Pa.s.sing through the Guild"s entrance, Elizabeth turned her attention to the sign to her immediate left which read, "Reception, to the front. Temporary Housing, on the third floor and beyond. Exchange Lounge, to the right. Bounty Board, to the left." She could now effortlessly read the sign as well as any other text, so long as she activated her Basic Translation Spell.It also appeared to have been a correct translation, as she could see a large board lined with hundreds if not thousands of papers — probably bounties or similar requests that would require the aid of someone powerful. The room was also littered with benches, tables, and an active community, and to the very end of the room, there was a large reception desk which contained dozens of personnel, apparently waiting to direct anyone with questions.
Additionally, there was also the sight of a couple escalators running up and down to the next floor, and right next to them were a pair of elevators. Squinting at the sight of the medieval decor juxtaposed with the modern-looking transportation appliances, Elizabeth sighed, "This is getting ridiculous..."
Eventually, her state of confusion was resolved and she began moving towards the reception area. She ignored the looks and comments that were obviously directed at her as she had grown used to it with all the practice she had acquired in the Wushi Tournament and eventually reached the reception desk.
Apparently, it was either a really slow day, or this Guild didn"t see much action, as even with the dozens of staff members ready to help Guild Members register bounties, Elizabeth only saw two or three people talking with other receptionists. She didn"t have to wait through any line, contacting a receptionist to answer her inquiries immediately.
"h.e.l.lo Miss, how can we help you today?" Meeting face to face with a female receptionist, Elizabeth was greeted in a very formal manner.
"Mhmm… To start off, can you explain how the guild operates?" Elizabeth asked, already having a rough idea in mind from her conversation with the guard that escorted her, she still wanted to hear the details from someone who actually worked here.
"Certainly. Our guild is a branch of the Ultera Guild, headquartered in the heart of the Ireal Empire. As a result, we take in bounties and missions from those affiliated with the Irealian Empire at no extra fee, while neutral affiliations have a processing fee of 5%. You can accept or issue out missions and bounties here, and retrieve payment in the exchange hub. For the varying price of 5 silver to 100 platinum, you can also stay in the suites on the upper floors."
Having gone through the motions so many times, the receptionist didn"t even have to pause as she gave Elizabeth what most would consider the most important information when entering a foreign guild. "Is there anything else you"d like to know?" She asked, fully expecting to be declined. Little did she know that she was confronting a total alien; one who hadn"t the faintest clue of even the most basic information about the world.
Thinking of what way she could lose her ignorance of this world in the fastest and most efficient manner, Elizabeth"s face brightened up as she said, "Yeah, is there a place I can get a couple books about the history of this country, the local geography, and maybe a couple books for other countries? It would be even better if you had jade slips."
"J-jade slips?" Stuttering as she didn"t expect Elizabeth to drop such a powerful bombsh.e.l.l of a word, the receptionist repeated in an effort to get confirmation from Elizabeth.
"Yes?" In all honesty, while Elizabeth expected for there to be a reaction as she had gauged the average level of the people in the Guild — the place where the most powerful combatants of the city converged — to be only Level 14, she didn"t at all expect to be met with a reaction that would suggest that she was asking for highly cla.s.sified information.
"...That would be quite difficult to get," After a long pause, the receptionist replied as she grew a bit somber. Continuing, she said, "You see, only master smiths at the legendary King Stage can create those — and in our Guild, only the Guild Master has achieved that strength. Unfortunately, he is not a smith, nor is it that easy to find the materials to create Jade Slips..."
Widening her eyes a bit Elizabeth said, "It"s… fine, do you have books, though?" While the information the receptionist gave her conflicted with both her own knowledge and experience, she put off bothering any longer with finding Jade Slips as her Magic Scanning, while a bit slower, wouldn"t waste much time if she concentrated.
"Right, if you go to the exchange hub, you"ll be able to trade for copies of the books you are looking for."
