We had almost missed the lecture but we made it in time, I noticed Kacey and his partner was here too. After the history explanation we were given a minute to prepare for the explanation on the rest of the workings of the guild or write anything we needed to.
I couldn't see Dwight or Kayode so they probably didn't come here yet.
I had noted nothing in the notebook yet, I simply listened. Just before I was about to daydream, the Guild Master began speaking again.
"Now then, how the Mercenary Guild works. You all might wonder why we have a lecture to explain this, well, the Receptionists said it was tedious explaining it to all the newcomers whenever they came in. So the idea of a lecture was proposed to me by a Yellowhorn and since then it has been this way.
Now then, when you join you are assigned the rank of Greenhorn, from there, you have to complete 3 different types of missions and 10 missions total.
From there, you will choose a specialization and advance via Stars. 1 Star is 11 to 25 Missions completed. 2 Star, 26 to 100. 3, 101 to 200. 4 Star is 251 to 500 and 5 Stars have 501+ Completed missions under their achievements.
The specializations are as follows:
Redhorns are Medicine and Tracking.
Bluehorns, Merchantry and Negotiation.
Yellowhorns, Knowledge and Most Instruction.
Whitehorns do the Combat and Survival Instruction.
Blackhorns for Combat and Battles.
Greyhorns work on Enchanting and Metallurgy.
Finally, Brownhorns are our resident Alchemists and Herbologists.
Now then, before I continue on to the way Contracts, Missions and all that works.
No matter which specialization you choose, you are required to be taught the basics of said specialization by a 2 Star of that branch before doing a mission. And remember, don't underestimate any of the branches. They were all made after years of refining which branch should cover what.
Right, missions. Missions are divided into Stars as well, with the 0 Star missions being the only ones Greenhorns can do without someone to watch over them. Missions cover a wide variety of things and it's gotten to a point where I don't remember all of them off the top of my head. The main ones, however, are Combat, Collection, Care.
Combat missions are anything from assisting someone fight monsters in a village to fighting in a large war.
Collection range from herb or mineral gathering to information gathering.
Care refers to bodyguarding, teaching or healing.
The rewards for each mission vary of course and there are limits on the reward to each mission as well as a lower limit for higher Star missions.
Failure to complete a mission means nothing in terms of your Rank progression but will be a black dot on your Mercenary ID. If you have too many failed missions, it will show and the person who requested the mission is allowed to say no to you doing the mission if it exceeds 20. It might sound unreasonable since they won't know what kind of mission you failed at but what matters to them is reputation and consistent results. Not that you only fail at collection missions because you can't tell a Forest Rabbit from a Flora Hare."
A few people snickered as the inside joke went over my head.
"Now then, it hasn't happened yet but if the black dots ever get to a point where your Mercenary ID is covered in them, you will have to take a few tests to make sure you know what your job is and to make sure you aren't a disaster waiting to spring itself on an unsuspecting city or intentionally failing missions.
Upon reaching each Star, you receive more benefits. At the 4th Star, for example, you get a title, not a System Title, but a Mercenary title. Said title is a badge of honour. You might receive it earlier depending on your achievements but in any case, that is what you will be called when at a Mercenary establishment. Keep in mind, we will make sure your title isn't offensive to other races or so stupid you don't want it. So don't worry about that.
Last thing before questions, you may join or make a Mercenary group of up to 50 Beings.
And now, questions. Raise a limb and I'll point to you and you can ask your question."
I understood why they said raise a limb when I see paws, hands, tails, claws all raised and waiting.
The guild master pointed to a being near the back, they looked like what I'd imagine a Phoenix to look like. A giant bird with red, orange and yellow feathers that shimmered and waved slightly. Their voice, melodic and reminiscent of bird-song but only in feeling. We could all understand them still.
"What about if we want to specify in one specific part of the branch?"
'Ooh, I didn't think of that, yeah are we able to do only Medicine or only Tracking and so on?'
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I turned my gaze to the Guild Master who was silent for a few moments.
"Well, I'll be honest, I didn't think of something like that. The fact that I've been gone on my own mission probably doesn't help. There's most likely a ton of executive decisions I need to make, aren't there."
Complete silence. I heard a pen drop, the tink of it hitting the floor was unmistakable.
'I don't think anyone expected that.'
"Alright then, if it is one of the many decisions I'm going to need to make then I'll clarify here, I'll most likely make it so that once you've got the basics and gotten to your second star, you can specialize further into one as long as you pass an additional test. You'll be 2 Star overall but a 3 Star in one side of the branch for example. We'll need to change the Mercenary ID again and will have to call people in... I'm not looking forward to the rest of the documents I'm going to have to deal with. Anyways, next question."
A human man was chosen this time.
"Since it is possible for Greenhorns to do higher Star missions with someone to watch over them, is it possible for the higher Stars to do the same?"
"I'd say yes for 1 and 2 Stars, but not for 3 or higher. The 4 Star missions get out of hand most of the time and we aim to minimize deaths, not encourage them. Any more questions?"
