"So, Ezekiel, what affinity do you have?" the receptionist asked. "I might be able to pair you up with a group, depending on the spells you know."
The question immediately put him on guard. He had no intention of revealing his affinities here. After what had happened at Elementium, he was very careful not to let this information slip. He didn't want to create the same kind of situation here as he had in school. He crossed his arms and looked away for a moment before he finally replied.
"Do I have to say?" he asked. "I mean, is it necessary to give out this information for me to register?"
The woman scanned his face. Her expression changed for a moment but then returned to the friendly one she had before. "No, there is no such rule. You are not going to be promoted or ranked depending on your Mage level after all. There are plenty of Adventurers that don't have a core. There is only one way to advance as an adventurer, and that is by completing missions.”
"As soon as you are registered, you will be able to accept any copper difficulty missions. After you have done a sufficient amount, the guild will contact you. At that point, you will be allowed to take the rank-up exam. Don't worry about all that for now, though. The first step is to get you registered." The woman went through her stack of papers, looking for something.
This was turning out to be exactly as he had hoped it would. He already had one eye on the notice board with pending contracts. The next moment, the receptionist emerged from her stack of paper with a form and a pen in her hand. "I imagine you know how to read and write?"
Zeke merely nodded as he took the pen and paper. He had been taught by his father and always considered it to be normal to know how to read and write. But ever since joining the Elementium, he had been surprised at how many commoners had never learned to do it.
When he had asked about it, the students he had approached looked at him with disdain. Still, one of them had answered, even if only to get rid of him. They must have assumed he had come over to brag. They told him that it wasn’t normal for commoners to know about such matters. Where had his father learned how to do it then?
The receptionist was giving him a pitting look by now, and he was sure that she thought he had lied about being able to read. He hurriedly started to read the first question. Before too long, he had scribbled his name and place of birth on the paper. The receptionist went back to her duties upon seeing him actually write something down.
After a few minutes, he had filled out everything. The form only demanded basic information, such as his name, place of birth, and current address. The only question Zeke struggled with was the combat role.
He had no idea what a combat role was. Did he have something like that? Upon asking the receptionist, he learned that he could just write long-range or close-range for now. The woman accepted the form but raised a brow when she saw his choice. Zeke also thought it strange for a Mage to fight in melee range. However, he hadn't mastered any spells yet, leaving him without a choice.
The woman seemed like she was going to ask about it. However, after a moment of thought, she decided to let it be. She must have realized from his earlier behavior that his situation was complicated. With a professional smile on her face, she beckoned Zeke over to a more private area.
"Now that we are all set, there are only two more things you need to do. I am going to explain how the guild works in a minute. First, though, there is the matter of payment."
Zeke immediately paled upon hearing those words. Didn't he come here because he had no money? Why would they want money from him just so that he could start working? This didn't make any sense!
"The registration cost is one silver for a new adventurer. This is the price of entering you into the system and creating a copper-ranked token. The guild doesn't make any profit from this." After looking at Zeke's grimacing face, she smiled. "Luckily for you, students of the Elementium are exempt from paying that fee. You can instead show us your token, and we will waive the fee for registration completely!"
Zeke glared at the woman in annoyance. He would bet money on the fact that she had tricked him on purpose — if he had any money to bet. The woman just winked at him playfully and smiled.
Zeke sighed and brought out his token. After a quick scan by a device similar to the one the gate guards used, the payment was taken care of. Zeke continued to stare at the device the woman put back beneath the desk. As she followed his eyes, she smiled and explained.
"That's a Mana Wave Scanner or 'MWS' for short," the woman explained. "There are not as common in the empire, but if you ever visit Tradespire, you are going to see them everywhere."
Zeke didn't know much about the other countries, but his textbooks made them out to be backward places full of savages. But if they had such technology, then they couldn't be that bad. Not for the first time did he find reality vastly different than it was described.
He was snapped back to the present when the woman continued her explanation. "Good! Now all that is left is an explanation of the rules of the Adventurer’s Guild. I am going to give you the shortest version. Those will be valid until you reach the silver rank. By then, the Guild will have higher expectations of you.
"For now, you only need to know a couple of things. First, if you go out on a hunt. You need to bring back some sort of proof for your kills. There is a guideline on which part to bring for which monster. That's on the wall over there," she said, pointing to a long list next to the notice board.
"The second thing is that you should never lie in your reports. Just tell us everything the way you have experienced it and answer any question that might come up, and you are golden. Understood?"
