The golden light of the orb spilled out of my hands and took the form of a humanoid. At once, the light was gone, and a dishevelled man stood in front of me. He had a pitchfork and leather clothes.
DUGGAN: Hi, I'm Duggan.
RYAN: Oh. Uh.
RYAN: This is not what I thought....
MENU: (Well, you don't have to name him.)
DUGGAN: What's your name?
RYAN: Ryan.
DUGGAN: That's a nice name. Where we going then?
I was taken aback. This is not what I thought it was going to be like.
RYAN: Um, you can do whatever you like.
DUGGAN: What kinda answer's that?
DUGGAN: No need to splain, I'll be with you.
While I was struggling to think about what to say, a woman approached Duggan from behind with a knife.
BRIGAND: Give me what you've got.
She held the knife up to Duggan, who seemed to be looking her over.
DUGGAN: You best move along now.
BRIGAND: Like some farmer's got anything on me. Coins and stuff, now.
BRIGAND: If you're lucky I'll let you keep your clothes.
Duggan held his pitchfork with both hands now, forming a ready stance. The brigand dashed forward, another knife suddenly in the other hand. Duggan, even faster, stabbed the pitchfork out. The prongs stabbed straight through her.
DUGGAN: Hup.
BRIGAND: Hhrk!
He pulled out the pitchfork. The woman collapsed. Duggan wiped the prongs of his pitchfork on her clothes.
RYAN: Oh my god.
DUGGAN: I did warn her.
Duggan bent down and fetched her two daggers, tucking them behind his leather belt.
DUGGAN: Think we should search her?
RYAN: No!
DUGGAN: She can't use coin where she's going, can she?
RYAN: You killed her.
RYAN: You just-
DUGGAN: Would you rather I let her slice me?
DUGGAN: Get the corn out your ears, you'll get a rash.
RYAN: What?
DUGGAN: You have to see what's what and not what you want.
MENU: (Shouldn't the corn be in your eyes then?)
RYAN: That's-
DUGGAN: You watch the street, I'll rummage.
RYAN: Why are you doing this to me?
DUGGAN: Oh, a coin purse!
I hesitantly watched the street while Duggan rifled through her pockets. Nobody noticed us. A few people looked in while they passed, but without fail kept on walking. I felt the sweat on my arms. I didn't feel guilty though. I didn't do it. And if I had, she attacked us.
But, was killing her right? He could have stabbed her legs and tripped her instead. Or we could have gotten guards? But wouldn't they have killed her too? Both the guards I had talked to had a sword at the hip.
I looked at my mark to see if it had changed. It hadn't.
Then Duggan was back at my side.
DUGGAN: Alright, let's go.
DUGGAN: We'll talk once we're farther.
I had nothing to say to that. As a pair, we left the alley and continued down the packed street. Duggan began to talk after we got a few alleys away.
DUGGAN: We hit the motherload.
DUGGAN: My first score after I was born, and I'm already on the way.
RYAN: (Keep your voice down!)
DUGGAN: What?
RYAN: Keep your voice. Down.
DUGGAN: Why? I can barely hear myself as is.
DUGGAN: So we got the two daggers. They can be for you.
DUGGAN: I took her belt too, because you don't have one.
RYAN: Jesus.
DUGGAN: Then she had a coin purse, some loose coins in her pockets, and a wooden charm around her neck. Nothing else worth anything.
DUGGAN: It's all in the pouch now.
RYAN: Are you really a peasant?
RYAN: You seem like a thief.
DUGGAN: A penny saved is a penny earned, I say.
DUGGAN: Now, I don't know what a penny's worth here, but we have at least one.
DUGGAN: I'll hold the coins for now, but you're in charge.
RYAN: Okay. First thing: don't just kill people.
DUGGAN: She attacked us.
RYAN: She barely had her knives out.
DUGGAN: She tried to use a skill.
RYAN: ….
RYAN: How do you know?
DUGGAN: It's just something y'know.
RYAN: I didn't know that.
DUGGAN: That's cause you don't have the nose for it.
DUGGAN: You think with a nose like that you'd manage.
RYAN: (What's wrong with my nose?)
Before long, we had arrived. Like the guard said, a massive sign with two metal swords crossed over a circular wooden shield. The hilts of the two swords read "Adventurer's" and "Guild". It was hard to read, so likely the symbol of the swords and shield were all most people needed.
The building itself was as large as any, with expansive wings. It was among the largest buildings in the city--that we had seen, anyways. It was bigger than my old high school.
Walking in, we felt this size. The lobby felt spacious despite being incredibly busy. In front of us were several desks with professional receptionists managing a line of people each. Behind these reception stalls were obscured rooms filled with papers, items, and other employees managing them. Stairways lead up from beside each end of the reception area to the upper floors, with platforms bridging the space between them and bearing doors that lead further into the building.
