I Became the Dark Knight in the Game - Chapter 90: The Trial (2)

Dale first returned to the inn to seek out Harkin.

Elena who had been engrossed in a thick book looked up.

She asked with a happy expression on her face.

“Ah, Sir Dale. How was the award ceremony?”

“It was so-so. More importantly, where’s Harkin?”

“He’s probably passed out from drinking.”

“To be so carefree in broad daylight.”

Dale strode towards the stairs when Elena called out to his retreating back.

“Ah, Sir Dale. There’s something I wanted to tell you.”

Dale turned his head and asked.

“Is it something urgent?”

“Um, no. It’s not urgent.”

“Then let’s talk about it later. I’m a bit busy right now.”

“Ah, yes. Sorry for the inconvenience…”

Elena drooped her head in disappointment. Kayla who was standing beside her glared at Dale with a scowl that could cut through steel.

Her look was akin to that of someone who was watching a father too caught up in work to spare a moment for his daughter.

Kayla bluntly remarked,

“My affection is fading.”

“…. What affection are you talking about.”

For some reason, Dale felt inexplicably embarrassed and responded,

“I promise to listen to what you have to say once I’m done with my work.”

Only then did Elena’s expression soften.

“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

Dale quickly ascended the stairs and opened the door to Harkin’s room.

To put it kindly, the room was far from tidy. Harkin was sprawled out in a mess.

“Ugh. Ughhh.”

He seemed to be in a deep slumber and was snoring loudly and occasionally coughing.

Despite Dale opening the door, there was no sign Harkin would awaken anytime soon.

It seems playing around has completely worn him out.

Dale approached Harkin and tapped him lightly with the palm of his hand, “lightly” by Dale’s standards, that is.

The sharp pain jolted Harkin awake, causing him to leap from his bed in alarm.

“Wh-Who the hell!”

“It’s me.”

Their gazes locked for a moment before Harkin’s expression quickly softened into a more amiable one.

“Ah, it’s Sir Dale. Haha, you could’ve just said something.”

“You don’t like it?”

“Don’t like it? Quite the opposite! Waking up suddenly feels very refreshing, hahaha.”

Dale explained the situation amidst Harkin’s exaggerated laughter.

A broad grin spread across Harkin’s face.

“Is that… the smell of money?”

“Yes. According to Garland, assembling a party could lead to better terms. Are you in?”

“If Sir Dale is going, then of course I’m joining! I’d have been offended if you hadn’t invited me!”

Harkin naturally expected that he would be part of the party all along.

Next on the list was Ether.

Dale expected that Esther might find the sudden request troubling, but to his surprise, she readily agreed.

“I’ll do it.”

“Are you sure?”

“The chaos unfolding in the northwest has already caught the attention of our church. They will grant me permission to go.”

A shieldman, a priestess, and a dark knight.

These three were not only a stable combination but they also had spent enough time together to work seamlessly as a unit.

With this, he would be able to receive a high bounty just like Garland said.

Without delay, the three of them set out for the mercenary guild.

Harkin exclaimed,

“Haha! Those nobles. By now, they must be in a frenzy and making a fuss. It’s refreshing to see those who usually look down on us mercenaries begging for our help.”

The dynamics of power can reverse depending on the situation.

At this moment, competent mercenaries were in high demand and were courted fervently by the nobles.

The party opened the guild door expecting a somewhat chaotic atmosphere.

However, the interior was eerily quiet.

What’s going on? There are plenty of people here, aren’t there?

As the door swung open, a multitude of gazes inside instantly focused their attention towards the entrance.

One of them shouted,

“He-He’s here!”

And then, as if on cue, they swarmed towards Dale in a rush.

“We are from the Garum family! We wish to hire you and will offer conditions more generous than anyone else!”

“I represent the Baron Padrum. You must be aware of the kind of man Baron Pardum is. Please, join our side.”

“Please, we beg of you! Please help us!”

