"Have you decided which division you're going to join?" Shizue asked as the two of them walked toward the Free Guild building. It was one of the few Guild branch offices currently operating in the country.
Hinata didn't hesitate. "Subjugation," she replied quietly.
While the Free Guild's main purpose was to protect people from monsters, it served far more roles than just that. It had multiple divisions, some dedicated to training new adventurers, others focused on maintaining records about monsters and adventurer activity, verifying task credibility, or managing logistics between cities.
The Adventurer Guild, a major division under the Free Guild, handled high-risk missions outside the safety of towns and villages. Its members, known as adventurers, were grouped into three main subdivisions based on their skill sets, though it wasn't rare for one to qualify for multiple if they met the requirements. To even be recognised as an adventurer, a person needed at least D-rank combat capability.
Shizue's steps faltered for a moment. "Hinata… are you sure?" she asked quietly, her tone carrying both concern and weariness. "You understand what that means, don't you? You'll have to kill. Take lives. Are you prepared for that?"
The Subjugation Division, one of the three Adventurer Guild subdivisions, specialised in direct combat, hunting and eliminating magical beasts and other dangerous monsters. It was, without question, the most perilous path among them.
For most people born in this world, fighting monsters was a part of life. But Hinata wasn't like them. Shizue could tell from the way she spoke, the habits she had, the subtle things that didn't belong here. She came from a world more advanced than this one, perhaps similar to Shizue's own. That was why the thought of Hinata staining her hands with blood so soon didn't sit right with her.
Hinata exhaled softly, eyes fixed ahead. "Yes, I've thought about it. I've spent the last month learning how this world works. If I want to survive, this is a step I have to take. Especially since I can't always rely on you."
"You can," Shizue replied immediately, almost out of instinct. After a moment, her voice softened. "But if you'd rather not, there are other options—exploration, collection missions… it doesn't always have to be subjugation."
The Collection Division focused on gathering valuable resources from the wilderness such as herbs, fruits, rare materials, and magical components, while the Exploration Division specialised in reconnaissance and investigation. Their missions often involved tracking monster movements, exploring unknown ruins, or assessing potential threats.
While both exploration and collection adventurers occasionally faced danger, their work was far less lethal compared to subjugation, which demanded constant combat and survival on the battlefield.
Hinata smiled faintly, though the expression didn't quite reach her eyes. "I know. But this is the path I've chosen."
She knew this world wasn't the peaceful one it pretended to be. Beneath its surface, behind the smiles and alliances, lay a deep, ugly darkness. People from other worlds were summoned and enslaved. Humans carried out twisted experiments, trying to create Majin despite publicly denouncing them. Greed and fear ruled just as much as hope and faith.
The real danger wasn't just monsters or Demon Lords. It was the people themselves.
And to protect herself, she needed strength.
Hunting monsters might be brutal, but it was also one of the fastest and most reliable ways to grow stronger in this world. Each fight would sharpen her instincts, harden her body, and push her limits far beyond what any training could offer.
As soon as they entered the Guild, Hinata could feel the weight of several gazes fall on them. Most were fleeting, just the usual curiosity adventurers showed newcomers, but a few lingered longer than necessary.
Ignoring the attention, she took in her surroundings. The first thing that caught her eye was the massive bulletin board plastered with quest notices, with adventurers crowding around it, searching for suitable jobs.
To the left stood a series of counters where adventurers submitted the quests they were taking and general affairs were handled such as registration, complaints, and verification. On the opposite side, another counter dealt with the submission of collected items, whether from assigned quests or personal expeditions.
The two categories were handled differently. Items submitted as part of an assigned quest were rewarded with direct payment, while independently gathered materials were exchanged for Guild Points instead.
Points acted as a ranking metric within the Adventurer Guild, earned through successful quest completions and contributions. Accumulating enough points allowed an adventurer to apply for a rank-up examination, but failing meant starting over from scratch, gathering every single point again before requalifying.
Another section of the hall was reserved for payments and point updates, where adventurers lined up to exchange their task slips for coin or credit.
Shizue gestured toward the general affairs counter. "Come on, we'll start there," she said, guiding Hinata through the crowded hall.
The line was long, filled with people of all kinds. Some wore armour dented from battle, others carried weapons like axes or swords, and a few were clearly merchants or civilians wrapped in travelling cloaks. The general affairs counter seemed to be a catch-all spot for everything the Guild didn't have a separate office for.
From what Hinata overheard, several people in line were there to file complaints, mostly about unfair quest distribution or disputes over shared bounties. Others came to report cheating or fraud among adventurers, something that apparently happened often enough to need a dedicated verification process.
Then there were those like Hinata, new faces waiting to register, or veterans who had come from another country and needed to sign in here.
Becoming a member of the Adventurer Guild came with benefits that regular guild members didn't have, the most notable being the freedom to change one's citizenship to any nation they desired.
Soon, it was Hinata's turn.
The woman behind the counter looked up from her paperwork, her expression professional but weary. "Yes?" she asked, her tone polite but clipped from repetition.
"I'm here for adventurer registration," Hinata replied.
The clerk's gaze flicked up, assessing her with mild surprise. "Oh?" she murmured, eyes narrowing slightly as she took in Hinata's youthful face. She'd clearly seen this before—young hopefuls coming in, thinking they could handle the life of an adventurer. Most didn't last past the test, especially without proper training.
Still, it wasn't her job to discourage them.
With a small shrug, the woman reached for a thin stack of forms, pulled one out, and slid it across the counter. "Fill this out and head upstairs when you're done," she said. Hinata nodded, taking the form.
Finding a quiet corner, Hinata glanced over the form. It was surprisingly simple, just a few basic fields: Name, Age, and Division Applied For.
She quickly filled it out and, after double-checking, made her way upstairs alone.
Shizue said she would handle this part by herself.
The upper floor was divided neatly into two sections. On the left, counters were lined for those who wanted to post quests, manage task verification, reward setting, and the usual paperwork before an official listing went up on the guild board. On the right, a smaller but still busy section was reserved for registration and examinations. That was where Hinata headed.
Compared to the chaos downstairs, the crowd here was thinner. When her turn came, Hinata stepped forward and handed over the completed form along with ten Dwarven Copper Coins.
The receptionist accepted it with a nod. Paying a registration fee was standard; this wasn't charity. It also prevented people from taking the test repeatedly without preparation or commitment.
Dwarven Coins were the standard currency across most of the continent, minted exclusively in the Armed Nation of Dwargon. Each coin was crafted with Engraving Magic and bore a unique serial inscription, making counterfeiting nearly impossible. Merchants everywhere recognised and trusted their authenticity.
There were four denominations of Dwarven Coins, each made from a different material: Copper, Silver, Gold, and Stellar Gold. Each tier was worth a hundred of the previous one, though their exact value fluctuated slightly depending on the region.
The Stellar Gold Coin, in particular, was special, produced through a complex dwarven process and infused with compressed Magicules, giving it not just monetary but artistic worth. It's said Dwargon could only mint one Stellar Gold Coin per month, and they were mostly used for nation-level trades or major guild transactions. In essence, they weren't just coins; they were certificates of trust and power.
For Hinata, though, ten simple copper coins were enough to buy her a shot at becoming an adventurer.
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