Akatsuki Translations

City of Greed, Training Facility First Floor, Lecture Room 

In the center of the training facility, Glen muttered under his breath. 

“Ugh… this is such a pain.” -Glen 

Before him, approximately thirty individuals had gathered. They varied in gender, race, and species, with humans, beasts, and dwarves among them. Each of them possessed a chalk ring, signifying that they were all aspiring adventurers. They all had rather unsavory appearances, lazily taking their seats. 

There wasn’t a single decent-looking person among them, and that was the reality of it. They were Nameless, members of the lowest class in this world. To make matters worse, Rozz had identified them as the cream of the crop of scum, saying, “If they were to stumble into the dungeon, they wouldn’t die immediately.” With such a selection process, they had been skillfully guided to the training facility. 

Honestly, it was such a hassle to deal with them. 

“I wonder if these brats will all get devoured by goblins soon.” -Glen 

“You’re saying everything you’re thinking out loud, old man.” -Student 

One of the disillusioned students pointed out, and Glen absentmindedly stroked his chin. Well, it wasn’t like he was bothered by them hearing his true thoughts. 

“Ah, forget it. Let’s just get this training over with, you shitheads. Better be prepar—” -Glen 

“Glen, we’re adding two more trainees.” -Rozz 

“Die.” -Glen 

Interrupted by Rozz and the two children who barged in, Glen groaned. 

◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆◆ 

Training Facility 

Ur initially eagerly jumped at those words, but as time passed, he started feeling a strange sensation due to the mismatch between the title and the role of an adventurer. The word “training” evoked a sense of diligence, seriousness, and reliability, while the word “adventurer” gave an impression of roughness, rudeness, and unseriousness. 

It was his personal impression, but he didn’t think he was far off. The other trainees present here, just like Ur, seemed irritated and frustrated even by the mere act of sitting at their desks. Their faces conveyed a sense of discontent, as if saying, “Why do we have to do this?” 

Right, adventurers are really a bunch like this, he thought, coming to some sort of understanding. Ur then looked at the man in front of him, whom he presumed to be their instructor. 

“…What a bother.” -Glen 

The man appeared to be around his forties or fifties, a human with an unkempt beard and a scruffy, dark brown, messy head of hair and an expressionless gaze devoid of any motivation. He didn’t fit the image of a teacher at all. Ulr couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. 

Muttering complaints and heaving a sigh that seemed filled with resignation, the man turned toward Ur and the others, distorting his face with a sarcastic smirk. 

“The name’s Glen, I’ll be the one in charge of your guidance here. Welcome to this damn training facility, you morons who aspired to become piece-of-shit adventurers.” 

Ur wondered if this guy really had the intention to guide them. Most likely, the others had the same thought. Shizuku, who was sitting next to him, was clapping her hands for some reason, seemingly unfazed by the man in front of them. 

However, Glen continued without showing any concern. 

“Attending this training facility ain’t an obligation or nothing. Nobody will punish you if you go straight to the dungeon right now, even the Knights won’t give a damn. …But the fact that you’re here means you were enticed by that idiot Rozz.” 

“Did she entice us?” -Shizuku 

“Possibly…” -Ur  

Ur replied briefly to Shizuku’s question. In truth, when Ur heard about this opportunity, he thought there were some pretty good deals involved. As a wandering soul without a home, even finding a place to sleep required money, even if it was a filthy and uncomfortable inn for Nameless. The prospect of receiving both accommodation and guidance for free seemed suspicious. Unfortunately, Ur didn’t have any other options. Even if he was told that he was enticed, he couldn’t help but agree. 

“Hey, old man, stop fucking around! We don’t give a shit about what ya have to say!” -Student 

However, it seemed that the others couldn’t accept it. The man next to Ur stood up and started making a fuss. It was annoying. 

“We came ‘cause you promised to give us rings! Hand ‘em over! The Copper Ring’!” -Student 

Ring? Ur tilted his head and looked at Shizuku. She also tilted her head. 

They understood the meaning of the Copper Ring. It wasn’t the temporary adventurer’s ring, the “Chalk Ring,” that Rozz had mentioned—it was the real adventurer’s ring. Would he give it to them here? But then, why didn’t Rozz mention anything about it? 

