17 The Guild War

"Whew, it was still open." Jason walked down Iron Wall Street with his new ID card in hand. He visited the Realm Association for a new ID card. Every time a Realm Adventurer ranked up, they had to update their ID card. Before, his card said Non-Systemer—now it said System Apprentice.

After placing the card in the wallet and pocketing it, he arrived at the Western Inn. The light shone from the windows, illuminating the nearby street along with street lamps. It had turned into night a few hours prior, and while Jason walked to the Inner Circle, his stomach calmed down as a result of Night Potion finally digesting.

Now that his potion had digested, he could find a new recipe and ingredients, then concoct it. However, now that his father wasn't there to help him, he needed gold coins. A lot of gold coins.

With a backpack on his back, Jason entered the bustling Western Inn, where the lounge's tables were filled with adventurers who, after a long day of work, came there to enjoy drinks and food. The Western Inn wasn't the most luxurious place around; often, loud noises interrupted their sleeping customers, but it was relatively cheap compared to other residences.

As Jason walked to the stairs in the corner of the inn, his steps slightly halted as a result of an interesting conversation that was going on in a neighboring table.

"...This war seems inevitable. It had been a few decades since there was a guild war of this magnitude, no... this one will be even bigger; after all, the participants are the Seven Guilds!"

"...Inner Circle will be the main battleground. I wonder if other forces, such as the Realm Association's Ten Watchdogs or Lucas, the guild master of the Adventurer's Guild, will take action..."

"...The new Guild masters of Metal Paladins and Scarlet Arrow are recruiting new members in the name of justice. They preached about justice and taking action against tyrants, but to me, it sounds like they are using this as an excuse to remove other guilds and become the Main Power of the Inner Circle..."

"...Exactly. This doesn't make any sense. According to them, other Guild masters became greedy and killed Ryan and Rosa for those treasures. However, they didn't bring any treasures with them."

"...What do you think happened?"

"Who knows..."

Jason had already walked to the stairs and shortly afterward entered his room. After taking off his coat, shoes, and backpack, he sat down with a thoughtful expression.

'The Guild War is actually happening. I don't want to be any part of it, but if all Seven Guilds participate in it, I have to protect myself since the whole Inner Circle will be affected by it. For now, I have to focus on earning money. I need powerful Potion Recipes. Night Potion was a strong start, but there are much stronger potions out there.

'If I want to survive that Death Incarnation, I need to become stronger. I won't have any rank advantage over him. Maybe, if we fight one day, even his level will be higher than mine. Thus, I need a strong core.

'Sigh.' Jason sighed inwardly and rubbed his temples. 'Even if I don't become False God, being Angel is enough. Maybe as Angel I can avoid the False God, run away till my last breaths. Hah! What a miserable outcome. I would be the next 'Dear Poor Man.'

Jason already had his plan for tomorrow ready. He would go sell the ingredients he got from Mach Island, then visit the Adventurer's Guild for some easy missions. He didn't mind if the mission reward was one gold coin. If there were hundreds of missions like that, his wealth would slowly increase.

'After receiving my class, I will be able to participate in more dangerous missions. For now, I have to suffer being weak.'

He sighed, killed the lights, closed the curtains, and went to bed.

...

The following morning, Jason finished his business at the Merchants Association. After selling all the ingredients, he earned 221 gold coins. It was an impressive haul since the anteater-looking creature was quite rare.

His wealth increased from 5 gold coins, 11 silver coins, and 70 bronze coins to 226 gold coins, 11 silver coins, and 70 bronze coins.

'I still need more...' Jason thought inwardly as he took another glance at the lofty-looking Merchant Association that looked like a manor. It was situated on Tumblers Street, and it covered most of the land. It had a wide entrance with two pillars holding a shade that had the words "Merchant Association."

The interior was vast, with three floors, each handling different rarities. Since anteater-looking creatures were rare, he did his business on the second floor.

Jason then left Tumblers Street, entered Iron Wall Street, and walked till he came to a junction—Main Street's and Iron Wall Street's junction—at the junction, there was the Adventurer's Guild.

At that moment, a nearby window shattered. Jason immediately backed off with a leap into a nearby alley. He then saw an iron-masked man lying in the middle of glass shards and a metal-armored man jumping through the broken window.

'The iron-masked man belongs to the Blood, Iron, and Fire guild, while the metal-armored man is from Metal Paladins... Has the Guild War already begun, or is this just an ordinary fight between adventurers?'

The nearby adventurers scattered into nearby buildings. They all stayed to watch with great interest. No one dared enter this street, as if it were closed off from the world.

The metal-armored man moved first, hacking his longsword down at the asphalt ground. The iron-masked man rolled out of the way, then a ball of fire appeared on his palm, which he shot towards the longsword-wielding maniac.

The metal-armored man moved his shield to block the fireball. The fireball splashed across his shield as if it were made of water. Then, the paladin lunged forward while dragging his longsword behind him. As he approached the iron-masked man, he suddenly kicked the ground and rushed forward with an incredible burst of speed.

The paladin's shield struck the iron-masked man in the chest, sending him tumbling across the street as if he were a rolling wheel.

The iron-masked man came to an abrupt stop after five rolls. Then he climbed to his feet while summoning more fireballs around him. Five miniature fireballs, all emitting a crazy heat, circled around the iron mask.

"Bring it on!" The paladin screamed and lunged forward, his shield protecting most of his body. He held his longsword in a firm grip, ready to swing it at a moment's notice.

