“Well, that should about cover everything,” Jake said as he looked over the form I had handed him. Are there any Questions?”
“Not that I can think of right now,” I say.
“Well, if you have any questions, I’m sure your dad or one of the people at the reception desk will be able to help answer them.” Jake said, “This looks to be in order, so all that’s left is to issue a Guild Card. Wait here a moment.” Jake added before making his way behind the reception desk and grabbing an object from under the counter. Putting it on the desk between us, Jake started inputting something on a screen only he could see. Jake nodded at something, saying, “Okay, that should do it. Just put your hand on the crystal on the top of the Inscriber, and we’ll get your Guild Card created.”
I did as instructed, and a soft glow emanated from the square object before a thin rectangular object was spat out the side. Picking it up when Jake motioned me to do so, I was surprised to see it was solid crystal no larger than my hand. On its face was my name and current rank within the guild. There was other information, like what branch issued it and when it was issued, and some bar, which I wasn’t quite sure about.
“The first one is free, but if you lose it and need a replacement, it will cost you a large gold coin. So I suggest you don’t lose it. Not only is the Guild Card your identification within the Guild, but it will also allow you to enter any city or town without paying the entrance fee. More importantly, that Card will keep track of any request you’ve accepted and their status. Oh, and while it might look like Crystal, it''s not; you could throw it into a volcano, and it just floats in the magma with barely a scratch or scorch mark.”
<It is not that durable; after all, very few things can withstand those temperatures, but that little card can take quite a bit of punishment.> Gem comments.
<Um, what is it made of, if not crystal?> I asked, curious
<My creators called it Cystoplast. It was used in large, several hundred-story structures on the world they hailed from. When they discovered that it could hold a tremendous amount of data for an exceptionally long time, we’re talking heat death of the universe timeframes; they decided to use it for the System’s physical interfaces.>
<That’s…you know, I’m not sure if I understood half of that>
<That’s okay; it’s not like it’s overly important what it’s made of; if you want to know more about it, I have quite a bit of reference material in the Archive. Anyway, you don’t have to worry about losing that card. When you get home, I’ll show you a neat little trick to protect that card and any money you have from thieves.>
“Anyway, that’s everything,” Jake said, interrupting my conversation with Gem, “welcome to the Guild. If you want, you can wait for the boss man to come back,” Jake added, waving over to a sizable area off the side with several tables and chairs arranged in five rows.
“Thank you,” I respond with a smile.
“Just doing my job,” Jake says, matching my smile. “Plus, the Redemption desk is always slow the day after the Initiation Ceremony. So I should thank you for preventing me from dying of boredom.” This last bit was said just as my dad walked up behind Jake, and apparently, something in my expression gave it away because Jake asked, “Your father is behind me, isn''t he?” and I just nodded.
“If you''re so bored, Jake, I''m sure we can find something else for you to do,” Dad says, and I shivered in sympathy, having been on the receiving end of that frosty tone quite a few times. “Like maybe helping over at the reception counter.”
“No, Sir,” Jake says hastily. “You know how I like to exaggerate. I’m happy managing the redemption counter.”
“I’m sure.” Dad says, letting it go, “I assume Melissa has been registered and issued a Guild Card.”
“Yes, Sir,” Jake responded.
“Very good,” Dad said, hefting the bag. I noticed he was carrying over his shoulder before turning to me. Let''s head home; you can come back tomorrow, when it’s less busy, to see what requests are available.”
“Ok,” I say, waving Jake goodbye as I follow Dad back out of the building.
“Um, if it''s so busy today, shouldn’t you be back there helping? What if something unexpected happens,” I ask
“That''s what I have an Assistant Guildmaster for,” Dad responds. “She already knew I was going to be taking the day off. Plus, when I went to get this, I stopped by her office to check in, and everything was going as expected. That’s also the reason Jake is on Redemption duty; it gives him a reason to be in the reception hall and help without people realizing it.” See my curious look; Dad added, “He may not seem like the most reliable person, but in his younger days, he used to run the Reception hall of the Captial Branch, so dealing with our version of self-important residents is nothing to him.”
“Oh, then how did he end up out here,” I ask, surprised.
“No one really knows, but the popular rumor is that Jake and the Capital Branch’s Guildmaster at the time had an incendiary argument, and Jake decided instead of killing the man, he’d get as far from the capital as he could.”
“Wait, you said at the time, did something happen to the guildmaster?”
“You’re as sharp as ever, honey,” Dad says with a warm smile, “a few months after Jake left the capital, the Captial Branch’s Guildmaster decided to step down.”
“Oh,” I say as we turn onto the street our house is on.
“Well, anyhow, Jake has been an asset, whatever his reason for coming here was,” Dad concludes as he opens the door to our house and gestures for me to proceed. “well enough about my guild employees, I’m a little surprised you didn’t ask about the bag,” Dad says, dropping it on the kitchen table with a thud.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“I figured you’d explain what it was,” I respond. “Plus, I have a feeling I already know what''s in the bag.”
“Oh, you have it all figured out,” Dad laughs. “Okay, if you think you know what''s in the bag, why don’t you tell me?”
