Ichor Cell-Chapter 46: Registering for the Guild III

After picking up Grenil and Duran, Polly gave Alex a small wooden badge and led him back to the large hall, which was how the three of them ended up standing in front of the massive bounty board as adventurers moved around them.
Despite its incredible size, the board was still almost filled to bursting. Sheets of parchment overlapped one another in thick clusters, stretching across nearly the entire length of the hall. Adventurers crowded around it, talking loudly, arguing, pointing, or peeling off job slips with casual confidence.
Alex inspected his little badge, a strange surge of pride and excitement going through him.
Shaking off the feeling, he stepped closer, eyes scanning the board’s layout.
The missions were organised left to right.
On the very left were the Wood-ranked tasks, then Bronze, then Silver, and further down the line the higher ranks. Every step to the right represented a leap in difficulty and danger. That part made sense.
What didn’t make sense was the distribution.
“…Why are there so few Wood missions?” Alex asked quietly.
The section wasn’t small by any means, taking up roughly one eighth of the board, but it wasn’t anywhere near the scale of the Bronze section, which took up almost half the entire board all by itself. Even Silver took up around twenty percent, making it the second largest and placing Wood at number three.
He had expected Wood to dominate, since that was where all beginners started.
Grenil nodded his head at the board. “Look carefully. Wood-rank jobs are things regular people can handle themselves. Gathering plants. Fetching supplies. Patrolling a farm. You don’t need to pay adventurers for that unless it’s something particularly annoying to do or you’re filthy rich. Wood looks more like a handyman service people can pay for; Bronze is where the real adventuring begins”
Alex nodded slowly. It fit. Most of the Wood tasks he could see were small, simple, or tedious—nothing resembling the sort of fantasy monster hunts or ruin exploration he’d imagined.
If anything, Bronze looked like the actual backbone of the guild. There were hundreds—maybe thousands—of requests pinned in that section alone. And Silver wasn’t far behind. Their papers were thicker, often higher-quality, some with wax stamps or official seals from nearby towns or noble families.
But the rightmost end of the board was strange in its own way.
There were Gold missions. A handful of Platinum.
But Mithril?
None. Not even an empty spot labelled for them.
Alex didn’t have to ask why. He could guess. That level of mission probably involved issues that threatened entire cities. Not only were those situations rare, but posting them on the board for everyone to see was bound to cause panic. He could just imagine a notice going up:
“Calamity class wyvern located a day’s walk south of Luterra, someone should probably do something about it.”
People would lose their shit.
He stepped closer to the Wood section, scanning each sheet. Every mission started with a simple handwritten label that stated its rank, followed by a category:
WOOD RANK – DELIVERY
WOOD RANK – HARVESTING
WOOD RANK – COMBAT
Most of them fell into the first and second categories.
Although obviously completing Bronze-rank missions would allow Alex to improve his own rank quicker, Polly had explained earlier that if he wanted to take one of those on, he’d need at least a group of four.
He planned on eventually doing just that, but for his first mission or two he wanted to go by himself, just to get an idea of what it’s like. Plus, he was severely limited in the missions he could pick since anything during the day was a no go. So for now, he was stuck with Wood.
He reached out and picked up a slip.
Task: Herb Gathering in Westwood Grove
Details: Collect 40 sprigs of duskmint from the grove southwest of Luterra.
Reward: 4 silver
Frowning, he looked at another.
Task: Carry crates to a riverside storehouse in the west.
Details: Assist the Lumen and co. merchant association with moving crates to warehouse 6 by the river.
Reward: 2 silver
And further down.
Task: Fence repair for eastern farmland
Reward: 1 silver
His eyebrows knit. “These are all just chores.”
Alex scanned the entire Wood side twice before confirming it.
Not a single monster subjugation request. The few combat ones were all to drive off some wolves, bears, or other such animals.
Duran tilted reached his hand out and grabbed a carpentry-related task. “We should take this one.”
Alex gave him a blank stare. “We should?”
Duran nodded. “I miss my craft. It’s been weeks since I made anything.”
“You aren’t the adventurer,” Alex said. “I am. I’d be the one doing everything.”
