Gravel and Iris walked toward the central plaza of the city. As they made their way, Gravel's eyes darted around, taking in the people and buildings with the unmistakable curiosity of a country bumpkin arriving in a city for the first time. In contrast, Iris followed quietly behind, her steps steady and silent.
When they reached the central plaza, Gravel approached an old man with a bushy gray beard sitting on a flowerbed to ask for directions to the Merchant Guild and the Adventurers' Guild, as mentioned by the general store owner.
"The Merchant Guild is over there, toward the north gate. Look for a building with a blue roof. As for the Adventurers' Guild…"
The old man paused, lifting his chin to point behind Gravel.
"Thank you! That helps a… Oh? Right behind me?"
Gravel turned around and saw a towering five-story building adorned with the emblem of a compass and a sword. When he turned back to thank the old man again, the man had vanished.
"Let's head inside for now."
Gravel took the lead, eagerly pushing open the heavy front doors of the Adventurers' Guild. The first thing that caught his eye was a massive bulletin board stretching along one wall of the spacious hall, covered with countless small request notices.
Gravel approached the board and began scanning the posted requests.
"Bandit extermination on the northern highway, goblin extermination near Wilkmeal Village to the south (Oh? Goblins?), dire wolf pack extermination in the southwestern forest… (Dire wolves? Those were in Grand World Online too.) Most of these are extermination quests, huh… What about over there?"
The bulletin boards seemed to be divided into three main categories: one dominated by monster extermination and wild animal hunting requests, another with gathering and investigation tasks, and a third focused on escort and companionship missions.
"How about this one?"
Gravel plucked a request from the board and headed toward what appeared to be the reception desk, where other adventurers were gathering.
Several receptionists, dressed neatly in black uniforms, moved briskly to keep the waiting line short. Adventurers consulted about new requests, while others reported completed missions. Receptionists scribbled notes, and guild staff darted back and forth, carrying stacks of papers and books.
"Apparently, a new ruin was discovered in the western mines," one adventurer said.
"Is it connected to the Great Labyrinth again?"
"No clue. But they say it's a new ruin with no signs of looting."
Gravel overheard a conversation between a heavily armored adventurer and a man in a robe, as well as another adventurer in light leather armor, their face half-hidden by a hooded cloak.
"Ugh, this area's just too peaceful," one adventurer groaned.
"Yeah, for a border territory, Count Told's domain has pretty good security. They say the count himself goes out to deal with monsters and bandits."
"Give us adventurers a chance to make a living, Count!"
"I'm taking a break today, but tomorrow I'm heading south."
"Oh? Perfect timing—I was planning the same. Should we ask that scout from before to join us?"
A tall adventurer with arms crossed chatted with another who was smoothing their hair. All around, the guild hall buzzed with the voices of adventurers discussing plans or recounting completed missions.
As Gravel listened to the chatter while waiting in line, his turn came up.
"Yes, how may I assist you two?"
A woman with neatly tied blonde hair greeted Gravel with a gentle smile.
"We'd like to take on a request," Gravel said, handing her the request sheet.
"Very well. Are you registered with the guild? I don't recognize either of you… If you registered at another branch, we'll need to transfer your information."
Since they were unfamiliar faces, the receptionist asked cautiously.
"We haven't registered yet. Can we do it now?"
"Are both of you registering?"
"Yes, both of us, please."
"Alright, please fill these out first."
The receptionist bent down to retrieve two brown sheets of paper from a drawer beneath the counter. The forms asked for simple details—name, gender, age, skills, and so on. Gravel picked up a quill pen from the desk, dipped it in an ink bottle, and began filling out the forms.
"I'll fill yours out too, Iris," he said.
Iris's gauntlets were thicker than Gravel's, with small straps and buckles that would make it cumbersome to remove just to write a few words.
"Thank you, Lord Gravel," Iris replied, nodding lightly in gratitude.
The receptionist took the two completed forms from Gravel, scanned them briefly, and placed them on the counter.
"Since this is your first time, we'll need to do a quick appearance registration. Please wait a moment."
After stepping away briefly, the receptionist returned with an elderly man sporting a long white beard.
"We need to sketch your portraits. It won't take long… just your faces."
Since Iris was wearing a helmet and Gravel had his hood pulled low, the receptionist mimed lifting an imaginary hood off her head to signal they should uncover their faces.