“Well, obviously, it has something to do with adventuring; otherwise, why would it have been at the guild,” I began, only for Gem to comment <Great deduction there, Sherlock>, not sure what she meant but assuming from her tone it was something rude I decided to ignore her.. “so I can only guess it’s something to help me get started as an adventurer.”
“You’re partially correct; it will help with adventuring, but it wasn’t just for you. I set this aside for either your brother or you on the off chance that the System granted either of you the Adventurer class or a similar class.”
“So what is it?” I asked, intrigued.
“Why don’t you open it up and find out?” Dad says, pushing the bag towards me. I promptly opened it to find a set of leather armor and a sheathed short sword.
<FUCK!!!! Why the fucking hell did my creators think leaving that lying around was a good idea?> Gem practically screams in my head, and it was everything I could do not to let my surprise show.
<Um, what is it?> I ask, startled and a little concerned.
<Use fucking Identify and find out, you moron.> Gem responds, fuming.
<You know, when you start talking about your creators, you get really mean.> I comment, but do as she asks. Instead of the usual blue screens everyone else gets, two silvery screens pop into existence. During her hours of explications, Gem explained that the screens'' color had actual meaning: Red to indicate an error, Blue for standard users, and silver for administrators. She said there were a few other colors, but they weren''t important, and she’d explain them if I ever came across them, or I should be able to figure them out through context.
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Name: Administrator''s Armor Set 1 (Basic Leather Armor) ( <u>Edit</u> )
Level: 1
Type: Light
Grade: Administrator (F)
Armor: 10
Durability: 99 / 100
Description:
A simple leather armor that is great for beginning adventurers.
Administrator Description:
A configurable set of armor. Seriously, everything about this armor can be configured; you could make it withstand a nuke. Happy birthday, Kat.
Current Configuration: default.
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Name: Administrator''s Weapon 1 (Basic Iron Short Sword) ( <u>Edit</u> )
Level: 1
Type: Short Sword
Grade: Administrator (F)
Damage: 10
Durability: 98 / 100
Description:
A simple short sword that is great for beginning adventurers.
Administrator Description:
A configurable weapon. Seriously, Kat, you could turn this thing into a gun if you wanted to.
Current Configuration: Default.
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<It''s because their fucking morons, and I’ve been spending fucking millennia cleaning up the messes they’ve left behind. This just happens to be the latest in a long list. Why the ever-living fuck did they think leaving these lying around where someone could come across them was a good idea.>
<Okay, but it doesn’t seem that bad; if I''m reading the description correctly, it''s a pretty basic set of armor and sword. It’s only because I have the Administrator Class that it becomes a problem.> I respond, a little perplexed by her attitude.
<Ya, this one isn’t that bad, but the fact that this one is still around means the other set is probably still floating around somewhere. And that one is the bigger pain in the ass because its default configuration is a Progression Type. You know the type of armor and weapons that level with the user. Great right? The only problem is that as it levels the armor, it unlocks the same customizations you can do from the get-go.>
<Oh. That could be bad if it fell into the wrong hands.>I admit. <Why do I get the feeling you’d like me, at some point, to figure out where the second set ended up? Anyway, how did you not know these were still around in the first place?>
<Because, unlike my creators, you''re not a fucking idiot. Also, to answer your second question, just like I can''t do anything about your Administrator Class, I have no way of tracking Administrator Grade Armor Sets and Weapons. My creators called it a safety measure, but it just added to the list of reasons I have to ring their necks.>
“Where did you find these, Dad?” I ask aloud, my mental conversation with Gem taking only a few seconds.
“During my early days as an adventurer, I found what I had thought was a hidden dungeon about five days'' ride from the capital in the middle of nowhere. I quickly realized that if it was a dungeon, it was like one I had never heard of. The walls were made of a metal I had never seen before, and these glossy rectangles were embedded at regular intervals. More importantly, there were no monsters or traps like I had expected to find if it was a dungeon. Well, to make a long story short, after some exploring and finding a whole lot of nothing, the only thing of value was that armor and sword.”
<FUUUUCK!!> Gem grones in my head as Dad explains. <He found Katherine''s house; no wonder he found her armor. I know what I’m doing for the next few days: surveying all the installations to ensure they’re still well out of reach.>
<Um, How many places like that exist?> I ask, a little surprised.
<About a hundred, give or take a few, dotted around the planet; most aren''t all that important in the grand scheme of things, but there are a handful that have direct access to my Primary Core, as well as about twenty that hold backup nodes I can use in an emergency.>
“That''s kind of cool, Dad.” I say, “Um, out of curiosity, did you tell anyone about your find.”
“No, it wasn’t a dungeon, so even if I had reported it, I still wouldn''t have gotten the finders fee all adventures get for finding new dungeons, and there really wasn’t anything of value in there. Why do you ask?”
“No reason,” I say with a slight chuckle as I pick up the bag with the armor and sword. “anyway, I should put these in my room and try on the armor to see if it fits.”
“Sure. Your mother and brother should return from the market in a few minutes, and then we’ll have lunch.”