Novels2Search
The Tale of Vistria
Ch 2: Adventurers Guild

Ch 2: Adventurers Guild

Hours went by since we first started training; when we were done going over the basics enough to start branching off different weapons, Orryn wanted to try big weapons like polearms and the like; he already liked axes, so we all thought he might like to try a battle axe, we were right, he fell in love, the moment he first swung it, I on the other hand, preferred one-handed weapons, the longsword is good enough for me. "So, ready for some proper experience?" My father asked, "Yeah, Orryn has been wanting to try taking a quest from the guild," I said, "Sure thing, I have been dreaming about this for so long, I cannot wait!" Orryn said, "Alright, then come on, the quest can't wait for long," Father said. We ended the conversation there and left the fight pits; toward the adventurers guild. When we got to the guild, I saw two men; wearing robes, one of whom wore a large hat. My father recognized one of the men, "Is that you, Weller," The elderly man heard my father, "Longhorn?" The man asked while looking over, "Sure is; how have you been; I haven't seen you in ages," My father answered, "It's only been five years," Weller said, "Yeah, but it felt longer," Father responded, "Everything feels longer, to you," Weller Rebutted, "Is that your apprentice?" My father redirected, and Weller accepted the new direction, "It is, Yak'rin?" He directed, "Uh um, Hello, m-my name is Yak'rin, b-but you may call m-me Rin, Mr. Longhorn." The young man answered, "Please, call me Yanric," My father asked, "Yessir," Rin responded, "He is a little nervous, Longhorn; I apologize for his stuttering," Weller said, "No worries, Weller," Father answered, "So who are they, Longhorn?" Weller asked, looking at us, "That's my son and his friend; I've been training them to become adventurers; speaking of which, why are you here?" Father answered, "Similar to your reason, I'm training my student," Weller said, "Why don't we form a party together then, for convenience." My Father asked "Splendid Idea, Longhorn," Weller answered; having ended the conversation, we all entered the building. Inside, there were stands with guild members behind them, with a line of people for each of them, several tables off to the left, most of the tables were occupied by adventurers, and on the right; was the quest board, several jobs were listed, but there was a large group of people there already, "There are a lot of people here," I said, "Yeah, almost as much as the fight pits," Orryn responded, "Well adventuring is a popular profession, despite what a select few nobles would have you believe," Father stated, "Not to mention; that the selfishness of most nobles, keeps most city guards from performing their duties, outside the city, thus that kind of work is relegated to adventurers instead," Weller stated, "So, with the popularity, the freedom, and the relegation, adventuring, can be very profitable, well, if you're good enough, that is," Father supported, "What do you mean by that?" I asked. Orryn looked over with curiosity, seeming to also have this question "Well, the harder the job, the bigger the pay, but you also need the skills, experience, and equipment to deal with the situation, and because of this, the guild has issued a universally approved grading system to determine a job, and the grade level you need to be, to even get the approval to accept," Father explained, "And while this system was approved, many wonder how you and your party are ranked, and also how quests are graded," Weller said, "The grading goes from F rank to S rank, F being, something, a beginner should, at worst, have minor issues, whereas S being, largely problematic to a region, regardless of borders, something like a dragon, or something with that type of power," Father said, "I'm looking forward to the monster slaying," Orryn said, "I'm looking forward to exploring and researching the dungeons, that pop up from time to time," Yak'rin said. "With a puzzled face, I ask Rin, "What are Dungeons?" Before Yak'rin or my father could say, Weller explains, "From the research that could be made in them, it has been determined that they are living pocket dimensions; they are created in mana-rich areas, or areas chosen, specifically by the gods and their underlings, for whatever reasons they may have, mana-rich areas; like groves, cities, the wilderness, or in the vicinity of powerful mages, to name the natural ways for a dungeon to form, as for artificial, that is, for the most part, self-explanatory; however, they can be made by accident, as a byproduct, such as, from consecrated grounds, barrows, battlefields, as the aftermath of powerful rituals, or anything else that requires very, large amounts of mana, and time, any destruction that occurs in a dungeon with be cleaned up in a set amount of time, they consume corpses, items, or any foreign material after some time, while directing all of said man, into core, that can be found at the end of the dungeon or in some secret room, at the end, while also producing monsters to defend, that core." As Weller was explaining, a person wearing a priests outfit, the garb, black as night, and a bird mask, white as bleached bone, had entered the building, any adventurer that noticed them; would stop their conversation and whisper among their parties, they walk up to one of the guild stands, the line that was in the way moved out of her way, one adventurer also did know who they were; however, they were foolish enough to stop the priest, "Hey, who do you think you are? You can't just cut through the... AH!" Before he could finish his sentence, the person; punched the man in the gut, grabbed his arm, and dislocated it, all