The hustle and bustle of the street just in front of the guild hinted at what we’d experience trying to get inside. Apparently, someone had realized the dangers of having an overcrowded guild and put guards on the door who only let people in after people left.
We lined up behind a party of adventurers who were escorting a little dwarven miner. I could tell from their clothes that the Orc was a tank, the two human girls were both mages, and the female dwarf was a cleric. They appeared happy all around and chatted about how well their quick dungeon exploration went and how they’d reached level two after fighting four groups of monsters while their non-combat mined the vein.
It hadn’t really hit me how impressive hitting level 4 in a few short hours was until overhearing that group. It made me puff my chest out in life over our accomplishments. And then I remembered what it took to get there.
The massive wooden and black iron doors of the guild opened wide as they let both our groups through.
“Hey! Val is back!”
“So soon?!”
The short dwarven miner waved to his friends in the back and proudly lifted a black diamond of some kind.
“I told you I can sense what veins are ripe for mining!” They cheered. And he ran over to greet his friends at a table while his team continued forward.
We, along with the small crowd, headed to one of the quest turn-in lines.
Fortunately, this one was very short. Within a few minutes, the three of us stepped in front of a guild intake officer who stretched her back.
Murr handed in the quest paper, and our guild tokens then grinned.
She carefully reviewed the documents, then froze. The strained smile on her face made me think there was a serious problem.
“Come with me.”
She stood up and walked us behind a beautiful black and gold partition. Once we reached a quiet waiting room with red couches and pretty decor, she handed us tea and directed us to sit down. They were so comfortable that I almost sank into them.
What the hell? This didn’t seem right. Did we break some rule or something and need to get scolded by a higher up? But then why the pleasant room and the good tea?
A confident orc woman walked into the room in shiny black armor that looked closer to business attire. She sat down on the opposite couch and crossed her arms.
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/949515587766329405/1039331882464202813/SPOILER_Guild_Master_Arok_copy.jpg]
“Young Master Quince,” she said in a warning voice.
Kron’s eyes grew wide then he coughed. He turned to look at the pink haired catfolk who sat languidly.
“Guild Master Arok,” Murr said with a smile. “It’s good to see you again!”
The officer handed her the mission form, and she held it up. “Is this a joke?”
“It’s not.”
What was going on? How did Murr know the Guild Master?!
She rubbed the bridge between her nose. “Listen. The person who puts out the request can’t be the one to complete it.”
“I don’t see why not. Others have done it.”
Wait… Put out the request. Put out the request?! He was the artificer?
I moved to stand up on reflex, but Kron grabbed my shoulder strap and pulled me back onto the couch. I bounced.
He motioned for me to shut up.
She sighed. “Look, As new members of the guild you need to improve your reputation so you can access higher ranked dungeons in the city. You do that in part by getting to know the people in the guild and cultivating a good relationship with them. Another way is by fulfilling quests successfully.”
“I still don’t understand what this has to do with that.”
“Young Master Quince, if you fulfill your own requests, you won’t earn any reputation aside from one where people think you have too much money to throw around.”
“The guild still gets its cut,” he pointed out.
“And the guild appreciates you and your family using our services. Normally, you’d be welcome to create a quest and fulfill it yourself, but you’re a New Adult now. And a combat one, at that. During this time, you need to use your own efforts to fulfill the quests you pick up for the various people within the community.”
“So, you’re saying my party and I can’t earn any reputation by fulfilling my own requests?”
“Nor the ones your family put up.”
“Tch.”
“I do apologize, but this is a law made by the first Emperor White, one that each of his succesors agreed with. Because each New Adult must struggle and gain strength on their own. To do otherwise would turn them into weak, Tested Adults.”
He scowled.
“That said, while I can’t give you any reputation for this quest, I can give you the monetary reward.” She pulled a bag from her inventory and handed it to him. It clinked pleasantly when he tossed it at me. I barely managed to catch it.
“Thank you for your time, Guild Master,” I mumbled as I put the bag away. We’d break it up evenly later.
Her green eyes darted to me. There was an intensity in them that only high-level fighters had. It was like I was in the line of sight of an apex predator.
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/949515587766329405/1039332191613747281/SPOILER_Glare.jpg]
“Mr. Leilesh.”
My whole body tensed up and my eyes widen. How did she know? My last name wasn’t mentioned anywhere, even on guild records. Hell, even the system menu listed me as just Samalrune.
“Yes?” I tried to sound like the manly elf I was, but it came out as more of a squeak. Embarrassing.
“I knew your parents.”
“Ah….” Was she going to tell me about how much my father doted on my mother? How twisted his personality was? Because I knew all that already.
“His promotion to County Lord of a frontier was, in fact, a punishment.”
Was this a warning not to get too cocky? I mean, I already realized that. That was one reason I didn’t advertise my last name.
I cleared my throat and smiled at her. “He’s been treating it more like a retirement. At least that’s what he tells anyone who listens.”
She grinned. “I can see that you take after your mother. Good.”
Then she turned towards Kron and I felt like I could breathe again. “Mr. Kronus.”
“Y-yes?” The golem’s frame tensed.
“Your inexpensive potions are excellent, as always. Keep up the wonderful work.”
His tense body slowly started to relax, then she said, “And tell your mom I said… Hello.”
“Yes, Guild Master.”
***
“We survived!” I practically whooped as we exited onto the cobblestone street and passed several adventurers.
“It wasn’t that bad,” Murr said.
“Facing the guild master was more terrifying than fighting those bugs earlier,” I said. “Couldn’t you feel how high her level was? She could crush us with a pinky if she wanted.”
“No, she couldn’t,” Murr said. “There are laws against it.”
I turned to him. “Did you really not think that it would be a problem to put in a request for something, then go do it yourself?”
He shrugged. “I’d seen other people do it before… of course, they were already Tested Adults, so… that might be a difference.” He sighed.
Kron looked like he desperately wanted to grab the catfolk and shake him. “Are you really a member of the Quince family?” he burst out.
He cringed. “Yeah.”
“Why aren’t you a merchant?”
A magical stone powered carriage rolled to a stop next to us. It had a black lacquer finish with elegant gold trimming. It was elegant, but not ostentatious. An austere old human stepped out of the cabin and politely gestured for Murr to get in.
He winced and patted the golem’s shoulder. “I think there is time to discuss this later.”
Shit, his weirdly aggressive friends had mentioned something about a butler, hadn’t they? I must have really stepped in it when I’d defended this teen. They must have been actually trying to get him to wait until he turned twenty, like a majority of people. Still, I didn’t regret it. It was every person’s right to choose when they take the test between the ages of 16-20.
“Hey, now that you know who my family is… that’s not going to change anything in our party, right?”
I shook my head. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re our DPS.”
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
He grinned, then turned to Kron. “Hey, what about you?”
“Regardless, it’s still my job to keep you alive out there. This just makes getting a party contract prepared easier.”
He smirked. “I’ll see you all tonight. Let’s meet wherever Sam is staying. We have to celebrate our levels!”
I listed the address of the inn. The butler grimaced like it left a nasty taste in his mouth.
As the carriage rolled away, I grabbed Kron’s shoulder and practically turned him to face me.
“Who is the Quince family and should I know them?”
He opened his mouth, then closed it. “This isn’t a good place to talk.” He tapped his chin. “Actually, my parent’s house is nearby. We can head there now. This is an excellent chance to ask my mother for tutoring. I think she has the next couple of days off.”
Well, I’d have to meet her, eventually. While it wasn’t a requirement for your party members to know each other’s family, it certainly helped in the worst-case scenario. Though, according to my father, knowing the family also made that harder.
Adventuring was a dangerous destiny to own.
***
We arrived at a small street with tall thin houses that looked a lot like fancier stone brownstones from my past life. They were all very close together and the bottom floors of each had little gardens set up for growing flowers. Considering how little land was available for housing, a street like this was likely filled with lower-upper-class merchants or adventurers.
Kron led me through the ten feet tall front doors that had been painted a classy black.
“Mom? I brought a guest.” There was no answer.
“I guess she’s not in yet.”
He led me to a small table, offered me some water and poured himself a cup of blue glowing potion.
“Who is the Quince family?”
“I still can’t believe you don’t know.”
“I’m from a frontier fort about two months away from here.”
“That would explain it. Alright, so where to begin?”
They weren’t the catfolk-mafia, right? I leaned forward.
“You saw all the buildings on this street?”
“They don’t own all of them, do they?”
“Of course not!” He looked exasperated. “Just half.”
I coughed. “That’s still a ton!”
“Actually, they own about a quarter of all businesses in the city, too. And franchises of those businesses for several dozen miles around the city. Mr. Purunt Quince and his wife, Ulla Osman, are both level 300 merchant non-combatants. And the only reason they don’t own the Adventurer’s guild right now is because the guild must be owned and operated by an adventurer according to the Emperor’s laws.”
