Kai

The city is filled with people of all sorts - races I’ve never seen before, and more people than I could ever imagine in one place. After walking around the market, someone suggests that we visit the adventurer’s guild, which is located in the central plaza called Fountain Square.

The central plaza itself looks like it might be larger than the entire village of Faerie Beach. On one side is a massive palace behind huge gates. The floating islands I saw before are directly above the castle.

We walk into the adventurer’s guild and are hit with a wave of sound. Outside was busy, but inside this place is absolutely packed. The bulk of the crowd is grouped around a large orange shining crystal that is in the center of the guild hall. The crystal has streaks of black that shoot through it from time to time, looking almost like miniature black lightning bolts on the orange background.

Gladys approaches one of the desks where a smiling young woman greets her.

“Good afternoon! How can I help you today?”

Gladys: “We’re new here to the city. We came from Faerie Beach, one of the outer villages in the kingdom, and we’d like to live here for a while. Can you help us figure out the different pieces we’ll need to address? Specifically, what types of lodging are usually used, currency and earning situations, and any specific government regulations regarding travelers?”

The young woman looks at Gladys with an interested look. “Very insightful! In addition to finding food, which is usually easy to understand, the other aspects of survival in the capital city are shelter, income, and government regulations.”

“For the first, shelter, most travelers seek shelter at an inn. There are some travelers who do not sleep, however that is uncommon and limited to the teleporters that have recently come to be. Communal guild houses are also available for trainees at a lower price than inns, and obviously there are homes available for purchase throughout the city at a much higher cost.”

“For the second, most individuals choose a trade. Some travelers come to Fountain City as tourists, and bring adequate funds to fully fund their visit. Others take quests here at the guild hall - there are quests that can be finished even by individuals with very low abilities. Here in Fountain City individuals can also apply for a spot at the market, where buying and selling is free for most items. This is one of the reasons for our flourishing crafting economy. While most travelers choose one of those two, you can also choose to work for others - whether apprenticing or looking for jobs with guilds or governing offices.”

“For the third, government regulations, Fountain City is currently in a state of peace. There is no entrance or exit tax at the city gates, and no individual tax. Taxes are levied only on the sale of items above a certain value, when sold in shops or in the marketplace. In addition, each guild pays a tax of a small percentage of all money exchanged - so, for example, a small amount is paid every time someone is paid for a quest. For that reason, the typical traveler has no need to worry about taxes unless he is selling something worth over 50 copper to another individual. The merchant guild can offer support if that is the case. For laws, murder, rape, theft, violence, and a number of other actions are prohibited inside the city and its environs, and the city guard responds reactively to reports. It is also not allowed to enter the palace grounds. However, royal guards take precedence there.”

“Is that sufficient?”

Gladys: “Yes! It is!”

Woman: “Oh! One more thing - if you choose to take quests here at the adventurer's guild, you can either browse the board or speak to one of us at the counter. We can actively search for quests based on any specific criteria.”

Gladys: “What is the orange crystal and why are there so many people here?”

Woman: “The adventure crystal is a limited-time opportunity for individuals to participate in an adventure dungeon without risk. Most dungeons are extremely dangerous - with a high risk of death upon failure. By using an adventure crystal, an individual is transported into a specific dungeon environment where they can fight against monsters, find treasure chests, and even fight a dungeon boss. Once they finish the dungeon, or if they sustain mortal damage, their mind and body are safely transferred back to the guild hall. Any items found inside the dungeon are left behind. In addition, any items taken into the dungeon are unavailable, weapons disappear, and armor items are temporarily replaced by basic clothing.”

Gladys: “So everyone enters with nothing at all?”

Woman: “Correct! Adventurers must use their wit, skills, and luck to progress through the adventure crystal. Upon finishing the crystal, whether through completing the dungeon or sustaining mortal damage, the adventurer will receive a reward based on his or her performance. Since there is no cost, using the adventure crystal is extremely popular.”

Gladys: “I could see why! Can anyone use the crystal?”

Woman: “Registered adventurers can use the adventure crystal. For that reason, many normal individuals in the city will register or maintain their registration to use crystals when they come available. It costs 5 copper to register as an adventurer if you are not currently one, and each crystal can be used once.”

Gladys: “I knew there had to be a caveat. Free stuff all day every day wouldn't work in any economy! I notice there are some people in groups - does everyone enter the crystal alone, or can you go in as a party? Does that affect the rewards? Does time pass the same inside?”

She thinks as she’s asking the questions, then her eyes sparkle and she says one more thing.

Gladys: “And is there a connection between the real world and inside the crystal? For example, if I have telepathic powers with someone from any distance, can I communicate with them while they are in the crystal?”

