Hello Scrolls and Nazarins, another chapter of my fanfic The One Who Came Back fresh for you.
It's time for the Blue Roses to meet the new Adventurers' Guild.
With you
The One Who Came Back
Chapter 49: The Guild
As the following days swiftly passed, their explorations of the new environment continued. On this particular day, they decided it was time to visit the Adventurer's Guild, so they headed early to the old part of the city. They passed through the old wall, now called the Inner Wall, and found themselves in an unfamiliar city.
"This can't be right."
"What?"
"The city, I don't recognize anything," Lakyus said, looking genuinely puzzled.
"Yeah, boss, everything looks different, but look over there, that shop, you remember it, right?"
"Of course, Gargaran, but there weren't buildings like those on the sides, and the streets are in different positions."
"I think everything was renovated, from what I found out."
"But, shorty, it's been less than a year. How did they do all this in less than a year?"
"Use your head, musclehead, undead, imagine a tireless army that never stops and does exactly what it's told. Then you have something like that."
"Phew! And they're using it for work."
"We know where we are," the twins said. "The Adventurer's Guild is this way."
After a few kilometers, they reached their destination. As they entered the hall, all eyes turned to them.
"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, can I assist you?" said the attendant, a young woman with a peculiar appearance, very beautiful, trained, and recently graduated from the Institute.
"Yes, thank you. Tell me, the city looks completely different, but the Guild, it's almost exactly as I remember. Why?"
"Oh, yes! That was a choice made by the Guild Master, Pluton. He thought that maintaining a familiar appearance would help with the transition."
"Transition?"
"Yes, the Adventurer's Guild is undergoing a transformation in its purpose."
"We've heard about that, now you will only be doing explorations," Gargaran said.
"Actually, no. It's a common misconception, but the Guild continues to perform services that require a different kind of attention. For example, searching for missing persons, escorting, eliminating non-intelligent monsters, in addition to exploring caves, ruins, and the like. All of this cannot be handled by the security forces, but the focus will gradually shift towards the exploration of the unknown."
"So you still do the same and a bit more, but the range of services seems a bit empty, how do adventurers sustain themselves?"
"Yes, there has been a decrease in common services in our region. After all, within the city, there is security. However, some still think they can evade the law. Nevertheless, the Knights and Linchs quickly resolve all of that. Outside the city, their effect and reach become smaller as you move away from E-Rantel. So, in those areas, requests are made. Only those who need urgency or are too dangerous arrive here."
"But the room is full!" Evileye pointed out.
"Yes, some adventurers are waiting for guidance and the resources for expeditions funded by His Majesty. Missions that can last for months and even years to complete. But most are here for the Dungeon."
"But what exactly is this 'Dungeon'?" the leader of the Blue Roses asked, taking over the conversation.
"Alright, the Training Dungeon is exactly what the name implies, a training area simulating a hostile environment."
"So it's just a maze," Lakyus said.
"Not just that, it simulates various different locations, each with characteristic dangers."
"Various locations, you mean. But where is it then? Outside the city?"
"No, no, no, it's right here, right beneath us. After all, it's a dungeon," the receptionist said with a condescending smile.
"So... how does it work?"
"Well, for adventurers who have never participated, it's mandatory to start from the first floor and progress. Your progress will be recorded, and the next time you can either continue from where you left off or redo the course."
"What's the advantage of starting over?"
"At the higher levels, almost none, but at the lower levels, it would be to gain experience, improve, and accumulate Tokens without risk and at a low cost. So, when you reach the floor where you left off, you might be more confident to progress."
"And materials? Potions and weapons, does the Guild provide anything?"
"Only the place to acquire them. After all, the dungeon provides relatively low-risk training."
"Relatively?"
"Yes, in every adventure, there is a possibility of injuries. It's no different here. If you don't prepare enough by acquiring the necessary potions, weapons, or emergency equipment, you may be at great risk if you don't know when to retreat on a mission. This also affects your final ranking."
"And in the case of risks like... death?"
"Yes, on the first floors, the chance of death is low. Copper-level adventurers may have difficulties. But at any time, if you give up, just ask to end the session. The Linch positioned in the room will terminate the session and provide emergency assistance if needed. In the deeper floors, the danger is much greater. In addition to traps, there is a chance that you won't be able to end the session in time due to enemies or not realizing the imminent end of your group. This can lead to death and, as I mentioned, affect your ranking. After all, understanding your limits is part of being an adventurer."
"And in the case of death?" Evileye asked.
"In the event of death, if the adventurer has sufficient levels, resurrection will be carried out at no cost. After all, it is our responsibility to ensure safety. If they don't have sufficient levels, we will cover the burial costs."
"So, what does the Guild gain from providing the training center is more experienced and skilled adventurers. In turn, the Kingdom can fund these more efficient groups to carry out their 'explorations'."
"Yes."
"And the adventurers gain only experience."
"Not just that, as the Guild receives funding from the kingdom. Some enemies carry items that can be sold, and there are rewards as these groups progress."
"We get paid!" the twins exclaimed.
"Yes, with the Guild's currency, or as they call it, Tokens. Every floor, you receive a reward as if it were payment for a mission. These rewards can only be spent at the Guild. Every five floors, there's a special shop where these rewards can be exchanged for more supplies to continue or, if you wish, the Tokens can be spent in the main shop to acquire equipment."
"What kind of equipment?" Gargaran asked with great interest.
