Nash teleported back into the Adventurer's Association building with a blank expression. He went into the waiting room and sat on a couch in the corner of the room.
'What the hell am I going to do?' Nash was deeply in thought. Hoarder had scammed him and crippled his path to reach Grandmaster-rank in the Mage Class. 'I guess I could try to find another transfer body in an ancient ruin...but that will take too much time. Maybe I can get in contact with Kane? I doubt it though. We agreed on not letting anyone below Advanced-rank Mage message him, otherwise it's not me.'
'If I ever get my hands on that damn bastard, I will rip him to pieces!!' Nash grit his teeth in frustration. He then sighed to relax himself. 'I need to get my basics down first. I have enough money for me to live comfortably in this Town for ten to twelve years. If I cut out the promotional test expenses, that number will go down exponentially. I currently have 99 Gold Coins and 84 Silver Coins. It would take 20 Silver Coins for the Beginner-rank promotion test, but 50 for the Intermediate-rank test...crap. It takes 5 Gold Coins for the Advanced-rank test, and an insane 2,000 Gold Coins as well as 20 Mana Crystals for the Master-rank promotion test...'
Nash felt his world crumbling around him. All his plans, aspirations, wealth and even his experience was meaningless.
'Maybe I can try awakening a hidden Class?' Nash thought of another possibility. 'I have heard rumors about a Magic Swordsman Class in the Elf Domain's holy ruins…I doubt they'd let me go there…fuck. My pride was my downfall.'
Nash held his head in despair. 'Why would I think he wouldn't scam me? Just because I was a Peak-Tier Master-rank Mage? He's a Master-rank too!! Idiot!!'
"E-Excuse me, Sir." a young boy, an Elven teen approached Nash.
"What the FUCK do YOU want?!" Nash snapped at the youth. The young boy had a long face and long ears. His long platinum blonde hair swayed as he retreated in fear.
"S-Sorry! I didn't mean to trouble! You dropped this at the teleportation hall!" the boy shook as he put forth a black box, it was the purple ring that Nash received as compensation. He had given it such little attention back then that he had actually accidentally dropped it.
'Crap...I guess it should get me a few Silvers if it fell from a Tier-2 Special Boss.' Nash took a deep breath. "Thanks."
"You seem to be troubled, Sir." the boy said cautiously. "If I can help you in any way, please do not hesitate to ask."
'Why does he keep calling me Sir? Does the Association still hire underaged Elves?' Nash thought back to the Association rule that was issued after Humans started becoming a prominent race in Ashitoria. Humans did come into this world slowly. While that was true, it didn't take long for all 22 billion Humans to cross over. Their advanced technology combined with magical knowledge they learned in this world had put them at the top of the Ashitoria League, letting them dominate the top 20,000 spots. This advantage didn't last long as a few Humans sold out the technology to other races. While a Human High-Tier Zenith-rank Mage held the number 1 spot, almost no other Human was in the top 100 spots.
"You know what? I do need help." Nash sighed. He had to do something and sitting in the Association's waiting room and moping wasn't going to help. "I need coaching. I want an Advanced-rank Swordsman coach, at the least. If you can get me a Human coach, all the better."
"A-An Advanced-rank?" the young Elf was stunned. "That's going to be a little expensive, Sir. The lowest price available to us is 2 Gold Coins per session."
"How long is a single session?" Nash inquired. While 2 Gold Coins for a Novice-rank was the literal meaning of extravagance, he desperately needed strength, especially after his little stunt at the teleportation hall.
"A single session is one raid, depending on the difficulty of the raid, the price could increase." the Elf was ecstatic! If he got Nash a coach, he'd get a cut from the pay as well!! "Seeing as you are a Novice-rank, it should be no problem. The price should stay at 2 Gold Coins."
"It's too expensive for only a single raid." Nash frowned. "Get me a coach who accepts Mage training as payment, tell them it's Master-rank. As I am using your Adventurer's Association as a sponsor, my first guarantee would not be low."
Nash then pulled out two of his four remaining Magic Crystals. The young boy's mind almost stopped working. His face then beamed into a smile. "Of course! I will only find you the best!"
He hoped nothing more than that Nash could not provide the Master-rank training. After all, if the other end is not satisfied, half the guarantee would go to the coach as compensation for wasting their time, while 5% of the other half would go to the employee acting as the middleman.
The boy rushed off to check for any Advanced-rank Swordsman Classes in area around the Town. Nash took a single deep breath as he steeled himself to start another difficult journey.
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"Hey, kid." a Dark Elven woman approached Nash who was blankly staring at the ceiling, trying to think of a way to shift his path back to magic. "I see you're a rich noob with nowhere to go. Wanna join my Dark World party?"