“Perhaps it’s a surprise?” -Shizuku 

“A surprise, huh?” -Ur 

In the midst of this foolish conversation between Ur and Shizuku, Glen disregarded the voices of discontent rising from all directions and took something out of his pocket. 

Illuminated by the sun’s rays outside the window, the ring shone brilliantly. It wasn’t the dull Chalk Ring they were currently wearing. It was undoubtedly an official adventurer’s ring. 

“The Copper Ring, well, it’s the lowest-tier ring within the Adventurer’s Guild, but even compared to the Chalk Ring you guys have, it holds a lotta power. One of its privileges is an exemption from ‘city residence fees.’ You understand what that means, right?” -Glen 

With those words, the participants at the training facility became excited. For the Nameless who couldn’t stay in the city without paying a certain fee, that single privilege held great appeal, concealed within that small ring. 

“In any case, I doubt you’d listen even if I gave a long explanation. Allow me to explain the rules of this training facility,” Glen said, raising three fingers. 

“There are three ways to leave this facility. The first is to withdraw. You’re free to leave whenever you want. I mentioned it earlier, but, attending this training is ain’t an obligation. If you don’t wanna be here, no one will stop you.” -Glen 

As he spoke, Glen folded one of his fingers. However, the other participants were fixated on the ring Glen possessed. It seemed that they had no immediate intention of leaving. 

“The second way is to earn my approval. If I deem you worthy, I’ll give you the ring.” -Glen 

Grinning, Glen folded another finger. There was a clear indication that he had no intention of giving his approval. Yet the participants still stared at the ring, refusing to give up. They seemed ready to pounce at any moment. 

Finally, Glen uttered his last words. 

“The third way is to defeat me. Doesn’t matter how ya do it.” -Glen 

As soon as he spoke those words, several participants kicked their chairs aside and stood up. Each of them wielded a blunt object, seemingly obtained out of thin air. A man who appeared to be their leader, resembling some sort of thug, approached Glen and smirked. 

“So you’re sayin if we pummel ya, we don’t have to do this “study session” bullshit?” -Thug 

“Oh, absolutely.” -Glen 

“Any rules? Somethin’ like having to fight one-on-one?” -Thug 

“You heard what I said. The means are irrelevant.” -Glen 

Upon hearing this, the thug motioned to his comrades with a nod and bellowed. 

“Well then! Guess there ain’t gonna be any complaints even if we beat the shit out of you here, right?!” -Thug 

An old, worn-out desk was toppled over. The men lunged forward, surrounding Glen. Shouts and screams, indistinguishable from anger or terror, echoed through the classroom. 

“…Ugh.” 

“Ara?” -Shizuku 

At that moment, Ur felt a chilling sensation, an inexplicable shiver running down his spine. Without any basis, his intuition warned him of imminent danger. Acting on instinct, Ur swiftly grabbed Shizuku’s shoulder and bowed his head. 

The impact that engulfed the entire room came in the next instant. 

“UhgghhHHaaaa?!!!”  

Simultaneously, a strange cry echoed, one that surpassed the agonized cries of even a dying monster. 

“…….Huh?” -Ur 

Ur cautiously raised his head, only to find that the men who had surrounded Glen had vanished. There was no trace of them, neither to the right nor to the left. And as Ur glanced up, he saw small stone-like fragments drifting down from above. 

“……….a, guh.”  

There, on the ceiling, the delinquents were hanging. They had inserted their heads into the ceiling, their bodies partially submerged, swaying in mid-air. The delinquents had transformed into a bizarre interior decoration on the ceiling, surpassing mere terror and entering the realm of surrealism. 

“Alright, any other challengers? I don’t mind if you all come at once,” Glen said, smiling cheerfully at the trainees. However, not a single person responded to his invitation. 

Greed Branch of the Adventurer’s Guild, Training Facility, Class 245. 

Total participants: 30, with 5 dropouts, leaving 25 remaining. 

“…Ehh” -Ur  

“Have we unwittingly stepped into an utterly ridiculous place?” -Shizuku  

Shizuku’s casual observation hit the mark.