Chapter 23: Adventurers’ Guild

 

 

 

Chapter 23: Adventurers’ Guild

 

RAUCOUS laughter and the clamor of armor boomed from the Adventurers’ Guild situated in the main city square. The solid brick building engendered an atmosphere that rejected newcomers and the faint of heart.

Aki gazed up in awe at the stronghold-like building protecting the city. “Incredible! So this is the often talked about Adventurers’ Guild—the place where Adventurers from all over the world gather!”

Elias crouched on the ground and rummaged through his leather bag. Curious as to what he was doing, she bent down beside him.

“Elias, what are you doing?”

“Oh, um, I have to change my gear before entering the Guild, so I’m pulling out what I need.”

“You’re changing your gear?” Aki asked, perplexed.

He yanked a large light-brown cloth from the bottom of his bag and started shaking it out before draping it over his head. He straightened up and pulled the edges down from his head to his feet, covering his entire body in the sheet of cloth. Lastly, he wrapped a leather belt around his waist to secure the cloth in place. Being wrapped in the cloth like some sort of pilgrim hid his symbolic dazzling golden locks of hair and his resplendent Holy Sword. No one would be able to tell it was Elias at first glance now.

“Yeah. Okay, this should do it.” Satisfied by his perfect disguise, he laughed merrily. He spotted the dubious look on Aki’s face and put his finger to his lips. “Aki, I have to disguise myself with this cloth whenever I enter a Guild. The owner we met at the jewelry shop said this city isn’t overly sensitive to the Hero, but things will be different inside the Guild where hotheaded Adventurers gather.”

“How so?”

“Put simply? There are lots of Adventurers who will challenge me to all sorts of matches to test their skills once they know I’m the Hero. Because of that there were more than a few times things quickly escalated to an all-out brawl. I’ve learned my lesson and disguise myself when entering a Guild now.”

It wasn’t difficult for Aki to imagine the temperamental Adventurers jumping Elias only for him to agilely dodge them. No doubt unconscious Adventurers were sprawled in heaps around his feet after the brawl. Leo cheered him on, while Johann scolded him from the sidelines for going too far this time.

Elias took a step toward the Guild entrance before turning to Aki. “Okay, my disguise is perfect like this, so we should be good. Aki, the inside of the Guild is always hectic and crowded, so try not to get separated from me. Umm, here.”

He flashed a cute smile and offered her his left hand without hesitation. Was he telling her to hold his hand? She slowly lifted her hand, when his patience ran out and he extended his hand farther to take hers.

“Let’s hurry inside, Aki!” he exclaimed with a boyish smile before turning back toward the Guild.

He really has started holding my hand like it’s only natural to do. Aki was happy Elias no longer seemed to care about putting a distance between them like he did with other people. It only went to show how much closer she had become with him. She thought about their relationship as he guided her by the hand to the Guild entrance. The large hand enveloping hers and the broad back walking in front of her were so dependable.

He’s someone I can never have, but I hope he will stay as just my Hero for the time being. She couldn’t stop her wishful thinking.

***

WOW! Talk about crowded and noisy!

The cacophony inside the Guild was so loud Elias and Aki couldn’t hear each other talk. She wanted to put her hands over her ears to block out the ruckus coming from the Adventurers cramped inside the building.

Long wooden tables placed at calculated intervals extended from the front of the room to the interior like endless planks. Adventurers of all ages and genders crowded around the tables; big and small dishes of exotic foods lined the tabletop in front of them. Adventurers gorged themselves on soup, meat, fish, and salad dishes. The Guild teemed with a savory mix of smells. Apparently, Adventurers were free to eat wherever they wanted inside.

A quick glance around the room at what people were wearing revealed gruff Warriors donning heavy armor, willowy robed Mages giving off an intellectual vibe, Priests wearing vestments that blatantly stood out amid the rest, as well as Thieves in light leather armor playing some sort of card game, and Martial Artists with only their lower body covered.

I-I don’t know where to look!

Elias chuckled at Aki as she quickly turned aside from the half-naked men sitting in front of them. “Are you surprised by how hectic it is? Isn’t the Guild a lively place?”

“Y-Yes, it is. I would say it’s more festive than lively.”

The Adventurers were downing pints of foamy drinks and dining on delicious food all while enjoying themselves with no constraint. It was like a peek into the Adventurers’ outgoing, upbeat, and brazen personalities.

A smile naturally lit Aki’s face as she turned her attention from the Adventurers to observing the Guild interior. An enormous bulletin board nailed to the back wall immediately caught her eye. The wooden board stood out conspicuously despite the double height ceilings and how spacious the room was. Adventurers gathered in droves in front of the board, keenly reading the small paper clippings tacked on it. Some Adventurers transcribed the contents of the clippings onto the paper they had on hand, while others ripped the whole paper off the board and ambled away with it.

What are they doing? Is that where normal people put up their requests for Adventurers to take on?

Aki tugged on Elias’ hand.

“What is it?” he asked, bending down to hear her. She brought her face next to his, taking him by surprise and turning his cheeks red, and talked in his ear loud enough to not lose out to the noisy room.

“Elias! What is that bulletin board?!”

“What? Bulletin board?” Confusion flickered across his green eyes until he looked in the direction she pointed. He nodded knowingly when he saw the board. “Oh, that’s the board I told you about before where people can put up their job requests. We call those jobs Quests, and the board a Quest Board.”

They’re called Quests? Sounds just like a game! Aki kept that comment to herself.

“If I remember correctly, you said Adventurers make their living off the reward they receive upon completing those Quests, right?”

