This time, I won't be the devil.

The profession of adventurer may sound cool, but it is actually just another name for vagrant.

In Grimgar, only a handful of elites above the silver level can truly achieve financial freedom by exploring the maze.

Due to their low levels and poor equipment, low-level adventurers are not much stronger than ordinary people in combat. Even when facing the lowest-level monsters, they may easily die.

According to statistics, more than 80% of novice adventurers dare not go into a maze a second time after entering it once.

Because they had no money, they could only live in the stable and do daily jobs to make a living.

Some even chose to lie dead in the park, waiting for help from the Vatican, and live a happy life like the Americans.

But Frey is different from them. With his qualifications and magical talent that far exceed those of ordinary people, he can easily make money by exploring the maze as long as he slightly increases his level.

In short, as long as the level is improved, everything will be fine, and the good days are yet to come.

The entrance to the maze is guarded by guards, and anyone who wants to enter must first register formally with the Adventurer's Association.

The association's headquarters is located in the central area of ​​the city, covering an area about half the size of a stadium, and has multiple functional departments.

Because Frey was well-dressed, the receptionist was very welcoming when he walked into the association.

But after learning that Frey was only level 1, the other party's attitude became visibly perfunctory.

"Before registering as an adventurer, you need to take an attribute test. The fee is 500 rupees."

Unlike Frey, who possesses the [Identification] skill, the natives of this world must undergo testing if they want to know specific attributes other than level.

The testing method of the physical panel is similar to that of the physical test, while the magic test is completed using a crystal ball that is very sensitive to magic. By observing the brightness of the crystal ball, the magic value within 10 can be tested.

Frey's magic power is 8.1, which is a rare top-level genius for a level 1 human. Once exposed, it will inevitably cause a sensation.

His current strength is still very weak, in order to avoid attracting attention too early, he deliberately reduced the output when testing his magic power.

A faint light appeared on the crystal, and the magic value was fixed at 1.8, which was above average.

The lady at the counter picked up a pen and prepared to take notes with some boredom, but at this moment, the color of the crystal ball changed.

The magical light flickered and intertwined, eventually appearing half blue and half brown.

"This is, dual element affinity!" The counter lady widened her eyes in surprise.

In the current magic system, there are magic of six elements: light, thunder, fire, earth, water, and wind.

As a Demon Lord, Frey could easily use all elemental magic, so he didn't care about elemental affinity.

Having elemental affinity means that when learning magic of corresponding attributes, not only can you get twice the result with half the effort, but the effect of the magic will also be enhanced. Under normal circumstances, a person can only have affinity for one element at most.

Having dual element affinity not only means more diverse magic choices, but also allows the use of special techniques such as element fusion and element reaction, which is an extremely precious talent.

After the test, the receptionist looked at Frey's attributes and gave some advice:

"Mr. Frey, to be honest, with your level, being an adventurer is a bit of a stretch."

"But considering that you are a rare dual-element person, specifically earth and water, I recommend you take up another job rather than an adventurer."

"What job?"

"civil Engineering."

Damn, why is civil engineering still chasing me?

You can't just go to another world and fight against ashes.

"No thanks, please help me register as an adventurer."

Seeing Frey's refusal, the lady at the counter continued to introduce:

"You should also know that after winning the Holy War, we humans obtained several veins of magic stone from the demon territory."

"The newly established mine is in urgent need of talent. I'm sure we'd be happy to have you join as a trainee. If you need anything, our Adventurer's Association can also act as an intermediary..."

Afterwards, after Frey's firm refusal, the receptionist finally gave up and continued:

"Then, please pay the adventurer registration fee first."

"Didn't I just hand it in?"

“500 rupees is just the test fee. If you want to formally register, you have to pay a processing fee of 2000 rupees.”

No, why are you charging twice?

"I checked the rules of the Adventurer's Association, and there's clearly no handling fee."

"I'm very sorry, but this is the latest regulation that was released just last week."

After asking around, Frey learned that due to the downsizing of soldiers caused by the victory over the Demon King, a large number of unemployed people had flooded into the labyrinth city.

There are so many people who want to be adventurers right now, so the Adventurer's Association has temporarily raised the registration threshold.

After all, if you don't pay, there are plenty of people who will.

Frey has always been willing to think about problems and make plans with the most negative attitude, but he still did not expect that the world would become like this just less than 5 months after defeating the Demon King.

The reason why he did not prepare too much money was because he believed that he could make money quickly as long as he became an adventurer. Compared with that, it was more important to have more books.

However, the current situation is that if you want to make money, you must first become an adventurer, and if you want to be an adventurer, you must first pay money.

A stubborn mind becomes blocked at both ends.

