Chapter 23- The Adventurers' Guild

"Aziel, you did the right thing by leaving that village."

It was that voice again

"I don't who are you but, stop appearing inside my mind. It's really creepy you know." I said with an almost bored voice.

"Ah is that so? I am sorry. I never thought that I would disturb you in any way. But it's very surprising, knowing you, you should have felt happy after hearing this big sister's voice, I mean you are a flirty pervert after all." She said in a cheerful voice.

I don't know why but I found this lady to be extremely annoying. She always seemed to talk in a way as if I was younger than her.

"Of course, I would think that you are younger than me, I mean you are just a child, right?" She said again.

"Please stop reading my thoughts so casually, what about my right to privacy?" If you don't stop then I will replace the sugar in your tea with salt.

"I don't like tea. I am more of a coffee person and that too I drink without milk or sugar." She read my thoughts again.

"So you are a vegan as well? Or are you on a diet? Well whatever, this is, my first time knowing about a witch like you."

"It's not a good thing to call a kind, hospitable and genteel lady like me, a witch. I am a sorceress mind you." She said in a voice similar to an adult correcting a child.

"Aren't witch and sorceress synonyms? Don't be so picky. And as for the first part, the people who call themselves kind and hospitable are usually the worst kind of scumbags."

"Then what about the ones who call themselves genteel?"

"They are even worse!"

"Don't do that Aziel, if you keep that attitude then you will die without ever having a girlfriend. Big Sister is worried about you."

"It's fine if no one chooses me as a boyfriend, then please become my girlfriend, big sis."

"Ara ara, you sure have big ambitions, don't you? But big sister is afraid that you being with her will only bring you trouble and misery." She sounded a bit sad this time.

"Then why are you in my head!? Doesn't that count as being with me?"

"Please don't assign any weird terms to our physical relationship."

"When did I assign any weird term to our relationship!? And we never had any physical relationship, to begin with…no we don't even have a relationship at all!"

"Ahhh! Please don't be so cold otherwise I might get wet!"

"Huh? Was that a moan? Are you crying about it or are you enjoying it!? Stop saying double-meaning things! You are playing with the emotions of a delicate teenage boy!"

"Huh, so you want that kind of play hah? Well, don't worry this lady shall play with you all night if you want."

"What happened to that dignified sagely voice of yours? Stop talking with me in such a weird way!"

"I see, child, now I can see it as clearly as a day, you have a mother complex."

"No! I don't! Please talk like you were talking before."

"You are too moody. Humph, this big sister is feeling tired and will be taking a rest. Good Night darling, 'kiss sound'."

"There was no need for you to say 'kiss sound'. Agh! Why am I copying your voice!?"

And that's how my nightmare ended.

That woman or girl or hag or whatever went to sleep after saying 'kiss sound'. I didn't want to admit it but I had fun talking with her, I hope she talks with me again. She is probably the only one who has talked so much with me apart from my friend Alden.

Thinking about Alden, if he were still alive then both of us must have been picking up chicks. An unpleasant feeling started crawling inside my heart. I slapped myself to snap out of it. Can't let myself get wrapped up in things like that. I have important things to do.

I got up and went outside. The owner of the inn was sweeping the floor. When she saw me she bowed to me and asked if I had any plans. I told her that I will be going to the adventurer's guild and I would need her to make the breakfast for me.

She told me that it will be ready in half an hour. I decided to use the 30 minutes to get fresh.

Ten served me breakfast. It wasn't anything special, just a cheese toast, omelet, and a cup of milk with honey. It was a light breakfast, just the type you would eat before a physical test. I finished my breakfast as soon as I could and left the inn.

It took me less than 10 minutes to get from the inn to the adventurer's guild. The building wasn't very large, but it wasn't very small either. There was a big signboard at the entrance of the building saying, 'The Adventurers' Guild'. The inside of the building was somewhat empty and there were only two or three people who seemed like adventurers to me. I spotted a girl standing next to the door. She looked like one of the clerks at this place. When she saw me, she gave a slight bow and greeted me, "Welcome to the guild. Sir, it looks like your first time in here, how may I help you?"

"I want to get myself registered as an adventurer. Where am I supposed to go?"

