System Change

Derek and Stella parted ways after transferring his money and discussing a few other things. He felt he’d been quite productive on his first day in Savannah. He had scouted out some land before actually buying it, he opened a bank account, and he even completed some business with the Crown Restaurant.

He couldn’t help but wonder what everyone was doing today. Of course, he had left Silvi with the girls, so he wasn’t worried that any harm would come to them. In fact, he was more worried that Silvi would do something and end up hurting someone else.

He wasn’t, however, sure of what Thomas and Rudy would be up to. He didn’t worry about the contract maker because the man could take care of himself. Thomas could too, but he still worried for the kid. Eh, he’ll be fine. He thought.

Looking at the system time and seeing that it was only mid-afternoon, he realized that there was still plenty of time left to accomplish another big task. Derek got his bearings and looked for the Adventurer’s Guild.

Back in Torith, he wasn’t able to get a badge higher than Gold Ranked. Today, while he still had some time, he planned on remedying that problem. He had seen how efficient it was to have a higher-level adventurer badge. At the Platinum Rank, the guards they passed along the way to the teleport building did their best to mind their own business.

The guild wasn’t hard for Derek to find. He just looked at the biggest buildings close to the city center. It didn’t hurt that the building looked almost the same as the one he went to in Torith, only bigger. Derek smiled and walked towards it.

Should I get a Platinum Rank, or should I go for Onyx? That was the question Derek had on his mind. He knew he should be able to easily obtain the Platinum Badge; it was for those with power capabilities between level 150-200. What he truly wondered about was the Onyx Badge, or even a badge of a higher level.

He also wanted to know how they would test for the Onyx Badge. Surely, missions at the Platinum Rank weren’t easy to come by, even in a city like Savannah. In Torith, the majority of missions at the mission board were bronze. He expected a lot of gold missions at this guild.

Finally, he made it to the entrance of the building and walked in. He nodded his head at the familiar layout. It was good to have a blueprint for all of your businesses to follow. It made things much easier.

Derek slipped into line behind some others. He was half a head taller than anyone in line, so he had a good view of the receptionist. He was a bit disappointed at being in an Adventurer’s Guild and not seeing Nia as a receptionist. She was a bookworm who was all about business, but she was fun to tease.

Soon, Derek made it to the front of the line.

“Hello, Sir. Welcome to the Savannah Adventurer’s Guild. How may I help you today?” The brown-haired woman greeted him. She had beautiful brown eyes and was sporting a lovely tan.

Derek put on a chipper smile. “Hello. My name is Derek Hunt. It’s nice to meet you.”

Derek watched as the woman did her best not to roll her eyes at his enthusiastic greeting.

“As nice as it may be.” The woman spoke. “There are still adventurers in line behind you.” She answered in a flat tone. “Now, how may I help you today?”

Derek inwardly chuckled. He was in a good mood today with all of the tasks he accomplished. He even got to see some dwarfs and elves. Nothing could bring his spirits down, not even the receptionist’s outright refusal to acknowledge his flirting.

Derek clicked his tongue. “What a shame.” He said, mocking extreme disappointment. “Well, I guess while I’m here, I do actually have a couple questions that I need answered.”

The woman let out an exasperated breath. “And those questions are?”

“How nice of you to ask.” Derek replied. “First, what is the highest rank the Savannah Adventurer’s Guild can give out?”

The woman scrunched her eyebrows. “What rank are you?” She asked instead of answering his question.

Derek pulled his badge out of his storage bracelet and flashed it. “I’m just a lowly gold is all.” He said.

The woman nodded. “We can help you upgrade your rank to Platinum Rank if you meet the qualifications.”

Derek shook his head. “That’s not what I asked.” He said. “I asked what the highest rank you can give out here is.”

The woman furrowed her brows even deeper. “I don’t know why that matters, but we can issue Onyx Ranked badges under certain conditions. If you would like to register for a Diamond Rank, you would have to go to the Capital.”

