I have been searching for a team for a week to no success. Everyone in the adventurers guild are silver or more except one team that are bronze like me. But just thinking about that smug, evil bastard makes me mad. I can't believe he called me a kid! He is the same age as me! That stupid little smug bastard, making fun of me every time.

I never thought there would be so little bronze adventurers in the capital. But I learned that very few adventurers start out here for a very specific reason. The sewers. It's the only beginner friendly area, and it discourages almost everyone. Instead, most wannabe adventurers travel to a small city nearby to start out. Out there apparently there are a lot more bronze adventurers. It's a bit ironical that the biggest city in the kingdom is deemed more dangerous, having very few bronze friendly quests.

But I'm higher bronze now! They don't give you a new adventurer token though, as the public doesn't make the distinction between lower and higher tiers used internally to gauge us. If you are looking for an adventurer or team, you simply ask by rank, bronze, silver or gold. Mithril if you are rich. I didn't know that but it makes sense as they can't know if you are higher or lower in a rank by your identification, meaning for them it's all the same. Reputation makes the difference.

I'm sitting in the small tavern inside the adventurers guild, hoping another team of bronze adventurer or even a solo one comes in today. I look around and see the usual scene. The tavern is half full, mostly clean, simple wooden furniture. There is, however, a wall with trophies with a small panel underneath, listing the names of the adventurers who performed the deed. A giant ogre tooth, easily the size of my small arm, the head of a rare alpha wolf and so on.

The most impressive is an old rusted sword, not a trophy per se, but a memento of a well-known incident. A team of four adventurers, silver at the time, had found an ancient ruin filled with undead. Undead are amongst the most dangerous creatures, extremely hard to kill, and never stopping. In the story I heard, the adventurers first tried to flee and regroup, to come up with a strategy. But having excavated the ruins entrance, the horde of undead were free to roam.

It is said that the group, understanding what could happen if they didn't neutralize the threat, bravely stood their ground at the entrance for two full days, slaughtering over two hundred undead. It might not seem impressive, but the undead would reform and rise again countless times, until finally the magic maintaining them ran out. The rusty sword was found as the only treasure, firmly planted in the middle of the last room.

After being examined by several mages, it was determined it was indeed a normal sword. The adventurers' reward was simply a good deed. A service done by principle, with no monetary reward. The adventurers guild then thought of thanking them by starting a wall of fame of sorts. The rusty sword setting an example for all who would follow. Of course, the adventurers became gold rank, having proven their worth.

The door to the inn creaks and I'm taken out of my reveries. A boy no older than me followed by four of his friends enter. My mood is instantly ruined. Stan, the hateful leader of these bronze team spots me and instantly he smirks towards me. My heart beats faster as I see him approach, still unsure how to handle this kind of situation.

"What do we have here? Little sewer boy above the surface?" His friends laugh at his terrible 'joke'. I hate the nickname and he knows it. I bet he never even dared to step foot down there. I stare back at him angrily.

"Wow, hey, calm down buddy. We are all colleagues you know?" Not sure how to react, I lose my aggressive stance, unsure how to deal with him.

"Lost your voice? Aren't you at least going to say hello to your fellow seniors?" One of his friends giggle. What is his deal anyway? Why does he harass me? I've never had to deal with people be like this back in the village.

"No, I haven't lost my voice." I reply irritated and defensively.

"Woah, hey buddy, you know I'm just joking. Right guys? Little sewer boy doesn't seem to be able to handle even a joke, now I really wonder what you were doing down there all this time!" His friends explode in laughter, while I sit there, hesitant at what to say.

"Well, y-your jokes suck!" I can tell it's a weak reply as all of his friends laugh even harder. Dammit, I should have left when I saw them. This never goes well and I always feel like shit for the rest of the day when I see them.

"Good comeback sewer boy!" He manages to get out between fits of laughter. I get up to leave, but something trips me. I barely manage to get my hands in front of me in time. My forehead lightly touches the ground. I hear laughter spread around the whole tavern at that and I quickly flee in shame.

Dammit! If only I could get stronger to at least become silver, they would have to stop making fun of me. As I come out of the tavern part and out in the main hall I hear someone calling me.

"Hey kid." I turn to look, but I already recognized the voice.

"Hello Hadra." I say glumly as I continue on the way out. I hear her walking up to me and she guides me to the small bench on the side.

