Guild.

The Tempest Fall Guild.

      It was the largest Adventurer's guild in the world.

      A place for those who have confidence in their strength, skills, and magic.

      The guild was known for its diverse membership, with a great number of races congregated there.

       The members were buff men who were equipped with magic swords, gauntlets, or handles, and Magi who preferred their light magic staves.

       The guild was made up of various races, most notably demihumans, humans, and regular elves, and the races in the guild depended solely on what part of the world it was located in.

Archibaldʼs eyes sparkled like jewels.

("I'm so excited to be joining a frigginʼ guild! I never thought I'd get the chance, since I was a solo gamer on Elden Annulus. But here I am and it's awesome! I'm about to go full geek mode and I can't believe it.")

Just the thought of standing in a place like this would get even a normie excited.

Many great stories started in these fantastical settings.

"You shouldn't be so excited. It reeks of perspiration.."

The green-haired elf folded her arms. Rumia.

"Who wouldn't get excited about joining a guild?"

"I wouldn't, it's like these men don't know what a soap is.."

"I mean, you're not a newbie, so you wouldn't know how cool it is for me."

"Hm? What're you talking about, I only recently joined."

"Woah really? But weren't you up against a rank C ogre?"

"Adventurerʼs ranks and Class rank aren't the same thing.."

In simpler words, even if one was an Advanced Magus or higher they'd still start with the lowest rank.

Archibald clearly understood.

"Okay, that makes sense."

The two were both still at the door.

Whereas they had slightly child-like appearances, the other guild members were adults. The lowest you could find was 17 years old.

Nowadays, kids of ages 10-13 rarely joined guilds.

They preferred the comfort of their homes to a day of hardwork from adventuring.

    In the guild, there was a notice board to the left of the stairs. It was covered in a vast number of papers, all of which were related to the Adventurers' "Jobs."

    To the right of the stairs, was the request box, where Adventurers could make requests for jobs two ranks higher than their current rank.

    Archibald and Rumia who looked directly across from the entrance, could see the section where the guild's receptionist was stationed.

    Adventurers had to check the notice board regularly to stay up-to-date on available jobs and make requests through the proper channels.

The two walked up the to receptionist section.

"I wonder where she is..." Rumia asked no one in particular.

Silently, Archibald waited next to her. He rested both hands on the receptionist tabletop.

"Mary, sorry to bother.."

As she spoke, her cloak billowed. She'd pull down her hood to fully display her elven ears and green hair.

"Rumi! How have you been?!"

The receptionist haphazardly turned to face the elf.

As a result, she knocked over several stacks of paperwork.

"I'm... I'm quite fine, thanks for asking.."

Obviously, Rumia didn't feel comfortable with Maryʼs overly affectionate hug.

In summary, she wasn't a hugger.

Archibald's long wait had finally come to an end.

The arrival of a female staff who possessed dog ears and an attractive nose.

It was clear that she belonged to the beastpeople.

Archibald felt as though a higher power had answered his prayers.

She was exactly what he'd been searching for.

("Who doesn't ever notice how beast women are just so damn fine? I mean, those cute little ears and sexy tails are just too much to handle. But hey, let's keep it PG for the kiddos, right?")

The infamous perverted gaze of Archibald was fixed on Mary.

It made her feel uncomfortable, but sure enough, Rumia was there to set things straight.

WHAM!

It only took one punch to his skull after breaking free of Maryʼs embrace to get him functioning straight.

"Focus!"

He rubbed his head gently to soothe the pains.

("Wait, isn't she supposed to be an elegant elf?! Her hit felt like an anvil was dropped on my head! That's no normal lady's strength – she's Iron Lady Cha!")

"Hey... That hurt!"

"Serves you right for misbehaving."

With her arms folded she hissed a bit before diverting her attention to the receptionist, Mary.

Mary on the other hand, felt Rumia had gone a little too far.

"Ahhh, so he's registering to be an Adventurer right?"

"Yes, and remember I was the one who referred him so add that to my monthly bonus.."

