Naya was now standing before the massive board of requests.
Sal left her and Rula a bit ago; she said she needed to prepare an adventuring card for them to hold and told them to peruse the board in the meantime.
The quest board was split into 4 four sections: Hunting, Gathering, Tasks, and Monsters. The sections were further split into rows, which indicated their difficulty. Each section was filled with requests, and they were pretty simple; they simply stated the task and compensation for it.
"Which one should we do??" Rula asked. She was looking at the bottom layer quests. "Maybe a nice and easy gathering quest, you know, to get us started!" She almost sounded pleading.
--She has a handle on you already!--
Naya shook her head. "We will not do such demeaning tasks."
Rula deflated. "I figured... Of course, the big mighty Naya, slayer of Witches, and destroyer of Halfling paintings... She'd never accept an easy, relaxing quest."
That got a laugh from Lia.
Naya twitched and glared at Rula. "How about I use you as bait in a Goblin slaying quest? Should be easy."
"Spare me!" Rula then made the gesture of zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key.
Naya snorted and turned back to the board.
--She's good for you; you better keep her around!--
[Of course.]
Someone cleared their throat behind Naya, and she turned around to see a woman dressed in roguish armor staring at her in wonder.
"What?" Naya knew the people in this hall had been staring holes into her; she just ignored them and would leave soon after getting a quest. She didn't expect any to actually disturb her.
"Are you an Elf?"
Naya quirked her brow. "No." She answered
"W-what?"
Rula giggled to herself.
--That was out of character, but that's the Naya I want to see more of!--
Of course, she was sarcastic. She couldn't believe someone actually asked her that; she didn't know what else to say.
"You are an Elf!"
"Of course I am. What else would I be?" That was the first time someone asked for confirmation of her race.
The rogue looked embarrassed, her face flushed. "R-right, my bad... Can I ask what you're doing here?"
"Obviously taking a quest, are you daft?" This woman seemed to be an expert at asking questions with obvious answers.
--She's nervous; cut her some slack.--
"Sorry... But that's not what I meant!"
"Oh." Naya nodded. "My business in your land is none of your concern." Naya waved her away and turned back to the board.
"On the contrary, Elf. Your presence is a matter of great importance for us." A gruff man added.
Naya turned in annoyance and saw a bullish man with a greatsword as tall as she was strapped to his back. He wore what she would describe as gladiator armor as if he fought in an arena.
Rula hid slightly behind Naya.
The man took a quick glance down at Rula and sneered.
"You bring one of those into our la- GAH."
He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence before Naya was directly before him, her hand stabbed into his abdomen.
She pulled it out and splashed the blood on the ground in one swift motion. "Watch your tongue next time, brute."
She would not tolerate that sort of language.
The man fell to his knees and covered the wound. "Y-you bitch!" He spit between groans.
--You really shouldn't have done that... but at least you didn't kill him.--
"Naya, you didn't need to do that for me!" Rula ran up and said that, though she had a heartwarming smile.
"You are with me; if anybody dares demean you, they will receive the same treatment. Consider this a warning, humans." Naya raised her cold voice and glared around the hall.
Most people were uncaring, and only a few looked frightened by what she said. They were mostly seasoned adventurers, so she wasn't surprised they didn't look afraid.
On the contrary, the entire room suddenly burst into applause; it started with a single person somewhere off in the sea of tables, then quickly spread until the sound drowned the hall.
"That's right, fuck him up!"
"You deserved that, Rick!"
"Haha! I hated that bastard!"
"Silver ranked my ass!"
"Twist his-"
Naya found herself the center of attention in a completely different way, one that reminded her of her time fighting her peers in the Elven Physical Academy.
She smiled naturally, one she didn't try to force down.
The cheering got louder, and Naya thoroughly enjoyed it.
--Despite how you act, you do enjoy being in the spotlight.--
[This kind of spotlight is good.]
--I won't disagree.--
The so-called silver adventurer, Rick, struggled to stand while holding his open wound. He looked like he was trying desperately to resist the urge to pull out his sword.
"You will die if you pull that out," Naya said, her face blank again.
"Killing fellow adventurers is forbidden!" The rogue girl from before jumped in between Naya and Rick.
Naya glared at her, and she jumped in fright.
"I-I'm sorry for Rick, but please don't take it further!"
"Get out of the way, Sarah!" Rick grunted, and his face grimaced.
Suddenly, a loud clap rumbled throughout the hall, instantly silencing the crowd cheering. They all went back to drinking and chattering as if to pretend they did nothing wrong.
"You barbarians love violence, don't ya!?" The Hall Master walked in from the entrance.
Nobody responded to him, and he made his way over to the quest board, where Naya was facing Sara and Rick.
"Damn it, Elf." He rustled his hair in exasperation. "You causing me problems already..." What's goin' on here, Rick? Judging by the audience response, I'd say you done fucked up."
"All I did was bring up the damn ha-" He caught Naya's threatening glare and stopped. "The halfling, and she stabbed me! The violent bitch!" He grimaced again and groaned in pain. "I... need to get a healer."
