Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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/Later…/

/Chatter!/

Back in the Mercenary Guild, Dale could be seen being reprimanded by 2 people, a middle-aged lady, and a middle-aged man.

However, he was completely relaxed... Albeit a bit annoyed.

The same could not be said for his captors...

Their expressions were similar, both were confused and in deep thought, although one seemed tenser than the other.

Upon hearing Dale's explanation of what happened, the lady decided to ask:

"... And? Was that all?"

"Yup, the big buy deflected my spear and he slept soon after, don't ask me why though, perhaps he was just too tired?"

"I brought him here to get his wounds treated and in the hopes of understanding more about what he said."

/Sigh…/

"What a mess."

'That sounds just like the behavior of a Karkavan...'

Tina let out a sigh, feeling frustrated.

She had just told her disciple to rest for tomorrow, and not long after, she was hit with the pleasant news of him being considerably injured after fighting!

And it wasn't a monster nor a Devil, much less during a practice match, if it weren't any of those, she would've understood and she would have had a proper response...

But it was a Karkavan! A Warmonger of all!

So how is she supposed to act? Karkavans put a lot of importance and meaning into their rituals, and she is sure that their fight held great importance for the newcomer...

But their fight laid waste to the Green Fields South of the Village, and albeit the crops and cattle were okay, the view wasn't the same anymore.

Even now, half an hour after the fight, the smoke had yet to cease completely, they had managed to employ the players into clearing the rubble off the fields, but that would take a little while to be completed.

And even then, it would take many weeks for the grass to grow again if at all after the destruction they caused.

Tina knew very well what the Karkavans were, despite them not having made contact with them for the last 100 years, she knew they lived deep in the center of the forest.

A tribe of giant humanoid warriors that trained consistently, and were in sync with nature.

They weren't barbaric as their ways were refined in their own sense.

So seeing one here completely threw her off her feet… Especially now of all times.

She immediately understood that this wasn't a coincidence, and the story her little student just shared with her proved that to her.

But from her perspective, this was perfect as the goals of the Karkavan might very well be aligned with theirs.

In the past Humans and Karkavans used to have a good relationship, and albeit they lost contact, rekindling this relationship shouldn't be that hard…

"Cough..."

In the middle of the awkward silence, Misgurd asked:

"What are you going to do with him?"

"What else can we do but wait?..." Tina replied as she let out a sigh

She raised her head to meet Misgurd's as she stopped thinking:

"But we can't wait forever, we'll be leaving at most tomorrow, regardless of what happens or what he says."

'We need to deal with the Devil, there is no point in waiting any further.'

"Hm? Are you leaving already?" Dale asked as he saw Tina leave

"I'll help that little girl for a bit, can't let her treat that big guy all on her own, the faster he wakes up, the faster he can start talking."

Dale scratched his head awkwardly…

"But… Even if he wakes up, I don't think he'll be able to talk that much, I barely understood what he wanted."

"Well Dale, that's when you use your brain, I'll just grab a dictionary for their language."

"..."

"The corps used to deal with them quite frequently, and some of their higher ranked personnel were obliged with learning their language, there are more than enough books about it in the Library."

Dale felt slightly offended, there were simply too many books, and he skipped quite a few of them.

"Rude…"

'I didn't even know there was such a book...'

'I should've guessed it... As if such a thing woldn't be there.'

"So if you excuse me, I have a lot to prepare." Tina said as she waved with her back turned to them

/Clack/

She closed the door gently, leaving the two alone.

And after a few seconds passed, Misgurd was the first to talk:

"Heh, she may not show it, but she is a bit proud."

"How did you see that?"

"Because I am a little as well!"

"..."

'Is that something you say with such certainty?'

"Heh, relax boy, keeping your mind that full will make you no good."

Dale understood his words, but he still ended up blurting something in a very low tone:

"But what choice do I have?"

While he said that, Misgurd said:

"Things sure are lively now."

"I wonder if that's good or bad though…" Dale mentioned as he looked outside

"Stop being pessimistic, everything will end up fine."

"It has to."

Misgurd got up from his chair, pointing at the door.

"I bet you have nothing to do for now, so why don't I introduce you to the people from the Mercenary Guild?"

Dale frowned slightly.

"That old man?"

