The Adventurer's Guild set up 'branches' in all kinds of cities and towns. They were hubs for adventurers visiting that area to flock to and do adventurer business. Recently, it had even expanded its services to include banking and storage. Adventurers could store items and money with the guild for safekeeping and withdraw from their accounts at any branch. 

Hugh had a quaint branch near the centre of the city. Branches usually followed the architectural style of its host city, which was what happened here. It was mainly constructed with stone and timbre and had an array of oil lamps hanging on the sides. An emblem and sign was adorned on the front of the building, reading 'ADVENTURER'S GUILD'. The emblem was a blue shield serving as a backdrop to a red sword and blue staff crossing over each other.

As Alice and Henry approached the building, Alice got more looks sent her way. This had been happening ever since she set foot into the town, though it didn't bother her much. She was aware of how much attention her face received. So far, nobody had acted on it, fortunately. 

That remained the case until now.

A tall, burly man strode up to them, a small swagger in his step. He wore a cuirass and had a pair of longswords strapped to his waist. His face was set in a mix between a sneer and a leer as he eyed the pair with narrowed eyes.

"Henry. Where've yer been recently?" 

Henry frowned at the man's disrespectful tone and subconsciously stepped forward to block his view of Alice. "Geparl. It's none of your business. Can you get out of our way?" Unlike how he spoke with her, his voice was now tinged with hardness.

"I invited yer to our subjugation quest last week but you rejected me. I thought yer were busy doin' a different quest but you were just goin' to the Paradise Forest every day! What's the meaning of this?!" Geparl spat, spittles of saliva flying from his mouth.

"I don't know why that matters to you. Whether I accept your invitation or not shouldn't concern you."

"Look here, pretty boy. I dunno why yer've come to Hugh but this disrespect is too much! An outsider like you needs to follow the rules." Veins popped up from the man's neck. The tension in the air was reaching a breaking point very quickly. By now, the whole street was paying attention to the confrontation with whispers and hushed voices sounding in Alice's ears. Even though they tried to suppress their voices, the wind told her everything.

"Henry, let's go," she murmured, grabbing his wrist and nonchalantly walking past the armed man. Although somewhat surprised, Henry schooled his expression and followed her lead. They didn't anticipate the Geparl's action.

"Where do you think yer goin', huh? Disrespecting me like this and thinkin' you can walk away like it's nothin'? You ain't goin' anywhere with him, lil miss." He reached out his hand to grab her shoulder, firmly placing his palm down. 

As soon as his fingertips touched her bare shoulder, the air changed. The man suddenly felt like he couldn't breathe or move; he could only watch in disbelief as she gently removed his hand from her body. His face was stuck in a mix of confusion and terror. As a warrior, the sensation of powerlessness was extremely unpleasant. It was similar to the feeling that Alice had when she used the mana scanners, except far worse. 

"Please don't touch me."

Alice let him off with just that, striding off to the branch with Henry, who side-eyed Geparl's still form. Around them, the crowd was still confused about what happened. After the pair vanished through the entrance of the Guild, some of the bystanders walked up to him.

Within the branch, Alice scoured the interior of the Guild branch with curious eyes. The floor and walls were made of scuffed planks of wood, fitting nicely with the rustic furniture. Voices of conversation permeated the lobby as duos, trios and groups of men and women talked at tables over drinks. There was a bar to the side that served beverages ranging from alcohol to fruit juice. She noted the uneven lighting; some of the lamps had either been turned off or weren't working.

Although it was dishevelled, Alice liked the atmosphere. The receptionists seemed quite lively and although the adventurers in the room looked rough at first glance, she didn't feel the same aversion as she did with the man who stopped them on their way here. 

'I hope people like him are a rarity. He was... unpleasant.'

There was a free receptionist at the desk so they walked up to the desk.

"Welcome to the Hugh Adventurer's Guild Branch, what can I do for you?" A bespectacled man in a black and white uniform greeted them.

"Hello, I'd like to sign up as an adventurer."

"I'm willing to recommend her." Henry supplied from the side.

"Oh, you're recommending her, Henry? Alright. Let me take a look at your ID." High-ranking adventurers give recommendations for other potential adventurers. With this, Alice would forgo the exam and be directly admitted as a member of the Guild.

After taking a look at Henry's Guild ID and processing some documents, the receptionist took a look at Alice's attire. It was a beautiful flowery dress that radiated charm and elegance. In other words, it was wholly unsuited towards combat. Alice didn't have much trouble with it because the dress that Jeanne made had a special defensive shield that could block attacks. Combined with the sheathed sword in her hands, she looked like a noble messing about to the outside observer.

