Chapter 43: Adventurer Guild

Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Adventurer Guild

A thick, cloying wave of perfume washed over him an instant before a woman bumped into him.

Hesia instinctively reached out to steady her.

The woman took the opportunity to lean against his chest, her breath sweet as she murmured, "Thank you, sir."

Just as Hesia pulled his hand back, he felt a soft, warm finger gently trace across his palm.

The woman shot him a sultry, meaningful glance, then turned around.

With a twist of her waist, her hips drew a suggestive arc as she sashayed toward the mouth of the alley.

At the entrance to the alley, she paused and glanced back at Hesia with a smile, her eyes full of invitation.

Hesia smiled and nodded back, looking as though he’d gotten the message.

Deeper in the alley, several other similarly scantily clad women looked on, thinking a deal was about to be struck.

Hesia called over to Broo, who was still licking his chops, and continued walking west along Rose Avenue.

He showed no intention whatsoever of following her into that alley with its amorous atmosphere.

The smile on the woman’s face at the mouth of the alley instantly froze.

Hesia saw right through her little game.

Her little trick was clever. The subtle physical contact and suggestive hints were certainly enough to attract many travelers seeking solace after a long journey.

But Hesia was waiting to see if the ball of light in his mind would pop up with an Affinity notification—he had helped her up, after all.

Unfortunately, there was no reaction.

It seemed he had already milked the method of gaining Affinity through basic acts of kindness for all it was worth back in Print.

He mentally slapped a "stingy" label on the woman. ’Not even worth 1 Decryption Point!’

Of course, the main reason was that after traveling with a young lady of Annis’s caliber of beauty and grace, Hesia’s standards had been raised considerably without him even realizing it.

He was now basically immune to streetwalkers like her, with their jaded auras and average looks.

’Though...’ he instinctively made a comparison, ’she’s still bigger than Annis.’

After walking along the avenue for a little under an hour, Hesia finally saw the destination the street vendor had mentioned.

It was a three-story stone building with a huge oak notice board standing by the entrance.

The building wasn’t the tallest among the dense rows of structures in Rose Town, but its sturdy stone construction and the endless stream of people going in and out set it apart.

An impressive emblem hung over the stone building’s entrance—

a stylized snowflake, in the center of which an archaic Iron Crown burned fiercely, as if it would never be extinguished.

This was the Rose Town Adventurer Guild.

Many people in varied attire and carrying weapons went in and out, their faces etched with the weather-beaten look unique to Adventurers.

Hesia’s curiosity was piqued by the huge oak notice board at the entrance.

He moved closer and found it was covered in densely carved script.

"...The Adventurer Guilds, now found across the continent, were preceded by organizations known as ’Furnace Fire Bases’."

"Their founder was the legendary warrior of the Frost Winter Kingdom, the former Duke of the North known as the ’Frosty Winter Iron Wall’—Vilan Iron Crown I."

"About two hundred and forty years ago, during the calamitous era later known as the ’Endless Cold Winter,’ the Frost Winter Kingdom was nearly destroyed by the bitter cold and the rampage of the Frost Giants."

"The Iron Crown Duke repelled the mighty foe with his peerless martial prowess, yet he knew that the scattered resistance of mortals would ultimately fail in the face of such a cataclysm."

"He perceived the desperate cries of the displaced and saw the plight of countless powerful Adventurers who possessed great strength but lacked a cause to fight for."

"And so, in the year 120 of the Kingdom Calendar, he issued a call to arms in Wusong City and founded the ’Furnace Fire Base,’ vowing to light a shared hearth for all resilient souls in the endless, cold night, and to erect a beacon of hope."

"These initial bases quickly evolved into a lifeline for consolidating strength, issuing commissions, and providing shelter, ultimately helping the Kingdom survive the great catastrophe."

"Subsequently, the Iron Crown Clan collaborated with various powers across the continent to establish unified rating standards and management systems. The ’Furnace Fire Bases’ eventually evolved into the worldwide havens for Adventurers that they are today."

"The Iron Crown Duke’s foresight and magnanimity are remembered by posterity as an immortal legend, as great as his unparalleled martial prowess."

After reading this epic, abridged history, Hesia couldn’t help but feel a flicker of respect for the organization.

It hadn’t appeared out of thin air, but was born from the trials of survival and a conviction to protect.

He took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and with Broo looking around just as curiously, strode toward the great door that marked the start of countless adventures.

Stepping through the doors of the Adventurer Guild, Hesia was first struck by a sense of openness.

The main hall featured an open-atrium design, allowing one to look straight up from the first floor to the wooden dome of the third, making the entire space feel exceptionally large. Even crowded with people, it wouldn’t feel oppressive.

In the center was a long oak counter. Behind it, two attendants in matching uniforms were busy at work.

Winding wooden staircases on either side led up to the private rooms and rest areas on the second floor.

The first-floor hall was currently packed with all sorts of people.

Hesia’s gaze swept quickly across the room.

Most of the Adventurers were gathered in small groups, chatting and laughing loudly.

There were also a few loners standing silently before a huge wooden board on the wall, apparently studying the requests posted on it.

Hesia tried to sense their auras.

Using the presence of Kadan, the captain of the guards in Print and an Entry Level Warrior, as his baseline, Hesia judged that the auras of most people in the hall were about on par with Kadan’s, with some being even slightly weaker.

In the Adventurer ranking system Annis had mentioned, this meant most of them were below level 20 and had yet to break through to the rank of Official Professional.

Of course, there were a few individuals in the crowd who clearly stood head and shoulders above the rest.

The method of judging was simple: look at their equipment and their bearing.

The truly powerful Adventurers wore exquisitely crafted gear, some of which even emanated a faint Magic Radiance, a silent testament to its considerable value.

This was especially true for the Heavy Armor Warriors. An ordinary person would probably have trouble even standing in their thick, gleaming suits of Plate Armor, let alone moving freely.

Beyond that, there were Mages accompanied by servants shimmering with faint elemental light, and Rangers flanked by Contracted Magical Beasts with vicious eyes that screamed "don’t mess with me."

Hesia’s gaze swept over the others’ shimmering weapons and armor. Then he looked down at his own faded, coarse-spun clothes, and at Broo panting curiously at his feet...

The stark contrast made him feel less like someone here to register as an Adventurer and more like someone applying for a job chopping wood in the backyard or helping out in the kitchen.

But the one who put the most pressure on him was the "Iron Tower" standing against a nearby wall.

The man was nearly two meters tall, his entire body encased in a suit of archaic, dark-colored Plate Armor.

His frame was so broad, Hesia had no doubt that two of himself could fit inside that suit of Plate Armor with room to spare.

Just by standing there in silence, he exuded an overwhelming, heart-pounding pressure.