Secrets and Plots

Within SC Pier City, the elf shaman looking Navi was now sitting in a restaurant situated before the guild building for Sanming's Alchemist Guild. She didn't enter immediately as there were a few things she had to keep in mind.

First was that she was currently in the form of an elf instead of the dark elf that everyone in the guild knows her to be, along with a completely different class. Considering the lengths she had to go through to unlock this trait, as well as the sacrifices she's made along the way, she couldn't allow anyone she didn't trust to find out. And even then, she wouldn't show to just anyone she trusts either. As Navi thought of this, the image of a certain man with tribal tattoos and a certain elf archer flashed through her mind before she shook her head clear. That was a thought for another time and place.

The second was the fact that she was sure there are a few spies in the alchemist guild that had their eyes on her location via the guild menu. It was the only way to explain how there was always a party of thieves within her general area even when no one knew where she was going. With her current form, she couldn't allow those people to discover her.

The third and final reason stems from the fact that there was a group of players, being led by a warrior currently standing before the guild building. This warrior possessed looks that many women would swoon over if he turned their way but Navi found it repulsive at the moment. This man, along with a group of players stood before the guild building. While it looked like a show of strength for the guild in the eyes of others, Navi knew that those players were there for her. While they couldn't attack her within the borders of the city, there were plenty of other ways that they could use to get in her way.

Navi was sure that if she tried to enter the guild building, all the thieves mixed in within the area would make use of their <Steal> skill to try and remove the blueprint from her inventory. While it isn't guaranteed that they would be able to get it, she was sure she wasn't lucky enough to go through so many and not lose anything important in her inventory. That was especially so for the items she recently obtained from her dungeon run with Kirou and Reya, as well as items she is supposed to deliver to other areas.

As Navi stared at the group of players, she received a request for a telepathic call. When she checked who sent it, Navi revealed a smile on her face as she accepted. Before she could even greet the other person, however, the other person had already started talking in a worked up manner.

[Reya: Navi, you're in danger. That ass is after you again.]

"I know," was all Navi could say before Reya continued.

[Reya: He's mobilized a lot of people this time. He's even gone as far as targetting me to get to you. I asked a friend within that branch what's going on, only to discover that he's mobilized more than half of the guild in what he's calling a 'guild exercise'.]

Hearing those words caused Navi to raise an eyebrow before staring at the warrior currently outside of the guild building. As if feeling the stare, the warrior looked around, hoping to find the source. Navi, for her part, looked away when she saw him doing this before speaking, "I know. He's currently got guards stationed outside of the city's gates and another set in front of the guild building with him being there in person."

Hearing Navi's words caused Reya to quiet down for a bit. It had seemed that she was in a rush earlier but had no stopped to rest. After staying quiet for another few moments, Reya spoke up once more.

[Reya: Navi, where are you at the moment?] When Reya asked this, her tone was laced with both curiosity and suspicion.

Navi heard those tones and let out a small chuckle before she responded, "I'm in the restaurant directly across from the guild building."

[Reya: Although I'm curious as to how you got into the city without alerting them, I'll leave that discussion for a later date. Instead, have you got any plans on how to deal with this situation?] When Reya asked this, her voice was a lot calmer than before. It's almost as if Reya's worries were now laid to rest and she was instead looking forward to whatever plan Navi came up with as a counter.

Navi remained quiet for a moment before she spoke up, "How long would it take for you to return to the city?"

[Reya: I'll be there in ten minutes, give or take.]

"Good. We'll discuss the plan then. Meet me at the Apothecary building in the city."

[Reya: Also.....should we let Mr. Wolf know about this?]

When Navi heard Reya's question, she went silent. It was only after a few moments that she spoke up again, "He's already done more than enough to help out. We can't get him involved in something like this. Besides, this is a guild matter." When Navi said this, she rose from her seat and ended the telepathic call. After paying the NPC waitress for her meal, Navi left the restaurant through the side door and disappeared within the crowd of players.

The warrior with good looks standing before the Sanming Alchemist guild building looks over at that moment and saw Navi's disappearing silhouette. He was about to move but the silhouette vanished before he could focus and he could no longer find it.

After contemplating for a few moments, the warrior said something to himself, "I don't need to give chase. You must pass by me if you want to enter the guild and you won't be doing so with that blueprint." Having said that, the man allowed a smile to form on his face. This smile attracted the attention of the female players passing by but the man paid no attention to those women.

**************

Roughly twenty minutes later, an elf entered the Apothecary located on the southern side of SC Pier City. This elf was covered in a robe, hiding their features from any players that passed them by. After entering the building, this elf made sure to look around the building for a bit before they went up to the second floor. One of the many apothecary apprentices in the building went towards the elf towards that elf.

