Chapter 10: Registering as an Adventurer

Chapter 10: Registering as an Adventurer

Soon, he clearly saw the village. Yes, it looked like a beautiful place. Children were playing in the streets, and their cheerful laughter could sometimes be heard. Quite a few people were also outside — some were trading, others simply chatting. The village seemed lively and peaceful.

Alisar came closer and asked the first person he met about the adventurers’ guild. They immediately pointed him in the right direction without asking any questions. Apparently, people like him were not uncommon.

Before long, he stood in front of the building he was looking for. It looked nothing like what he had expected. Much smaller than he’d imagined. It resembled an ordinary house — a single-story building, just slightly larger than the rest in the village.

There was an emblem above the door. It was undoubtedly the symbol of the adventurers’ guild: a crossed sword and staff on the background of a massive shield. Below them — a defeated monster, resembling a lizard. Wingless, with a sharp ridge and heavy claws. It lay motionless, as if dead. Everything about that emblem spoke of victory and strength.

Alisar carefully pulled the handle and opened the door. But despite his caution, a loud chime rang out — there was clearly a bell installed on the door.

He stepped inside. The hall turned out to be spacious. Right in front of the entrance stood a large wooden desk — most likely the registration counter. Almost exactly like the ones he’d seen in fantasy anime or read about in novels. On the right side of the room, there was a long table with benches, enough to seat ten to twelve people at once. To the left, there was a door. And another door stood directly behind the registration desk.

A few moments later, that back door opened, and someone stepped out.

It was a man clearly of older age, perhaps seventy, maybe even closer to eighty. He was a bit taller than Alisar and quite muscular despite his years. The hair left on his head was sparse and completely gray. His face was clean-shaven. He stepped into the hall, paused, and looked directly at Alisar.

“Well now, we have a visitor... What brings you here?” he asked in a deep voice, filled with strength and experience.

Damn. I was expecting a young, beautiful woman. That’s how it always goes in fantasy novels. And here I get some old man. And a slightly scary one at that... thought Alisar.

“I came here to become an adventurer,” he said aloud.

The old man nodded and, reaching under the registration desk, pulled out a small sheet and placed it on the counter.

“So, you want to become an adventurer? Well then…”

He straightened up and asked:

“What’s your name?”

“Alisar,” he replied.

“Do you have a family name?” the old man asked, looking at him more closely.

“No,” Alisar answered shortly.

“Well, that should be enough,” the old man said, showing neither surprise nor particular interest.

Alisar was surprised.

“That’s enough?” he asked.

The old man shrugged.

“Well, if you want, you can add more information. But it’s optional. Do you want to add anything?”

“No...” Alisar replied after a brief pause.

“All right then,” the old man said, making a few marks on the paper.

“Now wait here for a bit,” he added, taking the sheet and walking out through the same door he had come from.

Alisar was left alone. He began to wait. First five minutes passed, then ten. He started getting bored and looked around.

To his left, near the door, he noticed a wooden board. He walked closer. Oh… That’s a request board, he realized.

There were only five or six sheets of paper pinned to it. Alisar began reading them one by one.

First task: “Help with construction needed.”
Second task: “Assistance required with bridge construction.”
Third task: “Help with harvesting. Payment upon completion.”

The rest were similar — helping in the fields, unloading supplies, simple labor. Nothing dangerous. And certainly nothing heroic.

Damn… These aren’t adventurer jobs at all. This is just day labor, he thought in frustration.

The pay for these tasks wasn’t impressive either — forty, fifty, sometimes sixty copper coins a day.

No. I’m not going to work all day like a regular laborer. I have my own way to earn money, he thought.
I’ve already worked way too much. In this world, I want to pursue my dreams. Not spend my days hauling boards and carrying harvest.

Alisar lowered his gaze to his belt. A small pouch hung at his side, tied to the strap. Sherial had given him this pouch as a parting gift to help them on their journey. Inside were only three health potions. He had brewed them in advance while traveling through the forest on his way to the village. Carrying the vials in his hands would have been inconvenient, so he had stowed them away beforehand.

Looks like the girls somehow knew exactly what I was planning, he thought with a faint smile.

Just then the door opened again, and the old man returned. In his hands he held a small, plaque-like object.

He walked to the counter and set it down in front of Alisar.

The plaque was about the size of a matchbox — perhaps a little smaller.

“Here is your adventurer guild badge,” the old man said.

Alisar carefully picked it up. A steel chain was attached to it, and the plaque itself was also made of steel, clearly meant to be worn around the neck.

He flipped it over and read the inscription:

Alisar
Rank G

On the reverse side the guild emblem was engraved — the very same he had seen outside: a crossed sword and staff on a shield, with a vanquished wingless lizard beneath them.

“Welcome to the guild,” the old man said.
“Now I need to explain the rules. But I’ll be brief.”

“Thank you,” Alisar replied, a little awkwardly.

“Well, even if you already know the rules, I still have to say them out loud. It’s mandatory. So that no one later says, ‘I didn’t know,’ and things like that.”

“There aren’t too many strict or lengthy rules. But there are core ones. I’ll start with the simplest — the ranking system.”

“Adventurers in the guild are divided into eight ranks: G, F, E, D, C, B, A, and S.
G is the lowest, for beginners — like yours.
S is the highest. Few ever reach it.”

“As for ranking up: when you complete quests, sell monster magic stones, or provide useful materials to the guild — you earn guild points.”

“For example, to reach F rank, you need to accumulate 100 points. Once you reach that, your rank automatically increases,” the old man explained.

He squinted slightly, and his voice turned colder and more serious:

“Now listen carefully. These are the core rules of the guild, and breaking them has serious consequences.”

