Welcome to Bretten [https://i.imgur.com/9QI0N3J.png]
Chapter 1: Welcome to Bretten
In the throne room, Bretten Royal Palace, the King was in the middle of standard meetings with advisors and other nobility. To his left and right stood the Captain of the Royal Guard and the Prime Minister. The crown prince and first princess were seated further off to the side, observing the meetings.
“Very well. We’ll re-evaluate this issue next season after—“ The King was interrupted by a strange noise through the open windows on the western wall of the throne room. The princess had the best view through the windows from where she was sitting.
“Huh?” She stood up and started backing away from the wall. Several members of the Royal Guard rushed over to protect her and see what she was looking at. They each reacted about the same way she had after peering outside.
“What is it!?” the King asked.
“F-F-Father! What IS that?” With the exception of the King and the Captain of his guard, everyone in the room rushed over to the window to look.
“By the Gods!” a guard yelled.
“Is this…?” said a noble.
“Woah!” the crown prince shouted.
The King called to the crown prince. “My son! Describe to me what you see!”
“Father, I see a monster just beyond the western wall.”
The King gently pushed the Captain out of the way as he stood up and moved towards the window himself. “Why would the arrival of a monster cause such a—WHAT!?”
The King could make out a multi-headed monstrosity just outside the city. His vision wasn’t as good as it used to be, and the air was not entirely clear today, so he couldn’t make out any details. Its size was apparent, though. He needed to look UP at it, despite the great horizontal distance between them. “Get Kay. Now.”
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The man in colorful clothes saw people reacting to the commotion in one of three ways: running towards the far end of the city, getting down on their knees to pray, or just staying frozen in place. He passed a guard station and then noticed a sign on the opposite side of the city’s first street which read ‘Welcome’. While making way for a speeding horse-drawn carriage, he crossed the street and entered the Welcome building. Inside, he heard intense arguing from the staff about what they should do.
“Excuse me, I just…“ the man tried to ask. Absolutely no one was listening to him, so he stopped speaking. ‘I guess I’ll need to send Gaia Zygós away now that I made it into the city,’ he thought. ‘«Magic Telegram: Gaia Zygós». Go somewhere else where you won’t bother any humans.’
His message was transmitted by his thoughts, so nobody could hear him, not that they were paying attention anyway. As he leaned with his back against a wall, he could hear from off in the distance thundering footsteps of the hydra turning and stomping away in another direction. The man started listening to the staff’s loud conversation.
“—need to evacuate now!” shouted a male employee. “If that thing—“
“That’s not up to us!” countered a female employee. “When the city guard decides—“
“You didn’t see that thing! It’s taller than a mountain! Its first step over the wall would… Huh?”
“The footsteps are… getting quieter?” the female employee asked. “It seems to be going away from the city.”
“I’ll go check again!”
After a few minutes, the footsteps ceased and the place calmed down enough for the man to approach the female employee. “Excuse me, I just entered the city before all the commotion… It’s my first time here. Do you have a map?”
“Oh, you got here before that chaos? Thank the Gods! Did the gate guards direct you to us?”
“No, I wasn’t sent here…” responded the man.
“I see. In that case… Welcome to Bretten! You’re amazingly calm… Anyway, let me pull out a map.” The employee retrieved a scroll and unrolled it on the counter, using decorative paperweights to hold the ends down. The man privately noted the smell of old parchment that he hadn’t experienced in years.
“We’re here, just inside the western entrance,” she explained. “The Royal Palace is at the center, here.”
‘Nothing helpful so far…’ the man thought to himself.
The female employee continued with her explanation. “The western district is basically one giant marketplace run by the merchants’ guilds. The northern district is where the nobility lives. The southern district is mostly dense housing. The military is mostly housed and trained in the eastern district.”
‘Ah, so the city is essentially split into four,’ the man realized.
“The various merchants’ guilds as well as the Magic Guild, Fighter’s Guild, Adventurer’s Guild, and others are all located near the Royal Palace, mostly on the streets separating the various districts. Is there anything else you want to know about?”
As the employee finished her explanation, the man moved his right hand over the map and closed his eyes. His hand released a faint blue glow as he chanted the name of a spell.
“«Mapping: Read Map».”
“Huh? Mapping?” the employee asked, mystified.
“The quality of that map was adequate. Do you have any maps that show the entire nation or the surrounding nations?” he asked.
“No, wait, what did you just do?”
A gray-haired man in fine clothes ran through the door along with the male employee from earlier. “What are you all still doing here!? We’re evacuating the western district. Move!”
As everyone exited the building, the man continued his conversation with the female employee while they walked. “What’s the quickest way for a magic user like me to earn some coin?”
“Earn some coin?” the female employee repeated back. “I hadn’t heard that expression but wow, I like it! Do you use attack magic, support magic, summoning magic, or healing magic?”
