Chapter 12: The Adventurer's Guild, Invisible Rules
2024-11-18 Author: Amnesty L
For a player, the most important thing is to kill monsters and level up!
But that's playing a game!
In this real otherworld, especially with his current low level, "safety" was the most important thing for Tang Zheng!
The Royal Duel had concluded, and the people, adventurers, and others drawn by the combat would gradually begin to depart.
Tang Zheng had no official status in the Royal Capital. It was only because of the duel involving Gazef that no investigations had occurred.
Once the Royal Capital returned to normal, an outsider like him would easily attract attention. Moreover, there was no suitable place in the Royal Capital for killing monsters and leveling up.
As for his next plan,
Tang Zheng intended to travel to E-Rantel, a border city in the Re-Estize Kingdom. However, he had too little information about the otherworld itself.
Danger was very likely along the way.
Therefore,
Tang Zheng went to the Adventurer's Guild to find an adventurer team also heading to E-Rantel.
In the Royal Capital.
Aside from the luxurious buildings of the nobles near the city's center, the next largest structures were the Adventurer's Guild and the Mage Guild, both located in the commoner district.
Thus!
Finding the Adventurer's Guild's location was not difficult.
From the locations of the two major guilds, it was clear that neither the Adventurer's Guild nor the Mage Guild were highly regarded by the kingdom's upper echelons.
There was a distinct difference in national circumstances between the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Baharuth Empire.
The Baharuth Empire greatly valued the use of magic, whereas the Re-Estize Kingdom was the exact opposite, highly revering brave warriors.
The reason for this starkly opposite situation,
was largely due to Fluder Paradyne of the Baharuth Empire, who was known as the "Chief Court Wizard," the "Nation's Ace," and one of only four long-lived humans who had surpassed the heroic realm.
He had lived for over 260 years, instructing and assisting every emperor from the first ruler of the Baharuth Empire to the current Blood Emperor.
Such influence inevitably led to the Baharuth Empire's emphasis on magic.
Tang Zheng remembered that Fluder possessed a high-tier job class like "Immortal" and had achieved "longevity" through a magic ritual using this class.
"In the future, when I go to the Baharuth Empire, there'll be another high-tier job class I need to scheme for," Tang Zheng thought to himself.
The Adventurer's Guild's location.
Located in the outer commoner district, it was a very conspicuous, four-story, square tower-shaped building.
When Tang Zheng arrived, he could clearly see people constantly coming and going through the main entrance of the Adventurer's Guild.
Tang Zheng paused briefly, then stepped inside.
Instantly!
A clamorous atmosphere washed over him.
The guild's interior was unexpectedly spacious.
Though there were many people, it didn't feel crowded, as the main hall was completely bare of superfluous decorations or furniture.
The entire floor of the Adventurer's Guild was laid with wood, and a large chandelier hung from the ceiling.
Directly opposite the entrance was a rather large front desk, where staff members were talking with several adventurer teams.
As Tang Zheng walked into the Adventurer's Guild, he noticed several gazes turn toward him, but they were all withdrawn after a brief observation.
Regarding this situation,
Tang Zheng had a few guesses as to why.
With his shabby attire, he looked neither like a powerful adventurer nor like a client who could afford to pay much.
It would have been strange if anyone *had* paid attention to him.
This was also why Tang Zheng had intentionally dressed this way from the beginning—to avoid drawing attention.
"How about this quest?"
"The reward is too low. The Adventurer's Guild takes a 20% cut, and after we split what's left, there's hardly any money."
"Wouldn't it be better to choose this one?"
"Hiss, this is a task only Gold-rank adventurer teams can choose. We're probably not qualified, are we?"
"No, the danger level of this quest isn't high. It's an escort mission, just a bit of a long journey."
"Hehe, the reward for this quest is considered low for its rank, but with the number of tasks we've already accumulated, if we can complete this one!"
"We should be able to become a Gold-rank adventurer team!"
A constant clamor of voices echoed from below the notice boards on both sides of the guild's walls, where quests were posted.
Tang Zheng walked toward the front desk. Since other adventurer teams were waiting, he had no choice but to get in line.
While observing his surroundings, Tang Zheng recalled some information about adventurers.
The Adventurer's Guild divides adventurer teams into eight ranks—Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum, and Adamantite!
These eight ranks didn't actually have clear divisions, because any team joining the Adventurer's Guild, no matter how strong they were, would always start at Copper.
Of course.
As long as a team wasn't intentionally hiding their strength or had no plans to raise their rank, their rank could still indicate their basic level of proficiency.
Before long,
it was Tang Zheng's turn. The receptionist in front of him was a young girl with slightly wavy brown hair and brown eyes.
She looked to be about the same age as Tang Zheng, around sixteen or seventeen.
"Hello, what is your adventurer team's name?"
The brown-haired girl spoke politely, showing no odd reaction to Tang Zheng's attire or his out-of-towner appearance.
"I don't have an adventurer team. I just have something I'd like to ask," Tang Zheng said softly.
"Oh, are you looking to register an adventurer team?" The brown-haired girl, thinking she understood his needs, quickly bent down and pulled out a rough, yellowish paper form from under the counter.
"I'm not looking to register an adventurer team."
"I just wanted to ask if there are any caravans or adventurer teams heading to E-Rantel."
Tang Zheng held up a hand and explained.
"Huh?"
The brown-haired girl paused, still holding the form. Her gaze shifted back to him, and she noticed the shortsword and leather waterskin hanging at his waist. A hint of realization dawned in her eyes.
"You came to watch the Royal Duel, didn't you? I mean, did you travel all the way from a border city?"
"That's amazing, traveling so far alone."
"Five copper coins."
The brown-haired girl, making her own assumptions, held out a somewhat rough palm toward Tang Zheng.
"Five copper coins?"
Tang Zheng paused, a little confused.
If he could read the writing of this world, he wouldn't have come to ask the Adventurer's Guild receptionist.
He never thought that after more than a decade of schooling in his previous life, he'd be illiterate now.
"Of course. This is the Adventurer's Guild."
"For non-members, any consultation requires a fee. The word 'free' doesn't exist here."
The brown-haired girl put on a serious expression.
As a large organization that existed across nations and was unrestricted by any one country, the Adventurer's Guild's strength didn't just come from its powerful adventurers.
Rather, it came from the invisible information network constructed by its vast number of members.
Outsiders naturally had to pay to obtain this information, and many valuable secrets were things money couldn't buy.
This was also why the Adventurer's Guild was disliked by the upper echelons of various countries, yet they still cooperated with it in secret!
Tang Zheng remembered that the Slane Theocracy seemed to be the power behind the Adventurer's Guild.
(end of chapter)