The Runesmith

“Are you sure you didn’t forget anything?”

“Yeah, everything I need is in here.”

Roland was standing outside his home while looking at Elodia that seemed a bit worried. It was strange to leave on a small adventure and actually have a place to come back to this time around. Usually, even if something went astray he could just change locations while leaving the troublesome area.

Now on the other hand if he for some reason abandoned his mission there would be some consequences. Adventurers that fled in the face of danger would get reprimanded, sometimes they could even get kicked out. Trusting in the guild was something that was built up through the ages, they could not risk keeping members that would give up their mission without good reason.

“Agni, take care of Elodia while I’m away and also keep Bernir out of trouble. If you see him drinking too much, you know what to do.”

“Awooo!”

“Hey, What’s that supposed to mean Boss?”

Bernir was to the side trying to play it off but both of them knew that he had a drinking problem. When Roland was in the workshop he had a strict non-drinking policy during work hours. Now when he would be gone for a week or two, it gave Bernir ample time to booze it up.

“Be sure not to offend any rich merchants or nobles.”

As Roland was slinging his spatial backpack over his shoulder that made him feel like he was going on a school trip, he was given one last piece of advice.

“I’ll try.”

Everyone knew that Roland had a certain way of presenting himself. Even to this day he had trouble bowing his head towards authority which was mostly caused by his upbringing. It felt strange to be afraid of people with nothing but status. If they were powerful tier 3 class holders then it was another thing. After a small hug that caused Elodia some pain due to him wearing his shiny armor, he made his way towards the city.

…..

“Everyone gather up, I will discuss your duties, my name is Nicholaus and I’ll be responsible for you lot.”

‘So this is the group?’

Roland was looking at a man of medium-built in mismatching-looking armor. On the back, he was wearing a long spear that was probably the most expensive item from his entire set. This was something that he started to notice with the adventurers in this world. They all tended to spend most of their money on their weapons.

This was reflected in his own shop which saw better sales with items that could cause more damage than ones that protected its user. Only when the adventurers had some spare change did they start to invest in protective measures like stronger armor.

He on the other hand had made his armor his strongest weapon, with somewhat lacking battle skills he needed to focus on what he was good at, his runic items. The magic they were able to produce could mimic high-level skills and the cost was only mana which he had a large reserve off. This person here had the highest level of the entire group which prompted Roland to inspect his status screen.

‘Spirit Spearman? Well, that’s an uncommon class.’

Roland had amassed a small compendium of class knowledge by this time. Spirit in this case didn’t have anything to do with ghosts, it was just another form of energy. There was a stronger variation of it called aura but he had yet to see someone have it.

This spirit would just be added to the person’s status screen and used as a separate resource. Sometimes the skills would combine stamina and mana to be performed which made these sorts of classes hard to level up. Unless a person excelled at all three it was hard to get any skills that were worthwhile but the added resource did give them more options.

“There are only five wagons now but as we travel further new ones will be added, for now, I will decide on your…”

The man continued to talk while Roland just glanced to the side as he was not that interested. Normally the strongest adventurer received the leadership position but this wasn’t set in stone. The guild could just propose who would lead it but the people here were not part of an army, they didn’t need to listen to anyone of the same ranks as them.

During the mining expedition where he encountered mines, there was one strong adventurer party that no one dared to go against. Yet here, on the other hand, there was not that much of a difference in prestige. The man with the spear might have had the highest level but this didn’t mean that others would listen to him as he was not the only gold rank adventurer here.

“Hey ugly could you shut up? Stop acting like you own the place.”

There it was, a somewhat deeper voice but it belonged to a woman. The people turned to the person that it belonged to. It was a tall woman that wasn’t wearing that much armor, her belly was exposed which revealed quite the set of brown chiseled abs. Over her shoulder, she had a large axe that looked like it weighed a ton.

