Guild Master: A LitRPG adventure (Tower of Power Book 1) Read online

  “What do you mean, they don’t bother with these parts?”

  “These areas don’t have any real advantages for them, as there are almost no resources here worth the cost of expanding their domains. This isn’t a large stretch of land, either; there are only a few villages and small towns between the mountain range to the east and the ocean to the west. Guilds send representatives here from time to time, just to see if there are any worthy ascendants to recruit,” Vall told him.

  Something was nagging at Morgan’s mind. “Wait, who rules here?” Morgan asked.

  “This area is not ruled by anyone. Every village and town looks after itself,” Vall answered.

  “Wait, don’t you have kings, queens, kingdoms, nations?”

  The twins exchanged a look, and the Vall answered him. “No. I think that we had those long ago, if I remember my history well enough.”

  “But who rules, then? Is every settlement independent?”

  Vall looked at him strangely. “The Guilds rule.”

  “But… Wait, these Guilds, they aren’t just like small organizations with, let’s say, one building as their base of operations?” Morgan asked.

  Vall laughed in his face. “Of course not.” Well, no reason to be a dick about it. “The Guilds,” Vall continued, “rule large areas. It varies from Guild to Guild, but behind the range, the territory is split between the Guilds. And they aren’t each restrained to just a single building; Guild Holds are different in size, so some might be just a single building, but the largest and most powerful Guild Holds are the size of large cities, fortified.”

  So Guilds are basically nations here. “All right, but can you change your Guild after joining one?”

  “Of course, although you need to swear binding oaths before leaving a Guild. The ease and the severity of oaths you need to swear when you leave depends on how high in the hierarchy you are,” Vall answered.

  “I can see why joining one might be an important step, but I still don’t get why it is required.”

  Ves gave him a smile and patted his arm. “Ascendants can’t survive out there without being in a Guild. Not only do you get buffs and the support of the Guild, but you can’t actually trade with Guild traders without being in a Guild already. Which means that you would be forced to trade with non-ascendants, and the quality of their goods is just not on par. Not to say anything about having access to Guild manuals and trainers.”

  Morgan nodded his head, starting to understand. The Guilds seemed far more important in this world. “All right.” He turned to look at Vall. “You said that there are two Guild outposts here?”

  “So, you will be staying with us?” Vall asked as he narrowed his eyes at Morgan.

  Ves snapped to look at Morgan with a strange look on her face. Oh crap, is that betrayal I see in her eyes? “Yes, of course I will stay with you!”

  Ves’s expression cleared up immediately and she shot her brother a dark look. Vall just continued to glare at Morgan, but then he answered his previous question.

  “Yes, the Glitter Force and Omen Guilds. They aren’t perfect, but if we are going to get to level ten and upgrade our classes, we need a Guild.”

  Morgan exploded into laughter. “Glitter Force? Really?”

  The twins looked at him like he was mad. Seeing their reactions, he forced himself to calm down.

  “What do you mean?” Ves asked. “It is a respectable name.”

  Morgan nearly lost it again. “Uh… Perhaps this is one of those misunderstandings. What is glitter in your world?”

  The twins exchanged a look, and then Ves turned to look at him with a serious expression on her face. “Glitter is a terrifying high-level monster. It can usually be found in high mountain peaks near the Tower.”

  “Oh…” Morgan said. Right then, Glitter is a monster here.

  Vall shook his head and then continued speaking. “The Glitter Force is mostly focused on dungeon explorations and farming, and they accept any classes. They are a small second-tier Guild, though just barely.”

  “What does that mean?” Morgan asked.

  “The Guilds are divided into five tiers, with the fifth tier being the strongest and the largest Guild tier. There are currently only five fifth-tier Guilds in the World, and these five Guild together control about as much territory as all the other Guilds combined, and there are hundreds of Guilds out there,” Vall explained.

  “Right, and the other one?”

  Vall grimaced. “The Omen is a third-tier Guild, well known, respectable. But their representative here is a full-blooded elf.”

