The carriage was traveling a turbulent path for several hours; the road was full of potholes or pebbles, and the cart jumped at almost every step.
"It's uncomfortable to travel with the road like this."
The landscape of the other world had minimal differences from what he thought of as the Middle Ages; the novelty was the technologies created due to the existence of magic in this new world.
"Magic technology is kind of fascinating, although I don't understand anything I've seen along the way."
The merchant seemed a bit nervous as he faced the person in front of him, his mind racing with a thousand ways to speak to them.
"Mr. Dimitri, could you give me an introduction to the city where we are heading? What would be the best way to make a living in the big city? I'm from a small, very distant village; I don't recognize anything I'm witnessing."
The merchant quickly cheered up with a smile on his face upon seeing that the hours of silence were broken. His words came out without restraint as he properly introduced himself.
"Our destination is the second-largest city in the Avalon Empire, Caerleon. The city is known as the city of dreams; people rush there to find an opportunity to change their lives."
Jon felt more at ease knowing he was going to one of the largest cities in the empire where he found himself; the chances of ascending in life were greater in a large environment.
"And what about making a living with my skills?"
"I can make an initial investment to pay the membership fees for the Hunter's Guild. The Hunter's Guild was founded by the imperial family to attract talent from all over the empire, and I am sure you can grow in that environment."
Dimitri was willing to invest in his friend before him; the profit he would make if he became a successful adventurer was enormous, and the connections they would have would be even better.
"Better to plant a seed than to pick one already grown."
The conversation flowed normally until the two arrived in the city, where there was no problem entering due to his well-known identity as a merchant.
"I will guide you to the hotel, then we will go to the Hunter's Guild."
"Thank you very much."
Jon was deeply grateful to the person in front of him; the fact that he had saved that person's life, and risked his own, seemed to have been worth it. His steps in this other world would be smoother because of his guidance.
The hotel was not difficult to choose; it was a place very close to the Hunter's Guild, according to Dimitri. The appearance of the place was more than acceptable when looking at the standards of the Middle Ages. A large wooden building with more than 5 floors; the wood seemed to be some kind of magical material because of its color and shine. The inn's windows were made to be transparent or not, entirely at the resident's will.
"What is the name of this place I'll be staying at? Isn't it a bit expensive?"
"This is the Hotel Styx. It won't be expensive because of the discount for hunters and aspiring hunters."
The staff promptly attended to the two who were arriving at the huge hotel, their eyes focused on the one who seemed to have more money.
"Welcome to the Hotel Styx. My name is Isabel, and I will be the one to assist you."
The words were spoken by a very beautiful employee with long brown hair; her skin was white and her eyes were green. The clothes she wore seemed to be a secretary's uniform from the modern times the modern world knew; it seemed to have been introduced somehow into this new world.
"Could you make a reservation for one week for my little friend? He is going to become a hunter and needs a place to rest."
Isabel and Dimitri quickly went to discuss some matters in private. His request was for Jon to wait until he returned and confirmed all the details with the hotel employee.
"Is this person talented or powerful?"
"He has hidden talent or power, one of the two is certain. He killed more than 10 bandits without anyone seeing his face or methods."
"So it will be a win-win relationship for both of us."
"Yes."
The Hotel Styx boasted of being one of the safest hotels in the city of Caerleon, the reason being the number of adventurers staying there, as well as the famous adventurers who were also residing there. Other hotels were doing the same to take advantage of the method being used.
"The conversation doesn't seem like it will take long. He's even signing some papers to get my room. I think I've made a good friend."
The employee of this establishment quickly returned with the hotel keys after all the paperwork was done; the room was duly presented with all the furniture he was entitled to. The room had a desk with a chair, a huge bed for just one person, a wardrobe, and a chest.
"The room has spells to block the windows, a bathroom where the water can change temperature according to your will, and other personal hygiene accessories. The meal times are on your desk."
The young woman quickly returned to her duties after the proper introduction to the room.