“Right. The Quests are pretty entertaining to read because they cover anything from eradicating a powerful monster to finding a lost cat. Want to take a look since we’re here?”

“Yes!”

Elias weaved through the throngs of Adventurers, safely escorting Aki by the hand to the Quest Board. The Quest Board towered over them when they got closer to it. Aki gaped at it. Small clips of paper with the Quest title and details written on them were tacked messily across the corkboard-like Quest Board. A chunk of the Quests only had a small portion of the paper left on the board because of Adventurers who had ripped them off in haste.

“Wow, there are tons of Quests.”

Did this world have lots of problems only Adventurers could solve?

Elias was bent forward reading the different Quests with great interest. “There are. The Quests naturally start piling up because there are Quests no one will accept or ones Adventurers accept but can’t complete, so they stay on the board.”

“You can fail to complete a Quest?”

“Of course you can. The easiest example would be fleeing from a battle without defeating the monster. Running from a battle is counted as failing the Quest.”

Running from battle would mark the Quest as incomplete and leave the Quest Form tacked to the Quest Board until another Adventurer dared to accept it. In order not to fail her first Quest, Aki thought it would be best not to overstretch herself and choose one that fit her current ability, but from what Elias told her, the harder the Quest the better the reward. Consequently, there was no end to Adventurers who got severely injured from challenging extremely difficult Quests despite knowing the recklessness of it because they wanted the higher rewards.

Aki checked out the closest Quests. The Quests were divided into the broad categories of, “Monster Subjugation Quests”, “Bodyguard Quests”, “Information Gathering Quests”, and several more she couldn’t see from where she stood. Detailed toward the bottom of the Quest papers were the Jobs, skills, and conditions required to accept the Quest.

For example, one of the Monster Subjugation Quests strictly required the Adventurer to be level thirty or higher. While the postscript on an Information Gathering Quest said, “Job: Thief (Required: Espionage Skill)”.

Aki wasn’t knowledgeable about the Adventurer occupation, but she grasped enough from the different Quests to realize she couldn’t just pick whatever Quest she fancied.

“From what I see, it looks like you have to meet various requirements to accept Quests,” Aki commented, her nose scrunched up from scrutinizing the board too close.

“Pretty much, yeah. The Quest requirements are written in detail to increase the chances of success too, but the biggest reason is to keep the Adventurers who accept them alive. If the Quest giver doesn’t lay out specific requirements, an Adventurer who doesn’t meet the standard for that level of a Quest can accept it and possibly run into unforeseen circumstances that’ll put their life in danger.”

“I see. That would be like me accepting a Quest where I might suddenly encounter a high-level monster I can’t handle when I’m only a novice Adventurer.”

“Exactly. The purpose of the Quest requirements is to protect the Quest giver’s interests while safeguarding the Adventurer. Furthermore, in order to accept the Quest you have to go to the Quest Counter inside the Adventurers’ Guild and pass their inspection. A system is in place to keep Adventurers from being able to accept any Quest the people at the counter determine they don’t meet the requirements for.”

“Interesting,” Aki responded, taken in by the whole concept.

The Adventurers’ Guild reliably protected its Adventurers. The reputation they established was what brought Adventurers to their branches all over the world. There was no end to the children who aspired to be an Adventurer just to cross through the Guild doors.

I wonder if there are any Quests I can accept? Aki began scouring the board for a good Quest.

“Hey, do you two over there have a minute?” asked a woman behind them.

Aki and Elias glanced at each other and turned around to find a petite woman dressed in light armor walking toward them with one hand raised and a smile. She appeared to either be older or the same age as Elias. A commanding confidence came from her light-brown, slightly angled eyes. Her vivid red hair trimmed at shoulder length caught the eye. By all appearances, she was a beauty.

What stood out the most was her bold clothing choice consisting of a tube top exposing her stomach and shoulders and capris revealing her toned, slender legs. The outfit stood out considerably—even among other bizarre clothing choices—but it conversely fit her upbeat personality perfectly.

Elias’ eyes narrowed warily on the unfamiliar face. Leery of her, he hid Aki behind him. “…Do you need something from us?” he asked in a low, warning tone.

The redhead approached them unconcerned and winked. “How do you do? I’m Mina, the Thief! Sorry for approaching you out of the blue, but I’m looking for Adventurers who’ll join me on a Search Quest. Would you like to form a Party with me?”

This is nothing more than a gut feeling on my half, but it doesn’t seem like she approached us with an ulterior motive to get at Elias.

Elias had the same hunch as Aki, because the tension eased in his shoulders and he dropped his hand from where it rested ever alert on top of the Holy Sword hidden beneath his disguise.

He put his hand to his chin and asked, “You need help with a Search Quest?”

“Yup! Will you take a look at this?” Mina pulled a Quest Form folded in four spots from her back pocket before she finished talking. She dangled the paper in front of Elias and Aki and smacked the front of it. “Actually, this is a really rare Quest, but the difficulty level is a tad high, so I was debating whether I should invite someone to join in on it. That’s when I spotted you guys staring at the Quest Board looking for something to do. I figured why not ask them.”

Elias creased his brow. “Rare quest, is it now? Quests with leading lines like Rare almost always turn out to be a waste of time,” he demurred, warily eyeing the Quest Form Mina dangled in front of him. Aki leaned around him to take a peek at what the fading, difficult to read letters scribbled across the Quest Form yellowing with age said.

 

“Quest to Search Ancient Ruins. Find the Phantom Treasure. Difficulty Level: High”