Chapter 7: Guild

  Is this world safe for children?

  I’m a short 10 year-old girl walking in a big city alone.

  The only things I have of value are my mages robes, earrings, and my most expensive item, a dark steel dagger worth whatever 70 gold coins is in this world.

  I’m also carrying 30 silver coins in cash in case I’m unable to fully support myself with jobs from the guild as I become situated here.

  I’m sure Hilvire and my parents wouldn’t have sent me off alone if they thought I would be in danger even in the streets. I should be focused on real monsters.

  As I thought, I reached the adventurer’s guild without incident.

  The doors were probably three times my height. I pushed them as hard as I could, grunting but they wouldn’t budge.

  The only work this body had done was light gardening. I was no match for this obstacle.

  “Hey! Is it your first time in the guild?” I turned. A teenage boy climbed up the steps behind me. The sword at his side labeled him an adventurer.

  “Yeah. Can you help me open the door please?”

  The boy almost broke his face in two with his smile. “Of course! Leave it to me!”

  He pushed with all his might, grunting even more than I had, and eventually, the door gave way.

  He smiled and waved me down. “No sweat!” He was dripping.

  I took the opportunity and stepped past him. My eyes adjusted to the dim atmosphere and I looked around.

  The first floor was pretty open.

  There were some adventurers at tables, drinking and laughing. A couple different full bars, a large quest wall, and a receptionist’s desk in the center.

  It was just as any other adventurer’s guild in isekai I have read, except this guild was much nicer.

  Not only was it gigantic even just on the first floor, but it was pristine. It was still a wood structure, but well built and impressive all around.

  I mean when have you heard of an adventurer’s guild with 2 full bars serving food and drinks?

  The lighting in here was as if it were on Earth.

  “I’m Lionel.” I almost forgot he was there. “What’s your name?” He extended his hand.

  Lionel is a teenager with straight, spiky brown hair, brown eyes, and clearly a big personality.

  “I’m Vespera.” I shook it, barely squeezing. His was strong, but he was clearly making an effort to keep me comfortable.

  I’m not sure why he hadn’t gone away already, but I humored him. He continued to ask me questions.

  “What are you doing at the guild today?”

  I clenched my fists under my cloak. “Registering.”

  “REGISTERING?!” Somehow the word cut through the commotion and many took a glance to see him clearly talking about me, a 4-foot newbie.

  I took a deep breath.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting that.” He took a few steps deeper into the hall. “Here, I’ll show you to the front desk.”

  I wasn’t a fan of Lionel’s company anymore, but I didn’t want to make any enemies on my first day, so I followed him.

  We reached the front desk, my eyes barely able to peek over.

  “Hi, I’m Trisha, how can I help you today?” The receptionist was a young woman in her 20s with light brown hair bound up into a ponytail.

  I looked to Lionel who was leaned over the desk, eying me, far too close.

  Trisha addressed him. “I’m sorry, please give the guests some space, Lionel.”

  She seemed to sense my hesitation or maybe she just knew the boy and his antics already.

  “Of course!” Lionel went off to pretend like he wasn’t paying attention.

  I handed her the letter Hilvire had gave me. “I want to register.”

  She took a look at the seal. “We can do that for you. Please, come with me.”

  We entered a side booth and closed the curtains. The desk held a couple of weird-looking gadgets.

  Trisha grabbed the first one and slid the envelope inside. It started up.

  “This machine will crack the seal and test the authenticity of the letter. When it’s finished, I will read it.

  In the meantime, what’s your full name?” She grabbed the second machine which I recognized, something like a typewriter.

  “Vespera Sol.”

  She punched it in.

  “And where were you born, Vespera?”

  “Rexta.”

  “How old are you?”

  “10.”

  “When’s your birthday?”

  “The 34th of the 2nd.”

  (The calendar system in this world has 10 months with 42 days each)

  “Perfect, does this look correct to you?” She turned the device around to show what she had written.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  I confirmed the details. There was only one blank spot. ‘Tier’.

  “Yes.”

  She turned it back around. “Alright, as we continue to wait for the verification of the letter, allow me to explain the guild!

  You are currently sitting in east Torvul’s adventurer’s guild. There are 3 more just like it in this city.

  You can take jobs that are one tier above of your own, but if you are with a party, no jobs can be two tiers above the lowest ranking member.

  Jobs are taken from the board wall. All you need to do is grab a job, scan your card at the register, then scan the job.

  This is in order to keep track of who has what jobs and if they are completed on time. Failing jobs isn’t a big deal, but if it happens constantly and you keep taking higher-tiered jobs, you can be demoted.

  Promotions and demotions happen at the start of each week, but payouts for job completions are instant. We can even open a bank account for you at the guild here, would you like that?”

  A bank account? “How would I pay when I’m in town?”

  Trisha smiled. “Your guild identification card will use your mana as a key so you can use it to pay anywhere in Torvul, and if it’s ever stolen, it’s unusable to others.”

  Wow, that’s incredibly handy. It seems advanced technology is everywhere here. I could get used to this.

  “Yes please, I would like a bank account.”

  “Of course, we will get that set up for you.” She pressed a couple more buttons on what was basically a computer.

  As she finished, so did the authentication machine. She pointed to the green led on the top. “It passed! I will read the letter now.”

  She removed the letter and fully opened it, its seal already broken. She read a few lines, looked at me, then continued reading, her face only inches away.

  Suddenly, she dropped it, another smile revealed itself underneath the parchment. She placed the letter into another compartment of the same machine and it was incinerated.

  Trisha continued to hack away at the keyboard, filling me in at the same time. “Well Vespera, unfortunately the guild can still only start you at a tier one lower than that which you are recognized by the World Association of Magic.

