《Wound after wound I ended up as a Guild Receptionist》 Prologue of the Maimed Siciha hit hard. The agreement was supposed to be that they would exchange a few blows and then Caedith would concede, however she was putting in quite the effort to be convincing. That, up until she punched Caedith in the throat. While he coughed up blood, she turned towards a certain noble senior among the audience, paying respects with a bow. "Because I really admire young lord Danphan, I will take care of thisRodent Soul Holderso that the lord won''t have to sully his hands in the next round." she declared while forcing Caedith''s Core Soul to manifest. It was indeed a small rat, exposed for everyone to see. "I do appreciate the consideration of those who know their station. Perhaps I should find a place for you as my follower." remarked Danphan with a condescending nod. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Siciha deepened the previous bow and unsheathed a thin blade with a mellow pink hue in the metal and a straight notch running through its length. She plunged it meticulously in each of Caedith''s meridian, each time the blade growing visibly thicker and brighter with no blood staining it. She didn''t even spare the fourth meridian, which only the tiniest minority of people were born with. The whole audience thought that was wasted thoroughness, a pointless effort, a public display of cruelty for its own sake, and they loved it. But it wasn''t just malice. It was an emotionally dry betrayal: the boy didn''t even process the breach of trust that had just happened, nor did he experience the shame of being exposed as a rat. His pain eclipsed whatever sorrow and humiliation she intended to inflict upon him. An Old Mans Kindness Kaede awakened in a body not quite his own. He cultivated for a few hours only to realize he had four shattered meridians, which housed a wouned presence turtling away from the world. One bit at a time he managed to recall what happened to that body during the tournament, and felt the desperation "he" couldn''t. "Rest easy, Caedith. Now that I''m here I won''t allow anyone to harm nor disrespect you in the future." Kaede told himself. However, he could only rely on a single meridian left. On the flip side, his wounds didn''t hurt at all. "I didn''t expect you to be awake." stated elder Garnlao approaching him, "You remember your name?" "Kae... Caedith." "Good, good, you''re still there. Perhaps that Hyf Clan girl pulled her punches. Let me check your wounds and pulse." Garnlao placed two fingers on Kaede''s wrists. "Interesting... Well the wounds are healing properly, in a month you''ll barely even have scars. On the other hand I have no idea how can you even be conscious." he concluded. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation."What do you mean?" "Well, at most I''ve seen people surviving a cracked meridian, although with an abrupt shift of their personality. You seem yourself even though your meridians are beyond repair." Garnlao was righter than he could have imagined. "Beyond repair?" "Yes, to use an analogy: repairing your meridians would be like reassembling a peppercorn after it has been ground up into a fine powder. Practically impossible. That''s how damaged they are. It is such a pity, though. If only we had known of your tetrapathia..." Now that was the first thing the old man was wrong about, Caedith wasn''t just born with four meridians, but who could imagine such a thing? "Actually, nevermind. You wouldnt have survived the persecution, no matter how special your body was. Perhaps this is the best outcome for you, at least you get to live." "So what''s going to happen now?" "Well, you can''t stay in the sect, obviously. People probably assume you died, don''t give them any reason to think otherwise." Bottom Ranking System Garnlao seemed like just an old man who had seen his fair share of experiences and didn''t care much for more. He set Kaede on the path handing him a bag quite generously stuffed with food and a petty amount of money. With nowhere to go, Kaede began his journey by merely putting some distance between him and the Scentful Spring Sect, eventually ending up in Rith, a Special Economic Zone on the eastern border. That''s where foreign goods could legally enter the Mhyrr. Despite formally being part of the Elven Empire, in Rith even the local branch of the royal family was more of a token than actually holding any influence. The Chamber of Commerce and the Adventurer''s Guild, however, were pretty powerful. As a matter of fact, Kaede thought that the Adventurer''s Guild offered far better opportunities than any Sect or Clan in terms of privileged access to resources and intel. