Chapter 18: Money Flies Away Quicker than You Think
After verifying that I can activate the newly made Guild Card, it reads:
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Name: Jun Race: Human
Age: 200 Gender: Female
Rank: C Class
Current Requests:
Special:
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“Um... what’s this ‘Rank’ and ‘Special’?”
I can mostly guess what “Current Requests” means, but I’d like to hear the explanations for the other two.
“Rank is how we divide adventurers according to their abilities purely for the Guild’s convenience. The ranks go from F, E, D, C, B, A, and SS at the highest. Many quests will be listed with a recommended rank to help adventurers determine the difficulty it would be for them, but rank is not a requirement unless specifically requested by the quest giver. It also helps the Guild when we are looking for individuals for private requests.”
“I see. Then the ranks are set?”
“It is possible to raise your rank. There isn’t really a set requirement, just go to any Guild Hall and appeal to have your rank increased. The Guild will then have a group come together to review your achievements, and in case of dispute you might have to display your strength. Normally you start at Rank F and then make an appeal at a later time. Usually the second rank you get is the one that displays your true strength, but with Jericho’s backing we have already placed you in ‘C’ rank for now.”
So normally everyone starts at Rank F, then based on the Ranks of the quests you can actually perform they will raise your Rank accordingly. Well, I’m starting at Rank C already.
“Current Requests are the requests you have active, but the Guild does keep records of all past quests done by B Rank or higher, as well as any quests that would be better to have records of, especially those done for Noble-samas. Just in case. ‘Special’ is mostly for the Guild’s use. It marks achievements or particulars we feel would be helpful for identifying adventurers in case we’re looking for someone for private quests or the like.”
Geh. For some reason I don’t like the sound of “Special”. Let’s try not to stand out. Let’s try very hard not to stand out. ... Is it already too late?
“Is everything correct?”
“Uh... yes.”
The receptionist now pulls out a small clear-ish plate.
“And this is for your ID Plate. Name: Jun, Job: Adventurer, Age: 200, is that correct?”
“Yes.”
This time she’s writing it down. Ah... I can’t read this one. The pen the receptionist oneesan is using glows where it contacts the plate.
She’s reading what she’s writing out loud though. As I suspected, people being unable to read the local language is common.
“Height ... 190 nell. Hair ... Black. Eyes ... black. Gender ... Female. Affiliation ... None. Ok. Now, the Guild Card is the ID you’ll need for things within the Guild, but this ID Plate is what you’ll be showing for everything else, like customs or verification for identity.”
Eh... so I needed two forms of identification. Maybe if I think of it like needing a School ID versus a Passport...
“Please be aware that the reissuing of a Guild Card is 20,000 ecrue while a reissuing of an ID Plate is 1,500 ecrue and take care not to lose them. The total with 10% off is 10,350 ecrue.”
Um... ouch. That’s kind of expensive. Over a third of my 30,000 ecrue. That’s a LOT of money... But reissuing a Guild Card costs almost double getting a Guild Card and an ID Plate made together. Well, I probably won’t lose it unless someone can figure out how to get into my (Inventory).
I pretend to take coins from my bag through (Inventory). There are small, medium, and big pieces of copper, silver, and gold. Lor helps me count them out. 1 small gold piece, 3 small silver pieces, and 1 big copper piece... small gold pieces are 10,000 ecrue, small silver pieces are 100 ecrue, and big copper pieces are 50 ecrue, huh?
Later on they tell me that for copper, big pieces are 50 ecrue, medium pieces are 10 ecrue, and small pieces are 1 ecrue.
For silver, big pieces are 1,000 ecrue, medium pieces are 500 ecrue, and small pieces are 100 ecrue.
For gold big pieces are 1,000,000 ecrue, medium pieces are 100,000 ecrue, and small pieces are 10,000 ecrue.
It seems there are other types of coins that go up from gold, but they’re not used as much. As it is, I had one small gold coin and none of the medium or big gold coins.
