About ten minutes later, Kattie came back in and sat down. “Well, this is all really amazing. It is so shocking to think you came from a different world. Where to start?” she said with an excited expression. “How about I explain our guild to you?”
“That would be great,” I said.
“I don’t know much about how anything works here.”
“Ok! We are what is called an Adventurer’s Guild or often just the Guild as we are worldwide. Most towns don’t have enough capital to have a standing army or even train a militia, but having people to call on when there are dangerous monsters is necessary. Each Guild has magic communication devices that can send out requests if local talent can’t handle an issue. There is usually work in most towns that keep members of a certain level busy.”
“Like this Orc issue?”
“Right!” She paused to think. “That is a big one. We are going to use pretty much everyone for it. We would call in more teams from surrounding towns or a higher level team if it was any bigger.”
“Mr. Ricter mentioned Silver Parties. What is that? Some kind of Ranking system?”
“Exactly! Adventures who can handle smaller pests are Bronze rank. If you can handle an Orc or Pelur one-on-one, that would be Iron. Be able to take out several Orcs at once and you are in the level of Silver. Only those that are pretty skilled among humans get to that level. We aren’t known for our strength, after all. We humans often join silver-rank parties as we are good, stealthy, and sometimes speedy. Our magic is only good enough for low-level magic, so we rely on our intelligence and ingenuity. Most other races aren’t as crafty as we are. There are also Gold and Mythril level members and parties, but those are few and far between.”
It sounded like we had certain limitations here like our abilities were all close to the same, and this was well known. Though Kattie seemed very proud of humans, her body language made it seem like everyone knew our limitations and strengths.
“What does it take to become a member?” I asked.
“Oh! Well, for you, it is pretty easy. There isn’t even a fee for you because of your situation. You couldn’t even enter a town without a county to call home or proof of who you are without the guild vouching for you. You have no identification. Even if you don’t end up working for us, we will give you a membership so that you can prove who you are and that you aren’t a spy. The Guild sees it as our duty to those who are lost between worlds.”
That is very kind. I thought, “What kinds of jobs can I take? I was a doctor back in my world.”
“You were a healer? That is an excellent profession. Teams need healers, and even when not out on assignment, if you have the right aptitude, you can do basic healing or potion-making in town. How about we check your aptitude?”
“How do we do that?” I asked, getting a little nervous. I wasn’t sure what would happen as I was different from the typical person brought here.
“With this.” She pulled out a large plate. This will tell us your general power level and also magical affinities. It can only tell the basic ones, but you may also find you have other types of magic. You would have to go to a specialist for that, though. Just place your hands here, please.”
I looked at it for a minute, thinking fast. Maybe I could play any differences off, as it sounded like it had been a while since the last group of people had been brought here. If not, I would have to make it seem like any difference came from my being from a different world.
“It’s ok,” Kattie said, mistaking my reluctance, “It doesn’t hurt. I promise.”
I smiled at her and put my hands on the plate. It started to shine a soft blue, and Kattie read something she could see on her side. She started writing things down. “I see. I’m surprised. You are already mid-bronze strength. I’m told that people are very weak when they first come to our world. You also have fire magic affinity. No water Magic, though. That is unfortunate,” she said, looking at me consolingly.
“Why is that?” I asked.
“Water Magic is what healers typically use when healing others. If you ever have it done on you, you will understand. It feels like warm water pouring over you, healing everything up. Not to worry, though. There are those who use herbs and potions, and those methods don’t need magic to heal. Like I said, if you use your brain, you can still do just fine!” She said, trying to bolster my feelings. “You can also save up and buy a water magic spell scroll, of course, but those are very expensive, and as a human, we don’t have much mana to start with, so even if you learn it, you could only use it sparingly. Human healers rely on Herbs, and other means first due to that, but the ones who also have water magic just have a few more options.”
Well, I knew what my next skill point was going to buy me. Water magic, here I come. Kattie was busy writing everything down, so I waited for her to finish. She asked me to follow her, and we returned to the waiting area. She brought me a small metal card like Hert’s, only his was red. This was yellow. “So this is your proof of identification. Don’t lose it as it costs to replace it. It shows you are Bronze rank right now. As you get stronger…. Oh, that’s right, you probably don’t know. You can gain strength by defeating beasts. That is why adventures that hunt monsters get so strong. Even humans can get strong enough to rival low-level Orcs if you can believe that. Mostly, we are fast, not strong, but keep working at it, and you will get strong, too. Anyway, as you get stronger and can defeat more beasties, just bring in your card, and we will re-evaluate you and give you an interview. Pass both of those, and you will raise your rank. Some Humans go all the way to Silver.” “Not Gold or Mythril?” I asked.
