Chapter 38 - Chapter 37: Adventurer's Guild
The first holiday since arriving in Sarbengeal.
Mika had been walking along the main street of the town since morning.
He had gone out into the town a bit during the few days before the academy started to do some shopping, but back then he had only bought what was necessary.
Thinking about the future, he had decided to at least get a grasp of the main street on the west side of the Central Plaza for now.
Sarbengeal has two roads called main streets.
One runs north-south, and the other runs east-west.
The place where these two main streets intersect is the Central Plaza, located slightly north of the town's center.
This is because the east-west main street itself passes slightly north of the town.
The town spans five kilometers north-south and four kilometers east-west.
In other words, even just the main street on the west side from the Central Plaza is about two kilometers long.
Also, since the Magic Academy is located at the northwest corner, one must walk about two kilometers just to reach the main street.
"...That's too far. Even without a carriage, I wish I had at least a bicycle."
Two kilometers from the dormitory to the main street, four kilometers for a round trip on the main street, and two kilometers back to the dormitory from the main street.
Even with simple calculation, it is an eight-kilometer walk.
Just thinking about it is exhausting, but whether looking for work or doing anything else, one must first decide on their range of activity.
It was impossible to grasp the whole town all at once, so he had come here thinking he would at least start with the nearby area, but...
"This is still only about half of the west main street, right? I'm starting to want to go back..."
Mika opened the collar of his uniform shirt and fanned himself with his hand.
Since he knew he would be walking a long distance, he was not wearing a robe.
Mika used his uniform as outdoor wear and his sports clothes as loungewear.
The main street was overflowing with people, making even walking a struggle.
There was no time to spare to look at the streetscape.
Even though the purpose was not to walk, but to grasp the town.
"Ninetiana said that when the month changes, the crowds would settle down... But right now, it doesn't feel any different."
An involuntary sigh escaped him.
Due to his height, Mika could not even take a quick glance at the entire main street.
He could only see the shops right in front of him.
After walking slowly while getting fed up with the crowd, he saw a familiar signboard in front of him.
A full-face helmet turned sideways, with a picture of a sword thrust into the ground.
"Huh? Is this...?"
The building with that signboard was very large, a splendid five-story structure.
Mika peeked inside from the entrance, revealing a wide floor where the first and second floors were open to the sky.
There were not many people inside the building.
There were about five groups of four to five people, but because the interior was so spacious, it gave an impression of being quiet and unpopulated.
On the bulletin board on the right wall, papers were plastered everywhere, and four groups were gazing at them.
In the back, there was a long counter, and one group was talking to the woman at the counter about something.
On the left side, something like a bar counter could also be seen.
"...Is this the Adventurer's Guild?"
The Adventurer's Guild in Kotontesse had a run-down feel that made you grimace just by looking at it from the outside, but the guild in Sarbengeal was very splendid.
There was no litter scattered around, and the interior itself was of good quality.
There was not a single element that created psychological resistance or made it difficult to enter.
Mika looked around nervously.
No one seemed to be paying attention to him.
Mika decided to try going in a little.
Upon entering, he noticed that the wooden floor was polished cleanly.
As expected, it was probably old and covered in scratches, but it seemed to be cleaned thoroughly and was shining brightly.
Or rather, it was shining brightly unnaturally so.
It was as if it had been coated with wax.
At the counter in the back, a woman in a matching uniform was working busily.
One of the groups that had been looking at the bulletin board on the right wall earlier came to that counter.
The woman at the counter was handling that group alone.
Watching that scene for a moment, Mika decided to go to the right wall.
"...Rank D, 'Savakame', 'Ishi'...? Collection of ten or more. Reward: 20,000 Rats.
...Rank C, 'Garagara Kusa'? Subjugation of five or more. Reward: 10,000 Rats per body, plus a bonus of 2,000 Rats per body from the sixth body..."
Mika gazed at the bulletin board and read the content that caught his eye for now.
The notices posted on the bulletin board seemed to be quest requests.
As he read the content of the requests one by one, someone came up beside him.
