The next day, we had the same routine before going out. I woke up first and asked for Shiro's food through the intercom and a different person brought it this time. We had our breakfast in the room.
I put on a light brown shirt with dark grey trousers that I bought from the clothing store yesterday, a pair of leather boots and a gun in my weapons belt. This time, we left the inn before 7 am.
We got to the bookstore before it opened. I still have about 5 minutes to spare. I looked around and everyone seems to be busy and going on their way.
Looking at the scenery, it still feels so unreal that I'm living here right now. It's been a week since I got here and I still haven't figured out how I ended up here. I have to find out more about this world.
I'm planning on going to the library today as well. I also plan on registering at the guild and sell some things to make some money. I can't keep spending money because I don't have an unlimited amount like the food in the [IS].
I have an option of opening up a stall to sell my food items, but it'll take a lot of time to make money and I don't want to do that as much as possible because I would rather be training and leveling up instead. I won't be able to progress at all if I stay like this.
Although the toughest part about this is that I don't have a goal other than finding a way home but without any information about this world, I can't do anything. That is why I decided to stay here for a month. I'll gather as much information I can possibly get and move on to the Capital before anything else.
The first thing I have to do is get my hands on that Data Tablet that's full of information. After that, going through as much books as I can possibly read and remember and I'll think of what to do right after.
As I was thinking of what to do, the closed sign was replaced with open and the door opened up. The person who opened the door was the store manager, Reese.
“Good Morning, Miss. You're back early today.” Reese greeted me kindly.
“Good Morning, Mr. Reese. And yes, I would really like to know to price and place the order as quickly as possible.” I said in return.
“Reese will do. Please come into the office with me. I have the price and information all sorted out.” he said as he ushered me inside the store.
We walked to through the store passed the displays and bookshelves. We went behind the counter and he opened the sliding door on the left side of the wall display. He let us in and closed it behind me.
There is a small office that has two desks, a big one on the left side and a smaller one on the right side of the room. The bigger one has two chairs, one in front and one behind it while the smaller one has only one chair. Both have Data Station on the desks, file racks and phones. There's also a door in the middle of the back wall and file cabinets and organizers on the opposite side.
He asked me to sit in front of the big desk and he sat behind it. Shiro sat on the floor right beside me. He opened the file folder in front of him and turned it around so I can see it. It looks like a list of books and 2 set of prices on the right side.
“This is the list of books and their prices as stated. The prices on the left are for the printed version and on the right side are the prices that you're looking for the tablet. I found a total of 1027 books that have the information you want and then some extras that might be related to the things you mentioned which I included on the list. You can either opt out on getting those or we can include them if you're willing to buy them as well.” He explained.
“I contacted the [MS] Tech and he quoted me 2 prices. One with just the books I mentioned and the other one with the extras, both are written on the last page. I'll give you that copy for you to review and then you can decide which one are you planning on getting.” He added.
“I have a few questions about this.”
“Go ahead.” He nodded and looked at me seriously.
“This might be a weird question but since I'm from a secluded village, I don't know a lot of the things here in town. What is an [MS] Tech and what do they do?” I asked awkwardly.
“They are called [MS] Tech or Magic Stone Tech because they deal with Magic Stone Programming. All of them are Mages that specializes in that field. They basically use a Data Station and a Programming Block to program an item to do specific things.
For example, they would insert their Magic Power into a Magic Stone to charge it. Magic Stones are used as a power source for all Magical items. That's only the basic. A lot of them are a bit more complicated to explain.” He gave a quick explanation.
“Uhmm... Sorry, but I still quite don't get how they program things using the Data Station and what is a Programming Block?” I asked with a confused expression.
He scratches his head and seemed like he didn't want to give a full explanation about this topic.
“Well, there are a few books included in the list that explain this in full detail. You'll be able to read them later when you get it. It takes a long time to explain it in detail since there are a lot of bases to cover.” He said apologetically.
Just when he said that, a male employee walked in from the door on the back wall.
“Good Morning, Manager” he said while giving a quick nod
“Morning, Tom. The store is already open so please start right away. Jenny is already on the floor.” he said in relief and sighed.
“Yes sir.” he said as he left through the sliding door we came in.
“Now back to topic.” He said as he looked back at me.
“How about going through the list first and then decide which one are you going to get. You can bring the list home or you can use this room to do so.”
