6 The Adventurer's Guild

This chapter is a bit shorter compared to the other ones.

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"Talking"

'Thinking'

[System]

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"Val-..."

'Huh...?'

"Wake u-..."

'Who the hell is talking...?'

Valorant could swear that he was hearing a voice really close by to him, which had caused him to stir as he could feel that his hands had gripped onto the bedsheets slightly before letting go. He twitched his eyes a few times before beginning to open them, and he was truly confused by what he was seeing upon waking up.

"Oh, good to see that you're awake now. Good morning."

"What...?" Valorant muttered as his vision was still a bit blurred. It took a few seconds before his vision began to clear up, the sunlight that came through the window also blinding him a bit. When his vision came back to him, he was greeted by the face of none other than Kaeya. "K-Kaeya! What the hell are you doing leaning over me!"

"Hm? I was just waking you up."

"Personal space!" Valorant shouted with annoyance as he sat up with a frown on his face as his left eyebrow twitched constantly. He then gave a sigh before kicking his legs over to the side of the bed as he was now in a seated position at the side of the bed. "So, why in the world are you waking me up? Is there something you need?"

"Oh, Jean was the one that asked me to wake you up. She said that you wanted to discuss a few things with her." Kaeya explained. Valorant just nodded his head in understanding before standing up and stretching his limbs a few times. "I'm actually on my way out since I have some business I need to attend to. Jean will fill me in on everything later."

"Alright, thanks for the wake up, I guess..."

Kaeya just waved it off before walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. Valorant just shook his head as he honestly wished that Kaeya would have woken him up with a simple shake instead of leaning over him and constantly speaking to him, it kind of really freaked him out with how close the dude was.

Valorant then looked over to the side towards the other bed and could see Lumine sleeping peacefully with the blanket covering her, though not past her neck. He just gave a small smile before taking hold of his jacket before swinging it over his shoulder. He then seemed confused though when he noticed something.

'Wait... where's Paimon?' Valorant looked around the room confused before his eyes soon did catch sight of the small girl seemingly crouched in the corner of the room. She had both her hands over her head as she was visibly shaking like a leaf. He seemed confused before walking over and looking down at her. "Paimon? Something wrong?"

"K-K-Kaeya... scary...!"

"Oh..."

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Valorant had woken up fully as he had quickly went to do the usual morning routine, such as going to take in a fresh breath of air as well as brushing his teeth, which he was glad they had toothbrushes. He had also taken the liberty to wake up Lumine to do the same, Jean was probably waiting for them in her office.

After all that was done, the three had quickly made their way over to Jean's office, thus bringing them to the situation that they were in right now. Lisa was also with them as they were now examining the red crystal that Lumine had already shown Valorant before they had gone to sleep, the crystal seemingly hovering in front of them as they looked at it.

Valorant had already finished informing Jean about all of the stuff that happened back at the temples along with his encounter with those Mitachurls. It seemed that the number of them had truly been increasing, and that was quite cocnerning to them.

"The crystal... it's embedded with some kind of foreign power." Jean commented as she crossed her arms. She narrowed her eyes at the red crystal as all of them could see that it was still radiating that uneasy looking crimson glow. Jean then looked towards Lisa. "Lisa, is it possible that you can analyse what it is?"

"Well, just from what I can see. The crystal seems to be holding a number of impurities. However, by closer inspection..." Lisa voiced as she leaned in a bit closer in. "There is really not much more that I can see. I can't make a proper analysis. Perhaps if you give me some more time I'll be able to look through my library's resticted section."

"Alright then, we'll leave the research to you then, Lisa." Jean nodded as Lisa nodded back at her. She then approached the crystal before reaching her hand out towards it, though they were surprised when the crystal released a sudden spark as Lisa had to immediately retract her hand. "Lisa! What happened?"

"I... the impurities within the crystal. It hurts whenever I get close to it..." Lisa responded as she soon noticed that her Vision seemed to be flickering strangely after the whole event. "I see... it would appear that this crystal was reacting to my Vision. Perhaps the impurities and elemental energies that we embody are repelling one another."

Lisa then looked towards Lumine and Valorant.

