In most VR games, anyone could create a guild as long as they met the conditions for it. These conditions were usually no more than requirements for certain number of players or certain amount of gold for registration or certain level to unlock guilds creation option. Typically games went for a combination of these three options.
RREV, however, decided to take things to the next level. A guild was not something one could create by just meeting certain conditions in RREV; that did not imply there were no conditions but more like the conditions could not be categorized into fixed boxes. There were however recognized stages of metamorphosis that one went through before they could lead a guild.
The first stage was party formation. It was the most basic and smallest unit of joint team play. Playing in a party provided one benefit; joint sharing of EXP with divided risks. Players would have to form a party of maximum 5 to start with to achieve mutual ends. This meant randomly becoming friends with strangers and completing a dungeon would not always necessarily work. The exact variables which determined if mutual goals were accomplished were unknown. The time the party spent together was one of the factors but not the only one. Once a party was able to meet this condition, only then would they be allowed to enlarge their party size.
The enlarged party was recognized as stage two. However, even then players would be unable to create a guild in RREV. The enlarged party had a maximum membership of 10 players and gave no other benefit when compared to stage one.
If the enlarged group were able to distinguish themselves enough through quests they would typically be invited by a noble lord to create a distinguished party. This was stage three and also one of the most unfortunate stages as the distinguished party’s would often be viewed as dogs of the nobles or the nobles personal army. The nobles would fund their quests to a limit and in return they would have answer to every whim and fancy of the noble. Other than the monetary benefit, the distinguished party also benefitted with increased membership capacity of up to 50 members.
Most nobles would have at least ten distinguished parties or 100 men for active service. This also allowed distinguished parties to interact with each other and form alliances. Sometimes the alliances would lead to mergers of the two groups and give rise to an elite party; the fourth stage. The elite party was where the players had to manufacture their own badges and uniforms. The constraint with elite parties were that there membership could never exceed 500. An elite party typically came with all sorts of benefits, the party had access to higher level political information, they would be consulted in town developments and employment opportunities. Most of all they could charge more for the service they provided to the nobles and did not necessarily have to answer to their fancies anymore.
Only when elite party earned enough fame, public service points and reputation would they be registered as a minor guild. A minor guild permitted up to 2500 members. Minor guilds had all the functioning power as a normal guild would. They could occupy provinces, towns and castles. Most players would be satisfied reaching here; as there was little or no difference in benefits between a minor guild and a major guild.
However, those who still wish to be recognized as a major guild were required to undertake a guild test. Guild tests would score the guild accordingly and determine the guild size. It was a costly affair and most players saw no real benefit of it. The highest score would enable a major guild to attain a maximum membership limit of 500,000.
Why the tedious process? Unicon Corp refused to comment, so everyone just had to guess. The most agreed upon answer was that it was a way to differentiate gaming experience. The so called gaming experts warned Unicorn how this concept would never work. Yet again they were underestimating Lee Hyun’s thoughtfulness. Initially, players disliked the tedious process, however they soon realized that guilds in other games were like a deck of stacked cards, even the smallest failure would result in a total collapse. Guilds in RREV were nurtured through time; it took a great deal of joint effort by all members to become stronger as a whole. The core of established guilds in RREV was strong knit through bonds of trust and friendship. The guilds in RREV stood united as a whole, a sense of belonging which was missing in other games’ guilds. In the end, it only attracted more people to play RREV to experience something new; just as Lee Hyun had intended it to.
As everyone could learn any profession, there were very few player based guilds limited to a specific profession. However, there were NPC guilds which catered to specific professions only. One of these was the blacksmithing guild in Lavias City which Theodore had recommended to Weed. Guilds were always crowded with a lot of people, typically the best place to get cheap and good quality food for members. Most bases served as a local café, where quest related information was posted or where players could create a party with guild members. It also provided a place to discuss confidential information or plain simple gossip. The richer guilds had luxurious bases with every comfort for members provided. The blacksmithing guild compared to others looked deserted and even strange. That was mostly since it was a specialized guild and one led by an NPC.
Upon entering, Weed attracted the interest of several players in the cafeteria and some NPCs. The blacksmithing guild was home to mostly the dwarves and very rarely did someone over 5 feet cross the door. As Weed walked towards the registration room, all eyes followed him. Though Weed wore a hooded cloak, his facial features indicated he were elf. His fair skin and silver hair too attracted attention; an unusual appearance was becoming the topic of discussion for all those who laid their eyes on him.
Weed quietly made his way to the registration desk and took a new applicants form to fill out. As he sat down, to fill the form in, players lost interest in him and resumed their respective topics.
“I heard that about 3% of the gaming population makes up for specialized crafting profession in RREV.”
“That’s amazing! Isn’t that an unusually below 1% in other games?”
“Not really, it means that only the best will survive. Also aiming to specialize in this profession will certainly mean leading a life of poverty. Most players here take up a production profession to specialize in, with the idea that Lee Hyun was a sculptor in Royal Road. Since he is the developer of RREV, they think he might have left some of his legacy behind. A bunch of fools wasting their time.”
