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World: MSS - Loading...
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Leaving the Mage Tower after speaking with Dibo left me with plenty of questions and tasks to think about.
In a nutshell, Dibo had gotten information that the [Player’s Guild] will be participating in a raid that the Church was planning. Using this raid, he was hoping that we could make contact with the [Player’s Guild].
Just two problems.
First, the Church. Any organization in MSS that was dedicated to serving one of the six deities was powerful. You had to be. The only source of healing in this world were either health potions, very rare Core abilities and most reliably of all, Priests and Priestesses AKA Healers. Hell, until you were starting to look at adventurers of grade 5 or above, you probably won’t even get anywhere near a Healer that wasn’t affiliated with a church, not to mention that their healing would never measure up to the full holy countenance of the clergy. And of course, as powerful as they were, they were just as rigid. Archaic remnants of a bygone era when racism was one of the driving factors for history and a veritable cause to wage war.
I should know. The history of my own world was much of the same.
They clung to their ways and I’d seen it first hand in Krag’s Temple, the Dwarves clergy's blatant price gouging for healing Skaris who was a Beastman. Funnily enough, racism was a systematic institution in the religion here, built into their foundation. Which was fair I suppose, considering that the gods you served also cared about the color of your skin, eyes and what racial trait you could unlock. It looked like it was better in the current era of MSS, especially if the Church was hiring non-human adventurers at all... still, I doubted the degree of freedom we'd have.
It also didn’t help that MSS didn’t have any half-races.
Unlike other fantasy genres, MSS didn’t allow the mixing of races in the genetic sense. Sure, people could get together but your babies would either be one or the other. If a human woman got together with an orc man, the chances were that your baby would be 75% human and 25% orc. No matter what race you put together, the baby had a ¾ chance of inheriting the mother’s race and only ¼ chance of inheriting the dad’s. Nothing about the father would be visible and in an era where the idea of genetic testing hadn’t been born yet (no pun intended of course), I was sure that paranoia would be rampant.
Except it was not. In MSS, I’d never seen someone accuse their spouse of cheating. Perhaps it was because of the lack of getting proof for whether your spouse was cheating or not but the married couples of this world had immense amounts of trust in each other. Or maybe the only people I'd spoken to got together with someone that you trusted with your life, I.E adventurers. Could be different among the regular civilians.
Either way, the Church was a slow, rigid, bureaucratic organization whose job would be to scrutinize our every move and be very meticulous about the way they handed out their orders. To my knowledge, they were also the main voice behind doing away with [Players] as a whole.
Which brought me to my second problem.
How the hell was I supposed to make contact with other [Players] while being watched by the Church who had enough resources to destroy everything I’d worked to build?
And how the hell would I know they were players?
Without realizing it, I sighed.
“Lock?”
Kyrian, Skaris and I sat around our little campfire in the Slums.
Lately, the food had been getting better and proof of that was sitting right in front of us. Skaris had his face half-buried into a bowl, swallowing bits of meat like… like ever seen that video of a Komodo Dragon swallowing an octopus whole? That’s what this reminded me of. If it weren’t for the fact that the features of the Beastmen were completely human except for the occasional furry ears or scales, I was sure actions like this would have further divided the gap between the races. As it were, Skaris just looked like an eccentric human.
Setting Skaris’ table manners aside, the Orc Adventurers had finally started to make more money. More meat decorated our tables and instead of the strange watery mystery broth were used to having, the soup was hearty, rich, thick and creamy. Even I had downed my first bowl and asked for seconds. As I watched, the line of people waiting for food grew to include other Slum residents and the orcs gave them generous servings as well, without question.
“Lock? Are you alright?”
“Oh right.” I shook my head, feeling tired. “Just thinking, that’s all.”
“Are you thinking about the Church’s Call that Dibo told you about?” Kyrian asked, his tone low so as to not be overheard.
I nodded.
“It will be the sssssame assss the Fracture. We musssst keep our witssss about.” Skaris chimed in, his eyes glued to the bowl. I saw the inner struggle within him as he kept glancing at the line, wondering if there would be enough for him to have thirds.
