Towering pillars held up a circular roof as the windows let in the heavenly light of day to shed itself on the large hall reaching far inside. A stream of clerks and civil servants walked in and out and many warriors and mages took lines at several reception windows handing and receiving posters and paperwork.

The day to day work in the Mercenary Hall was serious and critical. The Kingdom needed to organize all the people with the power to fight and not affiliated with mainstream military service thus this system was necessary for every nation. And here where all the registry and the organizing happen. Vadim walked in, the shortest yet the most respected person in the building, and Leon followed quietly. Jessica lagged behind as her poor appearance wasn't a sight welcome inside this hall particularly.

Vadim told Leon to wait in front of an empty reception window and went into a door at the end of the hallway to later emerge on the window as he jumped on a seat. There was a nameplate on this window and it said "Hall Chief Vadim" as if the manager of this place usually comes here to deal with the issues of the business. Still, another sign hanging on the wall said "Female Members only (preferably good looking)".

"Hah!"

A short laugh betrayed Leon's calmness and Vadim noticed where Leon was looking which made him grumble a little as he turned the sign on the other side.

"Ya lil rascal! Why don't ya show me yer papers? Have an Appraisal Certificate on ya?" Vadim asked.

"Here." Leon nodded handing over the paper.

Vadim received the paper while keeping his eyes on Leon then looked at the paper with a frown. He kept staring at it and looked at the written date, the seal of the temple, and the signature of the knight responsible for the test.

"Seems authentic." He said but he kept looking at certain articles on the paper and scratched a part of it just to be sure, "Leo, a rogue, you can fight well against bad odds but you will start from F-rank because your level is low."

Vadim then put the paper on his desk and wrote something on it before stamping it as approved.

He then started to fill an application form and handed it to Leon to sign on it and leave his address and other information.

"I don't live somewhere in particular at the moment." Leon said.

"That's yer problem. We want a place where we can always find ya." Vadim nagged.

"Alright alright." Leon hesitated before writing a false address leading to a place not far from the saloon.

He'll leave the place as soon as he can and it is also possible that it will be found that he hid there in the very near future. There was no harm.

Vadim took the paper and kept it in a pile on his desk.

"That'll be all." He said and continued, "Now it is part of ma duty to inform ya that the Hall is simply a mediator between a client and a mercenary so ya mess up with a contract and you make it up for the client and the hall. In other words, we bite arse, get it?"

"Alright."

"As ya pile more merits by doing more work, ya get to rise up the ranks. G being the lowest but that's for children who are affiliated with us. F is for amateurs like yerself then then there are E, D, C, B and A ranks all the way to the special rank, the S-Rank. Ya do good and it'll be all boobies and dreams for ya! There's also a Rank called X but that is something I'll tell ya about when ya grow older."

"Noted!"

"Also, any job ya take that wasn't assigned by the Hall is something we're not interested in so don't drag those problems here with ya."

"Fine."

"And if the nearest Hall has orders for ya, ya must comply unless ya're on a different job or have an acceptable reason such as vacation or recovery leave."

Vadim kept saying all those things he has to say with haste as if he wants to skip to things more important.

"Are there any life insurance policies?" Leon asked with a cheeky smile in order to delve deeper into the subjects and tease the hasty Vadim.

"Yer only life insurances are Armor, Potions, Abilities, and Teammates. The hide of yer arse and the shite it makes are all the policies ya should worry about." Vadim turned cranky all of a sudden.

"Alright." Leon nodded.

"Good. Do ya have any good gear?" Vadim asked.

"No." Leon shook his head.

Vadim seemed to have expected that.

"Go over there, ye'll find the armory. Tell 'em I sent ya. Get yerself something nice." He said and gave a purse of coins to Leon, "Yer winnings from the fight… minus the house fee."

"Alright. Does this mean I am accepted?" Leon asked.

"Accepted? Yer just got approved, lad. Approved! Ya have to do a job first in the first few days and get a good word from the contractor and the supervisor. Ye'll then be… Accepted." Vadim said.

"Alright, Chief." Leon smiled, "I'll be off now."

Leon felt entertained by the rather grumpy dwarf but he would still feel the goosebumps every time he looked at the man. That Vadim is powerful, his Aura is deep and unfathomable for the current Leon. Even the almighty "Read" spell almost made him go dizzy when he tried to look at his status.

It is better to be on the good side of such a ridiculously powerful being.

Either way, Leon took himself and with long steps went towards the armory. Jessica saw him leave the window and ran after him.

"How did it go?" She asked.

"Good. I got money and permission to buy gear from the Hall." He said.

"Great." Jessica's face looked brighter, "Want me to come and see?"

"Yes, of course. Tell me if I am about to get scammed."

"Haha!"

The two headed to the armory across the hallway and Leon pushed a heavy big door to walk in. He found some of the mercenaries sitting around with the clerk inside as if they are some long acquainted friends. He exchanged looks with the Mercenaries who eyed him as if he's nothing and looked at Jessica in all sorts of dirty ways.

The front part of the large room was blocked from the rest of it by steel bars and a room-wide wooden counter with a clerk sitting behind it. Leon bypassed the mercenaries who kept staring and greeted.

"Good day."

"You're lost?" The Clerk asked.

"Chief Vadim sent me here for some gear." Leon replied.

"Delivery?"

"Purchase."

"Huh?"

The clerk assessed Leon from upside down, he then told the mercenaries in the room to leave.

