Chapter 107: Clinton’s Kindness

After hearing the receptionist’s introduction, the young adventurer was stunned. It took him a while to recall his main purpose for coming here: “Then I want to have my level assessed. What do I need to do?”
“For adventurers registering for the first time, our guild offers one free profession level assessment. Subsequent assessments will incur fees based on the level. So as long as you spend one silver coin to register as an adventurer with our guild, you can have your level assessed and take tasks here for free!” However, one silver moon might still be a significant amount for him. So after reaching into his pocket, the young adventurer hesitated, reluctant to spend it.
At that moment, the receptionist added, “By the way, the lord has ordered that the first ten adventurers to register won’t be charged at all. So you can register for free!” The young adventurer was overjoyed and immediately said, “Then I’ll register right away!”
“Great! Please go to the first room on the left. Someone will be there to assist you!”
“Thank you! Thank you!”
He kept thanking them before heading to the first room on the left side of the lobby, whose door bore a name he didn’t recognize.
“Here to register? Please sit!” Upon entering, he saw a middle-aged man in the guise of a shop owner sitting behind a desk.
In fact, this man used to be a shop owner too. Due to his excellent handwriting, William assigned him to work at the lord’s mansion, and now he worked as a clerk at the adventurers’ guild, with a better salary than before.
After asking about the young adventurer’s name, age, family background, profession, and skills, the clerk recorded all this information on a scroll and made another copy. Then he said, “That’s done! If you want to have your profession level assessed, please take these two scrolls to the door at the back of the hall. After the test, you’ll receive dual certification from our adventurers’ guild and the Stonemountain Mage Guild, which will be recognized throughout our North County. Then come back to me to get your adventurer’s certificate.”
The young adventurer followed the clerk’s instructions like a puppet, arriving at the back of the hall, where he found a spacious backyard. On one side were tools for testing, such as stone targets, wooden stakes, and dummies. On the other side was an open-air pavilion with three people sitting inside.
The young adventurer quickly bowed and handed over his two scrolls.

The three were dressed as a knight, a swordsman, and a master—Uther and Clinton, who were under Donald’s command, along with Russell, one of the three personal masters. Among these three, Uther was the strongest at the Bronze level; Clinton had rich combat experience; and Russell was knowledgeable. They were the most suitable to assess adventurers whose strength levels were generally below Bronze.

“Brother Zimer, the test begins now. According to your certification, you are a swordsman at the mid-Black Iron level. Please swing your sword at the wooden post—if it pierces through, you’ll pass!” The young adventurer named Zimer took the ordinary iron sword provided by the guild and swung it at one of the wooden posts.

“Alright, you’ve passed. Now, let’s move on to the next step!”

After that, Clinton, who was in charge of professional level assessment, tested the young adventurer’s strength and reflexes one by one, then personally conducted a practical combat test. Zimer gave it his all, exchanging over a dozen blows with Clinton before being defeated with a single strike.

Finally, Clinton announced, “Brother Zimer, congratulations! You have officially become the first member of the Adventurers’ Guild. Your profession is swordsman at the mid-Black Iron level, with excellent combat skills.” He then wrote a review on the scroll, and the three assessors signed their names and strength levels in the examiner’s column as certification.

Excited, Zimer carried the two scrolls back to the clerk’s room. Upon seeing him return, the clerk congratulated him as well. He then stamped both scrolls with the emblem of the Dalaran territory, stored one of them in a cabinet behind him, and handed Zimer the remaining scroll along with a Black Iron adventurer badge representing his strength level.

When the young adventurer named Zimer stepped out of the Adventurers’ Guild, wearing a Black Iron badge engraved with the Dalaran emblem and two swords on his chest, he was immediately surrounded by a group of adventurers outside.

“What’s inside?” “Have you finished the assessment?” “What tasks have you been given?”

Everyone asked in a rush. The young man didn’t know how to respond. One of the adventurers took the scrolls from his arms—this person could read—and after glancing at them, he immediately exclaimed, “Quiet! Quiet!” What was that? Everyone looked curiously. Only Zimer watched his scrolls anxiously, fearing they might be damaged.

The adventurer unrolled the scrolls and read aloud in front of everyone, “Dalaran Adventurers’ Guild Professional Level Assessment Certificate!”