Kyrian passed him what was left in his bowl. The young mage had hardly touched it, saying that with his new Mana Core, he was feeling a bit queasy. Understandable, Mana Cores didn’t act like Spirit Cores which were embedded within our Soul. Mana Cores were actual physical manifestations of Elemental Mana which had to be digested by the mage.
Skaris took the bowl with a nod of thanks and dug in with bravado.
“It won’t be.” I tapped my finger on the ground. “Think about it. This is the Church and they’re calling adventurers because they failed to finish the dungeon or defeat the dungeon boss. In addition, they’re sending out a general call to adventurers which means-”
“That they failed on their own.” Kyrian finished, following my train of thought. “You fear that this dungeon will be of a higher difficulty than the ones we’ve faced so far.”
“Yes… and no.” I answered, “Think about it. If it was a matter of monster strength, the Church wouldn't have need of us. They can just request for aid from a sister church or reinforcements from Turina. But instead, they’re making a general call out to adventurers here in Jayu. Which could only mean one thing.”
I saw Kyrian shift uncomfortably at the direction of my thoughts, a habit ingrained into him from his upbringing.
Of course, the Church of Light, Flame and Shield was the de-facto religion of Turina. Anyone who grew up there was taught to revere it and respect it, even if you didn’t believe in it. So my theory that the Church wasn’t all power sat uncomfortably with him, even if he wasn't a believer. That's how powerful the Church was in Turina.
“It’s not about strength. To conquer the dungeon, it requires a versatility of abilities and the Church doesn’t know what it is. If they knew the requirements, they would have hired someone who fit the bill. The fact that they’re trying to recruit adventurers at all means that they can’t figure out how to defeat the dungeon and want to rely on the adventurer’s expertise.” I finished.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
As strong as the Holy Knights and Clergy were, they were no substitutes for adventurers. How could they measure up to professional adventurers who went dungeon diving for a living?
“Ssso what isss the isssue?”
“The issue,” I took Skaris’ empty plate and piled it on top of mine, “is that their standards for adventurers will be high. As of now, our party has two bladers, you and me, and a mage, Kyrian. At the very least, we’re going to need a Shielder to balance out our party. Even better if we can bring a Pioneer or Wayfinder.”
Naturally, I left out the role of a Healer. I was sure they’d attach someone to us to watch over us and most likely, that person would be a Healer. A Priest or Holy Knight for sure.
“Bah.” Skaris leaned back, his stomach noticeably full. “We already know a Ssshielder.”
“Vetilian. Sssshe wassss the mossst sssskilled sssshielder we’ve ever sssseen.”
I saw Kyrian peering at me, checking for my reaction.
Without even realizing it, I rubbed my face over my hands while recalling the memory.
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“Will you teach me [Aura]?”
Silence.
“No.” I met her emerald-colored eyes squarely, not wanting to look away.
Another bout of silence and Kyrian trying his best to look like a piece of furniture, anything to escape this awkward tension.
“I see.”
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And that was that.
I had turned down Aurora Candrian Vetilian’s request for [Aura].
We hadn’t seen her since nor received any word from her. No mention of those three raids that she wanted to accompany us on either.
“Sssslaveborn.”
Skaris stared right at me. “It mussst be her.”
It wasn’t that I didn’t want her with us. I was just unsure of how she would react after my blatant refusal to her request.
Party dynamics were a fragile thing and I was looking for people I could trust. People that I could trust to have my back. After that awkward exchange, wouldn’t it be natural for our relationship to be strained? I’d seen it before. Feelings like inadequacy, jealousy and a superiority-inferiority complex could turn someone to betrayal as easily as coins or Cores.
Was that a risk I should take?
“For what it’s worth Lock,” Kyrian ventured, “She did not strike me as the type to resent you for refusing her. She knew better than to ask you to teach her [Aura] in the first place.”
“That just shows how desperate she was.” I muttered.
“Which is understandable.” Kyrian agreed. “Bastard Scions of the Great Houses have always been differentiated from the legitimate heirs through usage of [Aura]. Even if she learns [Aura] from someone else, it won’t be the same as the [Aura] method from the Vetilius household.”
“It mattersss not. Ssslaveborn, we mussst asssk, at the very leassst.” Skaris said with a tone of finality in his voice. “Only thossse who ssseek can find.”
