. "How do you know about my father?"
Juro chuckled. "First of all, my name is Juro. Second, we are Veritas. I and a few others are informants for your father."
Aris froze for a moment, then lowered his gaze, processing the information.
"Raegar Cean sent me many subtle messages. One of them... was to make sure a stubborn kid like you stayed alive." Juro patted Aris's shoulder, as if speaking to a younger brother.
"And you have to start from scratch," Juro continued. "By becoming a mercenary."
"Mercenary?" Aris frowned.
"Yup. This isn't your kingdom anymore, kid. There are no noble titles here. In the real world, only skills matter." Juro winked.
"But my strength..." Aris muttered.
"You did lose your blessing, which weakened your magic and elemental affinity. But..." Juro crossed his arms. "In some ways, your combat skills actually improved. Your instincts and how you assess the battlefield... look much sharper than when we last fought."
Before Aris could reply, a conversation near the receptionist desk caught their attention.
"You hear that?" a mercenary whispered to his friend. "That's Juro, the Special Mercenary."
"What?! A Special level? No wonder everyone's quietly showing him respect."
"Special Mercenary..." Aris murmured. "What's that?"
Juro chuckled. "The ranks in this guild, kid. From the bottom up: Unqualified, Qualified, Common, True, Elite, then... Special."
Aris nodded slowly, realizing the man before him was not someone to be underestimated.
The conversation continued more casually. Juro explained that Raegar had long been secretly working with Veritas. Now, through Juro, Aris was tasked with rebuilding himself from zero: by becoming a mercenary.
"If you want to start," Juro continued, "we'll register your mercenary badge. Let the guild determine your rank."
The two of them approached the registration desk. A brown-haired receptionist lady immediately served them warmly—though she looked nervous because of Juro's presence.
"Please place your hand on this device," she said, pointing at a circular device with glowing magical symbols.
Aris followed the instruction. A soft blue light scanned his body.
"The result..." The receptionist glanced at a small screen. "Common Mercenary."
"Your total stats... 314. Almost reaching True Rank qualification," she said, impressed. "With just a little more, you would have skipped the first two ranks. Amazing for someone just joining."
"Not bad for a start," Juro commented, nodding in satisfaction.
A small silver badge engraved with the Mercenary Guild's symbol was handed to Aris.
"Welcome, Aris Cean. Common Rank Mercenary."
The Mercenary Guild had a ranking system: starting from Unqualified (not yet eligible but still can apply some little job), then Qualified, Common, True, Elite, and at the very top, Special. And among them, Juro stood at the peak as one of the few Special Mercenaries.
Even without words, it was obvious how the guild members showed deference as Juro passed by. Not long after, Juro patted Aris's shoulder. "Coincidentally, I just got a mission. A new undead dungeon has appeared in the north, disrupting the forest ecosystem. I need a porter. You're coming."
"Porter?" Aris raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, what did you expect, kid? Even if you're almost True Rank, you have to start from the bottom. Carry supplies, watch my back, gain experience."
Aris clenched his fists. This was the beginning of his new path—without blessings, without his family's famous name, only himself and his sword.
After receiving the Common Rank badge, Aris followed Juro to the mission preparation warehouse. Simple supplies—ropes, knives, bundles of herbal medicine—were prepared by the guild staff.
"A porter just carries the supplies, but you need to stay alert," Juro said, tossing a small bag of provisions. "This undead dungeon is no place for carelessness."
Aris responded coldly. His body still remembered the pain of regenerating his hand, and he hid the occasional tremors in his grip. "I'm not a kid anymore."
Juro smirked. "If you can survive until the dungeon boss, I'll consider you passed."
At the northern border of Varethra's forest, the humid air and the scent of wet earth pierced their noses. Juro walked ahead, his steps silent like a wild cat. Aris watched his movements—every pause, every glance at the bushes—and realized: this wasn't just a mercenary... this was a predator.
Suddenly, Juro stopped. "Hear that?"
The sound of bones scraping against each other came from beyond the trees.
Three skeleton warriors emerged, raising rusted swords.
Aris: Using his weighted silver sword, a relic from his father, fought defensively (the lingering memory of Cean family training).
Juro: even if juro have a spear on his back he's using only a small dagger, but each strike precisely hit the enemy's bone joints. "Undead are weak at the joints. Study anatomy, don't just rely on brute strength."
Aris was impressed but didn't want to admit it. "You let me fight them alone on purpose?"
Juro laughed. "You want to rank up? You need to do more than just carry a bag."
They continued their conquest deeper into the dungeon.