Getting off the wagon, Sarah fished out 25 Pais from her pouch and handed it to the driver. Since the distance to the Hunter Guild wasn't too far from the Harbour, the cost of transportation was quite cheap.
Standing at the edge of the road, Sarah took a look at the massive structure belonging to the Hunter Guild at her front and the Merchant Association to her back. There were also the buildings of other Guilds and Associations lined along the road.
Broadway; it was the name of the street where all the Guilds and Associations were situated. Just a small foot-sized piece of land in this area costed a fortune. Sarah took a breath to calm her nerves as she began to scale up the flight of stairs. Each step was as big as half the height of her legs as Sarah struggled to climb them.
After what felt like a gruelling battle against the forces of evil, Sarah finally finished climbing all the steps and entered the Hunter Guild. If she had to coin a term for the Hunter Guild, it would have been: Huge.
As she entered the Hunter Guild, the figure of a skeleton came into her view. The skeleton was more than 20 Dobin high and looked like a prehistoric field. Even though it was a mere skeleton, the aura it emitted was enough to make her legs go numb. When she was about to lose her balance, a lady came up from behind and held her.
"Woah, careful there; is this your first time entering the Hunter Guild?" The lady said as she made Sarah regain her balance. Sporting an armour made from iron and carrying a battle axe that still had traces of blood on it, the lady gave off quite an intimidating vibe.
She had an angular face with a thin nose bridge. Her black hair was tied into a bun while a small iron crown rested on her head. Her eyes were slightly slit like a cat's that gave her a distrusting demeanour. One glance at her and people would avoid her for fear of getting themselves involved with some dangerous gang.
As Sarah saw the woman's appearance, for some reason, she felt like she was back home. Her rough menacing appearance was similar to the pirates under her father. And the stench of alcohol mixed with dried blood further relaxed her nerves.
"This is my first time appearing here, sister. I got a scare the moment I saw that skeleton." Sarah said as she flashed a bright smile.
Hearing the girl before her taking the initiative to call her sister despite her menacing appearance, the eyes of the lady softened a little as her impression of the girl rose by a few points. Placing her hand over the shoulders of the girl who barely crossed her hips, the lady laughed and walked towards a counter.
"Let this sister tell you a few important points to note before you register yourself here." The lady said as she pointed towards the skeleton that stood with imposing might in the wide hall. "First, don't look at the skeleton for more than 3 Ticks. You'll become crazy if you do since it is the skeleton of a monster that was at the peak of level 5 before death."
On seeing Sarah nod with rapt attention to her words, the lady dragged Sarah towards an area where a huge board was displayed. There were many glittering lights of all colours flashing across the board, disappearing in a matter of Ticks after they appeared. There were small booths lined across the floor below it that could house a person within it at a time.
"We call it the Hunter Pad. It is where all sorts of missions are posted all around the clock. If you want to receive a mission, all you need to do is to enter one of the booths below and select them from it. But, your sister her advises you to only go for the orange coloured missions until you reach level 2." The lady said, will all seriousness as Sarah gulped in curiosity.
The lady then pulled her towards the left where people were hollering atop a stage. "This is where people find members to form a party. You can also access all the party details from the counter over there."
"There are also many meeting rooms, private rooms for official parties, dismantling rooms, inspection rooms, healing wards, etc. anyway, you will find out as you frequent here often." The lady said as she brought Sarah towards a huge counter where a throng of people had lined up. She then half kneeled on the ground until her face matched the height of Sarah's as she said with all seriousness, "Remember, even if you find trustable comrades, never leave your back completely open to them. There are times where fate changing Jewellery and other items appear during missions that will spike the greed of everyone. So, make sure you have your guard up at all times."
"Alright, you can join this queue and become a full-fledged Hunter. Oh yeah, I forgot. What are you called kid?" The lady slapped her forehead as she gazed into the eyes of Sarah.
"Stella. My name is Stella." Sarah said with a naive laugh.
"May the Dungeon Lord foresee your fortuitous encounters, Stella. If the chance arises, we can party when you reach level 2." The lady made a small prayer before she bade farewell to Sarah and walked towards a bunch of warriors who were arguing with each other about some trifling topic.
