Chereads / Divine Contest / Chapter 25 - Awakened Guild

Chapter 25 - Awakened Guild

If you don't mind, I made some minor adjustments to ensure the translation is faithful:

The sun was already quite high in the sky as Rin made his way towards the inner bastion. Despite having been there only a few times before, he wasn't as excited as expected.

"When I see him again, should I continue calling him Uncle Ryu or grandfather... I can't decide." As Rin moved forward with a package on his back, he pondered over everything that had happened the previous day.

He looked up and observed the immense inner walls. "Anyway, if I become stronger, I'll find out who killed them. The rest doesn't matter."

Bastion No. 18 was one of the largest, with three circles. The first circle consisted of shantytowns surrounding the bastion for several kilometers. Security there was average, but teams of low-level Awakened, who were afraid to venture too far, often took patrols, which were quite safe and well-paid for the little risk involved.

The second circle was commonly known as the inner bastion, where 80% of the bastion's activities took place. It included the Avenue of the Awakened, where all sorts of monster-based products were sold, such as weapons, potions, and various protections. Also, near the last circle, one could find the sanctuary, the gymnasium, and the Awakened Guild.

The last circle called the core, housed the seats of the great families and major companies in general. There was the palace, where decisions were made. No one had the right to enter unless they were a resident or an invited guest.

"Rin, come here, we're just waiting for Nikito," Alliong signaled Rin from the side of the guild.

Rin observed his teammates. They were dressed as if they weren't going to fight, with loose white silk pants and open floral kimono tops.

Hayashi, next to him, wore a tight-fitting two-piece outfit in black and red and seemed to be annoying Shin, who wasn't bothered and smiled.

As for him, he wore a long pale green traditional robe, the worst outfit for fighting of the three.

While Rin laughed and talked with the others, Nikito finally arrived, and they decided to enter the guild.

Rin had never been inside. He had seen a large number of people in armor carrying all kinds of equipment, waiting at counters to receive their rewards or obtain information.

Very soon, it was their turn, and a pretty young woman welcomed them at her counter. "Hello and welcome, how can I help you?"

"We've come to get our Awakened licenses. We're the Rossignol team, and we're choosing our first mission," Rin spoke as the captain.

"Oh, you're the other team. Wait a second, I'll get your licenses." She went to the back room to fetch the licenses.

During this time, Hayashi, who was bored, observed the people around and saw a young man with his team. What caught her attention wasn't the young man, but the purse in his hands.

With a big smile, she approached while the group argued about splitting the mission rewards.

"I'm usually the one who takes the damage so you guys can attack calmly, but I get the smallest share?" said a strong young man with a mace in one hand and a shield in the other.

"Listen, Zaka, we decided on the split before the mission. You can't just change it like that!"

As tempers flared, Zaka, the group's tank, inadvertently met a red gaze. Not the usual red, but a blood red. And it was as if everything around him had disappeared, leaving only his two eyes shining like rubies.

"Hey, are you listening, Zaka?" The party leader frowned, but before he could understand, a mace flew towards him.

BOOM

There was a loud crash, and without warning, a general brawl broke out. But no one could say what it was about exactly. It was calmed in a minute by an Awakened, probably of silver rank, who neutralized the most violent.

As the situation settled, Rin and the others, who had witnessed everything while waiting for the lady, saw Hayashi return like a flower, a smile on her lips and a purse in her hand.

They all looked at each other and decided to ignore this crazy woman; it was better for everyone.

"Here are your licenses. They contain information related to your group name, your name, your rank, and the current mission. And you don't have to worry about damaging them; it's a special metal extracted from a Silver-rank monster that has a memory shape." She handed each member of the group their license.

She continued after everyone had put theirs away: "For your first mission, you can choose from several types of missions. First, there are the patrol missions that you probably know." She moistened her lips and continued.

"Then, there are rescue missions, which are emergency missions. The advantage is that you can easily bond with the people you save, but the disadvantage is due to the urgency of the situation: not being able to prepare and having to go directly."

"Escort missions are a fairly easy way to make good money and bond with important people. They are relatively safe, but the most disturbing missions because you have to obey the merchant, except in cases of extreme emergency."

"Then there are the most famous missions, which are monster hunting missions. The advantages are generous rewards according to the level of danger of the monster, the possibility of acquiring precious materials from monsters, prestige, and fame for eliminating formidable creatures. But the disadvantages are a risk of serious injuries or death, the need for careful planning and strategy, and the need for a strong team to face the most dangerous monsters, even at your rank."

"Finally, there are two types of exploration missions. One of them is forbidden to you until the Gold rank due to its danger: it's the exploration of unknown territories, which requires traveling farther to map and gather more information about biotopes, monsters, and areas with important resources. It's essentially a guaranteed one-way trip, but the return isn't guaranteed."

"The other type of exploration concerns dungeons. It's possible that mana too rich in an area temporarily changes it and creates a singularity we call a dungeon. Space and time aren't the same as outside, and monsters are generated there infinitely, often with an alpha that is the pillar of the dungeon's stability. The advantages are numerous: it offers varied challenges, the possibility of discovering treasures and resources, and a lot of experience for the Awakened."

"Rin, let's take a hunting mission for our first time, to work on our teamwork," Alliong suggested, and everyone nodded.

Then, in front of them, the low-level White rank missions scrolled on a screen, and they decided to choose the following mission:

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Hunting Mission: Elimination of Forest Wolves

Rank: White

Level: 1-3

Description: Patrols from the north shantytown heard wolf howls two days ago in the forest north of the bastion. Go hunt the wolves before they settle in permanently.

Once outside, Rin called out to everyone: "If someone needs to get something, let's do it immediately. Otherwise, let's go straight to hunt the wolves."

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"I want to go buy clothes," Hayashi said, happy to go shopping.

"Okay, if nobody needs anything, let's go," Rin clapped his hands and started heading towards the northern entrance.

Everyone: "…"

Hayashi sulked but still followed Rin with the others. Soon enough, the atmosphere within the group improved, and everyone laughed with each other. The funniest part was the budding friendship between Hayashi and Nikito. Rin called it the miracles of life: the cautious and the most unstable got along wonderfully.

As they approached the northern gates, they stopped, eyes widening.

"Oh, isn't that Rin and the others!" From afar, a blonde girl greeted them.

The Eternal Rose team, all dressed as hunters in leather, bloodstains here and there, entered the bastion and quickly reached Rin and his team.

"Are you coming back from a mission?" Alliong asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, and we're taking another one after 1 or 2 hours of rest…" Million began, blood-stained and pale, but was interrupted by a cold voice.

"45 minutes, no more," Shen Yi said, clad in a dark blue light armor and holding an entirely black katana, his voice cold, and continued walking towards the guild without even looking at them. Not that he didn't want to talk to them, but for him, becoming stronger took priority over everything else.

"Ahaha, sorry guys, see you around!" Ebina and the others followed Shen Yi and disappeared into the alleys.

The Rossignol team was dismayed. They hadn't even completed their first mission, but they were already taking a second one.

Rin smiled and clapped his hands. "It's not a sprint, but a marathon. Let's take it one step at a time. Right now, the step is to vent on the mutated canines waiting for us kindly in the forest."

Rin's antics lightened the mood, and the team continued on their way until they spotted the entrance to a vast forest, with spaced trees allowing light to filter through in places.