Zeke nodded. This was all pretty straightforward.
"Ok, and for the last rule. Do not attack other adventurers — for any reason."
Zeke grimaced. He was reminded of the time he had heard the same thing at Elementium. It had not taken him long to realize that the rules didn't apply to the noble students. The woman saw his doubtful eyes. Her face turned extremely serious as she looked directly into his eyes.
"I don't know what you are thinking, but I'm dead serious about this. Do not break this rule! It doesn't matter if your name is Feuerkranz or Wellenrufer or whatever. Even the emperor of Arkanheim would think twice before making an enemy of the guild. You do not kill adventurers without a damn good reason. Have I made myself understood?"
Contrary to her thoughts, Zeke started to smile after listening to the tirade. He liked the idea of being part of an organization that was so fiercely protective of its own.
"Yes, ma’am! Perfectly clear!" He said with a lot more enthusiasm in his voice.
The woman was surprised by this entire exchange and just stared at him for a moment.
"Well, whatever, as long as you understand," she finally said. "The mission board is over there! Come find me when you have picked something out."
Zeke could hardly restrain his glee as he skipped over to the board. He scanned the lowest-hanging contracts. They were color-coded, with copper being the easiest and deep black being the hardest. Zeke did not yet know what ranks there were at the upper end.
Out of curiosity, he looked up to the top of the board to find out what kind of mission deserved a black border.
Mission: Goliathar the Titan.
Attention all adventurers!
The guild has received a request from the local authorities to take on a dangerous and formidable foe - the titan Goliathar. This legendary creature has awakened from its slumber and is causing chaos and destruction throughout the land.
We are seeking a team of skilled and courageous adventurers to take on this mission and eliminate Goliathar once and for all. This is not a task for the inexperienced or the weak-hearted.
Only those with advanced combat skills and experience need apply. The mission will require an Arch Mage level of strength or equivalent. You will be facing a black-level threat and will need to work together as a team to succeed.
The mission rewards will be significant. It will include a generous bounty, rare treasures, and recognition from authorities and the guild. But the risks are equally high. Failure will mean death on this mission.
If you have what it takes to take on Goliathar, sign up at the guild reception desk. We are gathering at our headquarters in Tradespire. Should there not be enough applicants by the end of the fourth month, this mission will be automatically considered a failure.
Signed,
Erena Ackermann
Arch-Mage level strength or equivalent to be even considered? Zeke silently lowered his gaze to the copper-level mission again. It wouldn't do him any good to start dreaming about something so far out of his reach. He noticed that most of the contracts either had a fixed time or needed a group. He had neither of these two things, so he kept searching.
Finally, Zeke found a contract that seemed perfect for him.
Mission: Goblin Hunt.
Objective: The Adventures Guild seeks copper-ranked adventurers to eliminate goblin tribes that have been attacking nearby villages. The guild will pay 3 copper coins per goblin, and there is no time limit or limit on the number of repetitions.
Task: Track and kill goblins that terrorize the area west of the capital city.
Payment: 3 copper coins per goblin.
Requirements: Copper-ranked adventurer.
Benefits: Counts towards advancement for copper ranks.
Zeke was elated by this find. He had not expected the pay to be this good. Three copper coins were what he made after hours working at a shop. Now, he could earn the same amount of money with the simple swing of a sword.
He looked over to the board labeled "Table of Trophies". There, he searched for goblin on the list. It was one of the first monsters recorded. The proof of killing was the left ear. Zeke already felt like an old hand as he grabbed the contract and brought it over to the receptionist.
The woman looked at what he had brought and nodded after a moment.
"Ok, that seems like a decent pick. Goblins are not that dangerous and as a student at Elementium, you should be able to handle them pretty easily. A word of warning, though. They are not as stupid as they look. Please make sure that you do not get overconfident, Ezekiel. We have lost many promising young adventures to carelessness in the past. I don't want you to join that list, okay?"
"Don't worry... miss receptionist. I will be careful." Zeke promised. His head, however, was already filled with dancing coins and the delicacies he was going to buy.
"My name is Lina," she said, pointing at her name tag with a smile.
"Thank you for your care, Miss Lina. I will be back tomorrow after the mission."
With those words, Zeke left the Adventurers Guild. Tomorrow after school he would go out on his very first mission instead of touring the shops. He had finally found a way out of the terrible situation he was in. With light steps, he made his way home.
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