Chapter 7

### Old 13.14

If I were to come up with a plan to break my current situation based on what I learned during the tutorial with Navi, there are mainly two options.

1. The "Reading" skill allows me to increase the proficiency of corresponding skills by reading books.

This involves acquiring new skills through a combination of this trait, my profession, titles, and skills.

Remember, my combat profession, Tamer, has a bonus for learning taming-related skills.

Similarly, the special profession of Librarian has a bonus for knowledge skills.

This means that "Monster Taming" related "Knowledge" skills receive a compounded bonus.

Additionally, the effect of the title "One Who Shows Talent" allows me to know which skill is easiest to learn at the moment. Knowing the name of the skill that will manifest makes it easier to choose the next book to read.

This way, I can obtain information that will help in taming monsters or be useful in other ways.

2. Completing quests around town.

When I was talking in front of the General Guild earlier, I overheard some conversations. It seems that for F-rank members of the General Guild, most quests involve repairing buildings or cleaning ditches in town, or gathering herbs in the grasslands without weapons.

However, as a relief measure, F-rank members can advance to E-rank regardless of contribution points by passing a test in combat or production skills. This means that F-rank is essentially a trial rank to see if someone is capable of handling quests properly. Therefore, F-rank quests are safe but offer low rewards.

While being able to complete quests safely is a big plus, that's not my main goal. The book "Ecology of Monsters Near First" that I read during the tutorial will come in handy here.

If monsters are around this town, they might try to invade it.

Dangerous monsters are hunted by guards and adventurers.

However, according to the book, monsters that don't harm civilians and can be repelled by them are only thinned out to a manageable extent, so they might live in places where people rarely go.

This means that F-rank quests like cleaning and repairing buildings in areas where people rarely go can also involve finding monsters, and I can earn rewards from the quests. It's a two-for-one deal.

You might think that what can be done with monsters that can be repelled by civilians, but if they are running around or hiding in town, they likely have detection or stealth skills.

It's better to choose a monster with skills that can avoid danger rather than one that doesn't want to fight at all.

When I explained my plan to Haru, she nodded in agreement.

"If that's the case, it might take some time, but it seems doable. With your playstyle, it won't be possible to always be together. I'll probably join a random party for now."

"Got it. Let's play separately and contact each other if anything happens."

"I thought we could start together, but your stats are way off the charts."

"Haha, sorry. I'll contact you once I can fight properly."

"Got it. Definitely!"

With that, I decided to part ways with Haru.

...

After parting ways with Haru, I returned to the General Guild to gather information.

First, I entered the guild to ask the reception about the location and usage of the library. Inside the General Guild, there was a semi-circular reception desk in the center, and papers were densely posted on the walls, but they were not chaotic. They were categorized by rank and type.

While browsing the papers, I saw scenes of people who looked like beginners discussing in various places.

They were probably player adventurers. I had completely fallen behind because I was listening to Navi's complaints.

Well, it didn't matter much since it takes time to become a proper combatant.

Moreover, since my goal is specific, it's difficult to always team up with the same people.

By the way, I wonder if Haru, who must have been delayed because of me, is doing okay. Well, she's a social butterfly, so she'll probably manage.

I must have been distracted, and standing near the entrance drew strange looks from other players. By the time I noticed, the looks had turned annoyed, so I hurried to the counter.

As expected, male players were lining up in front of the beautiful female receptionists, a common sight in guilds.

I went to an empty counter.

There were two empty counters. One was occupied by a muscular, adventurer-like person, and the other by a slender man in a lab coat with glasses, who was scrutinizing documents.

Since I needed information about the library, I approached the man in the lab coat, who seemed knowledgeable.

"Excuse me."

"Hm? Are you talking to me?"

"Yes. I have a few questions."

"I see. Sorry, but I'm Gitos, here to help from the Alchemy Guild. Due to the sudden increase in work at the General Guild, we've been short-staffed, so I was called in to help. While I can answer questions, I'm not officially a General Guild employee, so I might not be able to help much."

I see, with the sudden influx of players, it's natural to be short-staffed. Creating additional NPCs for busy times would break the world's immersion, so this is a stopgap measure.

The other counter must be staffed by someone from a combat guild.

"I'm Wing. I'm not here for the General Guild, but to find out the location of the library in this town and the rules for using it."

"I see. That makes sense for you to come to me. Sure, I can help you with that."

I successfully got the location, but the conditions I heard afterward were disheartening.

"The library is on the right after you exit the General Guild. You'll find a street lined with production guild branches. At the end of that street, you'll see a large building. That's the library. This town's library has a vast collection due to the influence of the production guild branches. By the way, if you go left after exiting the General Guild, you'll find a street lined with combat and profession guilds.

As for the usage conditions, general users need to deposit 10,000 Larn at the library entrance. If there are no issues, you can enter. Depending on your race, you might not even be allowed into the room. When you leave, your deposit is returned, but if you damage any books, you'll have to pay a fine, so be careful."

I was shocked by the conditions. My initial funds were 0 Larn, meaning I had no money at all.

For reference, the rewards for F-rank quests at the General Guild are as follows:

**Town Quests**

- **Ditch Cleaning Requester: General Guild**

- Cleaning ditches around the residential area

- Reward: 200 Larn per section

- **House Repair Requester: Ton**

- Some of the walls of my house have been eaten by bugs. I need someone to patch them up.

- Reward: 300 Larn

It's not enough at all. Apparently, the fee used to be cheaper, but since this is a starting town, various people have visited, causing continuous trouble.

Moreover, this seems to be a measure in response to the sudden influx of players.

But by the time I earn enough to pay the fee, everyone will probably have moved on to the next town. ... Is there any way around this?

As I was thinking about this,

"As an exception, members of the Librarian and Information Guild can use the library for free as long as they don't cause any problems, as the guild covers the deposit."

"I'm a Librarian. Where can I find the Librarian and Information Guild?"

"Oh, really? What's your level?"

"1."

"That's not enough. Additionally, one of the conditions for joining the Librarian and Information Guild is being E-rank or higher in the General Guild. F-rank is essentially a trial period."

"I see..."

This will take much longer than I thought. First, I can't use the relief measure to raise my General Guild rank, and to raise my Librarian level, I need to read books. Since I can't use the library, I'll have to buy them myself. I don't know where to buy them, but can I afford them with F-rank rewards?

As I was feeling dejected,

"If you want to raise your Librarian level, you can use the General Guild's reference room."

"There's such a place?"

"Yes, the General Guild issues a wide range of quests, so you can read introductory and essential knowledge books in the reference room as long as you don't take them out. The reference room is behind the counter, and you can enter if you're a member of the General Guild."

"Thank you. I'll head there right away."

"Good luck."

I thanked him and hurried to the reference room.