JACKAL, BOA LEADER POV
Headache, everything is a headache nowadays.
From the unruly members who need to be disciplined, to a bunch of incompetent idiots that can’t even do their job right. The guild economy goes up and down like a Richter scale, while I’m doing a delicate balancing act in this period of transitioning from a mid-sized guild to a large-sized one.
All because of that stupid magician making waves and propelling naïve buffoons to arm up with the hope of toppling guild giants and becoming the next Zephyr themselves.
In other words, stupidity breeds more stupidity.
And here I am, getting swept along by the latest happenstance and unable to ignore the pesky idiots that keep knocking on my door. Two times I have been forced to merge with an upstart party that thinks they can just saunter in and bet on their badge in an attempt to overtake the guild.
It would have been fine if it just ended with their butts getting kicked back into whatever hole they came from. Under normal circumstances, I would have just dissolved their party and called it a day, but my subordinates had other ideas. One that I cannot ignore completely.
The Bulls next door are getting bolder. I should bolster our rank and expand they said. It will be fun they said.
Four districts in, and I can already feel my stomach bloated with coffee. The amount of sleepless nights I had to sacrifice to get everything sorted out will baffle an office worker. The worst part is that I don’t think the area expansion is stopping anytime soon, regardless of whether I like it or not.
However, the biggest problems remain. Too many hot-headed idiots in the guild and too few members with actual brains in their heads.
Just as I was thinking that, someone knocked on the door. I can already feel my headache rising again.
“Come in.”
“Boss, Benji wants to meet with you, boss.”
“Drop the ‘boss’, tell him to come in.”
“Yes, boss.”
He saluted and returned to standing in front of my office door as Benji entered and sat on the sofa, tapping away on his phone.
“What do you want? I’m busy. And don’t call me boss. My paperwork is a headache enough as is. I don’t need your dumbass adding more to it.”
“Hehe, things have been quite hectic for our dear Jackal isn’t it.”
“Hectic doesn’t even begin to cover it. I just wished there were more competent people in the guild.”
“Competent at finishing commissions?”
“Patrol, guarding, escorting, delivering. All of them. We are seriously lacking proper management on all fronts. Half of my paperwork is mostly filled with complaints.”
“Hmm, these are mostly the unanswered or incomplete deliveries in Taikan district.”
“Sigh, you tell me. We have no shortage of muscles, but if smashing things is all they are good at, we might as well specialize in security guild. At this rate, we might have to relocate to the Outer district with AI infestation to make use of them.”
“Geh! Hell nah. That sounds terrible. Hold on to that thought, check this out.”
Benji began tapping his phone furiously. Only at times like these, the lazy idiot started moving his ass properly. I should threaten to relocate more often if it can light a fire under his bottom.
“The heck am I looking at.”
“This, my friend, is the list of Suanka Delivery Commissions by status.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that. So?”
“Notice something extraordinary?”
“You mean the completion rate of 61%? That’s a lot higher than usual. Have those directionally challenged brickheads finally gotten their acts together?”
“Nope, and guess what? More than one-third is done by a single person.”
My eyes bulged at that statement. What manner of delivery is this one guy doing? Is he phasing through the walls like a ghost? Suanka is a freaking rat nest. How did he do it?
“The guy legit has the making of a pathfinder. I charted his traveling path from one place to another, and there was not a single wasted time spent. It’s as if the guy knows every shortcut and every shortest route to a given destination.”
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“Like a homing AI? That’s creepy.”
“That’s not all, the guy only made the account a couple of days prior.”
“So, you are saying he grasped the entire layout of the district in a day or two?”
Benji just shrugged his shoulder. The courier could have already been living there for a while before making the account, but if what this lazy idiot implying is true, then a genius pathfinder may have just stepped on our door. It would be foolish to not at least invite him for a talk.
“His name.”
“Kon Caspier. He lives in the Nerima district. Currently a student at Seika Academy.”
I palmed my face in frustration. Seika Academy. Of course, it has to be them. We often butt heads together because of our differences in viewpoints. Although, it’s mostly because of my subordinate who can’t stop acting like a bunch of Yankees. But I will be damned if I let their high horses step all over my guild.
“Keep an eye on him. Even though he is in Seika Academy doesn’t mean he automatically joined the team club. Any badges on him?”
“Nope, he is clean. Should we try to recruit him?”
“Yes, but make it subtle.”
“Got it, I will get Goto brothers-”
“No, not them, I want you to recruit him.”
“Wuh, me?”
“Yes, make yourself useful before I relocate your ass to sector 33.”
“Sir, yes sir!”
“And I swear if you bring Seika right onto my door, I will have you eat nothing but hard-tack rations for the coming winter.”
“No, I won’t sir!”
He ran off as if the hell itself was chasing after him. I swear, the lengths this guy will go through to be lazy is astounding. Anyway with that out of the way, I hope there will be more people with diverse skill sets join our guild.
The management’s side is understaffed and overworked, tasked with nannying a bunch of muscleheads. Not to mention, there are tons of troubles looming on the horizon. The Bulls are one thing, but the Vipers…..
I need to do something about this, but first, gotta refill the coffee for another sleepless night.
The work simply never ends.
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KON POV
“Yep, they are busy all day round, so the two of us are the only ones free enough to welcome you aboard. The name is Sera and this guy here is Joan.”
“Oosu.”
This is our first meeting with the SpeedGear club members. Sera wore a sports attire with her hair fashioned in a high ponytail. She looks like the chipper sort. While Joan the Bini hat-wearing guy over there is busy tapping on his phone and chewing bubblegum.
Their attitude seems to be the norm since Ms. Emma doesn’t seem to be bothered by them. Ms. Emma is here to make sure that we are welcomed properly and to answer any questions that we might have for the club.
So, I suppose there is a lot of leeway and freedom when it comes to what you do with your free time in the SpeedGear club.
Beside me are Venti, Zack, and Elizabeth. Surprisingly Elizabeth is present.
“I have to make sure you guys don’t make any troubles, desuwa!” She proclaimed. I think she is just too embarrassed to admit that she is interested in the SpeedGear club. Today is the off day for the tea ceremony club, so I’m guessing she is here to check what activity does SpeedGear Club entails.
Also, the girl who sits behind me in class is here too, but she is far back behind the tree scribbling on her notepad. Is she here to join the club too?
Looking around, there are only five of us that want to join, if you include the panting girl in the back. When I asked if it’s normal to have so few members joining the Club, Sera, the member in charge said this.
“We don’t actively promote the club too much. Usually, there are not that many applicants because getting the gear itself is expensive, not to mention the cost of maintenance. Our Tuner Joan here is barely able to get the current team members running. An aspiring Tuner is always welcomed by the way.”
So the problem comes back to the cost of maintaining the club itself. Sera elaborated further on how learning self-defense and the proper way of falling is a requirement before you can join the club. SpeedGear is a dangerous sport and activity. Most of the time, for beginners, the injuries tend to be self-inflicted instead of being caused by the opposition.
SpeedGear allows you to accelerate to 40kmph within seconds, and that’s not to mention you can jump high and wall ride with it. Trying to be fancy and cool-looking when you are a beginner will just nail you a one-way trip to the hospital.
New applicants are required to do a couple of tests first before they can enter the club. Venti and Zack are exempted because they already have their SpeedGear license. However, every person who wants to join is required to have at least their own SpeedGear.
I speculated it was for security reasons since the idea of theft can be easily involved if the gears are being given willy-nilly. The cost of maintenance, however, will be partially covered by the academy club, so that’s something.
Sometimes when Joan is not available to look after the gears, we can seek help from the engineering club, but they cost an arm and leg for their services. Furthermore, SpeedGear requires a specialized engineer who can control the minute bits and parts with mind-numbing precision. So, not any engineer can do what a tuner does.
That said, I abstained from taking the test. I told them that I would be getting my license in the next couple of days anyway. Elizabeth is also exempted from the test since she is here to just look around. I don’t know about the panting girl at the back, but maybe she is here for a similar reason as Elizabeth.
“Alright, today we will be doing some lightwork district patrol around the area. Both Venti and Zack can borrow a SpeedGear. I trust you will be gentle with it. As for Kon and Elizabeth, I can’t lend you any Spare gear since technically you haven’t obtained your license yet.”
“Oh, don’t worry. If it’s just patrolling, my scooter can keep up.”
“Hooo a scooter you say? For a courier job?”
“Yes, my proud Crow s28T. I modified it a bit.”
“Just a bit?”
Joan appeared right next to my scooter and began inspecting the nooks and crannies. When did this guy come close? Is he one of those guys who are rarely interested in anything else but their passion?
“You replaced the factory settings and bearings with gears framework. Kon, are you a tuner?”
“Uh, no. I just modified it slowly over time with tutorials and stuff. Took tons of testing before I can get it right.”
“Hmm…. Let me know if you are interested in becoming a tuner.”
“Alright, Alright. We can think about the member’s roles for later. For now, we are strapped on time as is. Any more questions will be answered during our patrol walk.”
Venti and Zack equipped their borrowed gear while I prepared my scooter for a patrol around the district. I wear my goggles and give my spare to Elizabeth along with a helmet for safety. She looked dumbfounded at that.
“I can come, desuka?”
“Why not? My scooter can carry two people.”
“Oooh, thank you desuno.”
“Hold on to my shoulders and try to relax.”
I guess the warning was unnecessary since she has a great sense of balance. She claimed that it was her first time riding a scooter and yet she already had her poise aligned with the motion, making the ride that much smoother.
We took off past the front gate as Ms. Emma sent us off.
We begin our first club activity of the day.