Chapter 18: XVIII. Adventurer's Guild
Londen City, adventurer's guild.
As an NGO spread across multiple countries, its operations required a significant endorsement of credibility, as well as a terrifying amount of financial power.
Naturally, there's no need to elaborate on the facade of the building; whether it was the design, the materials, or the construction, all were extremely exquisite.
Especially the adventurer's guild in a major city.
The sun was high in the sky, but the Monsoon Cold Current offered no warmth.
The colossal building, clad in pure white and laced with natural marble veins, stood proudly within the inner ring of Londen City. It occupied a considerable area, and even in the costly Londen City, it boasted a garden square, complete with fountains adorned by noble statues of adventurers that seemed to narrate legendary tales of slaying evil dragons and conquering Sea Demons; they inspired a yearning for adventure.
Even though some of the adventurers coming and going were of questionable character, the staff always kept an eye out to ensure cleanliness, and the square, paved with stone bricks, was exceptionally tidy—a completely different world from the slums of Londen City's outer ring, where houses were crammed together.
The most mixed and chaotic place in a city was undoubtedly here, where adventurers, spies, criminal organizations, and even officials all liked to mingle.
The guild couldn't manage what happened outside the building; in some sense, the adventurer's guild served as the most legitimate and upright trading platform on the Western Continent.
Liszt and his two companions were very low key, all wearing hats, not wanting to be recognized. Many adventurers were also part-time Bounty Hunters, and though the deal with the sheriff still stood, others didn't know. Recognize you, flip through the Bounty Order, and they'd slash you without a second thought.
On the way over, Archer had also cleared his thoughts, exclaiming that the Tiger-man will forever be divine; if Black Sail really rose to power this time.
Fen planned to issue a quest at the guild to collect the casting materials he needed, as well as some items for research into Necromancy. He had other legitimate tasks to tend to and couldn't afford to waste time running errands.
As long as you deposited the money with the adventurer's guild, these procurement services were something that those bored-to-death adventurers would pounce on like crazy dogs—there was no risk involved, just running errands for a little profit margin. The guild also earned a small commission, saving oneself the trouble and making everyone happy.
The trio looked down on these adventurers, and they were not the only ones; becoming an adventurer was widely recognized as a dead-end job. According to Rein, most of them were con artists with no real skills and delusions of grandeur, never knowing when they might die over something absurd.
In Liszt's view, those who went on quests to hunt Magic Beasts or escort merchant caravans were only asking for trouble. If you're going to risk your life, then you need to go all in. What use was that little bit of hiring gold?
However, everyone has their own aspirations; you can't meddle if someone just wants to earn an honest and honorable living.
Sometimes Liszt wondered, if he hadn't been driven into a corner, perhaps he too might have become an adventurer in this world.
Newcomers, Silver, Gold, Honor, Heroic, and Hall-level, the guild differentiated various hierarchies with six titles, assigning appropriate quests.
But eighty percent of people were forever stuck rotating between Newcomer and Silver, with no prospects whatsoever.
Only the rare high-level adventurers who made a name for themselves received vigorous support and priority from the guild; they were all tasks with handsome rewards. But when there was no work, they still had to dutifully serve as Guests for the Noble Masters, though at least they needed a Gold title as a foot in the door.
"Speaking of which, wasn't Rein part of an adventure group before?"
As the trio arrived at the location, Archer started to gossip.
"Yeah, don't let his dumbass appearance fool you; his adventure group used to be quite famous,"
Liszt recalled that night with the unicycle, pondering how Rein ended up in such straits today, truly a tragedy.
"If I remember correctly, it was called the Starving Wolf Adventure Group, right? Its members were all Werewolves, and it was an Honorable-level Adventure Group."
Fen added that reaching Honor Level meant one could be considered an official member of the guild and could even participate in some internal affairs, surmounting ninety-five percent of the miscellaneous groups.
"Honor Level? How come I didn't know about that? That's impressive."
Archer was utterly amazed, his worldview overturned. Was Rein, of all people, really part of an Honorable-level Adventure Group, an Honorable-level adventurer?
"Pfft, it was their leader who was extraordinary, not Rein. If Rein had that capability, why would he mess around as a pirate?"
Liszt was griping when Aran had such a tough time taking down a naval officer, and there was Ox, killing him with a single strike. What was there to even talk about?
"Was Aran kicked out, or what?"
Archer didn't get it either. Honorable Level, that was quite the achievement. Why would anyone decent become a pirate? Sure, the earnings might be better, but what kind of singer's life was that, where you could only spend money in the far-flung Heaven Port? It was too damned much.
"Let me just say this isn't something Aran spilled himself, and don't go all neurotic on me, trying to confirm it with him. I got this through the grapevine."
Liszt then lit up a cigarette and began to puff away. The biggest slacker bunch on the Western Continent were the adventurers; they had no real business to attend to. They were the main gossips of the continent, spreading every little detail—from which Heroic Level adventurer slept with which woman. Just how idle could these guys get?
"You gonna spill it or what?"
Archer took a few swigs of his drink. What's with the suspense?
"For that big mouth of yours not to go blabbing, ten silver coins."
Liszt was asking for a fortune.
"Why the hell don't you just go rob someone?"
Archer clammed up.
But he hadn't walked far before he really couldn't hold back anymore and dug out ten silver coins.
Fen pushed Archer's hand back. There were things weighing on Aran, the reason why he mixed with pirates. It wasn't just the Bounty Hunters after him but other matters as well. Besides, Liszt had been rather callous, considering Archer, the always hazy drunk, was the last person to find out. Before Swan boarded the ship, he'd asked about everyone's background; all knew much earlier than he did.
"The Starving Wolf Adventure Group's last mission was to escort goods for a Great Noble with territory in the Aran Empire. The leader and other members died, leaving only two vice-leaders. One became a pirate—you know who—while the other is now a servant to the Nether Flame of the Aran Imperial Guard. The goods were meant as a birthday gift for the Minister of Aran, valued at no less than eight thousand Golden Dragons. The current story is Aran swallowed all the goods and fled overseas. Any adventurer's guild on the continent, with members around for a while, would somewhat know of this. As for what exactly happened, no one knows, but it's possible that the cargo contained not just money but other significantly important items."
Fen explained all this to Archer.
"Eight thousand... Golden Dragons?"
Archer's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. It was a damn fortune! Even if you raided Admiral Castle in Londen City now and seized everything, it was still questionable whether you'd find that amount.
"At least when I met him, forget eight thousand Golden Dragons, the guy couldn't even afford a stay at an inn—a truly tragic figure loaded with blames. Don't go asking around like a nervous wreck; he probably doesn't even know the full story himself. And even if he does, he's not likely to tell you."
Liszt added.
"I'm off to take care of some guild business; you do your thing."
Without looking back, Fen dove into the bustling crowd at the adventurer's guild.
Liszt was looking for an information peddler to get the lowdown on the Thief Guild's news and to recruit some reliable hands into Black Sail.
A freckled newsboy, just past ten years old, was selling newspapers.
"Hit me with a copy."
Liszt took out a copper coin and got himself a paper.
"Any big news?"
Archer found a bench, sat down, and continued drinking.
"Damn it, big trouble!"
Liszt's expression completely froze as he looked at the front page of the newspaper.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone