1 month ago, in the town of Porta.
As a small town with only about 70-80 inhabitants, not including the orphans, the town of Porta was not excessively wealthy, but it was also not excessively poor either. It was self sufficient as far as food went, and the farmland within the valley that the town lay in was ripe for producing both food and textile products such as cotton.
Most other necessary goods such as lumber, building materials, and luxury goods were imported through merchants from other towns.
There was no such thing as a school in the town of Porta. People who wanted to be educated could undergo apprenticeships, but this was typically under ones parents. The only ones who would usually undergo apprenticeship outside of the family were the orphans, and even they were usually the second apprentice, meaning that they were not favored over the first one, who was typically the son of the worker.
Of course, this all changed as soon as Mrs. Fera had taken over the orphanage. The apprenticeships stopped. Since the orphanage was previously paying the workers a tuition fee to teach their crafts to the orphans, not only was this unprofitable, but also it wouldn't allow for her to use the children in her own factories.
In the town of Porta, there was a group of boys who had worked in the fields together from the time they were young children. Walter was one of these farmers.
At the young age of 17, Walter and his four friends were currently out tilling the fields, preparing them for the planting season.
"If we don't get all this done by the end of the day, then we'll get behind! Let's get this done!", Walter shouted in encouragement towards his friends.
"Energetic as always, Walter. But can we really till this entire field in just a day with the five of us? Wouldn't it be better to split up the work throughout the week?", Logan asked.
"If we allow ourselves that luxury, then we will only procrastinate and we won't get anything done! But you know what else?"
"What?"
"My old man had a conversation with a merchant today, and he said that he would cut us a special deal on equipment! Do you know what this means?"
"We can finally do it."
The one who replied was Byron, a built young man who stuck his hoe into the ground with a smile after which he wiped the sweat off his brow. He wore a sunhat, which he put back on after wiping his forehead.
"You mean.... we can finally get out of here?"
The one who asked was Cody, a small kid who had short cut red hair and freckles. Despite his small build, he was the same age as the rest of the boys, and worked just as hard as them.
"Yep. But it will take some time and a whole lot of practice. Which is why we gotto try and get the preparations done today. If we can finish the planting before the end of the week, then we will have a whole load of extra time on our hands to train!"
"Yeah, we're gonna need a whole lot of that. Especially me.", Abel lamented.
"Oh come on, Abel! You're the most talented one here out of the whole bunch! Not a single one of us could even close to what you can do!"
"Thanks, Walter."
Byron slapped Abel on the back.
"He's right! Any old grunt can train themselves with a sword or a spear, but magic!? I mean, it was literally illegal until recently! You know why? It's because it was too powerful! People were scared of what magic could do if people researched it, so they hunted down those who did so! It's amazing that you have an aptitude for it in the first place!"
Abel smiled shyly in response.
"Thanks.", he said weakly as he averted his eyes, turning his attention to the ground which he was hoeing.
The group of five continued their work while talking.
"But you know, I heard that the life of a mercenary isn't easy. I'm excited. I want to get out there. I want to be strong enough to fight against bandits and criminals and win. I want to become the type of mercenary that the rich folk wouldn't hesitate to hire to guard their caravans. But it's gonna be a long journey until we get to that level. That's why we gotto start with the basics. We don't even have a set of equipment right now! If we can at least get some gear to start with, and train ourselves up so that we can become strong enough to do a few basic missions, then we can work our way up from there! One day, we might even become famous, and we can proudly proclaim that we started from literally nothing!", Walter exclaimed.
"Yeah, that would be awesome. Don't you think your sights are a bit high though?", Logan asked.
"Not at all. Even that famous mercenary- you know Slith? He's rumored to be of the 7th tier. The 7th freaking tier!!! There are only a few people in each country who even make it to 5th tier, and usually there is only one person in the entire world who can make it to 6th tier, but 7th!? It's almost unheard of! I mean, aside from the heroes of legend and the demon lords, you'll never find anyone that strong! But you know what I heard? Slith was originally a peasant like us! He trained and trained, and he became stronger and stronger over time. Of course, good equipment helps, but it's all about what's in here."
Walter pounded his heart.
"If we're willing to put forth the effort and continue practicing, we will surely be able to make our way to the top!"
"Well, I don't disagree with the fact that we should practice and work hard. But being on top? I think that's a dream. Though, we'll never know unless we try.", Logan responded.
"Haha! I see no reason not to. Let's aim for it boys. Let's aim to become mercenaries so famous that they speak our names in other countries!", Byron shouted.
