Rise of the Devourer

Chapter 29: Guild Registration

Noah walked through the adventurer guild’s hall, trying not to step on anyone lying on the floor. Despite the surprisingly large number of unconscious people, the majority of them were conscious. Though some were clearly in better states than others. Noah glanced around the halls, checking the various adventurers out. Different kinds of armors, gears, Paths and auras all mingled together in this single hall. The building extended quite a bit up above him, and Noah could see the upper layers having a lot activity. Everyone within the guild was moving with purpose, decked out in gear and if not, then brimming with powerful magical auras. He could feel himself standing out like a sore thumb among all of them.

“Alright. Are you familiar with the registration process?” Nae asked, walking up behind the counter.

Noah shook his head, before glancing around. “Aren’t you too young for a job like this?”

“I’m half-celestian and most likely older than you,” Nae said with an amused smile.

“Sorry for interrupting, but I’d like to get a few things done before we move to this,” Aurelia said, walking up to the desk. “I’m Aurelia Fauster, Bronze two rank adventurer. I went on a quest with the party Iron Fists recently, and lost my plate, would I be able to get another one?”

“Give me a second, I need to check,” Nae said. A book flew from the shelves onto the table before flipping open. “Alright, that’ll be twelve F grade mana stones for a re-issue.”

Noah saw the ability, raising an eyebrow before he used identify on Nae.

[Guild Receptionist - ??]

A D rank receptionist huh? Somehow I don’t feel very surprised by that after seeing the Guild Head. Though it does seem to show that Aurelia isn’t all that stronger than me either.

Unaware of Noah’s musings Aurelia extended her hand, tapping against a round device on the table, before nodding. Nae reached down, and a moment later handed a bronze plate with two stars on them to Aurelia.

“Anything else?” Nae asked, looking up.

“Yes, I’m vouching for this guy as he has no Identification proof. He’s also new to Erandir so it’d be great if you could go over everything once for him,” Aurelia said.

Noah stared at Aurelia, surprised at how easily she’d given out that information.

“It’s fine, the guild are the people you want to tell about this. They’re the ones who’re the most capable of protecting you from any potential legal problems or otherwise given how you’re not exactly the citizen of any kingdom or country on Erandir,” Aurelia said with a wave of her hand.

“She’s right, most Outerworlders tend to register with an entity like the Church, the Guild or join any of the given Kingdoms through grants after either paying their way in or by swearing fealty to the ruler or governing body. Of all these options, ours is the most free one,” Nae said, before stepping around the counter. “Let’s head to a private room first.”

Noah followed the short receptionist along. They walked into a side corridor, before stepping into an elevator that looked like an odd mix between a modern one and one of those ancient elevators from the 1900s. With a ding, the elevator chimed as they reached the fifth floor, and Noah stepped off into a rather tastefully decorated room, with wooden floors that displayed the view of the rest of Windrest from atop it. The air inside was milder, and clearly magically moderated with carpets covering the majority of the central area and table.

“This place is typically reserved for very important guests but it’s the only room currently not in use and the Guild Master lets me use it anyway, so we’ll continue here,” Nae said, taking a seat on one of the chairs. Noah and Aurelia following, sitting opposite to her.

“Very well, so here are a few things you should know. First, unlike the church we do not expect you to worship any deity, or adhere to any frequent summons or prayers, unlike any royal we will not tie you down to a specific kingdom or its politics. All you will be required to do as a registered adventurer is continue taking quests, answer summon calls in case of emergencies if you’re capable and not be a part of any of the three cults. I’ll give you all the information you need before you make any decisions,” the girl said with a sweet smile.

Noah hummed in thought. “What would be this emergency summon call you speak of? And what if I do not answer?”

“There are multiple kinds of emergencies. An Abyssal Incursion, a Crimson Rot Plague, or a Lunar Eclipse being the primary ones. All of these are threats that adventurers are required to respond to. That said, your role will be dependant on your combat capability. We cannot ask you to go into a certain death situation. As for not responding, typically, the consequences are minor if you can provide a legitimate reason, but repeat offences will lead to the termination of your contract and you will be blacklisted from all guilds on Erandir.”

“Quite harsh to blacklist someone for not showing up, isn’t it?” Noah asked with a raised eyebrow.

