Heaven's Greatest Professor

When Agnes mentioned that noble lords and ladies would participate in the recruitment, he assumed they would also undergo tests and be selected by high-ranking officers in the army. Unfortunately, Warden was greatly mistaken.

While there were some high-ranking officers present in the camp, they seemed to delegate most of the recruitment responsibilities to the noble lords and ladies. The elite noble rankers weren't participating in the recruitment; instead, they were the ones recruiting the soldiers.

"This is wrong on so many points," he mumbled, yet moved to join a line without taking note of where it would lead him.

Had Agnes not explained it to him, he might have turned his back and headed for the inheritance ground on his own. However, the military had sealed all found entrances, driving away fiends and cursed creatures. It was nearly impossible to enter the restricted zone without being noticed.

Ultimately, this was the quickest way to access it. Warden was, after all, a lawful member of the military, even if he had been convicted for some reason.

He stood in line, adapting to the new role he was going to play in both the recruitment process and the inheritance ground. Hopefully, it would be enjoyable.

The line was quite long, but thankfully, the nobles determining the candidates didn't like to waste time either. They were swiftly sending away soldiers within seconds of their tests. Still, it took about an hour, and finally, it was Warden's turn—along with five others, as they were being tested in groups to save time.

By the time Warden had already checked out the examiners, to his surprise, it was a group he was familiar with. Among the six standing in the recruitment stand with disinterested looks on their faces, Warden knew three of them. Two had participated in the competition he hosted the other evening, while the third had freely cast a rejuvenation spell.

It seemed like he was in good company, as long as they took him under their wing.

Warden didn't know if the leader of the group had provided his full name, but he remembered him as Young Lord Valerius—likely from some prominent noble house.

"Your test will be very simple," said Young Lord Valerius, standing heroically in his plated armour. He didn't recognise Warden.

Well, they had barely met him once, and it was dark. Not to mention, he was in disguise, with his aura retracted and camouflaged to appear as someone common. His face was unremarkable too, not that he did anything to it. It was odd how little most people noticed even when it was shown in plain sight.

Most people who barely had any interaction with him couldn't even put the two in two together to tell he was the master runesmith now. It was just that odd to compare a common shit-cleaning janitor to a master runesmith. the difference between them was heaven and earth.

"Fight me, and I'll determine if you're worthy to join me in the expedition," the lad declared, raising his sword.

"Are we all fighting you together, sir?" a fool in their group asked.

"Don't worry. If all of you together can hurt me, I'd gladly take every one of you in my team."

A brave one stepped forward to meet the young lord's gaze, battleaxe ready to clash with the sword. As he took the initiative, the others joined as well, leaving Warden disgruntled, who had just brought out his new weapon.

Oh, it wasn't [The Divider] or any spear, but his latest invention with runes and his subpar blacksmithing skill. Even with that, Warden managed to elevate the item to an immaculate level with his runesmithing skills. There were not one, but four types of Tier-5 runes in place.

He called it [Bane of the Calamity]. After all, an immaculate item needed an immaculate name.

Also, it was a broom.

Young Valerius had thrown off the first two assailants when Warden joined the fray, sweeping the broom with a precarious intent that created a thick spray of dust surrounding their battle.

"What in the world!"

Warden leapt, thrusting the butt end of the battle broom into the stomach of the young lord, who barely managed to twist in time and block the assault. Although Warden had failed in his attempt, it caught him off guard.

Thinking to impress the guy, Warden moved in a spree of attacks, his broom moving in familiar and masterful arcs like a spear.

"You!" the young lord exclaimed. "What kind of weapon is this?"

Even though his voice was incredulous, he couldn't dismiss the attack like he did with the first two assailants. Warden pressed hard; perhaps he would have even dealt a serious blow to the guy if his attack had any venom.

Taking advantage of the moment, two other participants assaulted the young blonde guy. Pressed under the duress of three opponents, he was unable to handle it just with his mastery of the sword. Young Valerius surged with new power, shoving aside Warden's broom and ending the participation for one, drawing a large spray of blood from his chest.