  This is to promote steady learning and avoid unnecessary casualties. So you will be starting in Advanced.” She handed me the identification card, embroidered with exactly what she had said.

  “There are many benefits to being an advanced adventurer. The ones that may interest you are:

  A reduced inn fee of 3 silver coins per week, two people to a room, a reduced meal fee of 2 bronze coins per meal, 50 percent off gear repairs, and finally, free general access to our library of magic!

  Would you like to take advantage of any of these?”

  The fact that there are rooms explains the large building and the amount of business.

  After I separated with Hilvire, I took note of the different shops and what they were selling at what prices.

  By looking at basic necessities like bread, I was able to deduce that 1 bronze coin was about 1 US dollar. 10 bronze coins made up a silver one, and 10 of those made up a gold.

  I’m being offered a room for $30 a week and I only have to put up with one roommate. I doubt I’ll find a better deal in this city.

  “I’ll take the room for a week.” I emptied the 30 silver coins I entered this city with. “And I’d like the rest in my bank account.”

  Trisha was content. I bet she was getting some sort of commission from this. She distributed the coins as I said and returned to the computer.

  “Looks like there’s an extra space in the 2nd dual girls’ room. Why don’t I show you the way?”

  Girls’ room. Right. I hadn’t considering that, but it was reassuring. As long as I didn’t have a chance of being Lionel’s roommate.

  We opened the blinds and stepped out, making our way towards the stairs.

  “Hey, Vespera! How’d it go?” His face haunted me.

  I still wasn’t sure how to let him down. His strong personality sent me into flight. “Good.” I kept it short. We continued walking. He followed behind.

  “Well hey if you ever want team up I’ve got a couple of friends, we are all Intermediate tier so we can help you out.”

  “Right.” Why was he so persistent?

  Oh. I forgot.

  He must have been at least 5 years older than me, and besides I was 10 years old. I get that people grow up quickly in this world, but still. Is it normal for a 10 year old to seek love here?

  What did I want?

  I was never a touchy person in my past life, but here, it’s much more natural.

  Over the years, I have begun to understand my new self. It’s shaped by the body and mind I have overtaken.

  My soul is still that of my previous life, but in reality, I'm now a petite 10 year old girl with long curly black hair, dark eyes, and the resting bitch-face I received from my mother and my previous life doesn't change that.

  I feel it on the inside too. I’m still young and full of energy, ready to explore the world and conquer what it threw at me.

  The feeling that was hardest to understand was the want for love.

  It could be me holding onto sexual preferences of my past life, or the fact that I’m still 10 years old, but I had to linger on the thought a while longer.

  We walked upstairs and Lionel finally backed down. “Alright see’ya!”

  Trisha showed me past the male quad-rooms, then the female ones, which were much fewer, then the male dual-rooms, and finally the female dual rooms.

  As she mentioned, I was set to stay in the 2nd one with there being 5 total. She knocked.

  Her steps jumped from the bed, mana floating through the air.

  It smelled like the forest I had grown up in. The knob turned and the door swung open.

  Standing in the doorway was a young woman with curly ginger hair, circular glasses with big green eyes to fill them, and overalls to contain her nerdy, curvy figure and big package.

  “Hi Sam, this is your new roommate, Vespera.” Trisha introduced us.

  The woman looked at me, not judging my appearance.

  “Oooh okay, hi nice to meet you!” She extended her hand, her elbow locked.

  I shook it as more words spilled out of her.

  “I’m Sam, I study alchemy here at the guild. I’m an advanced earth Manipulator if you ever want to work together. Although I mostly take the minimal amount of jobs and hole up here or the library instead.

  But I would love to get to know you and if you have any questions about alchemy please feel free to ask. In fact I have some books on the topic if you ever want to borrow them!”

  This was the good kind of friendly energy I needed. Not whatever Lionel was putting on.

  I smiled at her, “Okay. Thank you.”

  “Of course! Please, come in.” She stepped aside.

  “Alright, have fun! Thank you for your business! Excuse me.” Trisha returned to work.

  I stepped inside the room. It was clearly made as much a home as a temporary room would allow.

  There was a pile of books near Sam’s bed including an open one that she had just been reading.

  Vials filled with strange liquids were spread across her desk along with bottles and jars containing different herbs, leaves, and chunks of mana core.

  The left side of the room was mostly left untouched for me.

  I let down my heavy pack which only really had some food, toiletries, and clothes. The essentials: my knife and identification, would stay safely tucked in my robes.

  I needed to try to make friends, and I really was interested in alchemy. It’s best to show it.

  “I’d love to study alchemy with you sometime but I still need to pick up a quest today so I’ll see you later. Thank you again.”

  She looked up from her book, happy with that answer. “I look forward to it too! Good luck out there!”

  I stepped outside and made my way back downstairs. Before heading to the job board, I ate a delicious meal of crispy chicken and curry.

  Incredible that it was only $2. Being advanced is definitely nice.

  I had remained unnoticed during my meal and Lionel was nowhere to be seen. Maybe I could catch a break.

  I made my way over to the job board. The entire back wall was one big board with jobs ranging from beginner on the left, to ascendant on the right.

  Each page contained something like a QR code that I assumed would be used at the kiosk Trisha had mentioned.

  I eyed the advanced jobs. It is my first quest. Should I take something easier?

  “Hey. Looking for an advanced job?” I guess I wasn’t going to be able to avoid conversation in here.

  I turned around to see a party of three.

  “We’re going slime slaying. You down?” The axe wielder spoke my language. She was straight to the point.

  I had no reason to refuse. “Sure.”