40 Adventurer's Guild
The trio arrived at the Adventurer's Guild after walk through the Adventurer's Lane that was filled with shops. It almost seemed like the street was deliberately designed like this, so that any adventurer who wanted to visit the Adventurer's Guild would first have to walk pass all these shops. It was like a medieval era social engineering.
More than a few times they had been distracted from their objective, distracted by the various items on display in these shops.
Ghislaine was the one who usually had to bring them back on track, since she held little interest in other weapons. Her own sword, Hiramune – Flat Core, had been given to her by her master and current Sword God, Gal Farion. It was already one of the best quality weapon in the world, and it perfectly suited her style. Which was why she did not think highly of other swords.
And as for armor, she disregarded them even more. Her attire was one focused on speed and manoeuvrability. Wearing bulky armor would only hamper her movement and flexibility.
Eris, as usual, had stars in her eyes when looking at the various adventurer gear. However, she was looking more out of interest and fascination than to replace what she currently had.
Strapped to her waist was Rudeus' short sword Blue Fang, which he had loaned to her after she managed to grasp incantationless casting of [Fireball].
It wasn't a gift, since the short sword held deep sentimental value for Rudeus. He had purchased a new magic sword to replace the increasingly inadequate Blue Fang, but that didn't mean he would just throw it away or give it to someone else. Roxy might cry if she found out.
He had also wrapped the handle his new magic sword with the strip of linen cloth Zenith gave him as a farewell gift.
And though it was only a loan, Eris treasured Blue Fang greatly. For a girl who grew up surrounded in luxury, the shabby and rugged looking Blue Fang seemed out of place when paired with the normally fancy clothes she usually wore.
She brought it with her wherever she went, and Rudeus suspected that she might have even slept hugging it. He felt heartened, seeing the girl treasure the sword he was very attached to, but admittedly thought it was a little weird to be honest.
Rudeus himself kept an eye out on magic items. The reason for doing so coincided with why he was going to visit a Magic Guild today.
He wanted to learn how to enchant items.
He had seen from North Saint Kaballah how much an effective magic item could bolster an individual's strength. While he could replicate a lot of magical effects with his own silent spells, he wasn't seeking to enchant magic items for his own use. There was a financial motivation behind it.
Magic items fetched high prices, this was his observation from strolling Adventurer's Lane. And Rudeus required lots of money to fund his vendetta against the Notos family. Although a year had passed since the assassination attempt, this grudge has not been forgotten by Rudeus. Thus, to contend against their massive resources, he would need deep pockets of his own.
Despite the numerous distractions, the trio soon arrived at the Adventurer Guild of Roa. It was quite a large building, with a large sign that declared to any adventurers who came in through the city gates to gather at this point.
Numerous rough looking adventurers hung around the place. Some were gathered in their parties, chatting or looking in deep discussion, while others vocally sought party members like:
"Beginner Water and Wind Magician, C-rank adventurer looking for a party! My fee is 30% of the mission reward!"
"Looking for a tracker with experience in the Eastern Forest! Must have their own map of the forest!"
"Seeking B-rank parties to team up on the B-rank, Centiblade extermination mission!"
Ghislaine took the lead and entered through the front doors of the building. Her entrance drew the gazes of many adventurer's within. Some of them sent lewd looks, staring at her scantily clad body with undisguised desire. Others recognised her as the Sword King, Black Wolf Ghislaine, and showed her the appropriate amount of respect.
Ghislaine ignored these looks, already having grown used to both lusty male gazes as well as looks of fear and respect. She walked up directly to the receptionist, while Rudeus and Eris followed. The pair behind her looked around in amazement, fascinated by what they saw.
On the east side of the large lobby, there was a wall that had dozens of flyers pasted on them. Those were the mission requests that had been posted on the bulletin board for adventurers and their parties to choose from. There were a couple parties browsing these requests currently.
On the west side of the lobby was a large area with chairs and tables. It was clear that this area was designated for adventurer's to mingle and rest. Similarly, there were a few groups of men and women sitting around and socialising or trading information.
"Welcome back, Sword King Ghislaine. How may the Adventurer Guild help you today? Are you perhaps looking to take up mission requests again?"
The receptionist, a young woman wearing a tight uniform, bowed and greeted using Ghislaine's official title.
Ghislaine shook her head.
"No, that's not why I am here today. I'm here to exercise my referral privilege."
