Chapter 9: First Town

Ruby and her companions found themselves queued up in a line to get into the City in the early morning. The magically enhanced stone walls standing before them, making it very difficult to see inside. The large gate ahead of them had four different lines. They were in the one for travelers. The other lines are for citizens, merchants, and people from the Hunters guild.

Even though it wasn't as big as "Prosperty City," and is actually small for a city and was more accurate to call it a large town, there was still plenty of traffic, after all this city was placed on a major trade route, and is considered a rest stop between Prosperty and the Capital. because of that, no one in Ruby's group stood out, even when most of them were covered in hooded clokes.

"How many are entering?" The guard at the gate asked.

"Four of us." Saying that Judieth pulled out four small silver coins before handing it over to the guard.

"Before I let you enter, I'll need to see your faces." Referring to Ruby, Yuki, and Morella.

Pausing slightly, all three women lowered their hoods, revealing... Completely normal faces. Nothing about their facial structures changed, only the color of their hair, eyes, and skin. After getting a look at their faces, the girls pulled their hoods up to cover their faces again.

With that, they were allowed into the city without further hassle. Upon entering the city, Ruby couldn't help but look around in excitement, even if it hardly showed on her face. Since this was one of the busier streets, there were many different businesses and stalls competing for peoples attention. There were places selling ceramics, food, alcohol, and many other goods. Different scents coming from all directions mixed together, causing a slight sensory overload for her as well.

There were mostly Humans around but the occasional Dwarf and Elf could be seen in the crowd. This was the first time Ruby ever saw others wearing anything but lab or guard outfits since she was ten, not counting Judieth. Having never been in such a crowded area before was very fascinating for Ruby.

Just like Ruby, Yuki and Morella were also looking around curiously and with the same amount of wonder and excitement. Even with their faces hidden underneath their hoods, anyone could tell these three have never been in a city before.

"Let's find ourselves an inn as soon as possible." Judieth said. "This way."

Leading them from the busy street and towards a less chaotic street, they found themselves surrounded by people dressed for battle. People dressed in robes holding staff or wands, men and women carrying swords and others carrying bows wearing study leather Armor, a few even wore metal.

The street was lined with shops selling potions, weapons, and armor. There were also general stores selling miscellaneous items and food. There were apartments and houses for rent with an Inn every few yards away.

None of the people paid much attention to them as they made their way to and from the City's exit. A few cast a curious glance every once in a while but didn't make any other moves. Making their way down the street, Ruby noticed that the scent in this part of the city was much easier to make out than before. less chaotic and messy so to speak.

Eventually Judieth led them to an Inn called 'Keepers Inn.' Walking inside the ground floor was made into the dining area with the front desk next to the door. Judieth paid for two rooms, and led the girls upstairs to one of them. Once inside the bigger of the two rooms, Judieth locked the door behind them.

"Well then, now that we have our rooms settled what do you guys want to do first?" Judieth asked. "Should we register at the Hunters Guild or eat first?"

Pulling down their hood Ruby thought about Judieths question. With her hood now down the changes to Ruby was now clear to see. Ruby skin was now a light brown in color, with brown eyes that took on a golden glint in the right light, and her Silvery white hair was now as dark as a ravens feathers.

"...How about we register at the Guild first? It's still early so we might as well get that over with." Ruby said.

"Yeah that makes sense to me~." Yuki said also pulling down her own hood. No longer pink Yuki took on a lighter complexion, similar to Judieth but without the freckles. Her Heterochromia eyes were now a light blue and the whites of her eyes turned from black to white. Since she could only change the color of her body, Yuki used her hair to hide the budding horns on her forehead.

"I have no problem with it, so let's go." Just like the other two Morella also changed her self to blend in while in the city. With her Dark skin, and Black hair, she looked like Ruby's older sister. She didn't change her eye color. She couldn't change her fin-like ears so like Yuki she just used her hair to hide them.

"Alright then, that's what we're going to do. Let's hurry though, Ruby and Yuki you cosmetic potions will last for another two days after today. So we will need to get some more sooner rather than later."

To change their appearance Ruby and Yuki both drank a magic cosmetic potion. Morella didn't take one because as a water Nymph she was able to change her appearance that naturally without much trouble, but it does take a constant supply of Mana to keep up the transformation so she couldn't do it indefinitely.

