Chapter 12
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Since Elze, Linze, and I were all first-time visitors to Reflet, the last thing I asked Micah before leaving was if the town had a bank that could issue banknotes that would be accepted by merchants.
"The Adventurers Guild handles that too," she replied. "For some reason they can make sure that funds deposited in one guildhouse can always be taken out in another."
"Impressive."
--
"The Adventurers Guild… no one really knows when it started," Elze said as we walked towards the Guild. "It's been around for a long, long time."
"How long?"
"Thousands of years. Adventurers have started countries, you know?"
Also impressive. "How about where?"
"Probably the Regulus Empire?"
"I have no idea what th-"
"It's the really big Empire to the east of Belfast. This country. Belfast is separated from Regulus by this really long mountain range, so they actually get along quite well." Elze nodded and added "By the way, we're not from Belfast, we grew up along the border of the kingdom to the east, the Refreese Imperium."
"That sounds scary. Belfast is bordered by two empires."
"Nah. Refreese is kinda poor. That's why we never registered at their Guildhouse. There's a lot more jobs here in Belfast."
Soon enough we arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. It was a two-story building with the lower floor partly occupied by a tavern.
"It's… not as big as I expected. Even the Silver Moon Inn is bigger."
Elze shrugged. "What did you expect? All the Guild really does is manage requests and money. An inn needs rooms, but adventurers waiting around in the tavern have to find somewhere else when it's closing time."
/"Yes, rural banks and offices can be surprisingly small, I think. You certainly don't expect anyone to sleep inside the building. That's unsafe,"/ said Monika. /"I do remember something about getting my first bankbook so my parents could teach me the virtue of saving…"/
She shook her head and sighed. Frankly though, I don't think artificial memories were any better or worse for human brains and their tendencies to outright manufacture false memories.
"I was thinking they would manage the training or medical needs of the adventurers. Or they would sell the weapons, armor, and supplies needed for adventuring," I replied instead.
"That is… that is too much a monopoly," Linze offered. "No kingdom would allow that."
"Surprisingly reasonable as well!"
"Everything surprises you, huh?" Elze smirked.
--
I took a deep breath after we entered the Guild. "So this is the smell of adventure," I said. "Like sweat and stale beer. Glorious."
"I have no idea what you mean by that," Elze replied. "This place is nice and clean. It's… warm. None of these people… have cold, desperate eyes."
She nodded to herself. There was strength and self-confidence in an adventurer's gaze, those who chose to remain in this profession were not weak people.
It really was a cheerful place. The adventurers within were all dressed oddly, of course, but none of them were being rowdy or noisy. Near the back were some counter desks really very much like a bank. The receptionist there greeted us with a smile as we approached. She wore a red jacket with puffy shoulders, small round glasses resting on her nose, and a flat cap. Elze dropped behind from walking beside me, forcing me to address the Guild official instead.
"Ah, we'd like to register with the guild, please."
She nodded. "That's no problem. So would that be three for registration, then?"
"All three of us, yes, " Elze replied.
"Is this your first time registering with the guild? If so, I can also provide a basic explanation of what it means to register with us."
I raised my hand. "Quick question-"
"Umm. Yes? Please ask away."
"Do you have a booklet or something that explains the Guild's history? I'm actually very interested in how the Adventurer's Guild was founded and why different nations trust it to operate a franchise using their own citizens."
"Ah! Well that's certainly a pleasure to resolve. I recommend "The Living Guild by Manxor Hume". The Adventurer's Guild doesn't sell anything here on the premises, we simply handle requests, but I'm sure the bookstore has one."
"I see. Thank you. So… about the purpose of the Guild?"
/"Isn't it just Fantasy Craigslist?"/
The receptionist explained that the guild would take the requests of individuals or groups, publicize them, and collect a small fee upon completion. The Guild handled escrow accounts and repetitive jobs as well.
Requests were separated into ranks based on difficulty, to make sure that unprepared adventurers with lower personal ranks can't accept requests aimed at a more capable rank of adventurers. While this protects the Guild from liability, it also protects merchants and request-givers from the guilt of leading unready adventurers to their deaths.
Ranks went from Black to Purple to Green to Blue to Red then Silver then Gold.
However, numbers and skills usually said more about an adventurer team than mere ranks. As long as at least half of the team was of the required rank, they would be allowed to take the quest.
"Excuse me, but requests can only be accomplished by one group at a time, yes? The quest-giver has no interaction with the adventurer? Wouldn't this devolve into a first-come first-serve basis with the best ones taken by whomever wakes up the earliest?"
/"Well that IS a good habit to encourage…"/ Monika murmured.
"It depends upon the type of requests. Certain requests like escort duty or special tasks, you do need to present yourself to the client. General requests like subjugation or delivery only require that you present the proof of having accomplished the task to the nearest Guild branch."
