Chapter 73: Errands (2) (Patreon)

World: MSS - Loading...

***

When we entered the bar-like room that served as the Guild’s reception area, all the talking died out.  Elves froze in the midst of raising a glass of wine to their lips and beastman around us actually let out a few growls; somewhere between appreciation, respect and wariness.  Others all had the same reaction; the room beginning to fill up with whispers as Skaris and I walked past them.

“Is that him? The one who was part of the Fracture Raid?”

“3-man party… that must be Skaris next to the human.  I heard of him.”  One of the beastman said in a low growl, my hearing picking up what was meant only for his companion.

“Is it true he lives in the Slums?”

“Heard that Vetilian might join his party.”

“The bastard? Aurora Candrian Vetilian?”

“Really? Then perhaps the other rumor is true.”  A dwarf whispered to his human companion.  “Heard he uses [Aura].”

A few people’s breath stopped in their throats and all their gazes were fixed on me, like I was a zebra walking through lion territory.  From that reaction alone, I could tell which adventurers here had a [Hearing] stat high enough to hear the last remark.  

“Damn it.  I wanted to keep the news about [Aura] a secret a little bit longer.”  I had known it would be wishful thinking though.  There were no such things as a well-kept secret among adventurers.

“Eltis could have told some of her Clergy as was her responsibility… Then they told the others.  Not like Track or Krag has any obligation to keep it a secret either…”

“We’re famoussss.”  Skaris remarked, his eyes anything but excited.

“Didn’t think you were the type to enjoy attention.”

“Usssually not.”  He turned to me, his eyes surging with pride.  “But it isss better than being looked down upon.”

He was talking about the time we first walked into this building, smelling like the Slums.  Now, no one cared about the smell.  Skaris must’ve been holding a grudge… and the change in attitude towards us was something I could grow used to if it meant random mob characters weren’t going to pick fights with me based on outer appearances alone.

I remembered the human woman waiting for us at the counter, the one with the black hair neatly combed over.  She gave a small bow, her hands gathered in front of us.  

“Guild Master Pointell is waiting for you upstairs.”

This time, she didn’t leave us to climb the stairs alone.  She led us, asking us if we needed anything to drink or eat.  Of course, we denied both.

We didn’t have any intention to stay here a long time.

It wasn’t like we had any negative feelings towards Marc Pointell.  Sure, he sent us into a 15-man Fracture where 10 members were from a different city, all to fight over an item that a boss might or might not drop.  It also wasn’t like he warned us ahead of time  that someone might be deliberately working against us besides the politics that were already involved; namely my suspicions about Baran belonging to a third player all together.  Lastly, it wasn’t like he gave us only 2000 gold to equip ourselves.

None of those mattered.  What mattered was whether he would keep his word about giving us the reward or not.

If he tried to talk himself out of it in anyway… well…

I had two Pluralities hanging out in my Dimension Ring plus the Fracture Splinter he asked for.  I could walk away anytime and pawn these off in the Black Market.  It was about time I started making connections down there anyways.

“By the way, I never got to introduce myself.”  The woman told us as we reached the door.  “My name is Lee Thurward.”

Skaris scoffed at her.

I raised an eyebrow.  She had her chance to introduce herself to us before… and chose not to.  Now that we were back safely from a Fracture having completed a mission no one else had wanted to pick up or been competent enough to do so… well, I guess you could never have too much friends, especially if you were working for the Adventurer’s Guild.

I gestured to the door.  “I don’t want to keep the Guildmaster waiting.”

If me ignoring her annoyed her in any way, she didn’t show it on her face.  Figures that working a customer service job would give her thick skin.  

The woman –Lee, a common-enough name in MSS– opened the door for us and we marched in.

Marc Pointell was sitting on the couch, same as before.  Plain in every way, blending with his room seamlessly.  His dull brown eyes looked at us when the door opened, gesturing to the couch in front of him.

I sat down, crossing my legs.  Skaris sat on the other end of the same couch.

For a few minutes, no one spoke.  Marc continued to pour tea, the only sound out of place in this drab room.  Finally, once he finished pouring everyone’s cups, he leaned back and crossed his legs as well.  He smiled.

“You’re alive, Mr. Lock.”

“I am.”  My voice was flat, without any intonation.  “Tell me what you know about Baran Benepir and his sister, Sarai Benepir.  Elven Archer and Elven Mage.”

Master of subterfuge and politeness… Arrosh never really taught me the finer arts of talking with people.  He was too busy teaching me how to survive.

There was no poker in MSS, but Marc would have been good at it; his expression didn’t change one millimeter.  “I have heard what happened in the Fracture.  Rest assured, I am looking into it.  So is the guild in Eretia.  The Fracture Splinter?”

I looked at his outstretched hand, wanting to argue more or haggle.

“Tch.  Whatever.  A deal’s a deal.”  Telling myself it was the right thing to do, I took out the small crystal and handed it over.

Marc held it up to the light and looking through it.  Then he grasped it in his palm and closed his eyes, the faintest stirring of mana tickling my meager Mana Sense.  He was making sure that it was real, which was fine with me.  I had nothing to hide.