  Ves mirrored her brother’s expression.

  “That’s a problem?” Morgan asked.

  Ves nodded. “Full-blooded elves don’t like half-bloods like us. Elves have smaller birth rates than most other races. In their minds, elves should only mate with their own kind.”

  “So this representative would deny you entrance to the Guild?”

  Vall shrugged. “Most likely.”

  “Then we go with the other one.”

  Ves gave him a sad smile. “Thank you.”

  “So how do we do this?” Morgan asked.

  “Tomorrow we go to the Guild outpost, and we will see,” Vall said.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  They spent the night in their room, and Morgan barely closed his eyes. Once they had left for their room to sleep, Vestella had decided that she would sleep in Morgan’s bed. He fully expected to see Vallsorim unsheathing his sword to skewer him with it, but to his great surprise, that didn’t happen—although Vall did give him an evil look before they went to sleep. It wasn’t like they were doing anything; only some cuddling, mainly from Ves’s side, as Morgan had been too uncomfortable to do anything.

  In the end he had welcomed the morning. He let the twins go to the breakfast before him, while he splashed the cold water from the small bowl onto his face. All right, Morgan, you like her, right? She’s a cool, sword-wielding chick. Sure, their customs are strange and all, but let’s face it, I doubt that you can do better than her. He took a deep breath. He had never been all that comfortable with girls; probably had something to do with years of therapy. The memories of a rainy night and a small kitchen came to him: red on the floor and a scream from behind him. And… I am not thinking about that again. Back in the box where you belong, he told himself, and he pushed the memory away before splashing his face with the cold water again.

  He steeled himself and then exited the room, meeting the twins down below. They ate breakfast in silence, with Morgan avoiding the looks that Vall was throwing his way every time that Ves wasn’t looking.

  After that uncomfortable experience they went to the small building which was rented to the Glitter Force Guild. And I still can’t get over that name! Glitter Force, hah.

  Inside they were met with a simple desk and an woman maybe forty years of age sitting behind it. They walked over to her and Vall took the lead.

  “We are here to apply for Guild membership,” Vall said.

  The woman barely glanced at them before turning to the side and reaching below the desk. She brought out a strange-looking device and placed it on the desk in front of them. “Here you go.”

  Morgan was completely confused. “Uh… What is that?”

  “Scanner. It will read your levels and skills, so that we can see if we want you,” the woman answered.

  They each put their hands on the device that looked something like a mirror with a golden frame. When it came to Morgan, he felt only a slight shiver pass through him and then it was done. The woman then nodded and took the device back and looked it over, before checking something on a piece of paper on her side.

  “Hm… Good, good. All right, we will test you. Where are you staying?”

  Ves told her that they were at the inn and then the woman dismissed them, informing them that someone will be along tomorrow for the testing. Before they left, however, Morgan decided to try and use his inspect skill on the woman. She saw mine, I should
see hers. He focused as he looked at her, and just as he had learned from his skill he thought in his head Inspect. A moment later, a window popped out in front of his eyes.

  Graia Ervin LVL 14

  STRENGTH

  ?

  AGILITY

  ?

  CONSTITUTION

  ?

  INTELLECT

  ?

  WILL

  ?

  WISDOM

  ?

  CHARISMA

  ?

  LUCK

  ?

  SKILLS

  Administration ?

  ???

  He was surprised that she was level 14, and even more surprised that he couldn’t see anything about her stats or skills, and no abilities at all.

  “That,” the woman said as she met his eyes, “was very rude.”

  “Uh… Sorry.” Morgan gave her a weak smile and then turned around to catch up with his friends.

  As they were going back to the inn, Vall decided that he was going to walk around and see if he could find anything decent to buy, gear wise. Morgan wanted to go with him, but Ves tugged him away. As the two of them returned to their room, Morgan could feel the talk coming. Here it is, the moment I get broken up with. Not that I am surprised or anything. Vestella fidgeted a bit and then gestured for them to take a seat on the bed.

