HideousGrain
patreon
Path to Prosperity - B1 Chapter 11
🕑 Added 2024-06-29 12:00:51 +0000 UTCAfter some back and forth, Percy surrendered. The inn owner could see right through him. Thus, he told her about his life. It wasn’t much, by any means, but Percy felt oddly good talking to the inn owner – Bertha of the Angel’s Brew Inn – about the happenings of the last 24 hours and the years before.
He omitted some information and didn’t mention his Ego. His main focus was on his awakening as a Gifted One and the Berserk Rabbit hunt. Apparently, it was too obvious that he was Gifted One to hide it.
“Everyone leaving the town’s safety to hunt monsters is either gifted, desperate, or a madman. You don’t strike me as a crazy kid.” Bertha said, unimpressed, when Percy revealed he was the man running around with the monster carcasses yesterday.
It didn’t feel quite right to tell Berth about his Ego. She seemed trustworthy, but something made him want to hide the Coin of Prosperity’s existence.
Thus, he avoided discussing the Ego and focused on the Berserk Rabbit battle instead. Percy’s story was interesting enough to earn him more food. Bertha got up and brought more food to the table.
He was already full at that time but ate more for the sake of the marvelous taste. He wouldn’t waste good food!
Bertha was impressed and chuckled lightly when Percy talked about the baker, the butcher, and Erdwin. She was a good listener and asked a few light questions, which Percy answered passionately.
He felt great but noticed that Bertha’s expression changed slightly at some point. She was still studying him, yet something was different.
“How about you visit the Guildhall before your next hunt?” Bertha asked, still smiling.
‘It should have been obvious that the first Berserk Rabbit wasn’t alone. He was lucky that there were only three.’ She thought, slowly realizing Percy’s ignorance. He had been lucky, but that didn’t mean the kid would be lucky every time.
“If you want to pursue a career as an Adventurer or a Hunter, you should go to the Guildhall. Completing missions will help you rank up faster, and the staff in the Guildhall will keep you up-to-date on changes in the wilderness and its dangers.”
“As long as you register at the Guild and prepare your hunts meticulously, you will have no problems at using the Guild’s information network to earn a fortune and rank up swiftly. The information network is very important and hard for ordinary people to access. As a Gifted One, you will be accepted into the Guild without issues. You might not have access to top-secret information at the Bronze Rank, but you can procure information about the surrounding regions, plant life, missions, monsters, monster cards, and much more.”
Bertha cleared her throat. She saw someone walk into the dining room and got up, smiling at Percy.
“To sum it up, the Guild’s information network will help you survive in the wilderness and among nobles – if you ever come across them as an Adventurer.”
Percy swallowed hard. He would need time to digest the information Bertha had thrown at him.
“How do you know all of this?” He asked as the inn owner was about to leave to serve the other guest’s breakfast.
“I have an inn.” She winked in his direction and left.
Bertha had her ways with people. She was much better at socializing than Percy and had an easy time getting him to open up. He didn’t even realize how much he had been saying before Bertha was forced to get up and serve her other guests.
I could visit the Guildhall. Being better prepared won’t harm me.
He got up and left the Angel’s Brew Inn with a full stomach to walk through Raewood until he reached the town’s center. Raewood had a small plaza in its center with many stalls and alleys leading to the different districts. Percy wasn’t hungry anymore and didn’t plan to buy anything special either. He ignored the stalls and walked to the large wooden doors of the largest buildings. Raewood’s Guildhall.
The Guildhall had several distinctive features. The stone foundation and timber frame were the most common among them. However, it was already uncommon for houses in Raewood to have tiled roofs. Percy couldn’t remember having seen more than four tiled roofs in Raewood, two of them being the Guildhall and the town hall.
The Guildhall’s facade was also unique, etched with ornate carvings of various symbols and tools, including weapons and religious motifs.
Percy tried to peek inside the Guildhall through one of the large windows, but something disturbed his sight. He swayed and found his mind assaulted by nausea, forcing the youth to look away.
Did they do something to their windows? Why do you even install windows if you don’t allow others to look through them?
Percy cursed but approached the grand double door made of heavy wood nonetheless. The double door was reinforced with iron and also adorned with intricate carvings. Last but not least, Percy’s attention fell upon the Guild’s emblem: The head of a Black Dragon with an elongated snout and sharp spikes jutting from its jaw.
Percy shuddered as his eyes fell upon the Guild emblem, but he proceeded to walk into the Guildhall, where he was greeted by the putrid smell of sweat from the left and the pleasant aroma of flowers from the right. A wry smile formed on his lips, and his head flicked left and right to study the large wooden counter with the Guild’s receptionists to his right. The wall and boards were filled with parchments, each containing a mission to complete.
A few men and women talked to the receptionists to his right, but most people – Adventurers and Hunters – studied the parchments to pick their next mission to his left.
Percy’s heart beat wildly at the sight unfolding before him, but he forced himself to look calm and composed – he was pretty sure he failed miserably at that.
“Get out of my way, brat.” A hoarse voice rang out from behind. A moment later, Percy found a massive hand with a steely grip on his shoulder. He flinched and was about to spin around when the hand pushed him away. It wasn’t even a proper push, but it felt like a carriage crashed into him.
