First Quest

After a few moments of sulking, Mary seemed to come back alive. Her shoulders stopped drooping and she fixed her posture. She once again wore that sweet smile as she began talking to Faust once more.

'I can't help but think that smile looks a little fake now.' Faust didn't give voice to his inner thoughts. He was still stuck in an awkward position.

"Now that we have all that sorted out, let's find you a quest so you can level up! But first, I should probably put this away." She took up the piece of parchment with Faust's status on it and placed it in a different drawer than the one she took it out of.

'It must be put in a different folder once it's activated my status. I wonder if they will keep it forever? Does it update when my status updates?'

Unfortunately, that wasn't for Faust to know. After putting it away, Mary started walking away from the reception desk, towards the back of the Guild. There were a few doors there. She called out behind her when she didn't hear Faust moving with her.

"Hey newbie! Catch up already, don't you want to find a quest? Why aren't you following me?"

Faust finally managed to break out of his self-imposed petrification and quickly followed her. While they walked down a hallway that was near the desk, he couldn't help but think about how badly he messed up this time.

'I didn't do anything while she was upset! I just stood there! Like a moron! How dumb can you be??? Get it together man!'

Finally, Mary reached the end of the room, where 3 different doors stood. She didn't hesitate before opening the left most door, beckoning Faust to follow her. Once through the door, Faust noticed that there were even more employees here than outside. They each had their own desk and they all seemed to be fiddling with different devices. Some were handling pieces of parchment while others were tapping on holographic screens. Mary guided Faust to a desk near the front of the room.

"This is my desk. As the one to register you, I'll be your personal clerk for your adventures from now on. You can come see me at this building whenever it's open. As your clerk, I can give you information on monsters at a significantly lower price than what you would get from brokers. Through me, you can also purchase skills or items that the guild sells. I'll also be the one in charge of distributing to you the rewards of any quests you complete. Now here, take this."

'Is it my imagination, or does she seem a lot colder than before? I think I really messed up.'

Once she finished speaking, Mary handed Faust some sort of metallic bracelet. Faust looked at it. The metal seemed quite thin, but it had a width of about two fingers.

"Put it on your wrist."

He slid the bracelet over his hand and onto his wrist. While it was originally too big for him, once it reached his wrist it started to contract until it was almost even with his skin. 'I don't think I could get this off even if I tried. I wonder what it does?'

Mary explained. "That is our 'Adventurer's Bracelet'. One of the latest products produced by our best runesmiths. It keeps a tab on you for us. It allows us to see your heart rate, your body's condition, and your location. It also has several other functions that you can use. Press your finger on it."

Faust quickly pressed his thumb to the tracker.

Beep. Identity Confirmed. Adventurer 'Faust'. Registered under the 'Varadale' guild branch. Please select what you would like to do.

A transparent window, just like his status screen, appeared in front of Faust.

[1. Open the Quest board.]

[2. Open the Marketplace.]

[3. Request emergency aid.]

"For now, it only has 3 options. But our runesmiths are planning on adding more in the future. You're quite lucky actually, these have only just been released. It's a great time to become an Adventurer. These 3 options alone make it infinitely easier than before."

Faust listened to her and nodded his head. He was confused about one thing though.

"M-miss Mary, if you don't mind me asking, what's a runesmith?"

Mary looked at him like he was a bit of an idiot.

"You don't even know what a runesmith is? I guess since you're a newbie it kind of makes sense but… didn't your parents ever tell you about them?"

'Of course my parents didn't tell me about them' Thought Faust, 'I come from a completely different world… I can't say anything about the actual world to her. In the 'terms of agreement' that I signed, it said you couldn't reveal anything about the real world to the characters in the game. You can get your account terminated if you mess up too badly...'

Shaking his head, Faust replied. "My parents weren't around alot when I was younger, so I never learned about a lot of things. Could you tell me, Miss Mary?"

Hearing this, Mary's previously cold expression melted a little. With some pity in her gaze, she looked at Faust and began to speak.

"Well, you know what a blacksmith is right? They work with metals and forge weapons and armor. A runesmith is essentially the same thing, except they work with runes and form magic artifacts." Mary paused for a moment upon seeing Faust's look of confusion. "You know what a rune is… right?"

Faust shook his head once again.

"Great goddess of… " Mary spoke exasperatedly. "Why did nobody teach you these things? Runes are physical embodiment of magic. They allow awakeners to imbue objects with magical power! Different runes have different effects, and they're so complex! In my opinion, the language of the runes is the hardest to learn in the world. I really respect runesmiths. I wish I had the talent to become one but…" Mary trailed off.

'Runes? Were those the things that were spinning around that orb, Zero? That was a language?!' Faust's thought about the runes he saw before he even entered this world. 'Back then, those runes I saw… they were beautiful. A true piece of art.'

Faust wanted to ask more about runesmithing, but Mary had started to talk again.

"Now that I've explained what a rune is, which I didn't think I'd have to do to someone who is nearly an adult, please open up the questboard on your bracelet. I'll help you pick a quest that's good for a newbie."

Faust looked back down at the holographic window below him, and opened the quest board.

[Welcome to the Varadale Quest Board! Posted here are all the quests our Varadale Adventurer Guild receives, along with their rewards. As some missions are more dangerous than others, they have been given a rating classification, with 'S' being the hardest, and 'F' being the weakest! Please browse to your heart's content! Warning: This is a one-time only introduction. Please see a clerk if you would like to read it again.]

Scrolling through the list, Faust saw an amazing amount of quests listed. There were hundreds. Everything from an S-class Ogre slaying mission to an F-class rabbit hunting quest! Mary, standing next to Faust, quickly tapped and scrolled through the Quest board. Apparently this holographic window is visible to other people. It must be thanks to the runesmiths.'

"There, I found one! This should be perfect for you!" Faust looked at the quest she was pointing at. An F-class grasshopper hunting expedition. The quest was to escort a kid on the outskirts of the forest to collect some grasshoppers for his class project. The reward was 2 bronze coins. 'This is 'perfect' for me?' The corners of Faust's mouth twitched a little.