The guildhall turned out not to be all that large. Velk had already seen most of it while moving to the testing and bonding room, so there weren't many new things to find. As he had already seen the basement, the only thing left to explore was the second floor above, which was mainly full of storage and meeting rooms.
Hunters who owned extra weapons and armor that they did not use would use these storage rooms to keep their gear nice and fresh if they could not afford personalized storage boxes. Guild employees would be paid to keep the items polished and ready for use at a moment's notice. It cost money to store equipment in the public storage rooms, but the prices were not high enough to deter potential buyers.
There was also a library. The library was split into different sections, designated to keep low-rank hunters away from the more expensive and rare books. Hunters couldn't wander where they didn't have clearance, even extending to the guild's library. Doing so would result in either a fine or expulsion from the guild. This is what Velk had read when he briefly scanned the rules in the rulebook.
Alongside the storage rooms and the library, there was also a room filled with statues that Velk and Co. were currently examining. Behind every statue was a large painting with vibrant colors. Some of the figures even had multiple such arts behind them. They each depicted a different tale, some of a heroic battle fought against a wyvern, others of a masterwork made after many years of experimentation or sheer luck. It could be reasoned that the statues were of the people behind the tales and what they represented.
One statue, in particular, seemed to catch Velk's eyes. It was of a person whose facial features and gender were impossible to identify. They wore a very regal suit of armor, a long, flared cape, and a jagged crown. Their arms were crossed in front of them. The pose was threatening, yet calm, without its facial features even being carved. Behind the statue were three different paintings. All three of them were of various wyverns, each looking very dangerous, and one of them roughly reminded Velk of his sapphire star gem.
It was a ferocious-looking dragon with a resplendent coat of dark blue scales. Multiple blue fire blasts could be seen surrounding its forelegs and back legs. The figure depicted by the statue was standing opposite the dragon and preparing to do battle. The other paintings showed the same thing but with different dragons. One of them was a white dragon who threatened to freeze Velk through the image, while the other was a giant rock with grass growing along its backside. Velk didn't know if it was a wyvern, but given that the figure was also holding a stance against it and that an arena made out of dirt and rock was surrounding them, it was the safest bet.
After walking closer to the statue, Velk scrutinized it in great detail. It reminded him of someone, but he could not put his finger on it. Looking at its base, Velk could see some words carved into it. Bending over to get a closer look, Velk read what it said.
[Protector of Seliana]
[Shepherd of the New World]
[Honored Monster Hunter]
At this point, Abi and Ash walked up to the state alongside Velk. They were curious to see what had caught Velk's attention after they had entered the room. Ash started doing the same as Velk, but as Abi had already seen it hundreds of times, she had no reason to inspect it.
"Sadly, it's just a replica along with the paintings. If you wanted to see the real thing, you would need to visit Astera." Abi had to do her fair share of studying this person. They were a famous hunter of the Fifth Fleet who helped pave the way for expansion into the New World. It had been one hundred years since their fame, but the name and legend still live on, and many people look up to the said hunter.
"Why is the face smoothened out?" Velk asked. He had heard of this hunter from Rose, but he had never seen a picture or statue of him until now.
"It's due to a personal request from the hunter. They said that their appearance would only soil what they represent. Hiding the gender and appearance of the hunter helps inspire all who want to become as powerful and influential as themselves, not just one group of people."
"Hmm. . . that's a shame. I would have liked to see what they looked like, whatever." Velk straightened himself back up and turned around to face Abi. "Shall we go? I want to see the rest of the facilities."
Abi's eyes twitched in irritation as she had an internal debate on how she'd punish the boy in front of her. He, of all people, should be one of the last to ever feel down for not being able to see the actual appearance of the hero depicted in the statue. She, and many others, would love to see their appearance as well. Yet, here is a boy complaining about it when it's something he has no right to complain over, especially since. . . Her thought process was cut off when Velk rushed past her to leave the statue room.
Turning to look at Ash, who was unsure who to follow, Abi only shook her head and sighed before following suit and leaving the room.
Once again, back in the hall, they started making their way down into the lobby. They still had many guild facilities to visit outside the main guild hall. Each connected to a stone-paved path in a walled-off yard behind it.