When Mika turned around, a glamorous blonde older sister with voluminous wavy hair was standing there smiling.
With her strong-looking upturned eyebrows and large, bright eyes, if she rolled her hair vertically, she would fit the role of a haughty young lady perfectly.
...No, even as she is, she feels like she fits that role perfectly.
That older sister was wearing the same matching uniform as the women at the counter.
She was probably a guild staff member... Though she didn't quite look like it.
"What's wrong? Did you come with someone?"
Contrary to her appearance, the older sister asked Mika gently.
It seemed she had come to check if a child had gotten lost or if he was with someone.
"Is this the Adventurer's Guild?"
"Yes, it is."
"I would like to register as an adventurer."
Remembering what Ninetiana had told him before, he said it for now.
The older sister made a surprised face, then a troubled one.
"Um, you see, being an adventurer is a very dangerous job. You might be interested, but you should wait until you are a bit older----."
"I haven't heard that there are any age restrictions. How old is okay?"
"Eh? Well, there are indeed no age restrictions... But a cute girl like you shouldn't be doing----."
"I am not a girl, and I have heard about the reality of adventurers to some extent. I know about the hardships and the dangers."
"Eh, um..."
The older sister placed her hand on her cheek, looking truly troubled and unable to say the next word.
It seemed highly likely that he would be turned away at the door in this state, so whether it would turn out to be good or bad, he decided to play all his cards.
"I am a student of the Magic Academy. Since I have left my parents' home, I am thinking of ways to earn money on my own. If possible, I would like to do adventurer work. Are there any requests I can do?"
When Mika showed the bracelet on his left hand, the older sister's eyes widened in surprise.
She seemed to have lost her voice entirely.
She remained frozen for a while until Mika called out, "Miss?"
Mika was led inside the counter and sat on a chair.
Sitting in front of him was a stern-looking older man with neatly trimmed sideburns, who seemed to be the older sister's superior.
He had actually tried to talk across the counter, but Mika was too short, making it difficult to converse.
So, as a special measure, a chair was hastily prepared.
"Fumu... Well, I understand the situation."
Being interviewed by the stern older man, Mika answered the questions asked for now.
Though, he hadn't told such complicated stories.
He had left the village to enter the academy, and while he wanted to work, his time was restricted by curfew.
In reality, he only had free time on weekends, so he was wondering if there was anything he could do with adventurer requests.
That was about it.
"If you don't do sloppy work, we won't say anything from our side. However, even with simple requests, danger is not zero, and if you are unlucky, you might die. Everyone does this knowing that, so you won't be treated differently just because you are a child."
Mika silently nodded at the stern older man's explanation.
"Most of the reasons why rookie adventurers get seriously injured or lose their lives are accidental encounters with magic beasts or monsters. ...Do you think they will let you go just because you are a child?"
"No. Rather, they will attack enthusiastically. They will think they found easy prey."
"Hahaha, well, I don't know if they will be enthusiastic or not, but to magic beasts and monsters, adults and children are no different. They are just food. So, when children who have no resolve or preparation try to register as adventurers, I usually persuade them to reconsider."
The stern older man signaled to the older sister from before.
"If you have the resolve, go ahead and try. However, make sure you have the resolve to lose your life."
He looked at Mika with serious eyes.
"Strangely enough, those who lack the resolve to lose their lives are the ones who die. Especially newbies... Probably because they don't think they will lose their lives, their preparations are too lax. I pray that you won't end up like that."
Saying that, the stern older man stood up.
He spoke a few words to the blonde, fluffy older sister and then went straight to the back room.
Mika called out, "Thank you," to his back.
"...Are you really going to do it?"
The older sister asked with a worried face.
"Yes, please!"
Mika answered cheerfully and enthusiastically.
I did it! Now, finally, I am an adventurer!
Until now, he had only dreamed of becoming an adventurer, but now he could actually become one.
Filled with expectation and excitement, Mika felt like he wanted to let out a roar.
"Here is your guild card."
Saying that, the older sister handed the card over the counter.
Mika took the card and almost smiled.
Like Ninetiana's card, this card had a bulging part and a chain attached.