"It sounds simple enough. Why wouldn't the kingdoms then just make their own mercenary review board or something? Reputation is good, but if some other group could present better rates, what's in it for the adventurer?"s
"Well, the Guild and its ranks do have the benefit of a strong reputation for trust and impartiality. Guild ranks do more than just decide what sort of higher-paying requests you can take. Higher ranks also gain better discounts and other benefits from important partnerships the Guild had forged with merchants all over the continent. A Guild card is valid anywhere."
/"Huh. That sounds familiar./" Monika reached offscreen and brought out a red card with a white border, with a purple downwards triangle on its facing superimposed by X|X. /"But manga is more Natsuki's thing really."/
Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter X Hunter. I took a deep breath. The existence of something like a Adventurer's Guild, a profession that was valid across nations, had a lot of unintentional effects for social engineering. "Okay. So what sort of gauntlet or test do we need to go through to get certified?"
The receptionist looked at me oddly. "There… isn't one? Everybody must start at the lowest level. There are minimum requirements though. You need to be able to read requests, you need to be at least twelve years old and reasonably fit, and you must have some combat ability or usable magic."
"Twelve?!" What sort of kooky Pokemon world is this?! And at least parents allowing their children to brave the wilds unsurpervised to catch Pokemon and train them at least don't have to fight directly. "Isn't that a little early?"
"We've been hunting since we were eleven, it's not a big deal," said Linze.
Monika nodded approvingly. /"Really. You could tell these girls were veteran if unlicensed adventurers already just by the fact they are wearing sensible skorts instead of tiny skirts into battle."/
"That… makes no sense."
I looked at Elze and Linze for a few moments. It was a good thing that my eyes were hidden, because my glance skipped over the obvious difference between the twins.
Fine, to be clear about it, shy little Linze had bigger breasts than the more boisterous Elze. She would probably punch my head off if I ever described her as 'boyish'. Not in a tsundere sort of way, but because a dumbass needs to be hit on the head in order to learn not to put his foot in his mouth.
/"Safe!"/ Monika cried out for some reason.
Wait… "Hang on, how many months are there in a year?"
Linze stared at me oddly. "Sixteen, of course."
/"Foul ball!"/
Za Maths I cannot do, that was not my problem. I tapped the side of my head. Monika sighed and brought up the calculator. At eleven they were effectively fourteen in Earth years. Old enough to start hunting animals on their own. Now they were effectively seventeen.
More importantly - I put a hand to my lips and whispered "You look cute in that," referring to Monika's baseball outfit. She gave me a quirky smile in return.
"Um, excuse me… if you're aiming to register, here are some forms to sign. Please… chat… at the tables instead."
"Oh! Sorry!" We eeped and made to sit at the tables to write.
--
And once again I realized that I still couldn't write the local alphabet. Monika was no closer to figuring it out because the translation app was converting the English into perfectly incomprehensible Engrish.
Linze took a look at my filled-out form and asked "I thought your name was Zah Playa von Chara, not Him Participant from Person? Is that what your name means?"
"That is not remotely what it means. Help me pls."
--
The registration clerk swiftly processed our applications, I was seriously impressed. Even electronically connected public services weren't so swift. I wondered then, that unlike HunterxHunter in which Hunters were supposed to be an elite group that required extreme winnowing down of the weak and unworthy, if this place just required a continuous influx of replacement adventurers.
We were told about our obligations as adventurers. If we failed a quest, we will of course be charged for a breach of contract. This sort of gig economy imposed direct penalties on the service providers, not just a bad rating. The Guild did not exercise vetting of its adventurers, instead it was a self-correcting system.
If one failed multiple quests or ended up being deemed a low-quality individual, their guild registration would revoke and would never again be able to re-register at any other guild branch.
Other quest restrictions were that not accepting quests for five years would cause the adventurer license to lapse. You may not accept multiple requests at the same time. And for subjugation/hunting requests, monsters must be slain within the designated area only else the work would be deemed invalid.
(I wondered if they had some way of verifying that to prevent cheating via bought monster parts. Even if prepared carcasses cost more, someone might be looking to rank up quickly.)
Lastly, the guild generally did not interfere in the personal business or disagreements between adventurers unless such dissent was deemed harmful to the Guild in itself. I hoped this included bullying of juniors.
The receptionist took out several deep black cards and held them over the filled registration forms, and cast some sort of spell. Then she took out a pin and asked us to spill a little bit of blood on the cards.
/"Is this some sort of Blood Magic? You know it's generally a bad idea to get into a contract without knowing what you're signing off!"/
The girls didn't seem to think this unusual though, so I could only comply. I pricked my index finger and rubbed a little bit of blood on the card, and by magic glowing white letters appeared.
