8 Westland

Without needing to stop at the inn James mentioned, they could finally see Westland on the horizon after about 6 hours. They had stopped before once to refuel. Connor thanked at the inventory system once again. The duo decided to stop early on and hide the quadbike they were riding as he thought it would be a hassle to explain what it was.

After parking the quadbike somewhere near the city and covering it with camouflage net Connor had gotten from the equipment store, they headed to the city gates.

There were several other people, especially merchants waiting for inspection with their carriages and a few guards stopping on each one of the carriages one by one and checking every inch of them, occasionally yelling at some of the merchants regarding their goods. The line was not that long, but it was clear it may take some time. It was about 2 in the afternoon.

Connor and Miles were discussing how they were going to act while waiting at the line.

"Don't hide your rifle, our gear already takes enough attention from surroundings. Stick close to me." Connor told Miles.

As the line moved on, it was finally Connor and Miles' turn.

The guard was looking at his ledger with an indifferent face and started speaking.

"Where are you coming from and what is your business here in Westland?"

"We are a mercenary group called Sentinel. We are here for some work." Connor replied.

The guard eyed Connor and Miles, they were wearing weird equipment but he was unfazed. He could see hundreds of people passing through these gates with things he had never seen before. He saw that they were not carrying any swords or axes, which was weird for a mercenary group, nonetheless. He allowed them in.

"Alright, you guys can go in. Watch yourselves inside. If you ask anyone in the city, they can direct you towards the Mercenary Guild. I am not sure if you guys will able to find many jobs though. Most of the mercenaries went to Gemrich to make some quick money thanks to the war between them and Ironhorn. Only small time jobs around here lately." Guard told Connor.

Connor thanked the guard and got through the gates. The City of Westland was huge! The streets were colourful and filled with citizens. Some of the citizens had stalls located around selling accessories like jewellery, some of them were selling leather clothes and some of them even had fresh fruits and vegetables. Connor stopped and watched everyone one by one, the buildings, the smell, the sounds of the people... It was all real. The feeling of belonging was something that can be never faked by any kind of VR helmet.

'There is no way that this is a game... But... one more thing, one final check. If that thing really exists. It means that I have somehow got into another world.' Connor thought.

Miles had similar thoughts with Connor, he was watching everything with his mouth open. Occasionally putting it back with the help of his hand.

The duo walked along the street and discovering their surroundings before stopping in front of a vegetable stall.

Connor started speaking facing the man selling the vegetables. "Hello are there any... are ther-" Connor was trying too hard to stop his laughter. The man raised an eyebrow at his way of speech. A few seconds later Connor coughed and regained a straight face, continued speaking. "Are there any Adventurer's Guild around here?" Connor finally asked 'that' question.

"You guys are outsiders? Anyways, if you go through this alley and turn right, you'll see a building with a wooden sign that has two swords crossing through a shield. That building is the Adventurer's Guild." the man said as he shrugged, he thought these men were his customers but they had only stopped to ask for directions.

'I knew it! I fucking knew it!' Connor started laughing out loud while some of the citizens gave them a weird look.

Connor was both excited and shocked at the same time. He was excited because he felt like one of the novel characters that were trapped in another world. He was shocked because... he was the one that was trapped. He couldn't access the system menu to log out or shut down the VR helmet. In the end, it seemed like he is going to be here for quite a while.

Connor checked one of his pockets with his right hand and felt two circular-shaped pieces.

'We only have 2 silvers, if we are going to live here... we need to find some money.' Connor thought.

'Wait, the guard said we can also head to the Mercenary Guild, what is the difference between Mercenary Guild and Adventurer's Guild?' Connor wondered, he quickly thanked the man who gave the directions and headed towards the Adventurer's Guild.

After a few minutes, they found the iconic 'two swords crossing through a shield' sign and went in the building. It was a three-story wooden building that looked similar to the other buildings, but the atmosphere was grandiose. The entrance was also serving as a small inn-like restaurant. Connor quickly found his way to the lobby and arrived at the counter.

There was a lady at the counter that looked about 20-odd something years old, she had dark-brown hair that was reaching to her shoulders, after seeing Connor and Miles arriving at the counter, she quickly got up.

"Hello there, welcome to Westland Adventurer's Guild, how can I help?" the girl said.

"Hey, what is the difference between the Mercenary Guild and Adventurer's Guild? We are from a village and never came to Westland before." Connor asked his question directly.

As if she had heard this question several hundred times, she replied immediately.

"Adventurer's Guild is more suited for individuals and small groups. While Adventurer's Guilds between the cities are somewhat connected, it is still counted as independent organizations. However, all the Mercenary Guilds are connected between each other and report to the kingdom they are located in. This is because of the fact that there are mercenary groups with hundreds, maybe thousands of members. Adventurer's Guild would have a hard time tracking them, you know." the girl answered Connor's question.

'Hmm... Adventurer's Guild is focused for solo players who love to act independently while Mercenary Guild has a hierarchy of some sort.'

'Although registering as an adventurer sounds good, according to the lady, they are not really connected and some are independent. This may hinder my progress at finding information. Mercenary Guild on the other hand... I guess we are definitely becoming mercenaries.' Connor decided.

Connor thanked the lady and asked for directions to Mercenary Guild before leaving the building. A few minutes later, they were in front of a building that was literally the same as Adventurer's Guild with one distinct difference. Instead of the 'two swords crossing through a shield' this building had a different symbol 'a helmet with a sword below it' as soon as they stepped into the building, the air around them changed. The restaurant was filled with brawny looking men who faced towards the duo who just entered.

Everyone had the same thought, two people, one of them who looked barely 20 years old while the other one was definitely above 20, what was their business here in Mercenary Guild?

Connor and Miles had noticed their gazes, Connor gave Miles a small sign and walked towards the counter.

A middle-aged man who looked to be about 30 years old stepped forwards from behind the counter.

"Hey kid, if you are looking for an adventure, you are in the wrong guild. People mix us up from time to time. You need to check out Adventurer's Guild instead." the middle-aged man said.

Connor stopped and thought for a few seconds before saying something that surprised every mercenary in the room.

"I would like to form a mercenary group."