Most limbs were down, with only three up. One was a harpy, one was a minotaur. The last, a dragon. The Guild Master pointed at the dragon.
"Go on, if I don't pick you, your pride will flare up."
"I don't see the reason why you're the Guild Master, please enlighten me."
I couldn't read faces well but the look the dragon gave was of a disdain no one could get wrong. The atmosphere became tense and near cuttable. No one spoke, no one even breathed. Then we all collectively breathed out five seconds later.
"Is that enough? Or do I need to show you more."
The dragon was visibly shaking.
"N-no. S-sir."
They nodded and pointed to the minotaur.
"Can Racial skills be faulty?"
I thought it a difficult question even with the smorgasbord of knowledge crammed into us about all types of skills by the King of Magic. Yet the Guild Master answered the very next second.
"You are a minotaur, so it would disturb you yes. But it simply means you doubt even your very nature. It is a good thing to do, it lets you see through illusions and introspect more. But it is a knife with no handle, slip once and it'll stab you instead. For your question, no. Racial skills themselves cannot be faulty. It is either your trait or you have a damaged soul. I recommend you see a Phoenix or Soul-Weaver later."
The minotaur nodded.
"And you?"
The harpy began shaking her head. Seemingly satisfied.
"Well then, time for the veteran's questions. Though this will only confuse most of you. So, new Greenhorns, go get your ID and start working."
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"Thank you, your Mercenary ID will be made and you will be called to come imprint it. Don't worry about not hearing it, we have some very loud people."
"Thank you too, have a good day."
I waved to the receptionist before I walked over to where Enitori, Teo Edur (Enitori's pair) and Spiros were. They all submitted their applications first.
'Glad we asked before about being able to become a Mercenary. It does make sense that we are neutral in affiliation, we're outsiders. Hired mercenaries.'
"You done Kacey?"
"Yeah. Damn, didn't expect the Guild Master to be so..."
"Down to earth?"
"Yeah."
Then Spiros spoke.
"You two need to train your energy perception. By the Aspects I didn't even think it was possible for someone to hold that much energy besides a King or Tier 6. They had more energy than the King of Magic that summoned us..."
We looked at each other.
"Really?"
Both Spiros and Teo nodded.
"Is that why everyone was so quiet at the start?"
They nodded again. My face was in my hands after the confirmation. Eventually Teo was called to get his ID and he got up and went. Two minutes later, Enitori and Spiros were called. Not even 20 seconds later, while I could still see Spiros, I was called. It was the same hallway but a door on the left. A grey door.
I entered and found the surroundings blurry. I could see what looked like metal desks and forges but it was like I was staring at a mirage. Below me were arrows that were clear so I followed them. They led to a desk with all the new IDs. I walked up, was given one from a person as blurry as the surroundings, and walked out. We all met up a minute later in the same seats as before.
Teo spoke first.
"What do we do then, take a mission or go back and make the decision?"
Silence.
I looked at Enitori, he nodded. I looked at Spiros, he also nodded. We all looked at Teo and said synchronised.
""We forgot.""
He facepalmed.
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Myself and the other Acolytes of the Fang had been waiting for hours after looking around the city and gathering information. We had decided to stay and would wait until the four from Earth and the four from other worlds came back.
It took less time than I thought. They arrived in two groups of two of the pairs each. As they walked in, they sat down next to us and we all waited for the Grand Magician and King of Magic. That took longer than I thought, a messenger arrived to tell us we should go back to our rooms for the day as there was a meeting between the Four Kings today.
So we did. As dictated by the Fang's scriptures, sleep is mandatory as rest will allow your Fangs to regain their durability and allow them to be honed once more. Our rest was fruitful and come morning, we were all gathered in the same room again, this time, the Grand Magician and King of Magic were there first.
We all settled on chairs set out. The tension wasn't high but it was there and it definitely affected the humans from the barrier world. They fidgeted constantly, waiting for someone to break both the tension and the silence.
Only three minutes later, people came in with boxes of materials. It took another 20 minutes to set up a Tier 3 Magic Circle. I only knew it because I had read the catalogues given to the acolytes when we first join. A circle of lesser world-travel. Made accessible by many scholars over time.
'Unless they have an Amplifying material or a... on Driloth's Fangs, what is that.'
Before them, the assistants unloaded gems from the boxes they brought with them. Mana gems the size of heads and with a purity at least 200 times the best ever seen by any of us.
The Grand Magician spoke.
"Let's keep this short. Who here will stay, who here will go."
I raised my hand.
He nodded.
"Us four will stay and assist you."
He nodded again and turned his gaze to the others.
One by one, those summoned solo each replied they would stay.
When it came to those from the Barrier world, their spokesperson, Dwight, spoke up.
"We'll stay."
The Grand Magician motioned to the assistants and everything was packed away. He turned to the King.
"Well then, let's talk business."