She stamped each card with some magic tool that left glowing arcane circles that faded after a while, and then handed them to us.
"These are your personal Guild Cards. They have a little spell on them that will make it turn gray if handled by anyone except their owner for longer than a few seconds. It's a simple anti-forgery mechanism. Should you happen to lose your card, please contact your nearest Guild branch as swiftly as possible and we'll be able to issue you a new one for a small fee."
Monika looked intrigued. This was an amazing security feature vastly superior to fingerprint ATM or credit cards! Wait, if this sort of thing was common, the only thing missing from international banking was instantaneous communications ala telephone or telegraph.
If this was the only thing the Guild maintained as a monopoly, then it sure explained why people would trust them with their money.
"With this, your guild registration is complete. All available work requests are posted on the board over there. If you see one you would like to take a request, please confirm all details, take the flyer and apply for it through our quest clerk."
I stared at the card in my hand. Our cards would apparently change color as our rank increased. But for the moment we could only take beginner quests. For our Black beginner level, that included things like fighting low class monsters, gathering herbs, delivery, babysitting, or manual labor. Seriously, is this place really nothing more than a temp agency?
Elze and Linze pored over the job board. I pointed towards one that had the picture of a slime on it, and was immediately vetoed.
"Aren't slimes weak enemies?" I asked. It was a hallowed tradition in JRPGs after all. The equivalent in western RPGs would be fighting rats in a basement.
"Slimes are… ugh!" Elze scowled. "Cutting and smashing doesn't work against them. Only magic really hurts them."
"I know fire magic," softly said Linze.
"But I'm useless against them. Plus they are icky and sticky and dissolve clothes. I don't really like fighting them." She put a hand on her chin and inspected the requests again. "How about this one?"
She pointed to a flyer with a drawing of a horned wolf on it. "It's a quest to go out and kill some beast monsters in the forest to the east. They want us to hunt down five Lone-horned Wolves. They're not very strong monsters, so I think we can manage."
One horn? Like a unicorn?
"Hmm. Are they worth anything?"
"No, their pelts are too rough and their flesh is foul. We only need to bring back the horns as proof we killed them. The rewards is eighteen copper."
"Hm. Split between the three of us, six copper. That's enough for three days at the inn. Sounds good, I'm in."
/"Seriously? Are you insane?! You're going to go off to fight wolves, just like that?"/ Monika screeched suddenly. /"It's different with these girls, they can probably take care of themselves. But what about you? What about me? You're meat! I'm plastic!
/If you're doing this just to impress them, it's going to backfire if they have to save your cityboy butt."/
"Mm. Okay, take down the request sheet. But before we head out, we need to do something."
Linze tilted her head to the side. "What's that?"
I raised my hands up to eye level as if surrendering and wiggled my fingers. "I arrived here with little more than the clothes on my back. I don't have a weapon anymore. Suiting up montage is a go!"
Linze touched two fingers to her eyebrows and sighed. "I have no idea what you just said, but there's a good idea in there somewhere. We could use some better gear too, now that we have some money to spare."
/"Weapons are fine but ask them about magic, Player! I would be a lot more comfortable about your recklessness if we had some sort of special ranged advantage."/
Oh. Right. Of course, will do.
Monika turned away from me and raised her hands up in supplication to an artificial sky. /"Grant us eyes! Grant us eyes! Grant us LASER EYES!"/
"..."
--
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Since Elze, Linze, and I were all first-time visitors to Reflet, the last thing I asked Micah before leaving was if the town had a bank that could issue banknotes that would be accepted by merchants.
"The Adventurers Guild handles that too," she replied. "For some reason they can make sure that funds deposited in one guildhouse can always be taken out in another."
"Impressive."
--
"The Adventurers Guild… no one really knows when it started," Elze said as we walked towards the Guild. "It's been around for a long, long time."
"How long?"
"Thousands of years. Adventurers have started countries, you know?"
Also impressive. "How about where?"
"Probably the Regulus Empire?"
"I have no idea what th-"
"It's the really big Empire to the east of Belfast. This country. Belfast is separated from Regulus by this really long mountain range, so they actually get along quite well." Elze nodded and added "By the way, we're not from Belfast, we grew up along the border of the kingdom to the east, the Refreese Imperium."
"That sounds scary. Belfast is bordered by two empires."
"Nah. Refreese is kinda poor. That's why we never registered at their Guildhouse. There's a lot more jobs here in Belfast."
Soon enough we arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. It was a two-story building with the lower floor partly occupied by a tavern.
"It's… not as big as I expected. Even the Silver Moon Inn is bigger."
Elze shrugged. "What did you expect? All the Guild really does is manage requests and money. An inn needs rooms, but adventurers waiting around in the tavern have to find somewhere else when it's closing time."
