Younger adventurers had asked for the secrets of his survival. How did he last so long in the Frontier? Most adventurers quit or died within one or two years. Some dozen or two switched to becoming Hunters and stayed in town when they weren't out there looking for prey. Yet there was Joshu, still exploring, still venturing into unmapped territories and coming back with just a few more smudges on the map he'd been drawing for nine years.

Caution and patience, he'd replied. Alertness and awareness, and familiarity, he'd added. The best way to survive danger is to avoid it entirely, and knowing it was coming was key to getting away from it.

Of course, he seldom told them how, exactly, he knew danger was around the corner. Only a few knew his true secret, and none of them were able to duplicate it.

"Squeak." Two beady eyes peered at him from his coat pocket. "Squeak, squeak."

"Yeah, I'm hungry too." Joshu told the critter hiding there.

There it was. His true secret in a single, furry package. Her name was Teeny, and she was a Lynxmouse, a Tier 1 Wild who grew no larger than his fist. The pure truth of the matter was that it was Teeny who warned him when something dangerous was nearby; stronger Wilds, bad weather, poisonous plants and trees, even the occasional trap. She was his early warning system and without her, he'd have died long, long ago.

Thanks to her, he lived long enough to see the little hamlet grow into a 300-strong town, a place where the weary adventurer could find a warm bed, and a cold drink and a forge where he could buy better weapons and armor to face the dangers of the wilderness beyond. It was a good thing too, because most of the Tier 1 and 2 gear that Joshu had over the years simply didn't last very long. Tier 3 and 4 Wilds were everywhere out there, and just about any of them could snap his weapons in two with a single bite. Joshu had long given up using short-ranged weapons years ago and had decided upon a trusty bow and arrows, but even his bow was beginning to show signs of wear and tear.

He was going to have to get a new one from the Burning Steel forge, preferably a Tier 3 type this time, if he could just persuade them to give him a discount.

But first, he needed some food and drink, and a good night's rest. He could get both at the Open Frontier Inn, but he preferred the Raven Tavern; it was just more homey, with the kids running around and the food roasted crispy and the beer chilled to perfection and Mandy's warm smile to welcome him back…

Okay, fine, so that last bit might have been the deciding factor.

But when he got there, Mandy was nowhere to be found. He had his ginger chicken and some hot rice, and a cold beer, but there was no Mandy, just younger children running around and serving drinks.

"Where's Mandy?" he asked, trying not to sound too concerned.

"She's at the Adventurer's Guild." One of the younger girls said.

"The what?" Joshu blinked.

"The Adventurer's Guild. It's like an Inn on the west side, but they offer jobs and rewards for Adventurers." The girl paused. "They sell scrolls and rations and stuff too."

"Scrolls?"

"Magic scrolls. Inscribed with basic spells like fire bolt."

That was a new one. "Are they still open at this time?" The sun was already setting.

"Uh…" the girl scratched her head. "I don't know. I think so?"

"Since when did this Adventurers Guild appear?"

"About two, three days?? It's still being built."

"Where is it?" Joshu had to admit, he was curious, if nothing else.

He found the place easily enough. Walking around the west side, he found a trail leading up to a bonfire. Someone had literally burned a broad line into the ground leading straight there.

At the bonfire was… well… most of it looked like a campsite. There was a wooden building on one side, and a sort of kitchen under a canvas tarp. It looked like they were trying to build a restaurant around a board. Right now, that 'building' had three walls and a roof, leaving the front side completely open except for four supporting pillars. Four 'tents' around it held building material, mainly logs.

Joshu wasn't sure he was at the right place, but a large sign stuck into the road in front of the campsite said 'Adventurers Guild'. "h.e.l.lo? Anyone there?"

"Here!" the voice came from the side of the open-air kitchen. Some boy was there smoking meat. "Is that… Joshu?"

"It's me." Joshu admitted. That boy looked familiar. "Have we met?"

"I'm Tim! From the Raven Tavern!" he greeted Joshu excitedly. "Did you come to join the Adventurers Guild?"

"Uh…"

Before Joshu could say a word, Tim was already yelling. "Mandy! Remian! Everyone! We have a new member! It's Joshu! He's come to join us!"

Mandy? So she really was here?!

There she was, hair like honey and a smile like suns.h.i.+ne, holding hands with…

Wait. What?!

