"Yer all good lass, the crystals don't lie," he paused briefly, stroking his beard, before adding, "Well they can be tricked, but the crystals don't lie."

Must be a low-grade divination crystal, Elaine thought to herself as she inspected the crystal ball.

"Confused now. Ain’t ya?" he grinned, puffing out his chest slightly, "This here crystal ball's been imbued with some divination magic. It'll show how many slimes you defeated in this here grove. Cool stuff now, ain't it?"

Another arrow plunged into the soil, this time landing in the spaces between his toes, startling Greg again.

"What's wrong with yer, Margaret?" he angrily looked up.

"Shut up, Greg!" she shouted, "She obviously knows what the crystal does. In case you haven't realized yet, she's one of the daughters of the Autumnbow family. Now if you want to continue embarrassing yourself, it's best you keep your trap shut."

Greg, the armored man, looked back at Elaine, arm rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry there, lassie. I mean Lady Autumnbow," he quickly corrected himself, "Please go on ahead and pass this to the receptionist at the guild," he handed Elaine a piece of paper with a stamp on it, "They'll handle the rest. And good luck on your journey Lady Autumnbow.”

"Thank you, Greg," Elaine smiled, "And call me Elaine. You too Margaret."

Elaine waved goodbye to both of them as she headed back to the guild hall, slime cores, and paper safely tucked away in her bag. Looking back, she made sure that she wouldn't be seen by them, especially Margaret. With the coast clear, she began to clench her right fist tightly, nails digging into her palm.

How could I have been so careless, she mentally berated herself, How could I have not realized I was being watched. I am so stupid. This was such a careless blunder, her nails dug deeper. I can't let my guard down so easily. Not again... not again... she sighed.

She loosened her grip, blood trickled down her palm dripping to the ground below. She turned it face up, the tips of her fingernails were stained in blood. Her gaze wandered back to her palm, four distinct lines mar her skin, the nail having punctured the flesh.

A little bit of pain keeps the mistakes away, she reassured herself.

She grabbed a bandage out of her bag and used it to wrap her wound before she continued her trek down the slope toward the guild hall.

When she finally entered the hall again, she made a beeline to the receptionist who attended to her earlier, thankfully she was free and eagerly awaiting adventurers to assist.

"I have this now," she placed the paper Greg handed to her on the countertop, "does this mean I can register?"

She picked up the paper and held it towards the light, inspecting it.

"Yup, we can register you now. Just one sec," she held up her index finger before turning around and heading towards a room in the back.

A couple of minutes passed with Elaine just tapping her fingers on the counter before she finally emerged. This time she carried a large crystal ball, easily the size of her head. The receptionist struggled with the crystal ball, her hands grabbing the three-legged stand that held up the ball. Grunting and puffing with each step, she waddled towards the counter, its size and weight throwing off her center of gravity. When she finally reached the counter, a sigh of relief escaped her lips as she gingerly placed the orb down, relieved. A faint sheen of sweat was visible before she wiped it away, still panting heavily.

"Sorry... for... the... wait..." she barely managed to squeeze out as she caught her breath.

Elaine stared blankly at her, patiently waiting for her to recover her strength.

"Right then," she finally spoke up, having caught her breath, "Place both your hands on this please."

Elaine does as instructed, placing both her hands on top of the crystal. The receptionist placed her own hand on the base, underneath the crystal ball, pouring mana into the symbols etched onto it. A faint white glow radiated from the crystal ball as Elaine felt the energy within it probing her. It was searching, looking, and scanning, as the energy flowed through her being.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

Divination magic again, Elaine noted.

With the probe complete, the ball’s glow started to dim until it returned to its crystal-clear form. A card ejected from the slit at the side of the base was quickly retrieved and inspected by the receptionist before she handed it to Elaine.

"Here you go Lady Autumnbow, and it's a pleasure to meet you. I didn't recognize you and I hope you can forgive me," she smiled sheepishly.

"Thank you, and please, Elaine is fine."

"Alright Elaine, this is your guild card. It contains your information like name, age, and rank. This will serve as proof of your affiliation with the guild and enable you to take on quests. If you ever lose it or it gets damaged, approach any guild hall and they should be able to repair it or issue a replacement if needed," she points towards the crystal ball.

