Sage was momentarily speechless as he gazed at Gregor, who looked back with eager anticipation, his hands outstretched and his eyes sparkling with excitement.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Sage stood up from his chair and slowly made his way to the receptionist desk, hands tucked into his pockets.
"Alright, bring out the Mission Docket," Sage said with a sigh as he settled back into his chair and retrieved a stamp from the drawer.
"Yes, yes! Here it is!" Gregor exclaimed, quickly producing the Mission Docket and handing it over to Sage, hope shining in his eyes.
Sage took the Docket and stamped it decisively. The bold letters "MISSION COMPLETED" appeared prominently on the document. He then returned it to Gregor.
Opening another drawer, Sage tossed a small sack containing the reward toward Gregor, who caught it deftly. With trembling hands, he opened the sack to reveal a pile of gleaming gold coins that nearly blinded him.
A hint of drool formed at the corner of his mouth as he dreamily stared at the fortune before him.
"So what do you think? Earning money as an Adventurer isn't so hard after all, right?" Sage's voice broke through Gregor's reverie.
He lifted his gaze to meet Sage's eyes, disbelief etched across his face. "Is… is this real?"
"Of course it's real! What? Did you think this was some sort of scam?" Sage rolled his eyes in exasperation.
"Yeah," Gregor admitted sheepishly. "I thought it might be too good to be true."
He observed Sage's twitching expression and shrugged nonchalantly. "Hey, you can't blame me! Anyone in my position would have had similar thoughts; this whole Adventurer thing is new territory."
Sage took a deep breath to steady himself before asking, "If you thought it was a scam, why did you register as an Adventurer in the first place?"
Gregor smirked while weighing the gold coins in his hand. "I figured spending some silver coins to test things out wasn't too bad, though fifty silver coins is quite a bit for me. Plus, that reward was hard to resist: two hundred gold coins isn't something you come across every day."
He paused for a moment to rub his nose before continuing. "As a 3-Star Expert Knight like myself, I'd need to work three months just to earn two hundred gold coins! But look, I earned that amount in just one day by completing a simple mission. Sure, there were some hiccups along the way, but overall it was surprisingly easy."
Sage listened intently as Gregor spoke; a smile crept onto his face as he crossed his arms. "Well that's how the Adventurer Guild operates! You can earn substantial amounts quickly if you're determined,and best of all? You don't have to share your earnings with anyone!"
"Yeah, that's the best thing," Gregor muttered under his breath.
Sage glanced at the young man with green hair in front of him, thoughts racing through his mind. A gleam flashed in his eyes as a slow smirk spread across his face.
"Hey, Green Hair," Sage called out softly.
Gregor lifted his head and shot a glare at Sage. "My name is Gregor... Gregor Windsoul, not 'Green Hair.'"
Sage tapped his fingers on the desk, still smiling. "But I think 'Green Hair' suits you better. Your hair is green, your eyes are green,..heck, I bet even your armpit hair is green."
His gaze drifted down to Gregor's crotch. "Even down there might be green! So really, 'Green Hair' fits you perfectly. Plus, it's easier for me to remember you that way."
Gregor's lips twitched in irritation; his fists clenched. If he weren't in a good mood, he would have punched that irritating smirk right off Sage's face.
"You're really shameless, aren't you?" Gregor exhaled softly.
"Shameless? Nah," Sage chuckled. "I'm just an honest Guildmaster,that's all!"
"Honest my ass." Gregor rubbed his temples in frustration and waved dismissively at Sage. "Anyway, what do you want?"
"I want to ask you something," Sage leaned forward with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Seeing this expression made Gregor clutch his sack of gold coins tightly against his chest and respond cautiously, "G..g..go ahead. What do you want to ask?"
Sage's lips twitched at the sight but he shook it off and continued. "I want to know if you have any Warrior friends."
Gregor let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Oh, so that's what you're after?"
"What? Were you expecting something else?" Sage raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Gregor nodded earnestly. "I thought you wanted to borrow money from me."
"Ahem!"
Sage nearly choked on his saliva as he glared at Gregor. "What do you take me for? Do I look like someone who goes around borrowing money?"
"Yes, yes you do," Gregor replied without hesitation.
Sage fell silent for a moment as he stared at Gregor sitting across from him; his face kept twitching and fingers tapping nervously on the desk. He felt if he didn't calm down soon, he might lose control and lash out at this guy.
Taking a deep breath helped him regain some composure as he continued. "What I meant to say is that I'd like you to refer your group of Warrior friends to the Adventurer Guild."
"Oh! You want them to come here and register as Adventurers?" Gregor caught onto what Sage was saying.
"Yes," Sage nodded, managing a smile. "As you can see, the Adventurer Guild hasn't been around for long, and the number of Adventurers is pitifully low. I want to increase those numbers, and I think you're the best choice for that."
Gregor met Sage's sincere smile with a skeptical look. "Why can't you do that yourself? This is the Gryphon District,a place full of Warriors. Just go out and promote your business."
Sage's expression shifted slightly as he coughed awkwardly. "Well, things are a bit complicated, and I can't do it myself... Anyway, will you help or not?"
Gregor shook his head firmly. "No, I can't do that."
Sage froze for a moment before asking incredulously, "What do you mean you can't do that? You have plenty of Warrior friends, can't you just convince one or two of them to register as Adventurers?"
Gregor sighed, rubbed his nose, and looked at Sage with disappointment in his eyes. "Guildmaster, how can you be this stupid?"
"What did you just call me? Run that back! Me? Stupid? Who are you calling stupid? Do you want your Adventurer license revoked?" Sage slammed his hands on the desk and shouted at Gregor, his face turning red.
"Calm down, Guildmaster! It hasn't gone that far for you to revoke my license; I just became one yesterday," Gregor said with a sheepish grin and raised hands.
Sage was still fuming as he glared at the green-haired punk in front of him.
"Listen to my explanation," Gregor said as he cleared his throat. "Look, as you've pointed out, the Adventurer Guild hasn't been established for long and there are hardly any Adventurers at all. Plus, there's only been one mission posted so far, no other missions available."
He paused for effect, glanced at Sage's expression, then continued with a smirk. "And if I remember correctly, you said I'm the first Adventurer in history. So aside from me, there aren't any other Adventurers."
Sage's expression changed slightly upon hearing this; he cursed inwardly. "Damn it! I didn't expect him to catch on so quickly."
Realizing this could be an issue, he looked back at Gregor and asked, "What does that have to do with inviting your friends to register as Adventurers?"
"Of course it has everything to do with inviting my friends," Gregor replied while rolling his green eyes and shrugging his shoulders.