“If one adventurer attacks another with the intent of profit — like stealing their loot — and this is proven to the guild, the offender will be expelled.”

“But if the victim dies as a result of such an attack…” — the old man looked at him sharply — “the guild won’t just expel you. That’s a death sentence. The guild will personally make sure that violator doesn’t live long. Believe me, we have our ways.”

“Now about other crimes. If you commit an offense outside the guild — kill a civilian, commit robbery, or get arrested by the city guard — the guild won’t get involved.
You broke the law? Then face the consequences. We don’t cover for criminals.”

“But,” he added, “if someone attacks you, and they’re also an adventurer — you have every right to defend yourself.
There will be no punishment for that.”

He let out a heavy breath.

“Well, that covers the main rules. You’ll learn the rest over time.
But if you want, I can tell you everything right now,” he added with a weary voice.

It seemed even he didn’t want to go through all of it.
It looked like it would take a very long time.

“Do you want me to explain it all in order?”

“No, this is enough,” Alisar replied.

He did want to know more… but he could see the old man wasn’t in the mood.
And he definitely didn’t want to anger this old man.

“I’d also like to sell this,” he said.

He untied a small pouch from his belt, opened it, and took out three health potions, carefully placing them on the table in front of the old man.

“Oh? Have you already been out hunting? Or did you get these from somewhere?” the old man asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well… I got them myself,” Alisar replied a bit awkwardly.

The old man grunted, apparently assuming the boy had brought them back from some dungeon.

Technically, that’s true, Alisar thought. I did make them myself, using my skill. But the old man doesn’t know that — and that’s fine.

“Well then,” the old man said, picking up the potions one by one.

He examined each carefully, not spilling a drop, as if he could judge their authenticity by the color, the scent, or even the weight. He clearly knew what he was doing.

Looks like he’s really experienced… Alisar thought.

“Genuine,” the old man finally said. “Three health potions… That’ll be two silver and forty copper coins. Eighty copper each.”

“All right,” Alisar nodded.

“You sure you want to sell them? When the time comes — and it will come — you’ll need them. And then the price might be higher. A single potion could cost a whole silver coin,” the old man warned.

“I still have more,” Alisar answered calmly.

“Hm… All right then. Seems you already have some battle experience. If you’ve got potions like these,” the old man said, squinting at him. “And you don’t exactly look like someone from a rich family.”

He stepped away from the counter.

“Wait here a moment,” he said, and disappeared into the same room as before.

This time, he returned much quicker — after just three or four minutes. He held a small pouch in his hands. Setting it on the table, he took out two silver coins, placed them in front of Alisar, then carefully counted out forty copper coins and added them to the pile.

“What are you standing there for? Take your money,” the old man said.

Alisar quickly picked up the coins and placed them into the now empty pouch — the same one that had held the potions moments before.

“I also wanted to ask—” Alisar began,

but the old man interrupted him.

“If you want to sell something, kid, just put it all on the table right away,” the old man said irritably.

“No, no — I just wanted to ask… Is there an inn around here? I’ve got nowhere to sleep,” Alisar said quickly.

“Ah, that. When you leave the guild, turn left and walk down the street a bit. You’ll see it. Hard to miss — it’s the only inn in the village,” the old man said.

He squinted slightly.

“And you should probably buy something decent to wear. There’s a small shop on the way. You can get some clothes there,” he added.

Alisar looked down at himself.
Yeah… he was still wearing filthy clothes — and he didn’t even have any shoes. He’d almost forgotten about that.

“Thank you. I’ll do that,” he said.

“Well then. Good luck,” the old man said.

Alisar quickly left the guild. Just like the old man said, he turned left and started walking down the street. He didn’t have to go far — after just one or two buildings, he spotted a small shop. Not particularly large, but definitely a store. Inside, there were clothes, food, tools, cookware — everything a villager might need. It was a general store, really.

He went in and bought new clothes and a pair of shoes. The cheapest shoes were uncomfortable, so he paid a bit more for a better pair. Altogether, he spent a little over a silver coin — roughly the price of two sets of clothes and decent shoes. It wasn’t particularly expensive by outside standards, but for a village like this, it was probably enough. And far better than what he’d been wearing up until now.

Well then… now I just need to find a place to change. I’ll do that at the inn, he thought and continued on.

Soon, he spotted the only two-story building in the village. So far, he hadn’t seen any others like it. It was clearly larger than the rest. This had to be the inn.

The sign read: “Heavenly Dragon.”

Cool name… even if the building itself looks kind of old, he thought.

He walked in. A slightly plump woman in her forties greeted him.

“Welcome to our inn!” she said cheerfully.

When her eyes scanned him more closely, her gaze briefly twitched — but she continued speaking with the same polite smile.

“What can I help you with?”

“I’d like a room,” Alisar said.

“We have a group room and private rooms. Which would you prefer?”

“A private one, please.”

“Well then, a night’s stay costs twenty copper coins. Would you like to add dinner and breakfast?”

“Yes, if possible,” Alisar asked.

“That’s another ten copper coins. So thirty copper per night.
How many nights would you like to stay?” she asked.

Alisar thought for a moment. He had around seventy copper coins — just enough for two days.

“I’d like to stay for two nights.”

“All right then. That’ll be sixty copper coins,” the woman said.

Alisar counted out the amount.
Damn, these coins are really annoying to handle… he thought, placing them on the counter.

The woman smiled, took the money, and handed him a key.

“Your room is number four, ground floor.”

“Thank you,” Alisar said, taking the key and starting to walk off.

But the woman called out after him:

“Before you go to your room, we have a bathroom. First door in the hallway. You’re welcome to use it.”

Alisar understood the hint immediately.
Yeah, his clothes and feet really were filthy.
Better clean up and change first, he thought. And that’s exactly what he did.