Clan Formation (2)
Clan Formation (2)
#
"You want to form a clan? Not join an existing one?"
"Yes."
Lize looked troubled. Her hesitation differed from her usual brisk, decisive manner. She stared up at me silently for several seconds and spoke only when I was about to ask what was wrong.
"Umm... I'm not sure where to begin. Right now is a bit difficult..."
Difficult? What was that supposed to mean? From what Ariel had told me, it hadn't sounded like there were any huge conditions attached. I looked back at Ariel, but her expression wasn't encouraging either.
"Could you come over here for a moment?"
Lize let out a deep sigh, glanced around, and drew us in close to the counter. She lowered her voice as if about to share a secret.
"It'll be faster to show you. Over there, do you see that?"
In the direction she indicated, there was a partition, and around it stood a few guards yawning. Lize seemed to be pointing beyond them.
"What is that?"
"There's a teleportation device over there. With it, you can use teleport points inside the dungeon. Some locations are safe enough to install the equipment."
What? Why was she only explaining such a convenient thing now?
"Uh, I never heard anything about that."
"...That's what I'm about to explain."
Lize exhaled.
"Originally, anyone could use the equipment after paying the fee, no matter where they wanted to go. Then the Dungeon Management Bureau began making trouble. They argued that inexperienced rookies might recklessly charge into the dungeon’s depths and demanded restrictions."
"Oh... really?"
"It's nonsense. Measuring a dungeon's danger level is the job of adventurers and their assigned staff. Imposing restrictions like that's a blatant slight against us. And that's not all."
Lize stared at the guards as if she found them utterly detestable.
"The depths do tend to be more dangerous, but that's not always true. Dungeons constantly change. A point that requires Gold Tier one day can become clearable at Bronze Tier the next. Yet the Bureau insists teleport points must always be restricted by tier."
"I, I see."
I could only nod along. Lize was now glaring at the guards with a vicious intensity, as if she wanted to tear them apart. They looked like low-ranking grunts to me, but apparently they were catching the hate all the same. But wait, what was that? I thought there was a usage restriction?
"Uh, but people are passing through there."
Lize furrowed her brow at the adventurers heading past the partition.
"Those adventurers registered under the old rules."
"Pardon?"
"Hmm... how should I explain this..."
Lize looked at me with a pained expression.
"W-well, negotiations over the usage rules are only now nearing completion. You'll be able to use the teleportation equipment from now on. However..."
"However?"
"Yoo-jin—no, Adventurer—you must personally reach and mark a teleport point before you can use the device to travel there. In other words, you may teleport only to places you've already visited."
"..."
I understood. Before, the world-map teleport points had been active by default, but now they were all disabled and I'd have to activate each one personally. What a pain in the ass.
Seeing my expression darken, Lize hastily added more.
"Even this was achieved only after considerable negotiation with the Bureau. Their original proposal was to restrict regions by adventurer tier, which was absurd. Who are they to interfere with the Guild’s tiers? The Guild fought them relentlessly and barely won this concession."
"The Guild’s proposal is far more reasonable. If an adventurer can reach a teleport point, that proves they can neutralize the threats around it. Restricting access by tier ignores the fact that tiers reflect achievements as well as skill, so updates require time and money. Their proposal would effectively cut off adventurers’ hands and feet..."
Lize's face was almost red by now. I'd never seen her this worked up. It seemed that place called the Bureau had put her through a lot.
"Uh, then what about the people from before?"
Yuri jutted her chin past the partition.
"Do they have to do the new marking too?"
"The new rule applies starting with your party."
"Ugh."
Lize looked genuinely apologetic.
"Adventurers registered earlier may continue using the teleportation equipment as before. But the new rule applies starting with your party. I'm sorry."
"..."
Right. Applying a new restriction retroactively to existing adventurers would have caused an uproar. Still, this felt shitty. No matter where you went, newbies getting shafted was universal! Damn it! Was this one of those "should've started the game earlier if you were gonna whine" things?!
"Still, you were a little lucky."
"Pardon?"
