Chapter 387: Adventurer Association (Suoyu Wan Branch)

Both were large organizations with a wide radiation range of influence.

Unlike the Church, which was uniform, only having slight differences in interior decoration and building volume due to the difference in local prosperity, large churches built specifically for prayer and worship of gods.

Starting from the building itself, it was enough to reflect the vast differences between the Adventurer Association and the Church in terms of founding purpose, organizational style, and many other aspects.

Perhaps it stemmed from the pursuit of art by some high-level official of the Association in the past, or perhaps it was to show the respect of this massive organization spanning the entire continent for the local environment and customs, highlighting its own uniqueness.

According to Xia Nan's understanding, the branches of the Adventurer Association in various parts of the Aifala Continent would hire top architects at the beginning of their establishment, combining the local environment and some localized special elements that might be involved, to carry out the design.

Taking the Adventurer Association branch in Hegu Town as an example, it was built from oak from the depths of the Mist Forest, and details such as eaves were dotted with lush green plants, looking like a treehouse from afar.

And right now, the Adventurer Association branch located in Suoyu Wan also carried out localized design in terms of appearance.

It looked... like a huge reef located by the sea.

The outer wall was built from dark round stones collected from nearby beaches combined with some hemlock wood, the edges were deliberately left with dark green moist seaweed, and the roof was covered with thick seaweed decorated with dark clay tiles, presenting varying shades of gray-brown, merging with the "reef".

The unique shape made it completely different from the clean and exquisite buildings on the surrounding streets, as if they didn't belong to the same painting style, but if combined with the vast ocean behind it as a background, it gave people a sense of harmony that was difficult to describe in words.

The front of the building was only one floor high, even as the rounded top of the "reef", making its height almost 1.5 times that of ordinary buildings, compared to the three or four-story buildings around it, it still looked a bit low.

Like the branch in Hegu Town, it also had no sign indicating its identity, but those adventurers coming and going through the open door had already indicated the identity of this building:

—Adventurer Association (Suoyu Wan Branch).

Regarding Xia Nan's confusion about "why the association doesn't have a second floor", this middle-aged man with a weathered face beside him didn't give a clear answer.

Although Padi had lived in Suoyu Wan for many years and was very clear about the power distribution and customs of this port city, he was just a small merchant running a grocery store after all.

Beyond certain fields, his understanding of things that ordinary people basically couldn't touch was limited.

And although the Adventurer Association had never restricted the identity of people entering and exiting, theoretically even a homeless person on the street could go in and take a look.

But it had to be admitted, facing those adventurers who possessed extraordinary power and lived with death and slaughter.

Very few ordinary people could truly have such psychological quality, bearing one after another unkind gazes, and being calm and composed in the association hall.

In fact, even taverns like "Three-legged Sea Dog" that were occupied by a large number of adventurers all year round, if not necessary, ordinary civilians were not often seen.

Seeing that the other party was stuttering and couldn't speak, Xia Nan stopped asking, thinking it would be better to go in and see for himself, and ask the front desk receptionist, maybe the Suoyu Wan association branch station wasn't just this one place?

Originally, he wanted to take Kelin and Padi in together, but seeing the difficult expression on this middle-aged man's face, he realized that the other party was probably not very willing to enter such a place.

He didn't force it, found a seat for the two of them by the grilled oyster stall on the street opposite the association, took the initiative to treat them, handed the stall owner three silver coins, and told them to eat as much as they wanted, and if it wasn't enough, he would make up for it when he came out.

Then he walked towards the Adventurer Association himself.

Perhaps considering the number of adventurers coming and going, this reef-like building had a very spacious door design, and the two dark wooden doors reinforced with pitch-black iron bars as decoration were opened to the maximum, facilitating passage.

He hadn't noticed it when he was far away before, but now that he was close, Xia Nan suddenly realized that the inside of the association entrance was actually a sunken design.

Under the illumination of the fluorescent lights on the stone walls on both sides, it was a wide stone staircase leading downwards.

Following the stairs down for about twenty steps, the space suddenly opened up:

—A huge circular atrium surrounded by a corridor!

The ground was paved with light-colored and smooth special sandstone, and bright sunlight spilled down from the windows with seaweed patterns above his head, illuminating the entire hall.

In the very middle of the hall, which was also the location of the association entrance, was the commission undertaking area and reception desk.

On the left wall, it was a task bulletin board composed of countless small wooden grids, each grid edge was inlaid with different colored paint, representing different task types and difficulties, and adventurers of all kinds were crowding and pushing under the wall, looking for tasks suitable for their team;

On the right wall hung a similarly huge relief map, with Suoyu Wan as the center, presenting the surrounding sea area islands and parts of the inland, and at this moment, there were also quite a few adventurers, taking small teams as units, holding parchment with task information in their hands, occasionally looking up to compare with their destination for this trip.

And in the very middle, naturally, it was the reception desk.

A long strip of sea rock counter arranged in an arc, the countertop was much higher than the floor, the surface was polished to a shine, and one could vaguely see the ink bottles, quill pens, and task registration books piled together on it; receptionists dressed in light blue association branch uniforms sat behind the counter, and in front of them were long queues of adventurers.

Xia Nan's gaze swept over the corridor around the atrium, and he could see shops that cooperated with the Adventurer Association, such as alchemist shops and common supply grocery stores; he also glanced at the huge window at the very back of the hall that could directly see the distant ocean, and he already had some guesses about the location of the so-called "second floor" in his heart.

He was not in a hurry.

After standing in place and observing the environment slightly, Xia Nan chose a queue that was relatively less long in front of the counter, walked to the end of the queue, and waited quietly.

His luck was not bad.

Most of the dozen or so adventurers in front had already selected tasks and came to register, and only a few with blood on their bodies came to deliver commissions.

Although counting the spoils took more time, there was basically no bickering with the receptionist.

However, after waiting for about twenty minutes, Xia Nan arrived at the front of the queue.

The one who received him was a young woman named "Maer".

Her cheekbones were slightly high, her jawline was clear, and her skin was the healthy honey color unique to coastal residents, caressed by the sea breeze. Her face was not stunningly beautiful, but the combination of her features was quite pleasing to the eye.

She was about thirty years old, having shed the greenness of her teens and twenties, but she was not stained with the usual fatigue and conservatism of middle age. Her back was not straight, but it was also within the standard range.

The light blue association uniform was flat and neat, with not many wrinkles visible. Around her neck, she wore a silver thin chain with a small dark blue shell pendant, which was very characteristic. Paired with the reddish-brown coiled hair carefully braided behind her head, it gave people a feeling of gentleness with some personality.

It could also be considered a small ingenuity of hers, which could leave a sufficiently recognizable impression on important customers in a short period of time without violating the association's regulations.

After all, being able to be selected by the Adventurer Association to serve as a receptionist representing the association's external image, the conditions in terms of appearance were the most basic.

If they wanted to keep this job with high income, bright prospects, and considerable development potential, naturally, the receptionists needed to exert some subjective initiative to improve their performance. ===== CHAPTER 388 =====