Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.
Cold water droplets dripped, wetting Aldes's black cloak.
It started raining very suddenly, Aldes muttered in his heart.
He stopped his footsteps. Aldes tilted his head up to stare at the sky, which was now completely dark, covered by night clouds.
"Why did you stop?" Illfa asked. The girl also stopped and turned to Aldes with a confused facial expression.
"Was the sky not clear just now? The stars were visible. The moon was visible. There was not even a single sign of rain at all," Aldes said. He held his palms facing up, catching the falling cold water droplets.
"Yes. You are right." Illfa also looked at the night sky. She rubbed the back of her neck slowly. "Well, that is nature for you."
The girl pulled the sleeve of Aldes's cloak. "Come on. Before the rain gets heavier."
They quickened their pace along the cobblestone street until they arrived in front of a grand building. The building was made of arranged golden bricks. Two large stone lion statues stood proudly guarding the right and left sides of the main entrance stairs. Wall lanterns radiated bright light into the courtyard area.
Aldes and Illfa stepped inside, passing through the wide open giant wooden doorway.
Truly not matching what I imagined, Aldes muttered in his heart. His eyes recorded every detail of the room.
The inside of the adventurer's association was very spacious and clean. Its ceiling arched high, supported by square brick pillars coated in shiny yellow ceramics. Glass carved bronze lanterns hung from above, radiating an elegant warm yellow light to every corner of the room. The dark marble floor beneath their feet reflected the lamplight perfectly.
In the middle of the room, there was an elongated marble fountain pool. The water flowed calmly, creating a peaceful trickling sound. Stone pots filled with green palm plants and vines were arranged very neatly at every corner of the pillars.
Not too crowded. Not too quiet either. Truly like a luxury hotel lobby, Aldes continued in his mind.
The people inside acted calm and professional. Several groups of elite adventurers with clean armors sat leaning back on wooden chairs with soft cloth cushions. They drank from metal glasses while conversing in low tones. At the long reception desk made of solid black marble, several neatly uniformed staff were serving adventurers who were registering for missions or collecting reward pouches.
Aldes saw the diversity of races there. He saw a long haired man with pointed ears typical of an Elf. He also saw two short, muscular people with thick beards typical of Dwarfs holding axes in the corner of the room.
"We are here," Illfa said. She crossed both her arms in front of her chest. "Look around as you please. I want to order hot chocolate."
"Are you not afraid of getting fat eating so many sweets?" Aldes asked. He tilted his head slightly, looking at Illfa.
"Huh?" Illfa narrowed her eyes sharply. Her right hand moved quickly, pulling the handle of her wooden sword slightly out of its sheath. The sound of wood scraping was heard softly but threateningly.
"Just kidding, just kidding. Order one for me too," Aldes said quickly. He raised both his palms into the air as a sign of surrender.
Illfa snorted softly and then turned around, stepping toward the bar counter on the left side of the room.
After Illfa left, Aldes walked along the room. He stepped toward the giant sized mission board on the right side. The board was made of a dark marble stone slab where dozens of parchment papers were stuck very neatly according to their rank order.
Aldes began reading the mission price details from rank F to SR. His calculating instincts flared up.
The payment for rank F missions varied from 10 silver coins to 20 silver coins.
For ranks D to B, the price range was between 30 to 100 silver coins.
For rank A, the value jumped significantly from 200 silver coins to 7000 silver coins.
Then for ranks S to SSR, the lowest payment was 20 gold coins and the highest reached 1000 gold coins.
Specifically for the highest rank SR, the payment column did not display coin numbers. There was only one bold text that read: Unlimited.
Aldes then shifted his gaze to the side board. Several wanted posters were pasted there. Criminals from rank C to rank S were displayed with facial sketch drawings and the amount of their capture reward.
"Are you new here, kid?"
A very familiar voice was heard from behind Aldes's shoulder.
Aldes turned his body slowly. When he looked back, he jolted slightly behind his porcelain mask. His body posture tensed for a moment.
The man standing in front of him was the envoy from the Vlamis Kingdom.