The girl looked at me again and said, "Please follow me."

I followed her and she brought me to a counter. A beautiful elf lady was sitting there and she had a smile plastered on her face. She greeted me as soon as she saw me.

"Welcome, sir. Are you here to get yourself registered?" She asked me in a melodious voice. She looked like an adult and had the charms of a woman well versed with the ways of life. Her golden hair seemed so magnanimous that I just wanted to stay under the shadow of her hair.

Her eyes seemed sharp and kind both at the same time. Kind of a weird mixture if someone were to ask me, but still they looked as if they contained every secret of this universe. Her lips were cherry red in colour, and she had the smell of grapevine on her which seemed to have intoxicated my entire body and soul. Her, neckline was so…ugh did I just write a speech about her body? Man, I am hopeless.

I regained my composure and said in a cool voice (or that's what I thought), " Yes, I want to get myself registered with the adventurer's guild."

"I see, then sir, please put your hand on this stone so we might determine your level. The level indicated by the stone isn't your actual combat power, so you don't have to worry about it even if your level is somewhat low."

"Okay." I put my hand on the stone, it started draining my mana at a very fast rate. Then the woman at the counter took away the stone and performed a spell. Then she gave me a piece of paper with my name and picture on it. I was assigned level C as an adventurer.

Hmm…my actual strength is between a weak B-ranked monster and a mediocre B-ranked monster and if I were to use that weird strength then my power level might reach the level of a weak A-ranked beast but this stone only gave me a C-Ranking. I can somewhat agree with the stone giving me a C-rank based on my mana, but if the stone would have taken that weird deep blue aura into consideration then I should have gotten a better rank. But why? Could it be that the stone can only absorb mana and nothing else? And if that's true then the deep blue aura isn't mana. I am sure of it! then does that mean…the deep blue aura is not mana but Tatva? I need to talk about this with someone experienced.

"Congratulations, sir. From now on you are a registered C-Rank adventurer. Sir, if you are unhappy because you got a C rank in the assessment then please do not be sad. Most of the people get a D or E in their first assessment, getting a C is a very good result in my opinion and sir's rank will only get better as he completes more and more quests, so please don't worry."

"Thank you for your kind words, by the way, I want to ask you if I can find a job related to the monster fair?"

"For that, sir you can check the mission board."

"Is that so? Then why were you testing me?"

"What do you mean, sir?" She still had a smile on her face but her eyes seemed to betray her emotions.

"You used a certain kind of charm magic on me when we first met. That must be the infamous curse magic, am I right?" When I said that the smile on her face completely disappeared. She looked at me for a moment and then,

"Yes sir, you are right. As for your assessment for the job, you pass. I will inform the client about it and you can join him as his guard. As for your salary, it will be 2 silver coins per day. Is that fine with you?"

"2 silver hah? How much are you making out of this big sis?"

"Hah! Calling an old lady like me big sis, you sure have a silver tongue, don't you? But since you want to know, it's 1 silver for me per day."

"1 for you and just 2 for me? It feels kinda wrong don't you think? Considering I will be putting my life on the line in there."

"I see, your point is valid but that 1 silver is not just for finding you, it also includes some 'personal service' that I had provided to the client, you know what I mean, right? If you want I can provide it to you as well, of course, I will give you some discount since you are a new adventurer." She said in a seductive voice.

"No thanks, I will pass on that. Looks like 2 silver coins is the limit, well, please tell the client that I agree to do the job."

"You don't want to negotiate with me some more?"

"I have trouble negotiating with beautiful women. I lose my concentration every time I see them."

"Humph! Then get better at it. I will tell the client that you have agreed to the job and your salary will be 5 silver coins per day." The lady said with a smirk on her face.

"5 silver, hah? Thanks for your help."

"Don't mention it. Please report back to the guild in about 2 hours. Here, this is your identity card as a C-rank adventure. You can use the guild as a bank to deposit your money and send letters to almost every place on the continent. The guild will also give you various discounts and services based on your rank. Completing 20 B-rank quests will promote you to the level of a B–rank adventurer and completing 15 A-rank quests will promote you to A-rank."

"I see, thanks for telling me."