When the counter girl learned that Frey didn't have enough money, her expression changed for a moment, but she immediately returned to her standard business smile.

"It's okay. Our Adventurer's Association has always been committed to serving the vast majority of adventurers. We also have a solution for your situation."

"We have a wide range of loan services, and the interest rate is only..."

Watching the lady at the counter smiling and trying to sell him a loan, Frey felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

Where the hell are you? Is this still a different world?

Although Frey wanted to enter the maze as soon as possible, he would never accept the idea of ​​taking out a loan to work.

Now that things have come to this, I can only work for now.

Chapter 5 Are you a milk dragon?

Today is Frey's third day of working. As an expert in intelligence, he now has a deeper understanding of the current situation of the maze city.

To sum it up simply, since the Demon King was defeated, the adventurers' situation has become even more difficult.

The main source of income for adventurers comes from the magic stones dropped by maze monsters after their death.

Magic Stone is an indispensable resource for humans. Not only can it be used to make weapons and props, it can also be used directly as energy. Its status is similar to that of oil on Earth. Exploring mazes is one of the few stable sources of Magic Stone.

It is precisely because of this huge economic benefit that Grimgar has become the gathering center for adventurers in the western part of the continent.

However, after defeating the demons, as humans obtained new magic stone veins from the demons, the price of low-level magic stones dropped significantly.

Coupled with the influx of a large number of laid-off soldiers, the internal competition has been further exacerbated, making the lives of the already poor lower-level adventurers even worse.

In response to the above issues, the Adventurer's Association and the Holy See of Light have also taken corresponding measures.

They have strengthened the control of speech. Now, all adventurers who are officially registered with the association must sign a contract prohibiting them from making any reactionary remarks in public.

The labyrinth city is divided into multiple areas, and Frey is currently in Shin-Nippori, the westernmost area of ​​the city where low-level adventurers gather.

This was once the westernmost part of human territory and where the sun sets, hence the name Nippori.

But during the invasion of demons 300 years ago, Old Nippori was destroyed, and the rebuilt area is called Shin Nippori.

Frey works part-time at a pub called Gensokyo in Shin-Nippori.

His job is to play the guitar to serve as background music in the pub.

Perhaps it was because every civil engineer had a rock heart. Before traveling through time, Frey had wanted to form a band on a whim and specially learned guitar for this purpose.

But since he couldn't find band members, he ended up experiencing true loneliness and rock.

Unlike Frey who is proficient in many musical instruments, for the natives of this world, if they do not receive the favor of the God of Music and Wind among the Seven Gods, they will be tone-deaf all their lives. Therefore, playing music is a rare talent.

The previous performer of this tavern was arrested and brought to the court for provoking disturbances by the Vatican because he composed a reactionary song called "Kill That Adventurer". This gave Frey the opportunity to take the job.

Although the salary is not high, fortunately, food and accommodation are provided, and it only takes one month of work to save enough money to register as an adventurer.

But Frey didn't plan to wait that long. Another important reason why he chose to work in the tavern was to find his teammates.

With the [Identify] skill, he can see the attributes and potential of every adventurer in the tavern.

Although Frey is confident in his magical abilities, to be on the safe side, it would be a good idea to find a suitable teammate before starting to explore the maze.

Moreover, according to the rules of the Adventurer's Association, if there is an active adventurer willing to act as a guarantor, then Frey will be eligible for a 50% reduction in the registration fee as a teammate.

In this way, he could immediately collect enough money to enter the maze.

But the problem is that Frey is only level 1 at the moment, and he concealed his magical talent during the test, so it is extremely difficult to find teammates.

High-level adventurer teams naturally wouldn't accept him. As for low-level adventurers, most of them had low combat power and were a drag on the team.

What Frey needs right now is a growth-oriented talent with low level and high qualifications.

But this is, after all, a tavern where low-level adventurers gather, and the outstanding talents that meet his requirements have not appeared yet.

Today, Frey was also identifying the drunks in the tavern as usual. As for the result, he could only say that he identified them as a bunch of losers at a glance.

"Hey, there's this new singer over there, what are you staring at? Hurry up and start playing some music."

Just like this rude drinker in front of me.

[Name: Zaku Chak]

[Race: Human]

[Level: 8, Occupation: Adventurer]

[Soul Strength: 0.9]

[Attribute panel: Strength 6.8, Endurance 5.1, Agility 4.7, Magic 0.5]

Both the name and attributes are mediocre, this is a typical small fish.

At the urging of the drinkers, Frey tuned his guitar and began today's performance.

As a person who received ideological education in the Vatican, Frey will not make politically incorrect mistakes like his predecessors. He only plays positive and energetic songs.

For example, the song "You Gotta Move" that we are playing now

"You Gotta Move~you gotta move~brave wood~..."