Chapter 15 - Pumped

Despite how he acted, Flint went back to the Magus guild.

He'd thought hard-

He really did-

Right now, he needed their help.

The best place to find a transporter who wouldn't charge an arm and a leg was to find students-

Namely-

In the Magus guild.

'But even so- this place is as daunting as ever…'

And how would he explain the situation?

He went in-

There were actually more people in here now- mostly students-

And though that increased his chances it was still close to zero.

Besides, what sort of rare mage would just-

"You!"

Someone grabbed his shoulder- a firm grip-

Was she waiting all this time?

"He-hello."

"You have some nerve coming back!" She was furious- but at the same time- "I'm glad-" She hugged him.

A warm embrace-

Erveine Xencoaster- the daughter of the headmaster- or rather the headmistress.

Flint hadn't noticed but the last time she'd run out of the Guild and went after him but after a moment- lost him…

And now-

"I-" A small pause. "Thank you. You knew my mother for a long time?"

"Yes- we were friends for over five years. Actually, for the first few we were rivals. She was a natural talent and despite being a bit younger, I was really jealous…." She admitted-

Gulping. "I need some help-"

"OF what kind? A place to stay? Some food? Teaching?" Oddly excited- "I can provide them all but-"

"None of those. I need a transporter-"

Slightly disappointed. "Um…uh- where are you going?"

"Nowhere in particular. I'm about to go out and hunt for some specific monsters but I need someone to carry them for me. I don't need any help in battle- but-"

She again grabbed Flint's shoulder. "Wh-what are you talking about? Your whole village- ahem- aren't you sad? Like don't you just want to lock yourself in a room and take a breather or-" She shut up- "You signed up for monster hunting work?"

Flint looked at her- straight at her eyes. "Sitting idle won't change anything. My parents and sister are dead. They won't come back- however- the bastard that killed them still reigns free." He made a fist- "And to put an end to that- I need power. To gain power- I need to train and to train- I need to do this. I'm sorry for acting rude before, I'm sorry for causing any trouble- and I'm sorry for being a brat. But I need help carrying and if you-" He lowered his head-

A sincere apology-

Erveine straightened her back- a bit taller than Flint so she ended up looking down on him. "Transporters aren't cheap and I'm sure you won't be able to afford them."

"That's why I came here."

"To hire students? But you know how rare they are and-"

"I'm aware-"

A mild sigh- "Can you guarantee their safety?"

"I-" Flint paused. No- he couldn't.

If he utilized everything, he could maybe somehow kill a troll on his own.

However-

At the same time- he wasn't sure of it.

And that meant-

He couldn't guarantee anything.

Yet he still came here-

Hoping-

Hoping something would happen.

But- 'So this was a bust too…'

In the end, he didn't really know what else to do-

"I really want to help you- I really do. But asking one of our students to risk their lives for you- isn't something I can do as a teacher."

"I'm sorry for asking for the impossible. It was insensitive and stupid of me to assume you'd allow that. I had been hasty- I'm sorry." Flint said, calming his head.

Yeah- from the start- his coming here was pointless-

And perhaps he was a bit too desperate.

There was still time-

'Guess I'll become an adventurer-'

"However-" Erveine continued. "You're in luck-" She smiled. "I took the day off to mourn but- but I suppose we can mourn together."

So, she was a transporter?

Flint eyes lit up but at the same time- "We'll be fighting trolls and perhaps more than a few- I can't guarantee your safety."

"Yes, but that's why I'm coming!" Proud… "Wait- did you say trolls?" All the excitement drained in a mere second- replaced by dread-

"Yesh, let's go!"

Excited, Flint started leaving.

Pumped!

"Seriously, trolls!"

***

Before leaving flint bought some things.

A sword and a shield.

He needed armor badly but these two things cost enough for him to not be able to afford anything other than just food for the next few days.

So, he had to do something-

And he had to do that today-

"Why buy a blunt sword and a useless shield?" Erveine asked.

He'd also bought two crude potions- for seven silvers.

A steal!

"It may be blunt but it's better than a knife. And as long as you can use this effectively, it's not useless." The same for the shield.

He got both at the discounted cost of 70 silvers…

Normally they'd cost well over 150 but since they were barely useable- the blacksmith didn't charge much…

It was of course only after Flint haggled for half an hour and Erveine got annoyed and started yelling, but that was a different story.

"Alright- I'll warp us out to the fields then?" Despite all she said- Erveine still tagged along.

Flint had done some research beforehand.

He'd gone to the guild and hit up a conversation with the receptionist.

He had no intention of becoming an adventurer but he pretended to be interested while searching for a Transporter as well as gathering information on trolls.

Trolls-

A type of strong monster that could regenerate a fair amount of its body and could easily trounce ten men at once.

A party rank monster that required two frontline fighters and one healer- or so the woman at the counter told him.

But she also told him something important-

That being-

Trolls were dumb creatures. Intelligence rating lower than even goblins.

And that's what Flint betted on.

So- "Alright- please do so." He smiled- staring at the woman before him. "Let's go kill some trolls."