Chapter 4 - Adventurer Registration
“Alright, let’s go over everything that we learned thus far.”
Mary found herself sitting alone in a private room that she learned was possible to request access from the staff members of the Library Sect. Even if her time here was limited, it allowed her a moment to relax and let her thoughts wander.
“While general knowledge is useful, it appears that you are dissatisfied with our progress.”
“It’s just…” She sighed. “I thought that there might have been something that could help me figure out how to discover my lost memories. I know magic is a thing, but there aren’t that many spells related to dealing with amnesia. And according to their database, the only ones capable of casting those spells are highly specialized medical practitioners that require an absurd amount of money to hire.”
“Then why not make your temporary goal saving up funds to consult a doctor?”
“How exactly am I going to save up funds?”
“You’re aware that the Adventurer Guild exists, right? Why not sign up as a member and see if they have any commissions that pay well?”
She bit her lip. From what she read about the Adventurers Guild, it was an institution that was geared toward hiring people to complete temporary tasks or jobs that required an urgent and skilled hand. Most commonly amongst their members were warriors and other capable fighters that were tasked with venturing out into the outer wilds in search for rare materials or to subjugate a rampaging monster.
Like the Library Sect, it was another organization that tried its best to remove itself from national politics and issues. However, since most of their members would mainly be composed of people who live in their respective nations, such a stance was difficult to enforce sometimes. There were some attempts at establishing a check and balance type of system to limit the power of the Adventurer Guild, but that was beyond Mary’s understanding and was unrelated to her current goal.
“I’m not vehemently opposed to the idea,” Mary began. “But is there a faster way of acquiring funds for my needs? If I sign up for the Adventurer Guild now, I’ll only be allowed to take simple requests that pay only a small stipend. Thinking in the long term, I would have to base myself in Sun City until I save enough funds to do what I need.”
Text seemed to understand her worry. “Hm, I suppose that means you would have to consider things like living costs and rent. And even if there are suitable requests that pay well, I’m not sure whether or not you’re capable of fulfilling them. Subjugation quests are simple enough, but it would be best if you acclimate to your new skills first before tackling stronger monsters. And any other high-paying task would require specialized skills that might be beyond you.”
“I’m an amnesiac vagrant. I have no specialized skills.”
“Well, not exactly…”
Mary sensed the change in his tone and narrowed her eyes. “What exactly are you planning?”
“Did you notice anything unusual while you were doing your research earlier? Maybe something that seemed surprisingly easy to deal with?”
“What?” She tried her best to recall the past few hours. “I mean, it was a bit of a chore going through all those dusty old books. But it was surprisingly not as boring as I thought it was going to be.”
“Yes, those dusty old books which are transcripted copies of texts from hundreds to thousands of years ago. Think harder about exactly why you being able to read them is so significant.”
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It took her a second to realize what he was hinting at.
“The words,” Mary exclaimed. “Even though they were in different languages, I was able to read them all easily.”
“Correct,” Text beamed. “As my Apostle, you were bestowed with the ability to comprehend all languages. Your gift of languages extends to transcribed words as well, which allows you to not only understand the local spoken tongue of each nation but also understand the written languages of ancient civilizations. That is a skill that the Library Sect would kill to have, let alone any dedicated archeologist or historian.”
She understood his plan immediately. “You want me to take on a job that requires translation work.”
“That’s right. Even if the Adventurer Guild currently doesn’t have a request that requires your language skills, there are other avenues we can explore later to see if anyone will hire you. Although with the number of ruins around here, the chances are likely that there will be at least one request that will fit our needs.”
Mary did notice an unusual amount of decrepit and ancient buildings on her journey here. At the time, she attributed them to the result of monsters driving away people from villages causing the buildings to be abandoned. If those were actually the ruins of a past civilization, then she might be able to find someone looking to hire her for her translation skill.
“Do you think I should ask around the Library Sect to see if someone is interested in my ability?”
“While I won’t doubt that there would be someone interested, I believe that it would still be best to register with the Adventurer Guild first. Their membership does allow certain perks such as the qualifications to being hired by another as well as access to discounts on weapons and equipment.”
“Does their membership require a registration fee?”
“Last I recall, their system works by taking a percentage of your profits until you reach a certain rank in the organization. As such, there should be no need for a registration fee for newcomers.”
The more he explained his idea, the more appealing it seemed to her. With her mind made up, she began cleaning up after herself in preparation to head out immediately.
- - -
[Adventurer Guild - Sun City Branch Headquarters]
Those words hovered above her head as Mary walked underneath the holographic display that was a part of the entrance. She didn’t bother to question it before, but was that kind of thing normal around here? Mary wasn’t even sure if that kind of feat was a product of technology or magic, and it was a bit difficult to bring the topic up with Text while she was surrounded by people here.
Text seemed to have decided to remain silent in order not to disturb her, so Mary floundered around for a while trying to find where she could sign up as an adventurer. Luckily for her, a well designed poster was pasted against a wall with clear instructions for how to do so. A quick glance told her the process was simple enough and could even be done without assistance.
“Huh, so it’s all automated by this terminal.”
Once again, she moved in front of a monitor that already had some kind of registration page loaded up. Clicking a few buttons, she was directed to fill out a form with information regarding herself. And while there were a few issues with filling out certain rows of information, a problem that came with being an amnesiac who didn’t even know her real name, the registration process went well enough despite her leaving most of her information blank.
Once she clicked the submit button, a strange beeping sound rang out before a rectangular card popped out from a small slit next to the monitor.
An unknown voice spoke from the terminal. “Thank you for your patronage! Your application has been approved and you may now take your membership card. Please note that losing your card will require a staff member to approve a replacement card after a verification check as well as a small fee. If you have any questions or concerns, you may speak with our wonderful staff about anything that you need to ask.”
Seeing that it was done speaking, Mary grabbed her card and glanced at it. Somehow, there was a picture of her face that must have been taken while she was standing in front of the terminal. Next to it was her name and rank, the latter representing her status as an adventurer which was currently at the lowest level of one.
“Now what?”
Text spoke up. “It looks like everyone else is gathering in front of that bulletin board to your right. That must be where they can see all the requests available at the moment.”
Glancing over to where he was talking about, she saw the large crowd of people going over what appeared to be a list of options for jobs. Making sure that her card was within her grasp, Mary took a step forward to join them as well.