Dark dreams troubled my rest. Flashes of stone and steel. The vile eyes of goblins, the heavy fists of trolls, and the raspy groans of the dead. Through the elusive cacophony I heard echo the distant, judgmental voice of the wizard Alhereid. It was not a test for him, it was a test for YOU.

I opened my eyes drenched in clear sweat, though it was not much warmer inside the house than it was outside.

A glance at the room window and how bright the paneling on the neighboring wall looked suggested I had overslept and missed the usual 5.30 mark quite splendidly. It was almost six already, if not a bit past that.

I sat up and looked around. Where was I? Not at home. Not in the inn.

Ah, yes. The Guild attendant. A stranger had shown me kindness. This was her house.

I leaned on my knees and wiped my face with my hands. The dream freshest on my mind was the one about the past. Again with the damned past.

It was the second time now since coming to Faulsen that the days long gone had come back to haunt my rest. Right when I least needed distractions. There was a lot to do today and no room for error, no luxury to let my mind wander. I shut the memories out of my awareness and began to get dressed. Or, tried to.

“Sterling…”

Where are you now and what are you doing? Did you ever reach your big dream?

Once ready, I hurried downstairs, where I found my benefactor, Ms Vera, already at work in the kitchen, stirring a cauldron over fire. She had a brown leather apron on to guard her outfit against splatters and fumes, and her wheaty hair was tied up neatly in a brush-like tail behind the head.

“Apologies for oversleeping,” I said. “And good morning, Miss. Is there anything I may do to help?”

I expected Ms Vera would reproach me for my tardiness. She had kindly given me a room and food to eat, and all I did was sleep like a bum. But instead of doing that, the furian woman regarded me only with an amused snort.

“What is it…?” I asked.

I was quite sure there was nothing unusually comical about my appearance.

“When did I ever tell you to be up at the crack of dawn?” she asked. “The Guild opens at eight. It’s still only six now. You could’ve just kept sleeping.”

“…” I furrowed my brow thoughtfully. True enough, I had no pressing reason to be up any earlier than that.

Again, she laughed at my expression.

“Are you still half asleep? Where did you think this was? Could it be that you’re not really a morning person, Ms Maid?”

“But you’re already up,” I argued. “And we agreed to go to the Guild together. I thought…”

“I’m an early riser,” Ms Vera said with a shrug. “I don’t need a lot of sleep and like to get up early to work on things. Since I have time, I’m parboiling lorchels for dinner tonight. I don’t need any help either, so you can go back to bed, or whatever. Breakfast you’ll have to wait till seven. Just don’t wake Norn till it’s time.”

This trip had made me feel exceptionally foolish more than once and there seemed to be no end to that.

Not wanting to get in the way, I left Ms Vera be in the kitchen.

Now what? There was no chance I could sleep again.

If I ever wound up with downtime in my hands in the palace, it was usually a sign that something was forgotten or going dreadfully wrong. There was always something you could do, which, if left undone, was going to cause twice as much work later down the line. That impression had been ingrained so deep into me by now, I could never fully shake it.

Reason insisted there was no need to interfere with anything in this quiet house, but I couldn’t sit still either. If I didn’t busy myself somehow, I would only end up thinking about how my workload at home was presently pushed onto others, and the thought was fast driving me crazy.

Well, there was one thing you could always do.

One thing that had to be done, no matter the place, and which could never be decisively finished, regardless of how well it was done. Basic effort anyone could take on with minimal training and which never went to waste.

Of course, I was talking about cleaning.

I always kept a few spare rags and a small bottle of detergent with me, and clean water I could conjure with magic. Investigating the bathroom, I discovered a suitable bowl for the purpose too. Moreover, the house itself clearly called for a sweep.

It was possible—if not likely—that Ms Vera would be bothered and tell me to stop if she saw what I was up to. But I could be careful. Discretion was my second name. You couldn’t afford to be noisy in the palace either. A good servant was practically invisible and inaudible. A phantom.

Taking special care, I began the project from the far corner of the second floor, and systematically worked my way down the hallway towards the stairs. I wiped off the excess dust with a dry towel and then followed through with a damp one with the cleansing agent mixed in. The sound of the boiling pot masked the groaning of the old stairs as I advanced down towards the ground floor. Aiming at those moments when the landlady’s back was turned, I continued past the kitchen to the entryway. Thankfully, Ms Vera appeared to be the focused sort, who saw or heard very little else when she put her mind to a particular task. Entirely unlike the Empress, who seemed to see and hear everything, was bothered by everything, and took advantage of that to do nothing.

The windows in the house were stained so misty you could hardly see through them. Thankfully, I also had a small brush with hard bristles that scrubbed off the stains well enough, though there was little I could do about the poor quality of the glass itself.

Precisely by seven, I was done with the general areas.

There was still work left to do, including the private rooms I couldn't enter, but it was a start. The overall look of the place had brightened up considerably. The floorboards were less spotty, cobwebs, crumbs, and mouse excrement had vanished from the corners, and flat surfaces were freed of the monochrome film of dust. Even such small changes had a dramatic effect on the air quality. The cleared windows allowed the sunrise through with surprising brightness.

