I am an idiot.

You are.

The biggest of idiots.

Still a yes from me.

I have an [Affinity], with its specific [Ability], designed to [Enchant] and [Empower] objects and equipment, and I’ve done jack-all with it this entire time.

This is a revelation that I had whilst reading ‘List of basics and common Enchantments’, which was as boring of a read as it sounded, but made me realize I had the opportunity to power up the crap out of my stuff, and yet I was squandering it.

“Well, no more! The first occasion I get, I will [Enchant] my gear.”

But that wasn’t the only thing I learned: I learned some tidbits about the various [Races] that populated [Nexus], the political situation and correlated division of territories, what type of money was used, how to sound polite and courteous, and the existence of [Thralls] (imagine them as magically-bound slaves, but with more rights, and with a specific contract that needs to be signed by both parties).

That also reminded me that I had to choose a weapon for myself.

And I say choose, not create, because conjured items can’t properly hold [Enchantments] (and while I could circumvent this by [Creating] an already [Enchanted] item, every active [Summon] cuts into my available [Mana] for as long as its active, and I’d prefer to keep it available for other things).

But now I had more pressing matters to think about, because we had just arrived at the [Guild], and the reality of what it actually was surpassed everything that I could have imagined: It wasn’t a simple building with receptionists inside, but a compound of various structures of different shapes and sizes, all dedicated to specific crafts (meaning there were [Tailors], [Leather-Workers], [Gem-Cutters], etc.), making it appear more like a sizable village, which was emphasized by the sight of normal people running kiosks, shouting to get the attention of the passersby (among who were people with bizarre armors, likely identifying them as [Adventurers], ergo the ‘normal’).

The [Guild] proper ended up being in the middle of the place, and I knew that because the sign was visible, and designed to catch the eye with the use of a couple of subtle [Enchantments], stating in bold letters that it was the [Central Guild]; I observed all this while we rounded the building to park the carriages behind it.

This time the same [Guard] as before was faster than me in reaching the handle for my carriage’s door, and he opened it briefly after we had fully stopped.

“We have arrived sir; as of now you are no longer under the protection of the Still-Waters Guard Corp, but we assure you that you will be safe within the compound of the facility and that for every need there are [Guards] patrolling around, or stationed in strategic places, who are hired directly by the [Guild], so all you have to do is ask for their help” the [Guard] was much more prepared to interact with me than last time, “also, the [Captain] wanted me to tell you that your share from the [Monsters]’ ambush would be deposited for you on an account handled by the [Guild], which you will need this card to gain access to it”.

I was then handed a small metallic card, that almost resembled a credit card from my old world, and I promised myself that I would check later if I was the sole proprietor of the account and that the money wouldn’t be misused without my consent,

‘Trust, but verify’.

“Thank you for your service, and may our paths cross again” I waved him off with the traditional salute.

“Glad to be of service, and may our paths cross again”, he responded in kind.

‘That’s a lot of different people’ was what I first thought about when we were being led back around the [Guild].

What I meant by that was that while the carriage was elevated, and I kept the windows closed the entire time, I made it so that I couldn’t see anyone that was walking from where I was seated (not that I was paying that much attention, since I was reading), and had so missed the spectacle of what so many [Races] in the same place would actually look like.

At the [Temple] we were surrounded by Nymphs of various types, but only Nymphs, the same goes for with the [Guards], but here we were already seeing a lot more: From those from common mythology, like Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins, to those that I only read about once on [Nexus], like Okans (very tall humanoid with multiple arms), Kebunus (generally lithe people, with the appearance of anthropomorphic mammals) and Dwyrms (very bulky individuals, with scales covering the majority of their bodies, and sometimes sporting limbs resembling those of reptiles, including draconic).

I was doing some ‘people-watching’ while walking at the tail end of the group of [Humans] that was being led into the [Guild], not watching my steps, which was why the sudden shift from the noise of the street to the silence that permeated the inside of the building jolted me more than it would normally have.

“This habit of mine of forgetting to [Inspect] stuff will soon be the rue of me.”