“It has to be harsh. These events are major threats. The recent Eclipse alone caused the western gate to be entirely blocked off. Repairs are still underway and the economic backlash from that alone will last for the rest of this year. Prices are rising up, trade routes have been blocked to the south with a landslide. And the monster horde resulted in 43 casualties, 29 of them civilians. People die when the Primordial Gods move, to not respond to a threat like that is to betray all the civilised races,” Nae said, looking into Noah’s eyes with a gaze not befitting her child-like appearance.

Noah nodded. “Got it. That sounds good to me.”

“Great! Alright, so as an Outerworlder you most likely do not have any affiliations or identification proofs with you. So we’ll have to create one for you instead. For that end, I’ll need you to fill out this form. Given that you talk fluently, I assume your you have some kind of translation ability or item, but if you can’t read this, let me know and I’ll read it out for you,” Nae said, before taking out a form that she extended to Noah.

Picking up the piece of paper, Noah was surprised when a notification erupted in front of his eyes instead.

Guild Registration form of Adventuring (Outerworlder)

An Identification and Registration form for Outerworlders to join the Adventuring guild of Erandir (Branch: Windrest), under the Interdimensional Astral Entity agreement of the Council of Awakened, Section 4-C.

By signing this document you are agreeing to become a part of the guild of Windrest and come under its legal jurisdiction and authority over your person as a being not from Erandir or its tied Astral Planar entities.

This is a magically binding contract.

Do you agree to the terms?

Yes/No?

Noah looked at the display, before putting it aside into his notification box. Looking down, he could see his form was actually five pages very neatly stacked together to almost appear as one, with prints present on both sides highlighting the exact terms of his contract.

“I didn’t know legal jargon existed here too,” Noah murmured, sighing.

“Kinda has to. No laws of any given kingdom currently apply to you. In a way, your rights are not very different from a monsters. If suppose I were to kill you right now, no one could or would prosecute me for the act because legally you would be considered an extra dimensional entity. Also, you don’t pay taxes. Which is the bigger problem to the kingdom I imagine.

“Thankfully for you, if you do join the guild, any income you earn will not be taxable as the guild itself is responsible for being accountable for it’s individual member’s taxation requirements. This goes regardless of which kingdom you are currently active in. Besides some noted exceptions like the Underlands and the Blighted Kingdom of course,” Nae said, before reaching her hand out once again as another page flew into her palm.

“You can take your time with the contract if you want. Or get a scholar who specialises in legal contracts to look at it for you. But in the meantime, you should provide me your details so that I can add you up for the general registry. The previous form just puts you under guild Jurisdiction, but the general registry is what officially makes you an adventurer,” Nae said.

“Okay. And what do I need to do for that?”

“Place your hand here and then answer my questions,” Nae said, extending a rock similar to the one he saw at the gates, but this one gave off a lot more mana and was far more polished.

Noah put his hand on the orb, feeling Mana seep into his skin and flow into his body like an intrusive limb. Tony stirred, not pleased by the invasion of its space.

“State your name and age.”

“Noah Brown, twenty four years old.”

The stone lit up as Noah replied with a bright white light.

“Are you involved with any of the three cults?”

“No,” Noah replied. The stone lit up this time, but dimmer.

“Half-truth. Elaborate,” Nae said, looking up at Noah.

Noah glanced sideways at Aurelia, and the woman took off her mask, looking back at Noah before she gave him a nod.

Taking in a deep breath, Noah thought over his words, before he replied.

“I was summoned to Erandir by Abyssal Cultists, which is where I found Aurelia, tied up as a sacrifice, after freeing her, we killed the cultists and made our escape. Later in a mine I killed another Abyssal creature that was part of the sick experiment the cultists had been performing. That has been the extent of my involvement with the Abyssal cult.”

A bright white light flashed in front of Noah.

“Do you consider yourself an ally or foe to Erandir and it’s people?”

“A neutral party that is not unwilling to help.”

A bright light flashed once again.

“A list will appear in front of you. Take a few minutes to read through it and tell me if you have any of these Paths,” Nae said, before words flashed in front of Noah.

[Abyssal Cultist]

[Crimson Cultist]

[Soldier of Rot]

[Lunar Cultist]

[Flesh Grafter]

[Soul Grafter]

[Doom Caller]

[Necromancer]

[Necro-Enchanter]

…

[Void’s Herald]

[Champion of Crimson Rot]

[Lunar Prophet of Heralded Doom]

Noah looked through the long list of Paths presented in front of him. It took him a few minutes to read through everything, and he saw quite a few familiar names within the listed options.

“No,” Noah finally replied, feeling relieved to not see any of his Paths appear.

A bright light flashed in front of him.