“That doesn’t mean you can’t have someone else do the job for you.” Duran replied. “There’s nothing in the rules that says the adventurer has to do the job personally. If you wanted to, you could take the two silver reward for the fencing job and pay a child to do it for one silver. In this case you’re not even paying me, I’ll do it for free.
Alex stared at him for several seconds.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. the violation.
“…That can’t be how that works.”
Duran simply shrugged. “But it is.”
Alex opened his mouth.
Closed it.
He rubbed his eyes and forced himself to refocus. He needed a task that he could complete at night, and ideally involved something with mana-rich blood, since he was getting kind of hungry.
That was a pipe dream in the Wood rank.
He picked up the herb-gathering request again, then folded it between his fingers.
“Fine. This one. And we’re not doing some weird job delegation scam on my first job. Maybe later.”
Duran looked mildly disappointed. Grenil looked relieved.
Alex turned around, mission slip in hand.
They wove their way back through the hall toward the reception counters. Polly had already resumed her post, quill moving in quick, efficient strokes as she processed a pair of adventurers ahead of them. A small line had formed, but it moved steadily; most people only stayed long enough to drop something off or collect something from her.
When it was his turn, Polly glanced up—and did a small double take.
“Oh,” she said. “You’re back already.”
“Yeah.” Alex held up the paper. “Here to take my first mission.”
Her gaze flicked from his face to the slip. “Let’s see it, then.”
He handed it over.
She read it once, raising an eyebrow as she traced the lines.
“Really?” She asked, putting the paper down. “With your strength, I’d expect you to immediately start with Bronze ranks. Why this?”
“Well, apart from my nighttime limitation,” He reminded her, “I also want to get a good understanding of how the whole process works before teaming up with anyone else.”
“I see.” The receptionist nodded understandingly. “That’s prudent. Since this is your first mission, Would you like me to run you through the process again? Briefly.”
Alex nodded. “Sure.”
She dipped her quill into ink and began writing his name and mission details into a form. “You’ve taken this request. Until you either complete it or cancel it, it’s tied to you. You bring back forty sprigs of duskmint—in good condition—and present them along with this slip and your badge.”
She slid a small note with the mission details toward him.
“Lose the token,” she continued, “and you’ll still get paid, but it’ll be a headache and there’ll be a minor fee. Lose the badge, and you don’t get paid at all until you buy a replacement. Try not to lose either.”
“I’ll do my best,” Alex said.
“See that you do.” She set the slip aside into a separate tray, then took his badge, pressed it face-down onto a metal plate behind the counter, and applied a quick burst of mana.
When she handed it back, a faint new marking glimmered along the edge.
“There,” Polly said, and flashed a smile his way. “Anything else I can help you with?”
Alex shook his head. “No. That’s everything.”
“Then good luck on your first mission, Mister Alexander.”
He nodded and stepped away from the counter, tucking the mission slip and badge into his pocket.
“Oh, by the way.” The receptionist suddenly called out to him.
Alex turned around.
“I recommend you go upstairs to take a look at the guild wares. They have stuff for most purposes, so I’m sure you could find some useful things there.” She recommended, indicating the second floor.
Alex thanked Polly with a nod, then made his way toward the wide staircase leading to the second floor as Grenil and Duran followed behind him.
The second floor was quieter than the bustling ground level, though not by much. Rows of stalls and shops lined the open balcony, each displaying gear, tools, ingredients, and protective equipment. Lanterns cast warm yellow light over metal racks and mannequins, making everything gleam in a way that felt deliberately enticing.
“Just to be clear,” Grenil said as they stepped onto the platform, “we barely have any money left. So don’t get too excited.”
“I know,” Alex said. “We’re just looking.”
Duran wandered ahead immediately, stopping to inspect a wall of saws and other woodworking tools with visible longing, despite the fact that he only had one hand left. Alex made a mental note not to leave him near anything with sharp edges for too long.
They moved along the walkway, passing displays of basic armour sets, traveling cloaks, simple enchanted trinkets, and weapon racks filled with every sort of blade. Nothing exotic—just the standard equipment an adventurer might need.
Everything looked high quality, everything looked useful, but nothing seemed necessary. Alex was about to move on… and then he stopped.
There, mounted on a padded stand, was something he
needed
.
