Ilwa Chang

Ilwa Chang (イルワ・チャング) is a character from the "Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest" series.

He is the branch chief of the Adventurer's Guild in the Independent Merchant Republic of Fuhren.

Appearance
Ilwa is a man in his late thirties. He has slick back blond hair and discerning look in his eyes.

Personality
Ilwa is calm and calculating in his actions. He has managed to earn a positive reputation among many powerful people in Tortus.

Despite being a position of power, Ilwa also has an adventurer's spirit and is excited to see the possibility for change in the world after meeting Hajime Nagumo.

Ilwa is loyal as supportive of his allies. He will do everything within is power to aid them, even if that may me him facing negative consequences in doing so.

Biography
Ilwa was an adventurer in his younger days, and had been trained by the then instructor Catherine Walker. He would eventually rise through the ranks until he became the branch chief of the Adventurer's Guild in Fuhren and had established many influential connections.

One day, Ilwa met Hajime Nagumo after the later got into a confrontation the the nobleman Poom Min and the black-ranked adventurer Reganid. Ilwa's assistant Dott brought him to Ilwa and showed him the letter that Ilwa's old mentor Catherine gave Hajime to be used if he ever got in trouble with the guild. Ilwa became intrigued with Hajime after reading Catherine's letter and wanted Hajime to accept a quest on his behalf. Hajime initially refused, but agreed to listen when Ilwa promised that he would overlook the fight that occurred prior. Ilwa wanted Hajime to go to the Northern Mountain Range and investigate the whereabouts of some adventurers that disappeared there. Among those was the third son of a count that Ilwa was well acquainted with, Will Cudeta. Ilwa promised Hajime substantial monetary compensation, as well as being promoted to black-rank, but Hajime was uninterested. Ilwa then offered to give Hajime his full support if he ever got into any trouble with the guild. Hajime was surprised that Ilwa went to so much trouble just to find one person, but Ilwa confessed that he was the one that assigned Will with the adventurers since be thought that it would be a low-risk quest. Hajime decided to accept Ilwa's request on two conditions: that he make Status Plates for his companions Yue and Shea, as well as keeping their Stats a secret, and that Hajime have access to all of Ilwa's connections. Ilwa was hesitant to accept at first because of Hajime's second condition, but he agreed to his terms after becoming intrigued at the secrets that he wanted to keep, especially from the Holy Church. As Hajime and his companions left the guild, Dott expressed his concerns about agreeing to Hajime's condition. Ilwa explained that he suspected Hajime was actually one of the heroes that was recently summoned by the god Ehit, and he was eager to learn what Hajime had discovered after being separated from his comrades, as well as being on the side of someone whom he believed had the power to change the world.

After Hajime found Will and safely brought him back to Fuhren, Ilwa once again greeted him and expressed his relief to Will for his safe return. As promised, he had Status Plates made for Hajime's companions, including his newest companion Tio, and would make sure that no one other than him would see the results. After seeing the incredible Stats and Skills that Hajime's companions possessed, Ilwa nearly fainted in shock and vowed to offer his full support to him, as well as promoting them to gold-rank adventurers and providing them a room at Fuhren's most expensive inn. Ilwa also gave Hajime a letter for him to deliver to the the Adventurer's Guild Horaud branch chief Loa Bawavis that detailed Hajime's exploits as a way for him to receive further support to be promoted to gold rank.

The next day, Hajime and the others attacked the criminal organization Freidhof after several of their members kidnapped a young Dagon girl named Myu, who Hajime first encountered when he rescued her in the sewers. He managed to keep Ilwa appraised of the situation after having another adventurer give him a one-way communication artifact that he used to keep the branch chief updated on the status of their mission. Hajime and the others reported to Ilwa at the Adventurer's Guild after they had successfully rescued Myu. Ilwa was shocked after reading the report on the damage that Hajime and the others caused in their rescue mission, as well as the elimination of the city's most powerful criminal organization. Hajime felt bad for putting Ilwa through so much stress and told him that he could use his name as a way to boost the guild's fame and to detour future criminal gangs from establishing themselves in Fuhren, to which Ilwa happily excepted. As a way to prove his worth, Ilwa made it so that Hajime would be allowed to personally bring Myu back home.

When Ehit was preparing to wipe out all life on Tortus, Ilwa was among the world leaders that were in charge of organizing the final defence against the mad god's forces.

Relationships

 * Catherine Walker - Ilwa greatly respects her as she is the one who trained him during his younger adventurer days.
 * Dott Clowe - Ilwa's assistant.
 * Will Cudeta - Ilwa knows Will and his family well and feels a strong sense of guilt when Will and his party are missing.
 * Hajime Nagumo - Ilwa sees something special in Hajime and believes that he has the power to change the world. Hajime respects Ilwa for his position as the the Fuhren branch chief of the Adventurer's Guild.

Weapons & Equipment

 * Communications Artifact - Ilwa, as well as all of the branch chiefs from all the big guilds, are in possession of an artifact that allows them to communicate with one-and-other over great distances.

Powers & Abilities

 * Keen Intellect - Ilwa is a highly intelligence individual, worthy of his position as a branch chief of the Adventurer Guild. He ws able to get Hajime into agreeing with his personal request by using his previous fight to his advantage, something Hajime is impressed by. He also has good intuition, as he is able to deduce that Hajime is the member of Ehit's heroes who fell in the Great Orcus Labyrinth, despite Hajime giving no hints of who he was. He even guessed that Hajime must have found something in the abyss that caused him to see the Holy Church as his enemy.

Quotes

 * (To Hajime Nagumo): "When you showed up in Fuhren, I had a feeling you were hiding some big, world-changing secret. Did you know some people thought you guys were my personal assassins...? It’s embarrassing to think about now, considering how much stronger you guys are than me."

Trivia

 * In the Anime, Ilwa's name is pronounced "Ilwer".