“But what if he did?”
“I doubt it, the game is completely different from Royal Road, all the experts pointed out the similarities exist because of the lack of time Unicorn had to prepare new names, places and maps.”
Players who had decidced to specialize in blacksmith, sat and whined because of their profession. 'Pathetic. If it was so much of drudgery they could always change professions?' Weed didn’t understand what they gained from complaining and whining.
“By the way, have you heard the news about the upcoming blacksmith competition?”
“The one which Theodore holds every month? Nothing special about it.”
“I heard that nearly 100 people applied this time and surprisingly all one hundred cleared it!”
“Like I said nothing special about it.”
“Well, I think its one of the easier quests one has to undertake to learn advance blacksmith skills. Quite a few blacksmiths go there to upgrade their skills from basic.”
“You could try the next city as well, some players told me that the school over there teaches advance skills as well.”
“I never knew that! But I still prefer Theodore’s quest, I hear some of the apprentices got to learn the dwarvish secrets of blacksmithing.”
“Yeah I heard about how the first few apprentices got that skill. It’s one of the rarer ones but from what my guild gathered you can find dwarves to teach you those skills.”
“Ah! I’m so jealous. I wish there were more guilds! I am struggling to join a guild here. There are so few! Can’t you recruit me or something?”
“Try joining a elite party. They really value craft specialization. Since they are always short on money!”
“I could cry, there are no Elite parties willing to hire me at my current level.”
“That’s surprising you say that, since most blacksmiths are in the Earth or Fire kingdom.”
“I know! It seems all elite parties want to hire dwarves or blacksmiths from those kingdoms since their elements favor blacksmithing more. I don’t know why I chose blacksmithing with air affinity!”
Weed heard enough empty laments and quietly returned the new members applicants form. A male dwarf NPC quickly went through the form. He avoided eye contact with Weed, for the simple reason he was an elf.
“What is the purpose of your visit?” said the NPC.
“I want to learn basic blacksmithing.”
“Oh! Really?” The representative said happily “Do you want to become a blacksmith?”
“Yes.”
“Well if it’s only basic blacksmithing skills you didn’t have to come all the way here. You could have tried it on your own.”
“I was given guidance by Theodore Balkan, to come here.” Weed replied in a low tone.
The eyes of the NPC dwarf widened. Every dwarf of any age had heard of the Balkan family and Theodore Balkan the eldest son was the jewel of the dwarven race and the pride of the family.
“Have you ever held a hammer before elf?” The dwarf asked now treating Weed as one of his own.
“Never.”
“Then basic blacksmithing is the best place for you to start, indeed. I will explain the absolute basic knowledge of blacksmithing. In the Air Kingdom, you can only forge weapons and armors in the great weapon forges. However, if you hold an arms license then you can forge them anywhere. I suggest you apply for the arms license test when you reach beginner level 5. Your skills will be sufficiently high then to pass the test. If you register as a member of this guild, you will receive 5% off the basic blacksmithing starters set and 10% off all other sets. Any questions?”
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Weed nodded sideways.
“Please share your stats information with me.”
Weed hesitated and then did so. The dwarf stood with a dumbfounded expression, the stat levels were off the chart. He had never seen anything like this before. Only Theodore knew of the moonstone and its powers and thus could guess why Weed’s stats were so incredibly high, but for this NPC dwarf, Weed’s stats made no sense. Level FF/13 and Dexterity of 255?
“Um, it looks like you’re more than qualified” said the NPC. “Then let us immediately start with an explanation of how to hold the hammer. Look closely, grab it like this and hit like that. Avoid hitting cooled off metal. A timer will blink on your screen, hit the item before the countdown reaches zero. Higher dexterity will enable you to give more swings to the hammer and a greater level of accuracy, thus tempering the steel perfectly…”
TRRRINGG!
You have learned the skills of a basic blacksmith!
Depending on the skill level, the requirements on equips go down by 2 percent or more. If you have mastered the skill of a blacksmith to master level, you can wear the items of other professions despite limitations.
Weed signed up as a member of the guild and bought the most expensive blacksmithing set he could use; a good hammer, whetstone and some items. He also bought a portable smelter, a 108 piece set of molds for all types of weapons and a cart with a horse, all 305 gold after discount. Purchasing such expensive items earned Weed 5 reputation and 25 fame, since his purchases equaled three month’s worth of sales. Weed also signed up for the weapons license test next week, he was confident, he could clear those easily.
Typically a player could only work in a blacksmith shop, but with these items Weed could create items anywhere. The process of forging items is very simple! Thanks to the portable stove, by using fire elements, metal can be melted and then poured into a mold. From there a work piece is made after which being hammered makes an item. Though the games might be different, the core concept of blacksmithing remained the same.
The horse and the cart was a bit fancy, but being a low level elf meant that the weight restrictions slow him down significantly. Weed didn’t stop with his shopping there, he traded the horse that came along with the cart for a more superior breed. That cost him another 300 gold!