Sarah joined the queue that the lady had pointed at as she went through all the points that were mentioned. After a moment of thought, Sarah looked at her surroundings, seeking to verify the information she had obtained. She didn't take everything the lady had said in face value because, first of all, she didn't know her. Secondly, she didn't have enough grounds to judge whether the woman was trustable enough. Even though her father had taught her many things and trained her for all sorts of situations, at the end of the day, she lacked the experience.
'Anyway, most of what she said looks like basic information that I can get from here.' Sarah shook her head and silently inched forward through the long line.
After what felt like an eternity, it was finally Sarah's turn. She looked towards a lady with a small pad in her hand that motioned for her to proceed towards 'Counter 8'. Sarah nodded and looked at the hundreds of counters that were before her.
The counters were placed in a step layout. Counters 1-20 were at the bottom, while counters 21-40 were above it, moved a little back to allow the top surface of the counters numbered from 1-20 to be used as a footpath for them. There were a flight of stairs on the sides that lead to each row of counters from both ends. The small space before the counters was wide enough to facilitate the movement of 10 people side-by-side.
Sarah could count a total of 10 rows which meant that there were 200 counters in total. Since she was assigned to 'Counter 8', Sarah didn't have to climb up. Her counter was near the middle on the lowermost row.
As Sarah pushed open the door and entered inside her designated counter, she came face to face with a grumpy old woman who looked to be in her fifties. The grumpy old woman motioned for her to sit on the chair before her.
There was a small table between the two and a glass partition that separated them from having direct contact as a defensive measure. Other than that, there were many runes inscribed along the walls on her side while a small rectangular box was conspicuously placed on the table before her.
"Your identity card and a drop of your blood please." The grumpy old woman said in a hoarse voice as she pressed a small button near her.
The rectangular box flashed with light as a small vial with a needle attached appeared in it. Sarah lifted it with curiosity and pricked her finger on the needle. A few drops of her blood were sucked into the vial through the needle as Sarah placed it back into the rectangular box. She then took out a crystal card worn around her neck and placed it beside the vial in the rectangular box.
A light once again flashed in it as the vial and her identity card disappeared while appearing before the grumpy old woman on the other side. The woman picked the identity card and inserted it into a machine beside her and inserted some energy along one of its formations. She then inserted the vial into another slot in the machine and picked out a crystal card from one of the drawers behind her.
The crystal card had the same appearance as that of a block of aluminium, judging from its appearance, colour and its lustre. But, with a single glance, Sarah could immediately tell that it was different from a block of aluminium because she felt a faint trace of energy flowing within it.
After the aluminium lookalike crystal card was inserted into the machine, the machine whirred into life and operated while producing grating sounds that were similar to when a block of wood was cut with a saw.
Three Chants later, the woman lifted out the new card that had been finished processing by the machine. The woman took out the empty vial and dumped it into a designated trash can while placing the identity card and the new card in the rectangular box before her.
When she tapped a switch, lights flashed as the two cards appeared before Sarah. The new card was quite different from her identity card in that it neither had her face engraved in it nor any of her personal information. It was blank except for the various runes flashing above it, inlaid in a complex network of lines. The back of the card was perfectly empty except for its somewhat rough texture.
"This is your Hunter Licence. Make sure you never lose it." The woman said and motioned for Sarah to pay up. "That will be 1 Rupi. If you don't have the money with you right now, it will be deducted from the rewards of your future missions."
Sarah nodded as she fished out a 1 Rupi coin from her inner pocket and placed it in the rectangular box. Lights flashed as the coin disappeared. Sarah performed a bow once when a booklet appeared before her.
"Everything you need to know is written inside. It is just a small present for people who can pay upfront." The grumpy old woman flashed her with a smile that looked like she had put zero effort into it.
Sarah bowed once and exited the counter. She was then instructed by personnel to proceed towards another hall where newcomers were put to a simple test. Sarah followed the route and entered a huge auditorium.
A stage was placed at the centre while rows of seats trailed off from it. The seats were placed on stepped platforms to ensure that even the person who sat at the last row could clearly view the stage at the front.
Sarah noticed the auditorium almost packed full by people who were all her age. She noticed an empty spot by the second row from the front that was empty and hurriedly occupied it before someone could claim it. Just when he had settled herself in the comfortable seat, a loud voice interrupted her.
"Commoner, that's my seat. Scram!"