As I took the cards and slips from the guild receptionist and passed them around, the chatter in the guild that had halted during my encounter with Bacchus gradually picked up again.

"So, what now?"

I asked curiously, staring at the blank piece of paper and pure white card in front of me.

"For now, you just have to put that card on top of that paper and place your thumb in the center of the card for a few seconds."

Elena, Amber, and I all followed these instructions, only to be greeted by a sharp prick that caused Elena to yelp at the unexpected pain. Of course, feeling bad, I immediately put my hand on her head which brought on some swears directed at me in jealousy from behind.

As I lifted my finger post-prick, I saw a small droplet of blood in the center of the card seep into it and spread through the card and the paper beneath it.

As it diffused, it completely disappeared from sight.

"Ok, please state your names, nations of birth, and any stats or skills you wish to report. Ah, not reporting your nation of birth is fine if you prefer not to disclose it, it just helps us know where to report you if you go down in combat with a monster or in a dungeon."

I blinked for a few seconds, uncertain of whether what I'd just heard in such a cheerful voice had really come out of her mouth.

"Uh... Jonathan Moriarty, don't disclose, don't disclose."

"Elena, Belvis Kingdom, don't disclose."

"Amber Grace, don't disclose, don't disclose."

As we said the words, red letters spelled out the information on the cards. As for the paper underneath, it took on an odd pattern that was unique for each of us.

"Oh, wondering about the pages? They'll just be entered in the guild's storehouse. They store the unique magic signature of each person for various reasons, one of which is to reference for identity confirmation whenever you accept quests. Once a day passes, each guild branch will be getting a copy of this through [copy magic]. Well, with this you should be fine to go for now."

Hm, so like a fingerprint for magic to make sure that we are who we say we are?

"In any case, I was wondering if there were any quests we could take to subjugate monsters? We're planning on heading out sometime soon to level up outside the city"

The receptionist shook her head in response.

"I'm sorry, but right now you're at the lowest adventurer rank, rank F. Until you get to rank D at least, you won't be allowed to hunt any monsters. For now, you'd be focusing on doing some chore-type quests. Helping out the people of the city, that sort of thing."

I sighed. Right after having reaffirmed my desire to get stronger, I'd run into another roadblock.

"How long do you think it'd take to get to rank D?"

Amber asked, trying to find the bright side of things.

"Hmm... I'd estimate about a month?"

I scratched the back of my head.

"Well, is there some way to... expedite the process or something?"

The receptionist frowned.

"Well, normally..."

"Normally what?"

I said, feeling like I'd found something to grab onto.

"Normally, it wouldn't be possible. But here... well, if you think you're up to it the Vice Guild Master has been running a 'limited time event' here and offering to bump any adventurer up to D rank if they manage to accomplish what he has in mind."

"And... what exactly is it that he wants done?"

Elena responded to the receptionist this time, but she never ended up receiving an answer from her herself. The reason for this was simple: a sudden voice that seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere drifted out.

"Send them up, Rose..."

It was a quiet yet audible voice, and upon hearing it the receptionist, Rose, swiftly nodded her head.

"Understood, Vice Guild Master."

She then turned to the rest of us.

"Follow me."

The receptionist led us up an oddly shaped staircase that went straight before spiraling upward, and then onto a pulley-based elevator.

Of course, the entire concept was simultaneously entertaining and extremely confusing, but that's not where the interesting things came to an end.

After getting off of the elevator, what faced us was a long, luxurious hallway that didn't match the other parts of the guild building. Candles burned in golden sockets on the walls, an expensive red carpet was draped between the elevator and the other side of the hallway, and several paintings of a young boy of about 8 years of age sat on both walls.

Though the paintings were certainly odd, what drew attention the most were the large double doors on the far side of the hall. Each of them was about 15 feet tall and plated with shining precious metal and gems.

However, where the receptionist led us was the second largest doors there. 

They were around 10 feet tall, and were plated in what looked like steel.

Inscribed on each of the was an image of a jester, like the joker card in a deck of cards. Both jokers on the double doors were a mix of yellow, red, and blue, but oddly enough one was upside down while the other was right side up.

I didn't have much time to think about it, as Rose reached out and opened the doors to show us an unexpectedly predictable sight.

"Welcome, welcome. I hear you're interested in my challenge?"

A man in a jester costume identical to the ones on the door sat on a chair before us, the bells on the tips of his shoes jingling as he fixed his crossed legs.