“Okay, but how did the son of a super-rich merchant become a rogue?”
“That’s what I want to know!”
“You have to know more than that.”
He shook his head. “No, nothing. The family is always kept out of the newspapers unless it’s something nice.”
Great. This was like having a young gender-bent Paris Hilton as my rogue.
Would it really be okay to treat the teen the same way as we had before when doing so could harm the party? Then again, I imagine his other friends might have cut him off for that very reason. Just like my own friends had when they found out I was a tank.
There was no way I’d let the teen go through that.
“Do you think his family would bankroll our adventuring team?” Kron asked.
“I think we shouldn’t count on it. They’ll likely think we aren’t good enough and try to find someone better.”
He looked shocked. “You think they’ll hire someone else even though we both have boons?”
I shrugged. “They could always hire from last year’s batch of New Adults.”
“Are we going to just let that happen?”
I grinned. “Not if Murr doesn’t want that.”
The front door opened and the tallest golem woman I’d ever seen walked through the door. What was she? 8 feet? 9?
Between her blue hair and glowing eyes, she was obviously Kron’s mother. She looked down at me, then her eyes turned to the healer.
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/949515587766329405/1039331882665517056/SPOILER_Kren_Kronus_copy.jpg]
“Little one, who is this?”
“My party’s tank.”
She placed her hands on her hips. “You shouldn’t joke around with me. I’ve had a long day.”
I stood up, so that I was only looking up at a hill and not a mountain. “I’m Sam, an Elven tank.”
Her eyes widened a little. “Oh, you poor little one.”
My smile stiffened.
“Mom, Sam doesn’t know how to use a shield.”
Her eyes looked like they might tear up. “A tank who doesn’t know how to use a shield?”
“Do you think he received this destiny because he’s naturally gifted with the shield?”
“Well, we can always see. The day wanes but there are still a few good light hours left. Let’s adjourn to the roof.”
***
We stood on the flat roof in practice gear, holding wooden shields and swords. Since the armor was made for a child-sized golem, it fit me perfectly.
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/949515587766329405/1039331883076571136/SPOILER_sam_copy.jpg]
“There are two ways to wield a shield. The first is active, and the second is passive.”
I nodded seriously and gripped my shield tighter... at least I tried to. For some reason, it didn’t feel right. When I adjusted my grip, it slipped out of my hand. It fell to the ground and wobbled to a stop like a coin.
“...”
Kron, who had grabbed his spell work papers and was reviewing them up while lounging on a chair, yelled, “Go easy on him, mom!”
She looked at her son exasperatedly. “We haven’t even started yet!” She pointed to me. “And you. Perhaps you should use the strap. It’s there for a reason... though that is usually more for passive shielding.” She sent me a worried look.
I pulled the strap around my neck. This time, when I grabbed the handle, I made sure my grip was firm.
“Now, where we are we... Ah! Since you know nothing, we start with active shielding.”
She slowly swung her sword down. “Now lift your shield to block.”
I held the shield up.
At first, I thought she was just going to tap it gently and leave. Instead, she added a significant force causing me to skid several yards... which was better than having my arm broken.
I looked at the 9 foot tall golem with wide eyes. “Mrs. Kronos, you’re using too much strength.”
“Oh dear, was I? I keep forgetting how weak low-level elves are.”
“Stop, mom. You’re going to make him cry.”
I glared at Kron. “Who’s crying?”
“Now, let’s do it again and try to hold your ground. Keep in mind that your friends are behind you. If you move from that spot, they’ll die.”
I nodded seriously. And that was the truth, wasn’t it? The reality that most tanks had to face. If I couldn’t master the shield, how fucked would I be if I ran into a situation like that? One where I had to stand my ground?
With my mind focused and adrenaline pumping through my veins, I focused on not moving from this position. The first thing I did was reinforce my arm with aura. I could use more of it now that I was level 4, so I also used aura to strengthen tiny key areas of my legs.
“Now!”
Tortuously, slowly, she angled her sword down and struck my shield. My arm held. I gritted my teeth. Pressure built all over me. This time I did not get sent back! Instead, I gracefully... crumpled to the ground.
Fucking golem tanks!
I just laid sprawled on the gravel that covered the flat roof like I’d given up.
“Mom! I told you to train him, not beat him.”
“Little one. He is so tiny and cute. I cannot resist.” She laughed and helped me up with a beautiful smile. “How do you feel?”
“Like my limbs are about to break,” I said truthfully.