She laughed. “No. Humans are smart, so sometimes a Gold or Mythril rank parties will consult with us, and Guild leaders like Mr. Ricter are usually human because we are good at strategy. We just aren’t strong enough to go up against the big monsters, though. Only long-lived Elves and Dwarves who had time to gain a lot of power or strong naturally Beastmen and Dragonewts are capable of that.”
“I see. So shoot for silver. What are the rules of the Guild? How do I start taking on jobs?”
She smiled somewhat, smirking. “Please read this,” and she handed me a thick book. “This is the Guild’s guide for new members. It has the rules and basic information on monsters at the bronze and iron ranks, as well as herbs and plants you might use. As for taking jobs, I wouldn’t worry about that quite yet. You need some training first. The Guild has a fund for Guideds like yourself. It will pay for a month of training in everything you need to know to get started, as well as room and board at the adventurer’s boarding house.” She lowered her voice a bit and said, “Your instructor is Marybell. You seem very polite. She will like that, but more than that, show that you are willing to learn and push yourself, and she will treat you well.”
“I understand. I will try to do just that then.”
“Great! Since I did your guild introduction, you will work with me when you take jobs. I used to be an Iron rank myself, so I can help when you have questions. For now, take your book, go to the boarding house next door, and get a bed. I’ve already told them about you. Just show them your card, and they will feed you twice daily, too! Read up today. You will join class tomorrow with Marybell.”
I thanked her and left. The boarding house was right next door. It had a place to wash up and a couple outhouses out back. Inside were rows of beds, and they didn’t seem to be separated by gender. There was a dining area that was like a cafeteria, and it seemed like everyone had some basic gear but nothing extravagant. There was a magic lock box under our bed, and I was told only my key would work on it, so my belongings would be safe as long as I had the key. They said not to lose it, or the staff would have to pay to have a magical locksmith to come out. I got a meal, which was substantial but obviously cheap, and then started reading the guild book. It was pretty much as basic as you got for rules. If you did anything illegal and were caught, you would lose membership. The laws mentioned seemed reasonable. I made a note to find out more about local laws. The Guild got you free entrance to any country or town. That made sense, as they needed to make it easy to move people to where the monster threats were. The Guild offered basic services like the boarding house, which was subsidized by the town as long as you were actively taking jobs. You could buy potions at cheaper than market rates, and if you went to a guild-certified smith, you could get gear at a discount… At least basic-level gear. Other than that, they brokered deals with those looking for jobs done, even if it didn’t involve monster hunts that could mean escorts through dangerous zones or collecting materials where you might run into monsters. That kind of thing. Monster hunts were paid for by the city, and so were primarily local. Weaker pests that, say, a farmer couldn’t deal with might mean a little travel. If a small village paid to have a bronze member come out and exterminate pests, It wouldn’t pay a lot, but helped the farmers and helped low rank members earn some cash. The thing I was really interested in, though, was the fact that the Guild would pay for monster parts and the cores that are right next to the heart in higher-level monsters. It looked like they were used for all kinds of things, but the prices were listed, and you didn’t have to wait for the town to ask for a monster hunt. You could just go out looking for them. That said, most of what paid well was iron-rank monsters. I’m sure bronze-rank members didn’t get paid a lot, but I could work with what I had by myself and do better. I kicked myself when I saw some of the prices for plants and even pelts. I could have been collecting them in my inventory to sell here. I started screenshotting pages that listed usable parts of various monsters. I also took note of how they were usually hunted and their weaknesses. I couldn’t wait for class tomorrow.
Class
I showed up early for class. I had gone to Kattie earlier to ask if I should bring anything, and she said no. Everything would be provided, and we wouldn’t need our book, but we would be asked about it. Class started out behind the Guild in a small training area. Other students started to filter in, and I tried to introduce myself to everyone. I didn’t know how much we would be working together, but if there was one thing I had learned, it was school was more than learning. That said, no one stood out to me in a great way. They were all either quiet or gruff.
Stolen novel; please report.