Warden wasn't sure if his display had been enough to secure him a spot. Although he had revealed a part of his Intent, he needed to make the young lord take him seriously. Should he go further?

Well, it wouldn't hurt, but perhaps he shouldn't press the guy too much.

Acting on that, Warden stood atop the broom as it flew up. He brought out another broom; this one wasn't as immaculate as the one he was riding. It was the failed product, created before Warden crafted [Bane of the Calamity].

Still, the [Failure of the Calamity] was a valuable tool, appealing to all janitor-class rankers. Moreover, it had a blade embedded in it, which could be triggered at any time.

Warden flew at the guy, swinging the failed broom. Young Valerius seriously questioned the incredulity of the situation, finding it hard to believe when he saw a janitor flying on a broom. His look soon turned into one of stunned surprise as the broom transformed into something like a quarterstaff, with a long blade embedded into it.

He had no choice but to comply with the janitor. However, whenever he seemed to overwhelm him, the janitor flew away, displaying top-notch balance on the flying broom even under the assault.

"Marcus, aren't you having too much fun?" the half-elf companion snickered.

The peculiar exchange between them had already attracted prying eyes; even Marcus's own companion found amusement in the situation. Feeling a little shame, Young Valerius became relentless in his assault.

Finally, the janitor gave in to the assault. He surrendered before the attack could land.

Marcus stayed the blow, the fire calming down from his blade. He didn't know why, but he felt a deep sense of regret for not delivering the blow.

"As I imagined, this poor Janitor still has a ways to go," Warden admitted, bowing in defeat. "So, young lord, do you have any other tests? Although this poor janitor failed in combat, he has many other useful skills."

Marcus was about to wave off his arm, but the half-elf seized the opportunity. "What skills do you have? And what is the title of your class, if you don't mind me asking?"

"My skills are mostly related to cleaning out the trash, but other than that, I do possess good hands in cooking and handling a group of people on an expedition," Warden lied, although most of it was true. "I'm what you call a Battle Janitor."

"You have an Intent," Marcus stated more than asked.

"Barely," Warden replied, adopting an accent. "I had the good fortune of developing an intent to cleanse while I was cleaning shit. Unfortunately, it was still too fragile."

"If only everyone has a shit luck as you."

Marcus didn't seem eager to involve himself with Warden. Perhaps Warden had leaned too heavily into the role. If Marcus rejected him, Warden would have no choice but to return and change his appearance to join another group. Unfortunately, he had no other disguise. He would have to present himself as Warden.

"How good is your cooking skill?" the half-elf asked.

"Satisfactory," Warden replied, adding with a touch of pride, "I've had the misfortune of charming a great beauty with my cooking skills to the point where she would nag me day and night to make her desserts."

She snorted, clearly unconvinced by the latter part. "I'll give you ten minutes. Cook something edible for me, and you'll be hired."

"May, you're not taking this seriously," Marcus interjected.

"Just let him cook," May dismissed even the leader of the crew. "Aren't you tired of eating the terrible camp food as well?"

Marcus didn't seem inclined to argue with that. He returned to testing more candidates while Warden prepared to make a couple of sandwiches for the healer girl. Thankfully, he had the ingredients with him, and it took barely any time to make the sandwiches.

Within a couple of minutes, he finished the sandwiches. The young elf healer watched him silently, with a furrowed brow. Warden didn't think she found anything odd in his disguise, perhaps only checking what he was making.

"Here you go," he handed her one of the sandwiches.

She took it, studied it for a moment, and then stuffed it into her mouth. "This is actually good," she said, sounding surprised. "Alright, you're hired. Marcus, he's hired."

"What?!" Marcus shouted back from the battle he was engaged in with another group.

"He makes good sandwiches," May replied.

Warden silently ate the other sandwiches, relieved that he didn't have to waste his time standing in another line.