Her classes were also more unique than he was used to seeing. Probably if the woman didn’t have some medium-sized lumps protruding from her chest it would be hard for him to figure out her gender. Her body looked like it belonged to a bodybuilder that had smeared glistering oil all over it.

“Oh, this is getting interesting.”

“Are they going to fight?”

The other adventurers that were silver just stood back and watched while commenting. No one would be willing to get between the two if a fight broke out. His luck pulled a fast one on as after everyone had cleared to the sides it left him between the two fighters. With how high his own level was he also didn’t feel like moving but this was of course noticed by these two that started to quickly eyeball him.

Roland was just minding his own business while leaning up against one of the merchant carts. This whole experience made him think about some old school days. It was as if some kid was trying to shit test him. If he just lowered his head and went away he could be seen as an easy target. On the other hand, if he just stayed here a potential fight could break out.

These two were melee fighters that worked best at closer range. This wasn’t the same for him, as even though he could activate his spells fast he was at a disadvantage when someone closed the gap. The lady in particular just needed a little sprint to get into striking range. Even with his armor on he wasn’t sure if it would be a good idea to try to wrestle her down or get into a fistfight either.

“Is that metal head with you?”

“No, I thought he was with you!”

“This is why adventurers are…”

Roland quietly said under his breath while the muscular lady gave him the stink eye.

“What are you mumbling about? If you have something to say then speak up!”

She started shouting which caused the spearman to grab his weapon. Even before they met any monsters and bandits the whole place seemed to be ready to explode. Before they noticed that he could use magic he could probably send a few spell their way but this was not something that he wanted to do. They were already on the clock and if he caused a ruckus his gold rank test was in jeopardy.

“What are you doing, stop this at once! You aren’t paid to fight with each other.”

Luckily one of the merchants finally noticed after the barbarian woman started shouting around. After going for the one thing that adventurers loved the most, which was money they quickly quieted down. Then instead of the man with the spear the real boss of the whole caravan finally showed up, the merchant paying for it all.

The man looked to be above forty and of a stockier build. He was a regular human but his height was not much more of a dwarf's. He was wearing a cap that from what Roland knew was fashionable for rich people to wear. His clothes were also quite extravagant, made from some quality fabrics and the color of dark purple.

‘It will be easy for bandits to pick this guy out of the crowd if some ever attack.’

It was clear that this man had no trouble spending money on himself. There were several shiny rings on his thick fingers along with some kind of costly-looking pendant around his neck. Behind him, there were two armored men with pikes that looked like regular soldiers from the city.

It was normal for a merchant to have their personal guards like these. Hiring adventurers was just a quick way to bolster their forces during travel times. These personal bodyguards were not used to fighting monsters but other humans instead and it was also cheaper to go to the guild for a temp worker. They didn’t need to worry about the adventurer’s food or clothes, they were just contractors.

“If you can’t decide amongst yourselves, then I’ll do it for you. This is Ingran, he is the head of my guards, he will divide you into smaller teams of two or three for each cart that you will be responsible for.”

The merchant pointed to a large man that was wearing some shiny armor. His face was full of scars and he looked like a retired knight. Most likely he was an old adventurer that was smart enough to seek a more steady job at the side of a merchant. This line of work was less deadly than constantly fighting orcs or giant slug monsters.

“Gather up you lot, we don’t have all day if you don’t have anything to do, help the porters pack the carts, the sooner we leave the sooner you will receive your wage.”

Luckily the adventurers didn’t complain anymore. He heard the large woman snorting before walking away, she also shoulder-checked one of the silver-ranked adventurers that weren’t fast enough to get out of her way. The man with the spear seemed a bit more reasonable as he remained in place to get his orders.

‘They’ll probably reconcile after the first battle.’

Roland decided to stand up while going towards the merchant guard leader. While there was some drama, most of the time when lives were on the line the adventurers were quick to gather together. It was not uncommon for big enemies to turn into drinking buddies after going through a few battles together.“You there, state your name, rank, and level.”

