A list of the characters who appear in The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary.
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Main characters
Loren
Loren
The main protagonist. A former mercenary who after his group suffers a crushing defeat against an unknown foe reluctantly becomes an adventurer to make ends meet.
- Almighty Janitor: Can more than hold his own in a fight and knows how to handle a job properly despite being a Copper ranked adventurer.
- BFS: One of his preferred weapons is a two-handed sword, but he has trained enough so that he only needs to use one to swing it.
- Conveniently an Orphan: He was an orphan who was taken in and trained by a band of mercenaries.
- Experienced Protagonist: He already has a lot of experience in adventuring, combat, and wilderness survival thanks to his time in the mercenary group.
- I Am Not Shazam: In-universe. Loren is insistent that he is not the Killer Wind Mercenary when the Exploration Team suspect him of being so after witnessing his brutal takedown of the strongest goblin in the ruins, nor would he ever want to cross paths with the real deal.
- Ignored Expert: Loren knew how to tackle a job before even becoming an adventurer. Too bad Sarfe, Naron, and Oxy refuse to listen to his advice.
- Only Sane Man: He's this alongside Lapis while in Sarfe's party, constantly expressing his exasperation at the gross incompetence of Sarfe, Naron, and Oxy.
- Perpetual Poverty: No matter what happens, Loren can't seem to get out of debt to Lapis or anyone else he owes money to.
- Work Off the Debt: His relationship with Lapis is basically this. Lapis's thoughts however reveal that she intends to keep him in debt so she has a competent ally and meets the two-person party requirement due to it being risky to be a lone travelling priestess.
Lapis
Lapis
The deuteragonist. An enigmatic priestess whom Loren meets while travelling with a group of rookie adventurers. However, there may be more to her than meets the eye.
- Artificial Limbs: Her limbs and eyes are artificial constructs that can only be used through using mana, with her real body parts being hidden in an unknown location.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: The other reason Lapis wants to keep Loren by her side, being the only person to not discriminate her for her Demonkin heritage and considering him to be someone she can trust because of it.
- The Gadfly: Has her moments of being a prankster, most of them directed toward Loren.
- Our Demons Are Different: She’s a member of the exclusive and infamous Demonkin race, who are said to possess superior physical and magical abilities.
- Power Limiter: Because Demonkin have physical and magical abilities surpassing that of other races, Lapis' parents replaced her real limbs and eyes with artificial ones than can only be used through use of mana. Part of Lapis' journey is to find her lost parts hidden in unknown locations to restore her power.
- They Look Just Like Everyone Else!: Demonkin are apparently identical to humans in appearance save for their deep violet eyes. However, Lapis and many other members are capable of blending in by replacing their eyes to avoid suspicion.
- You Owe Me: Enforced by Lapis, who intends to use Loren’s financial debt to her so she has a competent ally and meets the two-person party requirement due to it being risky to be a lone travelling priestess. Fortunately, she won’t add interest to his debt and will even allow him to pay it back in installments.
Adventurer's Guild
Sarfe's Party
In General
Loren and Lapis' first party. A group of Copper ranked adventurers who take on a job clearing out a goblin nest, with disastrous results.
- Breeding Slave: Lapis offhandedly mentions that this could likely have been Naron and Oxy's fate if the goblins didn’t kill them immediately, considering their bodies are nowhere to be found at the site of the battle.
- Deconstruction: These guys show what happens if a team of people with romanticized views of adventuring get together to hunt monsters, but have next to no combat experience, no adventuring experience, and no knowledge of the dangers to the point of being fearless fools. They die horribly and painfully. If you don't prepare for any and every possibility, things will go bad for you very quickly.
- Expy: They have a few parallels to the Greenhorn Team, a similar party of young adventurers whose first (though Sarfe implies that they have done some before this one but doesn't mention what they were) quest is the slaying of goblins dwelling in a cave, only for things to go completely and fatally pear-shaped for them.
- Fatal Flaw: Impatience, inexperience and overconfidence. While the three somewhat have combat skills, their idea of adventuring and becoming was too romanticized for their own good, shown when they head out on their goblin slaying quest without so much as an actual plan. Needless to say, their naivete ends up being what digs their graves.
- Fighter, Mage, Thief: Sarfe, Oxy, and Naron respectively.
