Girl Talk

After a few moments of each of us being lost in our own thoughts, Tesk finally decides to break the silence. "So, why did you decide to come to the guild anyways? Looking for your first quest?"

Sighing, I nod. At her quirked eyebrow I explain. "I was hoping to choose one, but I doubt I'll be able to handle any of the ACTUAL requests from people. And since I agree with you and your brother's assessment of my skills yesterday, I'm not confident in holding my own for the escort and guarding quests alone. As for the standing orders for monster parts..." I shrug. "I don't know where to find them.

Tesk nods in approval. "It's good that you're taking the assessment seriously. Like we mentioned before, most new adventurers are too excited to make a name for themselves and disregard the reality of their situation. Though they at least retain enough common sense to escape before they lose their lives in such a situation. Most of the time."

She taps her chin as she looks up in thought. "Though it is good that you are aware of the problems, it does nothing to address it. Normally you would be able to team up with some of the other new members of the guild, but the official assessment for them isn't for another two days."

I nod. 'Yeah, it's too bad that-hold up.'

"Official assessment? What do you mean by that?" If they have an "official" assessment, then what was my assessment about?

She nods. "Yes. Typically the guild assesses all applicants on the same day of the week. It allows those who applied to change their minds since the guild has the ability to call on adventurers in a time of crises. It also streamlines the process so people aren't being assessed every day. I'd pity the employees if they had to consistently test people at all hours of the day."

"... Then what was the deal with my assessment?" Nobody better tell me it doesn't count since it wasn't on the official day. But I met the guildmaster and they didn't seem to have a problem with it.

"That?" She shrugs. "Receptionists are allowed to conduct assessments on unscheduled days if they wish, though most find it too much of a hassle and choose not to. They're not required to do it after all."

"Huh." That's interesting. Wonder why Receptionist decided to do my assessment immediately instead of the standard day? Another case of my adorableness coming into effect? Oh well, not like it matters anyways.

"So I could find some teammates in two days, after the official assessments?"

"That's correct. You could inform a receptionist that you're looking for a team, but then you leave who you'll join to chance. Many of those looking for new members for their company will attend in the hopes of recruiting talented newbies. If you're looking to establish your own individual team though, I would recommend attending as well."

Good to know I have options, even if I don't want to join a random group. But she's said another thing I'm not familiar with! "What's a company?"

She blinks at me for a moment, taken aback at my lack of knowledge. "Oh, well. A company is essentially a team of adventurer's that has become, well, quite large. Think of them like a mercenary company, but still under guild jurisdiction. Though their members do fall under different rules than independent parties."

Yeah, that sounds like a hassle. I think I'll stay independent and assemble my own team. It's not like I need an army or anything.

She claps her hands. "In the meantime, how about I show you the areas around the city so you know where you can hunt monsters and gain experience!"

Lost in thought about what kind of situations I might get into in where I would need an army, I nod, not really hearing what she said.

It's not until she's helping me up and guiding me out of the guild that I realize what I just agreed to.

Once I do, however, I simply shrug. 'She doesn't seem like a bad person, so it's probably fine. I'll just have to make sure that I don't lose my tail in any fights. I have a feeling she would try to claim it if that happened...'

At the gate, Tesk flashes the guard her guild card, stating that it's guild business. And they don't make her pay! That seems really easy to take advantage of, but then she clarifies when she sees the look on my face.

"Of course the guards won't charge people for LEAVING the city! What kind of sense would that make!? Since what we're doing technically counts as guild business- what with me watching over your first monster hunt- we won't have to pay coming back in. But typically going out to hunt monsters doesn't really count as 'official' guild business, so you'd still have to pay to come back in any other time."

She sighs as she shakes her head, while I duck my own in embarasment. Meanwhile my tail swishes behind my knees and my ears flatten themselves forward.

We left from a different gate than the one I entered the city from, and looking around the most immediate difference I see is that the grass is at a more reasonable height than where I first came to this world.

When I ask about it, Tesk says that it's because of how often adventurers come out this way to fight monsters. They don't really maintain the grass' height; it just ends up that way due to their fights with the local monsters.

"By the way, what kind of monsters am I going to be hunting?" I probably should have asked this sooner, but oh well.

"This area typically has Basher Bunnies, an E-Rank monster. The guild will buy basically the whole bunny if you bring it to them since they use so much of it. Though if you manage to disassemble it yourself they'll generally pay a bit more since it saves them some time."

I try to imagine myself carving up a bunny. Then I try to imagine myself carving up a bunny the size of a tricycle. Yeah, I think I'll just turn them in whole.