"Why would the chief send a newcomer?" He asked.

"Maybe because he liked my charming personality? I don't know. He told me to buy gear from here." Leon said as he put the purse of coins on the counter.

"Well, it is none of my business. What do you want to purchase?" The clerk said.

"A little bit of everything."

"Right. You need to be more specific."

"Hmmm… protection gear, preferably light; a pair of short swords; a short bow and 4 quivers of arrows; 4 small hatchets; a set of maintenance tools, needless, strong threads and oils; a medicine kit and medicinal herbs; a bedroll; outside cooking and butchering gear; a single person tent; 50 ft of a strong rope; a fishing rod; a compass; a copy of every map of this region; and books… all the adventuring books you have about herbs, monsters, and the regions which mercenaries operate."

As Leon narrated everything he wanted, the Clerk and Jessica looked at each other and felt like trying to remember what he just said again.

"Have you written all that yet? We're still halfway in the first list." Leon asked so innocently.

"Are you planning on establishing yourself in the wild or something?" Jessica asked.

"Oh my! It is like you saw right through my plan." Leon said mockingly to avoid suspicions around his escape plan when he gets done with this capital.

"Alright." The Clerk said, "Let's get you a big knapsack first."

***

"It's him! It's really him." Vadim said as he looked from behind the door.

"It looks like him." The feminine voice behind him spoke.

"It is him! I bet my beard on it." Vadim insisted as he looked at the extremely tall and thin woman behind him with anger, "I know Leon but… that is him no mistake. Just Appraise him already."

The Elf lady standing behind the secondary door inside the armory retreated away from it and looked at the paper in her hand.

It was Leon's Appraisal Certificate.

"The name is Leo, level 3, the talent is 25%, two level 2 skills, two level 1, Earth Affinity, and no titles." Erielle said.

"No, the title is scratched off. That's the work of a con artist named Zal. I know it when I see it." Vadim said.

"Then he's some sort of Syndicate member." Erielle looked at Vadim, "Leon is not that kind of boy."

"I know. I know." Vadim returned to look again from the door, "He should have recognized me, right? Why didn't he recognize me?"

Erielle sighed.

"Because he is not Leon. It is certainly just a coincidence." Erielle said, "I also find it interesting how someone with these low skills defeated a mercenary of yours. Maybe his stats are just good."

"And if he is Leon?" Vadim asked.

"Then we grab him and get the seven hells out of this abhorrent city, of course." Erielle said it naturally.

"Haven't you read what Eleanor's message said? Leon killed many people and put that brat Devon in a tight spot… twice! Just Appraise him for fuck's sake."

Erielle sighed and nodded.

"By the Spirits! This is gonna hurt."

She clenched her teeth and looked through the warped door. She put two fingers on her forehead and extended one arm ahead.

With the extended arm, she cast [Illusion Magic - Minor Illusion] and with every fiber of her being, she cast the High-Level spell of the Knowledge Magic, [Appraisal].

At first, it was a cold feeling overtaking her brain and then she felt like a very tiny needle piercing into her eardrum. She endured the feeling and projected the information she saw on the "Minor Illusion" spell then cut the connection immediately.

"Impossible!" Vadim's eyes widened.

In front of him, the status of Leon was previewed by the Illusion Magic spell. Erielle also questioned her sight a few times.

"Hey! Is this Illusion right?" Vadim asked.

"Yes. I won't make a rookie mistake." Erielle answered but she started doubting herself, "But… I may have taken some of your dwarven liquor this morning."

"So ye're the one who's been stealing ma vodka?" Vadim looked at her with a tragic face but she pointed at the illusion sorting his priorities.

The Elf and the Dwarf were completely taken aback and no matter what they tried to come up with an explanation for what they saw, it was just not sorting itself right in their minds.

——————————
- Name: Leo
- Level: 3
- Class: Warrior
- Titles: {Rabbit}
- Skills:-
— Blade Technique Lv.2
— Martial Technique Lv.2
— Stealth Technique Lv.1
— Physical Resistance Lv.1
— Light Magic Lv.1
- Proficiency: (Talent: 25%) (Affinity: Earth)
——————————

"Ya told me liquor doesn't affect ya, right?" He said, "Is this Light Magic I am seeing?"

"Yes. An Elemental Skill that doesn't exist in his Affinity section." Erielle said.

"And he's a Warrior, not a Rogue."

"That can have a ton of reasons but an element without affinity… this is… a first."

Leon may have not realized it but as much as Vadim's overwhelming status shocked him, his status was as shocking as it can get to Vadim and Erielle. He forgot to hide the Light Magic skill he acquired yesterday and it was how he was officially under the spotlight of not just one absurd being but two of them.

There are indeed methods to alter the status just a little, hide parts from it or completely deny other people with Knowledge Magic access to it but there will be a trace of such a thing like corrupt lines of meaningless information but… not completely hidden from sight.

This is either a very advanced Knowledge Magic that no one has ever heard about or some sort of a method to use Magic that someone has no affinity for.

Either of them, it is almost senseless to think it would happen.

Also, the Talent is different from the one Leon was born with. Is this a fabricated Talent rate as well? Or is there something even weirder than the former happening?

Vadim and Erielle were already at their wit's end as the main question still remained.

Is this really Leon?

It was then when the two of them decided to enter the scene. Vadim from the secondary door in the armor and Erielle from the main door Leon entered from.

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(Patron Chapters available: 5)
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