I sighed. “Skaris is right. We’ll ask Aurora.”
“Which still leaves us with room for one more person.” Kyrian shrugged. “We could always leave a general post with the Guild. We will have to do interviews but it will be a start.”
“No. No strangers. Not after…” My lips pressed into a frown. “Not after what happened last time.”
“The elf sssiblingsss.” Skaris growled.
Baran’s betrayal had left us all for dead.
I needed someone we could trust. Who I knew didn’t have an ulterior motive. Someone relatively new to the scene but still skilled enough to hold their own. Someone… someone just like-
I picked up our dirty bowls, getting to my feet to wash them near the shore. “I think I might have someone.”
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It took a day to get the messages sent out through the Guild and in-person. Then another day for us to meet up in a nearby tavern.
If only I had a nickel for everytime MSS imposed an RPG cliche on me.
Kyrian Tricilan sat next to me, dressed in his standard mage-robes. His blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, accentuating his sharp features and I was sure that more than one passerby looked over with a blush.
Skaris tore a tunic, foregoing his armor and spear. Of course, they were stowed safely in his Dimension Ring. Still, being seven-feet tall probably gathered a lot of looks though of a different kind than the ones Kyrian received.
Then there were our guests.
Aurora Candrian Vetilian.
She wore a simple loose tunic, tied with leather braids near the collar with just enough exposure to be fashionable. Her gray hair was tied into a braid, for function rather than style but even that looked good on her. Her green eyes were half-closed as she sipped from the cup of tea in front of her.
Next to her was Stolen Stars fall Silents, otherwise known as Stole. The skilled [Pioneer] I had met during my brief stint almost a month ago. Gods, had it been that long already?
She had skipped the black leather today, instead dressed in something more unassuming. Her black hair was still unruly though and if I wasn’t mistaken, the earring on one of her ears was new. As soon as Stole sat down, she put her boots on the table and leaned back, studying all of us. Kyrian and Aurora raised an eyebrow at her blatant display of hostility.
The most difficult part about making a party in MSS was gathering all the different personalities together and bringing their affection levels at a high-enough threshold to ensure there would be no backstabbing or betrayals. In the game, it was easy.
In real life?
It meant that somehow I had to earn the trust of Aurora and Stole but the relationship couldn’t end there. I needed Kyrian to have his own relationship with Aurora and Stole the same way he did with Skaris. At the very least, this party needed to have a minimum level of respect for each other, an unspoken agreed-upon rule which everyone would follow. What I wanted were comrades who cared about not just me, but about each other as well. Someone needed to make that happen.
Right now, that overwhelming responsibility fell to me.
'Focus on what you can do. Not what needs to happen.' Right.
Pushing my feelings of inadequacy aside, I began. “Stole, you haven’t met these two before. They’re my companions-”
“Skaris of Clan Deepeater. Kyrian Tricilan. I know.” Stole said before I could finish, then continued. “Mage who used to belong to the Akka Xaluds. Skaris came with you from the Samak Desert.”
Skaris let out a harsh bark of laughter. “Who isss thisss whelp, Ssslaveborn?”
Kyrian furrowed his brows and shot me a look. “Ms… Stole, was it?” Kyrian began, “How is it that you know-”
“Grease the right palms and you’d be surprised how many people would be willing to let a few things slip.” Stole shrugged.
Aurora narrowed her eyes at Stole then promptly turned her head away from the young beastman girl. A clear sign of dislike or disapproval. Probably both.
“Mr. Lock, what is the purpose of this meeting here today? It is nice to hear from you all after such a long time but I do have personal matters to attend to.”
There was no other way to do this but to say it. “I want you both to join my party.”
“Sure.”
“I’m afraid not, Mr. Lock.”
The two looked at each other and this time, a slow deliberate smile crept up the corner of Stole’s mouth. “Fine with me.”
“Mr. Lock. My condition from our last conversation still stands. Three expeditions.” Aurora crossed her arms, a hint of annoyance in her tone. “Have you forgotten?”
I did forget. “No, I did not.”
“Lock, perhaps it’s better if you give them a bit more detail.”
