The next morning Edward woke up and asked the bartender for the adventurer guild. He decided that would be his first stop. From what he understood they operated based on requests and contracts. So, the sooner he got there the better. Even though the innkeeper told him there was an increase in monsters-related jobs it would be first-come-first-served. If he went to search for a job at the last moment, he had no guarantee to find one that he would like. The easiest and the more rewarded one would probably be the first taken, then there will rest the ones that were especially dangerous, bothersome, or with a cheap reward.

Thanks to the direction, Edward was able to find the guild easily enough. The building looked more like a tavern than an adventurer guild from the outside, and when he entered, he realized that was the same inside. The main difference with a tavern was that a whole wall was serving as a board with numerous contracts inscribed on pieces of paper. Apart from that, the person behind the counter also looked more organized and professional than a regular bartender. She was a young lady, serving the clients when they were asking for a drink, but also registering on a folder the information of the adventurers who wanted to take a contract.

Edward first stood in front of the different contracts on offer. There are several protection jobs. With a world filled with monsters, the wilds are dangerous for normal people, and at the same time, humans still need resources. A town of this size can’t support itself without exploiting the available resources in its surroundings. Those kinds of jobs are relatively easy, you are not even guaranteed to encounter a monster, they need adventurers more for a deterrent and security than anything else. At the same time, the pay is low too. That’s understandable, they can offer to pay more only if they are making a lot of benefices and that won’t happen with day-to-day tasks. I don’t see any dangerous protection job, with someone requesting to enter a monster's den. I guess this kind of high-risk request doesn’t happen every day.

There are several escort jobs too. The pay is more generous, but the jobs are more dangerous too. This time it’s not staying in the surroundings but crossing the wilds to go to a far away destination. What is bothering me is not so much the danger, but the fact that it’s a one-way trip. It’s very useful if you want to travel, but I just arrived and haven’t properly explored this area yet. I don’t want to leave right now.

And then there are extermination requests. Depending on the type of monsters the jobs are more and less dangerous, and the reward is assessed accordingly. After dealing with the Bloodmaws, I’m not afraid of regular monsters anymore. That sounds like the right type of task for me. And this way I can become stronger on top of getting paid. Still, since the monsters in that area are pretty much unknown to me, I will need to inquire about the monsters’ capacities before taking any one of these jobs.

Edward went up to the counter.

“Good morning, I’m new here and wish to take a contract. Can you tell me how this is working?”

“Good morning, yes naturally. All the different jobs are on display on the board. I register the information of anybody taking a contract. This way I can tell you if somebody has already accepted the contract. If that’s the case that doesn’t prevent you from still applying for the job, but you won’t get any reward if you reach the place while the job is already done. Usually, people prefer to take a contract with nobody on it, except for a group mission of course. I remove the contract only when I have proof that the job is done and that I have issued the corresponding reward.”

“Thanks for the explanation. I repeatedly heard people saying there was an increase in monster activities lately. Is this something that happens often?”

“Actually, yes.” The receptionist answered with a questioning glance. “Monsters become more active and more prevalent every forty-two years. This is something well known, although it is happening a little early this time.”

Edward smiled awkwardly. I’m coming from another world, so excuse me if I don’t know common knowledge from this world. “I’m coming from a small village, and it is the first time I’m entering an adventurer guild, so everything is a bit new to me.”

“I see. Perhaps you will be interested in a protection job then. They are fairly easy, you just have to chase away monsters if they come too close.”

Ugh, I may be new but it’s not my first-time killing monsters. “I was more thinking about an extermination job. I spotted one talking about a quarry blocked by a Lusus naturae infestation?”

The receptionist looked shocked for a brief period of time, before her professionalism took over. “As you wish. Lusus naturae are bipedal monsters that look like a mix of a human and a wolf. They have an energy manipulation power that can make them faster and stronger for a brief period of time. They usually live in packs. Several adventurers are already interested and wish to form a group to tackle this job. They have a meeting this afternoon at the guild to gather all the individuals interested in this contract. May I ask your name?”

“Sure.” Edward gave his information and prepared to leave. It was only when he reached the door that he realized something. All the people present here were at the awakening stage, the receptionist included. Who told me awakens were rare? I suddenly feel a lot more ordinary.

What Edward didn’t know, was that being an awaken was actually the most common level for being trying to surpass themselves. Each level was harder and took longer to achieve than the previous one. And since one had to hunt monsters to grow stronger, there was also the risk of dying. This meant there were fewer people on each level after the awaken one. The population could be separated into civils, who weren’t interested in growing stronger. They were mostly at the normal level. Then came the people who either had to confront monsters or who wanted to become stronger and had money to spend. Those were at the quiescent level. But the frontier between the quiescent level and the awaken level wasn’t that big. If someone had already begun on their march to become stronger, they usually didn’t stop at the quiescent level and continued until they reach the awaken level. That’s why there were more awakens than quiescent people.

Edward wasn’t used to this because he had only been in Agripin until now. In small villages the situation was special. People were exposed to monsters’ attacks, so more people than usual had to fight monsters and become awakens in the process. But at the same time, they didn’t have the resources to groom awakens, and they didn’t have enough awakens either to safely hunt for monsters. That was the situation until Edward managed to help more guards to become awakens. Now, with time, all the guards would become awakens, reestablishing the ratio between quiescent and awaken people.

Then came the people who were actively hunting monsters to grow stronger, or who were rich enough to buy elixirs to grow in strength without risking their life. However, potent elixirs were rare and cost a lot, only nobles could afford something like that. And even then, since one elixir was far from enough, only the most powerful noble family could afford to groom somebody with elixirs only to reach beyond the awaken level.

Since he had to wait for the afternoon to meet with the other adventurers, Edward decided to further explore the city. He hadn’t been able to visit the whole town yet. As he was walking through the street, getting used to medieval architecture, he noticed one building whose style was different. It was the size of a simple house with a small paved forecourt in front of it. And yet, its design was making it stand out. It looked like a Scandinavian temple, entirely made of wood, with several levels decreasing in size with the height of the building.

Edward walked closer, quite curious about it. The doors are open. Should I go in? He heard a noise made by someone using a broom inside the building. “Hello, can I enter?” he asked while knocking on the door.

“Everybody is welcome inside Moana’s temple.” a male voice answered him.

“Moana’s temple? Are you a priest?” Edward asked confused while gazing at the man who had put his broom aside to welcome him. The man looked to be in his forties, he was wearing a blue gown without ornaments.

The man looked at him surprised. “You don’t know Moana, you must but from a faraway place. She is the goddess of the seas. People come to this temple to ask for a calm sea, to appease her anger, or to thank her for an abundance of fish. I don’t think of myself as a priest, but I understand why you are calling me that. I am just taking care of this temple, people can come and leave as they wish, they don’t need me to pray.”

“I see. Yes, I’m not from this place. As Moana is the goddess of the seas, I suppose you worship other gods as well?”

“Indeed, we have Waihua, the fertility goddess. Our dearest Aroha, the goddess of love. The powerful Pakanga, god of wars. The dreadful Hemonga the god of death. And the elusive Puihi, goddess of the wilds.”

“I see, somehow, I’m glad you are not a monotheist. It is much more entertaining when people are venerating multiple gods.”

“Worshipping, only one god? What a strange idea. How can the world work without balance? No, every god and goddess have their domains.”

Edward and the priest, continued to discuss for some time until Edward announced his leave. He still wanted to discover what the arena was looking like. He asked his direction to some passersby, but the edifice was easy enough to find. Compare to the houses nearby, it was massive, almost the same size as a hippodrome. Several guards were keeping watch in front of the entry.

“Hello there, is the arena opened?” Edward asked them.

“Good day, the arena is currently used. It was booked for sparring matches. You can’t use it, if you want to reserve a spot, we have the available calendar in this booth.” One of the guards told him, showing a cabin just near the entrance. One clerk was sitting bored inside. “You can also buy tickets for events such as tournaments or special fights.”

“Thanks for the explanation. Is it possible for me to assist at the sparring matches currently happening inside?”

“It’s not the most exciting, but sure, if you wish. Since the stands will be almost empty the price will be only a few coppers.”

The guards let him go to the clerk and buy the ticket to attend the matches.