Woman: “Very insightful questions! You may choose to enter the adventure crystal as a group or an individual. There is no limit on the size of a group, however, the quality of the reward is not related to the size of a group, and an individual may only enter each crystal once in any case. If a well-built party is far more likely to clear the dungeon together, and would quickly die alone, then it makes sense to enter together. Otherwise, it makes sense to enter separately so that each person can receive a reward. Inside the crystal, time usually passes extremely quickly compared to the outside. What may feel like multiple hours may pass in only minutes.”

She smiles and takes a breath.

Woman: “As for your last question, while connections are possible, there is no outside interference allowed inside the adventurer crystal. The crystal intercepts anything from the outside world, and does not allow communication of any sort. Even receiving a brief telepathic connection will disqualify you from receiving a reward. For that reason, summons and other controlled beasts are allowed, but only when the summoner is also present.”

Gladys: “One last question. What rewards are available for clearing the dungeon, and what determines the reward quality?”

Woman: “The adventure crystal usually gives items as a reward, but sometimes it has been known to give skills, statistics, and even summoned beasts in extremely rare cases. Clearing the dungeon while still alive - by defeating the dungeon boss - is the largest condition. Otherwise, the total amount of damage dealt, number and percentage of monsters defeated, number of treasure chests opened, damage taken, and time spent seem to be the greatest factors. Some large parties will work together to quickly kill and gather everything in the dungeon, doing a *speedrun* as they call it, to achieve high rewards. Each adventure crystal also has hidden clear conditions which may activate and affect rewards, however, those do not appear in the scoring.”

Gladys turns to me.

Gladys: “You ready?”

Kai: “For… Wait, you want to go inside the crystal? Now?”

Gladys turns to the woman: “How long will the crystal be available?”

Woman: “Adventure crystals eventually run out after giving a certain amount of rewards. There is no way to tell when that will happen, except for right before it happens - at that moment, adventurers will be locked out of entering the crystal, and when the last adventurer leaves, the crystal will shatter. Most last at least a day, though some can last as long as a month. The majority of adventurers will prioritize entering an adventure crystal, especially since the time and resource commitment is low. If you are looking to use the adventure crystal, I would suggest registering as adventurers and using it immediately, as it may not be available in the future.”

Gladys turns to me.

Gladys: “I think this would be a great test of our teamwork, a way to gauge our strength, and a potential opportunity to earn something. It's especially valuable since it looks like it doesn't put either of us in danger. We may not be able to sell any reward for much, and I'm not sure about the range of adventurers currently in the guild, but sensing the auras of those gathered around the crystal, my own magic power is higher by a factor of at least 5. Since this challenge is biased towards those with skills that don't require tools, I think it is possible we will be very successful. I think we should do it. That said, I’m going to stay by your side. I won't go in alone, and I won’t let you go alone. Worst case scenario, we do puppet master and then we don't have to worry at all, right?”

Kai: “Hahaha well, I guess that's it right? We just… I still have no money…”

Gladys turns to the woman and opens the small pouch at her waist.

Gladys: “We would like to both register as adventurers and use the crystal. I'm not sure if the currency here is the same as the one in our village. Is this adequate?”

The woman takes the coins from Gladys and looks at them before responding: “I’m sorry, but these aren't standard coins. We’re able to handle currency exchange, but only for current adventurers, which means that for the processing fee you’ll have to go to a bank, or take a low-level quest. There is a bank here in Fountain Square.”

Gladys: “You can take quests without being registered?”

Woman: “Yes. Registration is usually free, and done upon completion of an adventurer’s first quest. Due to the presence of adventure crystals, however, we’ve created a process to become an adventurer without completing any quests. Technically, we ask the system to issue a quest with no rewards, charge the minimum quest issuance fee of 5 copper, and then mark it as complete.”

Gladys: “We’ll be right back.”

We walk outside the guild, quickly find the bank, and Gladys approaches and asks about the exchange rate. She exchanges just enough to get 10 copper, then we head back to the guild, pay the fee, and register as adventurers. A few moments later, we are in line near the orange crystal. Groups that enter together have to put their hands on the crystal at the same time, but the line moves quickly as more and more people disappear.

We show our adventurer tokens to a guard and approach the crystal. I turn to Gladys.

Kai: “I’m sort of scared, Gladys… I know she said we would be ok inside… but you know I don't have any skills. I don't want to hold you back.”

Gladys: “You dummy, Kai. You could never hold me back. You’re the reason I want to do this, and the reason I want to get stronger. You inspire me, and when we finish this, we'll be even stronger than before!”

We put our hands on the sinister orange-and-black crystal and make our way into a different world.