He then headed with his cart, straight to the mines and bought ores worth 100 gold! Weed bitterly let go of each gold coin he spent, if he was unable to make Lisa a ring worth of a 1000 gold coins then he might have to return the money or even risk being branded as a thief.
After collecting all the needed items, Weed went back to Rodriguez ranch and opened up his portable blacksmith store. Rodriguez was more than happy to let Weed practice in his ranch provided of course that he made some new horseshoes for his horses. Weed decided to dedicate most of his time to uncovering the secrets of the elemental blacksmith profession and clearing the upcoming license test. Weed sat down in front of the anvil and opened his bag. Somewhere in the back were the pieces of ore that he just bought.
“First, melt …” Weed said to himself, as he read the instructions from the help screen.
Weed placed the ore in a metal pan and held it by its grip. He then focused on the mana around him and began imagining it turn into heat. It was the first time Weed was using mana, so he was very bad at it to begin with and initially nothing happened. Weed felt very frustrated but there was little that he could do, other players had higher affinity and mana conversion levels thus would have found this task simpler. Weed was not bestowed with the same fortune as them. It took a few hours but slowly the ore in the iron pan began to crackle till it melted.
“Now refine it.”
Weed poured the metal through various filters, removing away any dirt in the ore.
“Mold it.”
Weed gently poured it into the mold and, after waiting a bit, he got the first piece. Now, while the metal had not hardened, in its malleable and soft form he had to give it a shape. Clanking away, Weed hammered away a rod. It was a simple rod. He smacked the rod one last time as the time counter hit zero and dipped it into cold water. With that Weed produced his first item.
Steel Rod:
Durability: 100/100
Can he used in construction of houses or for other purposes.
You have raised the skill of a blacksmith by 10%.
“This is so lame.” Weed said to himself as he stared at the rod he made. It would have been cool if even the simple rod had some added properties to it; sadly Weed’s current level was too low to add any further effects. Also, he had simply followed instructions on basic shapes; he should have totally expected a rod to begin with.
“I can do better myself.” Weed grumbled as he put away the rod. It was perfectly good ore wasted.
Weed picked up another ore piece and began melting it. With his past experience of blacksmithing in another game, Weed carefully focused his hammering movements; the craft was like a second nature to him. With his high level of dexterity, Weed could hit the mold at least a hundred times before it cooled down. Each hit added to the item’s durability. After a few attempts at trial and error, he finally forged his first sword. Weed grinned as he stared at the first sword he forged.
Durability: 25/25. Attack 4-6.
Sword made from different types of metal, man made with the makings of the master. The attack Power is small, but it has high durability..
Requirements: None.
It was a pretty average sword for his level of blacksmithing; other than the durability nothing really stood out. However, the blade was better than the one he bought at the store. It did not do as much damage, but Weed was sure he could increase that as he increased his level. He would have loved to sell it in the armory shop where he would have gotten at least 20 silver for it. Unfortunately he had no weapons license. Even practice weapon forging like this would be held as a criminal activity in the Air Kingdom. That was why Weed chose, Rodriguez isolated ranch to practice his skill. He could have practiced in the weapons forge, but he feared attracting too much attention. The blacksmithing guild was enough for starters attention of how much he stood out amongst the dwarves.
Weed decided to use all the ore he bought to make weapons and shields. He had a lot of it: 100 gold coins was a lot of money, he had bought a cart full of a variety of grades of ore deposits. Carefully unloading the boxes from the cart, Weed took out the iron ore to smelt. He couldn’t melt all the ores in one go as it would start cooling down, so he began with individual pieces. By simply following the instructions provided in the help window, Weed rapidly began mimicking the movements. It was uncanny, how perfectly he could copy and follow the instructions he read once.
Your blacksmith level has risen to beginner level 2.
The attacking characteristics of weapons are now stronger. Now you can make more weapons too.
Your blacksmith level has risen to beginner 3.
Now you can make bronze and copper armor.
Weed hammered away, day and night, for 3 days at Rodriguez Ranch, creating blades. Increasing his level was very difficult. He enjoyed stat boosts during the night, however it was not enough to help him increase his level rapidly. Just somehow, he had managed to reach beginner level 3. The sun began setting and Weed decided to logout and return back after a break; hammering swords alone for three days wasn’t the most enjoyable task.
Weed shivered as he watched the full moon come up. He didn’t know why but he felt nauseated when he saw the full moon. Thinking that he had come down with flu or an illness in RL, Weed immediately logged out. He didn’t want to catch an illness before the weapons license test, especially since he paid 3 gold for the application fees.
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Authors Note:
1. Edited by Knaivvs. (he is the man!)
2. I dont know how many of you can see this, but this chapter was based on the skeleton of LMSV4C2.
3. T_T I want to post more chapters but I have work tomorrow, so this will be all for this weekend. See you all next saturday (or maybe if we are lucky over the week).
4. This Chapter was earlier known as 'The Fated Profession (Part 2)?'
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Connect to Royal Road – Elementarem Vim next Chapter?YesNo
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