“Can I quickly go through the list and let you know?”
“Of course. Feel free to use this room. I'll just have to check the store and be back in a few minutes.” He said as he stood up.
“Ok.” I remained seated and started going through the pages one by one. He walked to the door and out of the room right after.
'He escaped... Oh well, I'll just have to wait until I get my hands on the tablet. And I think Tom's in trouble for being late. Hahahah~'
Anyways, I wanted to get this tablet as soon as possible so I went through the list as quickly as possible. I checked the prices and the one with no extra books are 10,200 Gìl while the other one is 10,800 GÌl.
“Hm. Not bad and there's not much difference between the two.” I made up my mind on which one to get.
A few minutes later, the manager came back in.
“How is it?” He said as he entered the office.
“I think I decided which one to get.” I said while smiling.
He nodded his head and went to get some papers from the file cabinet by the door. He sat down on his chair and placed the papers on the desk.
“Which one are you planning on getting?” he said while marking the places I have to fill up on the paper.
“The one with the extra books. There's not much difference in price so I'll take that one instead.”
He gave a quick nod and filled up the form. He placed a note at the bottom to include the extras and the total price as well.
“Ok. Here's the order form. I need your name, address, contact information and Magic Seal on the bottom right corner.” he said as he handed me the paper.
He took a pen from his drawer and placed it right in front of me. I took it and started reading the form.
“For the address, I'm temporarily staying at an Inn at the moment and I don't have the address. What should I write down?”
“You can just write down which Inn are you staying at and it should be ok. How long are you staying there for?”
“About a month and it's actually pretty close to here. It's the Dragon's Claw Inn.” I said while filling up the form.
“Dragon's Claw eh? I see. Have you met Riley yet? He's the owner of the inn.”
“I have. I was introduced by an acquaintance. Apparently, they're close friends or so I was told.” I glanced at him and it looks like he knows who I'm talking about.
“Was it Sir Ravenswood or Sir Alnwyck?”
'I guess those two are really popular...' I thought
“Are they really well-known around here? They were both there but the one who introduced me to Riley was Vyncent.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Oh, you didn't know? It is a well-known fact around this area but since you're from a secluded village then I'm not really that surprised that you didn't know about it. You seem close enough to use Sir Ravenswood's first name though. Let me tell you...
Sir Neil Alnwyck is the 1st son of Duke Frederick Alnwyck who governs this land and the Prime Minister of Alexandrìa.
Sir Vyncent Ravenswood is the 2nd son of Earl Edward Ravenswood. He is a Knight and the personal bodyguard of Sir Alnwyck.
I've known Riley and his younger sister since they were small so I knew their childhood friends as well. Sir Alnwyck is also a frequent customer to our store.”
Wow... I thought they were both famous but I didn't think that Mr. Alnwyck is the son of a Duke who is also the Prime Minister. I had a feeling Mr. Smooth is a part of the Military or a Knight because of his outfit. Let's not make a big deal about it and change the topic. I don't really wanna get involved when it comes to politics.
“I see... So how do I put my Magic Seal on this paper?” I asked while I finished up writing my information and pointed at the empty square where I'm supposed to put a seal.
“You just have to place your thumb on the square and wait until it turns green.” he explained.
I guess it's just like that one with the tablet the Inn uses to charge the credit card. It's pretty handy. I placed my right thumb and waited. Once it turned green, I removed my finger and saw a black thumbprint on the paper.
'Cool, I didn't have to use ink to do that... I guess it's magic too.' I thought while handing him the paper.
He checked it and gave a satisfied look.
“There will be a 50% down payment and the rest will be paid after you receive the product. It is a special order so it will take three to five days to complete.” he smiled and wrote down something on the form.
“Would you like to pay with cash or credit card?” He asked.
“Credit card.” I said as I took out my card and handed it to him.
He took out a tablet from his drawer, pressed some things and inserted the credit card. He handed me the tablet right after.
“Hm? Why is it only 5,250 Gìl? Wouldn't it be 5,400 Gìl for 50%?” I asked while tilting my head with a confused face after I saw the amount on it.
“I gave you a little discount because you're acquainted with Sir Ravenswood and Sir Alnwyck.” he said as he gave me a broad smile.
'Lucky~ Thank you Mr. Smooth and Mr. Owner~' I smirked a little.