- Forgotten Fallen Friend: Averted somewhat, as Loren and Lapis mention them during the aftermath of the ruin exploration quest and the possible fate of Naron and Oxy.
- Glory Seeker: They wanted to rush into adventuring and make names for themselves as quickly as possible. Sadly, their experience and abilities didn’t meet their ambitions.
- Idiot Heroes: A trio of inexperienced beginners and rookies charging into a goblin nest without anything resembling a plan other than their leader’s half-baked strategies. Yeah, that’s a pretty good indicator of how lacking in IQ all of them are.
- Ignored Expert: Had they simply listened to Loren, an experienced mercenary who knew how to tackle a job and create decent combat strategies, they probably would've fared better.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In the aftermath of the quest, Loren eventually realizes that they were good people at heart with good intentions despite all their flaws.
- Leeroy Jenkins: A whole trio of them. Blindly charging into a goblin nest while shouting at the top of their lungs without checking for traps ends up being what seals their fates.
- New Meat: A deconstructed non-video game version of a team that shows why proper training and research on your targets are detrimental to keeping yourself alive when hunting monsters or dangerous animals.
- Oh, Crap!: Their reactions after getting caught in traps set by the goblins who surround and proceed to assault them, with Sarfe being knocked out and Oxy's spells being nullified by the amulet the mage goblin is wearing.
- Suicidal Overconfidence: The party’s own hubris ends up being their downfall. Sarfe is the biggest case here, as he spent so much time cultivating his own image to be like that of the heroes from his childhood books, he never underwent proper training as a warrior and bit off way more than he could chew on his last quest.
- Too Dumb to Live: They pretty much do whatever they think is the most ideal despite Loren, an experienced mercenary, telling them otherwise, and just charge into battle without any plans, making them susceptible to traps. It ends up getting them killed.
- Uncertain Doom: Discussed by Lapis in regards to Naron and Oxy when their bodies are nowhere to be found when revisiting the site of the battle. While Sarfe is definitely dead, there is a chance the goblins kept the other two alive to use as Breeding Slaves and could be saved by the next adventurers tasked with doing so.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: We only know them for about four chapters before their gruesome fates.
- With a Friend and a Stranger: Sarfe and Naron are Childhood Friends, having met Oxy not that long ago before recruiting Lapis and Loren into their party.
Sarfe
Sarfe
A Copper ranked swordsman with visions (or rather delusions) of grandeur.
- Death by Flashback: What little we know of him is explained in flashbacks in the manga, as he's beaten by goblins into a lifeless bloody mess.
- Developing Doomed Characters: He gets roughly two pages dedicated to his backstory showing how he decided to become an adventurer, right before being brutally killed by a horde of goblins.
- Harem Seeker: Has shades of this, going by the rather... intimate sounds coming from Sarfe in his tent with Naron and Oxy while Loren and Lapis are on lookout.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: His preferred weapon is a longsword.
- My Life Flashed Before My Eyes: The manga gives him a page dedicated to a flashback his childhood showing the events that inspired him to become an adventurer, before he gets downed and torn apart by goblins.
- Small Name, Big Ego: The guy has a rather overinflated opinion of himself and seeks to become a great hero, but his common sense and combat skills are very lackluster. Naron almost always kissing his butt doesn’t help either.
- Stock Shōnen Hero: Deconstructed. A Hot-Blooded but not too bright wannabe hero rushes into a situation with nothing but heroic spirit and idealism. A recipe for disaster that ends in his death.
- The One Guy: Was this for his party before Loren came along. While Loren has no qualms about it as there were several women in his mercenary group, he fears that this setup may lead to teamwork issues later on.
- Thinks Like a Romance Novel: The stories of heroic figures he read as a kid inspired him to become an adventurer. Except he never learned what it took to become a proper one and bit off way more than he could chew during his last quest.
Naron
Naron
A Copper ranked thief and Childhood Friend of Sarfe.
- Childhood Friend: Was this to Sarfe.
- Professional Butt-Kisser: Most of Naron's screentime is her buttering up to Sarfe and blindly going along with his ideas, no matter how terrible they are.
Oxy
Oxy
A Copper ranked mage whom Sarfe and Naron met sometime before Lapis and Loren.
