Taking a good look around him as he previously left the main building shortly after confronting Roth, Feng noticed the rather bleak layout of the Adventurers’ Guild. While there were some decorative weapons adorning the stone walls and a few tables and benches scattered around the area, the only note-worthy feature was a heavy stone counter where Roth was seated. There were a set of stairs and large doors directly behind Roth, which Feng guessed probably led to more private and important rooms.

“Well, if you are done gawking lad. Come over here and try these out.”

Roth’s words snapped Feng out of his thoughts and he looked over to see Roth retrieving a set of bronze weaponry from beneath the counter and dumping it on top.

“Woah! You are giving these to me?” Feng ran over in a blink of the eye and was inspecting the set of bronze sword and daggers with great loving care.

“Er.. Yes but stop that now lad. It looks really wrong.”

Roth spoke sharply as he stared at Feng rubbing his cheeks tenderly against the blades with an ecstatic face.

“Anyway, here are some leather gloves for you too, since you like to fight with your fists.”

Greedily inspecting his spoils, Feng’s face lit up like a kid who just received his Christmas presents… A very disturbing-looking kid who was laughing evilly and muttering sinisterly to himself.

Hardy Bronze Training Sword

Type: Sword

Damage: 10 - 12

Durability: 50

Requirements:

10 Strength

10 Dexterity

Description: A basic bronze training sword made to last, it is more durable in return for lowered damage, comes with a belt sheath for convenience.

Hardy Bronze Training Daggers (x5)

Type: Dagger

Damage: 6 - 12

Durability: 40

Requirements:

15 Dexterity

Description: A basic bronze training dagger made to last, it is more durable in return for lowered damage.

Fingerless Leather Training Gloves

Type: Gloves

Unarmed Damage: + 1 - 2

Unarmed Recoil Damage Reduction: +10%

Defense: 2

Durability: 30

Description: A basic pair of leather training gloves.

“… strong equipment… free… save gold for… Ho ho ho… Yes… Headstart… -nquer the world!”

Sweat-dropping at Feng’s maniacal behavior, Roth cleared his throat loudly to get Feng’s attention.

“Ehem. If you are done admiring your rewards, I still have the last and most important reward left.”

“Yes? Is it another piece of equipment?” Eyes shining, Feng immediately appeared next to Roth as he eagerly questioned him.

“No, it’s better than that! You get to join the Adventurers’ Guild!”

“Oh.”

Ticked off by Feng’s lackluster reply, Roth slapped the table and lectured him passionately.

“HOY! What’s with that disappointed reply? I’ll let you know that it is a very prestigious thing to be accepted into the adventurers’ guild! There are many missions exclusive to our guild besides the ones open to the non-member adventurers, plus you get access to our member training areas and secret regimes! There’s no better guild to join!”

Shrugging apologetically as he replied, Feng explained himself to Roth.

“Eh. But I don’t intend to just be a fighter… I’m intending to learn from all the other guilds as well! While this sounds great, I’m afraid I have to pass if I want to go learn more before I decide.”

“… HA HA HA! Ambitious brat, aren’t you? Well, just to let you know there’s nothing stopping you from joining us even if that’s your plan. We are a neutral guild catering to all adventurers even though we specialize in warrior training; many mages, priests, rogues, rangers and other guild members sign up with us as well. Furthermore, only certain guilds will not allow you entry if you are a member of an opposing guild such as Druids and Necromancers, otherwise you are free to join as many guilds as you manage to gain entry in.”

Ending his small speech about how guilds work, Roth was faced with an overly-excited Feng bouncing on the feet.

“Holy crap, that’s awesome. This is great for my plans, thanks Roth! Where do I sign up?”

Pulling a quill and a large black book emblazoned with a pair of crossed sword and axe from under the counter, Roth opened up to the middle section and indicated the empty space under a long list of names.

“Just sign here on the membership tome.”

Taking the quill eagerly, Feng scribbled his name onto the book and experienced a sharp pain in his hand as his name glowed crimson before fading back to dull black.

“Yowch! What was that?”

“That was the contract quill taking some of your blood to verify your identify and create a binding bond in the Adventurers’ Guild Membership Rolls. All Adventurers’ Guild across the land will now recognize you as part of us… Well the lowliest part of us anyway. Welcome to the crazy family of the Adventurers’ Guild, Greenhorn Feng!”

*DING*

Title Obtained: Greenhorn Adventurer

You are now recognized as an official member of the Adventurers’ Guild, albeit the lowest of the low. Common folk will respect you more and are more likely to favor you with tasks and quests.

+10 Fame

+5% Quest Trigger Chance

Privileges

Access to Adventurers’ Guild Mission Board, Commons, Dormitory & Training Hall

“… Thanks Roth, though that comment about being the lowliest was rather unnecessary, it brings up a good point. How do I improve my rank in the guild?”

“It’s as simple as whacking monsters… Literally, just do some jobs from the board or requests from guild rankers and you’ll be on your way to earning a recommendation for the rank-up exam which will open up some new trainings for you.”

Feng tapped his foot thoughtfully as he took a moment to consider his actions given the new information he learnt

.

‘So ranking up basically gives me access to higher-level class-specific skills, so should I specialize first since I probably have a head-start in the Adventurers’ Guild or should I branch out… Hmm… given the probable actions of the other players… My intended build… Relative speed of the options… Survivability… Especially given the amount of pain I felt from Roth’s special training… Alright, I’ll go with this unless something radical pops up.’

“Right… Well, thanks for all your help Roth. Could I get directions from you to the nearest church or someplace where I can learn some healing magic?”

“Sure, the church is actually just slightly north of the town square next to the library.”

“Thanks Roth, I’ll see you around!” With a quick thanks and farewell, Feng left immediately eager to begin on his next stage of training… and hopefully get around to actually beating around something soon.

---

Author's Notes:

This chapter is shorter as I broke it up here in order for the story to flow coherently, to make up for that, I will putting up an interesting scene within the next few hours. Also, I would like your opinions on whether shorter but more frequent chapters or longer but less frequent chapters are preferred?