... I want to at least learn how to read numbers and the ecrue symbol. I need to avoid getting ripped off.
“Thank you very much, you can begin taking quests immediately if you’d like.”
The receptionist oneesan scoops the coins into a tray and I take the Guild Card and ID Plate.
As I put them into the bag and directly into inventory, I take a look at the screen-like interface that pops up before me. I wonder if there’s a secure lock ... mm? There’s a tab called “Lock Box”. Ooo. By looking at it and thinking about accessing it I open the tab.
There are only 10 slots, but no one can access it except me. I succeed in mentally dragging both the Guild Card and ID Plate into the Lock Box. When I want to switch back to the normal tab, it does automatically. I still have the “Commoners Jacket”, “Commoners Tunic”, several stacks of coins, and now Guild Card and ID Plate shown. But the Guild Card and ID Plate have little lock symbols in the corner.
Fuun... Even though I’ve begun thinking that this is reality, this kind of thing really makes it feel like a game.
“...Jun?”
Lor seems concerned. Oops. From everyone else’s standpoint it must look like I’m staring off into space with a hand in my bag.
“Sorry, I was just wondering what I should do next. I don’t have a lot of money left, but I’ll need equipment before I take any sort of quest, I think.”
“Mm, yeah. Going for a Guild Card right away is always a big expense, but the commission the Guild takes for every quest reward is reduced if you’re registered so it’s better to do it right away if you have the money.”
Lor says it so nonchalantly ... well I wish you had told me earlier... but it’s fine. I still have nearly 20,000 ecrue left... it ... should be fine?
◇◇◇
It’s not fine!
Looking at the weapons they’re easily 20,000 ecrue for a semi-decent one! ... Well, I guess that’s not really that big of a shock. Real weapons are expensive in our world too.
Sigh. I guess the plan is to buy a cheap one, make some money, and then upgrade. Very game-like.
I suppose I could do with a semi decent one for now... no. Just taking one in my hand makes me uneasy. This isn’t a game, so I can’t bring myself to compromise on something that my life depends on.
“Hm? You don’t like that one? It’s pretty good for a 4,000 ecrue sword.”
“... Mm... It’s good... for a 4,000 ecrue sword...”
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Heavy tip, brittle blade. I’ll break it by swinging it once, I bet.
Because Lor had to go back and write reports, it was up to Niera to take me shopping for equipment.
“What am I, a little kid?” ... is not what I said. I’m grateful they’ve taken an interest in me, since I don’t know my right foot from my left in this place. Niera’s taken me to a weapons’ store, one of three she says. If I can’t find anything here, we’ll go to the next one ...
But really, what am I going to do? I feel like I absolutely have to buy a weapon today. My funds just had a third of it torn out, so I can’t afford to delay my adventuring debut. Even if I’ll have a room at The Queen Mary’s, I’ll have to provide for my meals, get pants and more reasonable shoes ... And I can’t keep wearing Solyana’s shirt forever.
Aside from my price limit, another problem is I don’t actually know how much swords are worth. I can guess that low quality swords are under 10,000 ecrue ... but I don’t know which prices I should be looking at for one that has been treated and forged properly ... and would it be too much to ask for a steel sword in this era?
Just because I know some things about swords doesn’t mean I know a thing about how to price them.
As I randomly pick swords up to look at them in the low-priced end of the shop, the shopkeeper waves Niera over.
“This one runs for 8,350 ecrue.”
“Oh, this one looks really nice, Jun. What do you think?”
Niera took it from him and pulled it from its sheath. I glanced over. It was certainly looked decently made, with a delicate looking hilt.
“Hang on a sec.”
I had found one for 8,200 ecrue and was looking it over now. They’re similar in price but look worlds different, so maybe I can use this as a learning opportunity.
As I tentatively brandished the heavy sword another customer came into the shop.
Well, I thought he was a customer but the attentions of the shopkeeper made it obvious he was important.