"Ahem, are you sure about this?.. Being an adventurer means that you are willingly placing yourself in mortal danger. The Guild does everything in its power to ensure you survive but it won't be responsible for your death." Although he tried to politely dissuade her, Alice wouldn't relent.

"I'm very sure about this," she stated.

Seeing that his efforts were useless, the receptionist furrowed his eyebrows. He took a glance at Henry and sighed inwardly. Henry was a B-Class Adventurer with a good reputation and was known for his integrity. Since he had endorsed this girl, there was reason to believe in her ability. He handed over a pen and paper.

"Please write down your details and sign here. Henry, sign down here." She took the pen and wrote fluently, knowing how to read and write several different languages within her inherited memories. The paper asked for her name, age, role and an optional entry for her nationality. 

Name: Alice Gray
Age: 18
Role: Elemental Mage
Nationality: --

The receptionist took back the paper and processed some other documents "This is your Guild ID. Henry, who recommended you, is obligated to teach you about the Guild's operations, such as how to use your Guild ID, how the ranking system works and so on. Do you understand?" Alice nodded in response.

With a smile, the receptionist hummed. "Welcome to the Guild."

"Thank you."

The process of becoming an adventurer was greatly simplified due to Henry's intervention. The Adventurer's Guild needed to maintain a good reputation with clients so they set a high standard for their adventurers. Any prospective adventurers who wanted to join had to go through a series of tests and exams in order to determine if they had the minimum abilities.

Henry led Alice through the bustling lobby of the Guild branch, weaving through groups of adventurers exchanging stories, planning quests, and preparing for their next adventures. As they made their way to a quieter corner of the Guild, Henry began to explain the basics of how the Guild operated, from accepting quests and completing missions to the intricacies of the ranking system and the benefits it offered. Alice listened intently, absorbing every piece of information like a sponge.

"The ranking system goes from G-Class to A-Class, with A-Class being the highest. This excludes S-Class Adventurers, who aren't really part of the system and operate on an entirely different level. Each rank gets access to quests corresponding to their strength; C-Class Adventurers can do up to C-Class quests, B-Class do up to B-Class quests, and so on. The higher the quest rank, the greater the rewards and danger.

"Each rank bracket has its own quest board. You see over there?" He pointed at the far corner of the room where crowds of adventurers were poring over several pieces of paper pinned to different boards. "You take a quest from there and submit it to a receptionist who will record your acceptance and give you the different details of the quest. Since you were recommended by me, you start off as G-Class, so lets go check the G-Class quest board."

G-Class quests were low pay, low danger and low effort, which was about to be expected.

"These quests are supposed to ease you into being an adventurer. You're expected to rank up to F-Class quite quickly, though F-Class quests aren't actually much different from these."

"How do I rank up?" Alice asked.

"There are several large branches across the continent that conduct their own promotion exams periodically, you're expected to travel to one of these branches and sign up for it. Since you were able to kill that Grey Crested Giant Eagle, you're D-Class at minimum."

"Hm... and you're B-Class?"

"Yeah, you could say I'm quite strong." He laughed, half boasting and half joking.

Next to a few other G-Class Adventurers, Alice stood out starkly for her choice of attire. Although the stares didn't harm anyone, she didn't particularly enjoy it. She would need to buy clothes and gear in order to blend in more. The only problem was that she had no money; Alice had no intention of falling into further debt. She would have to complete many G-Class quests in order to save up money to pay back Henry and buy clothes, or travel to the nearest promotion exam that was taking place.

'Too many problems, too many things to think about... Staying back in the forest was much simpler. But... being around other people was certainly a fresh change.'

She looked around. Living in relative solitude for just a few weeks was enough to make her yearn this much for social interaction. Living as a hermit was hard. Thinking hard, Alice decided to explore her options a bit more to earn money.

"Are there any other ways I can get money fast?"

"I suppose you could go for bounties. The Guild often puts up bounties for different monsters in the local area which are different from extermination requests. They put it upon themselves to clear them if clients haven't already requested their extermination. I know you're quite strong but I don't recommend it; hunting monsters requires skills like tracking and a degree of patience."

She rubbed her sword handle with her thumb, knowing she was somewhat backed into the corner. There was still the matter of learning aura and swordsmanship. A hint of regret appeared for her impulsive decision to buy a sword, adding to her money problems. However, that disappeared not long after; she followed the wind above all else. If she, an Immortal, didn't have the freedom to make her choices, who else would? 

