Countryguy's Blog
Chapter 7
The Forming of the Party
9 am
I got to the guest house and Akeno answered the door in a bad mood.
“What’s wrong?”
“These idiots watching the house. Every time I go out they start hitting on me and treating me like a defenseless woman who needs a strong man in my life.”
“Sorry, I will deal with it.”
“No, you don’t have to do that, but if one of them ends up hurt you know why.”
I had a nice laugh at that, but I think I better let someone know.
“I was told that all of us have something in common that we were told not not to discuss with others because they might get upset.” Me
“I don’t understand.” Akeno
“We all have titles, more precisely, we have a god’s blessing.”
“You too?” Mia
“I was told all of us do.” Me
“I have 4 skills, Identification lv 2, Appraisal lv 2. Both leveled up last night. I also have Martial Arts lv 1 and Short
Sword lv 1.”
“I have the same ones, but mine are all still lv 1.” Lisa
“Same as mine, does anyone have a different one?” Suzaku
“Mine are the same, how did you level up appraisal?” Mia
“Look at the coach and think ‘appraisal’, walk around the house and do it on everything. It should level up but tonight.” Me
“”””Cool.”””” Everyone
“Each level requires more than the last level so keep that in mind. It will also help us get in the habit of using them. Zecks also said the gods will open a new dungeon near us, within walking distance, but not to tell the guild till we cleared it. So we need to get you all registered as soon as possible.” Me
We all looked at Mia.
“My father agreed to let me register, but has not agreed to me becoming an Explorer yet.”
“It is the first step. Will he call here to let them know?” Just then my phone rang.
“That is probably the answer, he said he would call here today to let them know.” Mia
I took my phone out, “Hello. Yes I will leave now and be there in a few minutes.” I hung up and turned to Mia,
“Looks like you are right, they want to see me right away. I will let you know when I am done.” I got up and left right away.
“He is in his office, go right in.” The receptionist said.
Michelle Travis 29
I walked into the office.
Dean Adams 47
“Thanks for making it so soon. I got a call from Europe, the King would like us to escort the princess to town so she can register in the Explorer’s Guild. He seems to think if she levels up some skills she can help protect herself. I don’t want to rush this, can we do it tomorrow so I have time to put together a proper security detail?”
“Yes, tomorrow is fine. Can I make a suggestion?”
“Go ahead.”
“Have you thought about running an experiment? I know there is a skill called ‘martial arts’, I heard people talking about it on the train. Check to see if anyone here has it, or something similar and test their skill before tomorrow and if a dungeon opens near here let them enter to try and level it up. Then test them again to see if they got any better.”
“We might do that later, but I don’t see where these ‘skills’ would help people already trained. I guess it couldn’t hurt since we will be there anyway.”
“I also have a complaint from the ladies. I was told earlier more guys keep coming by and every time they go outside the guys start hitting on them. The ladies are trained in hand to hand too and might decide enough is enough and do something. I know you would consider them hitting on the ladies unprofessional so I thought I would mention it to you before it went any further.”
“Thank you for the report. Please tell them starting tomorrow if it happens again to get their names. I will put a stop to it today.” Father
“Yes, sir. What time would you like to head out tomorrow, sir?
“0900, it should give us plenty of time after the ladies get up. Please let them know the time. That is all.” Then he went back to the paperwork on his desk.
I left the office and headed back to the guest house. As I was walking, a new member of DPS called out to me.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes, is there something I can help you with?”
Name/Age:
Clint Benson 22
“I started a few months ago and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Clint Benson.”
“Carl Adams, nice to meet you.”
“You too. I was told you were the son of Col. Adams, are you a Marine like him?”
“No, I haven’t joined the military. I just got back from an assignment for DPS.”
“Oh, so you work here too. I thought they only hired ex-military?”
*Ding New skill learned
“I am not an employee, they needed someone younger and my mother recommended me since I had been training with them since I was 8.” Me
Status Open
Name/Age:
Carl Adams 17
Race/Sex:
Human Male
Occupation:
Explorer
Skills:
Identification lv 1
Appraisal lv 1
Martial Arts lv 1
Short Sword lv 1
Lie Detection lv 1 (new)
Titles:
God Zecks Blessing
***
Thanks, Zecks. I already knew he was full of shit, though.
“Now that you’re back, are you joining the military?”
“No, I have a job that I will be doing now.”
