CH 007: Adventurers' Guild

(A/N: Good news. From now on, instead of explaining everything in detail, I'll give a simple and short explanation, then I'll put a summary of it after every "day" in the story passes. Basically, when Day 1 is finished with this chapter or in a couple of chapters, I'll post a chapter giving a small summary instead of a detailed explanation. The title will be "Day ??? Explanations".)

"Alright, everyone, we're here." The old man called out, informing the passengers as his carriage came to a stop. Looking out, they saw a line of carriages lined up in front of the city gate. It seemed like the guards took the safety of the city seriously.

"This is as far as I can take you."

As they all got out, with Slathilia once again taking his place on Natasha's head to not be stepped on, the redhead nodded at the coachman :"Thanks, old man. Much appreciated."

"Hahaha you're welcome, lass. I'm just doing my job. Goodnight and good luck."

'Hehehehe it would be so funny if Natasha turned out to be a terrorist or something. Wonder what his reaction would be? Uh me and my intrusive thoughts, man...'

"Good luck to you as well." She nodded as Slathilia smiled to himself :'Man, it's so nice to not have a rude companion. Makes me feel proud and comfortable.' Before he noticed the girl who was sitting with them turn to them :"Well, guess this is as far as we go together."

Slathilia :"Yeah, guess it is."

"Alright, then I won't take your time. If fate has it, we'll see each other again. Until then, good luck."

Natasha :"Hahaha you be careful too. You don't seem to have the safest of jobs."

"Huh, that's true. Thanks though. Goodbye now, we all have things to do and it's getting late. Goodbye to you too, Slathilia!"

Natasha :"Alright, good bye."

Slathilia, waving :"Gauw. (Goodbye.)"

"She was nice."

"(Yeah, continuously knew how to keep the conversation going.)"

"Heh, guess she's one of the rare species known as social people. Such weird people."

"(What? There's something like that?)"

"Hahaha I'm just joking around. I don't have that much social skills myself, so makes it interesting when I see people like her."

"(You seemed to handle yourself pretty well though.)"

"That's what I'd like to think too. But anyway, we should get going. We should find a place to stay while the sun is out."

She started walking towards the city gate, but a guard stopped her. He was a middle aged man with a beard, looking stoic. The scar running down the left side of his face to his chin making him stand out more as an intimidating or commanding person.

'Why are we seeing so many scarred people? Scarred wolf, scarred old man. What else, a scarred and battle experienced Angry Rabbit?'

"Please stop. You either need to show your Adventurer Card or pay a fee to enter the city."

Natasha :"Oh, Adventurers can enter without a fee?"

"Yes, since they need to enter and exit the city frequently. And since they keep the city safe by taking care of the monsters regularly, you could also call it a privilege."

Natasha :"I see. Then how much is the fee?"

"One silver coin per person. Your monster companion doesn't need a fee."

Natasha :"Oh, alright. Here you go."

Taking out a silver coin, she passed it to him.

"That's all, you're free to enter. Welcome to the city of Crussas."

Natasha :"Thanks."

"Oh, wait a sec. Is that dragon a tamed monster?"

Natasha :"Well, more or less. It's kind of a relationship where neither of us can order each other around. Why?"

"I'm sorry for being seen as nosy, but it's my duty to make sure things are right as the commander of the guards in Crussas. My name is Hesekiel, by the way. Anyway, for a monster to enter the city, it should have a Monster Collar."

Natasha :"For identification as a safe monster?"

Hesekiel :"Exactly. It's basically their Identification Card. The whole point of the Monster Collar is to get the point that "the monster is with someone" across. Lets people relax. They would panic if a random monster suddenly showed up in town. If a tamed monster doesn't have a Monster Collar, people might mistake it as a regular monster and there might be a bit of trouble. More so a dragon at that.

It can be other things too, but most people tend to use a Monster Collar. By the way, even though it's called a Monster Collar, it's actually a necklace. Can't really expect a dragon to let someone put a collar on him with how prideful they are."

Natasha :"I see. Thanks for the reminder. Slathilia, is it alright? It's a necklace, so it can be seen as fashionable too."

Slathilia, shrugging :"Gauw. (Sure, if it makes things easier.)"

"Alright, thanks for being understanding. Now let's see what I've got." Flipping her hand, she mentally started to go through her stored items in her Storage Ring. A few moments later, a silver necklace with a blue gem inside appeared in her hand.

Natasha :"Sorry, Thilia, but I don't have anything suitable for you at the moment. This is the smallest one I have. Can we deal with this necklace for now?"

Slathilia :"Gauw. (Sure, I don't mind.)"

"Thanks. Now let's put this on you." She said before gently picking him up and putting him on the ground. Opening the lock of the chain, she put it on him before fixing it. "There, all finished. It looks better than I thought."

Slathilia :"Gauw. (Thanks.)"

Natasha, getting up and putting him on her head :"You're welcome. Is everything alright now?"

Hesekiel :"Yes, you're all finished now. Thanks for cooperating."

Natasha :"You're welcome. By the way, can you tell me where the Adventurers' Guild is?"