At first glance, it looked like something out of a desert survival manual—layered cloth and reinforced material wrapped tightly across the torso, limbs, and even the head. A hooded mantle connected to a sealed mask; the face was covered by a wide visor made of thick glass. Gloves and boots extended seamlessly from the rest, creating a completely enclosed outfit.
It looked hot. Heavy. A little awkward.
And absolutely perfect.
He stepped toward it, his eyes running up the outfit, inspecting it, trying to find any issues with it.
‘If I had something like this… If it works how I think it will…’
He bit his lip. ‘
I could walk outside during the day.’
That’s right. With coverage like the suit provided, he could probably stand out in direct sunlight and not feel a thing beyond heat stroke. The only issue was the visor; a clear piece of glass in front of his eyes was a great way to get a hole burnt through his skull. If he could just replace it with something that blocked out whatever it was about the sun that hurt him—
A voice broke him from his thoughts.
“Are you interested in something?” An attendant asked, stepping out from behind the counter with practiced eagerness. “Planning on exploring some poison biomes or such?
Alex cleared his throat, taking a step back from the suit. “Not exactly. What exactly is this? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Behold our cutting-edge environmental danger prevention technology!” The attendant broke into a large smile. “Poisonous fogs, tainted magical zones or freezing environments, fear these things no more with our top-of-the-line hazard suit!”
The attendant dropped out of his rehearsed speech and approached Alex, ready to help him. “It’s fully sealed, so nothing gets in unless it’s strong enough to melt cloth and metal together. It also works as decent armour—better than a set of Mundane leather at least. However, be warned, it gets pretty hot in there. It also doesn’t come with an inbuilt air purifier; that, you need to purchase separately.”
Alex ran a hand along the sleeve. The material was tough but flexible.
“And the visor?” he asked.
The man sent him a puzzled look. “What about it?”
“What’s it made of?” He elaborated. “Does it block out harmful light or some such?”
“It’s regular glass,” the attendant said. “Tempered and reinforced to take rather strong impacts. We also sell magically treated versions, but they’re expensive. However if you’re planning to go into areas with light-based magic or extreme glare, you’ll want one. A tinted one.”
“Tints,” Alex repeated quietly. “Like… darkened lenses?”
“Exactly. They block out most damaging light effects, while still letting one see through the other side. Some customers also buy them for, you know…” The attendant gestured vaguely. “Fashion.”
“What’s the price?” he asked.
“Three gold and ten silver. For the standard set.” The attendant brightened. “Three fifty if you want the special visor.”
Alex froze.
Grenil actually winced.
Alex’s face felt blank. “Three gold. And fifty silver.”
“That’s right,” the attendant said cheerfully. “It’s one of our more affordable full-body sets, actually. The premium ones are triple that.”
After Grenil’s reaction to their rented rooms, Alex had grown curious and tried figuring out how this world’s currency compared something from earth, like the dollar or the euro.
Using the prices of various everyday items as well as some more high end stuff to compare, he felt he had come to a rough understanding of the conversion rate from one to the other. According to his calculations, this region’s currency actually had a roughly one to one conversion rate between coppers and dollars.
One copper was one dollar
One hundred coppers was one silver.
One hundred silvers was one gold.
One gold was ten thousand dollars.
The suit cost thirty five thousand dollars.
Affordable. Sure.
Alex stepped back slowly, letting that number sink in.
It was more than they got from the dagger.
Definitely
more than they had right now. Hell, it was more than he’d be able to make in a year even if he did five missions a week all year round, considering the price of their inn.
“Well,” Alex said, forcing a neutral expression. “That’s… out of my price range at the moment.”
“That’s unfortunate,” the attendant said with fake sympathy, his enthusiasm visibly faded. “The guild can sponsor low interest loans to its members, if you’re interested?” He asked hopefully, obviously trying to earn a commission.
“Sorry, but I’m not really interested in putting myself into debt at the moment.” Alex shook his head, then turned away.
He didn’t speak as they moved past more displays, his thoughts locked onto the suit and what it represented. A future where sunlight didn’t mean he had to be locked in his room, where all the extra time he spent awake could be actually put to good use. A future where he could move freely—travel, fight, gather materials, do missions—without being chained to nightfall.
He wanted that badly.
And right now, the only thing standing between him and that freedom was money.
A lot of money.