The Guild
She stepped outside and stood there for a moment, thinking.
"I need money."
It was an obvious fact. Ever since she'd dropped into this world, she hadn't needed to spend a single coin, so the thought hadn't even crossed her mind. But now that she'd come down to the village, it was a different story. Food. Lodging. Everything cost money.
"……"
She looked around the street. A way to make money, huh. After thinking for a moment, a familiar place surfaced in her mind.
"I wonder if they have a guild or something around here."
There'd been one in the game. A place where you hunted monsters or completed requests and collected rewards. Back then, her whole purpose had been to turn on Mana Resonance and goof off, so she hadn't paid it any real attention. Circumstances were different now. She at least needed a bed for the night.
The problem was—
"Where is it?"
Finding the Adventurer's Guild wasn't as hard as she'd expected. This time, she asked a passerby from the start. A short while later, she stood in front of a fairly large building — much bigger than the inn. People were constantly coming and going, most of them equipped with weapons or armor.
"This is it."
She opened the door. Inside was noisy. The atmosphere was completely different from the inn. One wall was densely papered over with notices, and people with weapons clustered in front of it. Further in, several counters stretched out in a long row.
When she stepped inside, a few nearby people glanced her way. After a moment, more and more gazes accumulated. She didn't particularly care. Figuring out where to go was more important.
She couldn't read the letters written above the counters.
"……"
Looks like she needed to learn to read first, after all. She simply headed for the counter with the fewest people.
The receptionist spotted her.
"Welcome."
The receptionist smiled in the ordinary way for a moment — then her gaze reached the ears. Then it climbed up to the hair.
"……"
For just a brief instant, her words cut off.
"What brings you here today?"
"I'm here to make money."
"…Excuse me?"
"You pay people for doing requests and stuff, right?"
"Ah, yes. Of course."
The receptionist smiled again.
"Have you registered as an adventurer?"
"No."
"Then you'll need to register first."
"Please do."
"Yes. Could I have your name?"
"Minj—"
She paused for a moment.
"Min."
"Min…"
The receptionist wrote the name in the ledger.
"And your race?"
"Elf."
The receptionist's hand paused. Elf. She'd clearly answered that. But her hair was pure white — a color you wouldn't see on a typical elf.
"…I see."
The receptionist wrote Elf in the ledger for now.
"And your age?"
"Twenty-seven."
The receptionist's hand stopped.
"…Is that in elf years?"
"No."
"Then by human standards…"
"I'm just twenty-seven."
"…?"
The receptionist looked at her.
"You're saying you really are twenty-seven?"
"Yes."
A brief silence settled over the counter. The receptionist pondered for a moment, then wrote 27 in the ledger.
"Where are you from?"
"……"
She thought for a moment. They wouldn't understand even if she said Korea.
"I don't think you'd know even if I told you."
"Then I'll leave it as unlisted."
The receptionist moved to the next field without further questions.
"Do you have combat experience?"
"……"
She thought for a moment. Things from her time in the military came to mind. She wasn't sure if that counted as combat experience, but—
"Yes."
"Understood."
The receptionist checked the combat experience box.
"What's your primary weapon?"
"I don't have one."
"And your primary magic?"
"……"
She pondered for a moment. Nothing that could really be called magic. The closest thing would be—
"Float."
"Float…?"
The receptionist asked back.
"Yes."
"…I see."
The receptionist hesitated briefly, then wrote it down as-is. Float.
"Anything else?"
"No."
A few more questions followed. The receptionist filled in the last field, then checked over the ledger once.
"Finally, there's a simple mana measurement."
"How does that work?"
"Just stand in front of that."
The receptionist pointed to a device placed off to one side. A transparent crystal was embedded in the center.
"I just stand there?"
"Yes. Just stay there for a moment."
She walked over to the device. Mana Resonance was still on.
Woom—
A low sound issued from the device. Light bloomed inside the crystal. After a moment—
Wooooom—
The sound grew a little louder.
"…?"
The receptionist looked down at the device. Her expression hardened. Min looked at it too. Something was written there, but she couldn't read it.
"……"
The receptionist checked the device for a moment, then spoke.