He stumbled to the side and nearly fell to the ground.
An Adventurer walked outside the Guildhall and was nearly struck by Percy, but he regained balance before anything worse could happen. It would have been a bad start to his Adventurer career if he hurt someone before he was properly registered at the Guild.
The Adventurer eyed him for a second but continued walking after a moment. In the meantime, the man who’d pushed him aside stared at Percy.
“Sorry. Didn’t know you’re so fragile.“
Percy spun around to say something to the man, but his lips were sealed tightly when he saw a giant right before him. The hurling man before him was at least 2.30 meters tall. He was the most muscular man Percy had ever seen and exuded an aura that made it impossible to say anything. He swallowed hard, earning a chuckle from a more petite man beside the hulking giant.
“You’re scaring the kids again, Dave,” The man continued chuckling, slapping the hulking giant’s arm since he was too small to reach his shoulders.
The hulking giant – apparently called Dave – looked at Percy, his lips pressed together. His naturally fierce expression didn’t help ease the situation, but Percy gathered his courage and smiled at the man.
“I won’t block the entrance next time. Thank you for reminding me.”
The man beside Dave stopped laughing and studied Percy with a raised eyebrow. After a while, he turned to the counter and gestured to Dave to follow him. Dave nodded slowly toward Percy and turned around to follow his friend. The staff looked warily at Dave the whole time, but they remained professional.
Calm down and get your act together. First, register at the Guild. Second, research some stuff, whether it is about monsters, valuable plants, or Egos. Last but not least, go hunting with your newly acquired knowledge!
Percy didn’t need a complicated plan to get started with. It was only the second day after he gained access to mana. He wouldn’t have to become a high-ranked Adventurer capable of slaying Dragons and Titans overnight.
I don’t think that’s possible in the first place. If that guy is still human, how colossal are creatures like Giants?!
He shuddered, goosebumps covering his entire body, but at the same time, Percy felt a tinge of excitement blossoming in his heart. He didn’t even leave Raewood, yet a new world unfolded before him.
He walked toward the counter and stopped next to Dave – for whatever reason, other Adventurers didn’t dare to approach the counters besides Dave and his friend. The receptionist had been eying Dave, but her focus averted to Percy, whom she greeted with a professional smile.
“Good morning. How may I help you?” She asked, not without occasionally glancing warily at Dave.
“I would like to register as an Adventurer.”
The receptionist nodded, noticing Percy’s smile at Dave.
He isn’t even that scary now that I think about it. It’s not his fault to be born like this…I guess. I wouldn’t feel great to be judged because of my looks, either. He didn’t even do anything wrong, but apologized to me!
Becoming Dave’s friend, or at least ensuring Dave didn’t have him, was much better than making the giant an enemy on day one.
Percy imagined how a fight with Dave would end… The result was an unpleasant massacre…None of his body parts would be left intact or attached to him.
“You want to register? We can do that right away,” The staff said with a smile, “Since you gained access to mana already, you can apply as a Bronze Rank Adventurer. The process is free of charge as long as you meet the requirements. If you do not meet the requirements now, you can still register as an Iron Rank Adventurer after paying the fee of two silver coins.”
Two silver coins?! And I have to pay money if I don’t meet the requirements? Do they not want more people to register at the Guild?
Percy nearly blurted his thoughts aloud but controlled himself enough to clear his throat instead of saying anything stupid.
“What are the requirements? Is it possible to repeat the free-of-charge process later if I don’t meet the requirements right now, or did I use my only chance by approaching you?” He swallowed hard.
Paying two silver – money he didn’t have right now – would take eons. He would have to return to the wilderness, as clueless as the day before. According to Bertha, that was a death sentence.
The receptionist smiled and retrieved a small translucent orb, “If you’re not confident, you can return later to register. Or you pay the two silver coins and accept missions as an Iron Rank Adventurer. Guild Missions will help you advance faster. Thereby, you will have an easier time meeting the requirements to become a Bronze Adventurer. But let’s focus on the requirements first.”
Her attention was diverted to the translucent orb, glowing in a faint azure blue.
“As long as you can infuse enough mana into the orb to make it glow like this, you can register as a Bronze Rank Adventurer. If you want to start as an Iron Rank, you must complete ten Iron Rank Missions before you can apply for an advancement.”
After cutting the connection to the orb, the receptionist put it on the counter with a smile. She cleared her throat and continued, “But be careful. If you do not have the money to register, you should work hard on your mana control first. Learning how to control your mana is essential to establish a proper foundation. Controlling Artifacts and Monster Cards will be much easier as your mana control increases in the fu–...”
“Is that enough?” Percy’s voice reached the receptionist, who’d closed her eyes to remember every little detail that had to be mentioned to new, promising Gifted Ones.
Percy might not be the youngest anymore, but he looked clueless enough to awaken her dormant motherly instincts. The naivety glimmering in his eyes forced the young staff member to reach out with a helping hand.
When the receptionist opened her eyes, her attention was drawn to the orb. Sweat poured down his temples, but Percy smiled innocently at her. His hands clutching the orb ached, his legs jiggled in exhaustion, and a headache crept up from the back of his head as the cooling energy within him entered the orb at Percy’s will.
Nonetheless, it worked.
The orb glowed brightly.
