As we continued on the path to Platinum Helm, I let out an enormous sigh. Despite recently receiving the erotic card from Leena, I had to watch Justine destroy it in front of me. However, while it was better than receiving Justine's 'Divine Punishment', I still found it to be disappointing.

I turned to Ronan as we passed through the clan district. "Do you think Leena would give us another card if we asked nicely?" I said jokingly.

Justine pouted. "Who needs that Elven Cow when you already have me!" Justine said.

"Do you hear that, Ronan? I think Justine's jealous!" I teased.

Justine sighed as we continued walking. "Listen here, Owen! It's already a known fact that Gods & Demi-Gods have multiple women, but I don't trust Leena yet. We should look into gathering more information about her while we are here. I think you're better off with someone like Sophia, who we can trust," Justine said.

"Wait. Does this mean that...harems are allowed?!" I said intrigued.

"Relax. They may allow you to have a harem, but it caps out at 4. Any more than that and you'll be looked down upon in Quelyn," Justine stated.

"Don't worry, Justine! You, Ronan, and 'The Golden Anomaly' take priority over everything else!" I said proudly.

"Jeez. What are we going to do with you?" Justine joked.

"Indeed," Ronan agreed.

"Why do you guys have to say stuff like that?" I joked.

------------

Eventually, we arrived at Platinum Helm Guild. It left us stunned, as we saw Platinum Helm's emblem glistening in the sunlight. Naturally, we all thought the same thing.

"This place is huge," Ronan said.

"No kidding! It looks like it's around 4 stories tall! Looks like a mega mansion!" I said.

"Well, they are rich. I guess we know how they fit all the guilds into one location. By building a mega mansion to house them all," Justine said.

"According to the signs, the fighting arena is in the west wing of the guild. There also seems to be an underground area," Ronan said.

"We gain nothing by staring at the building! Let's find the Guild Master!" I said confidently.

As Ronan and Justine closely followed behind me, I opened up the double doors of the Guild. The interior, as you would expect, looked as massive as the exterior. Platinum Helm looked to be a open-area hub of some sort, as it seemed to have everything that an adventurer would need. They even had a few shops that were located inside of the guild which ranged from a General Goods store all the way to a Blacksmith's shop.

It reminded me of those hubs in RPGs, which allowed you to find everything that you needed before you took on your next quest. We didn't have any quest markers to guide us to our destination. However, the Guild's Front Desk had a group of 4 receptionists that were more than happy to help us. It surprised me to see that most of them were Demi-Human, as they had a Human, Minotaur, Elf, and Lamia at the front desk. Curiously, the Minotaur and Lamia looked more human than monster. I asked Justine about the trend as we waited in the line.

"I've been meaning to ask this for a while now, but do most Monster Girls look this human, Justine?" I asked.

"Depends on the bloodline. Most of the Demi-Humans that you meet in civilized areas will look like this. Once you get into the more rural parts of Adrios, you may find that they look more monster than human. For example, you may see a Demi-human spider that has Spider Legs and a human torso. But in the rural parts of Adrios, you may only find a Giant Spider. Demi-Human monsters are more intelligent than their monster counterparts, but they're also weaker. That's why they are usually more peaceful. It also helps that they look similar to a human," Justine said.

"I guess that makes sense. Judging by the plethora of Demi-humans, I'm guessing they aren't seen in a negative light?" I said.

"They used to be second-class citizens until the Demons began their invasion. Since the Demi-humans helped to fight back against evil, the countries in Adrios were more lenient towards them. There's also the fact that men seem to like Demi-human women...a lot. This increases the number of Demi-human children, if you catch my drift," Justine said.

Ronan's OLED screen showed an alert icon. "We should be able to talk to the Minotaur lady soon. Her line seems to be the shortest," Ronan said.

"That's surprising. I mean, the other three receptionists are more feminine but the Minotaur has the biggest oppai. If she's a K cup, she would have the biggest breas-," I stated.

Justine punched me in the shoulder before I could finish.

"Just because you think something doesn't mean you should say it. You Lewd Merchant!" Justine said annoyed.

"Ronan agrees," Ronan said.

As I tried to laugh off the situation, the Minotaur woman called out to us.

"Hey! Are you guys new? My name is Detia! I'm ready to serve you!" Detia said smiling.

--------------

We told Detia who we were, along with why we were at Platinum Helm Guild. We learned that Leena's claims about Sophia were correct, as Sophia told the Guild about our heroics a few days earlier. Since the Guild Master was busy, Detia took us to the 'Platinum Pedestal', which was in the middle of the Guild.

The guild had three types of magic-infused Pedestals that they used: Platinum, Adamantite, and Quatinum. It's a tradition at Platinum Helm for new members/adventurers to use the Pedestal before they join the guild. But in reality, we were being peer-pressured by the guild to take part in this tradition. 

As we walked towards the Pedestal, I continued to ask Detia a few questions.

"I'm not sure I understand. What does the Pedestal measure?" I asked.

"It measures a variety of things. Since it's the Platinum Pedestal, it'll measure your magical aptitude, combat aptitude, Magic strength, and 'Potential'. Once the system has processed your results, the Pedestal will project the assessment on the wall in front of it. Don't worry, though! It's a painless process!" Detia said.

As we continued to walk with Detia, I whispered into Justine's ear.

"I just realized something. What happens if we both touch the Pedestal? Will it reveal that we aren't human?" I whispered.

"I don't think it's that comprehensive. However, I'm worried about the other things," Justine whispered.

"What do you mean?" I whispered.

"Looks like we're here! Luckily, we have two Pedestals installed for your convenience! Please place your hand when ready!" Detia said happily.

As Detia motioned us to the metallic Pedestal, Justine and I shrugged. What's the worst that could happen?

Justine wanted to go after me, as she wanted to see what my assessment was. I could tell by looking at her face she was loving every second of this. After all, this leaned more towards being a hero than a merchant.

But as I placed my hand on the Pedestal, the ground, walls, and ceiling rumbled. In an instant, yellow beams of light were shooting out of the Pedestal, cracking it piece by piece. While it didn't seem like it would explode, it was unstable. Noticing the strange damage, I leaped backward, as Justine and Ronan quickly joined me. Suddenly, a mysterious woman jumped from above, as she calmly placed both her hands on the Pedestal. Strangely, she could stabilize it in a matter of seconds, as she looked at me and smiled. I could tell that this woman was dangerous, but whether she was an ally or not was still unknown.

But on the wall facing the Pedestal was a simple message which led everyone to stare at me with amazement.

It read: