Chapter 2 – Adventurer’s Guild

The town is mostly populated by wooden homes. Down the main street, many homes line the road painted in varying bright colors. People line the street walking in every direction. Some people peddle things on the side of the road or selling various snacks.

Senna calmly walks down the street taking in the sight before her. She represses her urge to run around the city and see the sights. Locked up for as long as she can remember, the unfamiliar town brings forth a jubilant atmosphere within her. Senna’s appearance draws significant attention to herself, but she chooses to ignore her knowing it’s because of her out of place white hair. {Well it’s impossible not to stand out. I already knew that.}

After walking for some time, Senna reaches the heart of town and notices the large wooden building before her. The building gives an imposing presence with its size, easily taking up the space of eight homes. Various letters are written above the door, but Senna is unable to read the letters. A different wooden sign hangs on the side with a picture of a dragon’s head. Dual swinging doors with an oversized arch make up the entrance to the building allowing easy access to larger sized individuals. Senna calms herself as she heads inside.

As the doors swing open, numerous people stop and gaze at the sudden guest. Many quickly lose interest in the petite young lady. Quite a few gazes linger on her, trying to guess her race because of her oddly colored hair. Several men stare at her with a more lustful gaze licking their lips.

Senna ignores all of that and walks forward. Several windows are open in front of her with people lined up waiting their turn. To either side of her, many wooden tables and chair line the room with adventurers talking merrily, drinking, or having a meal. On the either side of the room, various boards are lined up with many slips of paper tacked on.

She walks up to an open window. The receptionist is a young lady with chestnut brown hair. “Welcome to the Adventurer’s guild. How can I help you?”

“Hello, my name is Senna. Pleased to meet you. The guards told me I could come here to sell the goblins I killed. I’m not an adventurer though, is that okay?” Senna uses her best smile as she nervously explains her situation.

“Yes. That is perfectly okay.” The receptionist smiles in response. “The appraiser for monster kills is that long line to your left. If you’d like, do you want to register as an adventurer now to receive a larger reward for your work? The cost of registration is 100 Triton.”

Senna smiles a bit bitterly and bows. “I’m very sorry. I have no funds for that right now. I only just arrived in town and need to acquire some money as fast as I can.”

“If that’s the case, how about you spend the night with me? I’ll give you the money you need. Gahahaha!” A man’s voice sounds out from one of the tables behind her. Some of the men nearby join in laughing at her.

The receptionist smiles awkwardly as she sees the pained smile on Senna’s face. “I apologize. They’re decent people, just a bit vulgar at times.”

“I’ll say.” A woman stands up to Senna. Senna looks up seeing the taller woman before her. Most of the woman’s upper body is covered in a green cloak. The woman’s hair is a short wavy flaxen colored hair. Her brown eyes give a stern gaze as she examines Senna. The black pants, leather boots and gloves give her the impression of a skilled thief. “I heard your problem. How much are you missing?”

“I don’t have anything.” Senna replies honestly.

The woman looks at Senna in surprise. “You don’t have any money? How have you been living?”

“I’m not sure. I was knocked out and taken from the place I was living, when I woke up I was in a field of grass a couple of hours from town. I came here to get money and figure out what to do.”

The woman and the receptionist’s surprise increase even more listening to Senna. “You weren’t carrying anything?”

“No. Nothing significant. I do happen to have something I can pawn off for some living expenses. So it’s not completely horrible. I’m just a little disoriented since I don’t know where I am.” (Senna)

“Hmm… That’s quite the story.” (Woman)

“Haha. I know it’s quite unbelievable. Anyways, I’m sorry for wasting your time.” Senna bows and starts to walk away.

“Wait.” The woman grips Senna’s hand. Senna turns back at the sudden call. The woman takes out a silver coin and hands it to Senna. “Here. Use this to pay for the fee.”

Senna pushes the money back. “Oh no. I couldn’t.”

“No buts. Take it.” The woman forces the coin into Senna’s hand and closes her hand.

“Thank you… Ah. I’m sorry. My name is Senna. Pleased to meet you.” Senna nervously bows to the woman.

“Ah I’m Anahid Galstyan. Nice to meet you. Also, you shouldn’t bow like that. You give off the impression of a sheltered girl that’s easy to take advantage of.” (Anahid)

“I’m Maria Sibrian. If you have anything you’re unsure about, I’ll be happy to listen. I agree with Anahid. You shouldn’t bow.” The receptionist uses the chance to interject and introduce herself.

“Ahahaha.” Senna dryly laughs at their advice. “Um…well I can’t deny the sheltered part. And I was severely beaten for most of what I can remember if I didn’t bow, so stopping is a bit impossible.”

Their smiles disappear listening to Senna. “Just what kind of past do you have?” (Anahid)

“Nothing pleasant.” Senna replies seriously. “Here’s the fee.” She changes the topic quickly.

“O-okay.” Maria accepts the money and pulls out a sheet of paper. “Can you write?”

Senna looks at the paper, but shakes her head. “I’m sorry. It looks different from the language I know. I must be further away than I thought. Oh the guard gave me this.” She takes out the piece of parchment from the guard.

“Yes. This is the information I need.” Maria copies the information on the parchment and gives it back to Senna. “Here you are. Please wait a moment.” Maria steps away from the desk and goes into the back room. She returns after a short wait carrying a silver card. “Here’s your card. Please mark it with your blood.” She passes the card and a simple needle to Senna.

Senna accepts the car and needle. She pricks her finger and marks the card with a drop of blood. The blood is quickly absorbed into the card and quickly spreads turning the entire card blue. Senna returns the needle to Maria while she examines the card. The card is completely flat without a single word recorded on it.

“You need to recite 「Guild Status」to see your ranking.” (Maria)

“「Guild Status」.” (Senna)

Name: Senna

Age: 14 years old

Race: Human

Rank: F

Missions completed: 0

Missions to Next Rank: 10F

Senna quickly reads the status that is displayed for her. {Good thing it somehow came in English.}

“Would you like to hear the rules for the guild?” (Maria)

“Please.”

“The guild has a ranking system from F, E, D, C, B, A, and finally S rank. By completing missions, your card will naturally change colors to reflect a change in rank. For your current rank, ten missions of F rank or two E rank missions will immediately bring you to the next rank. You can only take missions at your level, above one rank or below one rank. Understand everything so far?” Maria takes a pause to check with Senna, who nods immediately.

“The rank up system only applies to D rank and under. Starting from rising to C rank, you must be evaluated by the guild after completing the required missions to rank up. You can take up to three jobs actively at one time. If you have to quit a job at any time, you will be asked to pay a fine depending on the guild rank. The exception is the jobs with wooden boards. They’re permanent jobs that are always active. They do not need to be accepted to receive the reward. You only have to fulfill the request.” (Maria)

“Understood.” (Senna)

“Unless you give prior notice, 3 years of inactivity without taking any jobs will result in your membership being revoked. At that time, you’ll be forced to start again from the beginning.” (Maria)

“Is any reason accepted?” (Senna)

“As long as it’s reasonable. Illness, family problems, or an extended job that might not be with the guild are all reasonable excuses. There are many guild branches in other cities, so it is generally very simple to keep track of accepted jobs.” (Maria)

“Okay!” Senna nods listening to every word.

“That’s about it for the explanation on jobs. As an adventurer, you can access the services that each guild provides with a discount compared to the general commoner. However, an adventurer also has to follow the rules. One, avoid fighting your other guild members.” (Maria)

“‘Avoid’? Don’t you mean ‘never’?” (Senna)

“Some adventurers don’t get along, so conflicts happen unfortunately. Second, you have to answer the local guild’s summons if called.”

“What happens in the guild’s summons?”

“Normally, a dangerous monster is attacking and needs to be subdued. Third, you must listen to the guildmaster, if he addresses you. That’s all.”

“Okay! Thank you very much!” Senna bows.

“Good luck then. I’ll be here if you have any troubles.” (Maria)

“Thank you!” Senna bows again and waits in the other line to sell the goblins. Anahid follows Senna and waits with her. “Huh? Did you need something else of me?”

“No. I’m just curious about you and plan to follow you for a while.” Anahid replies apathetically.

“…Because you want me to pay you back?” Senna tilts her head at the odd direction of the conversation.

“No. That was a gift. I’m just curious.” (Anahid)

“Is that so?” Senna shrugs and accepts the answer. Senna reaches the front of the line before any further discussion occurs.

“Welcome. What have ya got?” The appraiser greets Senna and Anahid when she approaches the counter. The appraiser is a large gruff man with a stern expression as he appraises the two of them. A look of confusion passes his face when he attempts to appraise Senna.

StatusNameSennaLevel?Race?Age?HP?MP?Strength?Endurance?Agility?Dexterity?Intelligence?Wisdom?Luck?Skills???

StatusNameAnahid GalstyanLevel48RaceHumanAge27HP1340MP435Strength88Endurance74Agility126Dexterity107Intelligence20Wisdom24Luck79SkillsDagger Lv. 5

Trap Lv. 3

Presence Detection Lv. 3

Trap Detection Lv. 3

Lockpicking Lv. 4

Stealth Lv. 4

“I had some goblin corpses and wanted to trade them in. I’m a newcomer.” Senna shows him the newly acquired guild card.

“And where are they? You should have them ready to show me or I can’t appraise it.” (Appraiser)

“I have it. Just one second.” Senna opens her [Storage] and places the goblin corpses and weapons on the counter. Both the appraiser and Anahid’s eyes open wide seeing the items suddenly appear.

“You have [Storage] magic?” Anahid fires off the question. As a veteran, she knows better than to pry into other people’s privacy and question their . However, the surprise from seeing the [Storage] ability prevents her from rationally keeping quiet.

“Yep.” Senna smiles as she returns her attention to the appraiser. “I’m a complete amateur, so I just took the entire thing. What do you normally take from a goblin?”

“Normally the fangs are taken. They’re useful in some medicinal recipes. These two headless goblins aren’t worth as much because of that.” The appraiser carefully examines each of the goblins.

Senna just smiles awkwardly. “Sorry. I’ll be more careful next time.”

“The knives are completely rusted and the clubs are chipped. Even so the clubs are worth more since you can use the wood for other things. I’ll give you 5 Triton for the intact goblins, 2 Triton for the headless ones, 1 Triton for the rusty knives, 2 Triton for the clubs.” The appraiser lists off the prices for the items. Senna just stares at him blankly. “What not satisfied with the price?”

Senna shakes her head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll assume that’s the normal price.”

““It is.”” Both the appraiser and Anahid reply.

“Then I have no problem with it.” (Senna)

“Let me calculate the total then.” The appraiser picks up an abacus and starts calculating the price.

“Why do you look so confused then?” Anahid asks looking at Senna.

“I don’t understand the money, Triton is it?” Senna whispers to Anahid.

“Triton is the currency in the kingdom of Lalfiya. There are eight type of coins, copper, big copper, silver, big silver, gold, big gold, white gold, big white gold. 1 copper coin is equal to 1 Triton. 10 copper coins are 10 Tritons, which is also equal to 1 big copper coin. 10 of each coin make up 1 coin of the next grade.” Anahid calmly explains the currency to Senna while showing her how each coin looks like. “Did you understand all of that?”

“Yes. Thank you for the explanation. Are big gold coins and white gold coins rare?” Senna asks looking through the coins in Anahid’s hand. The coins she carries go up to gold coins, but stop there.

“Yes. White gold coins are more for high class merchants and kings. You would almost never see those as a common adventurer. Gold coins are fairly rare unless you’re a high class adventurer. Even then you have to take big jobs to acquire any.” (Anahid)

“I see.” Senna comments lightly. {She tricked me. Gold coins are probably worth a lot more than a couple of weeks in town….What else will happen now?} Senna sighs to herself.

“Ok. The total comes to 45 Triton.” The appraiser hands her the money for the exchange.

“Thank you!” Senna smiles taking the money.

“Yep.” He places the materials away in a large box behind the counter.

Senna and Anahid leave the guild building finished with their business. “Where are you off to now?” Anahid asks following Senna still.

“I was let into the city without paying the tax, so I need to go and pay it off before it becomes a problem later.” Senna blushes admitting her pitiful state.

Anahid’s eyes widen when she hears the response. “…How should I say this? …You’re really in a bad state. Will you even be able to manage like this?”

“Well I have something for emergency funds. I just need to sell it.” Senna laughs awkwardly admitting her terrible state.

Anahid sighs to herself. “It would be better if you didn’t have to sell your belongings to survive.”

“It’s just a trinket, so it isn’t a problem. Will you still follow along as I drop by the guard station?” (Senna)

“Yes. I’m still planning on following.” (Anahid)

“Then I’ll try and make it quick.” Senna replies increasing her walking speed.

“You don’t have to rush. I have time.” Anahid comments following Senna.

Author's Note

General Guild rules and talk. A bit boring, but I'm focusing on some world building for these early chapters. Once I set things up, things will quickly escalate and bring Senna all sorts of trouble.

Edit: Changed guild membership inactivity from 6 months to 3 years. 6 months is a bit short for a fantasy setting where transportation is less developed.