The Hall Master looked at his wound and back to Sara. "Take him to the Church; he'll pay for it himself."
"Yes, Hall Master!" Sara was eager to accept and lent her shoulder to Rick.
They both walked out of the hall, but Rick glared at Naya the whole way.
The hall was now full of people sneaking glances at Naya and the Hall Master, curious how this would play out.
"What's your name, Elf?"
"Naya."
"Naya. A good name." His eyes widened slightly, then returned to normal. He pulled a chair from the nearby table and sat before her.
"What are you doing? I will not be lectured."
He chuckled. "My name is Alfred. I must say, young lady, you act just like your mother.
--No way...--
It was Naya's turn to be shocked, and she glared at him. "How would you possibly know my mother?" A likely possibility struck her. "Thrarl. My mother was there? You were there?"
Rula snuck up and looked up at the man with excitement. "You saw the Dragon?!" She whispered loudly.
He chuckled again. "You're both so eager." He first looked at Rula. "The answer is yes, I did see it. Hells, I worked on it. It was a fine sight to behold, a spectacle of a lifetime." He looked up in longing.
--He certainly doesn't look that old.--
"How?" Naya asked again. She was far more interested in her mother than the man's age.
"Right. Your Mom, her name is Nayarali, in case you didn't believe me."
--He even knows Elven tradition.--
That confirmed it for Naya. For him to know her mother's full name meant that she had some level of trust for the man.
The man crossed his legs and crossed his arms. "I was just a grunt back then, but I still remember seeing those Elves descend, like some kind of gods envoy."
Naya pressed. "What was she doing there?" As far as Naya knew, her mother supported the isolation.
"Gettin' the bones, obviously." He shrugged. "Well, your name and hers are practically the same, so I made the connection. Certainly don't look the same, though."
"How did she know you?" Naya asked. She had mixed feelings about the information. At the very least, it meant her mother didn't tell her about it and made her wonder what else she was hiding.
"I helped load the bones, so we had frequent conversations since she supervised the work. Quite beautiful, your mother." The man chuckled.
"Of course she is, but do not speak about her like that again." It made her uncomfortable, and she didn't like how he said it.
He chuckled again. "My bad, my bad... Well, everything else is personal, so we'll end that discussion here. Plus, you look upset by this information. I wonder why?"
He stood up. "Oh, while fighting other members is fine, please refrain from grave injuries. I know you don't respond well to threats, but know this, Naya the Elf." His tone shifted, and he squinted at her. "If you kill another Adventurer over a small squabble, I will send everything I have to end you."
He didn't give her a chance to respond, and he moved to the stairs on the left side of the hall.
--By that, he probably means offering a reward for other adventurers to come after you.--
Naya didn't care about that; she was too busy thinking about her mother. She trusted her with every fiber of her being; she would do anything her mother asked of her. Without her, she would have been executed. Without her, she would have been ostracized for having a Null Core. Without her, she would not have a clear path home and would be left wandering for centuries.
[Lia, you MUST tell me what you're hiding! ]
--Not happening, it's too soon. --
An immediate rejection made Naya's heart sink.
[I will not have you-]
--I know you don't like it, but I won't be the one to disturb Nayarali's plans. Your love for her? I'm the same way, Nayalisia; I would never betray her trust. You must understand.--
Naya grit her teeth.[ What are you to her?]
--I will not speak on this further.--
"Wow, he was scary!" Rula suddenly said. The hall master had disappeared up the stairs, and her attention was back on Rula. "Woah, are you okay?"
Naya took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. Her ears were drooped, and she had a deep frown, so she tried to regain control over her emotional state. "I'm fine. Let's grab a quest and get out of here."
"It's about your Mom, right?" Rula looked dejected and mumbled, "I wish mine were still alive."
Naya stared at her. That was the first time she had an indication of her past outside of needing gold.
"S-sorry, I don't want your pity!" Rula ran up the quest board while Naya stared at her back.
--Like I said, many people out there have it worse than you. You're one of the lucky ones, Nayalisia.--
[I... will protect her.]
Naya still didn't understand her connection to the halfling. Still, she immediately struck out when that man insulted her, just with his tone. She didn't even think about it.
--She's similar to you in a lot of ways. Go on, she's waiting.--
Naya returned to the board where Rula was perusing the monster-hunting quests.
"You know, most of these sound deadly." Rula pointedly looked up at Naya.
"Good; we will make all we need with one quest."
People were still staring at them, and it seemed like they mostly had the board to themselves. Likely because people were too afraid to mingle with her after her sudden violent display. Though some were perusing.
Rula sighed. "Of course. Otherwise, you would be too poor to pay for my masterpieces!"
Naya twitched. "You better paint me something better than Aleria's leaves."
"I don't know what that is, but sure!" Rula saluted.
After a bit of perusing, Naya found no quests asking to kill a Witch. Minutes passed quickly, and more people started hesitantly walking up to the board again.