“I see. Thank you very much~” I smiled in return and placed my finger on the tablet for confirmation.
I handed it back to him after seeing the confirmed message. He looked at it and placed it back in his drawer. He placed a copy of the order form in the folder with the list of books and said,
“You can keep that folder with the list of books to confirm them later on. If there's anything missing or if you want more books to be added, feel free to come and talk to me. I can give you a good deal. I will contact you once it's done. You can either pick it up here or we can drop it off at the inn.” he smiled again.
“You can just drop it off at the inn. Thanks again.”
We got up at the same time and he held out his hand. I took it and shook his hand firmly and we both smiled. He thanked me for the business, led me out of the store and bowed when I was leaving.
I started walking to the Adventurer's Guild. It took me 15 minutes to get there. It looks like the Merchant's Guild, Town Hall and Library are all in the same area. I'll have to check them all up.
The Adventurer's Guild is a three-story building on the right side of the main road with a warehouse on the right side of it. I opened the frosted double door and was welcomed with what looks like a big lounge area on the right side with comfortable looking sofas and coffee tables in sections with wood dividers that has patterns on it.
There is also a huge black board that has Quest Board written on top. It has a bunch of bordered squares lined up with big letters on the top left and things written on them with reward prices at the bottom.
A huge cafeteria on the left side was separated by a half brick plant divider wall. The reception is just a straight walk through the wide hallway with dark red carpet from the door I walked in. Wide curved stairs are located on right side of the reception area that leads to the second floor.
There are some tough looking people wearing armors and big weapons all over the place. There are also some mages who wear robes with staffs or wands and some lightly armored people around with their weapons openly hanging on their waist, side or back.
'I totally look out of place here. This scene looks like it came out of a fantasy game or novel. My inner otaku is screaming 'Hell Yeah!' right about now... hahahah' I thought while walking to the reception desk.
I was greeted by a nice looking young lady with long light brown hair loosely tied on the left side and bright cat-like brown and grey eyes.
“Hello~ How may I assist you today?” she asked with a courteous smile.
“Hi~ I would like to register in the Guild.” I said with a friendly smile.
“I need your ID and a 50 Gìl Registration Fee.”
“You need to renew your membership every year for 30 Gìl as well.” she added as she pulled out a tablet and placed it on the desk.
I took out my ID and handed it to her.
“Thank you~”
She looked through it and started using the Data Station behind the desk. She looked up at me and asked
“What should I put down for your class?”
“I use a gun and also magic. Which class would suit me better?” I asked in return after explaining.
“You can register up to two classes. If you use both guns and Magic, I suggest putting down Gunner and Mage as your classes.”
“Ok. I'll have those two then.”
She nodded and type it into the Data Station. After that, she then inserted my ID in the bottom of the tablet and looks like she typed in some more info. It needed a Magic Seal, so I placed my thumb on it and did the usual.
After she processed my registration, she handed me a Guild Booklet and told me to read it later and make sure to follow it or I can have my membership revoked. There are some information regarding trading and job request in the booklet as well. She handed me my ID back and a Guild Card. I checked my ID first and it looks like it got updated.
____________________________________________________
IDENTIFICATION CARD
Name: Mika Age: 15 Race: Human
Level: 12 Class: [ Gunner ] [ Mage ]
Affiliation: Alexandria Kingdom
Guild: [ Adventurer ]
Criminal Record: None
Contracted Beast:
[ Shiro - Dire Wolf ]
KINGDOM PASSES
[ Alexandria ] [ Hewyck ]
____________________________________________________
I checked my Guild Card right after. It's pretty similar to my ID but it's red and black instead and it has some extra information like ranking and gìl.
____________________________________________________
ADVENTURER'S GUILD CARD
Name: Mika Age: 15 Race: Human
Level: 12 Class: [ Gunner ] [ Mage ]
Guild: [ Adventurer ] Rank: F
Affiliation: Alexandria Kingdom
Criminal Record: None
Contracted Beast:
[ Shiro - Dire Wolf ]
Gìl: 0
____________________________________________________
I placed both of them in my [IS].
“That will be 50 Gìl. Cash or Credit?”
“Credit.” as I handed her my card.
She processed the payment and handed my card back. I thank the lady and left. I walk over to the lounge area and found an empty sofa to sit down. I wanted to take a quick look at the Guild Booklet.
