Touring the Guild

The guildhall ended up not being all too large. Velk had already seen most of it while moving to the testing room and bonding room, so there weren't all that many new things to see. As he had already seen the basement, the only thing left to explore was the second floor above. The second floor ended up being full of storage and meeting rooms once they were shown.

Hunters who owned extra weapons and armor that did not get used would use these storage rooms to keep their gear nice and fresh if they could not afford personalized storage boxes. Guild employees would be paid to keep the items polished and ready to be used at a moments notice if need be. It costs some money to store the equipment in the public storage rooms, but not expensive enough to deter possible buyers.

There was also a library. The library was split into different sections designated to keep low-rank hunters away from the more expensive and rare books. It was against the rules for hunters to wander anywhere they didn't have clearance to enter. Doing so would result in either a fine or expulsion from the guild. This is what Velk had read when he briefly scanned over the rules in the rule book.

Alongside the storage rooms and library, there was also a room filled with statues that Velk and Co. are currently looking at. Behind every statue was a large painting with vibrant colors. Some of the figures even had multiple such arts behind them. They each depicted a different tale, some of a heroic battle fought against a wyvern, others of a masterwork made after many years of experimentation or sheer luck. It could be reasoned that the statues were the people behind the tales and what they represented.

One statue, in particular, seemed to catch Velk's eyes. It was of a person, who's facial features and gender were impossible to identify. They wore a very regal set of armor with a long flared cape and a jagged crown. Their arms were crossed in front of it. The pose was threatening while also appearing calm without its facial features even being carved. Behind the statue were three different paintings. All three of them were of various wyverns, each looking very dangerous, and one of them roughly reminded Velk of his sapphire star-gem.

It was a ferocious-looking dragon who had a resplendent coat of dark blue scales. Multiple blue blasts of fire could be seen surrounding its forelegs and back legs. The figure of the statue was standing opposite the dragon and preparing to do battle. The other paintings showed the same thing but with different dragons. One of them was a white dragon that threatened to freeze Velk through the image, while the other was a giant rock with grass growing along its backside. Velk did not know if it was a wyvern, but given that the figure was also holding a stance against it and that an arena made out of dirt and rock was surrounding them, it was the safest bet.

After walking closer to the statue, Velk scrutinized it in great detail. It reminded him of someone, but he could not put his finger on it. Looking at the base of the sculpture, Velk could see some words carved into it. Bending over to get a closer look at it, Velk could read what it says.

[Protector of Seliana]

[Uncrowned Cataclym]

It was at this point that Abigail and Ash walked up to the statue as well. They were curious to see what had caught Velk's attention after they had entered the room. Ash started doing the exact same as Velk, but as Abigail had already seen it hundreds of times, she had no reason to inspect it once more.

"Sadly, it's just a replica along with the paintings. If you wanted to see the real thing, you would need to visit Astera." Abigail had to do her fair share of studying this person in general. They were a famous hunter of the Fifth Fleet who helped pave the way onward for expansion into the New World. It had been 100 years since their time of fame, but the name and legend still lives on, and many people look up to the said hunter.

"Why is the face smoothened out?" Velk asked. He heard of this hunter from Rose, but he had never seen a picture or statue of them till this point.

"It's due to a personal request from the hunter. They said that their appearance would only soil what they represent. Hiding the gender and appearance of the hunter helps inspire all who want to become as powerful and influential as themselves, not just one group of people."

"Hmm... That's a shame. I would have liked to see what they looked like, whatever." Velk straightened himself back up and turned around to face Abigail. "Shall we go? I want to see the rest of the facilities."

Abigail's eyes twitched in irritation as she had an internal debate on how she would punish the boy in front of her. He, of all people, should be one of the last to ever feel down for not being able to see the actual appearance of the hero depicted in the statue. She, along with many others, would love to see their appearance as well. Yet, here is a boy complaining about it when it's something he has no right to complain over, especially since... Her thought process was cut off when Velk rushed past her to leave the statue room.

Turning to look at Ash, who was unsure of who to follow, Abigail could only shake her head and sigh before following suit and leaving the room.

Now, once again, back in the hall, they started to make their way back down into the lobby. They still had many guild facilities to visit outside of the main guildhall. Each connected to a stone-paved path in a walled-off yard behind it.

Once they were outside. Velk could see the area where the race had begun. Many people were still sitting at the side of the road and waiting for participants to pass the lap. He did not know how long the race had been going on, but it appeared to be in its final stretches.

