Going Into Debt

After a few minutes, Ken had reached the front desk where the receptionists worked. "That was fast," he thought. He was glad that the receptionists were incredibly skilled at their job, and that he didn't have to wait long. Ken faced a bespectacled, energetic man in a sharp black vest. The man's eyes darted to Ken chest, then back to his face. Ken thought that the man must've noticed that he wasn't wearing one of the odd necklaces that adventurers tended to own.

"You're not registered yet, I presume?" He asked. Ken responded that he indeed wasn't. "I'm going to have to ask you to visit the elf at the far end please," he said as he pointed to the elfess in question. The man then looked straight through Ken and motioned to the amazon in line behind him that it was her turn. She practically pushed Ken to the side as she walked to the counter and proceeded to flirt with the man.

Ken reached the elfess and told her that he was there to register. She wasn't notably beautiful as far as elves go, possibly because she wore the same black uniform as every other receptionist. She told Ken the details of his registration. According to her, registration would run him 140 Kronnas, the local currency. She said he could take out a Guild loan, and pay the money back over the course of his first couple jobs. Ken noticed that the interest rate was incredibly low, so he decided he would go ahead and register at the time. The elf also explained to Ken the concept of ranks, and gave him his Guild dog tag to hang around his neck. It was made of ceramic shaped into a doughnut, with a leather string through the center hole. Apparently, the dog tag accounted for half the cost of his registration.

The Guild worked like this: People who needed a job done submitted paperwork for a quest, along with an appropriate reward, to the Guild. The Guild then made flyers for the jobs and attached them to the appropriate bulletin board. Adventurers were advised to take jobs from the bulletin board that matched their rank. If they were in a registered party, with a maximum of six people, they could take a job equal to the highest leveled member of their party. When adventurers completed a quest, the guild received a cut of the pay, unless the quest was guild issued.

Guild levels were structured as follows: Ceramic -> Iron -> Steel -> Adamant -> Mithril

Adventurers leveled up very seldom. Adventurers who didn't die early or drop out of the profession, which was often, almost always made it to Iron. Iron accounted for 60% of the adventurer population. Most Iron jobs were long term, like acting as bodyguards for merchants or standing in as temporary city guards. Making Steel required hard work or talent. Making Adamant required hard work and talent. Making Mithril required not only hard work and talent, but also luck, or as some would see it, favor of the Gods. The Guild took many factors into account regarding leveling up. For warriors it was their Battle Spirit. For mages it was their intelligence and knowledge. For priests it was their piety. There were also factors that were universal to all members, like their experience as an adventurer, their reputation, and their background. Leveling up also cost the adventurer a hefty amount of money, but always just enough that an adventurer could pay it off with a couple of jobs.

Ken had absorbed and memorized all the information the elf gave him. He now had a goal. Being the simple minded creature he was, Ken decided to aim for Mithril. He took his first step towards his goal, and that first step just so happened to be towards the colossal notice board to his left.