Ch.3434. Adventurer’s Guild (2)

# Adventurer

Originally, this term referred to those who explored and investigated unknown territories, but today it has essentially become a word for a kind of all-purpose errand runner profession.

This organization, a type of international cooperative, classifies both affiliated adventurers and requests by rank, as is common in other medieval fantasy media. It also serves as an intermediary between clients and adventurers, handling fees and taxes in advance.

The Adventurers Guild has formed close relationships with various large organizations in modern times, which is actually quite natural when viewed from a different perspective.

After all, what ruler would welcome an uncontrolled armed group entering their territory?

They may be called adventurers, but in reality, they’re a massive collective of armed individuals…

Yet, the Adventurers Guild maintains branches in most cities of significant size.

The reason is simple: the Adventurers Guild absorbs society’s surplus workforce while establishing itself as a reliable subcontractor.

In Frankish Kingdom society, primogeniture has become the norm, creating awkward situations in most households that typically have around five children.

For example, if a farmer who barely survives by working his own land divides it among his children, they would all starve to death.

Therefore, farmers typically pass all their land to their firstborn son.

However, the remaining children who don’t inherit land move to cities seeking work, but those without any foundation often end up causing trouble and disrupting public order…

The Adventurers Guild helps prevent such worst-case scenarios.

Anyone can become a Copper-rank adventurer, the lowest grade. This allows those who aren’t firstborn and can’t inherit the family business to establish themselves through jobs arranged by the guild.

In other words, the guild is a rather large international employment agency.

They handle requests ranging from trivial matters like finding lost pets to recruiting construction workers, and for those with proper equipment or combat ability, monster subjugation or merchant escort missions.

Additionally, adventurers serve as subcontractors and outsourced labor hired by nations or governments instead of deploying military forces.

Compared to ordinary soldiers, adventurers often have better equipment and higher combat capabilities, while being overwhelmingly cheaper to hire than maintaining an army. As a result, most adventurers make their living from monster subjugation requests issued by lords.

Since adventurers handle many tasks that would be performed by mercenaries in the actual medieval period (excluding conflicts between human factions), most mercenaries in this world end up being low-quality, third-rate individuals.

Frankly speaking, few would choose to become mercenaries—a difficult profession with the worst reputation—when the more stable option of becoming an adventurer exists.

Of course, this only applies to lower-ranked adventurers, those in the lower tiers.

Mid-ranked adventurers and above are precious talents and workforce for the Adventurers Guild.

They enjoy considerable social status, with most countries treating them as quasi-nobility.

Thus, adventurers—who exist due to the world’s characteristic of having various forces threatening humanity—are an institution that allows anyone with personal combat ability or a strong body to find employment.

There are quite a few “success stories” of someone who came to the city from the countryside, joined the Adventurers Guild, saved money through simple labor, purchased proper equipment, gradually completed requests, and eventually awakened their aura to reach mid-rank.

Naturally, the Adventurers Guild has established itself as a group that even nations cannot ignore.

Additionally, as the Adventurers Guild was originally a cooperative, it also takes on the role of analyzing requests from clients seeking manpower and filtering out trap requests.

They check whether a job involves black magic or necromancy—more explicitly, whether it was submitted by cultists—or if the request is connected to the political sphere of the country where the guild branch is located, sometimes rejecting requests outright.

Therefore, even though there are occasionally suspicious cases, the minimum quality control means that the Adventurers Guild is generally trustworthy… or at least reliable enough.

And the reason I’m looking to get involved with this Adventurers Guild is… first, to earn travel expenses for what will likely be a long journey ahead.

The second reason is to obtain identification from the international organization that is the Adventurers Guild.

※ ※ ※

The Adventurers Guild classifies affiliated adventurers and request difficulties into five ranks.

In ascending order, they are: Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Naturally, higher-ranked adventurers receive better treatment from the guild.

For example, anyone can become a Copper-rank adventurer.

As such, adventurers of this rank, despite being called adventurers, receive little attention from the guild and must register separately at branches other than their original registration branch.

Iron-rank adventurers, on the other hand, match the common definition of what people think an adventurer should be.

Since promotion to this rank requires tests or identity verification, Iron-rank adventurers are considered officially registered with the guild.

Therefore, the majority of guild-affiliated adventurers are Iron-rank, and they can transfer to branches in other cities while maintaining their rank, provided they submit the proper documentation.

Beyond these two ranks, which account for over 95% of all adventurers, those who reach the mid-tier level are classified as Silver-rank.

Adventurers who reach this level have essentially reached the highest tier that ordinary adventurers can achieve. Silver-rank adventurers are treated as top professionals in the field who can make a living anywhere they go.

Furthermore, cities (territories) where branches are located offer various benefits to Silver-rank adventurers and above, such as tax reductions and significant conveniences for settlement.

In this fantasy world where all sorts of crazed creatures run rampant, when a human who has reached the mid-tier level stays in a territory, that territory naturally becomes safer.

Anyway, given these various benefits, becoming a mid-tier… that is, a Silver-rank adventurer typically requires passing dozens of rigorous and complex evaluations and procedures.

Mistakenly recognizing someone who isn’t truly mid-tier as mid-tier would be tantamount to vouching for a con artist.

However… there are occasionally exceptions in this world.

If one possesses items that prove mid-tier status, such as my formal Druid emblem or a mid-tier magician certificate from a magic tower, it’s possible to register as Silver-rank quite easily, skipping most of the evaluation process.

It’s like having organizations with international influence, such as magic towers or Druid gatherings, vouch for your identity.

“Here it is!”

“…Thank you.”

Thus, using my Druid emblem to prove my identity, I completed my registration as a Silver-rank adventurer in just over 30 minutes, and after placing the silver-made adventurer registration card in my bundle of valuables…

‘…Is this the place?’

[It seems so.]

[Ohhh… so many people!]

[…There are a lot!]

While mentally conversing with my three animal friends who had been reverse-summoned to stay by my soul, I moved forward, curious about what kind of requests might be available.

The request contents were mostly typical.

Monster subjugation in various locations, collection of specific materials, escort for merchant groups or individual travelers, along with various labor provision requests and those with strict conditions. …There were also some that seemed like potential traps.

But most requests were merchant escorts or monster subjugations that I wasn’t particularly interested in taking.

“…Sigh.”

Just as I was becoming dejected, thinking there wouldn’t be any requests worth my attention or interest…

[…Master, someone is staring at you intently.]

‘What…?’

Startled by Robo’s words, who was sharing my senses in his reverse-summoned state, I carefully turned my head to find a woman staring at me so blatantly it was almost rude.

With a formal Druid emblem like mine at her waist, she had impressively long hair, perhaps influenced by her communion with nature’s mysteries. Her striking feature was her flowing locks.

Her splendid white robe might make one think she was a magician from a magic tower, but the lingering aura of nature’s mysteries emanating from her and her emblem dispelled my doubts.

But… that’s not the key point.

‘…?!!’

The moment I saw her, all my senses focused on her.

It’s definitely not romantic attraction. If I had to describe it, it was like the fateful something I felt when I first met Astra—an intuition born from the influence of mystery…perhaps.

But this intuition was clearly different in quality from previous experiences, and for some reason, I attributed it to my mystery resonating with her magic.

And when it comes to intuition or prediction, the woman in Druid attire, seemingly skilled in celestial magic, would be more proficient.

Perhaps because of this, the moment our eyes met, she rose from what looked like a sofa and walked straight toward me…

“The prophet’s name is Sophia. Fellow kindred who reads fate, I have been waiting to meet you.”

“…??”

At her utterly incomprehensible manner of speech, I momentarily felt my mind go blank.