“Oh, Gustav!”
“Hail, Mailo, is this a good time? It’s about the swords you’ve ordered from our shop.”
“Mm... more or less.”
The shopkeeper nervously turned to the older man who came in. Good, I’m uncomfortable when the shop attendants look over your shoulder as you inspect a product.
This 8,200 ecrue sword was no good because it’s too heavy; truly a western sword built for hacking through with brute strength. It would probably do for a beginning adventurer with a bulkier stature, though. It’s unfortunate that most of the swords are like this.
“You see, since Helward’s been gone we’re having some problems with keeping up on the orders so we’ll have to delay our shipment.”
“Ah, I see. I thought you lot took in some promising apprentices though? I’ve been promising some customers that our next shipment from Helward’s was coming in soon, you see.”
“Fu... Forget about forging, the new apprentices are a mess when it comes to properly tending the fire. Anyway, Jetsom and I have to handle a 25 sword order for the Guild militia first, it’s impossible unless Helward returns.”
The older man had sighed wearily as he said that. I’m interested in the conversation, but it’s probably bad to be caught eavesdropping on a business transaction.
I went over to where Niera was and took the sword. One glance and one touch told me everything I needed.
“No. Not this one. I don’t like the blade.”
“Huh? It looks well made, at least it won’t come apart from the hilt. And the handle is made of ... bone? That’s a good deal for the price. But well, if you don’t like the blade than the rest is meaningless, huh?”
How can she tell what the handle is made from? It’s covered with leather... I glare at the handle trying to see through it.
◤
Name: Iron Straight Sword (Replica)
Type: Equipment – Weapon (Melee) - Decorative
Maker: Korzel
Analysis: A slightly carbonized iron straight sword that was made poorly and converted into a decoration. It is decorated with a bone and leather handle trimmed with silver.
Rarity: Common
◣
Oh, right, I had (Analyze), didn’t I? But before I worry about that ...
Glare.
The shopkeeper seems visibly shaken by my glare, his voice breaking in the middle of talking to the older man who’d come in.
I sigh and turn back to Niera.
“First, despite how secure it is, or maybe because of it, the weight is all towards the hilt; in contrast the tip was over-forged and is way too light. Well, I suppose there are some people who might like that type of distribution. But what I REALLY can’t accept is that the blade was heated too long. It’s too soft; there’s no way it will be able to hold an edge.”
I say that last part somewhat loud so the shopkeeper will overhear us. Did he think because I was a newbie that he could get away with showing us a replica sword?
“So that means...”
“If I had to say, this sword would be one you’d buy just for show.”
Niera’s face colors angrily and the temperature around her seems to drop a few degrees.
She takes the sword and resheathes it, then sets it with a distinct THUD on the counter in front of the shopkeeper, interrupting his discussion with the older man.
“Excuse me, I believe you recommended this sword for an adventurer. Do you mind telling me why?”
The shopkeeper opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, having gone quite pale. It doesn’t seem like he’s scared of Niera’s cold, angry words; from the side glances he’s making he looks terrified that it’s happening in front of this other man.
“I-I’m sorry that you didn’t like –“
“Did you think you can recommend bad weapons because we’re women? Or tell me, what was the point of recommending a sword that can’t be used in combat?”
Achyaa... looks like she hit the mark as his eyes start swimming in all directions. The shopkeeper only opens and closes his mouth, completely panicked. Before Niera could get any angrier the older man speaks up.
“Oya, isn’t it the Labyrinth diver, the Flickering Pike Niera? Are you switching to swords now?”
Niera takes a few deep breaths as she struggles to control her rage. Heh, she has a nickname ...? So Niera’s actually a pretty famous person then. But then why would the shopkeeper try to trick us ... he answers that for me pretty quickly.
“F-flickering Pike? The Labyrinth diver?!”
The shopkeeper’s face has surpassed pale. He looks like he’ll faint any moment. So he didn’t know what Niera looked like.