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "I would like to apply as an Adventurer." The receptionist Gaell eyed Kaede from head to toe, then stated: "For people below the Soul Shaping Realm there''s only the provisional license available. Your rank will be F, and the license will cost 10 silver per month until you pass the E-Rank exam. Also you won''t be formally supervised, which means basically only public assignments are going to be available for you. That being said there''s no shortage of those, so staying alive will be more of a problem than starving. Interested?" "When can I take an E-Rank exam?" "At the end of each season we hold all sorts of exams. The fee is 10 silver coins, and E-Rankers are expected to pass the test at least once per year." "I see, and what does it consist of?" "It depends on what skill adventurers tend to lack at that time, which usually means combat or stealth. Sometimes even knowledge." Resources and violence The Marna Valley in Rith was dotted by pockets of plenty: behind an unassuming boulder one could often times spot a fully ripe Spiral Anis shrub, and finding a hollow tree easily meant obtaining dozens of Carnous Ganoderma lobes growing in there. It was as if adventurers had never read a book on the local flora and simply strip-gathered every wrong spot in the area. Kaede didn''t imagine he would be having a hard time carrying back the haul, yet that was how things were turning out. "Oh, we have a collegue here." A party of three approached Kaede. One of them, a gaunt elf with a stupid look on his face was talkative: "Say, would you mind leaving this spot to us?" "Sure, go ahead." "Oh? Sweet answer. Also, leave here everything you''ve gathered so far." The valley was plentiful enough, and, even though the three of them were far weaker than Caedith''s body, one could definitely foresee they would end up complaining to the guild in case they lost the aggression. There was no merit in engaging with them. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "Rest easy, Caedith. Now that I''m here I won''t allow anyone to harm nor disrespect you in the future." That reminder was so powerful Kaede realized his body already started fighting only by the time he felt the stupid elf''s abdomen hit his knuckles. The elf was sent flying a couple of meters backwards by the hit, followed by a trail of his own puke. The girl of the group didn''t really follow what was happening at all, assuming that it was Kaede the one on the ground. She barely managed to utter some noise in realization, before being hit in the face by Kaede''s palm. The third guy hid behind a tree, rummaging through his bag. Kaede punched him through the tree, which unexpectedly revealed another hollow brimming with Ganoderma. Two Artifacts "Caedith, ah Caedith. Turns out making promises is a bit like gambling. Good thing this time it paid out, and now I have the chance to build something from here." mumbled Kaede while admiring the two artifacts the party was hiding. One of those was an odd burr puzzle that Kaede had no knowledge about; whereas the other was, according to the Low Grade Tools Antology, a Glassteel Moonar, namely a lantern capable of storing a specific kind of fire that heats at 181¡ãC without ever burning anything. Perfect for baking cookies and anyone below the Golden Bones Stage. As one would imagine it was quite a terrifying artifact. As for the three elves, it was indeed odd that they would even think of bullying anybody when they were barely in the Marrow Washing Stage. In hindsight it only made sense they had some trump cards up their sleeves. The question then was how did they manage to get their hands on such items. Certainly not through legitimate means, Kaede couldn''t imagine robbers being able or willing to pay money for a Moonar. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. In any case Kaede had no intention to let them keep something so dangerous after what happened. Their bags were also stocked with petty trinkets and resources, which suggested he wasn''t their first target. Curiously, the only one who was carrying a provisional license from the Adventurer''s Guild was the girl. As rotten as they were, Kaede never felt they deserved death. And certainly not before understanding what was going on with them. The Marna Valley could become dangerous after nightfall, thus leaving them as they were was essentially synonymous with murder. Carrying them? Although he felt no pain, Kaede was still recovering from the wounds Siciha left him, so no chance for that either. "Guess I''ll wait until the first of them wakes up, then." Lord Vosphel "So?" the receptionist