Sam the Flop

In this world, monsters aren't the primary group replacing animals; they are invasive beasts and species that need to be exterminated and controlled. The Adventurer's Guild does this, but since there haven't been ecological disasters due to their thorough work, the existing adventurer staff is always low, except in special areas, like new lands without humans, where monsters have infested and replaced any normal or passive lifeforms. As such, one becomes an adventurer, someone part of this global guild, who is both prestigious and looked down upon as mere hunters or animal control. Still, being an adventurer pays the bills, and people aren't stupid enough to cause a fight, making it crucial for both the person and the organisation to have a certain level of strength and usefulness. As such, someone with the name "Sam the Flop" is gonna be seen as a lowly weakling, undeserving and unfit for various roles. Moreover, Sam's name was well deserved. Sam came from a baron's family, received knight training, and got a small allowance from his family for housing, repairs, and food. Sam didn't have the heart to tell his family he was only kept in this guild branch because of his noble status, and that the little money he did receive from hunting wasn't spent on "charities" or other such excuses, it was money he got so rarely, and with such little pay, that he was always teetering on bankruptcy. That knight training was ceremonial, good for shows and honour duels between nobles under strict rules, but dog-shit in a proper fight.

As such, Sam was like a weak runt, only making extra money by being hired at stadiums or whatnot, showing off the few times he could shine. For a while, Sam considered giving it up, taking over his family's mantle, and using his noble connections to become something more. However, tragedy struck when a dragon landed on his family's estate, killing everyone and scorching the land. Out of pity, the count and viscount Sam's family reported to ended up paying Sam a considerable consolation prize for his troubles, buying the land from him, saving Sam from imperial taxes related to land ownership and being a baron.

Using this money, Sam: