Chapter 8: Inquiring
He went back to the main square where it was bustling with people from different races. Just as Helmut had said, the guild hall was easy to find.
The building stood on the northern side of the plaza, broader than the others, its wooden beams dark and thick. A carved sword crossed over a shield above the entrance. The doors were open, and noise spilled out into the square.
Marcus stepped up the stone stairs and crossed the threshold.
The sound hit him first.
Voices layered over one another. Laughter. The scrape of chairs. The dull thud of a mug slamd against wood.
Inside, long tables filled the main hall. n and won sat in small groups, so armored in leather and chain, others in simple travel clothes. A pair of dwarves argued over a parchnt pinned to a board on the far wall. An elf leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, watching the room with detached calm.
No one paid attention to him at first.
Marcus moved forward slowly, taking in the layout.
On the right side of the hall was a large notice board covered in pinned papers. So were neat and official. Others were hastily written. A few had been torn down, leaving only fragnts of parchnt behind.
On the left were counters, and behind those counters stood the receptionists.
Marcus slowed his steps.
Three young won stood behind polished wooden desks, each dressed in the sa uniform. White long-sleeved blouses with ruffled fronts, black skirts that fell above the knee, fitted belts at the waist, and knee-high white stockings. A small ribbon tied neatly at the collar. The guild emblem was stitched subtly near the shoulder.
One handed over a parchnt while explaining sothing to a heavily armored man. Another counted coins and slid them into a ledger drawer. The third leaned forward slightly, listening to an adventurer speak in low tones.
Marcus walked toward the nearest counter.
The woman behind it had long brown hair tied loosely to one side, a thin braid resting over her shoulder. Her posture was straight, one hand resting lightly on the edge of the desk.
She looked up as he approached.
For a split second, her eyes flicked over his clothes.
Then she smiled.
"Welco to the Adventurer’s Guild Berm Branch. I am Elaina," she said pleasingly. "How may I assist you today?"
Marcus opened his mouth in awed, damn she’s cute. She has a lovely-looking face and her figure was well-fit where her uniforms accentuated it.
"I uhh ... .so how does this adventurer’s guild work?"
Of course he asked for the basics, the function of this establishnt.
Elaina tilted her head to the side, looking at him up and down and noticed it.
"Ah, this is your first ti?"
"Yes," Marcus replied, clearing his throat. "I just arrived in the city."
"I see."
She straightened slightly, her expression turning professional while keeping that sa pleasant tone.
"The Adventurer’s Guild functions as an interdiary. Clients submit requests—monster subjugation, escort missions, material gathering, investigation work. We review and classify them based on difficulty. Registered adventurers may accept tasks appropriate to their rank."
"Rank?" Marcus asked.
"Yes. All new applicants begin at a lower rank. There’s rank E,D,C,B,A,S. Rank being the highest and E the lowest."
She gestured subtly toward the notice board.
"The higher your rank, the higher the pay—and the more dangerous the requests. A client could even request for you to handle a specific task."
"I see, and the only way to rank up is to take a quest and complete it without fail right?"
"Yes sir..."
"Marcus, I’m Marcus Manfred."
"Marcus Manfred...are you perhaps a part of nobility?"
"Nope," Marcus shook his head.
"I see, I thought you were one of those."
"Why is it a problem?"
"Not really," Elaina said. "So, Sir Marcus... do you wish to apply as an adventurer?"
Marcus rested his hand lightly on the counter.
"Yes. That’s the plan."
Elaina gave a small nod and pulled a thin stack of parchnt closer.
"Then I will need to inform you of the requirents."
"Go ahead."
"First, identification."
"Identification?"
"Yes. A city-issued identity token, a noble crest, a rchant registry seal, or a guild transfer docunt from another branch."
Marcus kept his expression neutral.
"I don’t have any of those."
Her pen paused above the parchnt.
"I see."
She did not look shocked. Just mildly concerned.
"Second," she continued, "you must pass both a written and a physical examination."
"Written?" Marcus asked.
"Yes. Basic literacy, knowledge of guild laws, ergency protocols, monster classifications, and response procedures."
"That makes sense."
"And the physical test evaluates your combat skills."
"Understood."
Elaina finally looked at him fully.
"Without identification, however, your application cannot proceed normally."
"So it’s a dead end?"
"Not entirely," she replied. "It is solvable."
"How?"
"If soone of standing within Berm recomnds you, preferably a registered rchant, noble, or senior guild mber, we can process a provisional identity under their sponsorship."
"Soone who lives here?"
"Yes. And preferably soone known. We must verify that you are not a criminal or a foreign agent."
Marcus gave a short nod.
"I understand."
Sir Ivan’s face flashed through his mind. A rchant with an estate. Clearly respected.
He kept that to himself.
"How long does it take?" he asked.
"If you bring a valid sponsor, we can begin the process imdiately. Without one, you must petition the city clerk. That could take several weeks."
"Weeks?" Marcus repeated, clearly shocked by it.
Elaina gave a faint, sympathetic smile. "I know, it really takes a long ti."
"Alright. I’ll see what I can do."
"If you secure a sponsor, return to this counter," she said. "I will handle your paperwork personally."
"You’ll do that?"
"Yes, it’s our job after all," Elaina said with a smile.
’Ah she’s so damn cute’ he inwardly said.
"Thank you, Miss Elaina. I’ll be seeing you soon. If there is a rating system here, I’d rate you five stars for the service," Marcus finished, catching himself before the words went sowhere else.
Elaina blinked once.
"Five... stars?" she repeated.
"It ans excellent," Marcus said quickly. "Very professional."
A faint flush touched her cheeks, but her posture remained straight.
"I appreciate the complint, Mr. Marcus," she replied. "We aim to maintain proper standards."
Behind him, soone cleared their throat impatiently.
Marcus stepped aside from the counter.
"Right. I won’t hold up the line."
He gave her a small nod before turning away.
"Thank you and see you again!" Elaina said, bowing her head.
As much as he wanted to ask her for information about this world, he couldn’t, as she was officially on duty. There’s still a lot to learn in this world. Well, there’s a perfect ti for that.
Outside of the Adventurer’s Guild, Marcus’ heart raced in excitent. He is exhilarated with the potential in this world. Venturing to different towns, seeing monsters, and any experience he wouldn’t experience in his previous world. He’ll experience it here.
So to the Goddess that reincarnated him, he thanked her for the opportunity.
Then he rembered that he had an appointnt. At three o’clock, he must be at the inn.
So he went back to the Silver Stag without lingering in the square.
Arriving at the inn, Marcus gave the receptionist a brief nod and headed upstairs.
He unlocked his room and stepped inside.
Now for the waiting ga. His goal was to receive his rewards from Sir Ivan and then have him sponsor his application at the guild.
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