And as expected, all the walls of the [Guild] had a [Noise-cancellation Enchantment].

From the outside, the [Guild] looked as if made of bricks and wooden logs, like the rest of the structures in the ‘compound’, while instead on the inside it seemed to be completely covered in granite (I’m seeing a pattern here). Then, still on the inside, the massive room we were in was organized just like you would expect it to be: A massive board, with a sign above advertising [Quests], covered the majority of the left wall; the right one had something that resembled a sitting area, with differently colored tables, where people in bizarre clothing, and with even more bizarre weapons, were seemingly striking conversations at random; and the back was filled with manned reception desks, where the workers seemed to have some sort of green and white frilly outfit that denoted them as member of staff.

Contrary to what I thought until now, we weren’t still being escorted by the [Guards], but our destinations were simply in the same direction; said fact become apparent when the [Guards] went to report on the outcome of their mission to the closest free desk, and we were accosted by another receptionist, who very politely brought us to a side-room, while explaining that we were to undergo a specific process to join the [Adventuring Guild] as [Transferreds].

The entire event happened so quickly that none of us [Humans] thought to question it, and we were left sitting in a room with multiple sofas on one side, and an interestingly carved wooden throne on the other, with a desk separating the two.

“Does anybody else think that we agreed too easily to be separated from our escorts?” I asked.

“No?” responded Vanessa, followed by more uncertain confirmations from the others, “Why do you ask?”.

“It just seemed way too sudden, and how she effortlessly isolated us honestly worries me a bit” I said, trying to make my point more obvious.

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“She was [Guild]-staff, what should we have even be worried of? Bad deals on our future [Quests]?” Laughed Byron, which was followed by the polite chuckles of the remaining [Humans].

“I guess I’m just paranoid.”

You ‘guess’!?

“I feel like we already had this bit.”

Talking about things that already happened, my mental discussion was rudely interrupted, this time by the door opposite to the one we came in from suddenly being flung open, from where a very effeminate Elf, although still clearly male, arrogantly entered the room, waltzing along like he owned the place, and whom, with an unnecessary pirouette, seated himself on the ‘throne’.

“Who’s this clown now?”

I tried to [Inspect] him, but it came back blank, with a bunch of question marks where the ‘info’ would normally have been, except for his full name: Abaan Sylvertree. And he further surprise me by sending a knowing, piercing look my way, confirming the fact that there were ways to detect being [Inspected].

“Hello my dearies!” he boomed, with a voice as androgynous as his face, “I’m the [Guild Master] Abaan, director and chief of this [Central Adventuring Guild], and I will personally introduce you to the [Job] that you decided to undertake, by testing your predisposition, and generally helping you all until you are deemed ready to start ‘adventuring’ ” he paused, probably to make us digest the deluge of information he just spouted all at once.

“Now that that’s out of the way, why don’t I start by teaching you what being an [Adventurer] entails, and the best ways to remain alive while on the field, hmm?” His patronizing tone was sickeningly sweet, which I did not appreciate.

What followed was a retelling of what I had already learned from my books, which made the entire ‘favor’ that he was doing to us, to introduce us to the [Guild] himself, all that more laughable.

My sour mood must have been apparent enough to catch the attention of this ‘fabulous character’, or at least the next thing he did seemed to indicate so.

“And now that’s also out of the way, why don’t we go on to more ‘personal’ interviews… is anyone against doing them singularly? Just for privacy’s sake”.

I was about to say how I’d prefer the pain from overtaxing my [Core] over staying in a room alone with the buffoon, when I was beaten to the punch.

“Of course mister Abaan, we would be honored on having a turn in holding your undived attention”, said Tyrone, sending a pointed look my way.

“Were they worried that I might have been about to cause problems?”

Well, you WERE about to cause problems.

Also, Jeoff put a noticeable precedent on how you handle yourself with the locals.

“Aw-shit, they think I’m some kind of problem child.”

Indubitably.

“Splendid, then why don’t we start with our diminutive, morose, fellow?” the [Guild Master] proposed.