  Ves had a strangely anxious look on her face. She seemed to mutter something to herself that Morgan couldn’t catch and then took a deep breath and faced him.

  “Vall and I spoke earlier, and he pointed out something to me,” Ves started slowly.

  Oh no, I can see where this is going. Stupid brothers and their stupid protectiveness!

  “He pointed out to me,” Ves continued, “that your customs might not be the same as mine, and that I might have misinterpreted some things.”

  The look on her face made Morgan’s heart twist in his chest. I feel like someone just kicked my puppy. Damn it. “Uh… What do you mean?”

  “Do you want us to be together, for me to be your amri?” she asked softly.

  Goddammit, is she about to cry? Oh crap, crap, crap, crap. I’m not good with tears. “Uh… Yes, of course I do?” Fuck, that wasn’t supposed to be a question.

  “But you do understand what this means? That we would be mates for life?” Ves asked pointedly, the words just spilling out of her.

  Crap, her eyes are shiny. “Yeah, yeah, yes, yeah, right, I do, yes.”

  Her lip started to quiver. Oh no, she didn’t believe me. Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck. “But, uh… It’s good that you brought this up, I wanted to speak with you when we had a chance. Uh… I like you, and I want to be with you, but my customs are slightly different.”

  Vestella was still looking down, but she did meet his eyes. Damn those eyes, and she is crying because of me. That…doesn’t feel so good.

  “How so?” Ves asked.

  “Well, we usually take a bit more time before making things official. You know, to get to know each other better. I think that we should do that, you know, learn more about each other, before we make things official?”

  A glimmer of hope appeared in her eyes. “You want to get to know me better?” she whispered.

  “Yes?” Morgan asked.

  She seemed to think about it for a moment. “In elven culture, that usually happens after the mating ceremony…” What? What kind of idiotic customs are those? Stupid-ass fantasy cultures and their crazy customs.

  “Uh… We could do something in between? My customs and yours?” Morgan asked.

  Suddenly Ves smiled. “Yes, that sounds good. This is all my fault, I shouldn’t have assumed… Of course you have your own customs, and we shall respect them. So how do you go about this ‘getting to know each other’?”

  Right, she grew up only with her brother as company. God, I might be the first person other than her brother that she has even talked with! “We just talk, tell each other stories about our past…”

  “Good, we shall do that, then.” She gave him a brilliant smile that made his heart skip. And there it is—I’m falling for an half-elf girl. Grandma would’ve killed me for sure. No nice Christian girl for me. Sorry, Grandma!

  The next day they were sitting in the common room when two people entered. Immediately, Morgan could tell that these people were different than the people inside the inn. The first was what looked like an orc woman, tall, brown skinned, with tusks peeking out of her lower jaw. Her hair was braided on one side and shaved on the other. She looked pretty intimidating and was wearing some kind of plate armor with the symbol of a monster on it that Morgan had never seen before. It was painted in various colors, which was probably supposed to represent a Glitter. A glittering monster, who could’ve known? As soon as she entered the room, everyone got quiet. She turned her eyes over the room until they fell on the three of them, and then she started walking toward them.

  “You are the new recruits, I presume?” the orc woman said in a deep, gravelly voice.

  Whoa, she’s hot. Morgan glanced at Ves, who was staring at him with narrow eyes. He gave her a quick grin and then turned toward the orc warrior, who was towering over him. She has to be at least two meters tall!

  “Yes, that’s us!” Morgan said, just a bit too enthusiastically.

  The orc sighed in a manner that clearly showed her annoyance. “I am the Sixth Sub-Commander of the Second Fist of the Glitter Force Guild. My name is Emily Dor, and I will be your tester.”

  Morgan blinked, slowly. “Your name is Emily?”

  “Yes.” She frowned at him. “What of it?”

  “But… That… It… It doesn’t fit, like at all. An orc named Emily? What kind of fantasy setting has an orc named Emily?”

