United in Hatred Arc: Chapter 16.
Claudia Osser and Winter IceCream arrived at the local adventurer base hall. It was where adventurers would register their groups, submit complaints, submit materials, and receive rewards. The adventurer base hall stuck out amongst the other medieval-like buildings; it was the only tall building with several adventurer banners hanging from it.
The adventurer banner, a black dragon coiling around a steel sword.
They entered the adventurer base and were met with cool, chilly air. The fragrance in the air was oddly sweet like citrus, but it didn't overstimulate the nose.
"It's like entering the city hall," Winter murmured to himself, looking around.
There were adventurers everywhere; some were seated on the bench, some were lining up at the counter, some were filling out forms, and some were idly mingling with the others.
"There, wait on counter four."
Claudia pointed to a counter where there were only four adventurers lining up. She then gave Winter three hundred Pisas. "I'll turn in these ears, I'll wait for you outside." She then walked away while Winter kept his eyes on her bottom for a moment.
Winter then joined the line and waited for his turn.
After twenty minutes, it was finally Winter's turn. "Hello, I'd like to register as an adventurer." He said, pausing for a moment. He was captivated by the counter lady's beauty.
(Wow, she is beautiful...) Winter thought.
The counter lady was as tall as Frizz, wearing a white dapper lady suit. The white hair on her head shimmered while her pink, slightly puffy lips sparkled in gloss. Wide-lensed eyeglasses rested on her nose, shading her light red eyes.
The counter lady sighed but kept a thin smile on her face. The captivated facial expressions of fresh new adventurers because of her alluring beauty always affirmed her worldview.
That she was beautiful.
"Welcome, how can I help you?"
"I'd like to register as an adventurer."
The counter lady ducked under the counter and took out an adventurer registration form. She handed it to Winter along with a pencil. "Please fill it out to the best of your ability."
The adventurer registration form was a quick fill-out form. It asked for the name, address, group name, guild name (if present), and lastly a reference.
"What's the difference between a guild and a group?" Winter asked.
The counter lady smiled and then earnestly answered. "A group or a 'party' is a small cooperation of adventurers. A group usually has one to twelve members."
She said while taking out a sheet full of numbers from beneath a brown folder, "They're extremely common, and as of now, there are around fifty thousand independent unique groups with an average member amount of eight. A group's competence and effectiveness in completing tasks are designated by tiered ranks."
The counter lady grabbed several plates from a small box, presenting a bronze plate. "Bronze tiers are low-skilled adventurer groups; they're mainly used for increasing militia numbers, providing skeleton area defense, and the occasional scouting or collecting."
The counter lady then presented a silver plate. "Silver tiers are the most common and competitive tiers. They can do everything, but don't specialize in anything. The silvers have the highest job accomplishment rate but also the highest casualty rate."
The counter lady dangled a ruby plate. "Ruby tiers are special. They're mainly for groups who have aristocratic connections or origins that refuse to start in the silver or bronze tier. Their effectiveness can vary, but they're a step above silver tiers because of their access to wealth and better resources. When silvers advance in rank, they have the option to be in the ruby tier, though the majority typically progress directly to the gold tier."
The counter lady smiled, tone shifting to pride, and presented a gold plate. "Gold tier is the highest tier that a capable human group could achieve. A single gold adventurer's effectiveness is similar to that of a single unit of soldiers.
The counter lady's tone became serious while presenting a sapphire plate. "Sapphire... All the adventurers here have at least one gift from the Great World Spirit. Having a gift guarantees that you'll be successful in life. The sapphire-tiered group's effectiveness is comparable to several divisions of well-trained soldiers."
The counter lady presented a diamond plate with grace. "There are only thirteen Diamond-tiered groups, and eight of them are from well-known guilds. A single diamond-tiered individual is powerful enough to ravage an entire country."
The counter lady couldn't present a plate for the last tier. "Heroes. The elusive tier. There are only three hero-tiered groups in the entire history of this country. Only one group has remained, and only one group member is alive, and that's our eternal king of the Holy Middle Kingdom."
Winter was immersed in the explanation, his eyes full of excitement. He made a mental note to meet and then join a capable party later.
The counter lady then smiled and continued with her explanation. "Now, a guild is a larger cooperation of adventurers that can act semi-independently, although still registered, from the Adventurer's League They can form their own groups and submit difficult job posts. A guild is a specialized group of adventurers; they're only looking for people that fit their criteria."
"There's the Zephyr Grand Sorcerer Guild and the Invoker Adventure Guild. They're both magic-focused, but the Sorcerer Guild is focused on honing talents and producing capable magic casters, whereas the Magic Guild is focused on learning and discovering magic.
"Another example would be the Shield-Vanguard Guild and the Serena's Association Guild. The former is focused on providing mercenary work, and the latter is focused on providing general security."
"Basically, guilds are large specialized groups that have a significant amount of capital to stand on their own and pursue their own goals."
The counter lady finished her explanation with a confident huff. She filled her glass with chilly water and drank it contentedly.
Winter absorbed all the information with excitement and hurriedly filled out the registration form. This time, he let his excitement go to his head, registering a group out of the blue with him as the only member, and then handed it to the counter lady.
"Cold League."
The counter lady raised a brow but finished the registration, regardless. There was a two-hundred Pisas registration fee, and Winter happily paid it.
"Please head to the door on your left to take a short aptitude test." The counter lady then stamped a piece of paper and gave it to Winter.