"Though, it's strange... Both Lumine and Valorant seem to hold elemental abilities as well. But, the crystal doesn't seem to be reacting in the same way as it had done with me as it does to them. Well, I am uncertain about Valorant though, his abilities are quite the anomaly. Whether they are elemental or not are questionable."

Both Lumine and Valorant, as well as Paimon, looked at one another as they decided to remain silent. Valorant knew well that he didn't have access to elemental powers in the same fashion as everyone else. Though, Lumine didn't have a Vision, and he had already known why she could use these powers despite not having one.

Paimon had told him that it was because she wasn't of this world. He wasn't either, so he was uncertain whether or not he'd be able to use elemental energies like her. Not like he really minded since he already had the power of the Heroic Spirits with him. Some of them already have elemental abilities of their own.

"Anyway though, the crystal would be best held in the hands of both the cuties. The crystal will just be harmful to be held in our hands, seeing as it is reacting to our Visions." Lisa suggested as they all nodded in agreement. It was the most logical solution. Jean then turned to look at the two in question as she soon decided to ask.

"It's truly fascinating... do you perhaps know what makes you two so special?"

"I'm afraid not..." Lumine lied as Valorant just nodded his head. They were not just going to up and say that they were both not from this world. Not only would it make them sound insane, would the two in front of them even believe if they said so? He doubted it.

"I see... I don't know what to make of this." Jean sighed. There was so much that had been happening that it was serious taking a toll on her. "Well, the Knights of Favonius have another favor that I would like to ask of the two of you. That is to accept the title of Honorary Knights... as well as the gratitude of the Acting Grand Master."

Valorant seemed confused. "Honorary Knight...?"

"Yes. We ask for your continued support and assistance with finding the answers that we seek." Jean nodded as she explained this. "With Stormterror's rage, and the strange crystal here. I know very well that the peace of Mondstadt hands in the balance. May the wind open your eyes to the truth. We'll also meet back here if you find anything."

"I see no problem, why not?" Valorant smiled as he then looked at Lumine. She smiled and nodded her head at him. "It seems that both of us are in agreement. We accept the titles, Jean."

"I truly give my greatest thanks."

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The three were now walking through the city, the reason being was because Valorant had suggested that they needed to go buy a few necessities. The items being things like ingredients for cooking, he knew that they would be travelling quite a bit at some point so having those on person would be good since they would eventually set up camp and have stops to eat and that.

The other thing he wanted to by were new sets of clothes, just wearing the same thing all the time was concerning since their clothes would obviously become dirty over time. They would need other pairs of clothes to wear as they clean up their other sets. Thankfully everything wasn't insanely expensive, they had the money they got from raiding the Hilichurl camps as well as from that Gift Box that Valorant opened.

The Gift Box didn't give much, but it was more than enough for now

"Guys, look. That person is waving over at us!" Paimon's voice caught their attention as they stopped walking and turned their heads to see who Paimon was referring to. When they did, they saw that there was a young woman waving towards them from a small receptionists booth that was set up along one of the sides of the street. "Let's see what she wants!"

They nodded before jogging over towards the woman. When they did, Valorant noticed the plaque that was attached to the top of the booth as it read 'Adventurer's Guild'. He rose an eyebrow upon having reading what the sign was saying. 'Adventurer's Guild? This turning into an RPG more and more as the days go by....'

"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, my name is Katheryne. I have actually had my eye on the two of you for quite the time now." The woman at the front stated as she gave a small bow, referring to both Lumine and Valorant. "I have been on the lookout for great adventurers who may hold potential. That is my job after all. Looking at the both of you, I can see potential that may rival the great adventurers of legend."

"Yeah, Paimon can see it too!" Both Lumine and Valorant rose an eyebrow as they looked at their flying companion upon having heard these words. "Paimon always feels safe when adventuring with the both of them!"

"Nevertherless, to the adventurers, experience is far more precious than potential." Katheryne stated. "We keep track of things such as Adventurer's Ranks, which can be increased through completing different tasks we assign. Time is also of the essence, so you must allow me to brief the both of you on-."

"Hold on! Are you saying we're official adventurers?" Paimon asked in a surprised and excited tone. "But, don't we need to pay or anything to actually become one?"

"There is no need for concern. The Adventurer's Guild does not charge a fee for membership. Nor do we impose any kind of duties on its members." Katheryne assured them. "To simplify what I have just said. There are a number of benefits with no drawbacks to becoming a member here at the Adventurer's Guild."

