Adventurer Ranks

Back in Grayrock Town.

The familiar buildings of gray-white stone put him at ease without him even realizing it.

Perhaps that was the meaning of a town.

When adventurers returned from long journeys, weather-beaten and having crossed mountains, to a place where they could sleep soundly and enjoy a good meal and some rest, the sudden rush of emotion was beyond words.

Gauss stood at the town entrance, burdened with packs of all sizes. He followed the other adventurers along the flow of people into the main street, and as he watched the children on the roadside look at him with curiosity, he suddenly felt as though he'd crossed into another life.

In the blink of an eye, he had become a true adventurer—and, in his predecessor's memories, one of those "dangerous people" no one dared provoke.

He shook his head and chuckled.

What kind of figure was he, really?

He'd been driven into a perilous situation by a bunch of goblins and one slightly stronger goblin.

He was still a long way from being powerful.

"Let's turn in the quest first."

Though he was covered in grime and smelled of sweat after going days without a chance to wash, Gauss still decided to turn in the quest first.

It was simply a personal habit of his.

He liked to see things through to the end. Only after turning in the quest would he feel that it had finally come to a close and he could rest.

Otherwise, even if he went back to the inn to wash up and rest first, he'd keep thinking about it and wouldn't be able to relax.

He followed the main street through the town center to the square.

The Adventurer's Guild banner still fluttered overhead in the wind.

Hailiel had already registered at the Adventurer's Guild front desk, adding Gauss's information to the quest record.

So although she wasn't there in person, Gauss, as one of the quest members, could still claim the corresponding reward as long as he had the quest documents with him.

He entered the Adventurer's Guild hall.

The hall was even busier than the last time he'd visited.

There were lines at the service counters.

Gauss chose the shortest-looking line and waited patiently.

After quite a while,

the slowly moving line finally reached him.

"Hello, I'm Petra, receptionist, employee number E21051. How may I help you?"

As luck would have it, the receptionist was Petra, whom he'd met last time.

"I'm here to collect the quest reward." Gauss handed over the quest documents, a bag full of heavy quest items, and his badge.

Only a few days had passed, so Petra seemed to recognize him.

"Thank you for your hard work on the quest."

She took the quest documents, checked the signature, then opened the bag and inspected the goblin left ears inside, which served as the quest items.

"There seem to be more than expected?"

"That's because the quest information was wrong. Our party didn't encounter seven or eight goblins this time—we encountered twenty." Gauss sighed. "The village chief also described what happened in the quest documents."

"Oh! I'm sorry! This was an oversight on the part of the Adventurer's Guild, and I apologize for putting you at greater risk." After checking the documents, Petra bowed solemnly. "I'll report this to the higher-ups right away, and someone will follow up and investigate."

"According to Guild regulations, your reward for this quest will be doubled as compensation."

Hearing this, Gauss nodded.

At least with compensation, he could consider the matter settled.

There was little else he could do. In this world, the Adventurer's Guild was a colossal organization spanning entire kingdoms. It wasn't exactly a case of a big shop bullying its customers, but ordinary adventurers—especially low-ranking ones like him—had no say when dealing with the Guild, even if it was only a branch in a small town.

To be realistic,

even if a major error in the Adventurer's Guild's quest information truly caused an adventurer's death, so what?

Low-ranking adventurers were like roadside weeds. One batch could die, and a fresh crop of adventurers would soon follow.

That was the sad reality low-ranking adventurers had to face.

Only by becoming a powerful adventurer, or at least a professional, could one take control of one's own fate.

Like those figures at the edge of his vision just then, dressed in fine gear and standing ramrod straight as they chatted on their way upstairs. The guards standing watch by the stairs, normally stern-faced, smiled and saluted with a hand over their chests when they saw them.

Meanwhile, low-ranking adventurers like him could only huddle in the crowded first-floor hall and wait in line.

The difference was everywhere.

"Your reward for this quest is nine silver coins. With our compensation, that comes to eighteen silver coins in total. Please make sure to take them."

Petra took a pouch of coins from beneath the counter and set it on the table.

Then she did something under the desk and returned Gauss's Adventurer Badge, which served as his identification.

Gauss took the pouch and his Adventurer Badge.

A considerable portion of those eighteen silver coins belonged to Hailiel and the other two, and he had no intention of touching it.

Though Hailiel and the others might not care about such a small sum, Gauss planned to hold on to it for them for the time being. They'd agreed on that before the quest began, after all.

That left four silver coins and fifty copper coins for Gauss.

His cash on hand had now risen to five silver coins and twelve copper coins.

As for the other spoils, he had played a crucial role in the battle and was at the beginning of his adventurer career, when he badly needed money, so he didn't bother pretending to be modest.

Besides, he'd already mentioned it to Hailiel.

"Your Adventurer Badge has been updated with the information from this quest."

"What's the point of registering it?"

"Once you've completed ten ordinary quests, you'll be eligible to take on beginner quests. After completing three beginner quests, you can apply to become a Bronze Adventurer and enjoy more Guild benefits and purchasing privileges."

"However, beginner quests often involve powerful monsters that only professionals can fight. Until you're strong enough, I'd advise you not to take them on recklessly, even if you've built up experience from ten ordinary quests."

"Bronze Adventurer? Miss Petra, may I ask what rank I am now?"

"You don't have a rank yet—you're an unranked adventurer. Above Bronze Rank, there are Black Iron Rank, Silver Rank, Gold Rank, and Platinum Title Adventurer." Seeing that Gauss was interested, Petra offered a little more explanation.

"Only five Platinum Title Adventurers have ever emerged in the entire Kingdom of Carlos. They're titled adventurers who stand at the pinnacle of countless adventurers."

Gauss nodded.

The adventurer ranking system was quite easy to remember. What he hadn't expected was that there were so few top-ranked Platinum Adventurers. Only five had ever emerged in an entire kingdom, so the number still around today had to be even smaller.

"Miss Petra, how do I become a professional?" He wanted to see if he could get any information from Petra. As a receptionist, she met all kinds of adventurers every day.

"I'm sorry, I can't answer that. I'm only an ordinary receptionist at the Adventurer's Guild, after all." Under Gauss's gaze, Petra shook her head helplessly, indicating that she didn't know about that sort of thing.

"Thank you." Gauss thanked Petra.

He turned and left the line, and the next adventurer stepped forward.

If he didn't move, the spiky-haired, blond older man behind him looked ready to drag him away by force.

As he headed for the Adventurer's Guild entrance, he kept thinking about Petra's answer.

He recalled the way she'd spoken.

To be honest, he didn't believe Petra truly knew nothing about professionals. After working at the Adventurer's Guild for years, she ought to have picked up at least a little relevant knowledge.

Most likely, she didn't want to say, or there were rules against talking about it?

Of course, it was also possible that the long line behind him meant she figured it would take more than a few words to explain, so she'd politely declined.

Gauss wasn't in a hurry just because he hadn't gotten the answer he wanted.

He'd only been asking casually. It didn't matter if he got nothing out of it—he had a better place to gather information.