We stood before a large building. There was a sign that says 'The Guild'.

"No matter how I see it... The design for this sign is quite good."

Chako said.

"True...Still, I'm not too pleased how a bird is the logo of adventurers."

Julian responded.

"Calm down you two, we're here for official business. Not to argue."

Adrian stepped forward to stop them.

The two nodded and looked away at each other.

"You two really don't get along that well..."

I muttered.

Regardless, they're dependable comrades in battle.

Still, it would be nice if they stop bickering like this each time...

I thought.

Now, let's go inside.

*Creak*

We open the door to see a lively room with adventurers all over the place.

Some are at the board checking out the requests while some are discussing the quest with the clerks.

Aside from them, there are waiters handing out the food and drinks to adventurers.

It was a lively scene.

"How noisy."

Julian commented.

"You're a stick in the mud!"

Chako called out.

"Now now..."

Adrian intervened yet again.

I cleared my throat.

"Ahem."

The two quieted down soon.

"I'll handle the official business for our current request. After I'm done turning in the reward, let's head over to the Guildmaster."

I said to them.

The three nodded.

Nodding back, I headed over to one of the receptionists.

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"Hello. How may I help you?"

She greeted me with a beautiful smile.

"I'm the leader of Blue Feather. I'm here to turn in a quest..."

I told her a few more details.

"I see... The quest to collect Venom Snake glands... Well done. Please hand over the materials to perform an inspection."

"Here."

I handed over a small bag.

- You've lost Venom Snake Glands(Q)!

She took it and opened it.

"Hm... These are definitely Venom Snake glands... But the quality..."

She turned over to me.

"Please excuse me. I need to speak iwth one our appraisers."

She bowed to me.

I nodded.

She left immediately.

"Appraisers..."

I said.

Appraisers are an important part of the business.

They're here to check the quality of ingredients as well as appraise unknown artifacts.

Given the nature of the job, skill and moral character are very important too.

There have been cases where some appraisers gave wrong evaluations to materials to lower or raise the price for their own benefit.

There are even some who threatened other adventurers to give them good money for a proper evaluation.

Of course, those who committed such acts were heavily punished and fired. New rules were placed to improve the quality of such work and people who are placed into that role are studied for their background and their character.

I'm not too worried about what happens next but...I hope that there won't be any funny business here... I have stuff I need to do after all.

Sometime soon, the receptionist came back.

She took out a small pouch.

"The materials have been appraised. They are of top quality. This is your reward."

She passed it to me.

I open the pouch to find gold coins.

I check their number.

"Hm... All good. Thank you."

I nodded to her.

"It was a pleasure serving you. Good work."

She smiled at me.

I merely nodded.

"Is the Guildmaster present?"

The receptionist nods.

"Yes. He's in his office."

I nodded.

"Excellent... Excuse me."

I discussed a few more things with her and received some news.

"So a gem mine was discovered near here?"

I asked.

"Yes. It was recently discovered in an old cave. It was discovered by a pair of adventurers when a crystal beast popped out of there somewhere."

Gem mines...

They're a place filled with rare gems but are also quite dangerous.

Gems are crystallized sources of magical power...

Mages would pay a handsome price for some.

But their quite dangerous places.

The great amount of mana attracts powerful magic beasts and spawns powerful crystal beasts.

Crystal beasts lack any type of intelligence.

They possess tough hard bodies made out of crystals and are resilient towards magic.

Thus, despite coveting the gems, magicians prefer to get adventurers to procure them.

"As a mage, I'm deeply interested in those gems... Perhaps it would be a good idea to go there sometime."

"That's a good idea. But as a mage, won't you be helpless there?"

She asked me with some measure of concern.

I nodded helplessly.

This is a troublesome matter that many mages are very interested in.

There are plenty of researchers attempting to find ways to go around the problem or solve it somehow...

The allure of those gems is simply too great.

Still, crystal beasts are A+ Ranked Monsters.

Given their tough crystal bodies, high resistance to magic as well as their intelligence, they're well above B-Ranked Adventurer Teams.

Only parties specializing in physical combat are capable of dealing with them.

Mages are essentially a burden there!

This is something I find difficult to bear.

Mages wield magic.

A tremendous power...

Mages are treated with respect and admiration.

Playing key roles in many wars, sieges, adventures and many other events.

Yet, in this battlefield, we're nothing but a burden!

Nonetheless, this is not the time nor place to express my view on the matter.

"Now then... Please speak to the Guildmaster and inform him of our arrival."

To see the Guildmaster, you first need to go through the receptionists.

This is a guild policy so no matter the event, unless it's an emergency, protocol will be followed at all times.

And this is definitely not an emergency.

The receptionist nodded then left through the door once more.

Several minutes later, she came out.

"The Guildmaster will see you."

She nodded.

I nodded back.

I went towards my companions.

Proceed to 003