I sat down and Shiro jump on my lap, lied down and snuggled with me. I flipped to the first page...
----------------------------------------
Adventurer's Guild
Adventurer's Guild is an independent group and does not belong to any specific kingdom or country.
Our sole purpose is to unite all adventurers and explorers alike to offer jobs and quests requested by the people and or country.
We provide the best trade and exchange for quests items, magic stones, artifacts and or monster items.
Adventurer's Guild Headquarters are located in most big towns, cities and kingdoms throughout the world.
----------------------------------------
I continued reading the next page and so on...
----------------------------------------
Ranks & Promotions
S - Highest Rank
A - Veteran (Complete 100 A-Rank Quests)
B - Experience (Complete 70 B-Rank Quests)
C - Adventurer (Complete 50 C-Rank Quests)
D - Adventurer (Complete 30 D-Rank Quests)
E - Apprentice (Complete 10 E-Rank Quests)
F - Newbie (Complete 5 F-Rank Quest)
- You can request a Rank-Up Test from the Guild. The Guild Master or a substitute can determine if you are capable on ranking up or staying at your current level. Rank-Up Test Fee is 100 Gìl.
----------------------------------------
Job Requests
- All jobs are screened and moderated by the Guild before it's posted.
- The Request Fee is based on the total reward for the job. It is currently at 10% plus an additional 5% Government Tax in Alexandrìa Kingdom.
(Reward: 1000 + 10% + 5% = 1,155 Gìl Request Fee)
- You can complete any job request that is one level higher or lower than your current rank and the points receive will be based on the difficulty of the task.
- There are Special Requests for certain groups or individuals and only those who qualify can take up those requests.
- You are required to take a job within a year after registration or your membership will be revoked and you will have to re-register again.
- Failing to complete a job within a year can result in a one rank demotion.
- Five (5) consecutive failures will result in a fine or rank demotion.
- Failure of a quest has to be reported within the limited time or else you will be fined 20% of the reward money.
----------------------------------------
Rules & Regulations
- Obey the Laws of the Kingdom you're currently in.
- Theft, Sexual Harassment, Rape, and Murder are prohibited and are punished, fined, expelled and banned from the Guild. Depending on the weight of the crime, it can be reported to the authorities and can result in imprisonment. We urge people to report any suspicious activity of the Members who are not obeying the Guild Rules and the Kingdom's Law.
- Any disputes between individuals or party can be resolved by duels or the involved party can submit a petition for the Guild Master to intervene.
- Jobs are first-come, first-served basis. Whoever took the job first has the top priority unless the said individual or party are under surveillance or under investigation regarding a crime.
- No fighting in the Guild Hall. If you decided to duel it out, please request an arena from the Guild Receptionist. If none is available, either wait for one to open up or duke it out outside the building or town.
- The Adventurer's Guild will not be held responsible for any accidents, misfortunes, injuries, debts, loss of profits, loss of limbs, inability to work and or death related to the Adventurer's Job Requests. All involve individuals and parties are required to sign a Liability Waiver Form before taking any job from the Guild.
----------------------------------------
'Interesting... ' I thought as I closed the booklet and decided to check out the next place. Before I left for the door, I remembered that I wanted to sell a few things.
I went back to the receptionist and asked her where I can sell some monster items. She directed me to the far left side where there's a young man who was dealing with another person.
I decided to wait until they're done. While waiting, I went to the Quest Board and looked at the quests available. It looked like there are a few people requesting rabbit's fangs and horns. There is also one looking for boar meat. I walked back to the receptionist and inquire about the quests on the board.
“I'd like to take on some quest. I already have the items needed for it.”
“Sure, can you show me your Guild ID?”
“Here you go.” as I handed her the ID
“Which quests did you want to do?”
“The ones for the rabbit's fangs and horns. And also the boar meat.”
“There are 4 E-Rank Quests and 1 D-Rank Quest in total. Since you're only an F-Rank, you can't take on the D-Rank quite yet.”
“Even if I already have the requested items?” I tried to appeal to her.
“I'm sorry. It's our policy so I'm afraid I can't help you with that.” she shook her head apologetically.
“Hey Tina~ Just give her a break and let her do it. Obviously she's strong enough to bring the item requested.” a familiar orange head showed up out of nowhere and barged in.