"If your party had arrived even a little later, those Bureau bastards would have shaken you down for time and money for no reason, you know?"
"What do you mean by that?"
Lize lowered her voice even further, as if sharing an even deeper secret.
"The Bureau scum are trying something strange again. They claim dungeon casualties are rising, so they want to impose training on new adventurers. Can you believe it?"
Still not over her agitation, Lize began speaking at a rapid clip.
"They want to bring in retired soldiers as instructors. What a joke. What do soldiers know about dungeons? The Bureau simply wants to stick a spoon into the Guild’s hard work and claim a share! Bastards."
"I, is that so?"
"Uh, isn't that... a good thing...?"
At Yuri's mutter, Lize glared.
"As if they'd do it for free! I heard they planned to charge tens of silver each month. New adventurers couldn't pay that, so they'd defer the payment and attach vicious terms. They were obviously trying to bind people with slave contracts and interest!"
"Whoa..."
Yuri looked a bit taken aback. Whether it was because of those Bureau bastards or because of Lize, I couldn't tell, but Lize kept unloading as though Yuri had egged her on.
"What could anyone learn from washed-up retired soldiers? It would be different if they hired high-tier adventurers as instructors. The Bureau keeps throwing tantrums to leech off us somehow... oh dear. I'm sorry."
"Uh, um. No problem."
It seemed a great deal had accumulated. From what the Witch and Ariel had said, I'd assumed the Guild simply possessed overwhelming power, but apparently matters were not so one-sided. Still, the conversation was wandering.
"So about forming a clan..."
"Ah. Look at me, losing my head."
Lize fanned herself with her hand as if trying to calm down. It struck me that everything she'd said up until now had been her venting personal grievances.
"So applications to form clans are currently suspended. The Bureau wants to restrict clan formation to adventurers above a certain tier, which is absurd nitpicking. They're being spiteful because the teleportation matter didn't go their way. Otherwise, they'd not have started such a sudden quarrel. Considering who feeds this city, the ingratitude is unbelievable..."
Lize went on for quite a while after that, pouring out a stream of headache-inducing talk. Anyway, clan formation was blocked? The moment I set my mind on something, this kind of obstacle appeared. It felt like someone was tripping me up, and it put me in a foul mood.
"Ah. I'm sorry."
"...It's fine."
"But must you form a clan? Would it not be better to join an existing one? With your party’s potential, you could pass the entry test for most established mid-sized clans. There are small, family-like clans too, but... hmm..."
Lize stopped there and watched my reaction. A family-like clan. A family-like business! I knew exactly what she was hinting at. There was no way I could join a place like that.
"...Isn't there any other way?"
"Umm..."
Lize rolled her eyes as though an idea were on the tip of her tongue. Then she clapped her hands and pulled me closer.
"Are all the people here members of the clan?"
"Ah, yes."
"Would you fill out this paperwork first?"
As she spoke, Lize slid over a simple registration form asking for my name, tier, class, contact information, and so on. I filled it out quickly and handed it back. Lize stared intently at the paper before speaking.
"...There might be a way after all."
"A way..."
"In exchange for forming the clan quickly, you may have to deal with something troublesome. Would that be all right?"
"...Well, I don't have a choice."
Lize smiled a slightly meaningful smile, but I had no other options. Just as the matter was more or less settled and we were about to leave the reception desk, Lize caught hold of me.
"Oh, Yoo-jin. You went to see the Witch, didn't you?"
"Huh? Ah, yes."
"What did you receive as your reward? If it was magic stones, let's settle the account before you leave!"
"..."
Lize's eyes shone with hunger for the commission.
#
"Nothing ever seems to go smoothly."
"Tell me about it."
Before heading back to the mansion, we took a short break at a table. It was fair to say we needed the rest. My talk with Lize felt less like a conversation and more like weathering a storm.
"Ahem. Ahem."
Ariel suddenly cleared her throat. She collected herself as if she had something to say.
"Hmm. I'm not sure whether this is the right time to bring this up."
"What's wrong?"
"When... will we be able to do it?"
Oh, right. Now that I thought about it, I needed to do it with her.