/"Yes, rural banks and offices can be surprisingly small, I think. You certainly don't expect anyone to sleep inside the building. That's unsafe,"/ said Monika. /"I do remember something about getting my first bankbook so my parents could teach me the virtue of saving…"/
She shook her head and sighed. Frankly though, I don't think artificial memories were any better or worse for human brains and their tendencies to outright manufacture false memories.
"I was thinking they would manage the training or medical needs of the adventurers. Or they would sell the weapons, armor, and supplies needed for adventuring," I replied instead.
"That is… that is too much a monopoly," Linze offered. "No kingdom would allow that."
"Surprisingly reasonable as well!"
"Everything surprises you, huh?" Elze smirked.
--
I took a deep breath after we entered the Guild. "So this is the smell of adventure," I said. "Like sweat and stale beer. Glorious."
"I have no idea what you mean by that," Elze replied. "This place is nice and clean. It's… warm. None of these people… have cold, desperate eyes."
She nodded to herself. There was strength and self-confidence in an adventurer's gaze, those who chose to remain in this profession were not weak people.
It really was a cheerful place. The adventurers within were all dressed oddly, of course, but none of them were being rowdy or noisy. Near the back were some counter desks really very much like a bank. The receptionist there greeted us with a smile as we approached. She wore a red jacket with puffy shoulders, small round glasses resting on her nose, and a flat cap. Elze dropped behind from walking beside me, forcing me to address the Guild official instead.
"Ah, we'd like to register with the guild, please."
She nodded. "That's no problem. So would that be three for registration, then?"
"All three of us, yes, " Elze replied.
"Is this your first time registering with the guild? If so, I can also provide a basic explanation of what it means to register with us."
I raised my hand. "Quick question-"
"Umm. Yes? Please ask away."
"Do you have a booklet or something that explains the Guild's history? I'm actually very interested in how the Adventurer's Guild was founded and why different nations trust it to operate a franchise using their own citizens."
"Ah! Well that's certainly a pleasure to resolve. I recommend "The Living Guild by Manxor Hume". The Adventurer's Guild doesn't sell anything here on the premises, we simply handle requests, but I'm sure the bookstore has one."
"I see. Thank you. So… about the purpose of the Guild?"
/"Isn't it just Fantasy Craigslist?"/
The receptionist explained that the guild would take the requests of individuals or groups, publicize them, and collect a small fee upon completion. The Guild handled escrow accounts and repetitive jobs as well.
Requests were separated into ranks based on difficulty, to make sure that unprepared adventurers with lower personal ranks can't accept requests aimed at a more capable rank of adventurers. While this protects the Guild from liability, it also protects merchants and request-givers from the guilt of leading unready adventurers to their deaths.
Ranks went from Black to Purple to Green to Blue to Red then Silver then Gold.
However, numbers and skills usually said more about an adventurer team than mere ranks. As long as at least half of the team was of the required rank, they would be allowed to take the quest.
"Excuse me, but requests can only be accomplished by one group at a time, yes? The quest-giver has no interaction with the adventurer? Wouldn't this devolve into a first-come first-serve basis with the best ones taken by whomever wakes up the earliest?"
/"Well that IS a good habit to encourage…"/ Monika murmured.
"It depends upon the type of requests. Certain requests like escort duty or special tasks, you do need to present yourself to the client. General requests like subjugation or delivery only require that you present the proof of having accomplished the task to the nearest Guild branch."
"It sounds simple enough. Why wouldn't the kingdoms then just make their own mercenary review board or something? Reputation is good, but if some other group could present better rates, what's in it for the adventurer?"s
"Well, the Guild and its ranks do have the benefit of a strong reputation for trust and impartiality. Guild ranks do more than just decide what sort of higher-paying requests you can take. Higher ranks also gain better discounts and other benefits from important partnerships the Guild had forged with merchants all over the continent. A Guild card is valid anywhere."
/"Huh. That sounds familiar./" Monika reached offscreen and brought out a red card with a white border, with a purple downwards triangle on its facing superimposed by X|X. /"But manga is more Natsuki's thing really."/
Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter X Hunter. I took a deep breath. The existence of something like a Adventurer's Guild, a profession that was valid across nations, had a lot of unintentional effects for social engineering. "Okay. So what sort of gauntlet or test do we need to go through to get certified?"
The receptionist looked at me oddly. "There… isn't one? Everybody must start at the lowest level. There are minimum requirements though. You need to be able to read requests, you need to be at least twelve years old and reasonably fit, and you must have some combat ability or usable magic."
"Twelve?!" What sort of kooky Pokemon world is this?! And at least parents allowing their children to brave the wilds unsurpervised to catch Pokemon and train them at least don't have to fight directly. "Isn't that a little early?"
"We've been hunting since we were eleven, it's not a big deal," said Linze.