The procedure itself was indeed simple, just as Ninetiana had said.
He wrote his name, age, hometown, and current contact information on the form, and was told to place his hand on the crystal. Once he did that, it was over.
He just had to wait for the card to be made.
"Well, I will explain the details now."
"Yes, please."
From then on, explanations began regarding accepting quests and receiving rewards.
Adventurers come to the guild and check the request sheets on the bulletin board.
Then, they take the request sheet they want to accept to the reception. Basically, it is first-come, first-served.
However, there are quests where it is not first-come, first-served for acceptance, but first-come, first-served for completion.
For such quests, you can bring the request sheet to the reception, but the receptionist will immediately put it back on the bulletin board.
So, for quests that are first-come, first-served for completion, it seems you only need to call out to the receptionist.
The reason to call out to the receptionist is so that the guild can grasp how many parties are currently challenging the quest.
If you want to accept a request but there are already many parties challenging it, you give up and look for the next one.
For adventurers to make such judgments, the guild requests that you call out to the receptionist when accepting a quest.
If you call out, they will tell you how many parties have already accepted it, it seems.
Also, it is not that you cannot accept a quest unless you call out to the receptionist.
For example, suppose you accidentally encounter a magic beast and defeat it, and there happens to be a subjugation request for that magic beast.
Moreover, suppose another party had already accepted it.
How would this be handled?
There is nothing difficult about it; simply, the adventurer who defeated it is considered to have completed it.
Such accidental collisions happen normally, and everyone knows this.
Intentionally stealing the quest is a violation of manners, but if done too blatantly, it becomes subject to guild punishment.
So, normally, you report the acceptance to the receptionist, and if there is an accidental collision, you just give up and accept your bad luck.
It seems that is how it works.
Of course, Mika could not possibly accept such a highly competitive quest.
The realistic quests Mika could accept were what are called "fixed-price quests."
These seem to be collection-type quests where a certain demand is always expected.
If you bring in a specified amount of grass, ore, etc., the guild will buy them at a fixed price.
Items in poor condition might be refused for purchase, but the places where you can collect them are somewhat determined, and it is easy to estimate the price.
Especially the collection around the lake just north of Sarbengeal is relatively safe, so the guild's older sister recommended doing that first.
Or rather, she pleaded, "Please, don't push yourself too hard at first. Let's start with these? Please? Please?"
Well, since there weren't many quests available for F-rank anyway, Mika had no particular objection to this.
Even with these fixed-price quests, it seems they count as material for rank promotion, so he thought that would be enough for now.
And next was quest cancellation.
Once accepted, but difficult for oneself to complete.
Such quests can be cancelled at the reception.
However, in that case, you will receive a severe scolding. In some cases, a scolding alone will not suffice.
If you accept on a first-come, first-served basis and then say, "Actually, I can't do it," it will drop the reputation not only of that adventurer but also of the guild.
Therefore, the guild will add a bonus to the reward to reassign the quest to a skilled adventurer and have them complete it quickly.
And the adventurer who cancelled will be given a heavy penalty, including fines and demotion.
This is because if that adventurer had not accepted it, other adventurers might have already completed it long ago.
Also, the situation may have worsened due to the wasted time that adventurer held onto the request without being able to complete it.
Therefore, cancellation is taken very seriously by the guild.
However, not all cancellations are considered bad.
Due to the death or injury of party members, quests that were previously fine may fail.
In the first place, the quest may be difficult even at the rank set for it. This would be a mistake by the requester or the guild's confirmation.
Taking such circumstances into account, the guild decides on the punishment and response, it seems.
And then came the explanation of the guild card.
"This card is for the owner only, and your personal magic power is registered, so even if someone else tries to use it, they can't. So it's okay if you lose it or drop it. It costs money to reissue, so you don't need to return to a dangerous dungeon just because you dropped it somewhere."
I see.
Even if you challenge a dungeon that is incredibly dangerous and return to town without your card, it seems you won't have to despair.
"If you pool the quest rewards on the card, most shops in large towns will accept payment. However, in small towns, there are places that don't accept it, so it's better to carry some cash."
