Chapter 36: Chapter 33: Hunter Guild

Yesterday's meeting with the town's mayor went more casually than I expected. The second I grabbed the envelope, the topic changed to politics, weather, and how life is going every day. As a stranger to this realm, I just listened to their conversation and tried to grab much information as I could. Some important ones got stuck in my mind.

The current king is mortally sick, and there are rumors about some nobles wanting to split the kingdom into two after the king's inevitable death. The reason for that is all heirs to the throne are still kids, and some people from the king's circle may target them as potential puppets, and nobles who oppose them may lose everything.

Knight talked about rumors of how taxes are increasing in cities as if something is coming. He later added that if lords keep panicking and forcing their subjects to prepare for a war that is still a rumor, they will bring kingdoms doom with their own hands.

Town's mayor was also worried about that. He said taxes in this town is still low, but if a war broke, they would increase, and since trade would slow or stop, the town's primary source of income would be gone, and lords may try to extort money in other ways since they don't have much in local treasury. He wants to avoid taking any sides in a potential war.

Lady Jade talked about how relieved she was for coming here. According to her, the situation is worse than the rumors the knight told. She also added that the day before she left her clinic, he heard about the king ordering bakers to lower prices and all bakeries closing their shops for a day to protest.

From there, we skipped some more topics. Knight said that he heard most garrison forces tasked with protecting nearby settlements and roads were closing their eyes to outlaws for bribes, thus, causing the poor to join bandit groups for treasure and avoid drafts.

As someone who witnessed a very long war, this news is no surprise to me. Most of my days were spent on the front but on my short breaks, hearing about protests for increased prices and war exhaustion was something I considered normal. My extended family, as arms manufacturers, got more prosperous through the war. Every time I visited their homes on my breaks, their homes were getting fancier and fancier, but even as blinded by mindless wrath, I saw the everyday man and woman struggling. Which I used as fuel to fight even more, but now thinking with a more open mind, it was just civilians toiling the weight and soldiers dying. I fought for more than a decade, and I don't know the fucking reason why war even occurred in the first place. No, it's not about an attack on a veteran gathering, the real reason for all that!

Past should stay in the past. I still can't put my weapons aside since I need them to make money, but I will not let myself suffer in another war long as I don't get drawn into it. That's why I decided to visit the famous hunter guild everyone assumed I was part of when they first saw me.

*****

I left the inn around the afternoon with all my equipment, some money, and the envelope I got yesterday.

Inside the envelope given to me by the mayor was most of the paperwork needed for registration. The only thing I need to do is sign it and get it stamped on the guild. I can start taking missions and earning money right after this simple process.

While walking, I also examine the surroundings. One very noticeable thing is that the shops began changing from street vendors selling food, groceries, or clothing shops to iron smiths, cartographers, and alchemists as I got close to the guild. It is also not limited to just shops. Your everyday civilians are suddenly gone and changed with men and women with weapons and equipment.

Most of them are young. Some even looking young as sixteen. They are either walking toward the guild building or coming from there. I suppose everyone must earn money, no matter the age.

I moved through couple more streets and finally arrived at a large open area with one building in the middle. It is third times the size of the inn I am staying in and has lots of shops selling weapons, medicine, and rations.

There are tables around the building, and despite the cold of this land, people are still enjoying meals, chatting in groups, or drinking. And yes, people here also look very young. I wonder what drives all these people into a job of a mercenary. Well, why or what they do is not my concern. I have my reasons, and they have theirs.

I avoided the crowd outside and entered the building. There weren't any no pet signs at the door, so I took Fluffy in with me. He looks curious about this strange place.

But all things aside, the inside here is quite
organized. There are several check-outs, counters, and benches to sit on, and everything seems to be constantly controlled by guild workers. There are even signs hanging from the roof, showing everything is there.

I moved towards an empty counter with a sign saying [Registers] over it. I moved there, and a girl in a uniform came to help me shortly afterward.

"Welcome to the guild. How may I help you today."

I put the envelope on the counter. "Mayor, send me here for my registration to finish. Also, can I register my dog?"

She opened the envelope and checked the contents, then looked at Fluffy. "We got informed about your coming beforehand, but about that dog, which isn't a dog, well, normally there would be a fee, but it's from the house this time since you are the mayor's guest." She moved to a room behind the counter and came with some papers and a box. "Do you prefer a ring or a necklace?"

I don't know what that's for, but I can't wear a ring over my gauntlet. "Give me the necklace."

"Good, we are almost out of rings. Welcome to our guild, mister Erwin. Your registration is officially complete, and the only thing left is your signature or something you scribble if you don't have one." She put a wooden pencil and a piece of paper in front of me.