Monika nodded approvingly. /"Really. You could tell these girls were veteran if unlicensed adventurers already just by the fact they are wearing sensible skorts instead of tiny skirts into battle."/
"That… makes no sense."
I looked at Elze and Linze for a few moments. It was a good thing that my eyes were hidden, because my glance skipped over the obvious difference between the twins.
Fine, to be clear about it, shy little Linze had bigger breasts than the more boisterous Elze. She would probably punch my head off if I ever described her as 'boyish'. Not in a tsundere sort of way, but because a dumbass needs to be hit on the head in order to learn not to put his foot in his mouth.
/"Safe!"/ Monika cried out for some reason.
Wait… "Hang on, how many months are there in a year?"
Linze stared at me oddly. "Sixteen, of course."
/"Foul ball!"/
Za Maths I cannot do, that was not my problem. I tapped the side of my head. Monika sighed and brought up the calculator. At eleven they were effectively fourteen in Earth years. Old enough to start hunting animals on their own. Now they were effectively seventeen.
More importantly - I put a hand to my lips and whispered "You look cute in that," referring to Monika's baseball outfit. She gave me a quirky smile in return.
"Um, excuse me… if you're aiming to register, here are some forms to sign. Please… chat… at the tables instead."
"Oh! Sorry!" We eeped and made to sit at the tables to write.
--
And once again I realized that I still couldn't write the local alphabet. Monika was no closer to figuring it out because the translation app was converting the English into perfectly incomprehensible Engrish.
Linze took a look at my filled-out form and asked "I thought your name was Zah Playa von Chara, not Him Participant from Person? Is that what your name means?"
"That is not remotely what it means. Help me pls."
--
The registration clerk swiftly processed our applications, I was seriously impressed. Even electronically connected public services weren't so swift. I wondered then, that unlike HunterxHunter in which Hunters were supposed to be an elite group that required extreme winnowing down of the weak and unworthy, if this place just required a continuous influx of replacement adventurers.
We were told about our obligations as adventurers. If we failed a quest, we will of course be charged for a breach of contract. This sort of gig economy imposed direct penalties on the service providers, not just a bad rating. The Guild did not exercise vetting of its adventurers, instead it was a self-correcting system.
If one failed multiple quests or ended up being deemed a low-quality individual, their guild registration would revoke and would never again be able to re-register at any other guild branch.
Other quest restrictions were that not accepting quests for five years would cause the adventurer license to lapse. You may not accept multiple requests at the same time. And for subjugation/hunting requests, monsters must be slain within the designated area only else the work would be deemed invalid.
(I wondered if they had some way of verifying that to prevent cheating via bought monster parts. Even if prepared carcasses cost more, someone might be looking to rank up quickly.)
Lastly, the guild generally did not interfere in the personal business or disagreements between adventurers unless such dissent was deemed harmful to the Guild in itself. I hoped this included bullying of juniors.
The receptionist took out several deep black cards and held them over the filled registration forms, and cast some sort of spell. Then she took out a pin and asked us to spill a little bit of blood on the cards.
/"Is this some sort of Blood Magic? You know it's generally a bad idea to get into a contract without knowing what you're signing off!"/
The girls didn't seem to think this unusual though, so I could only comply. I pricked my index finger and rubbed a little bit of blood on the card, and by magic glowing white letters appeared.
She stamped each card with some magic tool that left glowing arcane circles that faded after a while, and then handed them to us.
"These are your personal Guild Cards. They have a little spell on them that will make it turn gray if handled by anyone except their owner for longer than a few seconds. It's a simple anti-forgery mechanism. Should you happen to lose your card, please contact your nearest Guild branch as swiftly as possible and we'll be able to issue you a new one for a small fee."
Monika looked intrigued. This was an amazing security feature vastly superior to fingerprint ATM or credit cards! Wait, if this sort of thing was common, the only thing missing from international banking was instantaneous communications ala telephone or telegraph.
If this was the only thing the Guild maintained as a monopoly, then it sure explained why people would trust them with their money.
"With this, your guild registration is complete. All available work requests are posted on the board over there. If you see one you would like to take a request, please confirm all details, take the flyer and apply for it through our quest clerk."
I stared at the card in my hand. Our cards would apparently change color as our rank increased. But for the moment we could only take beginner quests. For our Black beginner level, that included things like fighting low class monsters, gathering herbs, delivery, babysitting, or manual labor. Seriously, is this place really nothing more than a temp agency?
Elze and Linze pored over the job board. I pointed towards one that had the picture of a slime on it, and was immediately vetoed.
"Aren't slimes weak enemies?" I asked. It was a hallowed tradition in JRPGs after all. The equivalent in western RPGs would be fighting rats in a basement.
"Slimes are… ugh!" Elze scowled. "Cutting and smashing doesn't work against them. Only magic really hurts them."
"I know fire magic," softly said Linze.
