It was before noon when Hikaru woke up. He was parched. People didn't seem to visit the graveyard as it was awfully quiet. It was a clear and sunny day.
There was a well nearby. With a bucket, Hikaru fetched some water from below and drank. His thirst was quenched, but this time his stomach grumbled. Rubbing his belly, he thought, What do I do now? I'm broke. Anything I can sell… my clothes? No, it has blood on it.
He took off his shirt to wash it, but it only turned into a shirt with holes and a brown stain.
「So cold…」
He didn't have time to dry out his clothes so he wore them wet. He thought about his next move.
1. Earn money.
2. Run without being suspected of Count Morgstad's murder.
These two are my top priority. He searched Roland's memories for ways to make money.
「Hmm?」
Roland's memories were more blurry than yesterday. The knowledge was there, but the things Roland learned from experience, what he felt, his precious memories were fading. It felt like some stranger's experience that Hikaru heard from rumors. He felt Roland gradually leaving his body.
「…Anyway, I just have to live on.」
As he searched through the memories, Hikaru hit upon something. Making a Soul Card. It sounded similar to his Skill Soul Board, but to put it simply, the Soul Card was an ID. The Adventurers' Guild, Merchants' Guild, and the Alchemists' Guild issue Guild Cards while a temple issued a Soul Card. Both had slightly different features and uses, but they served as IDs all the same.
「The Adventurers Guild it is.」
The Adventurers' Guild issued Guild Cards for free if you were a first-timer. The other guilds asked for processing fees. It didn't cost much, but Hikaru was flat broke.
「Where's the Adventurers' Guild anyway?」
Its location was not in Roland's memories. Hikaru left the graveyard and made his way into town. Spotting a guard on patrol, he turned a corner and ended up in a back alley. He had his Stealth Skill, but now was not the time to test its effectiveness. I'll test it out somewhere else.
It was getting more desolate as Hikaru moved farther and farther from the main street. Up ahead was a girl with a chalk, drawing something on alley walls.
「Here goes.」
I gotta do this. A suspicious guy talking to a young girl was a cause for concern. Hikaru was still young, though.
「Excuse me.」
Startled by Hikaru's strange appearance, the girl started trembling. It was probably the soiled and battered clothes, yet somehow still retaining the image of a noble that scared her.
「It's all right. I just want to ask for directions. Which way is the Adventurers' Guild?」
「Do you want to go to the Adventurers' Guild, Mister?」
「Yeah.」
That seemed to be enough for the girl as she started talking.
「Well… you go straight down the alley, and you'll end up on the main street. Cross it and go straight down a back alley, and you'll be on the main street again. Turn right from there and after about five minutes of walking, you'll see the Adventurers' Guild.」
「Got it. I'd like to thank you somehow but I got nothing with me.」
「That's okay! You can repay me when you hit it big!」
「…Okay.」
What a lively young girl.
The Adventurers' Guild was a massive stone-made building. Laughter and rough voices from brawny men rolled from within. There were women as well, though some were muscular and some wore grim expressions on their faces. Not your ordinary women. A few parties of young boys and girls were there too, but they were mostly made fun of by the adults.
Only one receptionist sat behind the guild counter. She wore a small, white hat, silver around the edges and a uniform that matched. A long skirt, and a coat that closed in front, with sleeves that grew wider. Quite a strange outfit. She was a beauty with short red hair and slightly tense features. She looked to be less than twenty years old.
The lady was working, processing quests, while dealing with men asking her out on a date.
「Hmm.」
Not one adventurer noticed Hikaru with his Stealth Skill active. No one said something like "What's this? Since when did the adventurers' guild become a kids' playground?". Without any Skills useful in combat, it was better not to get involved in any mess.
The men formed a semi-circle around the receptionist. Left and right, people were talking to her as she did her job with an indifferent air. But there were always ten men who kept on asking her out. In order to accept or clear a quest, one would have to wedge themselves in.
「I found a really great place the other day…」
「You're single, right, Jill? Just one time, please! Let's have dinner one time!」
「Can you make me a guild card?」
With Stealth active, Hikaru weaved through the adventurers all the way to the front then deactivated his Skill.
「What the?!」
「The hell is this kid doing here?! Where'd he come from?!」
The eyes of the receptionist – whose name was apparently Jill – went wide with surprise as well.
「Ah, um, well…」
「Please make me a guild card.」Hikaru said once more.
「The fuck are you saying, stupid brat?!」
「Damn brat! Get in line and wait for your turn!」
「You guys weren't standing in line. I simply asked the guild's receptionist to do a legitimate task for me. Besides, you can still invite her to dinner while she works on the guild card, can't you?」
「Why you…」
One adventurer's face went red. They weren't stupid enough to start a fight right here, however.
「Hey.」
「…Yeah.」
They exchanged glances and left the building in groups.
Hmm. So they're going to gang up on me as soon as I leave the guild. So predictable. There was none left at the counter except Hikaru.
