The processing of my registration didn't take too long. My ass didn't even get to sit for more than ten minutes before Jessa came back behind the counter and called me over.
“Thank you for your patience, Mister Dinkle.”
“Just call me Bob.” I hated my last name. Why my ancestors chose a last name that also meant ‘dick’ was beyond me.
“Alright then, Mister Bob. Your registration has been duly processed and you are now a certified member of the Laborer's Guild!” Jessa said with a convincing faked enthusiasm only a veteran customer service worker could match. “The only thing left to do is to brief you about our regulations.”
Jessa proceeded to drone about all the rules I had to follow. To make it short, three main rules must never be violated:
1. All jobs I take as a member of the Laborer's Guild must come through the Guild. No outside contracts.
2. Disputes with clients or fellow Guild members must be settled through the Guild.
3. I am not allowed, under any circumstances, to take a job that falls under the jurisdiction of the other Guilds unless I am also a member of that Guild. Jessa had been quite adamant about that.
Aside from those three main rules, the rest were pretty much common sense. Most of Jessa's lecture focused on the contracts between Guild members and clients and that I should be very careful before signing any legally binding documents. I had a feeling that members of the Laborer's Guild were prone to being scammed.
“That wraps everything up, Mister Bob,” Jessa said as she handed me a metal identification card engraved with my basic information. “This is your Guild card. All Guild-related matters will require your Guild card, including getting your payment for a job, so please take good care of it. You'll need to activate it first, and to do that, all you have to do is smear it with a drop of your blood.”
Huh? A drop of my blood? What bullshit is this lady suddenly spouting? What the hell is a drop of blood gonna do?
I didn't get to voice my questions before Jessa slid over a plate with a little spike at the center. “Just prick your finger here, Mister Bob.”
I honestly started to think she was some crazy loon, but I was pressured by the gazes of the other receptionists who were obviously watching our interaction curiously like nosy neighbors. Their attention was making me regret coming here when I was the only person around. Why the heck was the guild empty anyway?
I pricked my finger on the spike and smeared the blood on my ID. I expected nothing to happen, but my mind was blown away by the next thing that occurred. The moment my blood spread throughout the face of the card, the letters fucking glowed, and the empty square on one side of the card began showcasing weird squiggly lines.
I turned the card over several times, looking for the battery that powered the thing, because how could it just suddenly light up like that?
“What just happened?” I asked with a bit of shock in my voice, and for the first time, Jessa gave a genuine smile as she giggled.
“All Guild cards are enchanted, Mister Bob. When you smeared your blood on it, your mana signature was registered with our central database. Those lines there represent your mana signature.”
Enchanted? Like, magical bullshit?
I was this close to calling Jessa out on her bullshit, but then again, I was literally picked up by some crazy god and dropped into an entirely different world. Heck, there were floating notifications in my vision that told me how I got stronger every time I killed something. How I still didn't realize that magic existed was beyond me.
But as always, I told myself the same thing. It is what it is.
“Anyway, here are the details of the available government job,” Jessa said as she retrieved a sheaf of paper and began explaining to me. “The client is the local branch of the Department of Waterways and Sanitary Works. The job is to ‘clear and de-clog the sewers of the North, South, East, and West Highway.’ The scope of work includes removing any blockages in the sewer system and reporting any structural damage.”
Jessa put down the paper and retrieved another one, this time a map. She slid it to the center of the counter to show me. “This here is a map of the city's sewer network. The job is limited to the areas shaded in red.”
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
I looked over the map and took the opportunity to remember the city's layout. The organization of the city was circular in nature, with the walls acting as the border and the City Hall being the center. The circle was divided into four areas by two straight lines that intersected at the City Hall perpendicularly. That meant there were four roads leading from the City Hall to each of the cardinal directions. Those must be the highways Jessa referred to.
“The primary method to enter the sewers is through designated manholes labeled on the map,” Jessa said as she pointed to the circles with a cross inside them drawn on various locations on the map. “Remember, although you are authorized to descend to the first sublevel of the city, you are not allowed to go any deeper than that.”
“There's something else beneath the city's sewers?” I asked.
“Just the old sewer tunnels,” Jessa said. “The old networks have been abandoned for a long time, so there is a high risk of being buried alive if you stomp around carelessly. So don't go there.”
“Noted. Now, how about the pay?”