"Well.... I suppose I'll do my best.", Abel stated.
"I mean, just being strong enough to make a living is good enough for me, but I'll do my best as well. I just want to leave this life as a farmer for something more exciting.", Cody added.
"You'll never reach the top with those attitudes guys! We gotto go above and beyond anyone's expectations!"
"Well, I'll be by your side, Walter. No matter what happens, I'll support you.", Byron reassured.
"Thanks, Byron. You sure are reliable."
"I try to be. Reliable is the only thing a meathead like me can be. You guys do the thinking, and just tell me what to do. I'll get it done!", he said with a toothy smile while pointing to himself with his thumb.
"I'll be the one who does the thinking.", Logan said. "If we let Walter do it, then we're sure to run into some dangerous dungeon that's beyond our level and get killed."
"Oi! Don't say stuff like that!", Abel shouted.
"It's true. But don't worry. I'll make sure to hold him back before he leaps into a pit."
"Hey, aren't you being a bit too harsh on me? I may be trying to reach the top, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to throw myself into a dangerous situation!", Walter shouted with a laugh.
"Oh no. I know you. You like to go off in your mind, always dreaming about things, stuck in the clouds. If I don't keep my eye on you, who knows what will happen. I'mma have to hold you on a leash if you want to stay alive when we're mercenaries. You'd probably go off and grab a mission to go kill a dragon or something and act like its gonna be fun."
"Oh.... wouldn't that be cool though? If we all slayed a dragon together?"
"SEE!"
"Haha, I'm joking. I mean, that would be amazing, but we're nowhere near that level..... yet."
"See. That yet right there. You think that we could do it someday."
"Someday, yes!"
"Alright, that's enough you two.", Byron said firmly with a laugh. "Let's get back to work. We won't have anything to talk about unless we finish this up for the day."
"Alright."
The five resumed their work in peace and quiet, and quickly made their way across the field.
"Well.... we weren't able to finish the entire thing today, but we got more than half of it done! It should be easy to finish up tomorrow, and then we can go shopping in the afternoon.", Walter said while the four were walking back to their homes from the farm plot in the dark of night.
"I can't wait to get out of this place. It's just tilling and planting and harvesting, and then even when we do get a break from the fields, its onto the livestock and other tasks. We work day in and day out just to get by! Man... I just want to hurry up and become mercenaries!", Cody exclaimed.
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"And we will. Soon. But first, we gotto get some equipment.", Logan replied.
"Yeah, I know."
"Abel, you should begin doing some practice as well on your own. You don't even need any equipment to do your magic, right?"
"Hm? Ah.... well... but if my father found out...."
"You're 17! Even if your dad found out, what would he do? Kick you out, when you're paying half the rent?"
"Well...."
"Could you at least show us a bit?"
"Eh? Here? Now?"
"Yeah!"
"I'd like to see it as well."
"Me too."
"Go on, Abel."
The four gathered around Abel, interested in his magic.
"Alright, just a little bit."
Abel held his hands together and closed his eyes. The four were walking along a dirt path in the fields, a bit away from the town, so there weren't any people to be seen. Abel didn't like performing magic in front of people, but since there was nobody around he reluctantly agreed while scanning the area sheepishly as if he was about to commit a crime.
Because magic users were so rare, one almost had to be 'chosen' to be able to use magic skillfully. While anyone could technically use magic with a lot of practice, there were those who had great aptitude, and those who had terrible aptitude. For most people, to make even the smallest progress would take months if not years of training.
This led to jealousy, which is what led to the witch hunts. Magic was labeled as heresy by those who could not use it and feared it's implications, until Percius legally allowed it, banning the witch hunts.
Though, this didn't completely stop them from happening. Even if something is made illegal, those who are bent on doing it will find a way around in the dark.
Abel concentrated greatly, and the soil in the path began to rise up, forming a ball of dirt.
It condensed and began to spin around slowly, like a planet rotating on it's axis.
Abel seemed to be stressed out, and he let go of his hands, while opening his eyes and breathing hard as if he just came up from water for a breath.
"Pant... pant.... sigh.... that's about the most I can do for now. I.... I'm completely drained. I guess my mana is out? I need to do a lot more training if I want to increase my mana. See? That's about all I can do. It's really nothing impressive at all. If you don't use magic, you could have just lifted that dirt up to achieve the same effect. There's really nothing special."