"Oh, right."
Gravel met the receptionist's eyes and pulled back his hood. Iris removed her helmet, cradling it under one arm.
"You two must have come from far away," the receptionist remarked, noting their black hair and dark eyes.
Gravel realized that, indeed, the people around them had hair in shades of blonde, brown, red, and even silver, but no one else had black hair. So, the "faraway place" she mentioned must have a lot of people with black hair… Too little information to go on. Better play it vague.
"Haha, yeah…" Gravel replied with an awkward laugh and a smile.
As the old man sketched their faces, Gravel noticed an odd silence. Turning around, he saw dozens of adventurers gathered around him and Iris.
"A goddess…"
"Such beauty…"
"She's gorgeous!"
Adventurers stared at Iris, their eyes glazed over in awe. Gravel felt the weight of their gazes too, but unlike the admiring looks directed at Iris, the ones aimed at him carried a hint of jealousy.
"Who's the guy with a goddess like her as a companion?!"
Gravel found himself judged for his appearance simply because he was with Iris. One adventurer, pointing to his own chiseled jaw and flexing a muscular arm, declared, "A real man should look like me!" in a futile attempt to deny reality. Still, Gravel's refined features drew the attention of several female adventurers, who found little to criticize.
The crowd around Iris grew more chaotic. Some adventurers dragged chairs over to stand on for a better view, while others jumped up and down to catch a glimpse. The circle of onlookers around her swelled.
Gravel had almost forgotten—until this moment—the devastating impact of Iris's beauty. Back in Grand World, her appearance had been legendary. Even the artists known for their character customization in the game had declared, "No character could surpass this level of perfected beauty."
That reputation had spread like wildfire across information-sharing websites, making Iris more famous than top-ranked players or streamers. Bards among the role-playing community had composed songs in her honor, and one guild master had even commissioned a massive statue modeled after her.
Thanks to Iris's fame, Gravel had enjoyed plenty of perks in Grand World. Even the robe and armor he wore now were gifts from a renowned crafting guild, offered as tributes to Iris and her lord.
As Gravel reminisced, the old man's voice broke through.
"All done."
The artist nodded, signaling the portraits were complete.
"The registration fee is five silver coins per person, so ten silver coins total," the receptionist said, swiftly managing the chaotic crowd.
Gravel quickly placed the coins on the counter. Feeling the weight of countless stares, Iris hurriedly adjusted her hair and put her helmet back on.
"Registration is complete. Would you like to take on the request now?"
"Oh, uh, yes. The dire wolf extermination at the southwestern lumberyard."
Gravel pinned a badge with the guild's compass-and-sword emblem to his robe's shoulder, as other adventurers did, and placed the request sheet back on the counter.
"The lumberyard dire wolf extermination… Here it is. This is a rough map marking the lumberyard's location. For proof of extermination, two fangs count as evidence for one dire wolf. The reward is two gold coins per wolf."
The receptionist handed Gravel a small piece of paper with the map sketched on it.
"Thank you. We'll be off then."
Gravel and Iris pushed through the crowd and left the Adventurers' Guild building.
Extra
While the old man was sketching their portraits for guild registration, Gravel asked the receptionist,
"So, what rank do we start at? Copper? Or is there something lower?"
"Pardon? I'm not sure what you mean…"
Caught off guard by the unexpected question, the receptionist tilted her head.
"Well, I mean, like a ranking system to distinguish novice adventurers from veterans…"
"Oh, I see. The guilds in the east must operate with such a system. We don't have that here. Instead, we record each completed request in a report, along with an evaluation. Those evaluations accumulate, allowing us to identify experienced adventurers."
"So, you review the reports to decide whether to entrust a request to an adventurer?"
"Yes. That way, we can discuss the request in more detail or introduce other adventurers if we think the party needs more members."
"That's a solid system. Still, instead of consulting individually, what if you divided adventurers into ranks—like currency, for example: gold, silver, copper? Then you could assign requests to match those ranks. Just a thought—maybe I'm overstepping? Haha."
Gravel laughed awkwardly.
"Not at all. Your idea makes sense. It's a good framework. With some refinement, it could complement our current system. I might draft a proposal for my superiors."
"I was just thinking out loud. If you want to discuss adventurer ranking systems in more detail, let me know. I'll be in the city for a while."
"Understood, Gravel. Thank you."