"Ah, you are here to recommend someone to register with the Adventurer's Guild?"
"Yes."
Rudeus had already been informed by Ghislaine about this referral privilege before they arrived, so he wasn't surprised. It was a privilege only granted to S-rank adventurers who were prominent members of the guild. Amongst the Fang of the Black Wolf party, only 2 members had this privilege - Ghislaine and someone she called Gisu.
"Very well. Let me quickly remind you of the terms of the referral privilege. You can only recommend up to 3 adventurers a year. People who join the guild using your recommendation are allowed to join a higher rank from the start but only up to 1 rank below yours. Lady Ghislaine is currently an S-rank adventurer. Though adventurer ranks may drop after a period of inactivity, you have been granted special permission to retain your rank. That means the person you recommend can start off as A-rank at most."
Ghislaine nodded, "I understand."
"Very good, Lady Ghislaine. May I ask when the recommend individual will be arriving?"
"He is already here."
"Hm?" The receptionist titled her head in confusion.
Ghislaine moved aside and gestured towards Rudeus.
"He is the one joining the Adventurer's guild today under my recommendation."
"...I see." The receptionist spoke politely, but Rudeus could see the doubt and scepticism in her eyes that saw him only as a child.
She continued, "I do want to remind Sword King Ghislaine and her guest that the Adventurer's Guild is not liable for any loss, illness, injury, permanent disability or death in the event of accidents during missions. And while there is technically no age limit for registration to the Adventurer's Guild, we reserve the right to deny membership to any applicants with reasonable cause. Furthermore, Adventurer's with a referral privilege may be held legally and financially responsible for any damages or expenses incurred by the person who has been recommended."
"Don't worry. Rudeus is strong. He is a North Saint."
Rudeus' North Saint title was the public title the Boreas family had agreed on revealing to the public. Since the Notos family was already aware of this fact, as well as Rudeus' Magic Sword style, they no longer needed to hide this information even if they did not intend to publicise it.
The receptionist smiled, a practiced expression that seemed both genuine and artificial at the same time somehow.
"Very well then. May I ask what rank will Sword King Ghislaine be recommending mister Rudeus to start at?"
"If it was possible, S-rank. But since that is not possible, then let him begin at A-rank."
The receptionist woman's eyes widened, "Excuse me, I seem to have heard wrongly. Did you say A-rank?"
"Yes."
"Ah I must have been mistaken. Is Mister Rudeus a Hobbit? We rarely see demi-humans on the Central Continent. Please pardon my misunderstanding."
Rudeus cleared his throat, "Um, no, I'm fully human."
"...Please pardon my rudeness, but may I ask how old is mister Rudeus?"
"I am 8 years old."
"...Sword King Ghislaine, this is highly unusual..."
Eris got fed up with the receptionist's unceasing scepticism, "Hey! What's the hold up? Hurry up already, I'm getting bored!"
"This must be the Boreas Young Lady Eris. I apologise for the delay. Ahem, Lady Ghislaine, since you have been made aware of the terms and conditions of your recommendation, we will proceed with the registration of Mister Rudeus. Please give us a few minutes."
"Mhm." Ghislaine grunted in assent. "Eris is also here to register as well. But she will be starting out at D-rank."
"What!? D-rank!?" Eris loudly protested, "If Rudeus is A-rank the i'm at least a B-rank! Or a C!"
"Learn how to consciously use Battle Aura first." Ghislaine shot back, to which Eris had no reply.
Unlike Rudeus who has high mana sensitivity, Battle Aura did not come easily for the girl. There were occasional hints of mana being infused in her movements and her attacks, but she was not able to consciously call upon it. If she could one day consciously summon mana to enhance her physical ability, she would be considered Advanced rank. If she ever mastered it, then she would be Saint-rank!
Though Eris was objectively not as talented as Rudeus in mana manipulation, she was still at a level of child prodigies. There weren't many 9, 10 year olds out there who could claim the same. Eris only appeared less brilliant because her talent was darkened from the colossal shadow of Rudeus' genius.
The receptionist proceeded with Rudeus and Eris' registration. Thankfully, the process was pretty straightforward. There was not a need for any tests. Ghislaine's strenfth and reputation was enough to curtail too heavy an objection. This was how Rudeus and Eris became adventurers.
They left the Adventurer's Guild, and walked over to the Magic Guild, which was not located within adventurer's lane but instead along the street that specialises in high end luxury products.
