Infinite Mage - Chapter 660
[660] Recruitment of mercenaries (4)
The War Wagon Guild’s master Jordyk raised his chin arrogantly and approached Aakman.
He was wearing a brown robe with embroidered carp wrapped around his body, giving a serious impression of a man in his mid-50s.
“The Silverling Guild is also out of date. Well, since these guys run only for money, their skills have to run.”
Ackman’s eyes widened, but it was miserable when he opened his mouth from the position that showed that he had lost miserably.
“Ho-ho-ho! So, to run a guild, you must have faith. Guild members can’t last long with the thought of multiplying them.”
As if this was an opportunity, Master Yvian of Blood Rose fired a supporting shot.
Instead of a robe, it was a woman in her mid-thirties, wearing a tight-fitting top that exposed her cleavage, a short skirt, and a blood-red neck cape.
“Isn’t there such a thing? Let go of the birds you cannot hold. It has been proven here that silver rings are not qualified to accept ivory tower candidates as guild members.”
He was offended by the miserable words of those who seemed to be his enemies, but he had something to say to Aakman as well.
“So you’re saying it’s possible? I’ll give it up for once, so why don’t we prove it here?”
The two of them’s mouths were shut together.
They also watched the battle, so there was no disagreement about the fact that they couldn’t hold Sirone with their skills.
When the conversation was cut off, Sirone asked what he was curious about.
“But who are you?”
Yvian bowed slightly on his knees.
“hello. My name is Yvian, the master of Blood Rose, the strongest guild in the kingdom.”
“aha.”
As expected, they were masters of competing guilds.
“Then this one?”
When Sirone turned to the sideburned man, he held out his hand.
“I am Jordic, the master of the war wagon. Even a rookie must have heard of my name.”
I had never heard of it, and as a member of the Silver Ring guild, I never made the mistake of shaking hands with the master of a rival guild.
“Hmmmm!”
While Jordyk withdrew his hand in displeasure, Yvian opted for a friendly strategy.
“The confrontation a moment ago must have been a master verification process, without question. However, Blood Rose will not put any conditions on you. So please stop by our guild as well.”
It was a strategy to eat half if I couldn’t have it all.
When it came out like that, it was Yordyk who suffered a loss.
Being a man of war and holding supremacy through the logic of power, he had no intention of handing over the position of master to Sirone.
“gibberish! Wasn’t it an unwritten rule to forbid duplicate registrations between competing guilds? I’d rather go to war now. Let’s choose the strongest of the three guilds.”
The point was that the balance of power collapsed due to Sirone intervening, not Sirone’s problem.
In that respect, Sirone also felt sorry for the 3 major guilds, but there was no need to take responsibility.
‘It’s better. I can cut the time down a bit.’
Just as the masters thought about the guild’s position, Sirone focused only on her own mission.
“How about doing this?”
When Sirone opened her mouth, all three masters paid attention.
“Actually, I’m thinking of organizing a private mercenary.”
Yvian said, showing his anger.
“If that is the case, leave it to me. There are many talented wizards in the Blood Rose Guild.”
“no. no one will take it It could cost you your life.”
The Radum investigation is confidential, but it was good to properly convey the level of difficulty.
Jordyk, who finally found an opportunity to intervene, actively stepped forward.
“If you’re afraid of dying, you can’t last long on this floor. Danger doesn’t matter to the guildmates of the war wagon. This is what really matters.”
Jordyk rubbed his fingers and asked for a reward, but Sirone still hadn’t set a clear standard.
Even if Lufist had entrusted him with full authority, it was ambiguous to determine the proper line unless he could grasp the situation of the guild.
“Well, so…”
“10,000 gold.”
Then, again, a voice came from the building.
“uh? Aria?”
Sirone made a surprised expression at the appearance of an unexpected person, but Aria calmly approached as if she had promised.
“Hello Sirone?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I told you then, see you next time.”
Jordanik asked.
“I don’t know who it is, but 10,000 gold? Is that the commission fee for this job?”
For the guild members who risked their lives even for 100 gold, it was like raining gold from the sky.
“Wrong. To be precise, it’s 10,000 gold per person.”
Not only the Masters, but even the Silverling Guild members were agitated, but from Sirone’s point of view, it was embarrassing.
“Aria, what the hell is this…”
“Don’t worry. I already finished talking to the VIP.”
It wouldn’t matter as long as I had Luffist’s permission, but why it was an aria was still a mystery.
Aria spoke as if she had read Sirone’s thoughts.
“I heard from my lover. Are you building a mercenary army? I decided to join too. There will be something I can help you with.”
Sirone immediately refused.
“It’s too dangerous. You could die. Arya-san doesn’t even have combat skills.”
“What are you talking about? After all, he’s a full-time diplomat. that I can save my life. Wanna see?”
Arya used the self-defense technique she learned in the royal castle.
“bout! bout!”
The thrusting and kicking were somewhat clumsy, but I turned my head to Lian because I wasn’t the type to judge things I didn’t know.
“It’s gone. You won’t catch a single dog.”
At Rian’s judgment, Arya stuck out her tongue and said.
“Hehe did you hear? I practiced yesterday. But don’t worry. I have prepared the number of trumps in my own way.”
“Why do you want to go this far?”
The smile faded from Arya’s face.
“Because it is my job. Just as you work hard in the position of a wizard, I am just doing my job.”
Although Radum is under the jurisdiction of the internal government, the risk of leaks was high to attract personnel there.
