Standing there, the first thing that caught his eye was a massive bulletin board packed with people.
Various adventurer commissions are usually posted on it.
The commission contents are diverse and varied, dazzling to look at.
For example, collecting some materials or dropped items, investigating certain incidents, or even going into the dungeon to search for missing or uncontactable members of a Familia.
There's also information about the dungeon itself, such as the respawn time of a "Floor Boss" posted at the top, or announcements about "irregularities" occurring on certain floors.
---------------------------
He paid a little attention to some high-level information that was far removed from his current situation, and took advantage of the sparse crowd to head to the guild lobby's commission counter.
"Hello, is there something I can help you with?"
To maintain the guild's image, all the receptionists at the front desk were young ladies. Whether they were half-elves, beast-ladies, or humans, they all shared one trait — they were stunningly beautiful.
The one attending to Fron was a human girl with short pink hair that reached her collarbone.
There was something familiar about her. Fron remembered she seemed to be the close friend of that half-elf receptionist, Eina Tulle. Her name was...
He glanced at her name tag — Misha Flott.
The sharp receptionist noticed his gaze but maintained her professional smile.
"Miss Misha Flott, my name is Fron. Fron Argon. I'd like to register as an adventurer."
"A newcomer? Do you need an advisor?"
'Advisor?'
The young man's golden eyes immediately showed wariness. Services actively promoted by pretty front-desk ladies were usually traps.
"Is there a fee?"
"..."
Misha Flott's perfect smile froze slightly. His surreal response even made her momentarily doubt her own charm.
"Just... just 5%..."
Realizing he only had 2,000 valis left to his name, Fron immediately refused — beauty trap or not.
"No need, just help me register my identity."
He raised a hand to cut her off, proving his iron will through action.
"..."
'Straight man! What's the use of being handsome! He doesn't know how to please girls at all — no wonder he looks like he's still single!'
Still smiling stiffly, Misha reluctantly helped process the necessary paperwork for adventurer registration, muttering under her breath.
'?'
'What's with that black aura behind her?'
He mentally raised a question mark but naturally ignored the receptionist's internal reaction.
While waiting for the process to finish, he looked around out of boredom.
'Come to think of it, my Infinite Super Magic skill lets me ignore magic slots and learn other people's spells. Guild ace Fels has two good ones — full healing magic and resurrection magic... though the requirements are harsh.'
'But people might not be willing to teach. Such a hassle. Getting involved with the guild will definitely drag me into all sorts of trouble. Better observe for now.'
"Name?"
"—Fron Argon."
"Gender?"
"—Male."
"Age."
"21 years old."
Misha Flott paused with the quill in her hand and looked up at him with surprise.
"A 21-year-old newcomer, huh."
"Is that unusual?"
"Not really. It's just that most new adventurers are quite young. It's rare to see someone registering at your age."
Recalling the names of powerful adventurers, he realized their starting age was ridiculously young.
'Ais started at 7, the Amazoness sisters Tiona and Tione reached Level 2 at just 5, Bete at 10, Finn at 10, Lefiya was only 12…'
In that light, Fron really didn't have an age advantage.
"But being older has its perks too — at least you're more mentally mature, so your chances of surviving the early dungeon floors are higher."
At her words, his lips twitched.
Although his reaction was subtle, the sharp-tongued young lady caught it and gave a vengeful, sweet smile.
"Truth is hard to hear. That's a saying I learned from a friend in the Far East."
"..."
"Affiliated Familia?"
"Loki Familia."
"..."
Misha Flott was instantly dumbfounded, her eyes wide with shock.
"A new recruit for the Loki Familia? Why didn't I hear anything about this?!"
Being stared at by a beautiful woman, Fron awkwardly rubbed his nose and forced out a stiff smile:
"Uh, I joined yesterday. I'm only here now to register."
Misha Flott nodded in understanding.
"Ah, that explains it. Most of the Loki Familia members are probably on an expedition right now. Otherwise, someone should've come with you for the registration. I was wondering why you were alone."
Fron's expression froze.
"Well, sorry about that."
The young lady shrugged and handed him one of the two identical forms she had just filled out.
"All right, the registration is complete. Congratulations, Mr. Fron Argon — you are now officially an adventurer."
"This is an adventurer's handbook for all new recruits. Please read it thoroughly — it will help you navigate the dungeon and improve your chances of survival."
"If you need more information on the dungeon, you can always visit the guild headquarters' library. Of course, there's an hourly fee."
"Oh, right — since you don't need an advisor, I suppose you won't need the guild-recommended weapons and armor either?"
Teasing the frugal-looking blond pretty boy, Misha Flott gave a mischievous smile.
Fron rolled his eyes and reluctantly bowed in thanks.
"Thank you for your help, Miss Misha Flott."
"Then I wish you great success!"
"And with that, I'll take my leave."
Having settled the most important matter — his identity — Fron flipped through the adventurer's handbook as he walked.
The handbook contained basic dungeon knowledge and reminders for adventurers.
Things like: "Irregular Incidents," "Monster Drops," "Monster Parties," "Monster Pantry," "Enhanced Species," "Variants," and what each of these terms meant.-
It also had introductions to monsters found on each dungeon floor.
There wasn't much, but every piece of information was essential.
However, by the end of the handbook, Fron noticed there was no information whatsoever about the middle, lower, or deep floors.
Fiddling with the handbook, he muttered thoughtfully:
"Information control, huh? Makes sense. Forget the lower floors — even the monsters in the middle levels are only manageable by upper-class adventurers. If this kind of information were made public, the average person would probably fall into despair."
It's worth mentioning that the adventurer profession itself followed a kind of pyramid structure.
Adventurers at Level 1 were all categorized as "lower-class adventurers."
These adventurers made up half the entire population of the labyrinth city. Even in a party, they could only handle floors 8 to 12 at best. Once they reached the 13th floor, the monster spawn rate, spawn quantity, and monster strength were beyond what lower-class adventurers could handle.
But if they achieved a great feat and ascended to Level 2, they entered a whole new tier: "upper-class adventurers."
Upon leveling up, an adventurer's power underwent a dramatic transformation.
Under normal circumstances, a Level 1 adventurer could never defeat a Level 2.
Level 2s were known as "third-tier adventurers," Level 3s and 4s as "second-tier adventurers," and Levels 5 and above were collectively known as "first-tier adventurers."
"Phew... I've finally reached the starting line. Next, I need a weapon. If I use magic, I probably won't need armor for the early floors."
At present, Fron's total savings were less than 2,000 valis.
He could just barely afford a low-quality short sword if he gritted his teeth.