"But I'm useless against them. Plus they are icky and sticky and dissolve clothes. I don't really like fighting them." She put a hand on her chin and inspected the requests again. "How about this one?"
She pointed to a flyer with a drawing of a horned wolf on it. "It's a quest to go out and kill some beast monsters in the forest to the east. They want us to hunt down five Lone-horned Wolves. They're not very strong monsters, so I think we can manage."
One horn? Like a unicorn?
"Hmm. Are they worth anything?"
"No, their pelts are too rough and their flesh is foul. We only need to bring back the horns as proof we killed them. The rewards is eighteen copper."
"Hm. Split between the three of us, six copper. That's enough for three days at the inn. Sounds good, I'm in."
/"Seriously? Are you insane?! You're going to go off to fight wolves, just like that?"/ Monika screeched suddenly. /"It's different with these girls, they can probably take care of themselves. But what about you? What about me? You're meat! I'm plastic!
/If you're doing this just to impress them, it's going to backfire if they have to save your cityboy butt."/
"Mm. Okay, take down the request sheet. But before we head out, we need to do something."
Linze tilted her head to the side. "What's that?"
I raised my hands up to eye level as if surrendering and wiggled my fingers. "I arrived here with little more than the clothes on my back. I don't have a weapon anymore. Suiting up montage is a go!"
Linze touched two fingers to her eyebrows and sighed. "I have no idea what you just said, but there's a good idea in there somewhere. We could use some better gear too, now that we have some money to spare."
/"Weapons are fine but ask them about magic, Player! I would be a lot more comfortable about your recklessness if we had some sort of special ranged advantage."/
Oh. Right. Of course, will do.
Monika turned away from me and raised her hands up in supplication to an artificial sky. /"Grant us eyes! Grant us eyes! Grant us LASER EYES!"/
"..."
--
Since Elze, Linze, and I were all first-time visitors to Reflet, the last thing I asked Micah before leaving was if the town had a bank that could issue banknotes that would be accepted by merchants."The Adventurers Guild handles that too," she replied. "For some reason they can make sure that funds deposited in one guildhouse can always be taken out in another.""Impressive."--"The Adventurers Guild no one really knows when it started," Elze said as we walked towards the Guild. "It's been around for a long, long time.""How long?""Thousands of years. Adventurers have started countries, you know?"Also impressive. "How about where?""Probably the Regulus Empire?""I have no idea what th-""It's the really big Empire to the east of Belfast. This country. Belfast is separated from Regulus by this really long mountain range, so they actually get along quite well." Elze nodded and added "By the way, we're not from Belfast, we grew up along the border of the kingdom to the east, the Refreese Imperium.""That sounds scary. Belfast is bordered by two empires.""Nah. Refreese is kinda poor. That's why we never registered at their Guildhouse. There's a lot more jobs here in Belfast."Soon enough we arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. It was a two-story building with the lower floor partly occupied by a tavern."It's not as big as I expected. Even the Silver Moon Inn is bigger."Elze shrugged. "What did you expect? All the Guild really does is manage requests and money. An inn needs rooms, but adventurers waiting around in the tavern have to find somewhere else when it's closing time."/"Yes, rural banks and offices can be surprisingly small, I think. You certainly don't expect anyone to sleep inside the building. That's unsafe,"/ said Monika. /"I do remember something about getting my first bankbook so my parents could teach me the virtue of saving"/She shook her head and sighed. Frankly though, I don't think artificial memories were any better or worse for human brains and their tendencies to outright manufacture false memories."I was thinking they would manage the training or medical needs of the adventurers. Or they would sell the weapons, armor, and supplies needed for adventuring," I replied instead."That is that is too much a monopoly," Linze offered. "No kingdom would allow that.""Surprisingly reasonable as well!""Everything surprises you, huh?" Elze smirked.--I took a deep breath after we entered the Guild. "So this is the smell of adventure," I said. "Like sweat and stale beer. Glorious.""I have no idea what you mean by that," Elze replied. "This place is nice and clean. It's warm. None of these people have cold, desperate eyes."She nodded to herself. There was strength and self-confidence in an adventurer's gaze, those who chose to remain in this profession were not weak people.It really was a cheerful place. The adventurers within were all dressed oddly, of course, but none of them were being rowdy or noisy. Near the back were some counter desks really very much like a bank. The receptionist there greeted us with a smile as we approached. She wore a red jacket with puffy shoulders, small round glasses resting on her nose, and a flat cap. Elze dropped behind from walking beside me, forcing me to address the Guild official instead."Ah, we'd like to register with the guild, please."She nodded. "That's no problem. So would that be three for registration, then?""All three of us, yes, " Elze replied."Is this your first time registering with the guild? If so, I can also provide a basic explanation of what it means to register with us."I raised my hand. "Quick question-""Umm. Yes? Please ask away.""Do you have a booklet or something that explains the Guild's history? I'm actually very interested in how the Adventurer's Guild was founded and why different nations trust it to operate a franchise using their own citizens.""Ah! Well that's certainly a pleasure to resolve. I recommend "The Living Guild by Manxor Hume". The Adventurer's Guild doesn't sell anything here on the premises, we simply handle requests, but I'm sure the bookstore has one.""I see. Thank you. So about the purpose of the Guild?"