“Yes.”
“…Huh?” The female employee wondered which type of magic he uses. “Anyway, your best bet is the Adventurer’s Guild, assuming you don’t have any connections at the other guilds or the Bretten Church.”
“Figures… «Mapping: Navigate, Bretten Adventurer’s Guild, On Foot».”
The group separated and the man walked to the guild, located at the very eastern edge of the western district. Along the way, he passed primarily humans with a smattering of people bearing animal-like features. The disjointed evacuation didn’t seem to reach far into the city as people were still milling about.
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The guild hall was a large building of similar aesthetics to the city wall except with sloped roofs and a large rear yard. The man walked inside to yet more commotion. Adventurers and staff members were arguing loudly regarding what to do about the ‘divine beast’ that almost trampled the western gate before disappearing into thin air. The man sighed, stood with his back against a wall again, and waited for things to calm down.
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A couple of adventurers eyed him as they walked past, squinting as his clothing, but none stopped to talk. Eventually, several parties were dispatched on various scouting missions. The man approached a busy-looking clerk at the largest counter. “Excuse me, who do I see—“
“We’re not taking requests right now!” the clerk barked back. “Come back tomorrow!”
The man blinked a few times and then walked over to a smaller counter where an employee and a mage-looking adventurer were talking in hushed tones. “Excuse me, who do I see about registering as an adventurer?”
“Wow, you want to register now?” the employee responded. “Do you not see what’s going on?”
The man just barely resisted sighing aloud. ‘Maybe I didn’t think this all through enough…’ he thought privately.
The adventurer who had been chatting with the employee decided to join in. “Huh? You want to register, and you didn’t even come here fully equipped? Are you joking? Or are you an idiot…”
The employee grimaced a bit but waited for the man to provide a response.
“I don’t have any possessions at the moment, otherwise I would have come fully equipped,” the man retorted. “I need to start working immediately so I can secure food and shelter now that I’ve arrived in the city.”
The adventurer didn’t buy it. “That makes no… Well, whatever. Good luck with this one!” The adventurer walked away.
“We are happy to register anyone who meets our basic eligibility requirements,” the employee said, “but if you were hoping to start adventuring at a higher rank, you really do need to be equipped for an evaluation. Are you sure you don’t want to start by looking for some basic work at the tent next to the mercantile guilds’ main headquarters?”
“Yes.”
The employee was a bit taken aback by the man’s curt reply but provided him with some paperwork to complete. Meanwhile, she provided an explanation. “This is the correct counter for registering, updating your personal information, or making other guild-related inquiries, but accepting and reporting completion of requests is conducted at that larger counter. Adventurers are ranked according to their abilities and accomplishments. The adventuring ranks are Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.”
This all matched up fairly well with the man’s expectations.
“In addition, Iron through Platinum are divided into a lower half and an upper half, so in total there are ten ranks. I can register you as a Copper adventurer right now, but you’ll only be able to accept low-consequence and non-combat requests unless you are with a sufficiently experienced party. Oh, do you plan to party up with anyone in particular?”
“No.”
“I see… In any case, as a new member, you can attempt to start at a higher rank by requesting an evaluation. However, the evaluation only begins after you are fully registered, so you can’t back out and try again another time for a higher rank. Please indicate your preferences on the form.”
‘Hm, “name”. I guess I’ll make up some bullshit,’ the man decided. He completed the upper portion of the form:
Name Garfield Age (if under 16) — Other Guild Affiliations — Prior Convictions — Address or Base Class Mage-Summoner Evaluation Requested? Yes
Classes Recognized by the Fenwick Kingdom Adventurer’s Guild: Warrior, Fighter, Archer, Rogue, Priest, Mage-Attack, Mage-Support, Mage-Summoner, Supporter (non-combat)
“I see. Please see me later to update where you are staying. Also, you must notify the guild immediately if any of the information on this form changes, such as if you register with another type of guild. Speaking of which, where did you learn magic? Is there an affiliation you need to report?”
“No, I first learned outside the kingdom,” said Garfield.
“All right, please have a seat over there. I’ll let you know when we’re ready to evaluate you.”
Garfield walked over to a sitting area and plopped down on a bench. The only other person sitting in this area was a woman, around twenty, with a sword at her hip, fox ears, and a fox tail. She had surprisingly long hair, for a warrior, ending well below the shoulders. Its reddish-brown color matched her leather armor. She glanced at Garfield with a puzzled look and eventually spoke. “Are you also waiting for an evaluation?”
“Yes, the name’s Garfield. I’m a summoner.” Garfield wondered, ‘Hm, is she one of those hidden tragic backstory types?’