Velk did not have much time to watch the race as he was still following Abigail along on her tour with Ash. They had quickly moved to the side of the building, where he could no longer see the race. In front of him, he could see numerous buildings scattered about. Each represented an essential foundation of the guild and what it has to offer.

Their first stop was a botanical garden. There was an enormous tree in the middle of it the garden, and many different pots and fields were used to grow medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Abigail explained that he would be able to place orders on the various plants and insects he needed to create alchemical potions if he decided to do so. Most low-rank and some high-rank hunters never spend the time to learn how to make potions on the fly, or even at all, so they would often pay guild alchemists to do it for them.

Velk had spent many long hours reading the books that Ethran had given him about rudimentary potions and medicins. He had never attempted to make one, but he did have knowledge on how to do so. Sylas would probably do it for him if he ever asked, but not wanting to take advantage of his friend's kindness, Velk decided that he wanted to learn how to make the potions himself, plus it would allow him to make the potions on the go if he needed.

Abigail had also introduced him to the head botanist, a man named Barlee. He was another old wyverian that only reached Velk's waist in height. Barlee wore long blue robes and had a long raggedy beard. The old wyverian was sweet and seemed well past his years. Many others worked inside the garden, and they all seemed to dote on him quite a bit. It was interesting to see everyone become very docile and respectful when they were around him, and follow, his every word.

After Velk was done touring the garden, Abigail led him back onto the trail and in the direction of another nearby building. It had an extensive dome-like glass roof, just like the botanical garden, but it did not come with the same 'earthy' feel that that the previous one had. Large blue letters above the entrance to the building spelling out WRC could be seen contrasting the white stoney material that the walls were made of. The walls looked as if they were made to withstand multiple substantial hits and sustain the overall structure of the building.

"Hey, Abigail, what does WRC stand for?" Velk had never heard of the abbreviation, so he had to ask what it stood for.

"Wyvern Research Center, WRC for short. They examine any new Wyverns that we come across and determine the uses for its bodily bits. If the creature is not outright killed after we bring it here, it will often be given to the arena so that spectators can watch as two wyverns or a hunter and a wyvern duke it out in a battle to the death." Abigail gave a long explanation of what they were and what they did. Velk had heard of the arena, but he had never visited it, as Rose preferred to not see such things.

After entering the building, Velk was hit with a sense of wonderment. Around ten scholars were standing around a single enclosed ring with a large, dark-green, sedated wyvern lying on the ground. It had a giant maw and many teeth that made it seem like the wyvern was made for nothing but devouring food and a long muscular body. Its entire back extending from its head to tail was covered in rows of long sharp spines, and it had some incredibly powerful-looking back legs. The arms on the thing were tiny but other than that, it seemed to have no apparent flaws.

Velk had never seen the wyvern before, so he wanted to get a closer look at it, but Abigail grabbed onto his shoulder before he could go running off like a meddlesome child. It seemed like she had quickly gotten used to his behavior in the short time they had been together and caught him before he caused problems.

"You can't just run up there and bother the researchers. Stand back and look. The wyvern is called a Deviljho. It is not often that one is brought back alive, so they must be pretty excited to get a look at it." Velk had never heard of this 'Deviljho,' so he was intrigued by what it was and wanted to find out. Sadly, a certain purple-haired girl with pigtails was holding him back, and annoyingly so. He did not believe that he would get in their way at all and just wanted to get a little bit closer.

"Come, I'll show you around more!" Abigail demanded while motioning him to follow her. She was not going to put up with any of his nonsense. Her only goal was to show him around then go home quickly. She was getting a little hungry, and since it would take a while to make dinner, she wanted to hurry this up.

Wandering around, Velk was able to see that there were multiple of these rings that were used to hold wyverns. There was only one other ring that was occupied by a long snake-looking wyvern. Abigail had introduced it as a new wyvern that can be found near Rak-Al-Faar, and native of the New World named Calavius.

Calavius had dark-green scales that were the perfect camouflage for the nearby forest to the west of Rak-Al-Faar and large, yellow, beady eyes. It can secrete a paralyzing poison from its fangs and inject it into its prey if needed. That, along with its large body and supposedly fast movement speed, made for a deadly combo that struck many hunters unprepared, and since there were many Calavie in the forests to the west, it was cautioned that hunters should always keep an eye on the treetops, the preferred vantage point of the wyvern.