"Nah, you're wrong, Abel.", Cody stated. "Even if all you can do is lift up a ball of dirt now, imagine what you'll be able to do if you train. It's amazing that you can do that at all without any proper training."
"Yeah! If you train, you might even be able to make earthquakes or something!", Walter shouted.
"I wouldn't go that far, but it's really impressive.", Logan said.
"Haha! Much better than someone like me, who will just be swinging a weapon around.", Byron joked.
Abel smiled.
"Thanks, guys. You all are so reassuring. I won't give up. I'll do my best to make my magic useful."
"That's the spirit!"
"Now then, why don't we all go to the bar for a little drink! I'm parched, and we have a short day tomorrow, so why not?", Byron said with an extra skip in his step.
"You'd better hold back.", Logan warned. "I know you. You say 'oh just a little drink', and then all of a sudden you're completely hungover and can't work the next morning!"
"Alright alright! What are you, my mother?"
"I just don't want to be stuck doing all the work."
"Fine. We stay sober tonight. What do you all say we head to my house and play some cards then?"
"I got an idea! How about we all pool our money together for equipment, and we play for who get's first pick. The one who comes in last buys the least expensive equipment, and the one who comes in first buys the most expensive. What do you all think?", Walter suggested.
The others looked at each other and shrugged.
"Fine by me."
----
"Agh!! I can't believe I lost!!", Walter shouted in frustration. "Well, I suppose that's fine. It's probably better that you guys can spend more on your equipment than me. More importantly, I didn't know you were so good at this, Abel!"
"Haha..."
"It's probably best that the magician is allowed to spend the most on his equipment. It will cost the most after all."
"Yeah. And you too, Cody! You may not have come in 1st, but you still did great!"
"It's all about desperation. I need to get a good quality bow if I want to get good at archery, right? I don't have the build like you guys so I need to be real good at what I do if I want to keep up."
"Ah, I see! Well that's fine! We need someone at our back either way!"
The five laughed together as they finished the game.
They had pooled together to get a total of 10 Silver coins. While this wasn't a ton to buy equipment for five people, which already tended to be quite expensive, it was enough especially if they were getting a good deal from this particular merchant.
The way they had split it was that the person who won would be allowed to spend 3 Silver coins on their equipment, whereas the person who came in last would be allowed to spend 1. The person who came in 2nd would be allowed to spend 2.5 silver, whereas the person who came in 4th would only be allowed to spend 1.5, and the person in 3rd would be allowed to spend 2.
The rankings went as such:
1st Place: Abel
2nd Place: Cody
3rd Place: Logan
4th Place: Byron
5th Place: Walter
With this, each person decided to make their way home for the night.
----
The next day came, and the five all met each other on the fields to finish up the plowing.
It wasn't extremely hot out, but after working all day long the five were exhausted and their bodies were drenched in sweat and ached all over from the labor.
They all walked now towards the marketplace, where the merchant had set up his shop.
"I hope that we can get some good stuff for what we've saved up...."
"Ah, it'll be fine! We're starting from the bottom, remember? Even if our equipment isn't too good, all we need to do is train hard and we should be able to make up for it!"
"You're right. Either way, we need to start out with something to train with."
The group made their way through the town, and noticed the tent with all sorts of weapons, armor, and gadgets hanging around the front on stands and in boxes.
"Oh! That's the place! Let's go."
"Alright!"
The five headed over like children to a candy shop, and they started looking at all the wares.
'Ugh! These prices are all rediculous! They're way out of our range... or they would be if we weren't getting a discount.'
"Um, Mr. Shopkeeper!"
The shopkeeper came out from a curtain in the back.
He was a stubby man with black facial hair which wrapped all the way around his mouth, neatly trimmed.
He had big eyes and looked at the five, intrigued.
"Oh!!!! Customers!!!", he exclaimed as he rubbed his hands together.
"Well well well.... if it isn't the ones that I've been expecting! Your father has helped me out on more than one occasion, so I'd first and foremost like to thank you for that, young lad!! Now then.... as for my shop, go ahead!! Please, feel free to look around! As a matter of fact, if you wish to try anything out, don't hesitate to, but just make sure to do it outside the store, and away from any people. There's an area behind the store that you can test the equipment out if you wish. As for you lot in particular.... are you all together?"
"Yes, we are.", Walter replied.
"Excellent! As for you all, go ahead and take off 80%.... no, 90% off everything in this store! I'll cut you an extra deal because I'm in quite a good mood today. Isn't that right? Yes! Of course it is."