"What's wrong?" She doesn't ask gently, it's not her type. As I have come to know her I've seen that despite her stern exterior she cares. A hard exterior kind of thing, something my mother used to say about some people.

"Nothing." I say as I inspect my boots. Even I can tell it's not convincing.

"I may have a solution for this nothing." She simply states.

"Yeah?" I'm not convinced but I didn't really have a plan on what to do now. I might as well listen. I don't want to continue doing sewer work and there is little else, quest-wise, I can do.

"You want to get stronger right? And there are no quests you can really take on unless you become silver rank. I know you don't want to leave the city. But what about getting trained by someone?" Really? Getting trained by some grandpa is her big solution?

"I might as well go back to the sewers, what good would I get training with some old grandpa." I'm harsher than I would like, irritation from earlier coming out unfairly on her.

"I know I'm getting old, but I don't only know old people you know." I wonder if that was mean, if she took it badly. But she is very hard to read. I'd like to be more like her to deal with that stupid Stan. Someday I'm going to show him how great I really am.

"It won't be free, but you have some money now so it should be fine." I'm starting to get curious. Does she even know any adventurers? I mean most people hate her here. Her unofficial nickname is Hate-ra. Taking my lack of answer as agreement, she adds.

"Then it's settled. Be here tomorrow morning." She almost shoos me away after that, going back behind the reception.

I wander the streets for a while, going by the slums where I met Sarah like I usually do when I feel down, hoping to somehow meet her again. I know she is an assassin, but not all assassins are bad. I mean her target was him. And he deserves to die. I heard about the massacre at the shivering pass. Some adventurers saw everything from afar, and it wasn't even a fair fight apparently. The bounty has been updated to Mithril rank threat, and the payout to two thousand gold. A very high amount even for mithril ranked adventurers or bounty hunters.

A lot of people think the adventurers exaggerated the fight, saying it's an excuse as to why they didn't do anything themselves. That they probably were close enough to actually help but ran like cowards. But I know it's the truth. The inhuman strength and speed. Skills unheard of.

I wander the streets aimlessly for the rest of the day, mostly keeping to the less dangerous areas. I reluctantly go back to the adventurers guild later that day, feeling uneasy. I hope Stan's group aren't there. As I get into the guild tavern I sigh in relief. They seem to be out and about. I slowly go up to my room where I practice stances and other things by my lonesome. I can't waste the whole day on sulking after all.

Morning comes and as I go down to the reception, I spot Hadra talking to a big man in full plate armor. It's the same armor the knights use in the city. And then I see it, Hadra is laughing, I've never seen her laugh before. They seem to know each other and this isn't official business at all like I thought it was. I come a bit closer and I can hear them talking.

"He is a good kid you'll see. Spent a month fighting in the sewers. They don't make them like that anymore you know." Hadra says. I straighten unconsciously at the praise.

"We'll see. You know I'm not a fan of the adventurers guild anymore, but for you, I'll give it a shot."

Hadra spots me and tells me to come over. As I get closer I see the man she is talking to clearly. His helmet under his arm, I study his face. Short brown beard, short brown hair with deep eyes. He has a scar running down his left cheek. I notice that he isn't in the regular knight armor. I actually know who this is, it's Mike, the knight captain. I recognize the small emblem on the top right of his chest armor.

"So, you are Blaine I presume?" He asks me with his deep voice. Slightly intimidated by him, it takes me a second before I respond.

"Yes, Sir." I manage to blurt. He laughs good-heartedly at that.

"You can call me Mike. No need for titles here." But how does Hadra know him? Is it rude to ask? Curiosity wins out on caution and I finally manage to formulate the question.

"Excuse me s-, uh, Mike, but how do you know Hadra?" Unlike what I expect, its actually Hadra that answers.

"Well you see, young man, he used to be an adventurer, before all these brats and haughty monkeys started to pollute our guild." She pauses and looks fondly at Mike.

"You know the story about the rusty sword on the wall in the rest area? That was them." I gasp despite myself.

"Really? That's so cool! I heard you fought for two days straight and killed over two hundred of them, with no profits for you!" He looks sternly at Hadra.

"Is it two days straight now? And two hundred undead?" He looks back at me, sighs, then finally goes on.

"There is truth to the story but it has been exceedingly exaggerated over the years." He casts a meaningful glance at Hadra as he says the last part.