Persuasion, threats, and pleas ensued.

Servants from noble families began to cling to Dale while employing various tactics to win him over.

The guild was thrown into chaos in no time.

Some of them seemed to come from families that weren’t on good terms with each other.

Some people even resorted to grabbing.

Harkin and Esther were overwhelmed by the atmosphere and retreated to the back.

Other mercenaries quickly made distance to avoid getting involved, while the guild staff were at a loss for what to do.

This could lead to some accidents.

Dale cast a quick glance around before focusing his mind intently.

His eyes flashed fiercely before they started emitting a surge of magical power that radiated throughout the vicinity. The spread of his magic shook the very souls of the servants present.

“Ugh.”

“Wh-What is this?”

Caught off guard by the sudden shock, the servants clutched their foreheads.

A chilling sensation unlike any headache, one that seemed to rattle the essence of their minds, sent shivers down their spines and left their blood running cold.

When the surroundings became quiet, only then did Dale open his mouth.

“Everyone, please calm down.”

The people nodded their heads in response.

When Dale said that, they had no choice but to calm down, even if they didn’t want to.

At that moment, Garland descended the stairs.

“Haha, I was wondering why it was so noisy down here…”

Having been briefed on the situation, he addressed everyone.

“Fighting amongst yourselves will lead nowhere. Nobody wants that, right? Especially when we’re all pressed for time.”

The servants nodded in agreement.

It was a race against time.

They needed to leave the city as soon as possible and head to the northwest. Even the moments spent in this scuffle were precious and wasted.

Garland proposed a solution.

“How about this? Each of you write down the terms you have in mind on a piece of paper and hand it to me. I’ll then select the most favorable ones and present them to Sir Dale.”

After casting discreet glances at each other, the servants soon nodded in agreement.

It was better to make a decision quickly than to waste more time here.

Dale then spoke to Garland.

“Make sure to mention that I’m not alone. I plan to be accompanied by Harkin and Esther.”

“Ah, you’ve taken my advice. Very well.”

Garland smiled slyly and explained to the servants.

He told them that a veteran shieldman with battle experience and a promising young priestess with much potential would be joining Dale as well.

As a seasoned mercenary himself, Garland pinpointed exactly what would entice the servants.

The servants swallowed hard.

A dark knight, along with a mercenary and a priestess.

If we could only secure their service…

With their excitement mounting, the servants pondered over the papers before them.

Since they only had one chance to make an impression, they knew they had to propose attractive terms.

The issue lay in their inability to gauge what terms others might offer.

It can’t be helped.

The servants closed their eyes tightly and wrote down the best terms they could muster.

Garland collected the papers from the servants.

Then he let out a laugh as if finding the situation ridiculous.

“These are conditions even a standard silver badge mercenary wouldn’t dare dream of.”

After reviewing the terms, Garland quickly filtered them.

It wasn’t just about the money.

He meticulously considered whether the client was trustworthy, if there had been any friction with the guild, and what their reputation was like, as if it were his own business at stake.

Dale expressed his gratitude,

“Thank you, Garland.”

“It’s nothing. We’re not collecting brokerage fees for nothing, after all,”

Of course, since the matter was about Dale, Garand took care of the work himself.

Once the task was completed, Garland handed over three papers.

“You’ll just need to pick one from these three.”

The carefully selected requests were down to three.

Each one offered generous terms, the best treatment, and clients without any issues.

Dale was feeling the impact of supply and demand on prices firsthand.

Even the nobles are overdoing it. Are they that desperate for the position?

The nobles were indeed being greedy and pushing the limits.

Of course, it was nothing for Dale to worry about.

Moreover, this particular request was expected to be quite dangerous due to its unique nature.

There will likely be a lot of fighting.

In that case, the cost of these terms might not be as exorbitant as they seemed.

Dale made his decision.

“I’ll go with this one.”

“Not a bad choice at all.”

