Chapter 14: Copper Rank and Hidden Rooms
The interior of the Intercontinental Adventurers Guild Headquarters was exactly what you'd expect from the nerve center of a city like Oak Haven. It had high, vaulted ceilings, smelled of old parchment mixed with expensive ale, and carried a constant, low-frequency hum of magical energy that made the hair on my arms stand up. This wasn't just a building; it was the fortress for the people who stood between civilization and the Void-Rot.
Aria led me straight to a massive obsidian reception desk. The woman behind it didn't even look up at first, her quill scratching away at a ledger with a life of its own.
"Names and intended classifications," she droned, her voice a practiced melody of bureaucratic boredom.
"Aria Veil," Aria said, her voice ringing with noble steel. "Support. Arcane Engineer."
The receptionist's quill paused for a fraction of a second—a silent acknowledgment of the fallen Northern house—before continuing.
"Nero Asheford Argentum," I said. "Assault. Golemancer."
This time, the quill stopped completely. The receptionist slowly looked up, her eyes flicking from my face, to the massive, golden-yellow frame of Bee standing silently behind me, and then back to me.
"Argentum," she repeated, her tone flat but laced with sudden scrutiny. "That is a heavy name to carry into this hall, kid. I hope your construct hits as hard as he looks."
Before I could answer, she slid a smooth, translucent glass orb across the counter. "Hands on the orb. Standard resonance check. If you've got a criminal bounty in the Mirror World or the Allied Kingdoms, the orb turns black. If not, we move to the scanner."
I went first, placing my palm on the cool glass. It stayed perfectly clear, reflecting the flickering runic lights of the hall. Then Aria did the same. Nothing.
"Clear," the receptionist muttered, gesturing to a brass-rimmed plate on the desk that looked suspiciously like a high-tech flatbed scanner. "Palms down. The system will print your identification cards based on your primary mana resonance and starting rank."
I watched as Aria pressed her hand to the plate. A mechanical whirring followed, and a heavy, rectangular card slid out. It was the color of dark iron, cold and dense, reflecting her high metal affinity and engineering roots.
Then it was my turn.
The moment my hand touched the brass plate, the scanner didn't just light up—it flared. The volatile energy of my Thunder Surge leaked out, and a violent, sapphire-blue light hissed from the plate, momentarily illuminating the entire lobby like a localized lightning strike. Several hunters at the nearby tables stopped drinking and turned to look.
The card that slid out was beautiful—a shimmering silver and sapphire composite that seemed to pulse with a faint electrical current.
Both of our cards bore a single, prominent copper emblem in the center.
"You are both Copper Rank," the receptionist said, her voice shifting into a tone of wary respect. "Standard starting rank. The rules are simple: Don't kill other hunters, don't steal kills, and pay your guild fees. The quest board is to your left. Welcome to the Guild."
We moved away from the desk and headed toward the tavern area, which was packed with adventurers of all shapes and sizes. I found a corner booth and collapsed into the padded leather seat, finally letting out a long, heavy sigh. Bee stood guard at the edge of the table, his green optics dimming slightly as he entered standby mode.
"Step one complete," I muttered, staring at my silver-and-sapphire card.
Then, reality hit me like a freight train. I looked at the menu carved into the wooden table, then at the bustling bar, and then back at Aria.
"Okay, minor problem," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "I am completely, one-hundred-percent broke. I don't have a single coin in this world. We can probably trade the Level 9 core we got from the Bruiser, but until then..."
Aria leaned back, looking entirely unbothered. "You don't need to worry about that, Nero. My family's accounts were decentralized through the Crafters' Association. I have more than enough wealth stored in the local banking guild to sustain us for a long time."
I felt a strange, sinking feeling in my chest. My modern nineteen-year-old pride flared up. "Wait. So... you're paying for everything? I'm basically being funded by a fourteen-year-old girl?"
"I am actually seventeen," she said, a sharp bit of heat in her voice.
I stopped and really looked at her. "Nope. I don't see it. Fifteen and a half, maybe."
"Halfling blood flows in my family's lineage," she explained, crossing her arms and looking down her aristocratic nose at me. "I am naturally small. It comes with exponentially increased intelligence and mana-sensitivity. It is the reason I can map spatial runes in my head."
I leaned my head back against the booth and stared at the ceiling. Halfling blood. Great. Now it made sense why she was a genius engineer while I was still trying to figure out the local currency.
"Man, how am I even going to explain this to my Nana in the next life?" I muttered. "'Hey Nana, yeah, I got transported to a dragon-infested warzone and immediately became a well-funded bodyguard for a Halfling noble.'"
"Actually," Aria said, ignoring my existential crisis and pulling out her notebook. "I'd rather not pay for an inn tonight. I want to stay in the carriage. That's where my workshop is, and I need to start drawing up the blueprints for the Ark Angel's power grid."
I blinked, sitting back up. "Wait, workshop? I was just in that carriage. It was nice, sure, but I didn't see a freaking workshop in there."
Aria gave me a look that was half-amused and half-disappointed. "Nero, how big do you think that carriage actually is? It's a Veil-class Arcane Sanctuary."
"I don't know what that means, other than it's bigger on the inside!"
"It has six separate rooms and one central main area," she said, counting them off on her fingers. "The rooms are anchored to the walls, but you have to channel mana into the specific runic panels to open the spatial gateways. I thought you realized that when I kept disappearing to change. Where did you even think I was going? Where did you think I was sleeping while you were dozing off against the wheel?"
My brain buffered for a solid three seconds.
"Anyway!" I interrupted loudly, my face heating up as the realization of her "disappearing acts" finally clicked. I grabbed the menu. "Let's just get something to eat on your tab, and then we'll head back to the parking bay. You can give me the full tour, show me where this 'workshop' is, and we can figure out what to do with that Level 9 core."
Aria laughed—a light, clear sound that briefly cut through the heavy atmosphere of the Guild. "Fine. But the tour is going to take a while."