Chapter 35
About a month had passed since I left the Holy City of Luminael.
The wind sweeping down from the rugged peaks of the Aldia Mountains still carried the keen chill of a blade, despite it being early summer.
Far ahead, a river wound along the bottom of a valley hemmed in by gray cliffs.
The city of Ennsburg came into view, clinging to the river, its stone houses and numerous spires packed tightly together.
Beyond the Aldia Mountains, secular powers held more sway than the Church.
—The Church's reach should be limited here.
I planted my staff once and quickened my pace.
As the city gates drew closer, the noise of the road grew louder. Wagons laden with heavy cargo creaked past, while rough-looking adventurers let out coarse laughs.
I joined the line at the checkpoint.
“Next.”
At the curt summons, I stepped forward.
“Pilgrim? Where are your parents?”
The guard asked, glancing at the badge pinned to my chest, proof of my pilgrimage to the Holy City.
“My parents... couldn’t make it this far.”
The guard nodded and let me through without another word.
Inside the gate, it was even noisier.
The clatter of wagon wheels grinding against the cobblestones, the heavy breathing of porters carrying loads, and the merchants’ merciless shouts. The air, a mix of desire and vitality, was unlike Luminael’s gentle bustle.
The building stood at a key point in the city.
It was a sturdy stone structure towering over the surrounding buildings. Its crest, the Golden Balance, depicted a pile of gold coins and a dragon’s head on its scales.
The Adventurers’ Guild in this world wasn’t simply a convenient outfit for slaying monsters.
In reality, it was a massive international financial institution with a network spanning the entire continent.
With an account and a deposit certificate, you could withdraw your money at any branch on the continent. Of course, they charged a corresponding “fee.”
To share information quickly between branches and transport cash, they needed to cull monsters and keep the highways safe.
The Adventurers’ Guild had first been organized to exterminate those monsters.
I opened the door to the Adventurers’ Guild.
Slender shafts of light from high windows and the flames of iron sconces set into the walls illuminated the hall, where stone columns stood in rows.
At the far end of the hall, counters stood behind iron grilles. A burly guard was posted before the stairs to the second floor on the left.
In the far corner on the right was a tavern with plain tables and chairs, where adventurers congregated.
I walked up to the counter directly ahead and spoke.
“Excuse me. I’d like to register as an adventurer.”
“How old are you?”
“Twelve.”
“Then you’re old enough. The registration fee is fifty silver coins. Can you pay?”
—Fifty silver coins.
It was an unnatural amount for a child about to become an adventurer to have on hand.
“No.”
I decided to pretend I couldn’t afford it.
If I paid, it was obvious the unsavory characters watching me from the tavern would come looking for trouble.
I wouldn’t mind a fight, but for now, I’d make an honest go of it like a rookie adventurer.
The clerk stated the terms matter-of-factly, without changing expression.
“Then you’ll pay in installments. We’ll deduct twenty percent from the reward for each quest you complete. No interest, but if you go five days or more without completing a quest and fall behind on your payments, you’ll be sold into slavery. Got it?”
“Yes.”
“All right, then. Your name, and... any skills you have.”
“I’m Noah. I have the Staffsmanship Skill.”
“Noah, twelve years old, Staffsmanship Skill. And you have blond hair and green eyes...”
I silently watched as the clerk wrote down my physical features.
“All right. Put some ink on your thumb and press it here.”
I did as I was told and put my thumbprint on the document.
“This is your provisional registration. Take a quest off the board behind you and bring it here. Until you’ve paid off the registration fee, you can’t accept quests with penalties for breaking the contract. Keep that in mind.”
With that, the clerk handed me a wooden tag with a string threaded through it.
“Thank you.”
I hung the wooden registration tag around my neck and went to look at the quest notices posted beside the entrance.
The hemp-paper notices covering the wall listed the quest details and rewards, along with large symbols depicting the targets.
Only odd jobs and extermination quests came without penalties for breaking the contract.
Ditch clearing—30 copper coins per day.
Rat extermination—10 copper coins for every 10 tails.
Horn Rabbit—50 copper coins, including the bounty.
Drake—five gold coins, including the bounty.
Let’s say I hunted a single Horn Rabbit.
After twenty percent was taken off toward the registration fee, I’d have forty copper coins left.
If I stayed at a cheap inn with meals included for thirty copper coins, I’d have only ten left.
To pay off the fifty-silver registration fee, I’d need to hunt five hundred Horn Rabbits—
If I got injured along the way, I’d be sold into slavery for sure.
Even once I’d finally paid it off, I’d have barely anything left.
Who knew how long it would take to get proper equipment and start taking on quests that paid well?
The intent was clear: adventurers without equipment or the money for the registration fee were to be worked to the bone, kept alive but never allowed to get ahead.
Of course, I could make the money quickly by hunting a Drake.
But my goal wasn’t money. It was to earn the Guild’s trust.
It wasn’t enough to simply be strong. Anything out of the ordinary would only make people wary.
The wisest approach was to stay within the Guild’s expectations and produce reliable results.
Once I’d finished sorting out my thoughts, I turned my attention toward the tavern.
Several groups of adventurers were watching me.
In a corner booth, I met the eyes of one of three people who looked about my age.
—Looks promising.
I started walking toward the corner of the tavern.