Chapter 12 Magic Power Measurement At The Guild Registration
I ended up staying at Granny Merlin's granddaughter, the Witch of Comet Mercury-san's house.
After that, I was guided by Mercury-san to the Adventurer's Guild.
It's quite a splendid building. For a moment, I thought it was the rumored royal castle, but it seems to be just a guild hall. Amazing, right? Capital city.
"This is the Adventurer's Guild of the capital city, called the 'Divine Gemstone.'"
"Divine... Gemstone? Do guilds have names like that?"
"Yes. Even though it's called the Adventurer's Guild, there are quite a few of them, especially in the capital city. My acquaintance runs this one, so I have some influence here."
It's more reassuring to go to a guild where you know someone, even if it's just through a friend of a friend, rather than going to a completely unfamiliar one.
Mercury-san is such a nice person for taking care of everything up to this point.
"What's with that lukewarm look?"
"No, I thought you were really nice."
"...If anything happens to you, Grandmother might kill me, you know?"
Granny Merlin?
Kill?
"What are you talking about? Granny Merlin is super nice. She wouldn't do something like that!"
"...You know, you're Granny's special favorite. She's been wanting a grandson for a long time, so she spoils you a lot."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. So, I have a duty to take care of you properly here. If anything happens to you because of some silly mistake, I..."
Mercury-san shivers and shakes.
Is she really scared of her?
She's always smiling, that sweet old granny.
Well, except for those times when bugs get inside the house, then she goes all out destroying everything.
But that's just her usual thing.
"Okay, Leaf-kun, let's go. First, you need to sign up at the guild."
"Yes! Please."
I entered the Adventurers Guild, the heart of all adventures.
Inside, it was quite impressive.
There was a huge, spacious hall right in front of me.
In the foreground was a dining area, and at the back was the reception counter. There was a staircase leading to the second floor, and it was quite fancy—it spiraled upwards, really cool.
Inside, it was bustling with activity. I saw people from different races, not just humans. There were elves and beastmen too.
Before long, we made our way to the farthest counter.
"Hey, Niina-chan, long time no see."
"Mercury-san! It's been a while!"
A cute lady with white hair looked at us and smiled.
She was tall, and her gentle gaze was characteristic of her.
She had a small dragon perched on her shoulder, like a familiar.
"Thanks for the appraisal the other day."
"No problem at all. Just let me know anytime you need help."
"Okay!"
Mercury-san looked at me and explained,
"I'm also a member of this Divine Gemstone, and I work as an appraiser."
"Oh, I see. So, you're connected to that kind of stuff?"
She seems to be appraising items and artifacts that adventurers bring in.
"Oh, right. This guy, Leaf Chemist-kun, seems like he wants to join this guild."
"I see. Then please fill out the necessary information on the documents."
The parchment handed to me by Niina-san was simple, just requiring age, gender, affiliation, and my job (or 'occupation' as they call it here).
Job, meaning the abilities given by the goddess when born into this world.
"I'm done. Niina-san, please check it."
"Yes, yes. Hmmm... Pharmacist? This is the Adventurer's Guild, though?"
"Um, yeah, that's right."
I wonder what's wrong. Is there some kind of problem
Mercury-san paused for a moment and said,
"Niina, this kid is from a really rural area, so he's lacking quite a bit in common sense."
Do I really lack that much?
According to Niina-san's explanation, people with the job of pharmacist don't seem to want to become adventurers much.
Instead, they tend to join the Merchant Guild or the Alchemist Guild.
...I don't get the difference.
"Leaf-kun, are you sure about joining the Adventurer's Guild? Adventurers do mercenary-like work, and it seems tough for someone with a non-combat job."
This person isn't rejecting me specifically. Pharmacists indeed lack combat skills. So, by advising me, she's just warning me that I might end up getting overshadowed if I join.
With Mercury-san taking care of many things for me, I feel fortunate to have good people around me.
"Thank you for your concern. But... I prefer being an adventurer. Living freely without any constraints is what I like."
"I see... Well, with merchant or alchemy, you inevitably get tied up with authorities... I understand. Sorry for interfering."
"Now then," Niina-san took a breath and said,
"Let's proceed with the [Aptitude Test]."
"Aptitude test?"
Mercury-san nodded in response.
"This guild is incredibly popular. So, we get a huge number of guild applicants. We can't handle all of them, so we screen them based on aptitude."
"Oh, I see... I wonder if I'll be okay..."
I've never taken a test in my life.
I don't know... I'm getting really anxious.
"You'll be fine. You also have Mercury-san's recommendation. Besides, the 'test' is just measuring magic power and combat power."