Once they were outside. Velk could see the area where the race had begun. Many people were still sitting along the side of the road, waiting for participants to pass the lap. He did not know how long the race had been going on, but it appeared to be in its final stretch.
Velk didn't have much time to watch the race as he followed Abi on her tour with Ash. They had quickly moved to the side of the main hall, where he could no longer see the race. In front of him, he could see numerous buildings scattered about. Each represented an essential foundation of the guild and what it had to give.
Their first stop was a botanical garden. An enormous tree grew in the middle of it, and many different pots and fields were used to grow medicinal herbs and mushrooms. Abi explained that he'd be able to place orders on the various plants and insects he needed to create alchemical potions if he decided to do so. Most low-rank and some high-rank hunters never spend the time to learn how to make potions on the fly, or even at all, so they would often pay guild alchemists to do it for them.
Velk had spent many long hours reading the books that Ethran had given him about rudimentary potions and medicines. He had never attempted to make one, but he did know the process. Sylas would probably do it for him if he ever asked, but not wanting to take advantage of his friend's kindness, Velk decided he wanted to learn how to make the potions himself. It would also allow him to make them on the go if needed.
Abi had also introduced him to the head botanist. A man named Barlee. He was another old wyverian, only reaching Velk's waist in height. Barlee wore long blue robes, had a long, raggedy beard, and pale green eyes. The old wyverian seemed sweet and was well past his years. Many others worked inside the garden, and all seemed to dote on him. Velk felt like Barlee was a man he could trust, even before getting to know him.
After touring the garden, Abi led them back onto the trail and towards another nearby building. It had an extensive dome-like glass roof, just like the botanical garden, but it lacked the same 'earthy' feel as the previous one. Large blue letters above the building entrance spelling WRC could be seen, contrasting with the white stoney material the walls were made of. The walls looked thick, as if they were built to withstand multiple substantial blows and still support the building's overall structure.
"Hey, Abi, what does WRC stand for?" Velk had never heard of the abbreviation, so he had to ask what it stood for.
"Wyvern Research Center, WRC for short. They examine any new monsters that we come across and determine the uses for their bodily bits. If the creature is not outright killed after we bring it here, it will often be given to the arena so that spectators can watch as two wyverns or a hunter and a wyvern duke it out in a battle to the death." Abi gave a long explanation of what they were and what they did. Velk had heard of the arena, but he had never visited it, as Rose preferred to not see such things.
Upon entering the building, Velk was struck by a sense of wonder. Ten scholars stood around a single enclosed ring, a large, dark-green, sedated wyvern lying on the ground. It had a giant maw and many teeth that made it seem like the wyvern was made for nothing but devouring food, and a long, muscular body. Its entire back, from head to tail, was covered in rows of long, sharp spines, and it had incredibly powerful-looking back legs. The arms on the thing were tiny, but it seemed to have no other apparent flaws.
Velk had never seen the wyvern before, so he wanted to get a closer look at it, but Abi grabbed onto his shoulder before he could go running off like some meddlesome child. It seemed like she had quickly gotten used to his behavior in the short time they had been together and caught him before he caused problems.
"You can't just run up there and bother the researchers. Stand back and look. The wyvern is called a Deviljho. It is not often that one is brought back alive, so they must be pretty excited to get a look at it." Velk had never heard of this 'Deviljho,' so he was intrigued by it and wanted to get closer. Sadly, a certain purple-haired girl with pigtails was holding him back, and annoyingly so. He didn't intend to get in their way. He just wanted to get closer.
"Come, I'll show you around more!" Abi demanded, motioning for him to follow her. She was not going to put up with any of his nonsense. Her only goal was to show him around and then go home quickly. She was getting a little hungry, and since it would take a while to make dinner, she wanted to hurry this up.
Wandering around, Velk was able to see that there were multiple of these rings that were used to hold wyverns. There was only one other ring occupied. Inside was a long, snake-looking wyvern. Abi introduced it as a new wyvern found near Rak-Al-Faar and as an apparent native of the New World named Calavius.
Calavius had dark-green scales that were the perfect camouflage for the nearby forest, west of Rak-Al-Faar, and large, yellow, beady eyes. It could secrete a paralyzing poison from its fangs and inject it into its prey when needed. That, along with its large body and supposedly fast movement speed, made for a deadly combo that struck many hunters unprepared, and since there were many Calavie in the forests to the west, it was cautioned that hunters should always keep an eye on the treetops, the preferred vantage point of the wyvern.