“Did this mother-fucker just call me ‘short’!? Ohohoh, it’s on!”

“Of course, mister Abaan, this humble [Human] would never dare to contradict the suggestion of one of your status, even though you don’t hold any kind of power over me yet; but since I don’t want to burden your delicate, and frail-looking, body with the weight of my rejection, I will humbly follow your lead”.

Dead silence followed my statement, and everybody seemed to be stuck in place (‘stuck’, if you were to dismiss the bulging eyes of my compatriots, darting between me and Abaan).

“Was I, maybe, a tad too aggressive and not enough passive?”

Sometimes, I do not even know why I bother with you.

“How… kind of you” deadpanned the [Guild Maser], with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “then let's go to the adjacent room and start our interview”.

He proceeded to stand up, and walk back into the room that he came from, with a decidedly more sober gait.

Once I followed him into the room, I had barely enough time to see that the place had just two similar-looking armchairs, with a coffee table between them, before mister Abaan closed the door behind me and walked to the furthest armchair with a clipped pace.

The way he seemed to sink into the piece of furniture, after sitting down with a bone-deep, weary, sight, made them look extremely comfortable, so I followed in his example.

I was not disappointed.

The only thing that I ever experienced on the same level of ‘comfy’ was the malleable [Aether] from the [Temple].

And this time I remembered to [Inspect] the thing before sitting down (not that the haze from the [Enchantment] wasn’t obvious to my sight), and I’m glad that I did:

Name:

Lounge-chair of Truth

Owner:

Abaan Sylvertree

Type:

Compelling Enchanted furniture

Rank:

Epic

It seemed, to me, that the [Guild Master] was doing the equivalent of giving us a truth-serum, and I wouldn’t forget that.

“A [Theomancer], uh? I never heard of it, and that shouldn’t be possible”

So that’s how you want to approach this…

“Weird of you to not ask about my name first, but yes, I’ve been told by the [High Priestess] of the [Water Temple] that it appears to be some kind of ‘unique’ [Class], which she also hadn’t heard of before”, but I omitted the fact that it might have had been caused by my being both [Aberrant] and [Altered] (once again, [Indominable] proved itself indispensable in resisting the mental compulsion).

“hm, how intriguing, if even the [High Priestess] didn’t know about it, then… well, no matter.” he was very quick in letting things go when they appeared to go nowhere, “Now, why don’t you say what role you think would fit you, while also talking about your [Abilities]?”.

Not only did he disregard my mention of his lack of pleasantries, but he immediately went fishing for personal information.

Just as I expected.

“I think I could reliably fit in as a [Scout], or a [Healer] with what I already have, but I’m still lacking any form of attack or defense”, I replied.

“Yes, that’s all done and good, but what [Abilities], and peculiar [Affinities], do you have that would make you capable of growing into a determined role? We have plenty of [Teachers] that could instruct you on how to better specialize your ‘build’, and help you in the creation of a [Sub-Class], so don’t worry about what you don't have yet”, he replied, trying to guide the conversation back on track.

“How do I want to play this out? Give him false information, or come clear and say how displeased I am at his antics?”

Why are you the way you are…

Just do not make an enemy out of him, he is just doing his Job.

“Ok, come clean, and don’t be an arsehole about it; understood.”

“I have no intention of revealing my [Abilities] to someone that would try and compel me into doing so, but I’ll say that I specialize in making summonable constructs, which should be capable of covering the majority of the roles”, I finally say.

He squints his eyes at me and frowns, making me worry a bit if I had gone too far, but a grin quickly replaces his previous expression, and his tone goes back to being friendly, but not as condescending as before.

“Well, aren’t you even more special than you first appeared to be? The [Teachers] I have in mind for you are going to love putting you through your paces”.

That was the moment when an indescribable sense of [Pressure] washed over me, and as it had come, it was gone, but not before, somehow, making it very clear that I couldn’t [Inspect] him for what was a very high [Lvl disparity].

And it was at this moment that I realized: I’d fucked up.

You messed with the Guild Master, what did you expect?

I had taken a calculated risk, but man, am I bad at math.