"Let's go to the Hunter's Guild, your debut can't wait any longer!"
The excitement was shared by those two men; one was thinking about the profits he could have by nurturing a strong adventurer, the other was thinking about what kind of adventures he would have. The way there was not long; it only took a few minutes for them to arrive at the building where the guild was headquartered. The jaw of the one from another world dropped when he saw that building.
"This is fantastic."
The building was huge, with four floors and windows shining in different colors like a rainbow. The construction seemed to be made of stones that shone a pure white; the coloration seemed as if it could not be stained by any kind of dirt or color. The letters announcing the place were floating, made with various elements like fire, water, and thunder.
"It's an impressive sight even for me when I first saw it. I'm sure you will see even more beautiful things on your adventures; you should introduce me."
The older man's laughter showed how amusing he found the situation; it was not a strange thing to observe when a new face appeared in this big city to enter the guild. The interior proved to be even more spectacular; the walls were a mixture of dark blue that depicted the night sky, and the magical details on them, like stars, made the environment even more mystical. The surprise didn't seem to leave his body; it only seemed to increase as his eyes shone with excitement.
"Welcome to the new world, kid."
"Thank you."
The place to register was not difficult to find with the experience his acquaintance had with the guild; the process didn't seem like it would be as simple as the one at the hotel in the young man's mind.
"My name is Luna, I am the receptionist of the Hunter's Guild. Can I help you with anything?"
Luna was a beautiful receptionist with gray hair, her eyes shone with a mysterious golden yellow, and her skin seemed as white as snow. The outfit she wore was a skirt near her knees, a white shirt with long sleeves, and a golden vest matching the skirt. Her age seemed to be around 25 to 27 years, the prime of a person's life.
"My friend wants to register with the Hunter's Guild; the registration fee will be paid as soon as he is accepted."
"What is the name of our newest hunter?"
The young woman was smiling as she looked at the person who was silently admiring the entire environment of the place he was in.
"I am Jon Walker, my age is 20."
The guild worker quickly took out a sphere the size of a basketball; the sphere looked like those that occultists used to predetermine people's futures.
"Place your hand here to begin."
The order was fulfilled almost instantly; the hand made the mysterious instrument shine with some colors like a rainbow, a very beautiful phenomenon.
"I have to say a few things before the registration is complete. I hope you listen carefully to everything I will explain."
Jon Walker's focus was completely on the words of the guild girl; he couldn't get distracted in the slightest so that he wouldn't have problems in the future due to inattention to previously explained things. His heart was racing, and his brain was working at top speed.
"The Hunter's Guild is an institution created by the imperial family to gather talents who do not want to work as knights. Its other function is also to meet the demands of the population with requests against creatures present throughout the land of Avalon."
"So the guild can be summoned by a noble to defend his city from a major monster invasion?"
"Only if it has authorization from the imperial family; the hunters are the exclusive force of the royalty. They can be summoned to solve various urgent problems or not."
The gray-haired girl quickly cleared her throat to talk about the next topic to be addressed: the classification among hunters.
"Hunters are classified in the form of metals, with iron being the lowest level and diamond the highest. The rankings are iron, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond. Each level is rated as 3 stars before advancing to the next rank. 3-star hunters can take on higher-level missions if they are in a group with people of the same level."
The thought was that this seemed very similar to the elo system of some online games he had in his old world; the chance of forgetting was very small.
"Hunters are categorized into different classes and different combat styles. Missions can be requested through an employee like me."
The magic sphere stopped shining with those mysterious colors; two laminated cards were made by that magical item that the guild used to evaluate its recruits. One card stayed with the guild, the other was for the hunter.
"Here is your card. You can now consider yourself a one-star iron rank hunter."
Jon was not surprised when he saw that his stats on the card were the same as on his system window.
"Take your first mission, kid."
Dimitri smiled when he saw that everything was going well; he sighed in relief when he saw that his friend was a seedling that could grow, not someone strong from the start.
"I will water this seedling very well so that it will bear much fruit."
