"This is quite a sprawling city," Momonga said, admiring the area.
"Yeah, Alessa has always been a pretty prevalent city regarding commerce. But that might be because a dungeon lies nearby, so there are plenty of resources. Unfortunately, though, it's not as popular as a port city would be since those are connected to the sea." Claire said, being a bit envious of port cities, though she has no real problem with them.
"Dungeon?" Momonga said.
"Yeah, the dungeon near here it's not as big as other dungeons around the world, but it's decently sized. I heard it was claimed only a few days ago by a large raid party hosted by the adventure's guild." Claire said, imagining what it would be like if she took the time to join the guild.
'Oh? Adventure's Guild?" Momonga said as if he was asking another question which Claire caught on to.
"You don't know about adventure guilds? Honestly, I'm surprised since their everywhere; anyhow, the adventure's guild is a guild that people sign up to do missions. This could be killing quests, dungeons, exploration, or even helping the locals. There are also ranks in the guild for those who are strong and want to gain glory. If you want, I can take you to the adventure's guild; I've wanted to sign up for quite a while but never had the chance." Claire explained.
'Interesting, so it seems like the adventure's guild has some merit in this world. Most of the time, I hear the title of "Adventure's Guild" from a cliche web novel that doesn't have a spread of creativity. But in this world, it's different since they do the "exploring" aspect; that is what "Adventure" means.
"I'd greatly appreciate it if you'd lead me there," Momonga replied.
Claire's eyes seem to sparkle at Momonga agreeing.
"Okie! Follow me then!" Claire said as she went toward the adventure's guild. However, it didn't take them very long to arrive at the adventure's guild.
Arriving at the front door, Momonga and Claire quickly glance at each other to say, "You ready," and nod slightly simultaneously. Momonga then opens the entrance to the adventure's guild; what is revealed is quite surprising. The interior design of the adventure's guild is beautiful, a wooden floor that shines from the lights above, tables spread around filled with experiences chatting about. This quest board seemed littered with all sorts of quests, and finally, the receptionist smiled as Momonga looked in her direction.
Although Momonga blocked Claire's view of the adventure's guild, she had to poke her head off to the side of the Momonga. However, when she saw the inside of the adventure's guild, she immediately pushed passed Momonga, the excitement notable in her movements.
"So this is the adventure's guild; I'm surprised that it is so beautiful. I should've come in here earlier," Claire said in an eager tone.
"Mhm" Momonga responded.
Claire then looked at Momonga and then quickly glanced at the receptionist. With that glance, Claire decided to approach the receptionist and start a conversation.
"Hey!" Claire said, slightly waving her left hand.
The receptionist seemed to tidy herself up a bit and then started responding.
"Hello, I'm Nell; what can I do for you today?" Nell said in a kind tone with a beautiful smile.
"Well, I was wondering what it takes to sign up as an adventure?" Claire asked in a kind manner.
"Well, you'll need to pass the examiner's trial' that's pretty much about it," Nell responded, a little skeptical of Claire's abilities which Momonga was unsure of as well.
'Didn't she get beaten up pretty badly during the goblin attack? If she can't defend herself from goblins, then why is she trying to become an adventurer in the first place?'
"Claire, are you sure? You'll need some sort of ability to fight monsters." Momonga said, giving Claire a slight pre-warning.
Though, his warning was utterly tossed aside.
"I'm pretty sure I want to do this. I know magic; I just wasn't watching how much mana I used when defending myself from the goblins. I accidentally used all my mana in two massive attacks, which was rather stupid. If I had managed my mana well, I probably would've gotten out of there alive. But! But! that's not saying I'm not grateful you came to my rescue!" Claire said while also not trying to sound rude to Momonga. However, her face turned red during her attempt, and she hung her face down a tiny bit to hide it. Although Momonga didn't notice, he was more focused on something else.
'Interesting, so that she can use magic? Although I'm a bit skeptical of her Magic power, she might be great to help me gather information about how Magic works in this world. So how would I get her to stay around so I can do that research?'
"Anyways, Momonga, do you want to partner at a party?" Claire asked.
'Well... problem solved.'
"Sure, I wouldn't mind," Momonga responded.
"Alrighty, Nell, put us in a team!" Claire said
Nell seemed hesitant initially, but she was obligated to do so.
"You two are now counted as a team, but first, before anything, we need to test you against our examiner," Nell said. Though, this got Momonga a bit curious about the examiner.
'Examiner, she says? I wonder what level he'd be; since he's testing people's strength, he should be at a relatively high level. Maybe he'll be around level 50 or 65? That seems like a reasonable level.'
However, just as Momomga was wrapping up his thoughts, Nell interrupted.
"This way," Nell said, leading Claire and Momonga to a room in the back. It had rigid stone walls, and a few archery ranges seemed like a room for adventure training. Nevertheless, Claire and Momonga quickly noticed the examiner as he stood out in the room.
The examiner stood tall, holding a gigantic battleaxe, wearing black spiky armor, and had horns coming out of his head. A slight smirk crossed his face as he noticed Claire.
However… as he looked at Momonga, a chill ran down his spine. It's as if every bit of adventure's instinct tells him to run, but he can't move a muscle. The fear froze him in the place where he stood. It was as if he was looking at death itself in the face, but he had to snap out of it; he was a veteran adventurer, after all.
"You alright, Donadrond? You look a bit pale." Nell said.
This caused Donadrond to snap out of his grasping fear and recompose himself. He cleared his throat and put back on his brave face.
"Yes I am." Donadrond said.
Donadrond then looked toward Claire as if he was inspecting her.
"You first, young lady," Donadrond said, to which Claire responded by entering the battlefield.
Claire then prepared herself, setting herself up far from Donadrond, which gave him the impression that she was a magic caster.
"Ready?" Donadrond asked.
"Yes!" Claire said, eager to begin.
Donadrond took a mighty leap forward.
"Begin!" Donadrond yelled