Upon the stone-paved roads ran carriages drawn by horses, clip-clopping alongside a bustling crowd of people of all ages, shapes, and forms. Whoa, that person even has animal ears! Too bad it’s a guy, though.
::Honey, that’s the guild right in front there.::
I looked around and saw a large building which, despite being made of bricks like all its neighbors, managed to give off a somewhat disorganized impression.
All right, here’s the start of my new life! Ah, ah, ahem, ahem!
Folks, here we are at an Adventurer’s Guild. What an imposing appearance it has, wouldn’t you agree? Well then, how about we take a look inside?
::Em...what was with that random monologue?::
“No idea. Maybe I’m a bit too excited right now.”
Entering the building, the first thing that I saw was a row of counters where guild receptionists were busy handling adventurers. Hey, a lot of them are quite cute.
Next to the counters was a bar, where there were a few people drinking despite the early hour. The place did not feel closed-in or unwelcoming, though. Rather, with groups huddled around tables to talk strategy, people milling around a bulletin board and going through what appeared to be quest posters, and others loudly and cheerfully toasting each other, the overall atmosphere was quite lively and warm.
So, pretty much the usual depiction of an Adventurer’s Guild in RPGs brought to life. It made me happy to find that it was all just as I had imagined it to be. I’d been worried that there might be only meatheads in here, but there turned out to be a sizable number of normal young men and women too.
I joined one of the lines in front of a counter and waited a short while until it was my turn.
“Good morning! How may I help you today?”
A girl with brown hair done up in cute pigtails greeted me in a voice so bright and bubbly that it lifted my spirits. Cheerful girls are great, aren’t they? I barely caught myself before being sucked into her round, blue eyes. Oops, now’s not the time for that.
“I’d like to register as an adventurer.”
“Registration it is! Please fill out this form here. Would you like a scribe?”
“I’m good, thanks.”
As part of the transmigration welcome pack, I had a full understanding of the local language, which also included reading and writing. Thank Goddess for Melfina, right? Okay, so I have to fill in...just my name and class. Well, that’s simple enough. Name’s Kelvin; class is Green Mage. Done.
“Thank you, Kelvin-sama. Please wait a few moments.”
There was a reason I had written in “Green Mage.” Summoners were apparently very rare in this world.
A more common class of a similar nature was Tamer. Unlike Summoner, this class involved taming monsters and making them do the Tamer’s bidding. The ability had no MP costs, and the monsters could be kept at the Tamer’s side twenty-four seven. Apparently, the higher the rank, the more monsters that could be Tamed. Only in this way, however, was it similar to Summoning.
The advantage of Summoning was that it could be used against not only monsters but also humans, elves, and even inorganic entities like golems. In addition, there were the stats boosts, the telepathic network, and the ability to Summon Followers anywhere within one’s magical range. These buffs were, without a doubt, a very worthwhile tradeoff for the MP costs.
Those who could become a Summoner were extremely limited in number, to the point where there might be only one, if that, in each country. The instant one was found, he or she would immediately become the center of attention for the local higher-ups. As someone who wanted to live freely and enjoy this world at my own pace, such attention would only be a hindrance. So I had decided to hide my identity as a Summoner as well as I could going forward.
“Apologies for the wait. Here is your guild card.”
I was handed a blue card decorated with wings that bore the letter F. So this is how a guild card looks. Nice.
“Now, please allow me to provide a simple explanation of the guild system.”
According to the receptionist, adventurers were separated into seven different ranks. She even had a little board as a prop: