Chapter: 279
The adventurer guild created by Julius… initially did not receive a warm welcome.
From the perspective of the common folk, adventurers? Those reckless people? That was their perception, and thus, they did not view an organization supporting such adventurers with kind eyes.
Rather, they were worried that supporting this institution would lead to an increase in adventurers around them.
Fortunately, since it was an initiative directly promoted by the Emperor, they probably didn’t openly express their opposition.
The lords tasked by the Emperor to establish branches of the adventurer guild were in a difficult position—things weren’t getting better, that was for sure.
They had to allocate buildings to create branches of the adventurer guild and use their own funds as initial capital.
They must have found it quite wasteful to spend money on such a pointless endeavor.
If the Emperor hadn’t asked them with such a tone, or if it hadn’t been a direct order from him… they would have likely just brushed it off.
However, the reason the lords couldn’t easily shake it off was not only that it was a direct order from the Emperor, but also that the head of the institution was none other than the Sword King Arthur.
The strongest swordsman. Who would dare to underestimate that name? The former king whose prestige was renowned even among other races?
They would rather hang themselves than disregard the former king.
Anyway, through various factors like this, the lords from different regions ended up establishing branches of the adventurer guild.
Lastly, regarding the adventurers’ stance…
“What’s this? Huh?” was the reaction of most.
Adventurers were those who armed themselves to hunt monsters.
With lives as fleeting as mayflies, they earned money by hunting monsters.
Now, suddenly having an affiliation? It was something they couldn’t comprehend.
And to think that it was the Emperor who initiated the establishment of such an organization?
On top of that, the head of the organization was the former king?
That surely must have been a shock that turned the world upside down.
Some adventurers thought negatively about being affiliated with such an organization.
“Adventurer guild? If I have time to join something useless like that, I’d rather catch one more monster!”
“I’ve already caught one! A monster wild boar that’s plump with meat! This’ll fetch a good price!”
Carrying a massive boar monster on his back, the adventurer displayed a slight dazed expression upon entering the adventurer guild for the first time. However, before long, he noticed a guide waving him over and headed that way.
“Here to sell your materials, I take it? We’ll handle it from here.”
“Oh, um. Back in the day, I just handed them over to the tavern owner… things have changed a lot, I see.”
“Yes. It’s the day when the adventurer guild is officially running.”
Nodding to the guide’s words, the adventurer found the sheer number of people and the much cleaner appearance of the building a bit hard to adjust to.
“Then, could I receive a token to prove my status as an adventurer?”
“A token? What’s that?”
“Oh, I see you’re not affiliated with the adventurer guild. If you sell materials, there will be an additional tax. Is that alright with you?”
“Additional tax…?”
Julius, in creating the adventurer guild, didn’t just shower every adventurer with benefits.
Rather, he had set a trap for them, ensuring that if they weren’t affiliated with the adventurer guild, they would incur losses.
“An additional tax! That’s never happened before!”
“From now on, there will be an additional tax on selling monster materials. For those affiliated with the adventurer guild, there will be tax reductions, though.”
“No, what is…?”
“It’s a royal decree, so there’s nothing we can do. By the way, the benefits you can obtain by being part of the adventurer guild are quite a few, so I recommend joining if possible.”
Benefits. That word piqued the interest of the disgruntled adventurer.
“Benefits? What kind of benefits?”
“First, tax reductions. Discounts when using the Life Church. If you become unable to work due to serious injuries, you’ll receive support funds for a certain period. There’s even compensation for your family in the event of death.”
“Huh, huh…”
“There are also equipment discounts at contracted blacksmiths, benefits for using the library within the adventurer guild, and discounts at the guild’s restaurant and tavern. Plus, for those above a certain rank, there are additional points if you apply to serve as a soldier.”
The adventurer merely stood there, dumbfounded, listening to the guide.
“If you achieve a high rank, when you decide to stop being an adventurer, you’ll receive employment offers from the guild. They might assign you as a rank examiner or instructor or something. Though, no one has done that yet.”
“I-is that so…?”
So, there seemed to be quite a bit of support available.