“What’s that?”
“I am afraid I don’t have time right now, I have an appointment I need to get to. Sorry, I need to get going.”
“Right, sorry.”
He turned around and walked off. I started jogging to the guest house.
In the guest house.
“So in the middle of the conversation there was a ding sound and an announcement of a new skill learned.”
“What’s the skill?” Lisa
“Lie Detection. I thought, ‘thanks Zecks, but I already know this guy is full of shit.’” Lol
“Sounds like the guy who keeps walking by the place, I may have to kick his ass after all.” Akeno
“Easy. I talked to my father about all the guys hanging around here and he said he will take care of it. Also he asked to wait till tomorrow to register at the guild so he can set up and proper detail. I said that would be fine and asked about the time. He wants to head out at 9 am. Is that okay with everyone?”
Everyone nods yes.
“Now let's check out this new skill.”
Concentrate on skill, help.
Skill is always on after it is set up. Just choose a sound to notify when someone is lying. Look at skill and think set up, play different sounds and think ‘select’ on your choice.
I ended up choosing one called ‘squeeze’. It reminded me of a buzzer from game shows when they got the wrong answer, just not as annoying. I could also set the volume so it wouldn’t interrupt conversations for me. This stuff is so cool.
We talked a little more, then I headed home.
8:45 am
My father and I loaded into the SUV and headed to the guest house.
When we reached the house I approached the door and knocked. The ladies were ready and we went to the SUV.
After we were in I told them the plan.
“There are two guys that will be registering, too. They are in the other car and will go to the Guild first. They will enter while another guy stands at the door like he is waiting for them. If there are too many people there the guy at the door will send a wait signal. If we get the all clear we will head there so you four can register. They should leave about the same time as you we walk in and they will then stand outside and make conversation with anyone who tries to go in. If it turns out to be an employee they will let them pass. If it is someone looking to register then they will keep them talking. It takes about 5 minutes to make the card, so if they only have 1 machine we should be out within 30 minutes. Any questions?”
“”””No.””””
The ride was quiet till we got to town and the cars split up.
“I am glad my father said I could do this. I don’t know if I will become an Explorer, I am curious about all this though.” Mia
“I don’t think it hurts to register, but if you ever go in a dungeon please never go alone. I believe these are more dangerous than people think so maybe the five of you should form a dungeon group so you know you have someone with you.” My Father
I was shocked he said something like that, did mom influence him there? “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. I think they called them ‘Parties’.”
“We got the all clear, let’s go.” Father
After we pulled in and got out of the car, I looked up at the door just as the 3 men were coming out.
When the five of us passed them one man whispered, ”All clear, just a couple of employees inside.”
“Thanks.”
Just as I closed the door, “Oh! You're back so soon.” It was the same man who registered me, glad the door was closed.
“Yes, these ladies would like to register. They will be the other members of my Party.”
“Great, come on up here and put your hand in this scanner one at a time please. Can I see your Guild Card again, sir? It is to prove you are the leader of the Party and authorize them to join. You can also change the Party leader if you wish.”
“No, I think Carl as the leader is the perfect choice.” Mia
“As you wish.”
As we were waiting for the cards, the man called me up to the counter.
“Mr. Adams, please be careful in Guilds and in the dungeons. We got a report last night about Explorers fighting. When I read the report it apparently started when the top adventuring Party started flirting with some young ladies. Bragging about how they just reached the 5th floor of the local dungeon which makes them the first to reach it. They were claiming to be the top Party in the area so the ladies should join their Party. When the guys who were in the Party with the ladies said some stuff, a fight broke out and there were some injuries. You happen to have some beautiful young ladies with you, so please be careful.”
“I will, thank you. Sounds like they need to set rules in the Guild and make people read them before they can join. Things like, no fighting in the guild buildings. If they do then the first offense is 30 day suspension as an Explorer, 2nd time's a year and 3rd time permanent ban. Something like that may stop it, if not you would have to hire security to keep things in order.”
“That is a great idea, when they finally decide on the Guild leader I will recommend that. If they don’t soon I will send the suggestion to the Guild Headquarters.”
“I would send it right away. I don’t know where that happened, but in larger cities it will become a big problem. The sooner they find a solution the better.”
“Yes, I will send it as soon as we are done here. Thank you Mr, Adams.”
After we all got our cards, and I got mine back, we left the guild and headed back to base.