"If I knew how to use my own abilities properly I could change my appearance just like Ella." Yuki said lamenting her stunted growth.

"...You will get there eventually. Just keep working at it." Ruby said trying to cheer up Yuki.

"Awww~! Thanks Ruby!" Moved by her surrogate sister's uncharacteristic words, the demon girl jumped onto Ruby giving her a massive hug.

Ruby, who wasn't expecting the sudden affection was surprised to say the least. Though that surprise didn't change her facial expression, a faint blush could be seen on her face. Morella noticed this and couldn't help but giggle at Ruby's embarrassment. The monster hybrid girl didn't appreciate the Water Nymphs laughing at her expense, but she also couldn't bring herself to separate from the girl hugging her.

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Ruby and the others followed Judieth to a building nearby that was labeled 'Hunters Guild.' The building was three stories tall, which made it one of the tallest buildings in the area. It was built from stone and wood with the outside painted a bluish-green.

Pushing open the double doors and walking in the group were greeted to the sight of Hunters going about their business. Some were milling around the Job board to their left, others were in one of the many lines to the front desk up ahead, and the rest were sitting down at some of the tables to their right deep in discussion.

Some of the Hunters noticed the group entered but ignored them, others continued to stare because of their unfamiliar faces. They got into one of the lines and they found themselves at the desk relatively quickly.

"Hello, How can I help you today?" Said the lady sitting behind the front desk with a professional smile.

With a wide smile of her own Judieth answered the woman. "We would like to sign up to become Hunters please."

"Okay, I'll need everyone's name, and age please, then place your hand on this crystal tablet. I'll also need you to pay the registration fee of one copper."

Judieth went first and had no problems registering. During Ruby's turn she hesitated when she went to write her last name. She wondered if she should put a last name or not before deciding that she would. Yuki and Morella who saw Ruby write down a last name and wrote down the same name, but wondered why she chose this name specifically.

After giving their information the woman got up and walked over to a device behind her, shortly after she returned with four Iron plate cards. The cards had their name and age with Five stars printed on them. It also showed how many jobs they completed or failed.

"Thank you very much." The Woman said. "You all seem to have a lot of Mana so you'll all start off as a Five Star rank of the Iron Tier, this is the highest you can go without actually completing any jobs. I wouldn't worry, you should get to the next tier fairly easily. Also here is a rule book of what is and isn't acceptable to do as Hunters." She then proceeded to hand them each a book. "Should I explain rank and tier to you all?"

"Sure, why not."

The lady went on to explain that there are Five tiers with five ranks within each one. Starting from the bottom up the tiers are Iron, Copper, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The ranks go from one to five stars, indicating how far along you are in each tier and your strength. Iron is considered as a place holder tier, mainly because it's main purpose is to show others you just registered and haven't done anything yet. One can't judge your strength properly while you are still in the iron stage.

With that the whole group registered as Hunters. Satisfied they thank the front desk worker before stepping off to the side. Ruby stared at her new identification, to be more specific she was looking at the last name she chose. Crimson.

"Hey! you girls over there, why are you here?" Someone started shouting at Ruby's group suddenly, their words sounding kinda unnatural and scripted.

"..."

"Oh, do you need something?"

While Ruby ignored them, Yuki answered them. When they looked over, they saw a tall, muscular guy standing up from the table, walking over to them. The man towered over all of them and would intimidate any normal person if they saw him. Except their group wasn't normal.

"You guy just registered, right? Do you really think you have what it takes to be here. Ya'll look pretty weak to me." The man said with their weird way of speaking.

"..."

"Uh..."

Ruby continued to ignore them while Yuki was at a loss for words. Judieth and Morella moved over to another spot to observe how the two girls with no real-world social experience would handle the situation.

"Listen, this job isn't a game." The man said, sneering at them. "Now I recommend you just drop out now and go home. We don't need people like you making us Hunters look bad." With that the muscular man released some Mana to intimidate them,.

None of Ruby's senses told her he was any danger to her so all the man accomplished was making her scowl deepen. 'Maybe I should just leave.' She thought. 'No reason to stick around and entertain this man any longer.'

"Now then." He said reaching for Yuki. "Let's-

He didn't finish his sentence.