So this is the function Ninetiana called "wandering the streets."
"When you form a party, you should disperse the money as much as possible, right?"
"Yes. Have you heard of that? There was someone causing a big fuss about that the other day, so be really careful. If you are an adventurer, you must always prepare for various things."
The older sister gave a serious warning.
Well, since he was doing it solo, it wasn't really related to him.
"How much can be pooled?"
"For your card, you can pool up to one million Rats."
One million Rats means one gold coin.
No matter how hard you try, a situation where it won't fit won't happen often.
"So, my card... Are there other types of cards?"
"When your rank goes up and you reach C-rank, you will update your card. Various functions will be enhanced, and the amount of rewards you can pool will increase. However, you will need a deposit of 300,000 Rats at the time of update."
"San, Ju...!? Eh, a deposit...?"
The older sister watched Mika with a gentle eye as he was surprised.
Those eyes were saying, "You don't need to worry about that yet."
"...By the way, how much can be pooled then?"
"Hehehe, I wonder how much it will be?"
For some reason, it was kept a secret.
Mika teased, and the older sister seemed a little happy.
The older sister continued explaining while brushing back her fluffy blonde hair.
"You can also link your bank and guild card, but then the amount you can pool depends on the contract. You could even put in an amount where the whole party can live and play for a lifetime."
It was becoming a story I couldn't even imagine.
"You can link with a bank too?"
"It is possible, but it might be too early for you. After all, you need a minimum deposit of one million Rats."
It was already so absurd that he couldn't make sense of it.
Putting aside the stories unrelated to Mika, he decided to confirm the necessary things for now.
"Can the pooled money be withdrawn?"
"Yes, for your card, you can withdraw at any adventurer's guild. If you link it with a bank, you can withdraw not only at the guild but also at the bank."
If he can withdraw at any guild, he can put it in with some peace of mind.
"Then, next is about the magic power of magic beasts and monsters."
"The magic power of magic beasts and monsters?"
Mika had heard from Ninetiana that magic beasts and monsters possess high magic power.
But the older sister's story was completely different.
"When you defeat a magic beast, the magic power is stored here on the card."
Saying that, she pointed to the bulging part of the card.
This was the place where she said the magic stone was inserted.
"That magic power will be collected by the guild when you present the card."
"Collected...?"
Some strange story came out.
Mika tried to understand by asking repeatedly.
In short, it seems to be like this.
When an adventurer defeats a magic beast, the magic power possessed by that magic beast is stored in the card.
This belongs entirely to the one who delivers the final blow.
For example, there are ten magic beasts.
Suppose ten people attack the magic beasts, and Mika uses a wide-area magic to deliver the final blow to all of them.
In that case, the magic power of all the magic beasts belongs entirely to Mika.
Conversely, suppose Mika unleashes magic at the start to deal damage to everyone, and ten people deliver the final blow to one each.
In this case, the magic power of one beast each will be stored in the cards of the ten people.
It seems to be a system where only the card of the one who delivers the final blow stores it.
It is a mystery why such a thing is possible, but he accepted it as such.
And then, the guild collects that magic power for a fee.
Saying it that way makes it sound like he pays money, but actually, the guild buys it.
For small magic beasts, it seems about one copper coin for every five or six defeated, but for large magic beasts, there are cases where magic power equivalent to one gold coin or more was collected from just one.
It becomes a story where, in addition to the subjugation reward, they bought the magic power for one gold coin.
It is surprisingly not a negligible income.
"Magic beasts and monsters also have individual differences in magic power for each one, but there are patterns where you can identify the race."
The older sister started another strange story.
When Mika made a blank expression saying, "I don't understand," the older sister smiled bitterly.
She must be seeing the question mark floating above Mika's head.
"For example, suppose you go to a forest on a quest and encounter and defeat several magic beasts."
Mika nodded.
"If you present the card at the guild, you can find out the type and number of magic beasts defeated based on the collected magic power."
"Oh?"
"It serves as proof of magic beast subjugation, so be careful not to lose your card. Even if you can reissue it, you won't know the stored magic power."
