“I have to ask.” Leif sent telepathically to his two guides who were striding ahead of him at a brisk, but measured pace. “Who are the people running around on the rooftops?”
“Iron rank adventurers, at the minimum.” Tollumi said, side stepping around an elderly woman pushing a small trolley, its wooden wheels clacking against the slightly uneven ground.
“How ignorant would it make me if I didn’t know what being at that rank means?” He asked.
“Pretty ignorant.” Nayet said, stepping in behind her husband as the trio started to push through a small crowd. “Do they not have adventurers where you’re from? I thought the concept was pretty universal?”
Leif paused. “I was a… soldier, not an adventurer, so I’m not familiar with the organisation structure. And I’ve been in the wilderness for quite a long time.”
“The northern kingdoms are structured differently anyway.” Tollumi said, apologising as he gently shoved an older teen aside. “Instead of working for guilds, they’re hired by noble houses to hunt down monsters and keep the peace, or at least that’s what I heard.”
“Sounds about right.” Leif said, though in truth he was clueless.
“Okay! Let me explain then.” Nayet said, talking over her partner as he opened his mouth to do just that. Tollumi’s mouth closed with a smile, the man leading them through a series of less crowded side streets as they made their way further within Ahle-ho.
“Okay, so. There are guilds, lots of guilds. Ahle-ho has guilds, Sablaris has guilds, the empire has guilds and even the republic out west has guilds. It’s an old tradition, it predates most modern countries but nobody really knows by how much.” She took a deep breath. “In Ahle-ho there are five big guilds, they’re called ‘prime guilds’, and Twin Heart is one of them. Prime guilds have a say in how the city is run, and often get first dibs on contracts, expeditions and dungeon dives.”
“Okay I’m following so far, what about the people using the roofs of buildings as a highway.”
“Right, so there are adventurer ranks. The prime guilds have the most high ranks in the city, and by high I mean gold and silver ranked adventurers. They’re not exactly grades based on power, but you need to be over level one hundred to be a gold rank.”
“And that's no easy feat.” Tollumi called over his shoulder. “Once you reach level fifty, levelling slows way down, you need to be constantly pushing yourself and finding new challenges. Me and the rock thrower I call a wife were planning on reaching level fifty while on tour, but things didn’t quite pan out that way.”
“Shut up hammer boy, you know you love me.”
“Hammer boy? I’m at least a hammer man.”
“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, adventurer ranks go from tin to gold. It goes: Tin, then copper, then bronze, iron,” She gestured up towards the roofs of the nearby buildings, “Then silver and gold. We’re only copper, but that will change once we actually get over level fifty.”
“Level fifty is the prerequisite for bronze rank. With iron and silver being about proving you aren’t a public nuisance.” Tollumi said.
“We could have gotten our rank promotions done remotely once we passed the advancement bottleneck, but we figured it was time to head home instead of pushing for the last few levels...” Nayet said, trailing off towards the end.
“Right. It was a totally logical decision we made based on no external factors whatsoever.”
Leif smiled at the interplay, though the expression was hidden under his mask. Even with his aura mostly suppressed and being unable to perceive their emotions, the care both adventurers had for one another was as clear as day.
“Wait… Tol, are we even going in the right direction?”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
“Yup.” He replied cheerily.
“But the guild headquarters are more in that direction.” She said, pointing off to the side.
“That’s true. But we’re acting as tour guides, we should show our new friend around the city we call home.”
“Sure… but.”
“You need to finish explaining why iron ranked adventurers can run around on rooftops.”
“Oh, right. Iron ranks have the physical attributes to not fall off the buildings.” She said, then expanded on her explanation when Tollumi scowled at her. “Also being Iron rank means more than just power and strength, it’s having your actions and deeds recognised by not just your guild, but other guilds as well. Basically it lets you ignore certain rules that lower levelled people need to follow, hence the rooftop running to avoid the crowds.”
“What if someone didn’t invest into their physical attributes? I’d imagine some people with certain classes focusing more on increasing their processing speed with [Intelligence] or skill strength with [Willpower].” Leif asked telepathically.
“That’s what I did.” Nayet said happily. “You have no idea how much of a pain it was to control multiple floating rocks when I was a lower level, [Intelligence] really helps you split your mind to do multiple things at once.”
“I noticed that myself.”
“Right? Anyway, advancing past level fifty gives a percentage boost to all your attributes, just like it does when you pass level twenty five. I’m waiting until then to focus on rounding out my other attributes.”
“Is it another ten percent increase?” Leif asked, checking his own attributes.
“It’s another ten percent, for a total of twenty.” Nayet said, spreading her arms as if to demonstrate the potency of the increase. “I can’t wait, watching Tol run around even in heavy armour is making me jealous. Also there are secret benefits that boys don't know about.”
Leif thought about that for a second, and realised he had no idea what she was on about. “Sounds about right.”
They stepped out onto a busier street, taking a right turn and following the flow of traffic. Leif saw the colosseum rising up above the city's skyline, the large curved structure dominating the horizon. He wondered if that was where they were headed, only for Tollumi to take an exit after only a hundred metres.
There was a gated checkpoint they were waved through by a pair of lounging guards, the wall being more of a dividing line than a defensive fortification. The street began to slope, homes often being connected to the road with a short series of steps. They passed through a bazaar, scents, sights and sound Leif had never experienced before rolling over him as they navigated the tightly cramped stalls. Light filtered down from stained glass windows that followed the curvature of the multi-domed ceiling. They even walked through a passageway that sold decorated masks, Nayet asking if he wanted to stop and take a look.
Eventually they emerged from the enclosed market, both adventurers with spiced buns, still steaming with internal heat. Leif had a painted mask that vaguely looked like a deer which he had strapped to his side, it didn’t quite provide the coverage he needed to preserve his identity, but the mask was made of wood and that problem could be fixed. He wasn’t sure about actually wearing something with such bright colours, even if Nayet had practically bullied the shopkeeper to lower the price as low as it could possibly go.
They stopped within a plaza, Tollumi gesturing grandly at a temple on the other side of the plaza, Nayet clinging to his arm with a mix of embarrassment and happiness. “Behold,” He said, “the temple where we swore solemn oaths, and dedicated our lives- Owch, what was that for?”
“I doubt Leif cares, it's weird you’re showing someone we only met two days ago where we got married.”
“Right, which is why I will mention that despite how relatively unimpressive it looks, the building predates the city itself.”
“You don’t need to justify showing me.” The scion said. “It’s sweet, and I don’t mind. Thank you for showing me.”
Tollumi beamed, sweeping a bow that Nayet interrupted by poking him in the ribs.
“Is it always so busy?” Leif asked, noticing a near constant stream of people coming and going.
“No, not usually.” Tollumi said. “Perhaps it's a sign of troubled times? Or maybe it’s just because the city is practically overflowing with people?”
A family with several small children was led outside by a priest wearing white, and slightly ornate robes. The family was holding blankets and the father had a basket of what may have been food. “They seem to be doing good, regardless of the reason.”
The adventurers nodded seriously, both raising an open hand to the priest who returned the gesture before heading back inside, the robed figure disappearing behind a painted pillar. “Receivers usually perform acts of charity, it's a good sect, that's why we chose it.” Tollumi said with a smile. “Anyway, how about we get to the guild, unless you want to see the theatre where-”
“No, let's get going.” Nayet said, pulling her husband along.