'Heh. Well, these prices are already 5 times their regular marking, so I'm only giving them a 50% discount in reality, but it's still a discount! I'm actually still being quite generous! I'm taking a loss for these kids!'
"Oh! Thank you very much, Sir."
"Now now boys, what are you in the market for? Who will go first?"
Abel stepped up, shyly.
"Um... I would like to take a look at...."
He said the next word quietly.
"If you have any magic wands or tools..."
"Oh!!!! Yes, yes of course!!! The magic tools and equipment are right over here, my boy!!!"
Abel seemed to jolt as the merchant said this loudly, and snuck his way over to the section where the tools were.
"Well? Who will be next?"
Cody stepped forward.
"Um, I would like a bow and arrow."
"Ah yes!! An archer? You know, my old man loved the sport of archery. He wasn't in the military or anything, but he used to play in competitions! It was astounding, to watch him be able to shoot a target with pinpoint accuracy from over 50 meters away!"
"Oh, I see."
Cody walked over to the section and started viewing the bows and arrows.
"Who will be next?"
"I would like to take a look at some daggers or shortswords. I would prefer to train to be an agile and flexible fighter."
"Very well, my boy! Right this way! If I recall, that famous mercenary.... ah what was his name.... Silth? Something like that. He too is a specialist in assassination, and rumor has it that he even uses some of the dark arts to bolster his own agility. I would like to see him in action, but perhaps I wouldn't even be able to catch it!"
"Yeah yeah. Let me just look on my own."
Logan clearly seemed irritated at being compared to the legendary mercenary. After all, he knew he couldn't ever reach that level.
"Oh my! Did I say something to upset him? That is indeed a failure as a merchant.... what shall I do.... ah, well anyways? Is it you who is next? What type of equipment are you looking for?"
"I would like to find a nice set of armor, and perhaps a blunt weapon.", Byron stated.
"Oh, a tank? If you're going to fight well for your teammates, you would do best to protect them! Never let any of the opponents make their way to them. As the tank, if someone in the back row dies, it is of course your responsibility. You're prepared to take on that responsibility, correct?"
"Yes Sir."
"Very good! Then, let me show you where the heavy equipment is located."
The merchant showed Byron over to the respective area, and then came back to Walter.
"And it seems you are last, my boy! What would you be looking for?"
"Just a sword and a shield. Let's keep it simple."
"Oh, I see. A frontliner, focused on both attack and defense. Simple, but critical. Your party seems well balanced. Very good. Let me offer you a word of advice though, my boy. Be careful. Healing magic is extremely rare. If anyone gets injured, they will likely be out of commission for a while. No, perhaps forever. Limbs could be lost. It's even possible for them to die. I am saying this purely out of concern for you and your group. I have no other motives. Once someone is dead, they are dead. Keep this in mind. Furthermore, if someone gets injured, and is put out of commission, then it might be best to not go on any more missions with a member of your party missing."
'Of course, if you all get injured then you won't be able to come back to my store and upgrade your equipment... then I would be losing out on potential business.... indeed..... I'll have to report this to Klipner later that I've found a new group of potential recurring clients....'
"Thank you for the advice, Sir! But we will not fail! We will train ourselves long and hard, and become the most powerful mercenary group in the land! You will hear tales of our endeavors for years to come!"
"Ah, is that so? Well then, young man! Go ahead and select what you wish! I will be waiting at the counter for your decisions."
The man slithered over to the counter while he watched the boys inspect the equipment for a while, before one by one deciding on something.
Abel had picked out a staff which improved control of magic and a robe which increased mana capacity. Cody had selected a well made bow and a pouch of arrows, along with a nice set of leather armor to protect himself. Logan had chosen a black and intricate set of daggers and a flexible set of armor to go with his new style. Byron had found a clunky suit of armor and a large club to go with it, and Walter had found a capable sword and shield- one that was simple yet did the job.
After holding them and testing their feel, the five went to the counter, and ended up spending every last penny on the equipment.
"Thank you all so very kindly for your purchases!!! I will be in contact with your father, young man, and if you all are ever in need of better equipment, then please do not hesitate to contact me! Of course, I won't be able to give you as much of a discount or I would be run out of business, but I'll do what I can!"
"Will do! Thank you very much, Sir!"
The five walked out proudly with their equipment, ready to begin their respective training.
Walter turned to the other four.
"I can't wait. What do you all say we head over to the public grounds and do a little practice?"