She was holding hands with some boy who looked half Joshu's age. He looked like he was an older teenager or something. More to the point, he looked like easy meat. Joshu felt that any random Tier 3 Wild in the neighborhood could easily have him for breakfast.

Like that beast emerging from the shadows behind him. That ferocious creature was twice his height and five times his girth. It had claws that could tear through the whole wooden structure in moments, and teeth that could snap that thin boy in two with just one bite…

Joshu opened his mouth to yell, only to see Mindy, Mandy's little sister, sitting ON TOP of that huge wolfcat. For goodness' sake, girl, that's a Tier 4 Wild you're sitting on, not your daddy's donkey! That thing could kill us all in moments…

But she sat on it like nothing, and the boy in front of her casually talked to Mandy right in front of the gigantic wolfcat as if it were perfectly normal. Also, a little wolfcat cub was running around their feet. They didn't seem particularly surprised to see it there.

"You can see it, right?" Joshu asked Tim, nervously.

"See what?" Tim asked.

"That giant wolfcat?"

Tim barked a laugh. "Oh, right. I forgot. Three of our Adventurers Guild members are Wilds. That wolfcat is Carrie, currently the highest ranking Wild in the group and third highest ranking in the whole Guild."

"There's a ranking?" Joshu asked blankly. "And a Wild is ranked Third?"

"Yes. Exactly." Tim said excitedly. "You get points from doing missions or contributing materials or items to the Guild. You even get points for surviving in the Frontier. The points can be spent to buy stuff like rations and scrolls, but the total amount of points you've ever gathered would decide your ranking Tier."

"You get points for surviving?" Joshu stared.

"Right! You've been here for nine years, right? That's a lot of points straight off!" Tim nodded. "See that chart on the wall inside the building? Surviving your first day on the Frontier gives you ten points. Surviving the first week gets you one point per day. The first year gives you one point per week. From then on, you get one point per month. Putting them all together, you should have over a hundred and seventy points easily. That should qualify you as a Tier 1 Adventurer straight away!"

"I can do that?" Joshu asked.

"That's what I did. A newcomer to the Frontier would start at zero points, and would need 10 points to qualify for Tier 0. In other words, if he can't even survive one day in the Frontier, he won't qualify for members.h.i.+p. That's why the minimum requirement to join the Guild is to survive that first day, and then you'd have the points to join as a Tier 0 member. Tier 1 would need 100 points. It's all on that other chart over there." Tim pointed to another poster inside the structure. "The Guild just started, so most of us are Tier 1 Adventurers, just like you. Most of my points come from surviving and preparing rations, although I did do some Tier 1 missions to help build the main hall. At least now that I have Tier 3 meat on hand, I can prepare Tier 3 rations, which would earn me a lot more points than Tier 1 or 2 stuff."

"You have Tier 3 meat…? Doesn't that mean someone here managed to hunt a Tier 3 Wild?"

"Exactly!"

Joshu shouldn't be surprised, seeing they had a Tier 4 Wild as a member. Of course the wolfcat wouldn't have a problem hunting Tier 3 Wilds. The only surprise was that it turned the carca.s.s in for points rather than eating the whole thing. In other words… "That's one smart wolfcat."

"Yeah. But I think the bear is smarter." Tim mentioned. "That bear can cast spells!"

"There's a bear?!" Joshu gulped.

"Yeah, I think it's out hunting right now."

"How did you get a bear to join?" Joshu began to wonder if he was dreaming.

"Oh, it's because it wants the Fire Ball Wand. That's going to cost it 10,000 points." Tim explained.

The bear wanted a Fire Ball Wand? And they were just going to let it?! "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Probably. But don't worry. I'm sure Remian will reach 10,000 points long before the bear does. He's already gone past 4000." Tim mentioned. "He and Max each turned in 300 kg of Tier 3 meat today. At 10 points per kilo, that's 3000 points right there. Carrie only turned in 200 kg. She must have eaten the rest."

"Who's Remian?"

"He is." Tim pointed to the young guy holding Mandy's hand. "He's ranked First. He's the one who started the whole Guild."

"And who's Max?"

"Max is the Second Ranking Adventurer. He isn't here right now. He's gone back to the Iron Legion camp. He's the Quartermaster there."

Right. That made sense. An Iron Legion quartermaster was the Second-ranked Adventurer. Sure, why not? Compared to a bear working for a Fire Ball Wand, that made a whole lot more sense.

"You guys are crazy." Joshu concluded. Then, he grinned.

"Sign me up!"