One guy was actually pretty pompous. He had obviously better gear than the others. Even though everyone else came with just some light clothing or, at most, some protective clothing, he came in geared up. The expensive-looking sword on his hip rings on his fingers and, in general, looked like a preening peacock. I pegged him as a rich boy in all the worst ways and didn’t even approach him. Unfortunately, he came up to me. “You must be the one who came from another world. Kind of old, aren’t you? A little late to become an adventurer. He sneered at me. Everyone knows you are going to be too weak for this work.”
“Sorry. I don’t remember asking,” I said, stone-faced. I could have been nicer, but this kind of guy was my weak spot. I came from a poor family with just me and Dad, and he was a medically discharged vet, so school had been scholarship or nothing. Part-time jobs and scraping for every penny were my life. This kind of guy was an untitled brat, and I wasn’t about to give a guy like this an inch. He turned red and was about to say something else when the teacher arrived.
She came out of the Guild and shouted, “All right, you bronze punks, line up or find out how quickly I can make your life miserable.” Everyone stopped and moved to line up. Mister Pompous intentionally bumped into me as he moved to the line. It was fast, and his momentum staggered me. I caught a smirk on his face as he moved off. I quickly moved, but I was already the last one in line. The teacher eyed me and then started to talk about the Guild. It was stuff I had already learned from the book, so I took a moment to take a closer look at her, and this time, I went ahead and used Analyze. I figured if it was a problem, now was the time to find out. As our teacher, she could teach me that anyway.
Name: Lillie Marybell
Race: Elf
Level 68 (9%)
Age 22 plus 178 years 5 months 3 days
Strongest Stat: Wisdom (Mana 35)
I nearly had to scrap my jaw off the floor. An ELF! 200 years old! Mana 35! So many questions! I took a closer look at her and right away noticed the ears were, in fact, pointy. Why was a fantasy race real? What was happening? I knew they had said the names before, but I had thought it was using words I knew. I didn’t think the image would be the same. Come to think of it, Orcs had been the same way. I needed to go find a dwarf and see if there was something going on here.
Lillith was beautiful. It almost was off-putting how pretty she was. Then I realized what it was. Humans aren’t symmetrical. The left side of our face and the right aren’t the same. Some people think it has to do with our impression of beauty. The more symmetrical your appearance is, the more attractive you are, regardless of general features. Lillith was perfectly symmetrical, which was actually both good-looking and made you question if she was real. She had an athletic frame and moved with grace like a dancer. While I was still trying to figure out what I thought of all this, she pointed at me and said, “Well?” Oops… I wasn’t paying attention. I did a quick review of the last few words I had heard. I was pretty sure she had said something about Orcs, so I just said what I knew, “Orcs are strong but slow and dumb. They don’t often have weapons at lower levels, but can at higher levels and even have spell casters.”
She looked a little perturbed and said, “That is all good, but with that information, what kind of weapon should you use to take one down?”
Dang that hadn’t been the question. I couldn’t remember anything in the book about weapons. Most of it was about tracking and avoiding large groups. Then it hit me. “Nothing. I’m a bronze rank. Orcs are Iron rank and more, so I should get away and report it to the Guild.”
That seemed to mollify her. “That is right. It was a trick question. All of you would-be adventurers need to get exactly that into your thick skulls. Take on the wrong foe or even the right foe at the wrong time or in the wrong numbers, and you will end your career before it even begins.”
Mr. Pompous seemed to take exception to this because he answered back with, “What do you mean? We are already adventurers. Bronze is still an adventurer.”
“Ha! You think you are an adventurer just because you have an ID? Not so fast, pipsqueak. Have you fought a battle and lost with injuries?”
“No! I don’t lose!”
“Have you felt the pain of losing someone? Have you had to bite your tongue while your betters fought battles you couldn’t? Have you worked and slaved every day just to find out it wasn’t good enough, and you had to do even more and do it differently? Have you lost a battle but saved a person? Have you failed at a mission just to return to the Guild and take another the next day? Because until you can say yes to all of that, you aren’t an adventurer!”