"Thank you very much, is that all?"

"Well no, as a new adventurer, I still have to inform you about the ranking system."

"I already know all that, it's ok."

"Well yes, but I still have to inform you about it, for formality's sake."

“Fine,” Elaine sighed.

"Thank you, Elaine. The adventurer ranks from lowest to highest are Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Mithril, and lastly Adamantine. Everyone starts out as a Copper adventurer, regardless of background. To advance further you need to complete enough quests of your corresponding rank and also have a high enough quest completion rate. After you fulfill this criteria you will be eligible to take the promotion test. Upon passing you will be promoted and if you fail, and I doubt you will, you will have to wait before you can take the test again. Wait times will vary depending on guild location and rank. Quests can be picked out from the quest board over there," she pointed over to the boards lining the sides of the hall made out of crystal, "and you are only allowed to take quests of your rank and one below. Any questions?"

"Actually, yes. Do you know what my sister's rank is?"

"Sorry Elaine, I can't disclose that information. Although I can say that she's climbing the ranks pretty fast," giving Elaine a wink.

Elaine giggled, "Well then, where can I sell these?" Elaine pulled out a slime core from her bag, and placed it on the countertop.

The receptionist picked it up and inspected it, turning it over and over, scrutinizing it.

"This is a slime core, right?" she says, smiling.

"Yup," Elaine simply replied.

"Nice! You got lucky killing a slime without the core shattering," she continued to examine the core in her hand.

"Guess I was really lucky then," she opened up her bag revealing the other 49 slime cores.

The receptionist's eyes widened, mouth agape. She stared speechless at the pile of cores in Elaine's bag.

"H-how did you get so many?" she barely managed to squeeze out.

"Killing a slime without the core shattering is child's play. If I couldn't even get one core I'd be a disgrace to the Autumnbow family," Elaine gave a smile accompanied with a thumbs up.

"Yes, I apologize," she quickly bowed her head, "Well you have two options. One, you search for a potential buyer by yourself. Two, you let the guild find a buyer for you."

"What's the difference?"

"Finding buyers would require you to search out for them yourself. Of course, prices will vary as well as how trustworthy the buyer is. Some may even cheat you out of a good deal. On the other hand, letting the guild handle it means that the guild will find potential buyers for you but the guild will take a small commission fee."

"So what do adventurers usually do?"

"Most just let the guild settle it, since it’s easier and the transactions are more straightforward and safe."

"I'll go with the guild then. I really don't feel like going out of my way looking for buyers," Elaine said.

"Sure then," she handed the core back to Elaine, "Please follow me to the appraisal room."

She followed the receptionist deeper into the guild until they reached a corridor where many other adventurers were lining up waiting for their turn. Most carried a sack, presumably containing the loot that they were trying to sell, some just carried them on hand. The bottom of one of the adventurers' sacks was stained red, with fresh blood seeping from within. Small droplets of blood dotted the floor trailing behind him. The receptionist quickly walked up and spoke to him, pointing at the exit, and motioning him to leave. The man, with a tired and battle worn, just grunted as he walked out muttering obscenities under his breath. A small trail of blood followed him as he made his way to the exit, the sack swinging as he walked. The people behind him quickly filled up his empty spot.

She walked back to Elaine, before saying, "I'm sorry you had to see that Elaine."

"It's ok. I just hope you have someone to clean up all that blood on the floor."

The receptionist sighed, "I'll get someone to clean it up," before quickly regaining her friendly disposition, "Anyway, please line up and wait for your turn. The appraiser will determine the quality of your items before deciding the next course of action. Thank you for joining the guild and I wish you the best of luck on your journey Elaine," she bowed.

"Thank you for your help. Although, I never did get your name."

"Please call me Leilani," she smiled, bowing once more, before returning to her post.

Elaine joined the back of the queue and patiently waited her turn. The line moved quickly, adventurers entered and left the room, their time spent in it short, often less than ten minutes. Their faces showed a range of expressions, happy, annoyed, and angry, as they made their way out. The only thing in common was that when they left the room, they were empty-handed.

Looks like a fast process, Elaine observed.

Finally, it was Elaine's turn.