I retook the Keeper’s Guild assessment to update my rank, only to spectacularly self-combust and fail. I’d say that’s just another day for hobbyist hero Becca Thorn.
Feels like nothing has been going right for me ever since that other hero popped up out of nowhere. Maybe he’s jinxing me somehow. I want to complain to the GM, this extra hero needs to be patched out!
Except the hero wasn’t around during the assessment, so I made a fool of myself all on my own. I found out first-hand that all humans experience a limit when level and stats reach 500, a natural sort of bottleneck in all mortal creatures.
I recklessly used boost and breached my body’s limit, causing a backlash as the skill failed. The outcome wasn’t as bad as it sounds because at least I didn’t implode. One solace is that now I know boosting skills can fail and result in a Weakened state.
If I learned this fact too late when I was in a real battle, well I’d be royally screwed. I’ll have to seal the Boost skill until I can figure out a workaround.
Unfortunately I can’t change the results or get retested as a Keeper again. According to Guildmaster Ubren’s yawn-inducing lecture, the Keeper’s Guild is rife with infighting between factions.
It’s like an imperial fable about two princes and the faction conflicts among the supporting nobles. In this case the king would be Ubren, and the princes would be his adoptive children Jyorven and Greyorg, those two bodybuilders that traumatized Brigid. Of course I have no intention to step into this imperial mess.
Ubren feels sympathetic and apologizes to me, using his authority to upgrade my rank from Glass to Metal, albeit only the lowest Bronze distinction. This is the limit of his authority it seems.
At least it means I’m a rookie no longer and can be counted among the Metal Keeper veterans. If the backdoor is unavailable, that just leaves the usual route of promotion to rank up, otherwise called grinding out quests.
Keepers who complete a requisite number of quests based on the grade of difficulty are eligible to promotion, but each step up includes more responsibilities and benefits.
I never considered looking over the requests board before as it sounded like a chore. The requests are not as exciting as I expected, and most seemed to be collection of materials or subjugation of pests.
I should also be considerate of the other struggling Keepers and not take away their jobs. But as it stands I should see if the request board has any difficult quests that reward plenty of promotion points.
I hop there's a 10-star or SSS quest to slay a hellspawn nearby that will promote me several ranks in one go. But the chances of that are slim.
I bid Ubren farewell and approach the guild’s first floor to check out the request board, only to see a commotion brewing. Hushed voices bounce around and their stares direct mine to the entrance.
All the Keeper’s stares are pinned on a young man at the forefront. The man has an androgynous face and pale, glowing skin in line with his blonde hair and clear eyes. He resembles those actors chased by throngs of teenage fangirls, with looks that make women envious of.
He wore a spotless robe with a sword and a sheath inlaid with intricate patterns of gold at his waist. Silver tassels hung off the shoulders and the edges of the robe. This was the spitting image of a saintly noble that awed the crowd.
This big shot was flocked by the Keepers from the first floor, even drawing in the female staff working the counters. The girls are ogling him with passionate glares and I can almost see the heart-filled eyes.
The man’s handsome looks and his charming smile evidently also made him public enemy of the male Keepers. They swarmed him like wild beasts that felt threatened by an alpha predator encroaching their territory.
Someone even spit aggressively on the ground next to them. Unfortunately the crowd was too dense so the spit landed on another guy’s feet. That guy who spit got clobbered in the face and fell back, vanishing into the crowd.
Curious about this newcomer, I cast Analysis to bring up his status. It seems he has some skill to obscure scouring eyes, as I can’t see anything besides his name and some basic info.
The only ones to resist my appraising skills are those Demigods above level 500, but he doesn’t seem that monstrous. There must be a rare skill to hide one’s Status.
Name: Derrick Neroctis
Race: Human
Class: Hero
Titles: Prince of Neroctis, Fiance to Princess Yorliss, Vengeance’s Advent
So this guy is the rumored hero and prince of a fallen kingdom. I have a strong urge to just punch him in the face for some inexplicable reason. This makes me think of the phrase, two tigers can’t share the same mountain, in this case two heroes.
Or maybe it’s his beautiful looks that puts girls like me to shame.
How can a guy have such lustrous hair and fair skin? I have to use healing magic to get rid of my acne every day. What’s this man’s secret and can I buy it?
Maybe I should get rid of this guy to remain the sole hero, like in some cliché development? Although It wouldn’t be right to beat him up for no good reason. Unless of course, if he’s a dirtbag that deserves a good old fist of justice.
I hang back in a corner of the floor and observe this other hero. My Analysis skill continues to be suppressed and I feel like a gourmet that was teased with a rare meal and then denied. Maybe I should get a skill to obscure prying eyes, or else my Status might be stripped bare one of these days.
I setup a simple skill with the vague notion of concealing my true Status, and should someone manage to break past that they’ll only see a fabricated Status behind that veil. With this method it should lower their caution, and maybe for good measure I’ll create another layer of fake Status below that one.