“Ah, I’m Yttria, a swordswoman. I’ve actually been waiting for quite a while, but there was a commotion about a divine beast outside the city, so…”
“…I feel your pain,” agreed Garfield. “So, how did you end up registering at the Adventurer’s Guild?”
On the one hand, Garfield didn’t want to get involved in unnecessary things, especially not right after arriving in this city. However, he was getting pretty bored by how slow everything was moving and decided to be chatty. Besides, the usual pattern would suggest he’d learn something interesting by conversing in a situation like this. Also, the cute fox-like features had his attention.
“Well, mine is a bit of a unique case…” Yttria began.
One word came to Garfield’s mind. ‘Figures.’
“I come from a family of knights, but my elder brother has no aptitude for the sword. He’s always been way ahead of me in other areas, so I poured my heart and soul into inheriting swordsmanship from my father. Due to some… circumstances with my family, I’m no longer eligible to become a knight myself. I thought I would develop my skills as an adventurer, at least for now.”
“Ah, my circumstances are much simpler,” said Garfield. “I have no money.”
“Goodness, uh, will you be all right? You said you are a summoner, right? I imagine you’ll be able to find a party quickly!”
Garfield responded in a somewhat exaggerated tone. “Yes, I’m fortunate to be blessed with talent as a summoner.” He tried his hardest to keep up a poker face and to not laugh.
“I was a bit surprised by your unusual clothes—“
An employee cut in. “Ms. Yttria, please come this way.”
“Ah, I’m up. Good luck Sir Garfield!”
“Break a leg,” said Garfield. ‘Wait, crap, that probably won’t work,’ he realized.
“Why would I…” Yttria walked away with a confused face and disappeared into the back of the guild hall, muttering to herself.
About one minute later, a man in faded purple robes carrying a tall wooden staff walked over. He was clearly a mage of some type. “Are you Garfield?”
“Yes.”
“This way.” The mage led Garfield through the back door of the guild hall. Over to the left of the rear yard, Yttria and a warrior were preparing to face off with wooden training swords. Garfield was led further back to the widest portion of the yard.
The mage began his explanation. “Since you said you use summoning magic, there’s no need for you to demonstrate your skills in mock combat. You simply need to show me what you can summon. Frankly, given your current appearance, I’m not expecting much, but guild rules say I have to give you a chance. Note that no matter how you perform, you will receive a provisional copper rank until you complete the second step of the evaluation.”
“The second step?”
“Did nobody tell you?” the mage asked with an exasperated tone. “After you prove you are at least minimally capable as a summoner, you will tag along with another party while they’re on a request so they can see you use your skills in the field. After they report in, the Guild Master will assign you a rank. Any questions?”
“No.”
“Okay, show me your most impressive summon.”
A few creatures flashed through Garfield’s mind. One was the hydra that was goofing off somewhere away from the capital. Another was a flying demonic monstrosity specialized in wide-area attacks. A third was a towering crystal castle summoned as a magic item. None of these were a good idea at this moment.
‘Hm, I’m really not sure what a typical mid-level summoner should summon in a case like this,’ Garfield pondered. ‘If I had more time, I would have done some research first. Oh well, whatever.’
Garfield turned away from the mage and gestured with his hand. “«Summon Creature of the Forest, a Beast, Bronzeclaw Bear».”
A light-brown bear appeared instantly. If it stood up on two legs, it would be over three meters tall. It also had a pretty nasty facial expression like it was furious about something.
“I’m… not a summoner myself, but that looks pretty… impressive,” the mage squeezed out. “You’re still in control of it, right?”
Garfield nodded. The bear also nodded. The mage’s head reared back, but then he shook his head quickly from side to side as though to purge his current thoughts.
“Issue it a few basic commands before its time expires. Make sure you don’t do anything dangerous.”
Garfield told the bear to sit. It fell back on to its haunches. He told the bear to wave. The bear waved its right paw. Garfield then climbed up and mounted the bear like a horse. He rode the bear in a circle around the mage, who stood there dumbfounded. Garfield peered over to the front portion of the yard and noticed Yttria and the warrior had both stopped what they were doing and were watching him ride around on his bear. Garfield slid off the bear and walked back over to the mage.
“Amazing,” the mage acknowledged. “It’s a rare summoner who can issue such complicated orders to a summoned creature. I don’t understand how you can train a creature that doesn’t normally spend time with you, but… Anyway, how much time do you have left?”
There it was again. Apparently, for normal summoners, summoned creatures would disappear after a little while. It probably depended on the size of the summon itself. For now, Garfield would need to pretend to have a similar restriction. “Uh, not long. Is it all right if I dismiss it now?”
“Sure. I’ve seen everything I need to.”
The bear whimpered slightly and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Yttria and the warrior continued to watch silently as Garfield and the Mage walked back into the guild hall.