He had been wondering how to protect himself when the time came that the advantages of his inn spread out. While this was a good thing and he wouldn't hide the inn's advantages to the customers, it might also attract the wrong kind of attention.

Having a strong backing was very good.

"Beware that the mercenary hall are usually quite a bit more powerful than the adventurer halls, especially deeper in the safe zones. In terms of number, they should be at least three times bigger than adventurer guilds.

"Mercenary work is just safer, and most of their jobs are in the safe zone, you see, and their work is also lucrative.

"Adventurers have higher per-job pay. But they also have…higher death rates."

Still, in terms of history, items collected, and values, the Adventurer Guild triumphed. And it wasn't like they didn't have advantages, either.

In terms of level and fighting ability, adventurers were also better. It was just that mercenaries would often use dirty tricks to win.

For adventurers who go out to the danger zones, there were also a lot more compensation.

There were a number of (possibly rare) equipment and goods that they could exchange in the Guild store, which could be exchanged by Adventurer Points, which they could get whenever they cleared a mid or high-level mission.

This was on top of the monetary rewards, which were really a great recompense to those who continuously risked their lives compared to those who only took safe jobs.

There could also be skilled tutors they could tap, and perhaps the guild would also sponsor a member's upgrades by giving him cores or skill scrolls, especially if you were a top performer.

Other than this, there were plenty of other advantages to joining the adventurer guild. There was only one official adventurer guild around the world, and all major towns and cities had a branch of it. This provided a way to effectively network and find good clients, teammates, and even mentors.

It also made traveling far easier since one would be likely to know someone. There was also a vast network of information exchanged between branches, and members could get access to it after exchanging some points.

This ticked Finn's curiosity a lot. The more he knew, the more tempted he was.

Network, eh?

He could use that to get a reliable customer base (since a lot of them frequented the area). The adventurers would also watch their actions since he was a fellow member, too.

He had good customers so far, but he knew too well there'd be bad apples anywhere. There were also interpersonal management groups in the guild, wherein conflicts between adventurers could be taken to court and handled by the guild.

Finally, protection. If he were a member, then the guild would be obligated to send some help if some greedy party decided they wanted the inn.

If they become the greedy party, then it'd be complicated, but would they risk their name? It'd be more likely that he'd be going against mercenaries and nobles, according to what he had heard so far.

This made Finn think, tapping his fingers on the table top. "So, anyone can be an adventurer?"

"Yes! As long as you're awakened, basically," Marcus said, and it made the others look at him. "How long have you been awakened, by the way?"

"Less than…a year."

"What? You're already Tier 2? That's not bad.

"Rather, that's quite good," Durgan added. "Much faster than most."

Finn rubbed his nose. What would they say if he told them he had only awakened a couple of weeks ago?

The rest thought he was just embarrassed, and they stared at him, impressed. It would normally take longer than that. The average time to tier up as an awakened was a few years.

Not to mention, although Finn had just awakened, he was quite strong. Physically, he seemed superior to those who were of the same level.

Further, his situational awareness and ability to keep the situation steady were also impressive and had saved them a few times in the short time they knew him.

They believed he'd make an excellent adventurer.

"Are you joining soon?" This time, it was Durgan who asked.

"Not now," he said with a smile. "I want to relax a bit."

They seemed a bit disappointed, but were understanding. There was technically no rush. If they owned their own inn, they'd want to just stay there, too. Who would purposely chase hardship?

"By the way, you've seen my limited facilities…what are your comments?"

"I think it's lovely."

"How do you make the water run so warm?" Marcus asked. When he turned the knob, he was so surprised he almost slipped down. Thankfully, he had great reflexes.

"I also think the soap smells nice. It covers the blood of my enemies," Nona said, as dark as always.

"I checked the bed and it is very comfortable, better than many of the inns in towns."

Finn nodded. This was a compliment, but his goal was to eventually have premium rooms that would trump even those high-end hotels in cities.

That was a distant goal, though. He'd like to get more than a few bedrooms first, thank you very much.

"The garden and the view is lovely, it makes me want to wake up early to drink tea there," Durgan said.

"I agree," Leiah said. "I am particularly fond of the garden. I sense good energy there, and the plants are extremely healthy."

She decided to soften up a bit, and it made everyone hold back smiles.

Durgan added. "Good thing we have tea now," he said, referring to the sunberry tea, which was a mix of its leaves and its berries.

It wasn't particularly special and didn't have much effect except helping with digestion, but it was lovely and relaxing to sip in the cool mornings.

"And the food."

"YES. The food."

"The best part."

"But I do have a lot of challenges. For one, you guys are only my 4th to 7th customer."

"Whoa, seriously?'

"You only had three customers before us?"

"I wonder who's the first?"

At the flash of a certain beautiful face, his expression softened, and the rest of them caught it.

"Oh…"

"Wow."

"You're smitten."

He cleared his throat. "What I mean is that I will need help to get people here," he said, keeping the topic from digressing. "Any suggestions?"

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