Derek nodded. “I guess that’s good enough for now.” He said with a slight disappointment in his tone. “One Onyx Ranked badge, please.”

Finally, the frown of the woman turned into surprise. “But you’re only a Gold Ranked Adventurer.”

“Exactly.” Derek said. “That’s why I’m here. I need to increase my status.”

“Do you mean Platinum?” She asked.

“Did I say Platinum?”

The woman frowned again. “Do you know how to use aura?” She asked.

“Of course.”

She nodded. “In that case. I’m a Platinum Rank Adventurer. Please direct your aura at me so I can confirm that you’re not wasting our time. The Guild Master is busy.”

“All of it? Are you sure?” Derek asked.

The woman nodded.

Derek turned and looked at the people behind and around him. “It would be best if you all stepped back for a moment.” He said. Seeing nobody move, he continued, “It’s always best to be cautious. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

I guess it would be best to release it quickly and withdraw it. He thought. “Brace yourself.” He said.

In a manner much quicker than ever before, he opened the floodgates and directed all the energy at the woman behind the counter. To his surprise, an invisible shield came into existence in front of the woman.

As Derek’s aura hit the shield, the runes on the shield glowed a bright green before rapidly switching yellow, then orange, then red. Every time the runes changed color, an increasingly surprised look appeared on the receptionist’s face. When the color switched from orange to red, her look changed from surprised to horror in an instant.

“Stop!” She yelled out.

And like that, the aura was gone, it was like it was never there. If it wasn’t for his earlier experiences with the elves in the City Building, he would have never been able to control his aura so competently.

Derek looked behind him to see the two people closest to him on their knees, panting and pale. Everyone else he had warned had a look of fear and… respect? Hmm… I guess that’s one way of getting someone’s attention. Derek thought.

Finally, he shifted his gaze back to the receptionist. She wasn’t worse for wear, but she was also drained of her color and having a hard time catching her breath. Derek pointed at the slowly disappearing shield in front of the woman.

“That’s a neat trick.” He said.

“Y-yes…” The woman replied.

“So, do you need anymore proof that I’m being serious?” Derek asked.

“N-no…. I don’t.” The woman answered, trying to calm herself down. “I can help you get…” She began, but before she could finish her sentence, a door shattered into splinters and a blur appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Holy shit! Derek cursed inwardly. I thought I was fast. He thought as the blur stopped beside the pale woman.

“Judy!” The figure yelled out. “What’s wrong? What happened? Did you feel that aura?”

Derek examined the man while he was rapidly firing questions at the receptionist. The man was dark-skinned and completely bald. He had questioning brown eyes and a scar on his cheek. He was about an inch shorter than Derek was himself.

What intrigued Derek the most was the spear in his grip and the Onyx Badge wrapped around his upper arm. Derek squinted his eyes. This is someone important in the Adventurer’s Guild. The way the man’s first reaction was to check on ‘Judy’ made Derek believe that he could be either her boss, or… boyfriend. He may be the Guild Master here.

Torith didn’t have a Guild Master, only a manager. It wasn’t a big enough city to need one. It would make sense if the intimidating man in front of him ended up being a bigwig in the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Sha… Guild Master.” The receptionist finally said, getting the man’s attention.

She was about to call him by his name. Derek inwardly smiled. Maybe he’s both her boss and boyfriend… or even husband.

“Everything’s fine.” Judy said. “I was just conducting a test.” She continued.

“A test? What kind of test requires someone to project an aura of that level?” He asked.

Judy’s eyes shifted to Derek, which was unable to escape the Guild Master’s attention.

“You?” The man asked. Confusion fell over the man’s face as he examined Derek and his eyes landed on the Gold Ranked badge in Derek’s grip.

Derek shrugged and pointed. “She told me to do it. It’s not my fault nobody wants to listen to me.” Derek pointedly looked at the two men still struggling to stand upright.

“Explain.” The man said to the woman.

Judy took a deep breath, getting ready to explain what happened, but before she said anything, a small male voice was heard.

“Derek?”