"Armor, rings, necklaces, some imbued with magic and with varying prices. But what really stands out are the Runecrafts."
"Runecraft weapons!"
"Yes, weapons, pieces of armor, and everyday items like the rings of light and heat. These are essential on the cave and ice floors."
"You have an ICE floor!" Lakyus exclaimed in awe.
"Yes, we have an ice floor, and a fire floor, and a jungle floor."
"H-how do you have a jungle environment underground? How does it work?"
"Magic. It makes anything grow anywhere," the receptionist explained with the same smile. "But let me explain each one. The first floor is the sewer with common enemies you would find there, the second is an open field, the third a desert, the fourth is a cave, and the fifth is a maze. After that, the floors repeat, but the layout and difficulty change, as well as the type of 'enemies' and their quantity. For example, the open field turns into a forest on the 7th floor and a dense forest on the 12th. The maze on the 15th floor becomes a large and complex temple."
"So there are 15 levels?"
"In fact, there are 21, but only adventurers above the Adamantite level reach them."
"But we are Adamantite, there's no level above that," Lakius asserted, thinking that only legendary heroes reached that level.
"That was before. You can't imagine how many groups were reclassified by the new standard. Most were downgraded, but after some attempts, some managed to regain their old classification."
"So they just need to reach a certain floor."
"Not just that. They will be evaluated by the Linchs and the human observer, usually a veteran adventurer like Mr. Mochnak. Criteria like prudence or organization are important. After all, it's not enough to have a strong group but also a dynamic one."
"But passing through the Dungeon alone can't be the only criterion for classification?!" Lakius exclaimed with a somewhat indignant tone.
"No, it can't. Experience counts for a lot, but it's just one criterion for evaluation. After all, this is a controlled environment, so it functions more like a skill test during classification."
"So... has anyone reached this new level?"
"Only one group, Darkness, of course. Hero Momon and Princess Nabe were the only ones who completed the Dungeon and reached the new level, Class S," the receptionist said with sighs.
The Blue Roses weren't surprised to hear the names, but they couldn't say in which of them the sigh was deeper.
"And what's on the last floor?" Evileye asked.
"Ah, I can't say. In fact, those who reach the last floor must keep it a secret. After all, we don't want to spoil the surprise, do we?"
"All right, we'd like to sign up," Lakius, now very interested, wanted to know how far they could go and what the difference was between them and Momon.
"Very well, here's the standard contract, sign here, initial there, pay the fee there, get your copy here, and thank you for joining the New Adventurer's Guild of E-Rantel. Please, if you wish, you can go to the shop or wait in the hall near that door until you're called. Next!"
The adventurers went to the shop, one of the few visible modifications, as it was on the opposite side of the order board. There, in a spacious room, there were several sets of complete armor on both sides, weapons on the walls organized by type, and displays in the center of the room with various items like rings, necklaces, items, knives, and throwing blades, which caught the twins' attention.
"Good morning, ladies, did you like anything?" the attendant, again an exotic figure, another recent graduate from the Institute, said.
"We're just looking," Lakyus said, "how much is a potion?"
"The common ones cost 4 gold skulls, but..."
"How much is this hammer, Miss?" Gargaran interrupted.
"My name is Missy, and I'm at your service. The price is attached. Let me see... this is a War Hammer with two runes, Resistance and Fire. It costs 150 Gold Skulls or 600 Tokens."
"Gold skulls, the currency of the Wizard Kingdom," Lakius grumbled.
"Officially, it's not called that, but I think His Majesty doesn't mind. Otherwise, he would have established a rule prohibiting the use of that name by the population."
"Still, it's cheap. An enchanted weapon like this should cost at least three platinums, even with those Tokens. After several raids, we can accumulate more than enough to buy it. Aren't you afraid someone might try to steal something from here?"
"Oh, no," the attendant said as the armor in the corner moved to become visible. "There's always a guard on standby, wearing golden armor specifically so they won't be identified immediately." They all looked at the Death Knight, who was wearing something different from the usual.
"I didn't know you could use equipment," Evileye murmured.
"Regarding our prices, they're a bit lower for members of the Adventurer's Guild. The main difference is the availability of something specific, as a shop can't have everything that's manufactured."
"Okay, we're going into the Dungeon, so we'd like to purchase some potions. I believe our resources will be sufficient."
"Very well, what would you like? We have medicines, plasters, basic and advanced healing potions, mana potions, stamina potions..."
"You mentioned 'advanced'?" Lakyus was surprised.
"Yes, just like the stamina ones, these are new potions, guaranteed by Bareare. For now, only we sell them to more experienced adventurers. If you have a higher level, you'll need fewer potions to fully recover. These are the purple ones here. As for the stamina potions, they're the white ones. They increase your stamina for a period, useful for prolonged battles. Some adventurers have been looking for them for other uses," the attendant said with a wink.
...
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Hello, I would like to comment on a problem I have with the New World monetary issue, without many references I don't know exactly how much something should cost, so there may be some discrepancies.
For the price of the common potion I based it on the cost of Brita's lost potion (1 gold and 10 silver), and how much Lizzie Bareare offered for the red potion (32 gold), so I imagine that Ainz must be offering better prices as an attraction for the Guild and propaganda of new potions.
As for the price of rune weapons, I'm just guessing lol.
Tolkens for me are those tokens that you get in arcades to exchange for gifts, in this case items, only those who run through the Dungeon a lot or go very far can accumulate enough to buy really cool things
