The quest board stands as a testament to both the lucrative as well as dangerous nature of an adventurer. Papers litter it's surface, each one detailing a particular threat that pays a reward if cleared. As Nedoma looked over them, he noticed there appeared to be two distinct kinds of quests posted on the board. Quests such as hunting down a notable monster, or exploring a certain location or confirming certain rumors seemed to be marked with a hollow circle stamp. The other kind of quest, marked with circular arrows, seemed to just point out a type of monster and a reward for each proof of a kill.
Under his rank, Nedoma spotted one for goblins, stamped with the circular arrows in the corner. It listed a reward of five copper per proof of kill by right ear. A single meal at the inn...that's all a goblin is worth huh? A quest for killing slimes rewarded one silver each, but held the condition of returning a quantity of slime as proof. Well, it looks like if there's a chance that the body provides some kind of material then it's a good idea just to bring all of it. This was the general conclusion Nedoma came to as he noticed the majority of quests seemed to offer far more than goblins as a result of material harvesting.
Well, no use overthinking which one I want to do, it probably won't be up to me anyway. Nedoma walked to the other side of the room where the party board stood. Two nearly identical looking blank cards sat in the center, together acting as a wall between the two sides of the board. Twenty circles, each one holding the apparent symbol of a class were neatly set in rows of five in the center. On the left, were adventurer ranks. And to the right, a small box seemingly intended for any additional details or comments. At the top of each card, the text “I am a...” and “Looking for a...” signifies the only difference between the two of them. Nedoma tried to take the former, when a voice called out from across the room.
“Excuse me sir! If you're looking to fill out a card, I can help you right here!” Nedoma searched for the origin- a man waving him over from behind the receptionist counter. “I don't believe we've met before. My name is Ius, what's yours?”
“I'm Nedoma.”
“Well Nedoma, are you looking to create a party or join one?”
“Umm.... probably join?” Nedoma looked at him, unsure.
“Most people prefer to join a party, but just remember that there always needs to be someone who takes the initiative and starts one on their own.” He pulled out a blank card. “Could you show me your necklace please?” Nedoma reached for the necklace slightly buried under his gear and pulled it out. The man looked lost in thought for a moment, before marking one of the circles on the page. Nedoma had figured that was the Demon Knight's symbol- a humanoid looking monster with horns. “Any other information you would like me to put down?”
Nedoma thought for a moment. “Is there anything you'd recommend for a brand new adventurer like me?”
“Hmm... maybe the skills that you learned so far?”
“Ah, I haven't really learned any just quite yet.” Nedoma fidgeted as he looked away.
“Well, we can just put, 'brand new adventurer', then.” he said with a smile. He quickly jotted something down in the right column.
“How come adventurers don't fill out the cards themselves?”
“Well, sometimes we get adventurers who aren't able to read, so us handling it helps in those cases. Also, if we're the ones who filled it out, since we're such good employees...” Ius winked. “If someone sees your card and wants to invite you to their party, they can bring it up to us and leave us a message and we'll inform you the next time we catch you.”
“Oh, that makes sens-”
“Buttttt...” Ius interrupted with a grin. “The real reason is, we used to get a lot of complaints about adventurers marking themselves down as a class capable of healing magic, such as a cleric... and then parties would meet them only to find out they were something entirely different.”
“Oh, I see..”
“Alright. With your card filled out, I can go place it on the board and you can check back anytime we're open to find any takers.”
“Ooh actually, one more thing.. I was wondering, do you know by any chance what the name of the current guild master of the Demon Knight guild is?”
Ius stared at Nedoma, slightly puzzled. “Oooooh.” He said with a tune of understanding. “I get it. Forgot your guild master's name and now worried about asking for it again. Let me go check some of our papers in the back.”
Nedoma opened his mouth to clear up the misunderstanding, but the receptionist had already stood up and began to head back. After a while, the receptionist returned.
“Looks like the name we have listed is a 'Zin Philus'. That sound familiar?”
Nedoma slowly nodded his head. “Yeah..it does.”
“Excellent, glad I could help.” He took Nedoma's card and walked with him toward the party board, where he attached it on the right side. “You can probably come check back every day or two, people are always losing and looking for new members and starting up new parties.”
Nedoma smiled nervously from the ominous feeling those last words gave off. “Thanks for your help.”
“Any time. Stay safe!”
As Nedoma headed back to his guild hall, he thought about the missing guild master. The name on the letter was Zin, and the name they gave me was Zin Philus, so it's likely they're the same person. But still, where are Zin and Pardi? Nedoma released a deep sigh. I might just have to somehow learn the skills on my own based on the instructions in the beginner book. Nedoma rubbed the back of his head. Jeez, why does everything have to be so difficult?