Gaell was performatively bored. "Doesn''t the guild have regulations?" "It does, but they only apply to disputes between supervised adventurers. Provisional licensors die all the time from stuff like this, so consider yourself lucky you only crossed path with trash. As I warned you before: even for F-rankers staying alive will be more of a problem than starving." At once, the gate was blast open. A group of four stormed the Guild Hall. "There he is, lord Vosphel." declared the talkative gaunt elf from Marna Valley, pointing at Kaede. "Ah yes, lord Vosphel, I took the liberty of detaining this person for you, and I was just about to..." lied Gaell. "Oh? A truly impressive feat, yours was." sarcastically commented the noble. Then, addressing Kaede: "I believe you have something that belongs to me." The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.A brief back and forth ensued, in which Kaede rejected any accusation of taking the defeated party''s belongings. "Let us check your bag, F-ranker." demanded Gaell as if he had any involvement in the matter. A crowd started forming around the scene. "I''m sorry, but I wouldn''t want to expose my bag''s contents to everyone." Gaell was about to move the litigation to a private room, but the noble had a different idea. Much in the same way Kaede sent the gaunt elf flying a few hours earlier, Vosphel hit Kaede at the bottom of the stomach, making him taste his partially digested earlier meal gushing from the esophagus. He had to swallow his own puke several times before the effects of the hit subsided. That being said it was an oddly painless experience, not even the gastric acids irritating his throat still sore from Siciha''s punch were that uncomfortable a sensation. "Rest easy, Caedith. Now that I''m here I won''t allow anyone to harm or disrespect you in the future." Amputation "Rest easy, Caedith. Now that I''m here I won''t allow anyone to harm nor disrespect you in the future." "Caedith, if we fight this person right now you will die." "Rest easy, Caedith. Now that..." "I can''t allow you to harm yourself either. Please, I promise I will make him pay, but right now we''ll have to endure." "How?" "He must have hidden them." "Where are they?" While Kaede was regaining his composure, his five opponents were thoroughly rummaging through his belongings, finding no shortage of herbs and mushrooms. "As I''ve been trying to tell you from the beginning: I don''t know of any artifacts. Your three goons tried to rob me, so I knocked them down before they could raise a finger. I had no idea people so questionable would be carrying anything of value." Vosphel did not look enraged, thus it was confusing to parse why would he draw his sword and amputate Kaede''s forearm. Kaede felt no pain whatsoever, but Caedith was raging like a chunk of magma dropped into a bucket of water. At that point the hall was so crowded people from the back rows began jumping to catch a glimpse of what was happening. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it."Where are the artifacts?" "I don''t know." "Lord Vosphel, perhaps he really doesn''t..." the noble unceremoniously amputated a leg from the girl who dared to speak. Because she was in the Marrow Washing Stage, she bled much more profusely than Kaede, and she screamed in pain. Her companions both sneered, for whatever reason. "Would you mind refraining from bloodying the place?" demanded Kaede. "Someone will have to clean up this mess, and I''d wager it won''t be you." The crowd was in absolute disbelief, and a bit amused at the arrogance of that F-ranker who just lost an arm. He truly was a frog at the bottom of the well, who didn''t know how high the sky was. "This is yours." declared Vosphel tossing a celadon pill at Kaede. At a glance he knew it was a Low Grade Rejuvenation Pill, and although it was the simplest treatment for restoring damaged parts of the body such as maimed limbs, it still was extremely expensive. The pill bounced off his chest and fell to the ground, however few people noticed that as the crowd''s focus was on the noble leaving with his followers. Even the girl dragged herself towards the gate, in a pitiful series of motions. "Rest easy, Caedith. Now that I''m here I won''t allow anyone to harm nor disrespect you in the future." Kaede did not need to heed Caedith''s rudimentary attempts at comunication, since they were on the same page: the girl was dying, she needed help. He picked the pill from the ground, and forced it into her mouth. Then he grabbed her detached leg and placed it right, which proved to be challenging for an one-armed person. That''s when what looked like an iron golem stepped in to help.