"Hmm, I see." Valorant muttered as he held his chin. It was very much like those RPG games that he always hears about back in his old world. Things like Guilds like this were a common element in numerous fantasy stories he had read in the past as well. "I suppose I wouldn't mind joining, doesn't sound half bad. What about you two?"

"I don't mind. It does sound interesting." Lumine nodded her head as Paimon also nodded her head with a big smile on her face. This could be a way for them to also gain more income as well, so that was also a plus. He really didn't want to rely on Gift Boxes as well as raiding Hilichurl camps as a source of income.

He would assume that if they worked together to complete a task, they wouldn't award them both the same rewards. They would probably have to split it between them, though it wasn't like they really minded doing that at all.

"Then I shall let you all know that you will be rewarded every time that your Adventure Rank goes up. So, please do report in with us whenever you can to check if your rank has gone up." Katheryne explained as they nodded their heads in understanding. "You all have separate ranks, so be sure to keep that in mind. Along with that, here is a new member's gift for the both of you."

They both watched as Katheryne reached under the desk before pulling out two boxes that she then handed to both Lumine and Valorant. They looked at the two boxes in confusion before Katheryne then decided to explain.

"In each of those boxes contain ten-thousand Mora as well as a number of enhancement ores to get you started." Katheryne explained. Valorant had already learnt that enhancement ores were used to improve things such as weapons, he had no use for them personally, so he could always just give them to Lumine or the others. He doubted he would be able to improve the weapons he got from using the class cards.

Paimon didn't get one since they doubted she would really be able to complete any tasks, and they doubted that the Adventurer's Guild would accept to allow her to rank up or get rewards for doing nothing really on the quests they would be given. They may not be able to track and tell if Paimon truly doesn't do anything, but they could probably tell just by looking at her...

"Without further ado, please allow me to officially welcome you two, our new avid adventurers, into the Adventurer's Guild!" Katheryne smiled as she said this. She then took out two books before handing it out towards them. "These are your Adventurer Handbooks. These will allow you as well as us to keep a record of the quests you have taken as well as completed throughout your time with us. It's also a symbol to prove you're an adventurer."

"I see... so something to basically keep track of our activities." Valorant nodded in understanding as he flipped through the pages curiously. He saw a few rules written down as well as different sections of the book labelled for different purpose.

"There is also one more thing." They stopped looking through the books before looking back up at Katheryne. "There are times that you will find yourself stuck at a certain Adventure Rank. Whenever this happens, you'll need to perform some impressive feat to gain further recognition from us. Simply being specific adventures that will allow you to move on to the next rank. We just refer to them as Ascension Adventures."

"So, we need to complete them to move to the next rank?" Lumine repeated with a curious look on her face.

"Certainly." Katheryne nodded. "You won't have to worry about that for a good while though. Opportunities to win recognition will come along every now and then, as well as you progress and gain more experience as an adventure. With that though, that should be all for today. We will have numerous chances to meet in the future."

"Thank you for everything." Valorant smiled as the other two also did the same.

"Ad astra abyssosque, Adventurers! With effort, you both shall reach the stars and conquer the abyss!" Katheryne spoke before they began walking off. Valorant didn't really understand what the first line meant, but it was none of his business. Maybe it was similar to the saying 'May God bless you' or something. It sounded like it.

"We should probably get the rest of the shopping done, just in case they right out." Lumien suggested as Valorant nodded his head in agreement as they both placed away the boxes in their pocket dimension and inventory respectively.

"Agreed. Let's get going then."

"Wait, guys. That person...!" Paimon voiced. Valorant noticed how Lumine also seemed to widen her eyes along with Paimon, he looked to see a young boy wearing clothing reminiscent of that of bards seemingly running off somewhere in the city. Valorant just watched on in confusion as the boy ran off. "It's the same person!"

"Who's that person?"

"Remember how we talked about encountering Dvalin the second time?" Lumine asked as Valorant nodded in remembrance. It was the time that they had apparently found the crimson crystal of theirs. "That boy... we saw him talking with Dvalin, well trying to at least. We aren't exactly sure whether or not they're connected to the crystal though."

"Well, we should go after him and ask then. Let's go!"

"Right!"

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