"Do you know what kind of jobs there are?" Asuna asked.

"Monster hunting probably. Or maybe clearing out bandits. I don't want to meet those people in the Shadow Tribe again, though, so we will make some money here before leaving."

"What kind of monsters appear around here?"

"…Well, we have plenty of monsters roaming the plains outside the walls."

"I see."

Ian and Asuna followed the streets and eventually arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. There were several shops inside the building. At the back were adventurers sitting behind tables.

Some of them were quarreling with one another and arguing. Others were busy playing cards or dice.

"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild," said a young man dressed in a blue robe. "My name is Ben, the guildmaster."

"Hello." Ian and Asuna bowed slightly. "We are new here. Could I ask about finding jobs?"

Ben smiled: "Of course. What kind of jobs do you wish?"

"Monster hunting?"

"That's no problem. Let me show you to the job board."

At the top of the table, there were posters with descriptions of the available jobs. Some of them had pictures attached to it. Monsters were not very detailed drawings, but they weren't bad either. They depicted things like a lizardman, a goliath bird, or a giant spider. All of these creatures lived in the lands surrounding Fallbay.

"Maybe we should try hunting monsters," Asuna suggested.

"That's the plan," Ian agreed.

Ben showed them to the right side of the room. "All the jobs are listed on this wall. If you have an interest in something, just check the poster and the details. You can also talk to the adventurers on duty. They'll give you information about the job."

"Thank you." Ian and Asuna sat down at one of the tables.

An older adventurer noticed them and approached them: "Excuse me? Are you two new?"

"Yes." Ian replied. "Are we allowed to sit here?"

"Of course! Welcome." The man smiled. His face was covered by a long beard that almost reached his chest. "I am Neil. Do you want some advice?"

"Um… yes." Asuna was nervous. "Actually, I'd appreciate it."

Neil laughed lightly at the request. "Don't worry, young man. I'm only telling you what I've learned from my own experience."

"When we are starting out, there is a lot of work. But the pay isn't good, and it's monotonous."

"That's true." Ian nodded. He had played an RPG adventure game in the past, and everything was repetitive.

"So you must choose a job that pays well."

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked.

"For example, if you're not comfortable killing monsters, then monster hunting is a bad choice."

"Why is that?"

"If you don't like killing, then you won't like being paid for killing. And since you will be doing this for a living, this will cause problems."

"I see."

"Also, you might have skills you want to develop. For example, fighting arts, magic, crafting, cooking…"

Ian thought for a moment: "Those skills are important, but they aren't required for a beginner. Just use a sword, and you can kill small monsters."

"Well, that's true. If you're good with your hands, you could also try making weapons and armor. But it will require a lot of time to learn how to craft them properly." Neil pointed to a poster: "There is a job that requires no combat ability whatsoever."

"What is it?"

"Transportation. If you can handle a horse, you can travel on a wagon. There are many towns that need workers for that."

"Oh, that sounds interesting," Asuna said. "Is the pay good?"

"I mean if you hunt monsters, you have to kill the stronger ones to make it worthwhile. If not then you're just going to go out, kill dozens of monsters, and repeat it over and over again. The transportation jobs take time, but you won't face any risk."

Ian talked with Neil for a few moments. From talking, he learned that people can tell, detect, or guess someone's level correctly. It was said to be very easy too. When he looked at Asuna, he had a feeling that her level was around 13 or something. It was double his level.

"I don't know if I should say this, but what about the Shadow Tribe?" Ian asked.

Neil was shocked. "Don't mention that name. Whatever you do, don't mention it to anyone else. I will get going now. You two take care of yourselves."

Ian and Asuna were confused by Neil's reaction.

"It seems like the Shadow Tribe is much more dangerous than we thought," Ian said.

"What should we do?"

"A transportation job requires us to go far. I don't think it's safe for us to go out yet. Those people might still look for us, but if we stay near the city, we will be safe."

"So we should hunt for monsters?"

"For now yes. After obtaining enough money, and getting stronger, we can get more spending points, and increase our level."

"Leveling up is the most effective way to improve ourselves."

"That's right. Leveling up will help us earn more money, and eventually we can leave this city and find a town with better condition."

Asuna nodded in agreement. She was happy to hear Ian talk about leveling up.

Ian continued: "In order to level up, you need to defeat monsters or complete quests. Once you reach a certain threshold of experience, you will gain a level."

"In that case we should kill as many monster as possible," Asuna said.

"Yes, we should. I saw a few group of adventurers hunting monsters in the forest. Maybe we should join them just in case the Shadow Tribe appeared."

Asuna nodded to that suggestion. She didn't want to be kidnapped ever again.