So I told them about the Church and the request it would send out. Of course, I left the [Player] part out of it completely.
“A dungeon that even the Church could not clear…” Aurora muttered. “I accept your offer, on the basis that it is temporary.”
“I meant what I said, Mister.” Stole hooked a thumb at Aurora. “I don’t mean temporarily either. I want to join your party. Permanently.”
Kyrian was continuing to frown and I knew that he noticed that something was off about Stole. She was acting too eager, too… ambitious. Definitely not the sign of a seasoned adventurer. I knew how Kyrian and Aurora would react if they found out Stole was underaged. They’d never agree to take her with us.
Skaris on the other hand…
When I glanced at Skaris, he snorted out of one nostril with a knowing gleam in his eye.
He had called her ‘Whelp’.
'Damn. He knows.' I shook my head, pushing the thought aside for later. “Then why don’t we do introduce ourselves?”
Flagging down a server, I ordered a round of drinks for everyone then at the last second, switched it to food.
“No drinkssss?” Skaris muttered.
Damn. He freaking knew Stole was underaged and all he could think about was quenching his own thirst. Stupid Skaris.
“It’s still daytime and we all have things to do. We can drink together next time.” I answered.
“Traditionally, the first drink should be shared after a successful expedition.” Kyrian provided, “Though we never got to get together after the Fracture.”
“I’m sure no one wanted to think about what happened in that Fracture. Best to treat it like it never happened.” I started handing out the plates. “As you all know, I’m Lock. You’ve all been on an expedition with me so I won’t get into too much detail.”
"Kyrian Tricilan at your service. I specialize in lightning-oriented offensive magic, though I'm handy with control spells as well."
"Control spells?" Stole asked and Aurora shot me a look like 'Really?'
"Spells that change the battlefield or affect monster's physical or supernatural ability." I answered quietly, trying my best not to make eye contact with Aurora.
And so it went, trading details on what weapons we used, what kind of role we fulfilled in an expedition.
“You’re a [Pioneer]?” Aurora sounded incredulous.
“Damn right.” Stole looked smug. “[Wayfinder] too. Lock said I’m the best he’s ever seen.”
“Is that true?” Kyrian asked.
“…I never-”
“A [Wayfinder] and [Pioneer]... I see why you wanted to recruit her, Mr. Lock.” Aurora muttered, then rather pointedly asked, “How old are you? And what grade have you achieved?”
“I’m-”
“Stole,” I cut her off before she said something we’d all regret, “How’s Shara doing?”
And so our conversation went with me defending Stole from potentially awkward situations.
“Well, I’m afraid I must leave now.” Aurora got up first. “I will see you all tomorrow.”
Kyrian left right after, having to pick up a few things necessary for our expedition.
That left Skaris and Stole.
“Hey Mister, are you free now?”
“Yes.” I replied. This was good, I wanted to talk to Skaris and Stole in private.
“Then why don’t we-”
“Whelp.” Skaris put his fork down for the first time since the food arrived. Everything had already been picked clean though.
“...Stop calling me-”
“Ssslaveborn hassss been ssseeking the Underground.”
The Underground? That was what Skaris called the Black Market.
“Ssshe knew too much of usssss.” Skaris explained to me. “Ssshe mussst have a connection with the Underground, Ssslaveborn.”
“If you know of it, we would hear of it.” Skaris said to her.
“That must be where she’s been getting her gear. They wouldn’t care about her age, the only thing they’d care about was whether her gold was good or not.”
Stole looked between me and Skaris. “...Fine. Just stop calling me whelp, alright?”
“I call a Whelp a Whelp.”
“Skaris, if Kyrian or Aurora finds out it will be trouble. You know what Kyrian will say.”
“But it wassssn’t me who-”
“But now you know. And you’re not going to tell him, are you?”
Skaris murmured a curse in a language I didn’t understand and I took it as agreement.
Stole got up and started walking away. When Skaris and I didn’t follow, she looked over her shoulder.
“Well? What are you two geezers waiting for?” She called. Then in a much lower tone so that only we could hear, “Didn’t you want to visit the Black Market?”
Finally, I was unlocking the Black Market area.
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