For the next couple of days, Miri and Anne began doing various jobs taken from tavern notice boards across the city. Sometimes, it was more rune-hunting; sometimes, it was clearing a nest of monsters; sometimes, it was finding a lost cat. Although they were successful in completing every job they could find, the money they made from them didn’t seem to be all that much. When factoring in the costs of living and other miscellaneous stuff, they’d be lucky just to break even.
“Man, I’m so tired…” Miri groaned, plopping down onto the bed inside her inn room, feeling exhausted after a long day of hard work. She’s pretty sure that working at a typical 9 to 5 minimum wage job felt less exhausting than what she’d done the past several days. “Who knew making money could be so damn hard?”
“I did mention it to you before, didn’t I?” Anne said, sitting at the edge of her own bed, one next to Miri’s bed. “Adventuring as a profession is not without its hardships.”
“There’s got to be a better way to make money. Aren’t there any higher paying jobs that we can find around here?”
“Like I said before, all the more profitable jobs usually go to adventurers who are part of guilds. In fact, for some of the best-paying jobs, being in a guild is basically a requirement.”
“Well, if that's the case, the solution is simple: let’s find a guild to join.”
“You are certainly welcome to try. All you need to do is to submit an application to one of the public guild halls. Then, any guild who’s looking for members matching your specific set of skills and experience would likely contact you. However, it’s a rather slow process. When I first came to this city, it took me several months before I could find a guild to join. I had to work part-time as a temple cleric just to make ends meet while I waited.”
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“Several months?! Man, I cannot wait that long! Ooh, how about we form our own guild?” Miri suggested.
“The law states that we need at least five members to form a guild of our own,” Anne said. “So unless we can find three more people to join us, that option is just as unfeasible.”
“Man, this sucks! Are there honestly no more options left? No other way to make some money as an adventurer?”
“Well, there might be one option that is suitable for you specifically. You can apply for a solo adventurer's license, also known as a solo license.”
“A solo license? What’s that?”
“Usually, a solo license allows an adventurer to get access to more lucrative jobs without being part of a guild. It’s usually suited for people who prefer to do jobs on their own or with groups of less than five people, as groups of five or more people would typically just start their own guild. Solo license jobs are usually the midway point between no-license jobs and guild-exclusive jobs in terms of financial profitability. And all you need to do to get a license is to pay an application fee and pass a license test. Given your level of skills, you might actually stand a chance in getting one.”
“Wow, that option actually sounds kinda good. Have you ever tried getting a solo license?”
“Well, no, not really. Since I’m a cleric, I tend to work better in groups so doing jobs solo would not have fit my preferences. Sure, I can always find other guildless members to join me, but they tend to already be in tightly-knit friend groups and are usually reluctant to allow a stranger like me to join them in jobs. For me, a solo license just didn’t seem worth it. I’d be better off putting my efforts into joining a guild instead. On the other hand, you are an offensive-style mage, which means that you may be able to benefit more from a solo license than I would.”
“Huh, you’re probably right,” Miri said, feeling a sense of renewed hope. “Alright, first thing in the morning, we’ll submit our applications to find ourselves a guild to join. In the meantime, I’m gonna try to take a crack at getting a solo license.”
“Sounds good to me,” Anne added with a smile.
