Chapter 8

Being an Adventurer Sounds Like an Easy-going Job

「Congratulations on passing the admission exam! Starting today, you’re officially a member of the Adventurers Guild.」

After the exam, I went back inside to finish the admission paperwork. It seems like they weren’t going to reject my admission even after passing the exam just because I’m a Novice.

「Thanks.」I said as I accepted my brand new guild card.

My name “Eld” was carved on the card with my rank『F』which was pretty much what I expected.

「Would you like me to explain the terms and conditions? It’s not necessary, but I would recommend it!」she said, handing me a piece of paper with the terms written on it.

I should learn about the rules and stuff if I’m going to join. I’ve seen scams on Earth where people just signed a contract without reading it properly and missing something outrageous that’s written in fine print.

「All right, explain them to me. I’d like to read the terms myself too afterwards.」

「Okay. I’ll explain the crucial points. For more details, you may refer to the document yourself. First is the most important matter: an adventurer’s duties and responsibilities.」she said, pointing at the top-most portion of the document.

『An Adventurer’s Duties and Responsibilities』was written there.

「There are only three of them: don’t submit false reports to the guild, don’t divulge confidential information given by the client, and obey the laws of the country where you’re operating.」

I see. Plain and simple.

「So what happens if I violate these terms?」

「You’ll be penalized based on the nature of the violation. The penalties range from temporary suspension of your license to revocation and subsequently being banned from registering again. For criminal acts, there will be punishment based on the country’s laws, so in the worst case it’s the death penalty.」

The penalties are quite severe…

I don’t plan to violate those terms anyway so it doesn’t matter to me. There’s one thing I need to verify though.

「Are those three the only duties and responsibilities of an adventurer? There are no compulsory requests during emergencies, right?」

In BBO, there were these『Emergency Requests』that activated during in-game events. They were compulsory and you couldn’t take normal requests unless you cleared them or until the event ended. And if you failed to complete the emergency request, you lose some money as penalty. It was known as a shitty feature in the game. If this world had the same feature, joining the guild might pose some risk.

「It’s completely up to the adventurer if they want to accept a request or not. You won’t be forced to take one just because it’s an emergency. There are legitimately only three duties and responsibilities of an adventurer.」she said, pointing at a portion of the document where the terms were written.

It looks like unlike BBO, this world’s adventurer’s guild treats its members better.

「All right. Please continue.」

「Okay. The next crucial matter is the requests. What you should look out for when it comes to requests are the completion time limit and penalty for breach of contract.」

Completion time limit and penalty for breach of contract… They sound self-explanatory, but I should hear her out anyway just in case.

「Completion time limit refers to the time you have to fulfil the request. If you failed to fulfil the request before the deadline, you’ll be deemed to have failed. The penalty for breach of contract refers to the amount you have to pay when you fail a request. Penalties for normal requests are usually not that high, but for urgent requests or those that if failed will result in considerable damages, the amount to be paid may be higher so please be careful.」

「What happens if the deadline arrives after I’ve fulfilled the request but before I could submit a report?」

「The deadline for submitting a report depends on how far the request takes you. It’s usually one to two days after the deadline for fulfilling the request. There will be no problem if you submit your report before the deadline. If you complete a request, but fail to submit a report on time, then you’ll be deemed to have failed. Though there are certain cases where the request will subsequently be deemed to have been completed if the failure to submit a report was due to some unforeseen circumstances.」

I see. So first I have to check the time limit and the penalty for breach before taking a request.

「That’s all for the important points. If you have questions, then please don’t hesitate to ask.」she said, handing me the contract.

I took it and scanned every nook and cranny of the document. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. I think I should’ve at least read this before accepting my guild card, but everything looks fine so no biggie.

All right. Since I’m heading for the capital, I should gather necessary information. Novices are weak after all. It’ll all be for naught if I die before I get there. Information is crucial for me to survive.

「Is there a place around here with a bestiary and combat manuals? I want to read those before I start adventuring for real.」

「I don’t think someone as strong as you need a combat manual… You can borrow from the guild’s library. Just ask for it, and if it’s in there I’ll bring it to you. You can’t take them out of the guild. If you want to, you’ll have to either purchase or copy it.」

「That would be great. Then I’d like to borrow the standard bestiary and combat manual that adventurers use.」

「Standard books…」

She looked troubled for a bit as she headed into the back. After a few minutes, she came back with the same expression on her face, carrying two books.

「There are barely any adventurers who read books so I’m not sure if these are particularly useful, but I believe these are best if you want to go adventuring around these parts.」she said, handing me the books.

The combat manual was titled『Adventurer Combat Manual ~From Basics to Advanced~』and the bestiary was titled『Monsters in the Vicinity of Elia』.

Both books were quite thin. Apparently adventurers don’t read anyway so there would be no point in publishing thicker books. They were thin enough that I could finish reading them in no time at all so they were perfect for me right now.

All right, time to see what this world’s combat techniques and monsters are all about.