The receptionist heaved a sigh before speaking.
「Listen here. I don't know where you're from, Sir, but you should apologize later. They might spare your life if you give them some money.」she said, exasperated.
Sir? Maybe it's the clothes.
「So a guild staff is just going to sit there and do nothing even though its members are about to extort money out of someone?」
「…What?」
「I'm saying you're neglecting your duty. This organization is a joke I suppose given they're ignoring potential criminals.」
「What was that?!」
She most likely didn't expect a rebuttal. Jill raised her voice, her gaze filled with anger.
「You want to make an enemy of the Adventurers' Guild?」
「I see. Even the staff resorts to threats.」
「I'm not threatening you. This is simply a warning…」
「Just make me a guild card already. You have to if someone asks, am I correct?」
She was silent, her gaze sharp.
What a waste of her beauty, Hikaru thought, his face calm and composed.
「All right, I'll issue you a guild card. Place your hand here.」
She held out a smooth stone board. Its surface seemed to be made of glass with various geometric shapes and ancient writings on the screen. It was similar to the Soul Board, though unrefined. What surprised Hikaru was something else entirely.
Roland was researching this…
The device was connected to the same network as the temples' Soul Card and reads a Soul's Records. Hikaru placed his palm on top. For a second, it seemed as though light shimmered beyond the screen.
「Hmm. It looks like you haven't been issued a card before.」
Jill fiddled with the device. Phew. It would've been all over if Roland already had a record. Then again, it was called a Soul's Records. As such, Hikaru thought his and Roland's would be different.
「That's correct.」
The whole process didn't take long and my card was ready.
[Adventurers' Guild Card]
..[Name]Hikaru
..[Registration]Pond Adventurers' Guild, Kingdom of Ponsonia
..[Rank]G
..[Class] —
「…Class?」Hikaru muttered without thinking.
He couldn't find it in Roland's memories. It seemed Roland didn't deal much with adventurers.
The receptionist heaved a deep sigh.
「I don't really want to explain, but rules are rules so I have no choice.」
She grudgingly started explaining.
「Try touching the card with your finger. A list of possible classes for you will appear based on your Soul's Records. By choosing one, your abilities will be boosted. It's usually a few characters that end with the word "god" followed by a title. The shorter the name, the greater the abilities' boost. Three characters and below are ultra-rare, with one character being mythical. Even four-character classes are enough for you to be a top-class adventurer. Soul cards and other guild cards have them too.」
Hikaru placed his finger on the card and there appeared a list.
[Assassination God: Night Stalker]
[Stealth God: Darkness Wanderer]
[Ordinary Chaos God: Eye of the Storm]
[Woods Strolling God: Forest Walker]
[City, Town, and Village People Rescue God: Civilian]
「…I see.」
There's a bunch of ominous ones here… What now?
「In your case, it would be『City, Town, and Village People Rescue God: Civilian』or 『Wealthy City and Townspeople Rescue God: Money Worker』or something of the sorts. Am I right?」
「…Y-Yes, o-of course.」
「Why are you getting flustered?」
「I'm not flustered.」
I can't show this to her. My Skill tree and assassination experience must've had some kind of effect on the choices available. Hikaru selected Civilian and showed it to Jill.
「…See? I thought so.」she said, pointing at the card.
「You can take a quest from the bulletin board and place your guild card against it to accept it. For goods delivery, you should check the reference room first for information.」
Jill explained a few more things.
· Adventurers are ranked from G, being the lowest, to F, E, all the way to A. After that comes S which is the highest.
· Adventurers can get promoted to higher ranks based on the number and nature of quests they've cleared. Once promoted, they can take on more difficult quests.
· Adventurers will gradually become experts in their fields. Experts in harvesting are called Plant Hunters. Experts in searching for precious metals, Jewel Hunters. Monster Hunters, those that specialize in killing monsters. Dungeon explorers are called Adventurers. Expert in security, Bodyguards. Jack of all trades, Quest Hunters, etc.
· Once you're famous in your field, you may receive quests that personally ask for you.
· You can select whatever job class you have and there's no need to report it to the guild. Classes with three-character names and below are rare and give powerful abilities. There are those that become famous just by the class they have. Training and raising one's Soul Rank will increase the number of classes available for an adventurer.
Incidentally, one's Soul Rank increased by killing monsters and stealing a piece of their souls, making one stronger. This was in Roland's memories as well, but it seemed his Soul Rank didn't increase. Apparently, nobles only start hunting monsters in their later teens. Levelling up, huh?
Normal animals were differentiated from monsters based on whether they harmed humans or not. The bodies of magical monsters can be freely processed so they're used as materials to make food, equipment, and daily necessities. They can be brought and sold to the guild.
「That's all. I'm not going to explain all that again.」
「It's all right. I got it.」
「Go, then. You're disturbing my work.」
Before he knew it, a bunch of adventurers have gathered behind Hikaru. Not the ones from before, but men that wanted to ask Jill out for dinner all the same.