It was possible I wouldn’t come back to this house again after this day, but for at least a short while, my hosts’ living conditions were a notch closer to the imperial standard. If only everyone could live in a sanitary environment that pleased the eye, the world would surely be a better place.

I took a seat at the dining table, feeling like I’d spent my spare time well.

Shortly after, young Norn climbed down the steep staircase, looking drowsy and not making any effort to cover a wide yawn.

“Mornin’…”

“Wow, someone’s up early, for once,” Ms Vera greeted her younger brother with an air of sarcasm.

“I barely slept at all!” Norn grumbled. “And when I finally did, I had a nightmare where a wolf was prowling inside the house...”

The youth then stopped to blink and gave the interior another look.

“…Huh? What is this place?”

After breakfast, I headed out together with Ms Vera to the Guild bureau. She continued to gripe the whole way through the stirring town, her visage sour.

“Really, what’s the big idea? I’m not paying you for cleaning services, alright? Don’t got that kind of money, geez!”

“Rest assured,” I told her once again, “I did not expect to get paid to begin with, and would have declined, even if offered.”

“Then why would you even do such a thing? Something so annoying and bothersome?”

“For my own mental well-being, mostly.”

“What the heck? Is your head working right?”

A loose gathering of questers had assembled in the street in front of the bureau well before the opening, the same as the other day. Ms Vera told me to wait there with the others and went in through the back door herself to do whatever it was that the Guild employees did before business was on.

The capital’s bureau had moved to operating in two shifts, staying open from seven to eleven, but Faulsen didn’t seem to have found that necessary. There was only one ten-hour shift from eight to six on six days a week.

In recent years, certain industries in Ferdina had toyed with the idea of a 40-hour work week, but that was an entirely alien world to myself. My days in the Imperial Palace typically began at six in the morning and ended at ten in the evening, every day of the week. I could have altogether five days off per month, but never consecutive days. But the work itself wasn’t that taxing, physically. Not compared to raiding dungeons, at least. That was a whole other mountain. A mountain I would have to climb before long.

When the doors opened, I shifted in with the rest.

The established veterans headed straight for the quest board, while I strode across the hall to the front desk, where Ms Vera had assumed her formal post, dressed in her uniform, a white unisex dress shirt with a tie, and a sea-blue skirt. Before I got to questing, there was expert consultation to be done. She didn’t want to talk shop at home, but I was now determined to wring as much information out of the young furian as I possibly could.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Alright then, Ms Maid,” Ms Vera greeted me, ready for the challenge. “I'll ask you again now, what’s the plan?”

“I have a proper name, if you remember.”

“Oh, you do? No offense here, highness, but though we share the roof for the time being, I’m not looking to get any chummy with you. You adventurers are there one day and gone in the next. Making nice is only a waste of time, both ways. The only thing you should mind is getting yourself out of the mess you’re in—and paying me what was promised.”

She was regrettably correct, so I put this subject behind me.

“You told me I should seek to promote my rank as soon as possible, so that I might regain my access rights to the dungeon. In your professional opinion, what would be the most efficient way to go about this?”

Ms Vera shrugged in answer. “How should I know? I’m not an adventurer myself.”

“…”

She was about as helpful as two left hands.

“Don’t make a face like that!” she resumed with a groan and scratched her hairy ear. “Look, normally we’re not supposed to discuss the conditions of promotion with you guys. Not until we judge you’re ready for it. Because we don’t want you fools getting too greedy and overextending yourselves. But since I got started with the saint act already, might as well go all the way. If I so happened to put the requirement list here on the table, and you happened to see it by total coincidence, then nobody can blame me for playing favorites. Whatever you do with the things you see or don’t see, is up to you. Knock yourself out.”

Ms Vera planted a sheet onto the desk in front of me and turned to pick her nose. Acting was not her forte, for sure.

I proceeded to examine the document with utmost care.

INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURER’S GUILD

MEMBERSHIP RANKS AND RANK REQUIREMENTS 1295 REVISED EDITION

(FOR EMPLOYEES’ EYES ONLY! )

Rank G | Candidate | Tag: Wood

* Register for training.

* Pay the entry fee (20 coppers).

Rank F | Novice | Tag: Unpolished Iron

* Complete the Guild training course.

* OR have a mentoring adventurer’s recommendation.

* Complete min. 3 verified tasks of F-rank, or higher.

* Pass the written test with at most 10% incorrect answers.

* Guild official’s approval.

* Pay 30 coppers.

Rank E | Journeyman | Tag: Clear steel

* Complete at least 50 quests of F-Rank since the previous promotion.

* OF WHICH at least 1 quest of E-rank.

* Guild official’s approval.

* Pay 2 silver.

* Min. 1 month since previous promotion.

Rank D | Professional | Tag: Copper

* Complete at least 50 quests since the previous promotion.

