No, it wasn't just everyone present who was shocked. Even a certain master, watching through [Laifu] from more than a hundred miles away, was taken aback.
"Ptooey! That brat! Didn't I teach you to be humble and not push people around? You haven't learned a single one of the Celestial Empire's traditional virtues, have you?" Lein muttered through gritted teeth.
As the saying went, "It takes one day to learn bad habits, but three years to learn good ones."
The master in question lived by the principle that revenge should never wait until tomorrow. When the White Dragon got too big for its boots, he invited it to stand guard at his door. When devils came stomping into his territory, he turned them into the territory.
Every fool who dared to pick a fight with him became a powerful addition to someone's Legendary Fame.
If the master was like that, how could his apprentice, Downs, be any sort of saint?
Downs continued loudly, "My name is Downs Quijote, High-Level Mage..."
At this, Shanzhai Archmage, watching from afar, nodded with satisfaction. "Oh, looks like my apprentice really did take my words to heart. You should be neither servile nor overbearing."
Who knew Downs had more to say? "I studied under a certain Legendary Archmage. If anyone wants to know my master's name, they can beat me first and ask afterward."
As soon as Downs said that, Lein's vision went black.
It wasn't for any particular reason. Those words gave Lein, a transmigrator, a strong sense of deja vu.
Wasn't this exactly like the villains in those third-rate fantasy novels he'd read before transmigrating? "My master is so-and-so, my father is so-and-so. If you touch me, my family will hunt you to the ends of the earth."
Generally speaking, anyone who said that didn't live past the second chapter!
For a moment, Lein even wanted to use the soul link to have [Laifu] act as a messenger and chew out his own arrogant little apprentice.
Sigh! When all was said and done, Lein, a man from the Celestial Empire, simply thought differently from the people of the Chaos World!
His master had repeatedly told Downs not to reveal his full name, and Downs had taken that to heart.
The man's actual meaning had been, Apprentice, if you get into trouble, whatever you do, don't say I'm your master. But to Downs, it had sounded like this: The world isn't worthy of knowing my master's name, but everyone should know he exists and pay him their respects.
Perhaps this was the otherworldly version of I may not walk the jianghu, but the jianghu is full of legends about me.
At that moment, the enormous hall—more than six hundred square meters in area, with a ceiling over four meters high—was utterly silent.
The hubbub from moments earlier had abruptly stopped.
The oil lamps, the light streaming through the large windows—none of it could compare to the dazzling flash of lightning at the entrance.
People couldn't help turning their eyes toward it, holding their breath without even realizing it.
If it had been anyone else, some old hand might have stepped forward to teach Downs the "rules of the Cervantes Adventurer's Guild."
But no one did!
It wasn't just Downs's godlike control over the Wind Element that had cowed the crowd. There was also the big shot at the entrance, carrying a battle axe on his back and standing with his arms crossed...
"Lord Famite!?"
A Master Level powerhouse!
He was the sort of major figure one rarely saw in everyday life. In the tiny patch of land that was the Cervantes Kingdom, a Master stood at the very top of the pyramid.
Even if Famite did nothing but stand there, his presence alone was the greatest possible show of support for this mysterious young man.
The small-time thugs were one thing. Anyone who thought they weren't strong enough didn't even dare approach Downs after giving it some thought.
And most important of all was the so-called "owl" perched on Downs's shoulder.
No matter how useless Laifu might be, it was still a Legendary Fire Bat.
As a high-level creature, it could easily thrash any high-level professional present in a one-on-one fight. Without a five-person high-level team, nobody could even hope to stand against it.
And that wasn't even counting its role as the eyes and ears of a "Legendary Archmage."
In this regard, Lein still underestimated what [Legendary Fame] represented.
It didn't just represent someone's reputation. It was also the world's recognition. Without enough Legendary Fame, the world wouldn't even allow a professional to ascend to legendary status.
On Earth, "eyes gleaming with menace" was just a descriptive phrase. In the Chaos World, that wasn't the case! This world recorded the every word and deed of every intelligent life-form, and everyone's actions could have a serious impact on their [Camp].
For instance, when someone from the Good Camp committed evil deeds, they would shift toward the Evil Camp.
So "eyes gleaming with menace" could be an [Attributive].
Lein himself had no awareness of it whatsoever, but every person present with a sufficiently high [Perception] sensed, in that instant, the faintest glance from a powerful being who had once truly [Slain Dragons and Slaughtered Demons], crossing the dimensions of time and space to sweep over the hall.
That fleeting glance alone made the hairs stand up on the backs of more than a dozen high-level professionals.
"Did you feel it? That distant gaze."
"Gods above, are there really still legendary spellcasters walking the world these days?"
"Don't be afraid. That powerful being feels [Neutral]."
"Whew. Is the world about to change?"
Downs's eyes crackled with electricity as he swept his gaze across the crowd. Even without another word, the aura of Everyone here is trash hit them full force.
Yet no one dared to disagree.
Even if they weren't convinced by him, they wouldn't dare defy the peerless powerhouse represented by the owl on his shoulder!
For a good ten seconds, the hall remained deathly silent.
Fortunately, a pretty young receptionist saw the encouraging look from Famite and decisively approached Downs.
"Hello, Mr. Quijote! Are you looking to put together a team? In that case, sorry for the trouble, but please register your basic information with the Adventurer's Guild first..."
Downs went through the motions, and before long, a recruitment notice sent shockwaves through the Adventurer's Guild and even the entire kingdom.
On the surface, a High-Level Mage was recruiting companions to explore a Mage Tower.
In truth, it was the Archmage behind Downs who really made everyone's hearts race.
Downs's background and history were practically public knowledge. Anyone with connections could find out that he had originally been a Knight Apprentice.
A true human, whose body had never been tainted by Chaos magic and who had no nonhuman bloodline, was unlikely to be a Sorcerer pretending to be a Mage.
The first formally trained High-Level Mage in a hundred years—one who had received systematic instruction!
Not just the kingdom's other great nobles, but even spies from other countries were drawn by the news.
Fortunately, everyone preferred to wait and see, wanting to find out whether the newly promoted High-Level Mage Downs really had received a full magical education, as the rumors claimed.
Sorcerers had one obvious weakness: they didn't learn their magic. They could only learn what their bloodline allowed them to. For instance, Dragon Bloodline Sorcerers often lacked Defense Magic. After all, a dragon's body was the best defense, so Dragon Bloodline Sorcerers were often strong on offense but weak on defense.
Under these circumstances, Downs approved four high-level applicants.
Huan Sandru, a Greatshield Warrior, a classic defensive profession.
Pat Colao, a Holy Priest.
Christine Levand, a Ranger.
John Shadow Dagger, a Rogue.
Well, even without Lein telling him, Downs could tell that all four of them were connected to professionals in Ganis's Embassy. Not only did the four know one another, but the glances they exchanged, seemingly by chance, made it obvious that Downs was the only outsider.
Downs didn't mind. He spent two days getting ready, then led the team in a grand procession into the Mage Tower.
Before you continue