Chapter 146: Ranger Assessment
The next day, Tianmu Harbor, Adventurers Guild.
Inside the bustling harbor guild, merchants followed receptionists up to the second floor to state their needs, while adventurers carrying swords and bows stood by the mission board selecting tasks.
Most of the assignments were escort missions. Merchants without personal guards usually hired adventurers capable of dealing with monsters through the guild, and local adventurers also offered guiding services.
With the guild’s mission record as a guarantee, merchants could tell if their guards were reliable or not.
Amid the noise and chatter, Wade entered the Adventurers Guild.
The dragonkin draped in a black cloak handed the badge obtained from the guild yesterday to the front desk receptionist.
“We reserved a level assessment for adventurers yesterday,” the dragonkin said.
“May I ask which one is Mr. Wade?” the receptionist asked softly.
Wade stepped forward, his face hidden behind an iron mask, his entire body cloaked in specialized armor.
The receptionist nodded without further questions, as the paperwork had already been completed yesterday.
“Please follow me. The guildmaster is waiting for you at the shooting range.”
Wade nodded and followed the receptionist through the front desk.
At the back of the Adventurers Guild was a spacious training ground.
Wooden targets stood in the distance. Once registered as an adventurer, one could enjoy various guild benefits, including free use of facilities like this.
Adventurers could train using weapons provided by the guild. After completing missions, besides monetary rewards, they would also receive adventurer points. These points could be exchanged for skill books of certain battle techniques at the guild that recorded mission completions.
“Guildmaster, this is Mr. Wade,” the receptionist said to a broad-shouldered man.
The man had wheat-colored skin, wore a gray linen short-sleeved shirt and knee-length shorts, standing two meters tall. He looked like a small giant, with muscles as solid as heavy rock, radiating a steady aura.
Before Wade arrived, many adventurers had already gathered around, idly standing near the shooting range. Upon seeing the receptionist lead Wade over, they crowded closer like spectators.
“Hello, I am Ugai Thios, branch guildmaster of Tianmu Harbor,” said the bald guildmaster. “Please don’t mind them. After all, it’s been decades since anyone took the silver-rank adventurer assessment directly. These juniors just want to broaden their horizons.”
The man, who looked about thirty-something, addressed Wade as an equal.
He assumed Wade would pass. The silver-rank professional warrior level was not something one could fake. Anyone familiar with professionals would understand this truth.
Ten gold coins was a large sum, enough to buy dozens of cattle. No one without confidence would use that much to embarrass themselves at the Adventurers Guild.
Wade flipped out a badge that said “Hello,” featuring a smiling little figure waving hello.
The guildmaster was momentarily stunned. It seemed he had rarely seen someone communicate using a badge.
“My friend lost his voice and was disfigured in the face due to certain events in the past, so he uses badges to communicate,” the dragonkin explained on Wade’s behalf.
“Did he fight some weak monsters…” the guildmaster murmured.
“That’s part of the assessment, right?” the dragonkin implied without directly answering.
“Sorry, you want to inquire about their situation,” the guildmaster glanced at the wooden bow in front of Wade. “Then we’ll end the assessment here. Do you need us to prepare a bow and arrows for him?”
Wade shook his head and took the uniquely shaped wooden bow from in front of him.
The adventurers debated what grade weapon it was. Many guessed it was a radiant-class wooden bow. Its design was indeed unique, combining beauty and mystery.
“First is the archery assessment,” the guildmaster pointed to the distant target. “Thirty arrows, all hitting the target counts as passing.”
According to Tania’s standards, a bowman who could hit eight out of ten fixed targets was excellent. Hitting all thirty consecutively would earn the title “Sharpshooter.”
This standard was strict for ordinary people, but for a professional ranger, it was only slightly challenging.
A ranger professional under good weather and without external disturbances usually maintained a 100% hit rate on fixed targets.
Today was a good day, so this assessment wasn’t too harsh.
Wade silently accepted the quiver from the receptionist. He stood before the target, drew his bow, and shot.
In the two months aboard the ship, he had learned all the battle techniques collected by the dragonkin: seventeen in total for the warrior, ranger, and rogue classes, all mastered to “proficient.”
By the Professional Warrior Manual’s standards, he was silver-rank in all three classes because his intrinsic battle skill did not favor any single profession.
A silver-rank warrior’s intrinsic battle skill would mostly relate to “strength” and “defense.”
Rangers and rogues corresponded to “precision” and “stealth,” respectively.
It was nearly impossible for a warrior to shoot precisely or silently sneak behind enemies.
Professionals specializing in one class usually developed intrinsic battle skills with a clear tendency. Only a rare few had battle skills with unknown characteristics.
For example, Sven’s Starfire was actually a trait-type battle skill.
Jessia’s shadow path, learned as a rogue, was highly representative of the rogue class, allowing concealment in shadows.
Wade’s battle skill was undoubtedly a trait.
The souls could both enhance his strength and allow him to summon a skeleton team like on the wasteland.
More than that, he could sense thoughts and memories from the dead.
His intrinsic battle skill couldn’t be specifically described as “enhancement,” “precision,” or “stealth,” since he was not specialized in any single profession when advancing.
However, he could manifest the power expected of silver-rank professionals in all three classes.
He chose to register as a ranger after consideration.
Compared to warriors and rogues, ranger’s threshold was higher and usually did not allow late starters; training from youth was essential.
Rangers held a higher status among adventurers and were scarcer, earning more respect when traveling.
Wade tried to show his skills. He loaded three arrows at once on the bowstring and fired three arrows simultaneously, all hitting the bullseye.
Human rangers needed to use battle techniques to precisely control their fingers, but he only needed to draw the bow.
In a sense, having one’s own consciousness was what made one a “ranger.”
The adventurers nearby were stunned by the technique, many holding their breath. Wade’s smooth shooting was outright showboating; the wooden target’s center was densely pierced with wooden arrows.
The clustered arrows even formed a small circle, a grouping so precise it was difficult to achieve by aiming point by point.
Within seconds, Wade finished all thirty arrows.
The training ground fell silent, then an adventurer with a bow could not help but applaud.
Those who used bows knew how terrifying that archery was. It hardly seemed humanly possible.
“Is this what a silver-rank ranger is like… I’m still far behind…”
The rangers present couldn’t help but feel the same sentiment.
They looked at Wade’s aura with both admiration and respect.
Even those who didn’t understand bows clapped along.
For a moment, the training ground was drowned in applause.
“Excellent archery,” the guildmaster applauded too. “This is the finest archery I’ve ever seen.”
Wade flipped out the badge that said “Thank you.” The guildmaster suddenly laughed heartily.
He thought the little figure’s expression on the badge was a bit too cute, like a doodle his daughter had drawn, giving a friendly feeling that contrasted sharply with the cold masked figure.
At first, he thought this might be a temperamental guy, but he turned out to be quite polite. Never judge a book by its cover.