“The job pays four silvers a day, plus one silver for hazard pay. So that totals five silver per day with eight work hours daily,” Jessa answered. “At the end of each shift, there will be an inspection to check on your progress. Once the inspector confirms the work done, they will give you a signed completion form that you will turn in at the Guild every day to receive your pay.”
I had no idea how much five silvers were, but as long as I had a steady income to feed me, that was enough for me. “Alright then. When do I start?”
“Come back early tomorrow morning to meet with the client. You'll be briefed on the more specific details of your job.” Jessa reorganized the documents and put them inside a leather satchel before sliding the satchel over to me. “Here you are. The satchel is a free bonus we give for those who join our Guild.”
A free leather satchel? And if my eyes were correct, it was made of genuine leather. It had many pockets for utility and was stamped with the logo of the Laborer's Guild: a hammer and chisel crossed together. I wonder how much it would sell for?
“That should be it for now, Mister Bob. If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask,” Jessa said.
“Nah, I'm good. Thanks for the bag, Miss Jessa.”
With that, I walked out of the building with a brand-new satchel. With a job now secured, on to the next problem: where the fuck am I gonna sleep? I had absolutely zero funds right now, and the soonest that I could get my hands on some money was tomorrow evening after my shift. I couldn't afford even the worst inn in the city.
I sat down on one of the stone benches in the Guild Plaza as I brainstormed ideas, and the first thing that came to mind was to rob someone in the alleys. But I quickly veered away from that line of thought. I may have done something similar in the past due to desperation, but for this second life of mine, I wished to be a more upstanding citizen. God knows I've been enough of an asshole in my previous life.
The second idea that came to mind was to hunt some ‘monsters’ outside the city and sell them for parts at the Slayer's Guild. I heard other people talking about it, and they called their local wildlife ‘monsters’ for some reason. Then again, after recalling the giant spiders in the mountain, I agreed.
The issue I had with monster slaying was the danger. I was tired of having to fight tooth and nail for my survival, and even though all my Skills at the moment were catered towards combat, that didn't mean I should use them. Even though I had managed to survive every ordeal I faced so far, the time would eventually come when I didn't. Just like what happened in my previous life.
So two choices were laid out in front of me. The first was to go outside the city and kill some monsters to earn enough money to get me started, the second was to just eat the free slop they gave out at City Hall and sleep in the streets.
My stomach grumbled, a mere hour after I'd just eaten Big Mama's gruel. It was currently midday, and the next free meal was more than six hours away.
Yeah, I wasn't going to last at this rate.
However, I had no intention of registering at the Slayer's Guild right now. The issue of my low level was already made apparent at the Laborer's Guild, and if I went to the Slayer's Guild now, I was sure they'd kick me out for even trying to register at level 7.
So I went straight to the city gates.
•••••
“Got tired of civilization that quickly?” Lefty asked with a bored tone as I emerged from the city. Righty looked at me curiously as well.
“Nah, I got myself a job already at the Laborer's Guild,” I replied. “But I have a sore lack of funds right now, so I'mma head to the forest to bag myself a kill to sell at the Slayer's Guild.”
That perked up both guards quickly. “You joined the Slayer's Guild?” Lefty asked with a dissatisfied tone. “And here I thought you had a good head on your shoulders.”
“A handsome head, yes, but not so bright,” I answered with a grin. “And don't worry about me, I'm tougher than I look.”
“The only worry I have is the paperwork we'd have to file when you don't return,” Lefty scoffed. “We have to report any missing persons.”
“Haha, I'm sure Warner was just joking,” Righty said. “Oh, I'm Lance, by the way. I don't think we got your name yet.”
“The name's Bob. And is asking my name just so you know what to put on the missing persons report?”
Righty, or rather, Lance, looked flustered while Warner laughed. “Ha! It's good that you pick things up quickly.”
“H-Hey, I was just curious,” Lance said as he shifted awkwardly.
Now that I had a proper interaction with the two of them, I realized that Lance was very young, maybe in his late teens, while Warner looked in his fifties. I based that observation on their voices and manner since their closed-face helmets hid their appearance, but I had a hunch I was right.
“Nice to meetcha, then. Anyways, I'm off to hunt some shit. If I go missing, tell Big Mama at the City Hall her food killed me,” I said as I walked to the forest.
“Hey, if you wanna die, don't bring us down with you,” Warner shouted behind me.