"I understand."
Mika nodded obediently.
"However, you can only find out about magic beasts and monsters that have been defeated before. In the case of new species, it will be 'Unknown'."
"New species?"
"If the characteristics do not match the magic power of any magic beast defeated so far, we will conduct an interview as a new species. What kind of magic beast it was, its characteristics, and if known, its weaknesses are valuable information."
"I see."
"If such a thing happens, we would appreciate your cooperation as much as possible. That information might save someone's life."
Indeed, it would be better to have some clues than no information at all for a new species.
Well, if it was just a chance encounter and a chance victory, the reliability of the information might be strict.
Still, it seems important to accumulate as much information as possible.
"Also, only magic beasts can store magic power, so if the subjugation target is a wild animal, you need to bring the proof back yourself. Such things are written clearly on the request sheet, so read it carefully. Even if the target is a magic beast, sometimes the requester asks for the body of the magic beast to be brought back."
"In any case, you need to confirm the request content carefully."
"Yes. If there is no special notation on the request sheet, the body of the magic beast or beast belongs to the adventurer who subjugated it, so some people bring it to the guild to sell."
The older sister took a piece of paper from under the counter and handed it to Mika.
"I have explained about this much for now, but I will give you a list of fixed-price quests."
Looking at the list, there were drawings of plants and ores to be collected.
It listed the name, characteristics, quantity and weight required for purchase, purchase price, and places where they could be collected.
"This is given to everyone who registers as an adventurer. Use it as a reference. ...And finally!"
The older sister leaned over the counter and looked straight at Mika's face.
"Absolutely do not push yourself! Absolutely not!"
With a serious face, she emphasized to Mika.
Mika straightened his posture and nodded firmly.
The guild's older sister told him the locations of nearby weapon shops, armor shops, tool shops, etc.
Ninetiana had said that shops near the guild were not a bad choice, so he decided to visit them for reference for now.
Although this greatly deviated from the original plan for the day, grasping the locations of weapon shops was one of the purposes of walking the main street anyway.
He first entered a weapon shop that was very close.
Inside the narrow shop, numerous weapons were placed everywhere.
Just looking at it made him feel overwhelmed by its ruggedness and quantity.
Mika tried to look for something like a so-called combat knife, but the cheapest one was 30,000 Rats, three large silver coins.
It was far out of his reach.
(...I can't even buy one knife.)
Mika slumped his shoulders dejectedly.
Of course, Mika could not use a knife skillfully, but in survival, having one knife or not changes the difficulty by orders of magnitude.
Just in case, he had been thinking that if he could, he wanted to carry at least one knife.
(Allowance is 5,000 Rats a month. If I do nothing, it will take half a year to get one knife.)
It seems he really needs to work hard on fixed-price quests, even if he has to push himself a little at first.
Mika looked around the store once, and could only sigh at the high prices.
The long swords and great swords displayed at the back of the counter were 1,000,000 Rats and 2,000,000 Rats.
What kind of people buy weapons that require large gold coins?
Next, he entered the armor shop next door, but it was also ridiculously expensive.
The price of the two full plate armors displayed at the back of the counter was 1,000,000 Rats and 5,000,000 Rats.
Even a leather chest guard and gauntlets like the ones Ninetiana used were 50,000 Rats and 30,000 Rats.
The equipment Mika wanted to equip at minimum, a knife, chest guard, and gauntlets, would cost a total of 110,000 Rats.
Next, he went to the tool shop, where potions were placed.
It was the same thing Kifrod had given to the vigilance committee members during the magic beast attack.
The price was 3,000 Rats, three silver coins.
It was a price he could buy if he wanted to, but it was quite expensive.
He would want it if he had spare money, but right now, he was broke, so even that was regrettable.
Of course, Mika also had healing magic, so it was not strictly necessary.
For now, he just browsed the tool shop and went outside.
By the way, the appraisal shop is next to this tool shop.
It seems they also do purchases, not just the guild.
Today was a day where he finally understood why adventurers eat daily set meals and rest in rickety huts of shared horse carriages.