The iron-masked man didn't speak. Instead, he stomped the ground and pushed his hands forth. His black gloves began to emit smoke. Then, the miniature fireballs shot forward, bringing the heat toward the paladin.

The paladin gritted his teeth and smashed his shield into the fireballs. He felt his body shaking as a result, as if his shield were being hammered. Once the shaking stopped, a grin formed in his mouth, and he began to move forward.

At that moment, a hidden fireball appeared beneath his groin. One of the fireballs wasn't moving as fast as other fireballs; instead, the iron-masked man controlled it perfectly to avoid the shield, so that one of the fireballs could move beneath the shield and attack the metal-armored man's weak spot!

A weak spot that was very common with every man.

The metal-armored man's face paled, and he then felt scorching heat as the fireball shot upward into his groin. There was a layer of protection, but it still hurt as if it had been struck by a hammer. He knelt down in agony and passed out.

The iron-masked man sighed in relief and quickly left the area before other Metal Paladins came to help their fellow comrade.

'What a tactic.' Jason shuddered and was about to leave, but then he felt a tug on his collar as someone dragged him into the alleyway. He spun his head around and saw a familiar face.

"Perseus?"

"Jason, so you saw it." Perseus forced a smile as he saw the Metal Paladins arriving around the corner; they were a moment late in arriving. "The Guild War is upon us, and it will be a bloody one."

"What is exactly happening?" Jason asked, as he expected Perseus to know more about this. After all, he was a member of the Golden Lion.

"I don't know everything." Perseus shook his head and then said, "I only know that the Guild masters had a meeting. At the end of the meeting, the new Guild masters of Metal Paladins and Scarlet Arrow had flown into a frenzy and proclaimed that war would happen."

Jason nodded as he leaned against a brick wall. It was hard to prove what happened on Mach Island. Especially since everyone was thinking that it had been reduced to ruins after the meteor.

"What do you plan to do now?" Perseus asked as he leaned on the separate wall. "Any special plans?"

"Nothing much. Reach System Veteran, get my class, and join harder missions." Jason shrugged after speaking with honesty. That was basically the plan.

Perseus nodded and then suggested. "What about... joining Golden Lion as a mercenary?"

"Mercenary?" Jason frowned. "Aren't they often taking all the sh*t jobs that no one else wants."

"Basically, but this is different." Perseus sighed. "Because of the looming threat of a war, Golden Lion members are busy protecting different territories. Our Guild master wanted to hire mercenaries to do jobs that others couldn't do at the moment. Such as hunting for ingredients and other stuff."

"What is the pay?" Jason asked because that was what determined if he joined as a mercenary or not.

"It is varying." Perseus said. "There are mission boards where you can choose your own mission. However, our Guild master added Mercenary Rankings. The ones who are in the top 10 at the end of the month will receive a good sum of money. Top 1 gets 10,000 gold coins."

"I see..." Jason rubbed his chin before chuckling. "Your Guild master is indeed cunning. That is a good way to attract highly motivated mercenaries. They will do a bunch of missions to ensure they are in the top 10 on the list."

"Yeah... that's what he is..." Perseus shook his head and asked. "Well, what do you think? There are missions with different difficulties. Everyone will have missions they can do."

Jason pondered for a moment before nodding. "Alright, I will join."

"Good, good." Perseus nodded and glanced at the street. After noticing that Metal Paladins were gone, he said. "Let's visit the Golden Lion building quick. Finish your registration so that you can start tomorrow morning."

Jason nodded and followed Perseus out of the alleyway. They walked down Main Street, then onto Workers Street, until they reached the Golden Lion's guild building. During the walk, Perseus had to hide multiple times to avoid other guilds noticing him. The Metal Paladins or Scarlet Arrows might attack without any notice.

"Choose your mission." Perseus said as they stopped in front of the mission board in the Golden Lion's lounge. Jason was impressed by the architecture, which was cozy and inviting. The walls, handrails, and even stairs were made of walnut wood. The handrails even looked like they were made of branches, which gave a unique feel to the building.

The lounge's tables and chairs had similar-looking styles. There were also a total of three floors in the building, with multiple hallways with doors that led to rooms for Golden Lion members. There were still members who lived elsewhere, some as far away as the Outer Circle.

Jason looked at the missions, and slowly, his shoulders slumped. Most were simply too dangerous and hard for him. Without a class, it seemed near-impossible for him to clear any of them. However, there was one sheet of paper that had ugly brown shading.

***

[F-Ranked]

[Mission: Cleaning]

[Time limit: ——]

[Location: Golden Lion's building]

[Note: cleaning job for mercenaries. The work hours are from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.]

[Reward: 1 gold coin per week]

***

"This one?" Perseus nodded with a sigh. "This can also be considered a valuable experience."

"How so?" Jason asked as he took the sheet of paper from the mission board. He chose this rather simple mission.

"Well..." Perseus looked around the guild building. "The cleaner has access to every room in this facility. So, you happen to hear all sorts of gossip and training methods that might assist you in the long run. This mission isn't bad by any means."

"Sounds fair." Jason shrugged and didn't mind that he had to clean other people's trash. It earned him money, which was the only thing that mattered currently.

He followed Perseus to the main desk, where a beautiful auburn-haired girl accepted the mission and told Jason to start the mission tomorrow morning.

After nodding, Jason caught a glimpse of fingers pointing in his direction. They weren't directed at him, but at Perseus. They wore looks of mockery and laughter.

'It seems Perseus has his own problems...' Jason thought inwardly.