"Magic power... combat power..."
I wonder... I've never accurately measured either of those before.
"Okay, let's start with measuring your magic power. Vice-chan, please."
Perched on Niina-san's shoulder, the young dragon familiar nodded.
With a gurgle, it spat out a crystal orb.
It seemed the familiar could store items in its stomach. Maybe it had a skill like storage.
"This is a magic measurement crystal. Literally, by putting magic into it, we can measure the amount of magic power you have in your body. The color shows how much there is."
"Ah, I see... Is it safe to put magic into it? Won't it break?"
It just looked like a simple glass ball.
Wouldn't it break if you blew magic into it?
"Don't worry, Leaf-san. This is a special magic tool made by the comet witch, Mercury-san. It's designed to never break."
"That's right, Leaf-kun. It's absolutely unbreakable. Watch this."
Mercury-san said as she tapped the crystal.
With a click, it glowed with a golden light.
"Wow, it's beautiful!"
"Heh, see? This is the amount of magic power at rank S... There's no one else in this capital city who has more magic power than me."
Hmm, I see. Even if Mercury-san, who has maxed out her magic power, puts hermagic into it, it won't break.
So, even if I touch the crystal, it definitely won't break.
"Well then... let's measure it."
I touch the crystal with my hand, and then... I infuse magic into it.
Crack!
"!? The crystal turned black in an instant..."
"Uh, Mercury-san? Isn't there a crack in the crystal ball!?"
"W-wait... Niina-chan, you must be mistaken... It can't break."
Creak... creak... creak!
BOOOOOOOM!
...Before I knew it, the crystal had caused a huge explosion.
"What's going on!?"
"An explosion!?"
"Who the heck used magic!?"
The adventurers of the Divine Gemstone began to focus on me.
Of course, they would. If something suddenly exploded...
"Hey? But... won't it break?"
"I-I can't believe it... a certified crystal breaking... unheard of!"
While Niina-san trembled in fear, Mercury-san confronted me.
"What's going on!? You have more magic power than me! How did you get so much magic power!?"
"Um, I haven't done anything special..."
"Don't lie! Magic power is determined from birth. It's supposed to depend on your job. You're not even a magician, there's no way you should have this ridiculous amount of magic power! What did you do to increase your magical power so much!?"
I haven't done anything special though...
Oh.
"Well, if anything, I've been eating monsters since I was young."
""E-eating monsters!?""
Niina-san and Mercury-san were shocked. Huh? Is it really that surprising?
"Me, I have this thing where poison doesn't affect me, you know? So, I never get a stomachache, ever. And then, one day, I ate this monster I defeated in the forest... and yeah, I definitely felt like my magic power increased after that."
To do Prescription Magic, you need quite a bit of magic power.
The stronger the medicine, the more magic power (cost) it takes to make it.
When I was little, my magic power used to run out quickly, but since I started eating monsters, no matter how much Prescription I do, my magic power doesn't decrease.
"Eating monsters... is that even possible? Monsters have mana inside them... basically poison for humans."
"Yeah. But well, because of my Poison Immunity, I can eat monsters without any problem."
"Oh, I see..." Mercury-san shivered with a horrified expression, but then nodded as if understanding.
"Monsters have something called mana inside their bodies... it's like their power source. So when you consume them, you're basically absorbing their mana into your own body. That explains why you have such an extraordinary amount of magic power..."
"But, but Mercury-san, that's not something normal, right?"
Niina-san's words made Mercury-san nod solemnly.
"Absolutely impossible. In the first place, when you eat a monster, instead of getting stomach issues, you might even die from its poison. It's only because Leaf-kun is immune to poison that he can pull off such a feat..."
"W-wow..."
Um, so in the end, was the magic measurement okay?
"It's failed, right?"
"Huh? Why...?"
"Because if it's unmeasurable, doesn't that mean it's like zero? So maybe it means I don't have the aptitude..."
At this, Mercury-san suddenly exclaimed, veins popping on her forehead.
"That can't be true! Why would it turn out like that?!"
"But I broke the measuring device. You've never heard of something like this, right? If you don't have a previous example, you might not be able to hire me..."
Mercury-san crouched down on the spot and let out a sigh.
"...This kid is no good. He's from the Hero Village, so his senses are completely out of whack. If I don't stay with him for a while and keep an eye on him, he might do something terrible..."
Nina-san smiles nervously and says, "No, it's okay!" cheerfully.
"Leaf-kun has an amazing amount of magic power! It's not like he has zero aptitude!"
"Oh, really?"
"Perhaps!"
No, maybe.
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