Garland announced whose request Dale had accepted.

The servant who secured the contract let out a cheer while the others showed disappointment or annoyance.

Watching the entire scene unfold, the mercenaries could only feel envious.

“To think they’re all fussing over just one person…”

“Will we ever receive such treatment?”

“Snap out of it. It would take more than ten years to become as strong as that dark knight.”

Yet, an opportunity soon presented itself to the mercenaries who had been idly watching.

The servants who had failed to secure Dale’s services now hurried to recruit them.

Most mercenaries present were of lower ranks, but that was still better than nothing.

The guild hall quickly became bustling like a marketplace once again.+

The servant who had secured a contract with Dale led the group outside.

Then after wiping the sweat from his brow as if relieved he said,

“Phew. Thank you for accepting our offer.”

“When do you plan to depart?”

“As soon as we’re ready, we’ll set out at dawn tomorrow.”

“And the number of people?”

“Including myself, the young master, our family’s private soldiers, and all of you, we’ll be fifteen in total.”

Dale nodded his head in agreement.

Fifteen, huh.

Powerful families were often overflowing with connections to high-ranking mercenaries and skilled individuals.

It was the families that were neither decidedly strong nor unequivocally weak that had rushed to the mercenary guild to hire Dale for a hefty sum.

Dale scratched at his helmet.

Their forces seem too average to edge out the other competitors.

Their current strength was not enough for winning the trial.

But not everyone was racing solely for the vice commander position in the trial.

Perhaps they’re hoping to pick up crumbs?

It was entirely possible to hover around, lead their soldiers, and then assist a more promising candidate in exchange for a reward, like securing a position in the imperial guard order.

While Dale was pondering the intentions of his client, the eager servant leading the way suddenly stopped and turned around.

“Also, just a heads-up, our young master is a bit… peculiar. Please, don’t be too surprised. He’s really a good person, but…”

“Peculiar, you say?”

“Ha, haha. Since we’re setting off tomorrow, everyone should get ready and meet at the designated place.”

The servant hurriedly made his exit and avoided further discussion.

It was slightly unsettling, but the contract had already been made. Backing out wasn’t an option now.

Garland made the selection, so it shouldn’t be too problematic.

Perhaps a client not solely focused on passing the trial but rather looking to gain some advantage might actually be better.

Dale said to Esther and Harkin,

“We need to start preparing too. First off, Esther. Like I said before, you need to wear proper armor. Let’s go to the armorer together.”

“Hmm.”

Esther reluctantly nodded her head, though it was clear she wasn’t excited about it.

“Understood. What else do we need to prepare… The northwest is currently in chaos due to the outbreak of undead and an infestation of monsters, right? In that case, it would be wise to stock up on holy water. And, we should also prepare some tools for hunting monsters…”

Dale cut Esther off and shook his head.

“No. Apart from weapons, try to minimize our baggage. We need to be able to move as quickly as possible in case of an emergency.”

“Huh? Why is that?”

Dale answered the puzzled Esther.

“We’re more likely to face humans than undead or monsters.”

Just then, several carriages sped past the group, kicking up clouds of dust.

The citizens of the city hastily dodged the reckless charge through the streets.

“Move back unless you want to be trampled!”

The coachman driving the carriage bellowed harshly.

The carriage he drove bore the emblem of a noble family, and in the back were a few knights, their servants, and men who appeared to be hired mercenaries.

Their eyes met Dale’s.

And Dale saw them too.

The knight who made eye contact tapped the sword on his waist. Then he turned his head forward.

The carriage passed by at high speed.

“…….”

It was clear that the nobles didn’t hire mercenaries without good reason.

In the trial, they would do whatever it took to knock down their competitors, sometimes without scruples. Such was the nature of humans.

Conflict was inevitable. A confrontation was brewing.

Dale turned his head away from the carriage.

“Let’s go.”

It was time to dive into that fray.