"Dark World? Pretty bold of you to choose such a name." Nash scoffed without looking at the party. It was obvious that they were a bunch of young people who didn't understand how heavy names in history books are. The Dark World party was a party that had invaded Ashitoria from the Underworld. Not only did they lay waste to half of Ashitoria a few years ago, they also almost wiped out the Angel race of the face of the Verse. It took many Grandmaster-ranks to put up a barrier and trap them within the abandoned Earth. They were trapped with many God-ranks inside. The 10,000 God-ranked fighters faced the party of 20...only 3 people made it out alive.
The only known person to make it out alive was the current number 1 Adventurer and the strongest on the Ashitoria League, nicknamed "The Peak", the Zenith-ranked Mage Igris. The other two were members of the Dark World party. It was said that the party had laid waste to the army of God-ranked fighters. Letting Igris 1v1 a member of their party was their undoing. He had gained enlightenment during the fight, forcefully becoming the only Zenith-rank Mage in Ashitoria. It took him a few seconds to dispatch of all the physical type fighters before turning to the magic types. Only two managed to break through the Grandmaster-rank barrier, not due to how slow they were, but due to how fast the Zenith-rank expert was.
"Our ancestors were no cowards, so why should we be?" the woman smiled at the rest of her party. Her party consisted of two Dark Beasts, two Dark Humans, one Dark Elf other than herself and a single Demon.
"And what makes you think that I would work with Underworlders?" Nash sighed as he faced the party.
"A-Are...are you being racist?" the woman was taken aback. Usually people would increase the amount they have to pay or make things difficult for them. Humans were very vocal about their opinions on how someone shouldn't be judged by things they can't control. She hadn't expected a Human, of all races, to refuse to work with her.
"What makes you think that?" Nash did not bother to hide his aggressive tone. While he did not want to judge them, he could not help it as memories of the atrocities the Dark World party had committed started to resurface. "I am merely furious at a bunch of fools who want to become a calamity. Oh, don't tell me. You want me to convert to the Dark too?!"
The two Dark Humans unsheathed their weapons at Nash. He was poking their soft spots. After all, who but Dark Humans would be called "The Traitorous Race"?
"Although we, Humans, are praised for our intelligence, I see that it isn't actually genetic." Nash said as he put his right leg of his left knee. He pointed at the two Dark Humans and said, "As soon as you make a single move towards me, you'll be struck by the might of a hundred Advanced Mages."
"Huh?" the two sneered as they lifted their feet.
"Stop! He's not joking!!" they were quickly stopped by their Dark Beast companion, who happened to be a Beginner-rank Mage. "There are exactly 100 Advanced-rank attack magic arrays around you two!!"
"Sir, I-" the young employee came back to the party threatening his dear customer. His face reddened with fury. If Nash got mad and left, he would lose out on a fortune, regardless of if Nash truly had Master-rank Mage tutelage to use for trade. "Do you wish to press charges, Sir?"
"Nah, just get them out of here." Nash sighed as he sat upright.
The youth immediately teleported the entire party out of the Adventurer's Association and gave them a 2 week ban. Even a janitor who worked in the Association could ban anyone below Advanced-rank, let alone a middleman. He quickly smiled again, "Let's get back to business, Sir. I have found a few Advanced-ranks who are available. There are 6 Humans who will be available in a month, other than that, there are a few Dark Humans available in a few days. One is even available right now!"
"Would you look at that, a bunch of Dark Humans that no one would hire." Nash criticized. While other Dark creatures couldn't be blamed for their birth. Humans couldn't step foot in the Underworld until a few years ago when the Dark World party went nuts and opened a portal. Any Dark Human above the age 12 was definitely a traitor who converted to the Dark.
'I can't wait an entire month.' Nash grit his teeth. 'To think that I, leader of the Anti-Dark legion, would have to learn from a damn Dark Human.'
"I could search for Elves, if you are not comfortable with Dark Humans." the boy said. "I am sure they would be rushing for Master-rank Mage tutelage."
"Forget it, get me the High-Tier Advance-rank Swordsman Alex." Nash sighed once more. He could not ask an Elf to teach a Human about Swordsmanship. Magic was fine, but Humans and Elves were fundamentally different from each other when it came to composition. While Humans were made up of blood, meat and bones, Elves were mostly made up of Mana. An Elf could not help him utilize his Human body to its full potential.
"Immediately, Sir." the Elf smiled as he bowed lightly. "If you ever need anything at the Adventurer's Association, please do not hesitate to call upon me. My name is Feyrith."
"Thanks." Nash said as he sighed. 'I can't be stubborn now. I still have a chance to get back to my peak. I can't lose it just because of some Dark Human.'