/"Isn't it just Fantasy Craigslist?"/The receptionist explained that the guild would take the requests of individuals or groups, publicize them, and collect a small fee upon completion. The Guild handled escrow accounts and repetitive jobs as well.Requests were separated into ranks based on difficulty, to make sure that unprepared adventurers with lower personal ranks can't accept requests aimed at a more capable rank of adventurers. While this protects the Guild from liability, it also protects merchants and request-givers from the guilt of leading unready adventurers to their deaths.Ranks went from Black to Purple to Green to Blue to Red then Silver then Gold.However, numbers and skills usually said more about an adventurer team than mere ranks. As long as at least half of the team was of the required rank, they would be allowed to take the quest."Excuse me, but requests can only be accomplished by one group at a time, yes? The quest-giver has no interaction with the adventurer? Wouldn't this devolve into a first-come first-serve basis with the best ones taken by whomever wakes up the earliest?"/"Well that IS a good habit to encourage"/ Monika murmured."It depends upon the type of requests. Certain requests like escort duty or special tasks, you do need to present yourself to the client. General requests like subjugation or delivery only require that you present the proof of having accomplished the task to the nearest Guild branch.""It sounds simple enough. Why wouldn't the kingdoms then just make their own mercenary review board or something? Reputation is good, but if some other group could present better rates, what's in it for the adventurer?"s"Well, the Guild and its ranks do have the benefit of a strong reputation for trust and impartiality. Guild ranks do more than just decide what sort of higher-paying requests you can take. Higher ranks also gain better discounts and other benefits from important partnerships the Guild had forged with merchants all over the continent. A Guild card is valid anywhere."/"Huh. That sounds familiar./" Monika reached offscreen and brought out a red card with a white border, with a purple downwards triangle on its facing superimposed by X|X. /"But manga is more Natsuki's thing really."/Yoshihiro Togashi's Hunter X Hunter. I took a deep breath. The existence of something like a Adventurer's Guild, a profession that was valid across nations, had a lot of unintentional effects for social engineering. "Okay. So what sort of gauntlet or test do we need to go through to get certified?"The receptionist looked at me oddly. "There isn't one? Everybody must start at the lowest level. There are minimum requirements though. You need to be able to read requests, you need to be at least twelve years old and reasonably fit, and you must have some combat ability or usable magic.""Twelve?!" What sort of kooky Pokemon world is this?! And at least parents allowing their children to brave the wilds unsurpervised to catch Pokemon and train them at least don't have to fight directly. "Isn't that a little early?""We've been hunting since we were eleven, it's not a big deal," said Linze.Monika nodded approvingly. /"Really. You could tell these girls were veteran if unlicensed adventurers already just by the fact they are wearing sensible skorts instead of tiny skirts into battle."/"That makes no sense."I looked at Elze and Linze for a few moments. It was a good thing that my eyes were hidden, because my glance skipped over the obvious difference between the twins.Fine, to be clear about it, shy little Linze had bigger breasts than the more boisterous Elze. She would probably punch my head off if I ever described her as 'boyish'. Not in a tsundere sort of way, but because a dumbass needs to be hit on the head in order to learn not to put his foot in his mouth./"Safe!"/ Monika cried out for some reason.Wait "Hang on, how many months are there in a year?"Linze stared at me oddly. "Sixteen, of course."/"Foul ball!"/Za Maths I cannot do, that was not my problem. I tapped the side of my head. Monika sighed and brought up the calculator. At eleven they were effectively fourteen in Earth years. Old enough to start hunting animals on their own. Now they were effectively seventeen.More importantly - I put a hand to my lips and whispered "You look cute in that," referring to Monika's baseball outfit. She gave me a quirky smile in return."Um, excuse me if you're aiming to register, here are some forms to sign. Please chat at the tables instead.""Oh! Sorry!" We eeped and made to sit at the tables to write.--And once again I realized that I still couldn't write the local alphabet. Monika was no closer to figuring it out because the translation app was converting the English into perfectly incomprehensible Engrish.Linze took a look at my filled-out form and asked "I thought your name was Zah Playa von Chara, not Him Participant from Person? Is that what your name means?""That is not remotely what it means. Help me pls."