Leather Armor

The adventuring party called the Night Owl Squad was somewhat cool toward him, except for their leader, Leven.

After Gauss introduced himself, the others each gave their names and the weapons they specialized in, then fell silent.

Some were shy. The cleric girl sneaked a few glances at Gauss, but when she saw that no one else was speaking, she hesitated for a moment, then chose to stay quiet too.

Others might simply have been naturally reserved. The Rogue, an assassin wrapped in a cloak, greeted him, then lowered their head and went back to polishing their dagger.

Come to think of it, since the assassin was completely covered by their cloak and kept their head bowed, Gauss had initially assumed they were a man. He only realized she was a woman when she spoke.

The remaining Archer and Swordsman were just as taciturn.

Gauss could understand. He couldn't expect everyone to be outgoing and cheerful, especially when they were faced with a stranger who had just joined their party.

If the party really was as "elite" as Leven had said, it was only natural for the other members to have a bit of an attitude.

Weren't all experts like that?

Besides, Gauss was used to this sort of cool but inoffensive attitude. If strangers came on too strong with their friendliness, he'd actually feel uncomfortable.

"If there are no objections, everyone can head back and rest this morning. We'll train together this afternoon to get to know each other. Let's meet outside the guild."

"Tomorrow morning, when the bell rings, we'll gather at the town entrance and set out for the mission site."

"As for the mission rewards, we'll divide them according to how much each person contributes."

"Sounds good, Captain."

"I'll be heading back, then."

As soon as Leven finished speaking, the cloaked woman waved and turned to leave.

The others said their goodbyes and left one after another.

"Don't think they're cold," Leven said, looking at Gauss, who was still there. "Once you've spent some time with them, you'll realize they're all good people."

"Of course, that's assuming you can earn their approval."

Leven laughed.

"I understand." Gauss nodded.

Perhaps the others also thought of him as a temporary member and didn't see much point in spending time getting to know him. They probably figured he'd be gone soon anyway, so they might as well keep their distance from the start.

"Come on, Gauss. Let's go register the mission at the front desk. I'll add your name to the temporary roster."

After registering at the Adventurer's Guild counter, Gauss temporarily joined the party for the mission.

Like Leven's Night Owl Squad, they were an unranked adventurer party registered with the Adventurer's Guild.

In fact, anyone could register an adventurer party as long as they could afford the fee: 50 silver coins.

Registering a party for an extra fee came with many benefits.

First, when some clients or organizations assigned missions to the Adventurer's Guild, they sometimes specified that an adventurer party must take the job.

Since most members of an adventurer party worked together long-term, if their abilities were comparable to those of a temporary party, a fixed team with established teamwork would naturally work better and fight more effectively.

Besides, being willing to pay the 50-silver registration fee was proof of a certain level of ability in itself.

So adventurer parties could take on more missions than freelancers or temporary parties.

Second, like adventurer ranks, adventurer parties could also advance in rank. Registering a party early, while still novices, helped them build up their mission records sooner.

Finally, registered parties had an easier time recruiting. When a freelancer was approached by various parties, they would naturally be more inclined to join one that was registered and more capable.

After registering, Gauss said goodbye to Leven and went back to prepare his supplies.

The mission site was near Mill Village.

It was closer to Grayrock Town than Birch Village was, but still too far to reach in a single day.

And once they arrived, they would need to rest, gather information, fight, collect spoils, rest again, and make the return trip, among other things.

It would take at least three days to get back to Grayrock Town.

So he had to buy all the necessary supplies in advance, including rations, a waterskin, and clothes.

While shopping for basic supplies in town, Gauss thought it over and decided to buy a set of leather armor.

He'd have to buy it sooner or later, anyway.

It was a little expensive at 15 silver coins, but it offered far better protection than Cloth Armor, while being about as light and flexible.

The leather shop owner bought back his old secondhand Cloth Armor for 50 copper coins.

He'd paid a whole silver coin for it. Aside from the first time he'd gone after a lone goblin, he'd only used it once in any real sense, yet its resale value had already plummeted.

As he stepped out of the shop, Gauss couldn't help wondering if the squinting, smiling middle-aged owner would quickly clean up his Cloth Armor and put it right back on the rack for a silver coin.

Dressed in his gleaming new leather armor, Gauss looked it over from every angle. The layered strips of tanned, wax-boiled, hardened leather lifted his spirits.

"Leather armor offers better protection. The risk of getting hurt by goblins is much lower."

He wouldn't admit that a small part of him had also worried about showing up to the afternoon training in dirty secondhand Cloth Armor while everyone else was decked out in fine gear. That would've been embarrassing.

So this set of leather armor had been—and could only have been—bought for practical reasons.

The party's first training session that afternoon was held, as usual, in an open area outside town.

They usually held training sessions like this whenever a new member joined.

Even during ordinary times, any captain who was even slightly strict would hold drills regularly.

This kind of training was a little like an introductory rundown of everyone's basic techniques.

New members had to demonstrate their abilities and skills, the role they would play in the team, and their strengths and weaknesses.

At the same time, the other party members had to show the newcomer what they could do.

In other words, the sort of power fantasy where someone held back a secret ability until a real battle, then astonished everyone, simply didn't happen.

That kind of behavior treated both their own safety and their teammates' lives as a joke.

After all, in a real battle, they couldn't expect their teammates to coordinate with them properly without knowing what they were capable of.

Without teamwork, even a secret trump card might end up injuring an ally.

So drills were necessary.

They gathered outside the Adventurer's Guild.

The other five were already at the meeting place, all armored and armed.

The captain, Leven, and the Swordsman, Doyle, stood out the most.

Both wore black metal Light Scale Armor. Overlapping iron plates covered the areas that needed protection, their structure resembling layers of fish scales. They also wore bracers and greaves on their limbs, with leather jackets beneath the armor.

Leven had an especially imposing dark-brown Oak Greatshield propped beside him, its edges reinforced with metal.

Pretty cool.

Gauss had to admit, their equipment gave them a lot of points.

Scale armor hanging on a shop wall looked completely different from scale armor being worn.

The other three—the Archer Oliver, the Rogue Meva, and the Cleric Daphne—wore relatively lightweight leather armor.

But judging by its condition and appearance, their gear seemed considerably higher quality than the brand-new set Gauss had just bought.