Chapter 21: The Adventurers' Guild

Paul's squad was not heading for the Temple of Fortune, but for the Adventurers' Guild on the left side of the main street.

Compared to the temple, which was the tallest building in town, the Adventurers' Guild was only two stories high—roughly seven or eight meters. Its square, matchbox-like structure felt strangely familiar and comforting to Li Rui.

While the Temple of Fortune was defined by its dreamlike, pure white exterior and dazzling golden radiance, the Adventurers' Guild looked somewhat weathered. Its facade was overgrown with lush, creeping ivy, occasionally punctuated by small, colorful flowers; the wall beneath the vines was entirely hidden by the thick vegetation.

Like the main entrance of the Temple of Fortune, the gate of the Adventurers' Guild slanted toward the northern city gate. Anyone entering through the northern gate would see the entrances of these two buildings first.

Stepping through the wide-open oak doors of the Adventurers' Guild, one was greeted by a tidy hall with marble-tiled floors and walls and ceilings painted in white. Magic lamps illuminated the interior, which might otherwise have been dark and gloomy, casting a soft glow against the pristine white surfaces.

In contrast to the ivy-covered exterior, the interior of the Adventurers' Guild appeared quite formal.

At the far end of the hall stood a row of counters where several adventurers were processing their paperwork. Meanwhile, groups of adventurers gathered along the side walls, whispering as they studied various quest notices floating in mid-air.

Following Paul’s squad of four into the guild, Li Rui noticed two special areas on either side of the entrance.

To the right was a small shop, only a few square meters in size. A sign hanging from the ceiling made its purpose clear: "Camille’s Alchemical Potions."

To the left was a stall where a man in his forties or fifties, dressed in loose grey robes, sat behind a rectangular table, chin in hand, reading a book. A sign on the table read: "Buying Magic Cores at High Prices."

Seeing this stall reminded Li Rui of the Ice Magic Rabbit that had been chased by a forest wolf and died from a head-on collision right in front of him.

He had the magic core of that Ice Magic Rabbit on him... but he had no intention of trading it for money right now.

Wealth should not be flaunted.

Setting aside the fact that a magic core was undoubtedly a precious resource he might need in the future, the more critical point was that while Paul and his group had helped him, they were not selfless saints.

If he were to pull out a magic core in front of them to trade for a thousand gold coins, they might start demanding a share of his good fortune—perhaps suggesting that "finders are keepers" or asking to "borrow a little cash."

Either Li Rui’s thousand gold coins would be gone before they were even warm in his pocket, or he would instantly gain several "friends" who would smile hypocritically while secretly tripping him up and causing him trouble.

Li Rui had his own plans for that money, and lending it to others for their entertainment was certainly not among them.

He had made that mistake right after graduating from college, and the outcome was infuriating: the borrowers became the entitled ones, refusing to pay him back, and eventually cutting off all contact to avoid him.

One should not assume Paul and his team were above such behavior. Adventurers lived their lives on the edge, and they could easily be killed by a goblin at any moment; for them, the "minor matter" of borrowing money without repaying it would carry no moral weight at all.

This wasn't just Li Rui’s conjecture—it was information he had gleaned from Jay’s memories of the Common Tongue. Jay himself had held this very mindset; he never repaid the money he borrowed while he was alive.

Even though three of Paul’s four-man squad belonged to the Neutral Good alignment, "good" only applied when their own interests weren't at stake. When their interests were involved, well, while they might not resort to murder and robbery, "minor flaws" in character were inevitable.

Not to mention Kate, the archer of the Lawful Evil alignment. Those of Lawful Evil nature would commit acts of malice as long as they didn't violate local order—which was not necessarily the same as the law.

If Kate the archer knew he possessed a thousand gold coins and he refused to "lend a little to help out in an emergency," Li Rui was certain his coins would be stolen that very night.

Therefore, even though Paul and his group had saved him from the Forest of Monsters and he owed them a debt of gratitude, he would never openly display a valuable item like a magic core in front of them.

The most he would do was return the favor if they ever needed help, but giving them money was out of the question.

He looked around, observed the environment, and then retracted his gaze, following Paul’s squad toward the counter.

The guild counter looked no different from a bank counter from his world before he crossed over. Behind the chest-high barrier sat several attractive female receptionists, separated from the rough adventurers by two-finger-thick transparent glass.

Paul and his team seemed most familiar with the receptionist at Counter 1 on the far right. After entering, they walked straight to it and called out, "Miss Sura, we're back."

As he spoke, Paul unhooked a chain from his neck, from which a small rectangular tag was suspended.

"Welcome back~"

Miss Sura, the receptionist, took the tag through the slot below the glass, but she was caught off guard when Paul brushed her hand. She gave him a shy, coquettish eye-roll, tapped the back of Paul’s bronze-colored hand, and then continued her work.

Behind the counter stood a waist-high rack that looked like a Christmas tree, adorned with gold, silver, and various colored crystals. Its base was engraved with the holy symbols of the gods of the Good and Neutral alignments.

This was a special instrument bestowed upon the Adventurers' Guild by the gods.

In this world, the Adventurers' Guild was an organization founded by various gods of the Good and Neutral alignments, with the purpose of uniting all mortal races of these alignments to survive in a dangerous world constantly shifting due to the "Territorial Anomalies."

Under normal circumstances, junk like Slime core fragments or goblin ears would be worthless, as they possessed no intrinsic value. Yet, bringing a single goblin ear to the Adventurers' Guild would earn a bounty of at least three to five gold coins.

This was all due to the support of the gods, particularly those in the domain of wealth.

As Miss Sura placed Paul’s tag beneath the divine instrument, she skillfully parried the flirtatious banter of the four-man squad while touching several of the gold coins and gems hanging from the rack.

The divine instrument suddenly flared with a faint light, bathing Counter 1 in a golden glow.

"Alright," Miss Sura said, her expression turning serious. "The envoys of the gods are watching us. Let us begin the mission report."