- In the Hood: Her attire involves a cloak with a hood.
- Light 'em Up: Casts an illumination spell while in the goblins' cave, which Loren considers to be stupid since she's wasting one of her few daily spells when a regular torch would be more practical.
- Playing with Fire: Tries to cast a fire spell against the oncoming goblins. It fails due to the amulet the goblin mage is wearing absorbing it.
Exploration Team
In General
A party of Silver ranked adventurers Loren and Lapis encounter in an ancient ruin connected to the goblin nest, hired to explore said ruin for research purposes.
- Two Guys and a Girl: Three guys and a girl, actually.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: They do legitimately care for each other despite their bickering.
Ritz
Ritz
A Silver ranked swordsman and the leader of the exploration team.
Chuck
Colts
Colts
A Silver ranked mage.
Nim
Nim
A Silver ranked ranger.
- Pervert Revenge Mode: At one point threatens to shoot Chuck with an arrow for him landing on top of her after Chuck failed to notice a pitfall trap prior to meeting Loren and Lapis.
Claes' Party
In General
A trio of sponsored Black Iron rank adventurers who aid in the transport of Scena back to her hometown.
- Corporate-Sponsored Superhero: They are adventurers who are heavily favored and sponsored by the guild. However, it seems this has gone to Claes' head if his mentality is of any indication.
Claes
Claes
A Black Iron ranked swordsman who looks down on those lower ranked than him.
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: Is an admittedly strong fighter, but also a major douchebag with an ego problem.
- Can't Take Criticism: The minute someone calls him out on his behavior, he storms off in a huff.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: In spite of his pompousness, he does legitimately care about his teammates, shown by his refusal to abandon Ange when a Bone Dragon has her in its jaws.
- Jerkass: Hoo boy. In his first appearance he buys the sword Loren was going to buy because he deems him unworthy due to being a Copper rank adventurer. Then almost throughout the entire arc he belittles every adventurer who ranks lower than him despite their performance in battle.
- "Not So Different" Remark: From the moment they met, Loren has had nothing but disdain for Claes and his attitude toward other people, being willing to abandon him should the need come. However, after seeing him worry about losing Ange to a Bone Dragon, Loren shows some compassion and admits that he knows what it's like to lose a friend like that, stepping up to slay the monster with help from Lapis.
- Shadow Archetype: He’s what Sarfe would have been like if he had the fighting skills to back up his boasts, but almost none of his redeeming traits.
- The Social Darwinist: The guy is obsessed with looking down on lower ranked adventurers and making sure they "know their place." Needless to say, this mentality hasn't made him very popular among those who know him.
- Stock Shōnen Hero: Even moreso than Sarfe.
- The One Guy: Is the sole guy in his party.
Leila
Leila
A Black Iron ranked knight.
Ange
Ange
A Black Iron ranked magician.
- Badass in Distress: Gets snatched up in the jaws of a Bone Dragon, with her party struggling to rescue her.
Laure
Laure
A Black Iron ranked priestess.
Other Guild Members
Brosse
Brosse
An Iron ranked adventurer who participates in the escort mission of Scena.
- Cool Old Guy: A friendly veteran adventurer who isn't afraid to stand up to pompous and immature people like Claes.
- Old Soldier: Has been an adventurer for twenty years, but complains about not being able to rank up to Silver despite his efforts.
Other Characters
Blade Demon
Blade Demon
A legendary swordsman said to always land the side he fights for a guaranteed win.
- The Ghost: Has yet to appear in the story.
- Master Swordsman: Is considered to be the best swordsman in the world, to the point where Lapis claims than even ten million Sarfes wouldn’t have been able to best him.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: You wouldn't expect someone with a title like "Blade Demon" to be a weakling.
- Stealing the Credit: The downside of having him on your side is that he is always the one to take all the credit for winning a battle.
- World's Strongest Man: Is considered to be this by many, including Loren.
Killer Wind Mercenary
Killer Wind Mercenary
A renowned yet enigmatic mercenary, said to have a body like wind that tears anything in its way to shreds.
- The Ghost: Has yet to appear in the story.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Yet another figure whose name causes people to run in the opposite direction, even Loren. Though how much he stacks up to the Blade Demon is unknown.
Scena Lombardia