The new skill christened Chameleon, allows me to change my Status on multiple superficial levels. Of course there are more functions like camouflaging my skin or my equipment, and coupled with my Illusion magic, I could one day become the greatest assassin alive.
Jokes aside, it’s been a short few minutes since the hero prince showed up. From the gossip I gather, the hero has appeared at the Keeper’s Guild HQ for a similar reason as me. He wishes to join the Keeper’s Guild and apply for the assessment at the capital branch.
Derrick 「 Prince Derrick of the late Neroctis! I humbly request an examination to join the esteemed Keeper’s organization. Please show me your favor! 」
He certainly gives you a heroic impression with his confidence and a subtle pride. Combined with his handsome and gentle appearance, I can hear the women’s hearts fall as the men grit their teeth in jealousy.
Ubren makes his entry to avoid the situation devolving out of control. The crowd simmers down in his powerful presence. He gives a stern appraising look at Derrick, who doesn’t shy away but keeps his steady and clear eyes forward.
The air is tense and perhaps those two are trading unspoken words because they come to some silent agreement. Must be a guy thing because they seemed to have reached a mutual understanding just by staring fervently at each other.
Ubren shows us a hearty laugh as he trash talks the hero with provocative words like, “So this is the hero I’ve been hearing about? Brat, you think this is a nursery of something? Looks like I’ll have to babysit today.”
Derrick only replies with a silent but cocky smile, before he follows the guildmaster to the same basement from earlier. My party and most of the first floor Keepers follow them down.
I watch as they trade words and snarky remarks like old war buddies. When it finally comes to the fighting, if I had to describe it, it’s underwhelming. The cheers of the other Keepers would seem to disagree, but to me this fight is below my expectations.
Certainly, their speed and force is already in the league of elite Keepers. They are qualified to be experts. I can’t see Derrick’s status so I can only estimate that his level and stats are on par with Envie the demon’s around the early 200’s levels.
Like what you would expect of a hero he has amassed a lot of EXP and skills. He demonstrates finesse with a fine mix of magic attacks and sword skills. To acquire this many skills at his age, you can imagine how much he trained.
The Oracle did mention to us back in Dionyss’ garden that the hero was a prince who lost his kingdom and escaped near death. There’s definitely a moving story behind those skills.
The two compete with somewhat even stats and skills, but the prince hero shows his decisive trump card.
Derrick 「 Berserk! 」
His skill, Berserk, boosts his stats by around roughly 20% I’d say, pushing him beyond the range of Metal rank Keepers and close to the Volcanic rank. He overpowers Ubren and the guildmaster concedes defeat.
The crowd of onlookers claim that if Ubren was in his prime heydays then he would have won. Regardless of Derrick’s victory, his performance is a resounding pass already. The Keepers clap and cheer for his victory, at least all the women do.
He is given the Crown Gold Metal rank because his strength can only temporarily exceed that level of power, and not without severe side effects. It seems using Berserk exhausts his stamina as a consequence.
The Exhausted state is a debuff similar to the Weakened state but not as massive of a deterrent. It also doesn’t seal off skills or abilities but rather increases the cost and cooldown rate used for a short while.
Derrick returns victorious to the crowd’s applause, a far cry from my reception. As he is waving and returning the cheers, he makes his way towards the corner of the floor where my party is.
He makes eye contact with me and flashes his bright white teeth in a showstopping smile.
Derrick 「 Greetings. My name is Derrick of Neroctis, the Goddess’ retainer blessed with the Hero class. May I hear your name, fair maiden? 」
Becca 「 Becca. Becca Thorn. Just a girl of no real importance. 」
Derrick 「 Really? I get the feeling that you’re being far too modest. 」
Has he caught on to my Hero class? Maybe there’s some sign I’m giving off that only a fellow Hero would recognize.
Derrick 「 Something tells me that fate has brought the two of us together to this city at this date. 」
Perhaps I was overthinking things. He might not have noticed anything, but rather, isn’t this guy just hitting on me? Is this hero the kind that can’t help but lead girls on and create a harem?
What kind of hero goes around on dangerous journeys bringing an ensemble of women around?
…
I meant heroes besides me. I’m a girl, so it doesn’t count as a harem, OK?
「 Derrick?! My prince, where did you go? Girls, have you seen him? 」
Derrick pauses at hearing that shout down the street. A bead of sweat rolls down the temple of his head.
Derrick 「 I fear my party is looking for me. I shall be off then. May we meet again if fate allows it. 」
The hero prince runs off into the crowd in a rushed manner. The sight reminds me of an adulterous husband running from the scene of his affair.
The group of girls clamoring for him must be his party/harem members. Doesn’t this make me out to be the next target of his party/harem?
I make a vow inwardly to avoid the hero and the fate of becoming a harem member.
END OF CHAPTER 13
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