They walked to the bounty board which held a range of monsters, their head being offered for a variety of prices. Unlike the quest sheets, these bounty sheets held a lot more information since submitting it to the Guild wasn't required. All you had to do was bring back proof of extermination, such as a pelt or another part of the target's body and the Guild would reward you for the bounty. She studied each bounty extensively before sighing and turning back to Henry.

"Don't worry about me. Thank you for helping me today. I think I'll go back to the forest for now. Tomorrow, I'll be coming back."

"A-ah, no problem. Glad I could be of assistance." Alice left him scratching his cheek bashfully. She didn't notice his red cheeks as she exited the branch.

Navigating through Hugh was not hard since the town made good use of signs. If those failed, she asked one of the locals for directions, who were very cordial and friendly. She left through the town entrance they came through, waving goodbye to the same guards who were still on duty.

By now, it was well into the afternoon. The sun was going lower and lower as she trekked on the beaten path back to Paradise Forest. She would sometimes walk past carriages who were on their way to Hugh, or passing adventurers and travellers who looked weary. Enjoying each and every passing conversation, her mood improved by the time the canopy of the forest covered the sky above. 

Sometimes she skipped, sometimes she ran, sometimes she climbed up trees. The occasional breeze that brushed her face made her laugh and smile. It took merely a few hours for her to reach the lake where she had been staying recently. She took off her boots and tenderly placed her feet in the water, humming as the cold sensation reached up to her ankle. The placid water surface was disturbed as waves rippled outwards.

Alice was filled with an unprecedented sense of calm.

Her meeting with Jeanne, madly reading books and practising magic, meeting Henry and meeting the many people of Hugh... Rarely did she have a moment of peace during that time. Her lifetime spanned only a few weeks and perhaps seventy percent of that had been spent in hustle and bustle.

She put down the sword next to her and closed her eyes, listening.

'Yes... This is what I needed.'

Knowledge of aura and swordsmanship was sparse in Alice's collection of books. It made it difficult to practise with the sword in any meaningful manner. Her only advantage was her talent. She quickly picked up the fundamentals of using the sword comfortably.

There were a series of tasks laid out in her mind, ordered in priority.

First, she needed to hunt down a bounty to make money.

Second, she needed to find a more permanent home for herself in the forest.

Third, she needed to attend a promotion exam.

Fourth, she needed to find a teacher or some other way of learning swordsmanship more efficiently.

Fifth, she needed to continue practising magic and replicate the effects of her Concept Manipulation with spells.

Alice had remembered the details of the bounty board from yesterday. As she sat next to the lake with a fishing rod in hand, she looked through the bounty sheets that had been catalogued in her mind. There were nearly a dozen potential targets she could go for, with the rewards ranging from one major to fifty majors. While she was touring Hugh yesterday, Alice had gotten the prices of different items from Henry. If she wanted to buy clothes for herself, she needed around three majors.

That meant Alice had to make at least twenty majors in her bounty hunt to pay back Henry and have enough left over to buy more common-looking clothing. This bounty also had to be within Paradise Forest. These requirements filtered down her list to around four different targets she could go after.

Henry's words about the different skills she'd need to hunt down a beast resounded in her ears. Alice knew that her biggest strength was Concept Manipulation. She had thought about it more and realised that with Wind Probe, a lot of trouble could be avoided. After all, she didn't need to use traditional tracking methods to find her bounty; all she needed to do was go to the last seen location and use Wind Probe. Then she would simply bombard her target with Wind Blades from afar. Henry's advice was only applicable to normal adventurers, not an Immortal like herself.

With that in mind, she picked her target: a Spiked Direwolf that stalked around the western areas of Paradise Forest. It had injured and killed a few F-Class Adventurers a week back who were caught by surprise. After all, Spiked Direwolves were classed as D-Class difficulty and had no business appearing this far out from the core areas of Paradise Forest.

Henry had previously judged her to be of D-Class strength based on her feat of slaying a Grey Crested Giant Eagle. However, what he didn't know was that Alice had never really been pushed to her limits before; even she didn't know how strong she was. At the very least, she had a high degree of confidence in slaying this creature.

Alice put away any unnecessary items in her spatial necklace, fastened her dummy bag, grabbed her stave and set off.

AzureRing

Made a few more changes to previous chapters. I realised that Alice never got any form of footwear. She was walking around barefoot this whole time I guess. Fixed that.