Hanging on the right wall was an extensive array of posters depicting creatures and plants with reward values underneath. Several employees stood by there, each with thick books in front of them. They had desks and chairs, but calling their spaces stalls would be overselling them. A common area of several tables and chairs full of lively characters were off to the left.
I waited in line with Duggan, who whistled the tune of a nameless song. Meanwhile, I talked it over with Menu.
RYAN: That was crazy, right?
MENU: What?
RYAN: The murder?
MENU: It wasn't murder.
RYAN: What.
MENU: Self-defense isn't murder.
RYAN: I don't think his motives were strictly self-defense.
MENU: Why are you fighting me on this?
MENU: There's one less criminal on the streets.
RYAN: Criminals shouldn't be killed on the streets.
MENU: I don't think so.
RYAN: Yes you do! You are me.
MENU: Counter point: you are me. Which means you think she deserved to die.
RYAN: That's not how it works!
MENU: How would you know?
RYAN: I just do.
RYAN: My mind, my body, my rules.
MENU: Sure thing boss.
RYAN: Don't.
RYAN: Don't patronize me.
MENU: Sure thing boss.
We were at the front of the line. The receptionist was an older man with sharp cheekbones and a polite smile. His uniform, a blue suit, served him well. I felt insufficient in my high school uniform and chainmail. Duggan had his hands behind his head. Which of us really had corn in our ears was still in question. These factors, combined with me not immediately reacting to getting to the front of the line, left me embarrassed. Here I was, some bumbling kid looking for work, wasting the time of a proper person.
LEO VERTO: How may I be of help today?
RYAN: I-
RYAN: Sorry. We would like to register to be adventurers.
LEO VERTO: There is a silver coin charge per person.
RYAN: Duggan?
DUGGAN: Here you are.
Duggan handed me the coin purse. I glared at him and began to fish through the coin purse, pulling out two grey coins. Each had a small chalice carved into its face; both sides of the coin were identical. The circumference had tiny edged lines along it and slightly up both faces.
I handed them to him.
RYAN: Is this enough?
LEO VERTO: ….
LEO VERTO: Do you not understand the values of the Queen's coins?
RYAN: Sorry.
RYAN: I'm not from here.
LEO VERTO: I see. Let me tell you.
LEO VERTO: The lowest coin is the copper piece, followed by the silver piece, the gold piece, and the rose gold piece.
LEO VERTO: It takes one hundred coins to be equal to one of the next.
RYAN: So a million copper pieces are equal to a rose gold piece.
LEO VERTO: Yes.
LEO VERTO: You are trained in numbers. Are you perhaps from Limay?
RYAN: Something like that.
LEO VERTO: I see.
LEO VERTO: Well, a copper piece is worth about six Lims.
LEO VERTO: How much, then, are two silver coins and three gold coins worth?
RYAN: Huh? Oh, um.
I had to think a bit. I quickly got that 1200 plus 180000 is 181,200. But putting it in words took a few seconds.
RYAN: One hundred eighty-one thousand, two hundred Lims?
I phrased it like a question. A habit from school: if you seemed unsure of an answer, people hated you less. If you were wrong, you were given more leniency. People sympathized with you to some extent--though not if you also answered often. If you were right, you seemed less of a know-it-all. Most of the girls tended to do this too. That doesn't make me feminine. Girls are just smart and have good instincts. It's just like that one song.
Plus, I wasn't sure if he had said 'Lims' or 'Lins'.
LEO VERTO: Indeed.
LEO VERTO: If you could fill out these applications and return to my line, I would be grateful.
He slid the two coins behind the counter. Next, he handed us each an application sheet, along with a pencil. Was that a skill testing question? Looking at my face, he chuckled, soft and to himself.
LEO VERTO: I wanted to see if you knew arithmetic and if you paid attention.
LEO VERTO: Sorry for any discomfort.
RYAN: It's fine.
I took the sheets and moved to an open table. Duggan sat across from me.
DUGGAN: Good work with the coins.
DUGGAN: I should hold onto 'em for safekeeping.
He outstretched a hand; I returned the coins and one of the applications. Before I could start, pencil in hand, we were addressed.
KARA: A father and son, new adventurers?
KARA: That's sweet.
KARA: It's good to have a partner who you can trust.
I had to swivel to see the speaker. She was a compact woman. Thick, honed arms connected to thick, honed shoulders, that connected to a thick, honed neck. An axe peeked out from behind her. While sitting down, she was only a head or so above me.
She placed a hand on my head and messed with my hair. I felt great discomfort at the sudden touch of a stranger, and froze up.
DUGGAN: We're not quite father and son, but I hear you.
KARA: Brothers? You're much older.
DUGGAN: Brothers in arms, I reckon.