She chuckled and gently patted my shoulder. Unfortunately, that tender touch felt like twenty pounds of free weights. No wonder Kron was so strong, if even his mother’s delicate pats were like this.
“Tell you what. We’ll go until you can develop a shielding aura skill. Once you do, we’ll be done for the day.”
A shield aura skill! I could definitely use one of those as a tank. This might be the very foundation on which I developed going forward.
“Get ready.” She grinned. Once again, she attacked.
***
After taking a gentle beating for a couple of hours, the sun touched the horizon.
Mrs. Kronos smacked my shield with her sword, doing it much gentler than she originally had. I awkwardly sent my aura into the shield, causing it to glimmer. Just barely, I caught the attack on the suddenly aura-enhanced wood. This time my legs didn’t buckle, nor did I slide several feet. I finally held my ground! Although, for some reason, I felt like something was wrong? Maybe I just didn’t know enough about using a shield.
A menu popped up.
Congratulations! Through sheer hard work and possibly stupidity, you’ve managed to create a shield aura skill.
Awkward AF - Rank X - You are able to use an aura strengthened shield to awkwardly block an attack.
“I did it! Ha! An aura skill for the shield!” I quickly pinched the window and showed it to Mrs. Kronus.
“Is it any good? Is the fact I was able to create a skill for shield work so quickly, proof that I have some talent?”
She looked over the skill, then glanced at me. Then she looked at Kron.
Very-very carefully, she said, “Tell me, do you have a weapon you prefer to use?”
“He’s used to dual wielding short swords.”
She nodded. “I think... that you might want to stick with that.”
“Are you saying that I don’t have enough talent to compensate for years of training?”
She patted my head. “Little tank, you have no talent with the shield. You’re worse than the worst golem I’ve ever trained on the shield... and that was Kron. A mage.”
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/949515587766329405/1039331882275438653/SPOILER_BlackLines_copy.jpg]
“So I just wasted a couple of hours?”
“Better than wasting the last four years of your life.”
True.
“I’m sure you can be a good little tank. But shields are not for you. Now, if you had a few decades, you could definitely improve and become an expert, but you don’t have that time.” She handed me a bag that clinked. “Treat yourself to a few drinks... and maybe get yourself some excellent armor — on me.”
Kron looked horrified. “But mom. You said that all tanks use the shield.”
She shrugged. “I’ve never met a tank who hasn’t. It might just be that this little one is the first.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Mrs. Kronus.”
“It was a pleasure to see such a determined student. I look forward to seeing what you become in the future.”
I was actually a bit surprised. “You’re not going to tell me that I’m not good enough to tank for your son?”
She smiled. “Destinies are never wrong. And Kron even told me that his tank had a boon like him. If a god gives you a boon, then you have their favor and a chance to become someone great. As long as you use it properly.”
I grimaced. “Considering my boon, I wonder if I don’t have her favor, but her anger.”
“Show me.”
I did so and when she saw the text on the screen, her lips thinned as if she were trying very hard not to laugh.
“Hey, it’s not funny.” I scowled up at her.
She cleared her throat. “You’re right. Of course it’s not. I’m just happy because my son has always wanted to be a healer and he’ll get plenty of practice if he has a tank with a boon like this.”
“But you see what I mean. Even if I got it randomly, it doesn’t feel random. It feels like a punishment.”
She crouched down and looked me in the eye. “Let me ask you this, when you first started training, was it physically difficult? Even if you weren’t injured, weren’t you still in pain?”
“Of course. Some days I felt like I couldn’t even get up the next morning.”
She nodded. “It’s from your muscles being damaged and repairing themselves to be stronger. This boon of yours is one that forces you to have one of your weakest points damaged over and over again with the assumption that you’ll heal perfectly afterwards. Sounds familiar, right? While it may feel unfair, you’re essentially training that area, so it is no longer a weak point. And as compensation, you gain a level. This is an insanely powerful boon.”
I’d never considered it like that. While knowing this made the boon easier to swallow, it didn’t make it any easier to accomplish.
“Thank you for your insights.”
She smiled pleasantly and placed her hand on my shoulder.
“You’re welcome, anytime.” Then, even though she still had that same pleasant smile, her grip increased significantly. It wasn’t painful, but it could be if she didn’t have extreme control over her strength. “That said. You’re still my son’s tank. Bring him back to me alive or I’ll see that you both share a coffin. Okay?”
[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/949515587766329405/1039331882883612752/SPOILER_Mrs_Kronus_2_copy.jpg]
I gulped. “Yes, Mrs. Kronus.”