He stored the Fracture Splinter into his Dimension Ring once he was satisfied.  “I promised you the Guild’s full backing as well as first rights to this Fracture we will open.  You have it.”

Skaris looked at me, surprised.  I was surprised too.  I was sure that Marc would haggle or try to weasel his way out of this deal we made.

“I can see you are confused.  I will reveal my hand then,”  Marc’s voice flowed over us and out of reflex, I swept my Mana Sense, thinking he was using an ability over us.  There were more than few Cores that worked with people’s voices.  “I have decided to invest in your party, Mr. Lock.”

“More so than the Guild’s backing you promised us?”  I wasn’t buying it.  “Why? You get nothing out of this.”

“Quite the opposite.  I get an extremely competent party led by a Grade-6 adventurer, who could probably fight on par with Grade-5 adventurers if the intelligence about your [Aura] and Plurality holds to be true.  Not to talk poorly about Mr. Skaris and Mr. Kyrian, they are both skilled as well, but Mr. Lock; you seem to be… quite exceptional.”

“...You mean you have more dungeons you want us to dive into.”  I muttered, my thoughts tracing his.  “This whole thing wasn’t just a test… it was an interview.  A job advertisement to speak.  You were seeing which Party would bite… and actually come out to succeed.”

“Of course.”  Marc steepled his fingers.  “I have mentioned in our prior conversation.  Due to the Colosseum, the Adventurer Guild’s influence in Jayu is not quite as strong as it should be.  Look at Turina or Jayu, the Adventurer’s Guild is a government almost unto themselves.  Here in Jayu… nothing more than a job market for adventurers.”

“There must be better prospects.”  I shot back.

“We are hardly the ssstrongest in this area.  I can name five otherssss who could rival Sssslaveborn.”  

“Five?!”  I feigned being mocked.

“Maybe ssssixss.”  Skaris amended.

“No.  What I’m looking for isn’t just strength.”  Marc’s eyes shifted then, his dull brown eyes changing to something fierce.

Like a possessive child that was looking at his new favorite toy, determined not to let go no matter what.  

“Loyalty.  Character.  You proved the first when you didn’t bother haggling, you stayed loyal to your word and to your promise.  Character… I tested you by saying the loot would be split five ways between your party as well as Aurora and Ms. Eltis.  Most adventurers might have let them die and blame it to an accident, more for your own.  Yet, you kept them alive.  You brought all of them back.”

Interesting.  He called Eltis, ‘Ms’, yet with Aurora he called her by her name.  Something worth looking into at a later time.

“...And if I say no?”

Was Marc Pointell the type to threaten us? Or was he also a man of loyalty and character?  I needed to know.

“Nothing.  I will still give you the rights to the Fracture which we will open as well as the Guild’s backing.  Better prices, priority on quests and others of the sort. However… you won’t be part of the Dungeon or Field Raids I have in mind.”

My eyes widened at that.

Exclusive Dungeons apart… he was talking about Field Raids.  A Guild Manager talking about a Field Raid? He couldn’t be talking about a Field Boss Monster that was terrorizing a bunch of farmers.  That was beneath his pay grade.  That meant…

“You… want to tackle a Field Boss that holds Territory?”

Marc smiled at me, the first genuine smile I’ve seen from him yet.

“Do I have your interest now?”

A Field Boss who held their own Territory.  At least Grade-5 with Variant abilities.  Participating in a raid of that caliber was’t an easy feat.  You had to have a reputation, to make sure people would respect you and if you were a leader, that people would listen to you.  You had to have proven your competence, so that you wouldn’t hold others back.  Not just that, you needed connections.  Multiple questlines, branching over dozens of people…

“I can see that you’re excited.”  Marc held up a hand, the fire in his eyes gone like it had been a lie.  “It seems you are not swayed by wealth, but let me say this anyways.  If you partner with me, I will always give your party first rights to the Plurality or Cores that comes through this guild as well as other items that you specify.”

Damn it.  Marc drove a hard bargain.

“What do you want from us in exchange?”

“For now, nothing.  There is a Dungeon that is a headache but I have commissioned another party to take care of it.  They are interviewing with the clients right now.”

I frowned.  “Who are the clients?”

“The Church of Fire, Light and Shield.”  He tapped his fingers on the table.  “I cannot say more than that.”

The Church of Fire, Light and Shield… the Church of Turina.

Marc wouldn’t be talking about the Main Church, that was in the capital of Turina Empire; way up north.  He was most likely talking about a branch nearby, somewhere in Jayu.  But why would a Church request a dungeon raid to a party? They could have had their own Paladins and Priests do it…

“Because they failed at doing it themselves.”  I answered myself.  

If they went so far as to ask the Guild for help… that might mean the Dungeon had something within.

“If that party fails the interview or fails the dungeon expedition, I want rights to it.”

“I’m afraid the dungeon belongs to the chur-”

“Can you do it or not?”  

Mard froze.  “You… have a nose for danger, Mr. Lock.  I will let you know.”  He went back to the topic, spreading his arms in a placating gesture.  “Can I take that to assume we are… shall we say, friends?”

