The following morning, the two of them set off early, just as Rosalía had said the night before.
James spent most of the trip in silence, taking in the scenery.
Until, several hours later, the city finally appeared on the horizon.
"That over there is Endia," Rosalía pointed out from beside him.
The cart didn’t take long to cross through the imposing stone walls.
And the moment they were inside, James began scanning the city with his eyes.
Alongside the humans walked elves, beastmen, dwarves, and many other races he couldn’t even identify.
The moment they got off the cart, Rosalía pushed through the crowd and he followed close behind.
"The mercenaries’ guild is this way," she said without stopping.
And as they made their way through the crowd, the conversation flowed naturally, jumping from one topic to another, until it landed on one that especially caught James’s attention.
"You’re a cleric?" he asked, surprised.
"Yeah," she replied, nodding. "Though, to be honest, I’m not particularly good."
"Wait... if that’s the case, why didn’t you fight the goblins?"
"Because I didn’t have my catalyst with me when the attack started," she replied, bringing a hand to her necklace. "I ran home to get it, but on the way those bastards cornered me."
"I see."
They kept walking a while longer, until she stopped abruptly and pointed ahead.
"Look, there it is."
The mercenaries’ guild occupied an enormous building that stood out above all the surrounding structures.
"Come on, we’d better hurry," Rosalía said, gently tugging at his sleeve. "At this hour the counter is always packed and the line gets endless."
"Alright."
Once inside, the noise was even worse than outside.
There were tables scattered throughout the hall, groups of mercenaries drinking while arguing loudly, and a massive board covered in papers pinned to one of the walls.
Both of them pushed through the crowd until they reached a long counter at the back.
Behind it they were attended by a woman with black hair tied back in a ponytail, who looked at them with an expression of pure boredom.
"Welcome," the receptionist said in a flat voice. "What do you need?"
"Good morning," Rosalía replied pleasantly. "I’m here to report the elimination of a large group of goblins that attacked my village, and to collect the corresponding reward."
"Proof?"
"Right here."
Rosalía then pulled out a small cloth pouch and emptied it onto the counter. Out of it fell a pile of small greenish tongues.
’Gross,’ James thought, wincing at the sight of them.
The receptionist, on the other hand, didn’t even flinch, and began counting them one by one with the tip of her finger.
"Everything’s in order... though, before we pay you, we need to send someone to verify the bodies at the site," she said once she finished counting. "So come back tomorrow and your reward will be ready."
"Sounds good," Rosalía said with a smile.
"Ah, and before you go I need to take down your information," the receptionist added, pulling out a thick record book and dipping a quill in ink. "The usual."
"Name, Rosalía," she began, leaning on the counter. "I don’t belong to any group. And I’m rank A."
James turned his head toward her sharply.
"You’re rank A?" he said, not bothering to hide his surprise.
"Yeah, but it’s not that big a deal," she admitted, a little embarrassed. "Rank gets assigned based on a test they give you when you register. They put me there because of my magical potential, not because I’m good in combat or anything like that."
"I see..."
And while Rosalía kept giving the receptionist the rest of her information, James, who had nothing better to do, turned around to take a look at the place.
He spent a while watching the different groups of mercenaries scattered across the tables, trying to get a sense of how everything worked.
Until a particular conversation caught his attention.
Or rather, an argument.
A few meters away, four mercenaries had surrounded an elf.
She looked roughly his age, with short white hair, and a tired look in her eyes.
The elf stood in front of them, hunched in on herself, while the others spoke to her in a tone that had nothing friendly about it.
"You told us the northern road was clear," a large bearded man reproached her. "Clear! And we almost got eaten alive because of you."
"I... I’m so sorry," the elf murmured, not looking up. "My clairvoyance doesn’t always—"
"Your clairvoyance?" another cut her off, letting out a mocking laugh. "What good is that shit if it fails more than half the time? We almost got killed because we listened to you!"
"Really, it wasn’t my intention—"
"No wonder nobody wants you in their group," a woman with a bow slung over her shoulder cut in. "You’re rank S and yet you’re as useful as a rank F."
"I just—"
But they didn’t let her finish.
Amid insults and put-downs, all four turned their backs on her and walked toward the exit, leaving her alone in the middle of the hall.
She stood with her eyes fixed on the floor, fists clenched at her sides and shoulders slumped.
James, who had watched the whole thing from where he stood, frowned slightly.
’Wow, things really are rough around here,’ he thought with a bit of pity.
He watched her for a moment longer and noticed her eyes were glistening, as if she were barely holding back tears.
’Though, being completely honest, after everything I just heard I can’t really blame them for being pissed at her,’ he added with a shrug.
James was about to look away when the familiar translucent screen appeared floating in front of him.
[New Main Quest Available]
[Name: The Work Never Ends]
[Objective: Join the mercenaries’ guild and take the exam to be assigned a rank.]
[Calculating reward...]
[0xC0FFEE]
[$#@!%&*(]
[REWARD_TABLE_CORRUPT—]
[Invalid value. Assigning random reward...]
[Reward: Small Healing Potion.]
[Penalty for failure: The User’s Strength will drop from rank D to rank F.]
As he read, James’s frown deepened more and more.
Mostly because of the ridiculous gap between the reward and the penalty.
’This isn’t a quest, this is robbery in broad daylight,’ he thought, letting out a long sigh.
But before he could keep complaining, the screen flickered and displayed a second notification.
[New Side Quest Available]
[Name: Knight in Shining Armor]
[Objective: Talk to the mage Faust and invite her to join your Party.]
[Reward: Demon Lord Armor "Incursio".]
[Note: this quest is completely optional, but completing it could lead to $@#%!&*]
[$YNTAX_ERR: narrative path not found]
[D̷A̷T̷A̷_̷L̷O̷S̷T̷]
[####▓▓▒▒░░]
’The Demon Lord’s armor...’ James thought, pleasantly surprised.
If it was comparable to the Soul Reaver, then it held enormous value even if it came limited the same way the sword had.
There was just one ’small’ problem.
"...Who the hell is Faust?"