Guild

Walking away from the carriage and seeing as a part, I turn around to continue towards my destination.

The Market

But... I realize that I don't really have a clue where I'm standing.

I don't think I took everything into account when I planned the situation of the carriage.

In any case, after wasting 5 minutes asking people around me for directions, I decided to go to what the locals called the "Looters' Guild". I don't care about the market anymore.

Just as I thought, there is a war of attrition going on with Earth. I thought that only the regular army was involved, but it seems that there are 2 more guilds involved.

The Looters Guild. They are literally dedicated to stealing and plundering, ruining fields, cutting supply lines or trade, among other things.

It's basically warfare.

The guild offers contracts to small groups that are independent of the army, and the pay is good. But hey, it's pretty risky, because the human empire and the kingdoms around it can't afford not to spend resources on terror tactics quickly. It's easy enough to die doing this job.

The other guild is the Hunters. I'll never join them, so let's not waste too much time...

After the essence tree took root and increased the amount of essence in the air many times over, many other species besides the Drysicc evolved. However, since these species were generally much less evolved than the Drysicc, they could not properly handle the extra essence in their bodies, and ended up evolving into higher beast forms that could use essence. They are a threat to everything outside the walls of the Empire.

Basically, the Hunters' Guild are monster hunters who control the population rates of the beasts.

The two guilds have their own rankings, which vary according to each guild's criteria, but are basically based on the number of missions completed and failed.

As a hunter, failing a single mission will result in a rather harsh fine and a deduction of one merit point.

Failing as a scavenger will also result in a fine and a loss of points. Most importantly, there are punishments based on the level of your failure.

If your mission was to burn down a village with no soldiers and you failed... You will be kicked out of the guild for being useless.

If your mission was to kill a nobleman to create chaos and you failed, the punishment will be more severe, and depending on why you failed, you may even be punished for disobedience.

As I said, the looters' guild sounds wild, but they are fully trained soldiers.

The guild is something created and run by the state, so it makes sense that they would not want lazy idiots with a lot of power running around.

So while they have independence, it is limited as long as they are in the guild.

Responding to mandatory missions, completing a certain number of missions per month, etc. are all things the guild requires.

With everything I said, they're basically mercenaries... That's right, powerful mercenaries.

It's not that the looters haven't noticed everything I've said, it's just that they don't care. The payouts are very good and you can leave the guild whenever you want.

Even though it's a bit limited, it's a good deal.

Well, I plan to join anyway.

I don't know how long it's been since I died to my reincarnation, so I want to go back to Earth, do the math, and kill a few priests in the process.

The Guild allows the government to keep track of who the powerful are, to control them, and to eliminate them if necessary.

No one in their right mind is going to let someone who can destroy a city go free.

If that person is mentally unstable, it would be disastrous for everyone.

After walking for a while, I noticed a very tall and imposing building. It is the guild's headquarters.

It is a 3-story building with a tower in the middle that is about 60 meters high.

My real doubt is how I didn't notice it before...

The tower has a very remarkable neo-gothic style, with a bell tower to warn the city of emergencies, which has a pointed roof. I guess the tower also functions as an internal watchtower.

The lower part of the building has the same Victorian architecture on the walls, except for the 3 meter high gargoyles that are along the roof. These gargoyles have green eyes full of essence, so they are most likely golems.

When I open the door and enter, I see a large room with a reception area in the back where they serve several people at once.

To the left of the hall is a sort of dining room where the marauders eat in peace. Like good soldiers

The most striking thing is the window on the roof that shows the bell tower.

You feel small when you see these things.

Standing in line, I patiently wait my turn, my eyes moving to see if there is any threat nearby.

Of course, I can still feel Elijah's presence. Friend, you need to find another job.

After several minutes of waiting, I am called.

A woman in a black shirt uniform and plain pants calls me.

The woman has a nice face, but it is not completely visible because the blur of the window covers it. It must be to protect identities and not have problems with the looters who come here.

She looked at me with serious eyes, as if analyzing me.

"Good day and welcome to the guild, how can I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Ezekiel and I would like to know how to register as a looter," I say, trying to decipher his look.

"Well, first you need to fill out a form with your personal information, which we will get while we do a background check. But first, let me analyze your core," she says as she extends her hand to me.

I shake her hand without hesitation and wait.

Her gaze never seems to change.

The receptionist removes her hand and says, "Sorry, your core is newly formed and has yet to refine almost any essence. You can still register, but I don't recommend it. Sir, you are very weak now and will die very quickly."

The warm smile on my face froze.

I forgot that I was no longer Ezekiel, the mighty hero... But Marcus, the former idiot.

I have to get used to my new identity... and apparently train a lot.