Aside from the money Adventurers gain from jobs, there are also monthly bonuses.

Basically, it's an additional compensation for a job well done. So, bringing in recruits was a way to increase one's monthly bonus.

("Damn it! Now I see why she was so eager to have me here... I actually thought I scored some affection points...")

The pains lessened, apparently, his soothing technique worked.

Only now, had he realized Rumia didn't necessarily take any special liking to him. He believed the reason she wanted him to join her guild was so they could be closer, but, it was for her own gain.

("This sucks....")

He definitely couldn't retract his decision now.

"He should fill the form then.."

Mary handed the red-haired boy a piece of paper and a quill.

It was needed for him to write down his details.

While he did this, Rumia and Mary went to discussing her pay for the job she'd just come back from.

Seeing as it was a rank C job, that would ultimately mean Rumia was a rank D Adventurer. She could only take jobs a rank above hers.

Carefully, Archibald read the rules.

("Rules may seem like a drag, but, they can make all the difference. Take Elden Annulus for example. I was the top gamer because I actually read the guidelines. Can you believe most people don't bother with them? That's why they'll never beat me, haha!")

Halfway through the rules, Archibald was well caught up.

From what he saw, they looked like the standard rules used in an MMORPG.

Some minutes later, he was signing the form.

"Are you done?" Rumia asked.

"Yeah, I am, but I have a question..."

"Which is?"

"There's a part demanding for guardian's signature... Is that important?"

"It's rarely ever used, but I should ask Mary."

Rumia proceeded to shift the question to Mary who prepared the elven girlʼs settlement.

[Settlement] :: The official nomenclature for money paid to Adventurers who have successfully finished a quest.

Damage is also taken to account, so in most cases, the guild may either subtract money from their settlement or monthly bonus.

Having listened to Archibaldʼs question, Mary saw it as an easy fix. As such, she said:

"Oh, that's not really important unless you're under thirteen.."

"I'm eleven years old.."

"I thought so, although there's not much Adventurers your age... Even Rumia only recently joined, and she's thirteen.."

This surprised Archibald.

"Wait! You're thirteen?!" He pointed at Rumia.

"Well of course, whatʼd make you think I was any older?"

"It's just that... Your chest, it's–"

He paused after noticing slightly violent stare from Rumia.

"You know what, nevermind.."

"Perfect."

She directed her gaze to Mary right after, awaiting a response.

"Just fill in all the details and I'll mail this back to your home address, there, your guardian can sign to show their approval of your becoming an Adventurer."

A convenient process for someone who had their parents approval.

"Here you go..."

He already finished fixing in all the necessary details.

"Name... Archibald Pendragon..."

Ambivalent, Mary read out the contents until she came across the name of "Pendragon." Her eyes widened.

"You're a Pendragon?!"

"Umm, yeah, I am.."

"What branch of the family are you?!"

"I'm from the Me–"

Unable to finish his words because of an individual who shouted Mary's name from behind. It wasn't a rude thing to do, they were getting swarmed by Adventurers looking forward to taking their next job.

"I'm on my way!" She responded with a voice of equal volume.

In a hurry, Mary prepared his ID card and tossed it to him.

"Here's your Identification card! It'll be revoked if your parents don't respond to the form within a weekʼs time!"

Briefly, she whimpered akin to puppy and rushed to help the others distribute jobs.

Written on the card:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name: Archibald Pendragon

Age: 11 Y/O

Race: Human

Gender: M

Class: Swordsman

Rank: F

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Don't lose that... It's important when collecting your settlement."

Rumia told him indifferently.

"I know, I know... I'm not an idiot you know."

"I wish I could believe that."

A sigh escaped her breath moments after.

Naturally, Archibald was about to retaliate verbally. But her next words stopped him from doing so. She said:

"If you're going to take any jobs, you'll need to update your equipment too, I don't think what you have is going to be enough..."

She was right, also, his weapon <<Ver-Ather>> was a Jade-ranked (4th grade) secular artifact.

Anent her words, Archibald looked at his equipment.

"I guess you're right."