“Business partners.”  I answered.

“Glad to hear it.  It will take me a month or so to make preparations for the Fracture.  Once it is ready, I will let you head the expedition.”

If I headed the expedition… it meant I got to choose whom I took into the Fracture.  Minimizing the chances of backstabbing and maximizing the chances of loot.

Speaking of loot…

“Is that all?”  Seeing Marc’s nod, I took an item out of my Dimension Ring.  “I need you to sell this for me.”

Marc froze, staring at the item in my hand.

“I don’t know who your informant is,” I actually had a good idea, “but they told you that there were two Fracture Bosses, yes?”

He nodded slowly.

“Well… I found this.  The others do not know about it.  Except for Kyrian and Skaris, of course.”

Marc looked at Skaris who dumped the tea into his mouth.  Skaris smirked.

I continued.  “It’s a Plurality.  I believe it’s called-”

“[Prolonged Suffering].”  Marc finished for me, whispering.  “It keeps its user in a death-like state for an extended amount of time.  But during this time, they are effectively immortal.”

Contrary to the grim name, [Prolonged Suffering] was actually an item used for survival.  It kept the character at 1HP for 24 hours.  During that time, you couldn't be mained, decapitated or wounded in anyway, impervious to all damage.  The downside was that the said character would be in pain and feel everything being done to him while being in stasis.  Aware of everything but unable to move.  Kind of like a waking coma.

Usually, if an NPC in the game used it, they ended up leaving the party from the trauma.

Most of the time, it was an extremely situational item.  Being left alive for 24 hours in the dungeon with 1hp didn’t bode well; intelligent monsters could still drag you into their lair and wait out the time limit.  Other times, you could simply fall down a cliff and use it, just to survive for those 24 hours hoping that someone would rescue you.  I didn’t really understand it before but living so close to death now… I could see why someone would quit adventuring after that.

But it was definitely a rare item that if used right, could save someone’s life.  A one-time use Plurality that would disintegrate after.

“Well? Can you auction this off for me? Or can the Guild buy it outright?”

“It’s a one-time use Plurality item.”  Marc muttered in that detached tone of his.  “A lower-grade one.  The guild is willing to pay 60,000 gold.”

That wasn’t anywhere near enough.  “Can you put it up for Auction in the Guild Marketplace?”

Rather than a specific event, the Guild ran their Auction like a running market; goods continuously being introduced and sold.  You could find all sorts of things on there.

“Hm.  I could… but I doubt that you could find a buyer here.  It would be better to-”

“Wait.  In the Guild Auction… how many Cores are there right now?”

“We are hosting a total of 13 Cores.”  Marc answered.

Skaris leaned forward, becoming interested in the conversation again.  “Ssslaveborn.”  He looked at me expectedly.

His tone was clear.  With two empty slots, Skaris was more than due for an upgrade.

Well, Kyrian and Skaris did agree to waive their share of the [Lunar Shield]... 

“Show me.”

***

In the end, Marc handed over a Grade-7 Core for Skaris.  Though the Core was worth more, the Guild Master handed it over without much fuss on the basis that it had been on Auction for awhile.  It was better to take the loss and introduce a fresh item –a Plurality no less– to the market rather than hold onto a Core that wasn’t selling.  Truthfully, I wanted a Core too.  A grade-9 Core actually but I didn’t see it on the list.

“That means we’re going to have to go farm for it…”

We were walking back to the Slums, having finished our talk with Marc Pointell.  Kyrian should have finished up his research by now.

“Tomorrow, Aurora should be done with selling off her loot.  I still have to come up with a way to pay back Aurora, Eltis, Dibo and Krag.”

I should never have been allowed to walk out with the Lunar Shield.  Most adventurers would never have agreed to let me take it on a layaway plan.  For adventurers it was cash upfront or else.  I think they gave me some leeway on the basis that I had been instrumental in getting us out alive when ambushed by the second [Gi].

“Hmm… if Skaris and Kyrian gets their gold tomorrow, they should spend it on [Evolution] and the Fourth Mana Core.  Then I can go and see about setting up the Colosseum…”

I had been so preoccupied with my thoughts that I didn’t notice that Skaris had stopped in his tracks.  I bumped into him.

“Why’d you stop?”

“Ssslaveborn.  Do you not smell it?”

The sun was starting to set over the horizon, the dredges of its meager sunlight touching upon the Slums.  We were still at the border, where the distinction between city and garbage dump was murky; though I was starting to see the denizens of the Slums with their skin disease and crippled dispositions finding shelter for the night.

Listening to Skaris, I put my nose to the wind.  That was weird, I had a much better [Smell] stat than he did.  I should have-

I smelt it.

Smoke.

Not smoke from the soups or mystery meat that people cooked in here, where food was scarce.  The smell was wild, out of control and I saw that the sun wasn’t actually that close to setting; the whole sky was an orange hue covered by smoke.  Red light flickered, lapping up the garbage from within and racing towards us from the edge of my vision; devouring the garbage to further grow itself.

If it was coming from within…

I instinctively knew where it was coming from.

Our little orc village.