Abi had once again introduced him to another department head. Surprisingly, it was a young human woman named Jillian. She looked like she was in her early thirties and had a wisened aura surrounding her body. Velk felt mentally inferior just by looking at her and wondered whether she was doing it on purpose.
Jillian had come off as a cold woman, but now he knew why she was the head of the research committee in Rak-Al-Faar. She had apparently solved many problems plaguing the committee and brought a different perspective to many investigations, giving way to new discoveries and creations. Namely, she invented an advanced [Scent Concealer] and is the author of the book "Monster Ecology of Rak-Al-Faar."
Once they left, they visited more facilities along the way, including but not limited to: A cafeteria run by a melynx, a storage shed used to keep the weapons that the guild uses to scare off monsters that get too close to the town, and a smithy that was exclusive to guild members and headed by a large, bulky man that had given Velk a hug upon greeting. They were actually neighbors, and Velk had just never asked what he did for a living, so it was a surprise when Velk saw him working on a large bowgun within the smithy. His name was Dax, and he had two young boys who had sometimes joined Velk in his adventures around town.
They had also visited the living quarters, where Velk was assigned a room with three other new hunters, which could be used if they didn't have a house of their own.
Additionally, a large public bathhouse split into two sections was placed near the living quarters, one side for males and the other side for females. It did cost zenny or research points to use, but it was cheaper than the private bathhouses elsewhere, except for the guild.
Velk learned that Research Points are guild-exclusive currencies that could be obtained by completing different requests given by the research committees that fill the guild. They can be used as a substitute for zenny with most things within the guild.
There was also a wingdrake docking station, where high-ranking hunters could use a small flying wyvern with muscular wings to transport themselves to different places, much faster than walking could ever get them. Low-ranking hunters can also use the wingdrakes, but it is expensive, so hardly anyone does unless they come from a prestigious family, and Velk was not one of them.
The last building that Velk, Ash, and Abi visited was an auction house. The auction house was located on the edge of the guild yard. It was connected to the rest of the town so that citizens could use it as well. Many hunters would sell any extra materials and rare goodies they find along their travels here. The hunters were not obligated to give the guild anything more than what they were tasked with while out on a hunt, so unless it was illegal to keep the items they had obtained, hunters would often sell the possessions in the auction house.
Now back inside the main guildhall, Abi ended the tour. She gave Velk and Ash extra information regarding some behavioral guidelines expected of them while in the guildhall.
"Okay, that is all... for the most part. I highly implore you to read the general rules and regulations book once you get home. It will teach you how the guild works and what you need to do to rank up. Once you come back tomorrow, your guild card and gear should be ready for pickup, and then you can officially begin your monster hunting!" She sounded very excited.
"What gear? Don't I have to pay for that? And why can I get it by tomorrow? Does it not take a while to make it all?"
Abi was not ready for the string of questions Velk bombarded her with. She needed a bit of time to think before answering.
"Can't you just ask one question at a time? Geez, what do you take me for? A guild receptionist or something. . . ? Wait. .. " She could only shake her head in exasperation.
"No, you don't need to pay for the gear. Usually, you would need to buy a simple guild-certified hunting knife and the basic set of leather armor, but the guild master paid for all that already. Also, she threw in an iron sword and shield to go along with it. You're a little too inexperienced to properly use any other weapon proficiently if needed, and the Sword and Shield are the easiest to get started with for beginners.
And to answer your question about why the gear is made so quickly. The smiths are very skilled, and there are many of them. Plus, the guild master's orders are also often expedited, so there is no doubt that they are already in the process of creating your gear."
Velk felt rather fortunate to be given such privileges, but also uncomfortable. He does not want to be indebted to anyone so quickly on his journey, especially while unsure of his own potential.
Now that everything was over. Abi quickly said goodbye and went back to the counter to check out. Velk passed his gaze over her before turning his sight towards Ash.
"Let's go back home."
"Meowww!"
Velk and Ash left the guildhall and started to run down the streets. The tour took quite a while, and the race was already over. It was getting late, and Velk knew that he was in for a surprise once he got back to Rose's place. He could only look forward to it, even though he knew he might get punished. . .