Past – Shadow Wolf Guild, after Latla defeated Kalak.
‘If no guild is willing to accept me,’ Latla had declared, ‘then I’ll create my own!’
Whilst hearing that declaration, voiced by someone who possessed no mana to her name, the mages of the Shadow Wolf guild had their eyes fixated on a sight: Kalak, an A-rank mage, laying unconscious on the ruins that was the receptionist counter.
On that day, Latla gained two things: the admiration of some—and the ire of many.
***
Present.
‘It’s just an abandoned building now,’ he said, Latla thought as she stared at the café that was now hers. That description by no means fit.
This massive two-story building that loomed before her was far from being an abandoned building. Since having heard Artour’s description at the time, the image that had been framed in Latla’s mind was a building worn down from age and in dire need of repairs. However, this building—this café before her… calling it an abandoned building would be an insult to actual abandoned buildings.
Though the building had been left behind, it appeared fresh, mighty, and new: the blue paint had a consistent color without weathered gradation, the walls were smooth without cracks or holes, and the wooden sign was pristine without any signs of having aged. While other buildings in the slum area seemed abandoned although resided, this café was the very opposite of that.
The door to the café had its wooden panels decorated with artistic carvings of a mythical bird: the kind that was covered in flames. The lock was a standard padlock but engraved with magic encryption. This somewhat irritated Latla, for that strict security was excessive for a café; but all things considered—Latla shrugged—she would rather have it than not.
Latla inserted the key into the lock, gave it a clean twist, and—click—unlocked the door.
Opening the door, the first sight that greeted her was a spacious room with an array of furniture: cushy sofas, fine wooden tables, a classy grand piano, and other luxuries. They had been arranged neatly to best utilize the space as a café and had been left behind appropriately to retain its mint state. For a café located in a slum area, this sight of extravagance felt out of place.
… Latla put down her bag full of belongings on the dusty paneled floor beside a coat hanger and further explored what the place had to offer.
Below the café was a cellar where supplies and equipment were kept. The supplies were varieties of coffee beans preserved inside an airtight glass jar; the equipment were coffee-making tools that could last, such as an alcohol lamp containing a type of oil that could burn for a century.
Above the café was an upper story with many rooms: some empty, most filled with simple bedroom accommodation. Rooms for live-in employees, supposedly?
Returning to the first story, sitting on one of the sofas, elbow on the table and chin on palm, Latla couldn’t help but think:
Aren’t these too much for a café in the slums?! I’m positive the reason this café business never took off is because the expenses were too heavy and breaking even was impossible!
Sometimes, she questioned whether Artour was a good merchant; some business decisions he made were just downright questionable. One time, he thought it was a good idea to sell fish to a tribe who had a religious belief that fish was evil incarnate. Of course, they raised their spears at him, and consequently at Latla.
… At least, Latla thought, the only problem from this questionable café business is just his burnt money and not literal burning spears.
All in all, this café he had given her was an extraordinary parting gift.
Latla could do whatever she wanted with this place. She could sell it for quick cash, she could run the café business or rent the building for steady income, or she could use this place to advance a step further in fulfilling her dream of becoming the greatest mage in all of existence.
***
Past, four years before.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
‘What’s needed to become the greatest mage in all of existence… is a guild!!’ a man declared. Though his hair and beard had aged white, his childlike enthusiasm and refined body had remained youthful. This man, Barren, was one of Latla’s temporary mentors.
As travelling merchants, going from places to places was commonplace for Artour and Latla. Sometimes, kind strangers heading toward the same destination would join Artour’s caravan. The travel would be free of charge, given that the stranger mentored Latla until arrival. Barren, the man who possessed loud and vigorous voice, was one of those kind have-to-be-a-mentor strangers. Supposedly, he used to be the leader of a guild that he had himself created.
‘You see, young Latla,’ he explained while inside the moving caravan, ‘it’s not possible to fulfil your dream without a guild.’
‘Why’s that?’ Latla, seated opposite to Barren, asked.
‘Far from becoming the greatest mage in all of existence, you’ll instead become the luckiest mage in all of existence! Because—when you don’t have a guild, you need an insane amount of luck to establish yourself as a mage. Acquiring sponsors without any achievements is near impossible, opportunities must miraculously appear out of thin air to have an attempt at building reputation, there’s a stigma that a mage without any guild affiliation is below worthless, and lots of other reasons. The idea is: if you’re in a guild, you’re saved from those ridiculous hassles.