Marybell was looking daggers at Mr. Pompous, and he looked somewhat deflated, so Marybell looked at everyone else and said, “It looks like you all need a lesson in losing. Go grab a training sword.” She pointed to a rack with dull swords, and we all ran over to grab one. No one wanted a tongue-lashing like Mr. P had just gotten. “Alright, line up in front of me.” We all lined up, and I made sure not to be first. That honor was given to a late-teens-looking boy who had been pushed into it by another girl. “Come at me!” she said, and the boy took a slash at her from left shoulder to right hip. At least he tried. Marybell moved so fast that I couldn’t even see what had happened, and the boy was on his back, holding his leg and looking at the point of her sword in his face. “you don’t have a leg, and you are dead now.” She said. The boy got to his feet, thanked the teacher, and hobbled to the back of the line. That impressed me. No anger. Just ready to learn. I would keep my eye on him. Speaking of keeping my eye on someone, I didn’t want to miss it next time, so I activated Time Slow, put it at the mana regen point, and watched the next bout. This time, it was still quick, but I could follow. This was the girl now, and she didn’t fare any better. Marybell slipped the strike and hit her leg with the flat of her sword just as she was shifting all her weight to it. This, she brought her sword in a smooth swirl to stop in front of her face again. “Next!” This continued until it was my turn. I didn’t want to use Time Slow as I wanted to try to learn how she wanted us to, so I canceled it and, instead of a slash, did a quick stab but quickly brought my sword down where I thought she would be going for my leg. I still wasn’t fast enough, though, and was knocked on my butt like everyone else. She gave me a look like she wanted to say something but didn’t and said, “Next!” This went on with people trying different moves. Every time, she answered the same way until all our legs were bruised and battered. I had a secret, though. We fought and went back into the line. The entire time I was in line, I watched and cycled mana through my legs. They hurt for a minute, but not only did they heal by the time I made it back to the front, but they didn’t get tired. I didn’t get tired. More and more people kept dropping out. Then it was just me, Mr. P., and the first boy. We all kept going. Then Mr. P dropped out. Down to two, it was harder to keep up with mana cycling, but it still helped. I don’t know how the other kid kept going. He had to be in agony. He would limp up, try... fall again, and then stand up all over. We did this for a few more cycles, and then she had us come at the same time. She twisted us up like pretzels and then asked if we had enough while leaning into the joint locks she had on both of us. We both cried, uncle, and she backed up.
“What did we learn?” she asked. No one spoke up, so she pointed at Mr. P and repeated herself.
“Not to mess with you?” He said
She shook her head and pointed at the young man I had been trading with. “You. What is your name?”
“Andy, Ms Marybell”
“Ok, Andy, what did you learn?
“Know when to walk away?”
“I hope you learned when to run away, Andy. There are monsters out there that make me look slow. That makes me look weak. I wouldn’t even slow them down. Do I face such a creature? No! I run. I help as many people as I can run. I hide and help others hide. I set traps if I can, but I run. Not to town mind. Don’t lead them to the weak. Run away, and if you survive, tell someone who can do something about it. You are Bronze and untested, most of you.” She pointed at me. “You are the strongest one here, even with rings of power (she said, glancing at Mr. P, and I realized what the jewelry was for then). Would you take on a Pelur hand to hand?”
“No, Ms. Marybell,” I said, cringing at the thought of the wounds I had suffered. I had been far too lucky that day…. need to put another point in Luck.
“I should hope not. If you try before you are upper Iron, I will kill you myself.” She looked around the room at each person. “Look, I’m not saying this because I am mean… Well, not just because I’m mean.” She smiled at her own joke (it was a joke… right?). “But because if you learn this, you might all make it to Iron rank. We don’t need any more Bronze rankers. You are too weak and almost helpless. Even in a group, one Orc could take you out. No… we need you to get to Iron so you are worth something. I intend to train you so you get there. Today’s lesson, though, is this. Unless it is a Bronze rank monster or animal, what do you do?” She looked at everyone and raised her hands, indicating we should all say it.
“””” Run!” ”””
The rest of the morning, we stood in one spot and moved our swords in patterns, she indicated. She was strict and wouldn’t let us move fast. No one in the class was up to moving around as their legs were a wreck, so at least we could do this. I hoped to pick up the sword skill, but I never did. Maybe because we didn’t do much with our legs? She kept quizzing us as we worked. If she said a bronze-rank monster, she asked us questions. If it was an iron rank monster, she asked us what we would do, and we better say run, or we ended up on our butts. Throughout this, Mr. P kept glaring at Marybell when she wasn’t looking. As if his honor was affronted. After a few hours of this, we were let go and told to go study more.