Chapter 79: The Adventurer’s Guild (1)

(AN: Sorry for the hiatus, I had to release Friday's chapter way earlier due to a system bug, and I was dealing with it over the weekend. Hopefully, everything is fine now and starting from this chapter, there should be no off days anymore.)

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A few blocks away from where the group of thugs was still trying to come to terms with their losses, Lily was strolling happily. Her bow was resting on her back, along with her quiver still full of arrows. One arrow in particular, although she cleaned it with a piece of cloth, it still had a few smeared stains of blood visible on it. 

Soon, she arrived in front of a crossroads. From the three routes, Lily remembered that the one in the middle that continued straight was the one that eventually leads to the Marketplace. However, she had no clue about where the right or the left forks would end. Looking to the left, she saw a sign placed that had the sigil of a shield and a sword on it, pointing towards that direction. 

On the right, there were no signs, but from a glance, Lily thought that it was probably some sort of residential area. 

"Well, the guard mentioned that I should just follow the signs… Since there's only one sign here, I guess I should go left." she muttered, and with the decision made, she went to the left. 

Still strolling at a leisurely pace, while following the direction of the occasional signs that popped up in her vision, she eventually arrived in front of an impressive wooden structure at least twice the size of their little hut back in the forest. It had huge wooden double doors decorated with the same sigil of the shield and the sword that she saw on the way here. 

Looking around, the surrounding buildings were clearly catering to the increased presence of adventurers, mercenaries, and the like, as was apparent from the various signs indicating the nature of shops lining the street. Blacksmiths, tailors, alchemists, bars, inns, and all manner of amenities help unburden the pockets or pouches of the wary travelers.

"Woah, so big!" Lily exclaimed, looking at the towering building in front of her. 

Stepping forward, she was about to enter; she remembered the words of Granny that she said years ago. She warned her about the dangers of being a half-breed that the world of humans or "Purebloods" as they called themselves will not take kindly to them. To combat this blatant racism, Granny taught her the basic illusion spell that would slightly alter her appearance.

Sighing, she pulled the edges of the linen hood and pulled it over her head, hiding his only visual elven heritage, her small, pointy ears.

She learned it, and although she hasn't used it before, she still remembered the phrase. Closing her eyes, she muttered a single word, that to this day, she still didn't know its meaning.

"Itl'thiolei.." 

As with the case of the ancient languages, as the word left his mouth, the power it carried, coursed through Lily, and slowly gathered at the pointy tip of her cute little ears. Bright white light enveloped it, although only for a short moment. As the light quickly faded, all that could be seen were a pair of human-like ears. The pointy tip was now turned to a gentle curve.

With the preparations done, Lily finally pushed on the handles, and as the doors creaked open, the hall greeted her. The interior was lined with tables, despite being mostly vacant, there were still a number of parties sitting together. Small groups of three to five, predominantly men, but a few women could be seen as well.

Well-armed, swords, axes could be seen dangling from the sides, while others were resting their spears or other similarly sized armaments next to their seats. What was surprising to Lily, is that of all the people gathered here, she saw no mages or anybody that resembled her Master or Granny. All of them seemed to be physical combatants. Fighters with all types of melee weapons, and a few that were carrying bows, or crossbows. 

Realizing she had been standing at the entrance for too long, Lily stepped in and focused on the counter at the end of the spacious hall. Walking in front of one of the employees, she smiled at the curly brown-haired girl sitting behind the desk, and with her usual cheerful tone, she introduced herself.

"Good Day, lady, I really love your hair! It looks incredible!"

Hearing the compliment, the attendant looked at the blonde-haired girl in front of her. Seeing that there was only honest admiration in her eyes as she kept gazing at hair curls, she smiled gently at her.

"Thank you, I also like your beautiful silky golden locks. You look incredibly beautiful!" Then extending her hand over the counter, she introduced herself. "My name is Mary, welcome to the Higrove Adventurer's Guild!"

Grabbing and shaking Mary's extended hand, Lily smiled. 

"Hello Mary, I'm Lily. I'm new to this city, and I would like to register as an adventurer. Could I ask you to help me with how to get started?"

"Oh, you are here to register as a new adventurer? Certainly! You are at the right place!" she smiled, then pulling a piece of paper from the desk, she handed it to Lily. "Please, take this form, sit at one of the tables, and fill it in. Once you are done, come back here, and we can continue!"

"Thank you, Mary; I will be right back!" Taking the paper, she stepped away, only to come back a second later. "Sorry to bother again, but could I ask for a pen? I don't have any." 

Smiling at the pureness of this blonde girl, Mary gave her a small metallic tube with a pointed blue crystal at the end of it. There was a round-shaped red ruby placed at the other end.

"You can use this one. Just activate it, and you can write with it." 

Taking the metallic tube, Lily looked at it, confused. Looking at Mary, she shyly asked. "Sorry, what do you mean by activating it? What do I need to do?"

Pointing at the red ruby, Mary smilingly replied. "It's actually quite easy to use. Simply touch this ruby once. It will start to glow, and while you see the red hue, you will be able to write using the other end."

"Wow, this is incredible!" Lily looked at the tool, with amazement shining in his eyes. Then turning to Mary, she slightly bowed as she thanked her. "Thanks for the help, Mary! I will be back shortly!" 

Then, as she turned around and ran back to her table, Mary sighed with a smile on her face. "Where did this girl come from to not know what a pen is? Ah, so refreshing to see someone so honest."

Sitting down at the table, Lily looked at the tool once again. "So, I should just touch this red gem and it will be activated..." Then as she touched the ruby, it started glowing with a faint red hue indicating it was now turned on. "This is so cool!" Lily exclaimed happily, turning a few faces towards her due to the noise she was making. 

Seeing all the attention she was garnering, she nervously bowed her head, and without looking up, she muttered a low "Sorry!", before trying to focus her attention on the paper in front of her.

Mary was fighting hard not to laugh at all of this. This blonde girl was so pure, so honest, it was something she hasn't seen for a long time. 

After a few minutes, Lily stood up and went back to Mary, handing her the paper and the pen. 

"Here you go! What do I need to do now? How can I start?" 

Mary took the paper and quickly went through it. Seeing that there were a few sections empty, she looked back up to Lily.

"From what I can see, you haven't filled up a few sections. I guess you haven't done any similar work before, right?"

"Yes, this is my first time!" Lily answered with a smile.

"And you are 14 years old?" Mary asked creasing her eyebrows.

"Yes, is that a problem?"

Shaking her head, Mary answered with a smile.

"No, it's not, it's just… Under your preferences, you checked in that you are not looking for a party. As a newcomer, we advise you not to work solo. This is a dangerous line of work, and you could get injured or worse! Are you sure you do not want to look for a group?"

Lily nodded her head as she replied happily.

"Yes, I'm sure. I'm not actually alone, well right now I am, but later on, my brother will join me! He just needs a few more days, and meanwhile, I wanted to get a head start!"

"I see. Who is your brother? Is he a higher-ranked adventurer already?" Mary asked.

"No, he is like me, this will be our first time registering!" Lily answered with a confident smile.

Mary, hearing this, sighed, then looking at Lily, she continued.

"If that's the case, I would still advise you and your brother to look for a group and set out with others. You are safer in a group rather than being alone." She tried convincing this girl. 

However, Lily simply shook her head, and with the same confident smile she had before, she proudly exclaimed.

"You don't have to worry about us, my brother and I are very strong!"