KARA: I'm Kara. Nice to meet you.
She offered a hand to Duggan, who stood and took it.
DUGGAN: Good meeting you, Kara. I'm Duggan.
DUGGAN: That there is Ryan, my little brain.
KARA: You're missing your brain then?
KARA: It's good that there's two of you.
Kara and Duggan both laughed. Her giant hand was no longer on my head. I stayed silent, weathering the storm.
KARA: It's good there's newcomers like you two.
KARA: If anyone gives you trouble, you call on the Skull Sisters.
DUGGAN: I hope I get in trouble then.
KARA: Oh, you're too much.
KARA: It's too bad you aren't brothers, but I can see it now.
I felt I had to say something.
RYAN: Sorry.
Ugh.
KARA: No, you're set. You're a good kid Ryan.
KARA: I didn't mean to distract you. Keep that brain running.
KARA: Hope I see you around, Duggan and Ryan.
DUGGAN: You too.
KARA: Bye now.
As she left, Duggan sat back down. He began to look over his sheet, and I buried myself in mine.
It asked for my name, race, and pronouns. Underneath, it had "role(s)", which included fighter, shield, archer, mage, healer, support, and non-combatant. I checked support and non-combatant. Under that, there was a large space for 'abilities'. I left that blank, unsure what qualified and if I wanted to include my Gachapon Menu. Is a Menu a skill? No, I didn't want to include it, so it didn't matter. It felt bad leaving my abilities section blank, but I didn't know what to put. Under that was a section for extra notes, another section I left blank. I signed at the bottom.
There was a checkbox to indicate if I wanted to be evaluated, but I didn't have anything to evaluate. This whole sheet was a big hit to my self-esteem.
DUGGAN: All done?
RYAN: Yeah.
I sighed.
RYAN: Pencil?
DUGGAN: Actually, I need those eyes of yours.
DUGGAN: I can't see the words.
RYAN: The first word at the top left says "name".
DUGGAN: Right.
DUGGAN: ….
DUGGAN: Actually, could you write it?
DUGGAN: My hands are cramping.
I reached across the table and took his paper.
RYAN: Name? Duggan.
RYAN: Race?
DUGGAN: Peasant.
RYAN: I wrote human, so I'll put that in for you.
DUGGAN: Can't take a joke?
RYAN: Pronouns? Is he/him fine?
DUGGAN: Sure.
RYAN: Do you want any others?
DUGGAN: Just that.
RYAN: Okay.
RYAN: The next one says role, and lists a few options.
RYAN: You have fighter, shield, archer, mage, healer, support, and non-combatant.
DUGGAN: I've got a fighter in me.
RYAN: Next is abilities.
DUGGAN: What did you put?
RYAN: (I didn't put anything.)
DUGGAN: What?
RYAN: Nothing. I put nothing.
DUGGAN: Same for me, then.
RYAN: Alright, that's it. Unless you have any "extra notes".
DUGGAN: That's it?
RYAN: Well, you could get evaluated.
DUGGAN: That's it.
We got back in line afterwards. The receptionist took our papers and looked them over.
LEO VERTO: I need a signature for Duggan.
RYAN: Oh, right.
RYAN: How did I miss that.
RYAN: Duggan, if you could.
DUGGAN: I don't know how.
LEO VERTO: You just need to write your name, or draw any unique pattern. As long as you use the same signature with all of your documents.
DUGGAN: Alrighty.
Duggan snatched the paper back and drew a blob with a line through it and several lines coming off it.
RYAN: What is that?
DUGGAN: My signature. It's a turnip.
LEO VERTO: A turnip?
DUGGAN: The vegetable.
LEO VERTO: I'm sorry, I've never heard of it.
LEO VERTO: Thank you for the signature.
He looked over the documents once again.
LEO VERTO: Neither of you have checked the evaluation box, which means you'll advance to F rank after completing two requests. Is this fine?
RYAN: Okay.
LEO VERTO: You won't get guild cards until then.
LEO VERTO: Make sure to complete them within three days, or you'll have to pay the silver piece fee again and reregister.
RYAN: Hmm.
LEO VERTO: Requests are over by the board.
LEO VERTO: Will you two be forming a party?
RYAN: What does that mean, exactly?
LEO VERTO: A party is a team of adventurers that complete requests together. When one member completes a quest, all the members are noted as having participated.
LEO VERTO: Some requests require a party of a certain number and rank to attempt, as well.
RYAN: Is there a cost?
LEO VERTO: Another silver piece.
RYAN: Well, we'll pass for now then.
LEO VERTO: I see.
LEO VERTO: Is that all for today?
RYAN: I get requests over there?
LEO VERTO: Yes.
RYAN: Alright, thank you.
DUGGAN: Thank you sir.
LEO VERTO: Farewell.
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