“Alright, great, then we’re almost done. As a last courtesy question that we ask Outerworlders, do you wish to entail the help of the Guild to return back to your home world? If yes, you’ll be required to work a certain number of months to pay for the costs of hiring a powerful enough Astral mage, but with the Fate link tying you it should be possible within a year or two and is something we can provide to you,” Nae said.

Noah froze at the words.

Go back home? Noah had thought about the idea once or twice, but he’d always assumed he wouldn’t have the option until much much later. Even then, he didn’t feel very keen to return to his previous life.

If I go back… Kev would be so pissed off. I just took off on him and then died. And I would have to find a new job and everything too. Unless they had a funeral for me and declared me dead. I’m not even sure I left a body behind.

I guess I never went on that date with Leah either.

Thoughts of a past life filled Noah’s mind. Closing his eyes, he took in a deep breath.

“No.”

The orb shone a dull white.

Noah ignored the orb.

“Very well. The option to do so will be available to you in the future as well.”

Noah nodded before removing his hand from the orb.

“Alright, now I’ll need to get an evaluation for your Paths, your attributes and your sub-attributes. All of this will of course be kept private,” Nae said.

“Actually, is there an alternate option if I don’t want to share all that information?” Noah asked.

Nae looked up at Noah. “Since you’re an outerworlder, let me put things simply. The guild doesn’t really accept F rankers. Most don’t have a full set of abilities, and given that this is an E grade zone, you need to be a certain level of strength to get in. That said, we know levels are far from an accurate representation of strength, so if we see potential, F rankers can get in as well. So really, it’s in your benefit to share the information, you also get to see your sub-attributes which is something you’ll want to know for your first Path evolution at level 100. Your sub-attributes influences what choices you get, and it matters a whole lot more than many newbies realise.”

Noah hummed in thought, before shrugging. “I have my reasons, is there really no alternative?”

Nae looked surprised, before she nodded. “Well… normally we’d hold a combat evaluation. But… you already saw the state of the adventurers. With the Eclipse so soon, and the Abyssal Incursions happening around the area, we’re really short staffed. I’m afraid we cannot really spare a person to hold a combat evaluation for you.”

Noah frowned, thinking over the situation. “Can’t Aurelia take the test? She’s an adventurer.”

“She cannot. There are designated people who do the job,” Nae replied.

Noah’s frowned deepened, as he thought on whether he should share his Astral Script. He had no idea how much she could see, there was Tony, his [Devourer], [Fate-Touched] and [Voidborne] aspect to consider, all of which could land him in trouble.

A chime interrupted his thoughts, and Noah turned to see the guild master walk into the chamber.

“Apologies Nae, but I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” the guildmaster said, walking into the room.

Nae stood up from her chair, Noah and Aurelia doing the same.

“You’re the outerworlder I take it?” The guild head said, walking up to Noah.

Given Noah’s height at six foot three, he was not used to being looked down at, but the muscular Drailith towered over him, a good head’s height taller.

“I am,” Noah replied.

“We don’t see them very often around here. You’re the third one I’ve met. My name’s Raesar Drakan, Guild Master of Windrest,” the man said, extending a hand.

Noah grasped it. “I’m Noah Brown, a pleasure to meet you,” Noah said, holding back a wince at the man’s tight grip.

“Hmm, not bad for your level. I heard you needed a combat evaluation?”

“Raesar, you don’t have time!” Nae shouted, but the guild master ignored her.

“Umm… yeah?” Noah said, feeling the Drailith’s grip on his hand becoming tighter.

“Good. Great. Allow me to test you then,” Raesar said, pulling Noah in as he grabbed him by his waist and lifted him up.

“Wait- hold on, what’s happening?” Noah said, looking back and he saw Nae cupping her face in her palm. Briefly the girl looked up with pity in her eyes and whispered a sorry.

“Prepare the training field!” Raesar said, before jumping out the window.

Noah screamed in panic as they fell the five stories of the building, before landing with a loud thud. Surprised at still being unharmed somehow, Noah coughed as Raesar let him go, and he fell to the ground.

“Come, come Noah! Show me what you can do!” The guild master shouted, his voice growing more and more excited.

Noah clutched his hand, feeling a throbbing pain go through it as he looked up at the giant Drailith.

Two draconic eyes looked back at him, a mouth of sharp teeth exposed by the wide grin upon the man’s face.

Noah felt a shudder run down his spine. Just what kind of crazy place had he landed himself in?

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