Chapter 28: Money

The two siblings were walking out of the Magus Guild. Layla's head was as low as it could possibly be. It was apparent that they were leaving without purchasing any spells. The reason? They were broke.

Looking at the expression Tristan had on his face currently, coupled with the way he was walking decisively towards somewhere, caused Layla to be concerned. An inkling of an idea of what her brother was thinking at the moment made Layla quickly grab her brother's arm.

"Tris!! Stop!"

Tristan was startled by the sudden tug on his arm. He turned around, a confused look on his face, "What's wrong, sis?"

He noticed that Layla was unable to look into his eyes, causing him to know that she was hiding something from him. Folding his arm in front of his chest, Tristan said, "Tell me.. What is it?"

Layla slightly hesitated, which incited a raising eyebrow from Tristan. She then walked closer to her brother and gestured for him to get down, letting her whisper what she wanted to say, "Brother.. I know that we really need money. However, I don't want you to buy me stuff using money from… you know… k-killing people.."

Upon hearing his sister's words, Tristan chuckled, "Hahaha! You think that I will go and start killing people just for money now?" he loosened his folded arms and raised his eyebrows in a joking manner.

With a serious expression, Layla asked, "Aren't you?"

Tristan was silent for a while, "Well.. your words are not exactly wrong. But, it's not the way you think."

This time, it was Layla's turn to be confused, "What do you mean, Tris?"

"Hmm.. how should I put it.." Tristan rubbed his chin in contemplation, trying to find appropriate explanation for her. But then, he gave up, "Aaarggh! Just come along." Tristan said while gesturing Layla to follow him.

Tristan walked through the town street with Layla following right behind him. The moment he stopped, they were standing in front of a building.

Its appearance looked like the combination of an inn and a castle. Its wall was built using huge stone blocks, which gave it a rough feeling. However, thanks to its meticulous and unique design, it also gave off a sublime atmosphere.

The building was standing tall, conspicuous among other buildings in the town.

Looking at it, Layla felt that this building here did not lose out compared to the Magus Guild they just visited. When she lifted her head up, she finally knew the reason she felt that way.

There was a sign above the entrance of the building, with words 'Adventure Guild' on it.

"What is this place brother?" Curious, Layla asked Tristan because she noticed that her brother seemed to know of this place beforehand. Unfortunately, he did not answer her question and directly opened the closed door for her to enter.

Entering the building, Layla's sight was greeted by a huge hall with a lot of tables, just like the tavern. However, there was no food or drink seen on these tables. Several dozens of people were sitting across the tables, chatting and talking with each other.

She then noticed there were several people standing behind a long counter, which were probably the guild's attendants. Looking away from them, she spotted several people standing in front of a huge board at the corner of the hall, where many papers could be seen on it.

Layla felt the ambience of this place was very different compared to that of the tavern. The people here all looked like formidable fighters, causing her to be a little worried.

The moment Layla entered the hall, followed by Tristan, several pairs of eyes immediately directed towards the two of them. To Layla, their gazes felt extremely threatening.

This place was the Adventure Guild, a place where groups of strong fighters could receive jobs. The range of jobs were diverse, starting from searching for missing animals to exterminating monster packs. Of course, the fighters would be paid after they finished the job, linear with the difficulty of the task.

First of all, the siblings approached the huge board that was surrounded by people, while ignoring various gazes they received. Arriving at the board, Layla could see several pieces of paper, which contained various requests.

It was apparent that this board was basically the Job Posting Board. The people of Erantell or the surrounding villages would post their requests to the Adventure Guild, which then would first be processed before being put on the board.

Tristan quickly looked through the requests on the board.

Monster Hunting - 50 silver coins

Needs a group of fighters to clear up the farms from Poisonous Bees

Missing/Kidnapped Kid - 20 silver coins

Mina. Female, 10 years old. Last seen near the Bandit Cave of Hira.

Destroy Orc Camp - 3 gold coins

Annihilate a minimum of 50 Orcs. Camp sighted west of Colla Village.

Tristan quickly grabbed the Destroy Orc Camp paper. The reason he chose this job was because not only did it have the biggest pay, it also involved a fight, which meant a lot of blood that he could farm. Moreover, Tristan had fought orcs before, therefore, this job should not be too much of a surprise for him.

"Why did you take that one? I hate orcs. What's about this kid? Her fate is so pitiful... Let's take this job!" Layla said while pointing her finger at the paper.

Tristan turned to face Layla, with a flat face, "I am sure the great magician Layla can handle it by herself if she wants... go ahead… take it."

"Urrggg.. I hate you, brother."

Tristan ignored Layla and approached the counter before placing the piece of paper on the table.

"I will take this job."

The female behind a counter apparently was a girl with a weird cat ear. she replied, "Certainly. Can you please show me your adventurer badge,?"

"Aah, yes.. Adventurer badge.. I.. I lost my badge, it was… hmm… eaten by a monster."

"I'm truly sorry. But this job has a 5 Silver adventurer's or a Gold adventurer as its requirement. Unless you can show me your Gold badge, you can not take the job."

It was clear that the process of earning money wasn't as smooth as Tristan thought it would be.

"Alright, then. Is there any way to issue a new badge?"

"Yes, of course. You can get one in here."

Apparently, Tristan would be able to buy a Copper adventurer badge using 20 copper coins. Unfortunately, jobs for Copper adventurers like himself were mostly about menial chores, like cutting woods, helping in farms and constructions. Not only did they net a small amount of money, there was nothing involving blood in them.

"Is there really no other way?" Tristan asked, exasperated.

"I'm sorry, sir. It's the rule."

When Tristan and Layla were dejected by the refusal, a group of people approached them. 3 men and one woman, all heavily equipped.

One of the men, the one with brown hair and heavy armor said, "We are also looking to take that mission. All four of us are silver rank adventurers, and we are just short one person. How about you join us?"

"That will be great… but unfortunately, I am just a copper," replied Tristan while lifting his newly acquired Copper badge, fresh from the oven.

"Yeah.. At first, I thought so as well. But my brother here insisted to add you to the group." said the brown-haired man while pointing his hand to the side. The brother he mentioned was the short man wearing a cloak.

Noticing Tristan's gaze, the short man opened his mouth, "You should mention that you are an elf. That way, you will automatically get a Silver badge."