The Last Primal

After a good night of sleep that she obviously spent together with the still sleeping Aiden, Lily was back in the city and had arrived in front of the Guild Hall. 

'So, I get my license, and I will be able to pick a 1-star quest! Can't wait!' with great enthusiasm, she pushed the door open, only to be met with a large crowd of people blocking the view. 

"Woah, so many people, what the…" she muttered with great astonishment. 

Yesterday, this place was almost empty, but now… 

"Wait for a second… Didn't Mary say that there's some kind of event taking place today? Don't tell me, this huge crowd came for that?!" 

Deciding it's best to get ahead and ask the attendee herself, she slowly started making her way through the densely packed hall. Thanks to her lean stature and cute voice as she repeatedly said "Sorry, sorry" apart from receiving a few grumbles, she eventually got to the front, where another group of proud and armored adventurers stood facing them. 

The guy in the middle, who was wearing a shiny golden breastplate with 3 stars etched above the Guild Hall emblem that was shining just above his heart spoke up. As he spoke, Lily could see a few green essence particles flashing and trembling. 

Founding this sight rather peculiar, she looked at the man, who just started addressing the crowd. His voice boomed in the hall, quickly silencing everyone. His golden helmet that covered his entire face didn't seem to block any of his voice.

"Let me be the first to welcome you all to Higrove Guild Hall's monthly Meet-Up! My name is Michael Sonovan, and I'm one of the few 3-star adventurers our guild has. In case you don't know, our guild is using a ranking system, to track the strength and experience of our members, making sure they are safe and only do requests that they have a reasonable chance to complete without fatal injuries. Still, even with this much care, and attention, this type of work carries great risks, so before we proceed with today's event, I want all of you to think it through once more, and decide if you are really willing to risk everything just for some fame and money?"

He silently looked through the crowd with his penetrating, stern gaze. A few moments that felt like an eternity passed before he coughed to grab the attention and spoke again with the same booming voice. The green essence particles kept flashing around his throat. 

Lily looked around but it seemed that either nobody noticed, or nobody cared for it, so she decided to ask about it later, and just kept listening to this loud man's introduction.

"We will be upstairs on the first floor waiting for everyone that will decide to take this step. Don't worry, nobody will think any less of you for wanting to not risk your life if you leave. While we will welcome all of you in our ranks, it is much more important than you are comfortable with this choice and that you make it for yourself, and it is not forced upon you. Take your time everyone!"

With his speech finished, the man turned around, and walked upstairs, with the group of armored people quickly following behind him. As soon as he left, the crowd erupted, and various discussions, exclamations could be heard.

"I will go, I will become a great adventurer just like Sir Michael!"

"You will die you, idiot, I bet the first monster you face will eat you up!"

"Who said that?! Come and face me if you dare!"

Lily smiled under the cover of her hood, and walked in front of the reception desk, smiling at Mary who seemed to have already spotted her.

"Lily, I'm glad you are back! How are you?" she greeted with a great smile plastered on her face.

"Good Morning Mary, I see you are blooming today! Did you receive my Guild Card?" Lily asked, smiling back in return.action

"Sure did! Give me a second to get it for you!" 

Crouching down, she started going through a big stack of papers when she eventually pulled out an envelope. Standing back up, she looked at Lily and with a large grin on her face, Mary handed the envelope with both of her hands rather ceremoniously.

"Here you go, Lily. The Guild Membership Card will be inside, and all the information you provided yesterday is already registered on it. Now, I did not mention this yesterday, but there is a few extra neat features to this card that I'm sure you will like!"

Taking the envelope, Lily looked at Mary surprised. 

"Oh, what are they exactly?"

Mary giggled in response for a bit before continuing.

"Ehehehe, well, you see, as an official registered member of the Adventurer's Guild you are exempted from the entry fees to the town. Additionally, once you reach rank 3, or in other words, you become a 3-star adventurer you can even use the Noble's entrance and avoid the long line as well!" she said smilingly.

"Ah, awesome! That is good to know! Thanks, Mary!" Lily exclaimed happily. She decided that once Aiden wakes up and joins her, she will talk to her about that their first goal would be to work towards ranking up to Rank 3. 

"*Khm*" Mary coughed to grab Lily's attention as she seemed to have trailed off. "Also, the shops you can see around the Guild Hall, all have specialized equipment that you can ask for with your card. Once you have the time and the money you should take a look in their wares!"

"I see, thanks! One more question, can I pick from the 1-star quests now?" Lily asked excitedly about her upcoming adventure. 

Mary gave her a wry smile in response. 

"Normally you could, but as today is the Meet-Up, you have to wait until the event is over. During the event, as the parties form and if one of the higher rank mentors agrees, they have a priority to pick from them and even head out together to learn the basics."

"So, I have to wait once again?" Lily asked, dejected. She was so looking forward to embarking on her grand adventure and getting the head start so she could act like the proper big sister she always wished to be and help Aiden later. 

"Don't be so sad Lily, instead, you should go up and join the others and try to find a group that would suit you. As I mentioned yesterday, you could even find girls-only groups as well. I'm sure you will find something that will match your taste! In addition to finding new friends, learning from an experienced adventurer could provide great benefits. Don't be shy, give it a try!" Once again, Mary tried her sales pitch, trying to convince this obstinate girl. 

She couldn't understand why was she so adamant about going out alone. Whoever her brother is, he will also be an inexperienced boy, and they would just be running to their deaths without some proper guidance. How could she not understand that she is just trying to help her?!

Sighing dejectedly, she nodded.

"*Sigh* Fine! You are trying really hard to get me to attend. However, if I don't join any groups in this event, can I still take a quest afterward?" 

In return, Mary could only nod and sigh as well. 'This girl is just so stubborn!' she grumbled inwardly while showing the same smile as always.

"Yes, Lily, if after the event you still have not joined any groups, you can pick a quest and do it yourself. You could even join up with your brother later on and create a new Official Adventuring Party."

"Official Adventuring Party? What is that? Is that something good?" she asked, surprised upon hearing Mary's words.

"Yes, you can form or join official parties if the members allow you entry. They are recognized by the guild and the people. In addition to the recognition, the party itself will gain ranks as you complete quests. You will hear more about this in the event, but once your party reaches the 2-star rank, you will be able to pick quests 1 rank higher than your party. So, for example, if your party is 2-stars, you will be able to select a 3-star ranked quest and do it together and you will all receive the credit for it. This has many benefits, you will earn much more credits than a 2-star quest. Anyways, once you join the meeting, this will be explained in great detail." Mary explained, happy that she finally managed to grab this girl's attention. 

Now she was sure that she will join up with someone and will not head out to face the dangers alone. Mary was immensely proud of herself that she managed to save another poor unfortunate soul from the gruesome future with her glib tongue. 

Satisfied, she looked at Lily with a large smile on her face. Lily was pondering for a while when she finally realized something. 

Excitedly, she looked at Mary and as her face gradually got pinker she happily exclaimed.

"That is awesome! This way brother and I could be officially recognized as a pair! YES! YES! YES!"