--The registration clerk swiftly processed our applications, I was seriously impressed. Even electronically connected public services weren't so swift. I wondered then, that unlike HunterxHunter in which Hunters were supposed to be an elite group that required extreme winnowing down of the weak and unworthy, if this place just required a continuous influx of replacement adventurers.We were told about our obligations as adventurers. If we failed a quest, we will of course be charged for a breach of contract. This sort of gig economy imposed direct penalties on the service providers, not just a bad rating. The Guild did not exercise vetting of its adventurers, instead it was a self-correcting system.If one failed multiple quests or ended up being deemed a low-quality individual, their guild registration would revoke and would never again be able to re-register at any other guild branch.Other quest restrictions were that not accepting quests for five years would cause the adventurer license to lapse. You may not accept multiple requests at the same time. And for subjugation/hunting requests, monsters must be slain within the designated area only else the work would be deemed invalid.I wondered if they had some way of verifying that to prevent cheating via bought monster parts. Even if prepared carcasses cost more, someone might be looking to rank up quickly.Lastly, the guild generally did not interfere in the personal business or disagreements between adventurers unless such dissent was deemed harmful to the Guild in itself. I hoped this included bullying of juniors.The receptionist took out several deep black cards and held them over the filled registration forms, and cast some sort of spell. Then she took out a pin and asked us to spill a little bit of blood on the cards./"Is this some sort of Blood Magic? You know it's generally a bad idea to get into a contract without knowing what you're signing off!"/The girls didn't seem to think this unusual though, so I could only comply. I pricked my index finger and rubbed a little bit of blood on the card, and by magic glowing white letters appeared.She stamped each card with some magic tool that left glowing arcane circles that faded after a while, and then handed them to us."These are your personal Guild Cards. They have a little spell on them that will make it turn gray if handled by anyone except their owner for longer than a few seconds. It's a simple anti-forgery mechanism. Should you happen to lose your card, please contact your nearest Guild branch as swiftly as possible and we'll be able to issue you a new one for a small fee."Monika looked intrigued. This was an amazing security feature vastly superior to fingerprint ATM or credit cards! Wait, if this sort of thing was common, the only thing missing from international banking was instantaneous communications ala telephone or telegraph.If this was the only thing the Guild maintained as a monopoly, then it sure explained why people would trust them with their money."With this, your guild registration is complete. All available work requests are posted on the board over there. If you see one you would like to take a request, please confirm all details, take the flyer and apply for it through our quest clerk."I stared at the card in my hand. Our cards would apparently change color as our rank increased. But for the moment we could only take beginner quests. For our Black beginner level, that included things like fighting low class monsters, gathering herbs, delivery, babysitting, or manual labor. Seriously, is this place really nothing more than a temp agency?Elze and Linze pored over the job board. I pointed towards one that had the picture of a slime on it, and was immediately vetoed."Aren't slimes weak enemies?" I asked. It was a hallowed tradition in JRPGs after all. The equivalent in western RPGs would be fighting rats in a basement."Slimes are ugh!" Elze scowled. "Cutting and smashing doesn't work against them. Only magic really hurts them.""I know fire magic," softly said Linze."But I'm useless against them. Plus they are icky and sticky and dissolve clothes. I don't really like fighting them." She put a hand on her chin and inspected the requests again. "How about this one?"She pointed to a flyer with a drawing of a horned wolf on it. "It's a quest to go out and kill some beast monsters in the forest to the east. They want us to hunt down five Lone-horned Wolves. They're not very strong monsters, so I think we can manage."One horn? Like a unicorn?"Hmm. Are they worth anything?""No, their pelts are too rough and their flesh is foul. We only need to bring back the horns as proof we killed them. The rewards is eighteen copper.""Hm. Split between the three of us, six copper. That's enough for three days at the inn. Sounds good, I'm in."/"Seriously? Are you insane?! You're going to go off to fight wolves, just like that?"/ Monika screeched suddenly. /"It's different with these girls, they can probably take care of themselves. But what about you? What about me? You're meat! I'm plastic!/If you're doing this just to impress them, it's going to backfire if they have to save your cityboy butt."/"Mm. Okay, take down the request sheet. But before we head out, we need to do something."Linze tilted her head to the side. "What's that?"I raised my hands up to eye level as if surrendering and wiggled my fingers. "I arrived here with little more than the clothes on my back. I don't have a weapon anymore. Suiting up montage is a go!"Linze touched two fingers to her eyebrows and sighed. "I have no idea what you just said, but there's a good idea in there somewhere. We could use some better gear too, now that we have some money to spare."/"Weapons are fine but ask them about magic, Player! I would be a lot more comfortable about your recklessness if we had some sort of special ranged advantage."/Oh. Right. Of course, will do.Monika turned away from me and raised her hands up in supplication to an artificial sky. /"Grant us eyes! Grant us eyes! Grant us LASER EYES!"/"..."--