--I told you they weren't common. Also, this is one hall of thousands; you have much work to do.--
Naya sighed.
An adventurer beside her, a male with a bow strapped around his shoulder, looked at her. "If your goal is to climb the ranks quickly, your best bet, with someone of your caliber, is to take the top tier quests and finish it quickly, with proof." He offered advice, and he didn't seem afraid of Naya.
She looked at him. He had brown leather pants and a brown shirt with various straps and bags attached to them, and his shoulders were covered by a grey fur coat. He truly fits Naya's mental image of a hunter.
He had short reddish-orange hair and green eyes, and he didn't flinch with Naya sizing him up, nor did his eyes change.
"Explain the rankings to me." Naya crossed her arms.
"With pleasure." He reached into one of his pouches and pulled out a silver-colored card. "This is the identification card all adventurers have. It goes from Bronze all the way to Diamond. From Bronze to Gold, your best bet is to stay in one place and work quests until the Hall Master decides to rank you up. Progress doesn't transfer to new guild halls unless the Hall Master cares enough to write a notarized letter, which they usually don't do unless it's a special case."
Naya hummed in acknowledgment. "What do you get for ranking up?"
He put the card pack into his pouch. "The most important one for us is the higher percentage from quest rewards, then there's access to certain guild functions such as their blacksmiths and information networks."
"Information network?" Naya latched on; that was precisely what she wanted.
"We know little about it, but they have branches in nearly every nation, small or large. So, of course, they'd have the hands on heaps of info."
"Thank you for the information, Human." Naya dipped her head slightly.
"My name is Alex, not human."
--Ha! How's that feel, Naya, not Elf?--
Her ears twitched, and she looked back to the board. "I apologize."
"No problem."
With that, Alex grabbed a quest and walked away. It was one to wipe out a goblin nest in a nearby forest.
Naya appreciated that he didn't overstay his welcome.
Seeing someone casually talking to her spurred more adventurers into action, and people began to crowd the board.
Some tried to talk to her, but she ignored them, and they gave up. Nobody was too pushy, for now.
Naya grabbed the top quest on the monster hunting section and hastily approached the reception desk with Rula in tow.
"Man, you sure are famous, Naya!" Rula smiled; she wasn't receiving scornful looks anymore, and people were treating her normally in the building. "One day, my paintings will make me famous!"
"I'm sure."
Naya reached the receptionist counter, where Sal stood to the side waiting. She skipped past the long lines before each receptionist and entered through the gate.
"Hey there, Naya, Rula." Sal waved them over. "I have both your badges. The first one is free, then after, you need to pay for replacements." She held out two bronze cards. "Though I doubt you'll be there for long, please take care of these. We'll give you a small amount of money to buy them from you when you rank up!"
"Thank you, hu- Sal."
Sal brightly smiled. "No problem! We'll see each other often, but I'm not a receptionist here, so good luck!" With that, Sal walked through the next door and left in a hurry.
--I bet you she's dealing with the Naya Incident Aftermath.--
"So...what do we do with the quest?" Rula asked while flipping her bronze plate in her hands.
Naya investigated hers. It had a decent engraving of her face and hair on the left side, with her name engraved next to it and Rozen Hall beneath it. The right side was blank but had a line that sectioned off a chunk of the plate.
A receptionist came out from the door and stared at Naya for a moment before she approached her.
This one had long, light brown hair and brown eyes. Naya noticed that many of the receptionists were primarily beautiful young women.
It appeared Sal spoke to them because she quickly smiled professionally. "Hello, Naya, Rula. Sal asked me to mark your first quest for you." She gestured to the counter where a line had already formed.
It had some sort of metal artifact. It had a rectangular spot that would perfectly fit their cards with a blunted needle above it.
"This is how we mark quests; you bring it here, and your card is punctured slightly. When the quest is completed, the puncture will be removed."
"I see." So that was how they managed quests. Naya had been curious about how they'd manage it, but now she understood the system.
"Please hand me the quest you took." She held her hand out.
Naya handed it over, along with her bronze card. Rula also handed over her card.
The receptionist took the items and then approached the counter. First, she placed the cards on the device and pulled a small lever, which caused it to fall and leave behind a noticeable crater on the card. The crater was painted in white.
"The white indicates a quest in progress; it will fade entirely a little after a week. If it's gone, it will be assumed the quest was never completed. Get too many, and you're barred from higher-tiered quests, then eventually exiled."
She took out a pen and wrote on top of the quest paper. 'Naya & Rula, 02 07'
"The Flameclaw, huh? This is an extremely dangerous quest, probably one of the highest we have right now for metal tiers. Do you know about it?"
"Of course." Naya nodded.
"Well, I won't lecture you. Your quest has been marked, and you're free to go. Oh, you'll have to wait in line next time!"
"Fine."
Naya retook Rula's hand and walked out of the building without interruption.
"Um, I don't know what a Flameclaw is, Naya."
"I will explain on the way."