We ended up having lunch as a break as we organized things, but I had to say, I was dealing with really competent people. In the span of half a day, we already had a crude understanding of our surroundings and, in particular, of the eastern zone from the City of Elementals, that's how everyone had started to call it.
Thanks to Marcus and Phil, we had a good grasp of monster types and terrain, and they discovered that the mosquitoes were the least of our problems here. A lot of monsters had magical capabilities, and some were particularly nasty. The game was getting harder and harder, especially for the more physical fighters without any means of countering magic.
Another thing for Chloe to address. We were trying to set standards for managing monsters, so as not to let our people die uselessly against a far superior foe. While I was all for elite fighters who overcame the odds and became the pillars of our guild, we would need even normal rank-and-file combatants, and given the scarcity of people, it wouldn’t do to lose them for nothing, not after having hauled their asses from the previous safe zone to here.
Speaking of people, many came to us with requests to join the guild. Some were for sure part of Adrian's group, not the main one, but they wouldn’t be loyal at all. I told Chloe to vet them and accept them if they were competent anyway. The Guild, which I still had to name, wasn’t my priority, even if it would probably become more important down the line. For now, the most important players were me and Quinn.
But soon Alya would go through her trait and then class evolutions. I was planning on helping Rhea too, of course. She was less of a direct combatant, but she had ideas about some rituals that could empower us that I found fascinating. After her came Chloe, Tom, Mary, Marcus, Melissa, Frederick, etc.
That was the order of importance. If I could, I would continue with everyone else, but for now, those were a priority, and with my new limitation given by my highly reduced stats, I was of the opinion that I wouldn’t be able to remove curses like a machine as I did before. Bad timing, but my own advancement was more important than anybody else’s, so they would have to wait some days.
“Let’s wrap this up,” I said to the whole group.
I was drained... normally this wouldn’t faze me, but the opposition I encountered at every turn from my own people was absurd. I couldn’t understand how some were ready to put their lives in my hands as if it was natural, while others pretended that I worked for them.
Fucking ingrates, the lot of them.
I had to take another calming breath as I looked at Janine, the black woman who appeared to be the leader of the lazy ones.
“Chloe, purchase the equipment to start hunting the Dread Mongrels. Put it in the guild expenses. That equipment will be paid for with the points coming from the tax, alongside anything else that is needed in terms of training.”
“Understood.”
“Jack, you will guide the new fighters there, coordinate them, and train them. Doc, tag along in case of any injuries.”
I got a thumbs-up and a nod. Not very professional, but good enough for now. We would speak of etiquette if everyone survived.
Despite Jack not becoming part of the vanguard in the end, I knew he was a great tank, and his closeness to Tom helped shape him into a really good soldier in the past week. He was trustworthy, and I got informed that he had purchased a group skill of some kind. Making him work with the weakest fighters should help him improve.
Then I turned to our mage group. It was funny how people with similar classes tended to bunch together.
“Lena, you demonstrated competence and leadership capabilities. Take Melissa and every other mage class and go after the Izkar. They will be good target practice and will help you refine your skills too.”
“M-me? But I’ve never led before...”
“You did it many times during the journey here against the mosquitoes. Now I ask you to do it again, in a more official position. Do you feel like you're up to the task?”
I actually thought the girl was too modest. She started slow, that was sure, but she was growing strong as a mage and had a good head on her shoulders. Let’s see if I was mistaken or not.
She looked around, as if to check if others were fine with it, and I noticed a couple of frowns, but then Mark, the fire mage, not the nasty crafter, said:
“If there’s someone I can trust with my back, it’s you. You are a great mage, Lena. I’m sure you can do it!”
She took a second to digest his words, then she smiled.
“I accept the position. I won’t let you down.”
“I’m sure you won’t.”
Then I regarded the crafters. They were half of our numbers.
“Chloe, regarding all the crafters, a big chunk of the points gained by selling the life potion went to them. They should have the means to start training their skills with a master or purchasing materials from the store. See that their work gets sold back to purchase more basic materials. Let’s create a positive feedback loop. While the fighters and mages hone their skills, we can’t afford to have them sit on their laurels. I have a hunch that their abilities will come in handy in the tutorial. If not in this phase, then in the next. Before somebody starts to complain again, the points will get paid back to the owners as skills and production increase.”
Gilbert rose to his feet.
“I agree to lend the points, but I want them back with interest.”
“No. We are all contributing in many ways to the betterment of this guild. Should I ask for payment every time I saved your life? I remember at least three occasions on which I did. How much should I ask for that?”
I looked at everyone around me.
“If we all start to think like this, it will be a nightmare. Folks, this is just the beginning. We need to jump-start this organization, but when things start to be in working order and we manage to create a basic economy, then we will pay everyone their due.”
“What is this then? A communist society?” asked Kim, a Korean man from the new group.
“This is a mess right now, and we will need to put in a good amount of work to create an organization that is both powerful and rewarding for its members. We are the first Guild of our planet. You have already started to see the benefits of being part of this through the bonuses provided. As the Guild ranks up, we will gain even more. That compounding effect will make us that much stronger, so let’s all work toward building something solid and lasting.”
A murmur started throughout the group. Not all were happy, but I didn’t care. I had spent too much time on this already.
“What about the vanguard?” asked Marcus.
The man was so quiet that I often forgot he was around, but he was dependable, and many respected him. There was something in his eyes and mannerisms now that was different. It took me a second to see through it, my Piercing Eyes coming to the rescue again.
Marcus had a fire in him now. I didn’t know where it came from, but the man felt less like a survivalist than at the beginning and more like someone who wanted to act, to move, to do things. Even gathering information about the new zone had been an initiative he took by himself. I had actually been planning to send him out today.
“The vanguard will move independently into a much higher danger zone. We will go and hunt those undead swamp drakes in the southwest.”
“But those are nearly level 100...” I heard somebody not from my group mutter.
“You, Tom, Chloe, Alya, Quinn, Frederick, Mary, Rhea, and I will go.”
“What about my son?” asked Frederick.
“I can keep an eye on him for the day, don’t worry. Right, sweetheart?” Selene offered.
I was starting to think she would be a good candidate for the position of leader of the artisans, but the woman was too soft. She would never be able to keep someone like Gilbert in line.
“Is it okay by you?” I asked Frederick.
“I suppose it’s fine if it’s only for a few days.”
“No! I want to go with the other mages too!” shouted the boy.
“Kyle, enough. We will talk about this later.”
I noticed how the father became much more authoritative as the days passed. If at the beginning he behaved somewhat cowardly, now he was starting to show a spine, something that I didn’t expect, but apparently tanking monsters’ blows with your body alone makes for a great boost in confidence.
This place would make or break some people.
“Perfect. With the talks done, let’s get to work, folks. You all know what to do.”
As I rose from my chair, Tom and Chloe started directing the people. We would move tomorrow. Tonight I would have to work toward removing the curses on any items they brought me and especially help the vanguard power up.
As I was about to leave the tavern again, I felt somebody approach me from behind. Two people, actually.
“Hey, I would like to...”
“Elias, I need to talk to you.”
What was it now?