Abigail had once again introduced him to another head of a department. Surprisingly, it was a young human woman named Jillian. She only appeared to be in her early thirties and had a wisened aura surrounding her body. Velk felt like he was mentally inferior just by looking at her and wondered if she was using the same technique that his grandfather used to emit the pressure that he would place on wyverns that got in his way.

Jillian had come off as a cold woman, but now he knew why she was the head of the research committee in Rak-Al-Faar. She had apparently solved many problems plaguing the committee and brought a different perspective to many investigations, giving way to new discoveries and creations. Namely, she invented an advanced [Scent Concealer] and is the author of the book "Monster Ecology of the Rak-Al-Faar District."

Once they left, they visited more facilities along the way, including but not limited to: A cafeteria run by a melynx, a storage shed used to keep the weapons that the guild uses to scare off monsters that get too close to the town, and a blacksmith that was exclusive to guild members and headed by a large, bulky man that had given Velk a hug upon greeting. They were actually neighbors, and Velk had just never asked what he did for a living, so it came as a surprise when Velk saw him working on a large bowgun within the smithy. His name was Dax, and he had two young boys, that had sometimes joined Velk in his adventures around town.

They had also visited the living quarters where Velk was assigned a room with three other new hunters that could be used until they got a house of their own. Most parents would kick their children out at the age of fourteen unless they were 'helpful.' This is what Rose was practically doing, and although she did not want to, she knew it was for the best.

Additionally, a large public bathhouse split into two sections was placed near the living quarters, one side for males and the other side for females. It did cost zenny or research points to use, but it was a lot cheaper than the bathhouses found elsewhere other than the guild.

Velk learned that Research Points are guild exclusive currencies that could be obtained through completing different requests given by the research committees that fill the guild. They can be used as a substitute for zenny with most things within the guild.

There was also a wingdrake docking station, where high-ranking hunters could use a small flying wyvern with muscular wings to transport them to different places, much faster than walking could ever get you. Low-ranking hunters can also use the wingdrakes, but it is expensive, so hardly anyone does unless they come from a prestigious family, and Velk was not one of them.

The last building that Velk, Ash, and Abigail visited was an auction house. The auction house was located on the edge of the guild yard. It was connected to the rest of the town so that citizens could use it as well. Many hunters would sell any extra materials and rare goodies they find along their travels here. The hunters were not obligated in any way to give the guild anything more than what they were tasked with while out on a hunt, so unless it was illegal to keep the items they obtained, they would often sell them on the auction house.

Now back inside of the main guildhall, Abigail ended the tour. She gave Velk and Ash extra information regarding some behavioral guidelines expected of them while in the guildhall.

"Ok, that is all... for the most part. I highly implore you to read the general rules and regulations book once you get home. It will teach you how the guild works and what you need to do to rank up. Once you come back tomorrow, your guild card and gear should be ready for pickup, and then you can officially begin your monster hunting!" She sounded very excited.

"What gear? Don't I have to pay for that? And why can I get it by tomorrow? Does it not take a while to make it all?"

Abigail was not ready for the string of questions that Velk had bombarded upon her. She needed a bit of time to think of what to say before she answered.

"Can't you just ask one question at a time? Geez, what do you take me for? A guild receptionist or something...? Wait..." She could only shake her head in exasperation.

"No, you don't need to pay for the gear. Usually, you would need to buy a simple guild-certified hunting knife and the basic set of leather armor, but the guild master paid for all that already. Also, she threw in an iron sword and shield to go along with it. You're a little too inexperienced to properly use any other weapon proficiently if needed, and the Sword and Shield are the easiest to get started with for beginners.

And to answer your question about why the gear is made so quickly. The smiths are very skilled, and there are many of them. Plus, the guild master's orders are also often expedited, so there is no doubt that they are already in the process of creating your gear."

Velk felt rather fortunate that he was given such privileges, but it made him feel uncomfortable. He does not want to be indebted to anyone so quickly on his journey, especially while unsure of his own potential.

Now that everything was over. Abigail quickly gave her goodbyes and went back to the counter to sign out. Velk passed his gaze over her for a brief moment before turning his sight towards Ash.

"Let's go back home."

"Meowww!"

Velk and Ash left the guildhall and started to run down the streets. The tour took quite a bit of time, and the race was already long since done. It was getting late, and Velk knew that he was in for a surprise once he got back to Rose's place. He could only look forward to it, even though he also knew that he might get punished...