Yeah, I thought that was stupid, too. Fortunately, it's only part of the introductory game rules--the "real" game never mentions that name.

Is the introductory game faster? I am guessing it is, but if so, by how many hours approximately is it shorter than the regular (first to grab 2 artifacts) version?

Much shorter, you basically just need to get 25XP and 15 gold and that's it.

Parco Molo has to be one of the all time dumbest things I have ever heard. It's right up there next to roflcopter. Anyway, to be precise, you need to buy a certificate from each one of the guilds. Aligned guilds sell them for 5XP, non-aligned guilds sell them for 5XP and 5GP. Hence the 15GP and 25XP total.