"It's still amazing Sir!" I'm so excited! He used to be a gold rank adventurer. I wonder how strong he is now.

"Enough chit-chat. You know why I'm here?" He looks at me. Suddenly, I remember why I even came down and my eyes go round at the realization. He is going to teach me? I try to get my composure back as I answer.

"You are going to train me, Sir." I say trying to contain my excitement.

"All right let's get to it." We say goodbye to Hadra as we walk out. The silence between us makes me uncomfortable as we walk down the streets. I open my mouth to say something but decide better of it.

After a long walk, we are in the knights quarters close to the outer walls of the city. Several stone buildings around, with several big fields can be seen. Knights are doing drills and training in small groups. As we go by, they all stop to greet their captain, some looking at me curiously, but none saying anything.

We finally reach a smaller field with no one using it. Silently handing me a wooden sword, he takes another one and takes a stance.

"Let's see what you got, young man." Wanting to show him the best I got, I unstrap my shield to hold in my hand. Before I get it fully equipped, he stops me.

"No shield to start." He simply says. I hesitate, I need a shield to use [Power Bash], and I want to show him how strong I am. Reluctantly, I put it back on my back.

Patiently waiting for me, I'm unsure of how to go about this. I haven't fought humans before. I hesitate for a bit, the huge man that he is calmly looking at me. Finally, I rush at him and start off with a diagonal slash. He parries it without visible effort. I bring my weapon back for another swing when suddenly his sword is at my throat.

"Never let yourself be open." He backs off and we start over. I start off the same way but instead of pulling back for a big swing I take my sword back in front of me, ready to parry before attacking again. I thrust my weapon forward and he bats it effortlessly to the side, my momentum taking me forward. I feel a slap in the back.

"Don't overextend." He simply says before getting back to his stance.

The training continues like this for an hour. Sweat drips down my forehead from all the exercise. He looks just fine, not a hint of exertion. I huff as I try to catch my breath. He looks at me curiously, gauging me.

"Why did you stop being an adventurer?" I ask, using the break to get to know more about him.

"It's a long story kid."

"But you were famous!" He laughs at that.

"Hardly, Hadra's embellished story makes it seem that way, but at the time we were far from the best. Not that we were bad, but we were definitely not the best team around." His eyes or on me but I know he isn't really looking at me right now. Lost in thought for a while, his gaze sharpens back to the present.

"Enough about the past, I've decided on your training." Alright!

"You'll start by running around the largest fields fifty times. Rest for a minute before doing basic body training." Fifty times? I'm not sure I could do twenty! Stunned by the amount of running I'll have to do, I'm not really prepared for his next statement.

"What are you waiting for, I'm not talking about tomorrow. Chop-chop." I start walking to the largest field, when I hear him laugh.

"Start running kid, you don't get to walk there." He points to the largest field and I start running. I look behind me and see him talk to another knight while pointing at me. My legs feel sore after only a few laps around the field.

Suddenly the knight from before is behind me.

"Don't slow down kid!" He easily runs alongside me and slowly makes a horizontal swing. High enough to be easy to dodge, but low enough I have to adjust my whole stance to continue running. As soon as my speed drops slightly he uses the flat of his sword to hit me on my back. This continues for several laps. My muscles are on fire and I can barely stand up. I desperately try to inhale as much air as possible. Greedily inhaling as much and as fast as possible.

I finish a lap and I almost stumble, my muscles just giving in. I push through somehow, regaining my balance. But soon it starts to become a regular occurrence. I've even lost count of the laps. Finally, I fall completely. I manage to get up and push for a bit more before collapsing again. This time I barely get up.

"Alright kid, that's enough." The knight tells me.

"You showed some good spirit. Keep it up." Having lost count I sit there wondering how many laps I managed. The last part somewhat of a haze.

"Next is basic body training." Too tired to talk, I just nod ever so slightly, desperately trying to inhale enough oxygen for my muscles to recover somewhat.

After a break of about ten minutes, we go to a smaller field. This is where the real hell began. I never knew that basic actually meant sadistic. The knight pushes me constantly until my muscles simply cannot even remotely perform the task. As the sun slowly goes down in the sky, the clouds become orange and red. I lay there, on the ground, unable, unwanting to even move. As knights go out of the training area, they give me compliments and telling me to keep it up.

I close my eyes, a wide smile on my face. Today was a good day.