“In exchange, there are contracts that prevent you from selling your materials elsewhere, and you’ll need to pay a monthly fee suitable for your rank to the guild. Such fees can be pooled together to maintain benefits and guild facilities.”
After saying this, the guide displayed a chart listing the monthly fees required by rank.
“What’s this rank…?”
“We decided to grade the adventurers based on their abilities. If adventurers demonstrate remarkable achievements, their rank rises. Of course, they have to take a rank exam.”
The adventurer nodded slightly while looking at the chart. Starting from F, progressing to A, and concluding at S.
The monthly fee for rank C, which was around the middle, was… an amount he could afford.
If he cut back on drinking a bit, it would be easily manageable.
If paying this much would allow him to receive such benefits… he wasn’t entirely sure, but it sounded like a pretty good deal.
“So, how do I join the adventurer guild?”
“Please move to the new member enrollment staff over there.”
The adventurer looked in the direction the guide pointed and scanned the long line of people waiting in front of him.
With each passing moment, one person left the line. How long would it take for this line to disappear?
Not entirely sure, but the adventurer sensed that he wouldn’t be able to hunt anymore today.
“For now, let me get this material sold. If I stand in that line waiting, it feels like I won’t be able to sell it even after a whole day. I need to take care of it while it’s still fresh…”
“Understood. So you intend to join the adventurer guild, right?”
“Of course. They’re offering that many benefits; it would be foolish not to join, right?”
“Yes. Got it. Then please accept this.”
The guide handed a small wooden plaque with a number written on it to the adventurer.
“What’s this?”
“After you hand the materials over to the processor, we’ll calculate the selling price according to the market rate. This is to prove that you’re the adventurer who entrusted us with the materials. Once the processing is done, if you return that plaque to me, I’ll give you the payment. However, if you haven’t joined the adventurer guild by then, it will be after deducting the additional tax…”
“I’ll join, so don’t worry about that. But ‘processor’? Things have changed a lot since back in the day.”
“In the past, everything was handled in a hodgepodge manner. If the processor handles it and calculates it according to the market, you could possibly receive about 20% more compared to before.”
“20%?!”
“Yes. Because the middleman has been removed.”
Previously, adventurers would hand over materials to the tavern owner, who would then sell them to merchants… but with that intermediary process reduced, it seemed the payment had increased.
“Wow… if the selling price has gone up that much, it’s basically the same as selling it outright.”
“But if you join the adventurer guild, you’ll gain that much profit.”
Nodding at the guide’s words, the adventurer acknowledged that although joining the adventurer guild would come with a slight cost, it wasn’t significant considering the potential earnings down the line.
Thus, one by one, the adventurers began joining the adventurer guild.
—
“This… is this okay?”
“What do you mean?”
Upon hearing Julius’s words, the commander of the knight order spoke with a worried expression.
“I mean the adventurer guild. No matter how I think about it, won’t the expenditures outweigh the income?”
“Not yet.”
“Not yet?”
Although the enrollment fees from adventurers were trickling in, it was still far from covering the operational costs of the adventurer guild branches and maintaining various benefits.
That amount would eventually come from taxes, of course.
“It’s a necessary expenditure. If you don’t spend this much, you won’t attract people. As more adventurers come, those costs will be covered.”
The trend of adventurers joining the guild was steadily rising.
“But it’s not like the number of adventurers is infinite, is it? What will you do when the influx of new adventurers slows down?”
“If that happens, we simply look for other solutions.”
At this point, the adventurer guild had only been established not long ago, so there weren’t many selling materials, but as time passed, many would start selling monster materials.
If that happens, the costs, excluding the payment to the adventurers, can all be utilized for the adventurer guild’s operations.
Previously, the tavern owner who sold monster materials had pocketed 50% of the selling price, but the adventurer guild would only take around 40%.
The more people selling materials, the more prosperous the financial state of the adventurer guild would become.
“Will that be enough?”
“On paper, yes. Of course, there could be unexpected situations… but for some reason, I feel like it’ll be alright.”
Julius’s words felt like grasping at straws, causing the knight commander to let out a small sigh.
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