Jake shook his head politely.

"No, I’ll pass on the contract for now. I prefer to stay independent. Can you tell me more about registering as an adventurer instead?"

The clerk’s smile didn’t falter, but there was a brief flicker of disappointment in her eyes.

She quickly recovered and nodded professionally.

"Of course. Registering as an adventurer is simple. You just need to pay a small registration fee of 1 gold coins. Once registered, you’ll receive an adventurer card that allows you to take requests from the board freely. The Guild takes a 10% commission on all rewards, but you keep the rest. You can also build your rank over time for better requests and benefits."

She smile and continue,

"Many people choose this path because it gives complete freedom. Even some pirates register as adventurers when they want to take legal requests without too much trouble."

"Of course, as long as they follow the Guild’s rules and don’t do anything that breaks the law, they become ’law-abiding pirates’ under the Guild’s protection. They can freely access all towns and islands that have a Merchant Guild station without being harassed by local authorities."

Jake raised an eyebrow at the mention of pirates as he remembered the pirate group of Captain Henry that he was on.

He had always wondered how such a pirate could roam noble territory like this.

Now it made sense.

’So that’s why Captain Henry’s crew could move so freely in these waters...’ Jake thought.

’They probably registered as adventurers. That way they can operate legally when they need to, and the Guild protects them as long as they don’t cause too much trouble.’

He couldn’t help but feel a bit impressed by how clever the system was.

With a sigh, he turned back to the clerk.

"We will register as adventurers."

The clerk’s smile brightened as she slid the registration form across the counter.

"Excellent choice, sir. The fee is only 1 gold coin per person. Once registered, you’ll receive your adventurer cards immediately."

Jake paid the 1 gold coin for himself and another for Grace.

Then he looked at the application form.

To his surprise, for some reason he was able to read it as if it were natural.

Jake couldn’t help but smile, feeling happy that he didn’t need to waste time learning another language from scratch.

And it was a simple application that only asked them to fill out their name, age, and class.

For Jake, he just mentioned his normal class as Warrior for now.

It would be a bit shocking if it were to reveal that he had evolved it to a Rare class in such a short period, especially since the clerk knew about him.

And when it came to Grace... he just changed her name from Grace Lightborn to Grace Bond and her class to be a simple Gunner.

The clerk quickly processed the forms and handed them two plain bronze adventurer cards.

"Congratulations. You are now official adventurers of the Golden Scale Guild. We do have a ranking system and for your Bronze rank, please head over there."

She gestured toward one of the boards where the requests for Bronze rank were posted, as many people had already gathered there, seemingly all Bronze adventurers, and continued.

"You can take requests from the board right away. Oh, and there’s no need to worry, all merchant guilds share the same information so even if you arrive at some island that doesn’t have our Golden Scale Guild, you can use the card with the other guilds."

Grace took her card and held it carefully under her hood, a small, warm smile forming on her face as she saw her new name... Grace Bond.

She subtly squeezed Jake’s hand, clearly moved by the gesture.

Jake tucked his card away safely and nodded to the clerk.

"Thank you. But how do we raise our rank and are there any benefits in doing so?"

The clerk smiled and explained patiently.

"Raising your rank is simple. You earn ’Contribution Points’ by completing requests. Once you reach a certain number of points, you can apply for a rank promotion. Bronze is the starting rank and at Silver rank, you get access to better requests, lower commission fee, and priority support from the Guild. At Gold rank, you can even get special privileges like discounted items or protection in certain areas."

She added with a professional smile.

"Many adventurers aim for Silver rank within their first year. It’s worth the effort."

Jake nodded, absorbing the information.

"Understood. Thank you."

Then after everything was done, the two of them moved toward the large request board, Jake’s mind already planning their next steps.

Grace stayed close, her voice soft under the hood as she murmured.

"Grace Bond... I like it."

_

_

_

After registering, Jake and Grace moved toward the large request board.

The board was packed with new postings, many of them related to the current chaos in Nasha Town.

Jake scanned the requests carefully, looking for something suitable... preferably safe but well-paying.

And only a few caught his eye:

Escorting a merchant ship to another island, Haunfen City (Reward: 100 Gold – Moderate risk. Need a lot of personnel, preferably Common Class and Rare Class holders. Inquire the Guild for more details)

Investigate a strange monster sightings near the old ruins (Reward: 70 Gold – Higher risk)

Help clear rubble and search for survivors in the eastern district (Reward: 5 Gold – Low risk)

Gather medicinal herbs in the nearby forest (Reward: 1 Gold – Low risk)

Grace stayed close to his side.

"Some of these look dangerous... but the herb gathering one seems safer. What do you think, Jake?"

Jake thought for a moment, weighing their current situation, but then he looked higher up the board.

Because the higher the request, the better the reward.

And at the very top...

News regarding the mystery golden pillar of light (Reward: 10,000 Gold – Unknown risk)

"..."

Jake gave the posting a strange look... after all, he was the cause of it.