"We also offer training and networking to adventurers," Jasmine added.

Tilting her head in confusion, Claire asked, "Networking? What do you mean?"

Pointing at the paper in Claire's hand, Jasmine explained, "If this job were to need multiple adventurers in order to be successfully completed, we keep a database of adventurers who are looking for people to party up. Though adventurers are free to form parties on their own, one of the main benefits of having the Guild perform this service is added comfort that the person you're partying with is in good standing with the Guild."

It took a second for Claire to make the connection, which Jasmine noticed.

"Yes. It sometimes happens where the person you're partying up has insidious intentions. Though we try and catch people who are working with third-parties, like human traffickers and various businesses, and have the intention of putting adventurers in harm's way, until the person acts out, we won't be able to find out in time." Jasmine grimaced.

Remembering what Jasmine had said about having people that investigate false claims, Claire asked, "But I thought you had people who investigate matters that may harm adventurers and requestors?"

Taking a deep breath, Jasmine answered, "We do, but the Guild isn't all-knowing, and we're restricted to our current resources. It wouldn't be possible to investigate everything, which is why we leverage data analysis to spot irregularities. There are other security measures we've put into place to mitigate people with ill intentions." Jasmine frowned at the idea of people putting others in harm's way.

After listening to what Jasmine had said, Claire could understand the predicament the Guild was under. Though she was inside of a simulation, it was likely that Star and Moon wanted to insert a certain level of realism. It could even be possible that people from outside of the simulation could get caught up with malicious activities.

Turning to Darlina, "What happens if people from outside of the simulation get partied up with an adventurer that has bad intent?" Claire was curious whether there were safety measures put into place.

Waving a hand at their surroundings, Darlina said, "Since this is a training simulation to get people ready for the outside world, we don't get involved in what occurs inside of the simulation other than dealing with Guild matters. If an adventurer was unfortunate enough to fall into a dangerous situation, then they are on their own." Seeing that Claire was going to retort, Darlina raised a hand to stop the girl. "Adventurers are able to die and come back, which means they're in no physical danger. They're also expected to put in the necessary effort to care for their own safety. The Guild offers plenty of resources and training to make sure that people are in a relatively safe environment. Each adventurer is expected to check in with the Guild about their own situation."

"But... what happens if they run into something that prevents them from checking in? Are they expected to end themselves to return back to the city?!" Claire was horrified to hear that they would effectively be on their own in this simulation with little to no safety net.

Jasmine raised a hand as though to indicate she had something to contribute, "Depending on the job, we have an expected check-in timetable. When an adventurer accepts a job, we remind them that checking in with the Guild is required since if we don't hear them after a certain amount of time passes, then we put out a job to investigate the issue." The woman looked at the board behind them and scanned the papers. Not finding what she was looking for, Jasmine moved to another board.

As Claire watched the woman trying to find something, she thought back to what Darlina said about adventurers being expected to take care of themselves. "It's probably a good idea to treat this place as not a simulation but instead an actual place, where I could end up getting sold into slavery or some other horrible thing. If I can survive this place, then I'll have an even higher likelihood of surviving outside of the Fort." Having reached a conclusion, Claire wanted to meet with Hannah so they could talk about what they needed to do in order to develop the necessary survival skills.

--------------------

With what little she saw of the hellish environment outside of the Fort, Claire's thought was filled with the need to get stronger and survive. "Then I can look for Han," Claire clenched her fists, imagining her friend being in danger inside the new and dangerous world.

Hearing footsteps, Claire looked up to see Jasmine walking back to where she and Darlina were standing. In the hand of the woman was a piece of paper that looked similar to the one in Claire's hand.

"This is an example of what happens if we lose contact with an adventurer," Jasmine handed over the paper to Claire.

Giving the other paper back to Jasmine, who then proceeded to attach it back to the board where it originally was, Claire glanced at the information. "Search for an adventurer who has failed to check-in." Instead of stars in the upper right-hand corner, it just had "AG" stamped on it. Judging by who had given out the job, Claire suspected the letters stood for "Adventurer Guild" and let curious adventurers understand it was from the Guild.

The typical information such as the duration wasn't included, and there was a requirement for level thirty or higher in a team of six. It even added information about the original job, which was investigating the disappearance of a noble's daughter. Checking out the original adventurer, the person who had accepted the job was a level twenty adventurer. Near the bottom, there was a letter grade next to the risk level.

"This is a "C" level risk for adventurers, which is why we made the requirements so high," Jasmine explained when the woman saw that Claire had gone through the information. Noticing that Claire hadn't understood the reference, "The lowest difficulty is "F," which means that the adventurer likely forgot to check-in and is safe from harm. Adventurers accepting the job just need to locate the adventurer and confirm the individual's circumstances." Jasmine giggled, "It happens more often then you think. The adventurer would be charged a fee to cover the costs associated with posting the job, such as paying the adventurers to locate the individual or team."

"Then, this must mean that the person missing is likely in significant danger?" Claire checked the paper, scanning over the information again before focusing her attention on Jasmine.

Jasmine nodded, "That's correct. Though we try our best to accurately rate a job, so only people qualified are able to take them, there are occasions where our projections are incorrect. This adventurer is someone that's well known in this Guild and a person who takes the necessary precautions before heading out into the world. With the information related to the job and the person who accepted it, we've determined that a team of significant caliber is necessary to make sure that everyone comes back safely." As she explained everything, Jasmine appeared stressed and worried.

As though sensing there was more to the story, Claire asked, "Do you perhaps know the person who took the job?"

A slight dip of her chin and tears beginning to well up, Jasmine answered, "He's my boyfriend for several years."

Hearing about the connection between the two people, Claire felt her throat catching with emotions.

"I'm sorry. It's not very professional of me to behave in such a manner." Jasmine apologized as she quickly wiped away the tears.

The mannerism of Jasmine made Claire forget that she was currently inside of a simulation created by Star and Moon. As her heart was tugged by the raw emotions shown by the woman, she couldn't help but think about what she'd be able to do if something were to ever happen to Han. As she looked down at the paper, Claire hoped that she could get strong enough in time in case such a scenario were to occur.