"Not only him, but his trainee as well, this should also be a good chance for you to raise your ranking, he may have pretty much retired, working in the inspection team now, but he can still issue higher rankings than me."

"At least, his restrictions are lesser than mine."

"That may not be very useful down here in the South, but we never know, this is also a chance to see how strong they actually are."

"Aren't you eager to see how strong someone your age is outside?"

"This isn't just any kid mind you, he's the disciple of an Emerald Rank Veteran Mercenary!"

"When I was more active, I was sure there were no more than 3000 working in the field, not counting the retired ones of course."

"Zaw was also very capable, I could say he was at the top 1000, and that was many years ago..."

"And even if his strength has nothing to do with his disciple, it still speaks leagues of his experience, as despite being a mercenary, instead of retiring due to an injury, he managed to retire due to age while also getting stronger."

"I can count on my hand the number of mercenaries that did the same Buwahaha!"

Dale immediately understood what Misgurd's goals actually were...

His current rank wasn't the problem, nor Misgurd's goal.

It was simply an excuse for him to drag Dale around toward whatever he had in mind...

So Dale pointed it out:

"Look... If you want to fight them, why don't you just ask? Don't drag me into such troublesome things..."

'I raised my rank with the Mercenary Guild as a side activity, treating it more as a bonus than anything, since my Ranking never mattered.'

'But he's right, having a higher position wouldn't be bad.'

'However, I have no intention of proving anything to people I never met before... Not without something on the line.'

'Misgurd simply wants me to follow him so he can try some things... In other words...'

'He's using me.'

'But not that grim of course, he simply wants an excuse since he is... Embarrassed?'

"Oi! I'm an old man." Misgurd said with a slight grunt

"I can't go asking people for a fight anymore… Much less when the other is also an old man…"

"So I'll have you, my student, fight his student!" He said with a proud smile

Dale raised an eyebrow, trying to piece everything together...

"... What did you bet with him?" Dale asked, going directly to the point

"COUGH!"

"..."

"A few Copper Zulls…"

"... Sigh. Fine, I'll do it." Dale said helplessly

'Fighting his student should be alright, and this old man will surely be happy if things go his way, especially if I win.'

'Besides, I have yet to start his Questline, and if he has one, it is related to the Mercenary Guild, and he hinted at their arrival ever since I talked with him for the first time.'

'So I want to see where this small errand ends up.'

'For all I know, it might very well be the start of everything.'

Thrilled with his agreement, Musgurd added:

"Don't worry about your injuries, the boy won't be anything special since you managed to take down that Karkavan warrior"

"Huh? So what's the point of all of this?" Dale questioned as he scratched his head

Obviously, in order to breathe a little, Dale removed his helmet, albeit he still had his armor on.

'I didn't really see the boy up close, but I did see him as I walked around and when I first met them outside the Village.'

'He didn't look special to me in the least, definitely stronger than the young adults in the Village, but not by much.'

'Their difference likely shows itself in experience and techniques, as on one side, you have a Mercenary Knight, while on the other, you have a bunch of doped Farmers...'

'Of course, I won't underestimate my enemies, I can't.'

"Err... How do I say this?... This fight is mostly for you to teach him some… Some..."

"Humility."

/Crunk!/

Dale almost fell from his chair.

"??? And why is that?"

Misgurd's expression changed.

"Sigh, young people are normally reckless… You are an exception, of course, taking your time with things, listening to what your seniors have to say..."

"But my friend failed time and time again to teach his own student how to behave, and he asked me if I had a method."

"So I just told him that I had someone about the age of his own student…"

"The rest isn't that hard to figure out."

"..."

'Great… So this went from a fight to babysitting...'

[DING!]

[Quest, Head over the shoulders, has activated]

[Description:

Misgurd's old friend, Emerald Rank Mercenary Zaw has a student about your age who has yet to face adversities, and as such, has grown reckless and arrogant.

If he were to meet a wall, perhaps he might change for the better... Or so they all think.

Requirements:

Beat Zaw's student to a pulp, showing your capabilities to the inspection team 0/1

*Optional* Thoroughly trash Zaw's student, showing your overwhelming superiority 0/1

]

"..."

Dale did not react to this notification, he had no more energy to do so… His unresponsive eyes said it all.

So he simply left the room, following Misgurd, making his way to the training grounds.

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Notes

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