Chapter 75: A New Journey

Still, perhaps that was simply what being an adventurer was like.

The person standing beside you today might be gone tomorrow. That was the nature of their profession, and perhaps that was precisely why adventurers enjoyed each day to the fullest. Although Qiu Nuoya still thought they drank far too much.

"Nuoya, what’s wrong?"

Qiu Nuoya turned around and looked back at the city, reluctant to leave. He wondered if he would ever return here someday. If he did, would he have become a proper adventurer by then?

Right now, he was still a rookie adventurer who relied heavily on the people around him. But perhaps someday, he would be able to stand before everyone again with his head held high and proudly call himself a true, independent adventurer.

...

The city where Qiu Nuoya and the others had been living, Coalora, was located in the western part of the continent. Their destination, Oraria, was a dungeon city to the south of Coalora.

Qiu Nuoya had often left the city to complete missions, but this was his first time traveling to a city other than Coalora.

As a side note, Adventurers’ Guilds were located in almost every major city. Apparently, when adventurers traveled, it was common for them to accept missions they could complete along the way and use the earnings to cover their travel expenses.

Because of this, adventurers could accept and report missions at Adventurers’ Guilds in different cities. They did not necessarily have to report the completion of a mission in the same city where they had accepted it.

All mission information was stored on their registered Guild Cards. When a guild employee processed the card using a special magic item, they could immediately see information such as the number of missions the adventurer had accepted and their completion rate.

It’s so high tech!

In a way, were magic items basically computers, while Guild Cards were like electronic cards?

Qiu Nuoya even thought that if the card could store electronic money, it would be perfect. Then he discovered that it actually could and that’s surprised him even more.

"Can I put money into this card!?"

"To be precise, the guild holds the money for you. As your rank increases, the rewards from your missions will gradually become larger, right? You can take the money you earn directly, of course, but you can also deposit it with the guild as savings."

"Coins can become heavy when you carry too many of them, and carrying large amounts of money also increases the risk of being attacked by criminals. With this card, you can receive or deposit money at any Adventurers’ Guild, which makes it very convenient. However, please be extremely careful with your Guild Card. If you lose it, you must immediately apply for a replacement at the nearest guild. In the worst case, someone could take every bit of money you have."

"I see."

So the Adventurer’s Guild Card was basically like a bank card. It was both an identification card and a cash card. Losing it would be a serious problem.

Qiu Nuoya definitely needed to keep it somewhere safe. Although, at the moment, there was absolutely no money in his card anyway.

"Well, let’s set that matter aside for now and discuss what we should do from here on. Normally, the smartest way to travel to Oraria would be to accept missions along the way. However, because of how the Adventurers’ Guild system works, if you accepts a mission, that information will be shared throughout the guild network. The guild does have a duty of confidentiality to protect the personal information of individual adventurers, but that is only the general rule. If someone follows the proper legal procedures to request the information, it can still be disclosed. Therefore, I believe it would be best for you to avoid accepting missions through the Adventurers’ Guild for a while, at least until things have settled down."

Oh, I see.

That made sense.

With the guild’s system, if Qiu Nuoya accepted a mission, the information would immediately be shared with Adventurers’ Guilds across the world. If Lady Sherria followed the proper procedures and requested access to that information, the Church would immediately be able to find out where he was.

It was a convenient system in some ways, but incredibly inconvenient in others. Then again, perhaps the real problem was that Qiu Nuoya was living a life where someone was actively searching for him.

"However, this does not mean it will be like this forever. Request for information from the Adventurers’ Guild can be rejected if there is no legitimate reason. The procedure is also complicated and requires considerable time and effort, so they should not be able to ask for information that frequently. Lady Sherria cannot possibly have that much free time either. If we remain out of contact for a few years, I believe she will probably give up."

Viktor’s reasoning made perfect sense. But a few years...

Several years, huh...

"But if that’s the case, does that mean I won’t be able to earn any money or increase my rank for several years...?"

His livelihood and his wonderful new life as an adventurer had run aground before it had even properly begun.

What am I supposed to do about my life from now on?!

Qiu Nuoya still had not even paid back all the various expenses Viktor had covered for him.

"Well, that’s how it would work. But I expected you to react that way. You want to earn money through your own efforts, don’t you?"

"Of course I do. I’m already relying on everyone else for everything. If I keep living like this, I’ll never be able to become independent! I need to find a job other than being an adventurer."

But what kind of work could Qiu Nuoya actually do?

A cook? Customer service?

He could use magic, so it would be nice if he could find a job that made use of it. But would anyone hire someone who looked like a child?