* OF WHICH at least 10 quests of E-Rank, or higher.

* AND at least 1 quest of D-rank, or higher.

* Guild official’s approval.

* Pay 10 silver.

* Min. 2 months since previous promotion.

Rank C | Veteran | Tag: Brass

* Complete at least 75 quests since the previous promotion.

* OF WHICH at least 25 quests of D-Rank, or higher.

* AND at least 3 quests of C-rank, or higher.

* Guild official’s recommendation.

* Local Guildmaster’s approval.

* Pay 30 silver.

* Min. 3 months since previous promotion.

Rank B - Master | Tag: Rose Gold

* Complete at least 100 quests since the previous promotion.

* OF WHICH at least 30 quests of D-Rank, or higher.

* AND at least 20 quests of C-Rank, or higher.

* AND at least 1 quest of B-rank, or higher.

* Local Guildmaster’s recommendation.

* Guild main branch director’s approval.

* Pay 100 gold.

* Min. 6 months since previous promotion.

Rank A - Legend | Tag: Orichalcum

* Complete at least 200 quests since the previous promotion.

* OF WHICH at least 50 quests of D-Rank, or higher.

* AND at least 30 quests of C-Rank, or higher.

* AND at least 3 quests of B-Rank, or higher.

* AND at least 1 quest of A-rank, or higher.

* Local Guildmaster’s recommendation.

* Guild main branch director’s approval.

* Pay 200 gold.

It was a list of what were fit to be called hurdles.

Theoretically, the ranking system had been created to communicate the threat posed by monsters and how the adventurers’ capacity matched said threats. So that an aspiring E-rank warrior wouldn’t have to ponder questions such as, “What will happen if I go poke that manticore with a spear?” Even without any prior experience, he could tell the outcome by the fact that the adult manticore was ranked B in the guild bestiary. That would be one warrior’s life spared.

This was the theory. But, looking at the list in front of me now, it began to seem that what was really rated was your ability to make money for the Guild.

I passed the list back after memorizing the points of importance.

“These are only rough guidelines, mind you,” Ms Vera told me. “At the end of the day, what matters most is the Guild’s opinion. The opinion of us down here who have to deal with you. You can kill the Lord of Whorl for all I care, but if we say you won’t be promoted, then you won’t be. When you reach D and over, people everywhere start to pay more attention to what you do. We need to be careful with what kind of people represent us out there in the world.”

“I assure you, as one of the service industry, I am painfully familiar with the principle.”

“Good for you.”

“Incidentally, what would be the requirements for reaching S-rank? I see they are not written here.”

Ms Vera glowered at me in answer. “What did I just say about getting greedy?”

“I was merely being curious. I knew someone who aspired to become an S-rank in the past. I have no personal aspirations towards that end.”

“How old was that someone?” She snorted. “Twelve? There are only two requirements, as far as I know. Both conditions are almost impossible, though, so no point listing them. You need to reach A-rank—and then bring down an S-rank threat. That’s about it.”

“I see…”

No wonder it would take time.

A daunting smile on her face, Ms Vera leaned closer over the desk.

“I know what you’re thinking. Why do you need to be A-rank first?” Then she sat back down and fell to complaining, “Of course, it’s so you idiots wouldn’t go throwing yourselves at the nearest of the Nine, looking for a shortcut to success! Do at least something productive in your life first, before you kick the bucket, damn it! How do you think economy works?”

I was not fond of being lumped together with suicidal peasants and spoke up to distract her.

“By what I’ve heard, there has only been one S-rank adventurer thus far, correct?”

“Yeah, that’s right.” Ms Vera nodded, looking like the topic bored her immensely. “Heragon, the Great Axe of Wrath! The Urukian champion, who slew the Emerald Widow of the Crystal Vale with his merry gang of Reavers—And, sadly, died of his injuries as soon as the battle was done. You could say the rank was made up just for him as a posthumous award. Glory to an orc!”

That was a century and a half in the past. In more recent times, it was brought to question if Heragon truly even deserved his rank, since he didn’t fight solo. And had the spider been a genuine S-level menace to begin with? Since it appeared and fell while the list of the Nine was still being compiled. But we were getting sidetracked now. My goal was only to reach rank D, as quickly as that could be done.

“Does your record show how many quests I have completed thus far?” I asked. “I am embarrassed to admit, I can’t remember at all.”

Since I never needed to care before.

“Sure does,” Ms Vera replied right away. “I checked earlier. You have turned in three E-rank quests on record since your previous promotion, which was last year. Congratulations. That means you have only forty-seven quests left to do before you can apply for promotion! Of which one must be ranked D. And seven more Es. The rest can be plain Fs. I would suggest starting with those.”

She pointed her thumb at the billboard, then sat back and yawned.

Shouldn’t it have been in her best interests to help me a little more?

Oh well. This work wouldn’t get done by itself.

I rolled up my sleeves—figuratively, it would have been against the dress code otherwise—and went to join the questers’ growing crowd.