CH 4: Adventurer's Guild

Inside the guild, a lone window was attached overhead for lighting. But the natural light didn't seem very effective, as the building was still relatively dim. As this was the case, my eyes could only make out various armor-clad and weapon-wielding silhouettes. And yet, the darkness wasn't what caught my attention. It was the smell. There was both the pungent smell of alcohol and sweat in the air. Though, these odors didn't seem to interfere with chatter that was abuzz.

From where I stood, my gaze wandered about the tables, noting that only one-third of them were occupied. Sadly, all of these 'Adventurers', kept staring at me. Their looks jabbed at me, the intensity quite frightening, but I was able to ignore them and remain unaffected.

I sauntered deeper into the interior of the guild building, examining its layout. There was a bar on the left side of the guild, separated from the guild counter which was on the right, and next to the counter was a bulletin board, where a few magic lights shone luminously.

As I got closer to the counter, I noticed that the person who ran the bar was staring at me. The stare made me quite nervous and reminded me of what my big brother told me about barkeeps.

'—They baptize newcomers by making them drink a remarkable amount of alcohol, it would be best to avoid them.'

I despise alcohol, so I made sure to discreetly ignore the barkeep as I inched closer to the counter.

"Excuse me, I'd like to register," I said to one of the officials at the rightmost part of the counter. The official, a girl with glasses and brown hair, smiled at me politely as she brought out a few documents. Her looks to me were reminiscent of an adult-type woman who liked to go to the library to read.

"A new registration, is it? Can you read and write?" The girl asked as she picked one of the documents in her hands.

"I can," I said calmly.

Without a second of hesitation, the girl placed a document before me. "Then please fill this in."

It did not differ from the one I answered at the gate. But because there was a field to write the attack method, I wrote in magic.

"With what you've written," The girl said as she peeked at what I wrote. "You've confirmed that you'll be attacking as a magician, right?"

"Yes, but from your response, I feel that what I've written isn't enough."

"That is true." The girl rhythmically taps her fingers against the counter. "You see, it is more advantageous for magicians to write their attributes and the range of their magic if they want a better chance of being recruited into good parties." She said thoughtfully.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to use magic yet, so I have no idea of my capabilities. Lying could backfire on me so I do not change nor add to what I have written.

"You won't change anything?" The girl huffed lightly. She was probably disappointed with my choice, but in the end she seemed to glean something from me and decided not to pry. After all, I shouldn't be the first to not advertise their abilities so readily.

"Well, it's your choice, and I won't go against it." She said with a wry smile. "With all of this out of the way," The girl took away the document I answered. "I shall now begin introducing the Adventurer's Guild to you, so please pay attention."

Carefully, as she arranged her brown hair and straightened her posture, the girl began her introduction.

To compress most of what she said, I was told about how the guild has various ranks with F being for beginners and S being the highest rank for an adventurer. I was also told about how to accept a quest, the punishment for failing to do the quest, etc... I was even told that there were only five S ranks in the world.

Once the girl was convinced that I understood what she said, she decided to make me a guild card. Bringing out a stone board and placing a blank card on it, she placed them on the counter.

"Then, please hold your hand over the card."

When I did as I was told, characters that were engraved on the stone board twinkled softly. And unexpectedly, words materialized on the card.

"Please check for any mistakes." The girl said as she hands me the card, taking care to not look at its contents accidentally.

[Rei Arihara

Human

17 years old

Lv: 1

HP: 48/48

MP: 65482/65482

Rank: F]

The contents were similar to what I've seen with God's eye.

"Excuse me," I said softly. "When I want to show this to others, is it possible to hide the information that I don't want them to see?"

The girl looks unfazed by my question, as she fixed the position of her glasses. "You can. Please pour your magic power near the information that you want to hide."

'How do I pour magic power…?' I questioned internally. I wasn't foolish enough to express my ignorance of magic to the girl. I had already claimed to be a magician, and it would be suspicious if I didn't even know how to use my magic power.

I tried to sense my magic power from within me, hoping to be able to use it. Suddenly, I felt something unfamiliar coursing throughout my body. Instinctively, I knew that this was my magic power. Slowly, I move some of my magic power out of my finger, pouring it near the HP, MP, and Lv.

I erased both my HP and MP to hide any clue about my level, since a Lv of only 1, may be unnatural at the age of 17. Perhaps I should just hide everything except for my name and age? If I do this, I'll probably look like a young woman who is embarrassed about not being very powerful.

...I hope.

"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild!" The girl said as she put the stone board away. "Do you want to accept a request immediately?" She asked while looking at the bulletin board to her left.

I glance at the board, reading some of the quests before turning my gaze back at the official. "No, I would like to first look for a place to stay. Do you have anywhere to recommend?"

Yes, this is what I need right now above all else. Shelter. Money has already been acquired, so shelter is next on the list.

The girl looks around for a bit, quietly thinking in her head about a place to recommend. It seems to me that not many adventurers ask the officials at the counter about recommendations for stay, as the official before me looks to be quite stuck on what to recommend.

"For beginners," She paused to recollect her thoughts. "I'd recommend the Wheat Basket Pavilion located at the northwest of the city. The price is a little high but security is good and so is the cooking."

"Then I'll go there."