"Could you show me the missions I can do?"
"Of course!"
The attendant quickly grabbed several papers and placed them on the table to be analyzed for which ones would be accepted by the beginner on the path of adventurers.
"There are missions to collect herbs, hunt some monsters I recognize and others I don't."
The system seemed to translate the language of this world into the language he knew, because the strange characters became familiar the moment he took a second look, so the problem with different languages and scripts was solved.
"I'll take this mission to hunt goblins a few kilometers from Caerleon. This mission should be something I can do."
"Are you sure?"
The receptionist's hesitant attitude quickly set off a danger alarm in his mind to take due precautions; his thoughts were working even faster.
"Yes."
The paper said that the reward for this mission was 1 silver coin; the number of enemies seemed to be around 2 dozen or less.
"I will bid you farewell for now. I hope you succeed in your endeavor. My shop is well known; it is in the city center and has my name on it."
The merchant was not doubting the capabilities of his new friend and investment; for him, the mission was something that had to be accomplished at all costs.
"Someone like this person won't fall to goblins; those bandits were worse and were killed in a cold-blooded manner."
"I will find you after I return from the mission."
The newly admitted adventurer gave his friend a smile as he said goodbye. He was sure he would return from his adventure to tell the best news.
"Is there anything else for me besides the location?"
"Take these materials that we give to all recruits."
Luna quickly offered three potions in different colors, which he associated with the RPG games they had on Earth.
"The red potion is to accelerate your body's healing, the yellow one is for stamina, and the blue one is for magic."
"Thank you, I will leave for the mission in two hours."
The employee did not understand why he said he would leave in two hours; the normal thing for a beginner was to leave immediately after taking a mission, the feeling of fully dedicating oneself to an adventure.
"This person is different from others."
The former inhabitant of Earth quickly began to talk to several adventurers who passed through the guild to request missions with other employees or go up the floors. The question was always the same for everyone he questioned: what are goblins like?
"Goblins are disgusting creatures; these little green dwarves are worse than insects."
"Annoying little monsters with various traps, you shouldn't trust a goblin, worse than trusting a human."
"The thinking of those creatures is quite stupid; they don't think if they're going to miss, they only think they're going to hit."
"Goblins are born survivors despite being stupid enough to think that everything will work out as they expect; these abominations are capable of surviving and getting stronger if they escape."
"Be careful with any attack you receive; poison is a common thing to put on a goblin's dagger. The problem with infections is also something to note; the equipment of these beasts has been through everything."
Several adventurers gave their testimony to help in his adventure about goblins; his knowledge of these monsters proved useless as he listened to more testimonies about their own adventures. Some conversations were long, others were short.
A person with short brown hair, brown eyes, a very normal face without a beard was staring at all this after also having entered the Hunter's Guild. He found it quite annoying to bother those he didn't even know; a feeling of contempt even appeared in a very small way.
"Isn't it annoying to bother others?"
His surprise grew even greater as he listened to every word from those who were veterans in the monster-hunting business. The goblins became something that should not be underestimated in any way after each word. The feeling that death was getting closer and closer was a very close feeling; his optimistic thoughts about adventures were discarded after several colleagues confirmed the deaths of some naive companions.
"Can I talk to you?"
"Something to tell me about goblins? I would like to gather more information about them."
The first found the second very strange when all that was on his mind at that moment was about goblins; he wasn't sure that what he was about to do was right.
"Can you add me to your group? I just registered with the guild and I think it would be better if we both helped each other."
"Aren't there better veterans to join?"
"I have a feeling that I will live a long time if I join you. I won't throw myself into the snake's head with someone so cautious."
Walker was not against having allies; adventures were something that should not be done alone because at some moments they don't go the way you want.
"What is your name? What weapon do you use?"
"My name is Fay, I am 18 years old. I am a warrior proficient with the spear; my fighting style is from the school of Lugh."
A hand was offered for a gesture of alliance to be made, which was not long in being reciprocated with a smile from both sides.