‘Sadly, for a manaless like you, no guild will accept you! Ba-ha-ha-ha!’
That remark struck a nerve. Latla would remember this.
‘No matter!’ Barren continued. ‘If no guild will accept you, you just have to create your own to be in one! Simple!’
‘How do I create my own guild?’
‘Good question! You’ll need four requirements!!’
Barren lifted four fingers and shoved them right in front of Latla’s face. As he named and explained each of the requirements, he would bend a finger down accordingly.
‘Place, a location for the guild to stand; Members, mages who could partake in quests; Quests, jobs offered to members; and Approval, formal licensing from association of guilds. They are the basics of the basics, and you need all four! Now, quick question! Which of these four do you think is the most important, young Latla?’
‘Approval,’ she answered.
‘Good answer, young Latla. I can see that you’ve been raised as a merchant well and know the importance of legal matters! You’re a bright kid… but your answer is dead wrong!! Ba-ha-ha-ha-ha!’
Barren’s response irritated Latla. Irritated, not angered, so she remained seated.
‘Think of it this way, young Latla! Imagine running a farm. Sure, permits are important for you to legally grow crops on that land, but they’re not the most important! What’s most important for a farm… is whether the soil is great for harvest! After all, what’s the use of permits if the farm can’t produce anything in the first place! In that essence, like a soil is to a farm, the most important requirement for guild creation is…’
***
Present.
Members, Latla thought. That’s the most important of the four requirements.
Latla was seated in front of the café, at a table which she had herself unfolded and set, brewing coffee. The water inside the flask—heated by an alcohol lamp below—had begun boiling and she inserted a funnel filled with pre-ground coffee beans.
As long as Members requirement is fulfilled, Quests will come by itself. And when the two interacts, Approval will be easier to attain.
Latla stirred the funnel with a spatula.
Members, due to its importance, should be the first requirement to be checked from the list. However, Latla had decided to address Place firsthand. Partly because Artour had given her this café which she could repurpose as a guild, partly because she believed that having Place would help her to attain Members, and partly because… a certain issue had inconvenienced her…
Regardless, now she had to attain Members.
I’ll need a receptionist, Latla thought. Someone who could repurpose this café as a guild and accept new members while I work on Quests and Approval. Preferably someone who is familiar with guilds and mages.
The coffee had seeped into the flask, dyeing the water dark brown.
‘… Should I get you a chair?’ Latla asked. A robed man with a staff was standing at the other end of the table. The stare that he gave her was akin to a contemptuous stare that one might give to a puny insect.
‘You gave Kalak a beating,’ he said with a crisp voice and a matter-of-fact tone, blatantly ignoring her question.
Kalak? Latla asked, ‘Who?’
‘Heh,’ he snickered, found her response engaging. ‘He’s a fellow traditional mage. The one that you gave a shameful defeat the other day in Shadow Wolf guild.’
Latla could remember having defeated someone—but couldn’t remember whom she defeated. Must be someone unremarkable who struck a nerve.
‘Being defeated itself is one thing and that’s tolerable,’ he continued. ‘Being defeated by someone who possessed not even a speck of mana on the other hand tarnishes the good name of traditional mages.’
‘Delightful.’ Latla smiled.
For a while now, Latla had been rolling a ring with her fingertips and making a show of it.
‘So, to fix your good name, you’re going to exact vengeance on me?’
They exchanged hostile stares.
If a fight was what he wanted here and now, Latla was ready to overtap and shatter her ring.
‘… If a fly,’ he began, a response that baffled her, ‘were to be a bother, then the appropriate response would be to crush it there and then. Having failed that, there’s no use in chasing a fly that had buzzed away; it’s a petty act that is unbecoming for the good name of traditional mages.’
‘…’ It annoyed Latla, being compared to a fly. ‘Why are you here then?’
‘To give you a warning, Latla Altaveli. As it stands, you’re a mere insect who’s not worth chasing and crushing. However, if it turns out that you’re no mere insect… I trust you know what that means…’
‘… The traditional mages will exact vengeance once I’ve made a guild.’ Only then would the act not be seen as petty. Latla placed her ring on the table. She giggled, a warning for a warning, ‘The outcome will further tarnish your name.’