As Elizabeth was thinking about ending her business there, a thought struck her and she said, "Mhmm… and about the matter of affiliation, how exactly do you check for people"s affiliations?"
"Oh, for that, we here at the guild — and in all other official Guilds — require that patrons check their Guild Cards before completing a transaction. If you are a citizen of the country, then your government issued ID card can be used."
"So, I"m guessing that if I don"t show some sort of ID, I won"t be able to conduct any business in the Exchange Hub..." Elizabeth sighed as she saw the receptionist nod back at her. Consequently, she asked, "Is there a way I can get one? I"m not a citizen of this country nor do I have a Guild Card, but I also have no affiliation with any other country..."
"Oh? Well, it shouldn"t be a problem then~" The receptionist got up from her chair before gesturing for Elizabeth to follow her. As she guided Elizabeth out of the reception booth, she continued talking, explaining, "I just need to get you checked out through our database and if you are given the all-clear, you"ll be given a Guild Card after registering her strength."
"Figures..." Elizabeth sighed, "Obviously, they"d check if I"m truly unaffiliated with any country. Now the question is: How will they check?" The smirk on her face remained, albeit changing her expression so slightly; most would take it as a smile. It then morphed into a look of confusion as she was brought into a room that had a formation etched into the floor.
"Now, if you will just stand over this formation. The process should be completed in a matter of seconds." Elizabeth didn"t notice, as the receptionist opened her mouth again a dangerous glint of light pa.s.sed her eyes as she said, "or sooner..."
Without hesitation, Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders before walking towards the formation. Yet that didn"t mean she took the foreign construction lightly. As someone without a clue about the art of formations, Elizabeth didn"t just place her trust in the Guild and already had several measures prepared in case things went south.
With s.p.a.ce Magic gathering potential for a Spatial Contraction and her Chaos Seals warming up to prepare for instant activation, Elizabeth"s eyes narrowed as she took her first step on the formation. Upon contact, Elizabeth summoned the formation"s status and prepared to escape if she detected even an iota of danger.
[Name: Scanning Formation
Grade: Mid-tier Mortal Grade
Description: Created with rather crude materials and instruments, this formation is among the very worst of its type. Yet for its intended purpose, it works relatively adequately...
Effect: Scans the target — those that stand within the formation"s effective range — and relays the data retrieved to an artifact. Data gathered consists of: Hair and Eye Color, Height, Weight, and Skin Prints.]
"..." Returning back to a calmer state as she scoffed at the formation"s use, Elizabeth decided to play along as she didn"t find the need to hide any of the information the formation gathered. To anyone looking in on her as she walked to the formation, it wouldn"t cross their minds that for a split second, the young and pet.i.te little white-haired la.s.s who looked as harmless as can be, was totally prepared to burst forth with Saint-level strength or beyond.
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Rather anticlimactically, Elizabeth spent the next half a minute standing within the formation as the receptionist walked over to the artifact that the formation"s status said it was connected to. The artifact"s sole purpose was to check if Elizabeth"s data matched with any other pre-existing records. Should she be caught trying to lie in an effort to get a new Guild Card, she would be in varying levels of trouble depending on how big the offense was. For example, registering while being caught as a member of a neutral faction wouldn"t warrant the same punishment as say, trying to enter the guild as a spy for a rivaling faction, or worse; enemy factions.
But, since this was literally the first time Elizabeth had ever shown up a city within the alternate dimension of the Shadow Realm, there was a zero percent chance that she would end up in trouble. Her existence in this world was only now being recorded for the first time as her data was taken by the artifact.
Thus, after the thirty seconds were up and Elizabeth was proven to have a clean background by the Guild"s database, she entered the next part of getting her Guild Card. However, because there were no records of her AT ALL, the Guild had nothing to go by to represent her strength. Thus, the situation became awkward as Elizabeth was taken by the receptionist to Tyre Academy; the place where pract.i.tioners learned the ways of Mages and Martial Pract.i.tioners…