"I'll measure it one more time."
"Okay."
The device turned off. The light vanished from the crystal. After a moment—
Woom—
Light entered again.
Wooooom—
No different from before.
"……"
The receptionist looked back and forth between the device and her.
"Could you wait a moment?"
"Sure."
The receptionist stood up and went inside. Min waited where she was. After a moment, the receptionist returned with a middle-aged man. He went straight to the measuring device. After checking the displayed numbers, he looked at her.
"Would it be all right to measure once more?"
"Yes."
She stood in front of the device again.
Woom—
After a moment, it stopped at a similar reading as before.
"……"
The man silently checked the device. The receptionist asked carefully.
"There's no problem with the device, right?"
"None."
The man answered shortly. He looked at her for a moment, then asked.
"Are you currently using mana?"
"Yes."
"What magic are you using?"
"Mana Resonance."
"Mana Resonance…"
The man seemed to think for a moment, as if hearing the name for the first time.
"Is it a magic you use continuously?"
"Yes."
"I see."
No further questions. The man pointed at the device for the receptionist.
"Record the measurement as-is."
"Understood."
The receptionist returned to her seat. Min stood in front of the counter again. The receptionist wrote the measurement in the ledger — a number she'd already checked several times.
"Is that it?"
"Almost. Please wait a moment."
The receptionist took the ledger and went inside again. After a moment, she returned holding a small plaque.
"Registration is complete."
Min took the plaque. It was a little smaller than her palm, the surface a dark iron sheen.
"……"
She turned it this way and that.
Can I sell this?
She didn't have a single coin to her name.
"Please be careful not to lose it, as there will be a reissue fee."
Guess not.
She looked at the plaque again.
"How do I raise my rank?"
"By completing requests and accumulating achievements."
"How many?"
"The required achievements differ by rank. Once you meet a certain standard, you can take a promotion exam."
"Ah."
It sounded like a hassle.
"Then where do I take requests?"
The receptionist pointed to one of the walls.
"Choose a request matching your rank from the board, then bring the request form here."
It was where people had been gathered. Countless papers were stuck to the wall. Min went over to the board.
"……"
There was one problem. She couldn't read the letters.
"……"
She looked at the board for a moment, then came back to the counter.
"Recommend one for me."
"A request, you mean?"
"Yes. Something that pays."
"Please wait a moment."
The receptionist headed to the board. After looking over the request forms for a moment, she pulled one off and came back.
"How about an orc subjugation?"
"Orcs?"
"Yes. They've been appearing frequently north of the village lately."
The receptionist added an explanation.
"Normally we recommend herb gathering or cargo hauling for first-time registrants, but…"
The receptionist looked at her once.
"You have combat experience, and looking at the mana measurement results, I don't think there would be a problem."
"……"
Min thought for a moment. Orcs. In the game they weren't a big deal. But now she had no weapon. Strength was 1.
I'd probably get myself killed.
"Don't you have something easier?"
"…Excuse me?"
The receptionist paused briefly.
"Something easier."
"Ah…"
The receptionist looked down at the request form she was holding, then headed back to the board.
"How about this?"
Min looked at the request form she'd been handed. Still couldn't read it.
"What's this?"
"A goblin subjugation request."
"Goblins?"
The green goblins she'd seen in the forest earlier came to mind. From what she'd seen, they'd looked like complete pushovers.
"How many do I need to kill?"
"There's no set number. The guild always accepts goblin subjugations, so you'll be paid for however many you hunt."
"How much?"
"Ten copper coins per head."
She calculated for a moment. The inn fee was twenty-five copper. Three of them and she could sleep for a night.
"I'll take it."
"Understood."
The receptionist wrote something on the request form.
"Please bring the right ear as proof of subjugation."
"The ear?"
"Yes."
"……"
She thought for a moment. She'd have to cut off goblin ears and carry them around. That already felt like shit.
The guild door opened. Min stepped outside.
"……"
The request was decided. She just needed to kill goblins. The problem was—
"Where are they?"
She hadn't been told where the goblins were. She thought for a moment. She had run into them in the forest earlier.
"If I just head out, they'll be around somewhere."
Min headed toward the village entrance.