I finished the paperwork, and she opened the box.
The box contains necklaces and rings with copper pieces at the end. "This piece indicates your rank. Your rank will increase as you stay with the guild and take on missions. You will get more privileges from the guild with each rank you get. It is also a status symbol."

"Then is it over?" The process finished much faster than I anticipated. I might even go on my first quest right now at this rate.

"Yes, it's over, but I will take more of your time because I am obligated to tell you how the guild works, but I will make it super simple. You have rank, and you can go to that billboard with an outline from the same material as your necklace and take any untaken quest. There is a rank scale next to billboards, and the system is simple, when you prove yourself, there will be a short exam. If you pass, you rank up."

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If it's all, I am happy to spend the rest of my day doing my first mission. "Thank you."

"Have a good hunt."

I left the counter and moved to the billboards. My necklace is copper, which means I can take quests from the one on the left.

I approached there and began looking at post-pinned missions. "Let's see my options." Hunting goblins, gathering herbs, and some other simple quests. They do not pay well, but I might need to prove myself first.

"You!" A man shouted. "You with that pelt. Move away." A man a couple of inches shorter than me approached me. "What are you waiting for, I said move." And trouble appears to found me.

I ripped the quest with the most payment from the board and moved away. I don't want to mess with anyone. I only need a job to sustain myself until I have the resources to go and grab my treasure.

But that aggressive man had other plans. He tried to grab the quest poster from my hand. I easily evaded his attempt.

I put the poster in my bag and drew my sword from my back. Fluffy also took an aggressive stance and began growling at the man, fangs outside. I am a magnet for trouble, and I don't think I help myself for that.

"What?" The man looked at me with surprised eyes. "Friend, let's put the weapon down."

"Friend." I glared into the man's eyes. "You may try using your words first, then I will decide on putting my weapon away or not."

"Okay, we didn't have a good start, but let me tell you this straight. I am telling this to every newbie, but that mission is utter bullshit. At least three parties went after those goblins, but all came back empty-handed, so, whoever keeps pinning this, it is giving wrong or
missing information."

I pulled out the poster and showed it to the man. "Isn't it just a simple mission, kill ten goblins and come back? It shouldn't be that big of a deal."

"Well, ain't we too confident? Let's not give a bad impression to all these youngsters. You, my friend, look like someone with experience in combat, and while it's not up to me to ask you why you go for this job at this age, it is my responsibility to teach all these idiots why never underestimate a mission. These eyes saw countless bright and young people dying of misinformation. You go for a simple herb collection mission and get ambushed by bandits, a happy group goes after some goblins for quick money, gets mauled by stronger monsters, and all."

"Then you are saying this mission is most likely a trap."

The man grabbed the poster from my hand. "Exact mission, maybe one goblin more, one less, but it is always around the southern forest. Away from the main road."

There is something fishy in here. "Can you say who is giving these quests and when they started doing so?"

"Do you think this will keep happening if I knew the answer?"

Now I think. "Before I arrived at the city, I encountered a bandit group, something like ten people. I killed them all, then met with the town's ranger captain, Ruckus. He stated bandits just began showing up this close to town, at the northern roads. Could these missions be baits to keep city forces away from bandit attacks?"

The man gave a painful chuckle. "Then be my guest. People called me crazy for that, but I suppose having more guys with loose screws around won't be bad." Ruckus and the city guard looked on bad terms, and the guy called Arthur looked a little hostile at the dinner. Maybe all this is somehow connected. I will investigate it.

"Then, do you have a quest you can recommend to me? I still need a job for money."

"Sorry, times are weird. We get many quests every day, but the problem is not the lack of quests but the oversaturation of new hunters taking every decent low-ranked one. Currently, for every experienced person, we have nine newbies."

"Is there a reason for that?"

"War! Demons are attacking the Empire once again. All sorts of monsters invade towns, villages, and sometimes even cities. Demand is increasing payment for mercenaries, so anyone with a decent skill thinks this, why waste my time for a couple of silvers here while I can get paid in gold on southern parts of the continent."I wonder if those demons can handle my job for me and take down the Empire without my intervention, but what can stop them from marching here after that? I need more information. "I think I will pass on taking any quests today."

The man patted my back. "If something good gets posted on next day, I'll try getting you something. Trust me I've been doing archivist work here for the last twenty years." So he was someone with rank in here. I was still wondering why he acted so quickly to intervene with that.

"Would appreciate that." I took my leave from the guild and began walking towards the inn. "I think we are not lucky today, buddy. Now, let's find someone to keep after you while I try finding something like a library in this town." I must learn more about this world. I must read the history of demons, the Empire, and why there are independent human kingdoms here despite a massive empire ruling most of the continent. Without a book or two, or someone with knowledge and spare time about the topic, I might never learn.

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