Hesekiel :"Of course. Just enter the city and continue straight on the main road. After a while, you'll come across a big, two story building. There are also stables beside it, so you'll know where it is. It also had a sign. It stands out, so you will notice it pretty easily."

Natasha :"Much appreciated. We'll be going now."

Hesekiel :"You're welcome. Once again, welcome to Crussas. Also be careful. Some Adventurers aren't the softest or the friendliest of the bunch. Trouble can be stirred up pretty easily if you're unlucky."

Natasha :"Alright, I'll watch out. Goodbye."

Slathilia, waving :"Gauw. (Goodbye.)"

Hesekiel :"Haha, goodbye."

As they passed the city gates and started walking in the main road, Natasha glanced up at Slathilia :"Sorry for the necklace, Thilia. Is it uncomfortable since it doesn't fit right?"

"(It's alright, I'll manage.)"

"Sorry. Don't worry though, later, we'll replace it with a Magic Item. That way, it can also make you stronger or give useful Skills."

"(There are things like that?)"

"Yup. They're pretty useful and have a lot of varieties. It's pretty common for people to own them, no matter the Job. That girl in the carriage along with a few of those guys who looked like Adventurers also had a few. Magic Items raise our strength, so we can go against monsters easier. It's a must have for Adventurers if they wanna be safe."

"(Oh, I see. So you have some too?)"

"Of course. I just keep mine in my Storage Ring to not attract attention. I have a lot of them since I like collecting Magic Items. I just didn't have anything suitable for you. But no worries, we'll find you some."

"(Thanks.)" He thanked as he looked around. This was the first town he had visited in this world, so he was pretty curious. The fantasy theme of everything was interesting, and so was how things were of the medieval times. Everything was also pretty clean for these times, so that was good to know. He could also see and hear the pointing fingers and whispers of people and children looking at them.

"Whoa, mommy, look! Is that a dragon like in those picture books?"

"Yes, sweety, but please don't point. It's rude."

"Whoa, bro, check that out."

"Goddamn, that chick looks hella fine!"

"Bro, the fuck? I meant the dragon, you weirdo."

'Guess the guys are the same in this world too. Also, is that guy gay? I would consider him polite, but that's if Natasha wasn't actually this fine. Eh, no judgment here.'

Natasha didn't seem bothered by the stares or whispers though. He knew that her Senses Stats were higher, so he knew she must've noticed. But he just considered it as her just being used to this kind of attention. She was drop dead gorgeous after all.

After a while of walking and Slathilia looking around, they finally came across a two story building, huge in width, a stable beside it, and the sign "Adventurers' Guild" hanging on it. "I think we're here."

"(Seems like it.)"

"Then let's see how it goes. Hopefully, nothing annoying will happen."

'My common senses are tingling. That was a red flag, wasn't it?'

Walking up to the door, she already started hearing loud laughter from inside. She pushed the door open, walking in to see many, many people of all kinds, both men and women, inside of the building. Just doing their own thing and not bothering each other much.

Some were looking at boards and papers on them on the walls of one side of the building, alone or with other people. Some were at the other side of the building, where tables were present and Adventurers were enjoying their meals as waitresses were bringing them their foods and drinks. Some were just hanging around, chatting and chilling. And some were in front of the reception area, talking to the receptionists. Despite being a place for violent and rough people, the waitresses were wearing a pretty cute uniform, while the waiters had their own uniform. The receptionists, both men and women, also looked professional in their uniforms.

"Wow, Adventurers' Guild is as rowdy as the rumors say, huh?"

"(Yeah, I guess. There are a lot of people here. What are we gonna do now?)"

"Register as an Adventurer. That comes first."

"(Sure. I'll leave that to you though.)"

As she walked towards the reception area, Slathilia kept looking around in interest. The people around here we're interesting. There were mostly humans, but there were a few elves as well. He could also see several dwarves in the place. And just as he knew them, they were drinking and laughing loudly. Their beards were pretty impressive too.

'Well, guess no bikini armor to see them, huh? Bummer.'

As she reached the reception area and stood in front of one of the seated receptionist girls. A young lady of twenty years with brown hair tied in a ponytail. She was looking through some documents in front of her, but looked up with a professional smile when Natasha appeared. She was shocked speechless for a moment when she saw Slathilia though. But she quickly got herself together :"Hello, how may I help you?"

"Hello, I wanted to register as an Adventurer, if that's possible-" Natasha started, but an ugly, loud and drunk laughter interrupted her :"Hahaha hey, did you guys hear her?!" Turning around, they saw a group of middle aged men sitting around a table with drinks in their hands staring at her.

"Yeah, she said she wants to register as an Adventurer! Hahaha!"

"Hahahaha I think a whore house would be better for someone like you!"

"Gyahahaha! Yeah! I promise you will get a lot of visitors! You definitely have the body of a whore!"

"On that note, why don't you just accompany me, huh? I promise I'll make you moan a lot! Hahahaha!"

'... They really just said that? Wow, the cringe is real. I feel goosebumps on my scales. Also, wasn't there something about the explanation of my fire being able to burn anything and everything, while being able to just burn as torture? Like, without destroying something? Can I use it to set their balls ablaze?'

(A/N: If there isn't anything at the end of the chapter, it means there was no growth.)