in two seconds; everyone around did not seem surprised at what they did; but more at the fact that the guy had stood in their way, after attacking the guy like that, she let him go, and went to the front of the line, "Uh, h-hello, m-miss," the man at the stand greeted, "I'm turning in a quest," the stranger said, "R-right away m-miss," the man said before leaning under the desk. Standing back up, the man gave her a handful of silver coins, "Thank you," they said before walking toward the quest board, "H-hey, aren't you a priest or something, heal me, or something" the man who had stood in her way had said, "Alright, I'll 'heal' you," they said before punching the man in his face, knocking them out, the people around the man picked him up. When the stranger got to the quest board, they looked at it; for a few moments that felt like an eternity; before grabbing a quest paper; and then walking to the door; she looked at us, at me, they mumbled something under their breath, and then walked out the door, "Who was that," I asked absent-mindedly, "A living Tragedy" Weller explained, I had heard them talk to the clerk at the stand, their voice was hoarse, and scratched, but it sounded somewhat, feminine. Everyone in the room released a breath, "Holy crap, they are terrifying," a man said, "Yeah, I heard the rumors but, holy shit," a woman somewhere else in the room said, garnering agreement around the room, the clerk they spoke to, passed out, almost as soon as they had left, "I can never get over how intense she is," Father said, "I concur," Weller agreed, "She f-felt very powerful m-master," Rin said, "Because she is powerful, I have seen her power before, I would not want to find myself on her bad side, never get on it," Weller spoke, "Noted," Rin said, No problem," Orryn said, I said nothing. After everything had calmed down and the clerk had woken back up, everything had almost returned to how it was before the stranger came in; people were still whispering about them, but most weren't. We went into the line for registration, being the shortest, there was no long wait; Good evening, of hey, Longhorn, Old Weller, how have you two been? I haven't seen your party in a while," the clerk said, "Well, we went our separate ways after a job went south," Father said, "Because of that job, I felt; that I needed an apprentice to carry my knowledge, the knowledge I wish to delve into can be quite; treacherous," Weller said, "And I felt; that it may have been time to settle down," Father said, "Enough reminiscing, we came to get these three registered," Weller said, pointing at me, Orryn, and Yak'rin, "Oh, sure thing," the clerk said, before reaching into the desk, when she was done, she had brought out, three cards, "These are trainee cards, they are given to people, so that they have permission to pick specific quests, not on the quest board, these quests, being the easiest ones we get, are reserved for those registering, so that none die right after registering; saves money for us, and helps you, see if adventuring is for you, very few people fail these, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about, never mine, having Longhorn and Old Weller with you," the clerk said, "With that being said, once you return the quest flyer, and evidence of your success, you will be asked what your class is, or at least, how you will be doing the quest, like what, and how you fight," the clerk continued, "Um, what is a class?" I asked, "Shit, I forgot to teach that," Father exclaimed, "gods, Longhorn," Weller said, facepalming, "Ok, so, a class, in short, is how you fight; or what your role is in a party, say you fight in melee, in the open, then you're a warrior, but when you're in a party, it gets more complex, if you're in upfront taking hits for your team, then you're a tank, which is mostly, defensive, and a little bit of distraction, whereas if you fight at longer ranges, with a bow or crossbow, or any variant, then you are an archer, if you are using spells, then you're a mage, like Weller, you get the picture, there is more to it, but that's the bare minimum needed, to know what a classes are." Father said, "And if you practice your role or natural-born proficiency, then the gods may recognize it; and give you special boons, skills, spells, or whatever, all for practicing the right thing, sometimes you find the right thing, first try, whereas other times, may take years to search, for instance, if you have an abnormally large mana pool, you're probably a mage of some kind, or something may feel just right, if you control both hands, equally well, then you might be intended to dual wield something, it's all about subtly to find these things, although there have been spells, both gifted or created, to find your proficiency, for a price. Most gods don't like it, but they unanimously agree; that it's universally allowed." Weller said. When we picked up our guild cards, the clerk brought out a quest flyer, "This we've been saving; there are a few goblins spotted out in the forest; by some loggers, don't worry, we had someone check it out; there aren't any meaningful amount of em, just barely enough to qualify as an F rank quest, just slay five goblins, easy," the clerk said, "Very well, thank you, Wendy," Weller said, "Your welcome Old Weller," the clerk, named Wendy said, I grabbed the quest paper. We started walking toward the door, "Hope you thee are ready to get your hands dirty," Father said, "Like hell; we aren't," Orryn said, "I have been wanting to test my spells on something moving," Rin said, "I have waited; my whole life, for this moment, there is no way, I'm not ready." I said as we walked through the door.

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