“Zimmer, age eighteen. Assessment date: 537 in the Celt era. Occupation: Swordsman, skill level: mid-black iron. Evaluation: Excellent combat ability, potential to advance to bronze swordsman.”
The more he read, the more surprised the adventurer became, his voice trembling slightly by the time he reached the assessor section.
“Assessor: Clinton, commander of the Dalaran Militia Guard, skill level: peak black iron swordsman. Master Rusell of the Merlinna family, skill level: peak black iron master. Hereditary knight Uther, skill level: high-ranking knight.”
All the adventurers present were astonished, shocked by the strength of the team assigned to conduct this assessment. Not only were there peak black iron swordsmen and military commanders from local noble territories, but there was also a powerful peak black iron master—both in status and strength, they were recognized by most adventurers. And the last one was even a high-ranking knight from a hereditary noble family; after all, high-ranking knights were all bronze-level strong fighters, making this assessment certificate even more authoritative.
With the example of the young man Zimmer, dozens of adventurers rushed into the adventurer’s guild.
Half a day later, as a dozen adventurers registered as guild members and received several tasks assigned by Donald to spread word about the guild, all the adventurers staying in Dalaran became interested.
One of them, an adventurer with bronze-level strength who had participated in the campaign against the ogre tribe, entered the guild with a try-it-out attitude, filled out his information, and waited to take the assessment test.
Clinton had already conducted over a dozen tests, fighting against the adventurers himself. Since the strongest of those tested were only at peak black iron level, and most those at mid-black iron level could barely withstand a dozen moves, it didn’t take much of his energy.
But when it came to the next adventurer to be tested, the situation was different.
Since this was a bronze-level strong fighter, it wouldn’t be appropriate for Clinton to test him, so Uther prepared to take action himself.
However, Clinton said, “Getting to fight against a bronze-level strong fighter is a rare opportunity. Lord Uther, please allow me to fight first. After I lose, you can step in.”
Uther immediately understood Clinton’s intention.
Nodding, he said, “I understand. Go ahead!”
Clinton thanked him gratefully, then stood up to greet the newcomer.

“Mr. Zaha, are you joining us at the Dalaran Adventurers’ Guild as well? What a wise choice.” “Commander Clinton, what should I do?” asked Bronze Adventurer Zaha, somewhat curious. “We’re all aware of Mr. Zaha’s strength, but it’s best to follow the rules! Please follow me; the first test is to assess your attack power.” Unlike those Iron Adventurers, the attack power test targets for Bronze-level adventurers were not ordinary tree stumps but hard Iron Pine posts as solid as rock. As the name suggests, Iron Pine was like iron among trees—hard and straight. Due to its excellent quality and scarcity, it was usually used as material for luxury furniture. Although Bronze Warriors had already begun to understand the use of Qi, since they couldn’t project sword energy externally, they could only use it internally to enhance their strength and attack power. Thus, using these sturdy Iron Pine posts was the most suitable test. Zaha picked up his iron sword and swung at the Iron Pine target. This strike didn’t rely on sword energy but only on physical strength, leaving only a shallow scratch on the target. Dissatisfied, he swung again. This time, using 80% of his strength, he managed to leave a three-inch-deep cut in the Iron Pine post. Only then was Zaha satisfied enough to put down his sword and wait for feedback. After that, simple tests of strength and reflexes were conducted, followed by the final practical combat test. Seeing Clinton, who possessed peak Black Iron strength, step forward to fight him, Zaha felt somewhat dissatisfied. He had come here to fight Uther, who was said to be at an advanced Bronze level, as it would greatly help him make further progress. However, he didn’t show it and instead planned to use a few moves to defeat Clinton before facing Uther, the high-ranking knight. Clinton had the same intention. As his master’s strength grew and heroes like Uther and Kelthuzad arrived one after another, Clinton, as his master’s most loyal warrior, felt increasingly anxious and frustrated. Although they were creations of their master, they were living beings with their own thoughts, so they trained hard to break through as soon as possible and become a powerful asset to their master. Yet, breaking through from the peak of Black Iron to the Bronze level wasn’t easy. Clinton had reached the peak of his current level for almost a month, but no opportunity for breakthrough had yet appeared.

Even as a Summoner Warrior, endowed by the Book of Truth with talents and potential beyond ordinary people, it was still difficult to make breakthroughs suddenly. Clinton knew that the more anxious and concerned he became, the less likely he was to make progress. So while building his strength, he repeatedly challenged stronger opponents of his own level and above, hoping to find an opportunity for breakthrough through battle.

During the previous battle against the orcs, he had already sensed that he was just one step away from success. There was only Uther as a strong Bronze Warrior in his territory, and the two of them were very familiar with each other, so the outcome of their battles was not as good as facing an unfamiliar opponent.

The arrival of Zahar, a Bronze-level adventurer, gave Clinton a chance—he just needed to seize it firmly.