  The orc—Emily—studied Morgan for a long moment, then turned to look at the twins. “Is he addled in the head?”

  Vall face-palmed, and Ves shook her head and answered. “No, no. He just doesn’t know better. He is chosen; he doesn’t know much about the World.”

  Emily turned her eyes back on him. Huh, golden eyes, Morgan noticed.

  “A chosen, huh? We’ll see if you can keep up, then. Your kind rarely survives the World.” With that she gestured to the person that had entered with her.

  Morgan did a double take when he finally noticed him—the man was wearing what looked like authentic Roman legionnaire armor. The hell? Morgan hadn’t noticed any Roman influences in this world before.

  “This is another recruit. He will be doing the test with you,” Emily told them.

  The man gave them a Roman salute and spoke. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance, fellow ascended. I am Lucius Aurius Corvus, second son of Caius Axius Corvus, heir of Servius Canius Corvus,” the man finished, and Morgan just stared.

  “I am Vallsorim Ohm, and this is my sister Vestella. You are of the Corvus family?”

  “Yes. My family shame looms over me, but that shall not dissuade me from reclaiming what was once ours!” Lucius announced.

  Emily just rolled her eyes. “You Corvuses are lucky that I have decided to take pity on you. Your family is still banned from joining a Guild. The Glitter Force is risking much by even testing you.”

  “I understand, Sub-Commander. You will not regret your decision,” Lucius said with a bow toward the taller orc woman.

  Then Lucius turned to look at Morgan expectantly. Morgan was still struck by this turn of events. He understood nothing of what was just said, and he still couldn’t believe that there was a Roman soldier standing in front of him. Vestella nudged him with her elbow and Morgan realized that everyone was looking at him.

  “Uh… Right. I’m Morgan, the chosen,” he said lamely.

  “It is a pleasure to meet you, Morgan,” Lucius said in his just-a-tad-too-loud voice.

  “Right, likewise.”

  “Good, then. Now that we all know one another, it is time for us to leave for your test,” Emily said.

  “And what exactly is going to be our test?” Vall asked as
they all got up.

  “Usually, you would be run through a series of tests by our people. But since most of the other testers have already left for the Guild hold, and there is only me, we will be going on a dungeon run. If you show yourself worthy and survive, we will accept you.”

  “A dungeon run?” Vestella asked, surprised. “But there is only one dungeon in this area.”

  “Yes,” Emily said simply.

  “We are going to Mountain’s Heart?” Vall asked, startled.

  “That we are,” Emily said as they left the inn.

  “But… That’s…” Vall stammered.

  “What’s the problem?” Morgan asked.

  Vall turned to look at him. “The Mountain’s Heart is a dungeon that hasn’t been completed in decades. Most who venture inside do not come back out.”

  That sounds ominous. “Wait, we’re not going on a suicide run, are we?” Morgan asked.

  Emily chuckled. “Don’t worry, scrubs. I am a level 25 Marauder. There isn’t anything in there that I can’t deal with. Although it will be you guys fighting for the most part—it is your test, after all. We don’t need people who will be a burden to the Guild.”

  “But what about the dungeon boss?” Vestella asked.

  “We’ll not be doing that,” Emily said with a grimace. “No point in taking the risk with that monster.”

  “Ah… The boss?” Morgan asked.

  Ves turned to look at him. “The longer a boss stays undefeated, the stronger it becomes…and the end boss of the Mountain’s Heart had been alive for decades. It gains levels like any other ascendant.”

  “But wait, aren’t there, like, people who are greater levels? Why don’t they fight it?” Morgan asked.

  Emily snorted. “There’s no need. The Mountain’s Heart is a low-level dungeon. People who are strong enough to kill that boss easily don’t want to bother with it as the rewards aren’t going to be anything special, and even when fighting low-level monsters there is always a risk of dying. No ascendant would even attempt it. And most of those who could benefit from Mountain’s Heart are too weak to kill the boss.”