“Wayland, Silver rank, level… over a hundred...”

“Over a hundred? Have you achieved your second tier 2 class change?”

Roland nodded at the question from the guard leader, the other silver-ranked adventurers started staring at him as they didn’t expect him to outlevel them while being the same rank.

“Wayland, there it is… going through your gold rank test…”

Ingran came prepared as one of the guards handed him a list of the adventurers that they hired. While he was not a gold rank adventurer by name, Roland could be considered one on paper by the potential strength that he brought. Probably due to this the head guard here would treat him with more respect but also give him tasks more suited of a gold rank adventurer.

“Runesmith and Rune Mage…? Very well, you’ll be in the front cart then, please get your possessions and move accordingly. I’ll be relying on your magical capabilities then.”

After going through the adventurer list the man quickly changed his tone. It was clear that something about his magical slinging capabilities was there. Mainly that he was a Rune Mage which was of course a lie thought up to hide his other crafting class. With the cover of Rune Mage, his rune using ways could be easily justified. He would be in the furthermost cart so the one that would be the first target of bandits.

Yet he could not argue about his spot and just continued to nod. With his backpack slung over one shoulder he went towards the carts in question. The one that he would be occupying was quite large and made from some thick wood. Two somewhat large horses were being strapped to this large wagon. They were much bigger than their earthly counterparts and their fur was really red. It made them look like some kind of demonic beast that would burst with flames at any moment.

“The head guard told me to come here.”

“I see, there should be some room inside but please don’t touch anything behind the door.”

This wagon was quite long and to the sides, he could see windows that had latches on them. There was a small area on the backside that was sectioned off from the main inside. There was enough room for him to sit on one side on what looked to be some kind of bench. In the middle, there was a narrow wooden door through which a person could fit in.

At this moment, one of the guards was going through this door which allowed him to peek inside. There he saw various weapons, food, and something that looked like narrow bunk beds. It seemed that this wagon housed a large portion of the merchant's guards and was probably also the reason why it was larger than the other ones used to transport goods.

There needed to be enough free space for the guards to move around and get their weapons ready. The latches on the sides were probably used for the crossbows that he caught a glimpse of. If they were attacked by something this wagon could act as a barrier point through which they could actually use ranged weapons or magical attacks.

There was another identical cart like this that when they started to move into position was placed right in the back. He could see the gold-ranked spear user be sent to that one which put him a bit at ease as he wouldn’t need to keep him company. But instead, he was given the other troublemaker as a wagon partner, the large barbarian woman that almost caused a scene.

“So they shoved me in with the dome head?”

The moment the large woman stepped foot into the small compartment the whole wagon shook around. When seeing her up this close he was reminded of some of the half-orcs or goliath races. Yet she looked like a regular human being but he would probably believe it more if she came out to have some roots with one of those races.

“Unfortunately it does seem that way.”

“Oh, so you can actually talk?”

Grisalde sat down opposite to him which didn’t leave much space to maneuver between them. Roland was not a small man and he was wearing full body armor that made him seem even wider. The barbarian on the other hand was still half a head larger than he was, when the guards were packing up they seemed quite perturbed by the two large adventurers sitting there.

“Yes but I like to keep my articulating to a minimum if that’s okay with you?”

“Articulating? You’re a funny one.”

She started chuckling under her breath while smiling. While the barbarian seemed somewhat dangerous it wasn’t something that he wasn’t used to. It was time to leave, in the next city the assigned chaperone from the guild would join him on the mission. While it could be a gold rank adventurer this was not always the case.

‘Haven’t left this city in years…’

The wagon finally jolted forward as it moved along with him and the barbarian woman that continued to throw insults at him. Already he was regretting taking this test that would just offer him some minor quality of life improvements over his last rank. Yet it was something that he needed to take care of as if he ever got himself into tier 3 the platinum adventurer rank brought a few major improvements.