Besides, since Radum was an extraterritorial area, there were many things Arya could do, and above all, Lufist liked that she was the lowest.
Arya hugged Sirone by the arm and clung to him.
“And you will protect me, so what are you worried about? If you can be protected by Sirone, you won’t be afraid of hell.”
After the Gold City terror incident, she had been searching for rumors about Sirone, and had even gathered information that she was the kingdom’s best talent, nominated for the Ivory Tower.
Remembering Brooks’ face, Sirone hurriedly withdrew her hand and grumbled.
“If you’re attacking with the thought that you’ll protect me, stop now. Knowing what will happen…”
“Hehe, that’s why I said don’t worry.”
Arya, who had already made a plan, looked back at the master of the 3 major guilds and said.
“I commission all of the Silvering War Wagon Blood Rose. As of this time, we will organize the Sirone Mercenary Corps and recruit members. The method is the first open test and the second closed test. It’s a confidential mission and the reward is 10,000 gold. You will pay 3,000 gold in advance as a down payment. Please spread it as quickly as possible through the guild network. We will hold the first public test here in a week.”
No Master objected, and he was even thinking of directly participating in the first public test.
This is because the balance of power will be rearranged depending on how many people pass through your guild rather than moving based on money.
“great. I say so.”
As the masters went outside, Sirone grabbed Arya by the wrist and led her to a corner.
“Isn’t that making things too big? It’s a classified mission.”
“That’s why I’m raising it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you really think the VIP would only entrust it to you? Through this test, we will send applicants there as well. On the contrary, I will seek out those whose identity is unknown through document screening and interviews.”
“Hmm.”
Arya’s responsibility was heavy.
‘Well, that’s why the Association can’t even move.’
Aria put her hand on Sirone’s shoulder.
“Using the guild was the right decision. Unless it’s around 10,000 gold, talented people won’t gather. Even so… the placenta will die.”
Knowing this, Aria’s boldness in taking on this task was not common.
“all right. I will do my best to protect Aria. But… I can’t be sure.”
“That’s enough. Don’t try to take on too much responsibility. It is a decision made by each individual. You don’t have to worry about whether they live or die. Including me.”
It was a statement worthy of an executive at the royal castle, and I felt that I had finally graduated from magic school.
“yes. Please take good care of me.”
* * *
During the week waiting for the test, Sirone and Lian were briefed by Arya in the hideout of Brooks Mansion, with all channels connected to the outside world blocked.
I was educated on the estimated population of sub-species and the characteristics of each race, and I also kept the complicated path of Radum in my head.
“When you enter Radum, high-level concealment facilities will be disrupting the structure. So, just use the map as a reference.”
Aria was an undisputed professional when teaching Sirone, but after the work was over, she undoubtedly sent a flirtation.
For Sirone, refusal was the most difficult thing of the day.
“If you change your mind, tell me anytime. I won’t eat it, so don’t be pressured.”
Seeing that he went to enjoy a tryst with Brooks again after saying that, it was clear that he had a different value in life.
Even Brooks, the flirt of the world, became obsessed with Aria little by little, and that’s why his gaze at Sirone wasn’t always pretty.
“It is finally today. Let’s go.”
When the test day arrived, the three of them left Brooks’ mansion early in the morning and headed for the Silverling Guild.
The ground collapsed by the firing of the Photon Cannon had been restored before anyone knew it, and on the other hand, a table prepared for the public test was placed.
By the time the sun rose, all the test takers who had been staying at Basuka had gathered and the inside of the guild was filled with people.
The total number of applicants was 273, and they were wearing badges with numbered tags in the order they were received.
“ruler! Then, let’s begin the entrance test for the Sirone Mercenary Corps! The first is an open test to evaluate your basic skills. Please do your best with what you have and show your ability.”
Arya put on her glasses as she entered the vacant lot in turn, starting with number 1.
Her role was to review the documents, and Sirone took over the magic and Rian took over the physical combat power.
Since it was an open test, we focused on the basics rather than individuality, but in terms of wizards, it was a spirit zone, and swordsmen and martial artists showed a demonstration of their mastery skills for about a minute.
Arya whispered to Sirone sitting in the center.
“Excluding the three of us, considering the helpers sent by the VIP, the number of people we can finally pass is around 13 to 15. It’s about three times the number of successful applicants in the second round, so we have to drop out more than 200 people in the first round.”
Sirone, who had reached a rough standard, nodded.
‘200 people. Isn’t that too much?’
But that thought went away once the public test started.
There were a lot of people who stared at 10,000 gold, but when they were taken to Radum, there were many people who fell short of the standard and died without trying anything.
“Taha! Taha!”
Even as a muscular man holding two hammers in both hands swung his arms above his head and showed off his skills, Lian was calm.
‘I can’t. The strength is good, but the technique is too poor. If you do that, you will die.’
Lian, who checked the disqualified box of document number 27, handed it over to Aria.
‘Hmm, 27 people have passed, but not a single person has come out yet.’
Just when I was starting to get a little worried, numbers 28 and 29 came in at the same time.
Arya looked at the papers first and raised her head with her eyes shining.
‘It’s a helper.’
When the signal that it was a greeting from the association was sent, Sirone also watched closely.
It was a combination of a man and a woman wearing plain black masks, but the atmosphere was unusual.
“Hello, this is Candidate No. 28.”
“It’s number 29.”
As the men and women bowed their heads in turn and greeted each other, Sirone’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“hello.”
It was the voice of the Magic Association Luffist and Chief Secretary Jane.
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