Chapter 6 : Adventurer's Guild

After briefly scanning the distant high-end information, I approached the sparsely populated front desk in the hall dedicated to handling assignments.

Greetings! How can I help you?

The guild, in its bid for support, staffed the front desk with young ladies of various races such as half-elf, werewolf, or human,all sharing a common trait: their undeniable beauty.

A human girl with short pink hair cascading gracefully to her collarbone welcomed me. A sense of familiarity washed over me as I remembered her as the best friend of the half-elf receptionist Aina Tulle, known as...

Checking her work card, I discovered her name: Misha Flott.

While observing her, the charming receptionist upheld a professional demeanor ,offering a friendly smile.

"Hey Misha! My name is Flon, Flon Algon. Please register me as an adventurer."

"So, you're a newbie? Need a consultant?"

" Consultant? "

My golden eyes instantly went on high alert. Such services actively promoted by the charming lady at the front desk typically concealed massive pitfalls.

"How much?"

"....."

Misha's perfect smile sort of froze for a sec, and this weird talk even made her doubt her looks for a moment.

"Only...only 5%..."

Realizing I only had 2,000 valis left in my whole body, I shot down the idea right away.

"Nah, just sign me up."

I threw my hand up to cut off Miss Misha, proving I've got a will of steel.

 "..."

'What a jerk! Being good-looking ain't helping him at all. He's totally clueless about impressing girls; I swear, he's gonna stay single forever,' Misha thought as she kept up the forced smile, begrudgingly helping with the adventurer registration paperwork while silently grumbling to herself.

What's going on with that black miasma behind her?

I quietly raised an imaginary question mark and naturally brushed off the receptionist lady's psychological shifts.

'This paperwork... soo fuckin' boring. Now that I think about it, my infinite super magic lets me learn any spell without worrying about spell slots. I definitely gotta master those Dia Panakeia and Dia Orpheus spells from that Fells guy. But it's gonna be tough prying it outta that dude'.

"Name?"

"Flon Algon."

"Gender?"

"Male."

"Age?"

"21 years old."

Misha paused the quill in her hand and gave me a different look.

"A 21-year-old rookie."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. You know, rookies becoming adventurers are usually pretty young. Registering at your age is quite rare."

'Yeah, she spoke the truth. Thinking about all the big shots in my familia, they all kicked off their journeys pretty darn young. Ais at 7, Tiona hitting Lv.2 by the ripe age of 5, Bert at 10, Finn at 10, Lefiya at 12...

( A/n:I don't know if this is true...)

Thinking about all that, being my age doesn't really give me an edge.

"But hey, being older has its perks. At least your head's more in the game, and the odds of making it through the early dungeon stages are higher."

When she said that, I couldn't help a little twitch at the corner of my mouth.

Even with my low-key reaction, the crafty young lady caught it and shot back with a friendly smile, almost like getting back at me.

"Real talk hits hard. That's what a buddy from the Far East once told me."

"..."

"Affiliated familia?"

"Loki familia."

"..."

Man, Misha looked like she just saw a ghost.

"A newbie in the Loki familia? Why didn't I hear anything about a newcomer in Loki familia?"

Under her scrutiny, I awkwardly scratched my nose and managed a tight smile.

"Yeah, I joined yesterday. Came here just to register, you know?"

Misha gave a nod, like she was giving me a thumbs up.

"Got it. Most Loki family folks are probably on some expedition. If not, someone would've escorted you. Now I get why you're flying solo."

My face probably showed some regret.

"My bad."

Misha shrugged and handed me a finished document.

"Alright, registration's done. Congrats, Mr. Flon Algon, you're officially an adventurer."

She tossed me an adventure manual.

"Every newbie gets one. Check it out; it'll help in the dungeons and up your survival chances."

"If you need dungeon info, hit up the union HQ library. But fair warning, it ain't free."

"And, since you ditched the consultant, I guess guild-recommended gear ain't your your thing either," said Misha with a sly smile.

 I rolled my eyes and reluctantly bowed.

"Please, Misha ."

"Then I wish you the best of luck!"

"So, I take my leave."

With the critical identity matter sorted, I flipped through the adventurer's handbook as I strolled.

The content provided basic knowledge about the dungeon and details that needed attention, like "abnormal situations," "monster progress," "monster multiplication," "monster feast," "enhanced species," "subspecies," and other informative tidbits.

For instance, there was an intro to monsters on each floor. Though not exhaustive, it was essential to commit to memory.

Flipping to the end, I found zilch about the middle, lower, or deep layers.

Fidgeting with the manual, I pondered, "Is the information controlled? Makes sense. Lower levels are already a challenge, and even middle-level monsters need upper-level adventurers. If this info goes public, regular folks might lose hope in this world."

And, about being an adventurer, it's like a pyramid scheme.

Lv.1 adventurers are the "newbies," filling up half the labyrinth city. They can team up but only handle floors 8-12. Anything beyond the 13th floor is a no go for them.

Do something big, hit Lv.2, and you become an "Advanced Adventurer."

Jumping to Lv.2 means a huge power-up. No way a Lv.1 could match up.

Lv.2 is also the "third-level adventurer," and from Lv.3, Lv.4, to Lv.5, it's all "first-level adventurer" territory.

"Phew, finally starting out. Now, we need a weapon. Magic should cover us for the first few floors, so armor shopping can wait."

Till now, I've barely scraped together 2,000 valis.

Gritting my teeth, I'm barely managing to handle the cost of a crappy dagger.