"May I be of assistance to you, miss?" asked the apprentice as soon as he stopped the elf. This apprentice was a human with average looks. This apprentice, along with the rest, had a somewhat smug expression on their faces as they dealt with players that entered the Apothecary.

The elf under the robe only glanced at the apprentice before speaking, "I've got a meeting on the second floor with an acquaintance." Following her words, the elf took out a badge from her inventory and showed it to the apprentice.

The words the apprentice was about to speak died in his throat as his gaze went over the badge in detail. The smugness from earlier completely vanished and was replaced with awe and admiration, along with hints of fear. The badge had the symbol "II" on it, signifying that it was a Tier 2 Apothecarist's Badge.

While most lifestyle classes didn't fall under this system as just being able to do what the class required of you was all one needed to be considered a member. In the case of classes such as apothecaries, alchemists, and blacksmiths, however, this system is used as a means of differentiating the rank of individuals based on their level of skill. There are a total of ten levels in this system, signifying the person's skill in the craft. This ranking system is more or less the same for other crafters that use it, except for blacksmiths who are graded much more harshly and crafting masters who play the roles of the jack of all trades for crafters.

The apprentices in the store lack the ability to consistently create pills and are still learning the ropes, so while they are considered apprentices, they don't have a badge to show for it. It is only when they have passed the official examination given by the Apothecary Guild will they be presented with a level one badge as it is proven that they can create common pills from the pill recipes. As for the level two badge which the elf presented, this represents an individual capable of creating uncommon pills from pill recipes or create their own versions of the common pills. This is a rank that all the apprentices in the Apothecary Guild respect as they have already begun their journey in the art of pill creation.

The badges for level three and level four both represent individuals capable of creating rare pills. The main difference is that one can only become a level four Apothecary by creating a rare pill recipe of their own or refining an already existing recipe. Level five to level seven requires one to be able to create pills of epic rarity. What separates these ranks, however, is not just the originality in forging one's own pill recipe but mastering the art of creating pills of lower grades with fewer to no mishaps. Within the Apothecary Guild, such beings are said to be at the very top and can only be found as the heads of the guild branches within the four Kingdom Continents. While it is rumored that beings of this caliber are also within the borders of the four Cardinal Continents, none of these low-level apprentices have ever been graced by their presences so they disregard this as such.

As for the beings said to possess level 8 badges and above, these figures are thought of as legends that have been passed down within the Alchemist Guild. At the moment, it is known that there exist only ten people with a badge above level seven. As for their specific ranks and their locations, only the top brass for the guild knows but it is rumored that they are either within the capital cities for the Kingdom Continents, traveling around the Cardinal Continents in disguise, or are currently on the outskirts of the final continent, providing aid to the warriors and other craftsmen present on those shores.

Since the apprentice was shown the level two badge, the human apprentice quickly adopted a servile attitude before quickly leading the female elf up to the second floor. As for the other apprentices that saw the exchange, quite a few of them were regretful that they weren't the ones that approached this strangely dressed elf first.

After arriving on the second floor, the apprentice quickly brought the elf towards a secure room. He then gave the door a firm knock before stepping back and bowing towards the elf. Seeing his reaction, the elf took out a pill from her inventory and passed it over to the apprentice before entering the room and closing the door behind her. To the elf, giving away such a pill meant nothing to her. Outside the room, the apprentice grew excited after receiving the pill but he kept quiet as he stored the pill and left the area. He had plans to research the pill later, to see if it could help him in obtaining his own Tier 1 Badge.

**********

Within the room, the robed elf removed the hood covering her head. Naturally, the robed elf was revealed to be Reya. Before Reya was another being covered in a robe. They too removed their cloak and the person revealed was a dark elf.

Before Reya could even speak, the dark elf spoke up first, "Tell me, Sister Reya. You also received an Advanced Plant Harvesting Kit Blueprint as well, right?"

Hearing the person's words, Reya checked her inventory to verify before she spoke up, "That's right, Sister Navi. It seems like I also obtained one from that quest of yours. If you hadn't pointed it out, I would have probably forgotten about it. Also, I seem to possess both a beginner and an intermediate blueprint as well. So....what's the plan?"

Reya's words caused a smile to form on Navi's face. If Kirou was somehow able to see this smile, he was sure a chill would creep down his spine. While the smile looked innocent, even a bit sweet on the eyes, the look in Navi's eyes currently gave away that she had twisted thought in mind.

Navi eventually spoke up, "Ok, Sister Reya. My plan goes like this....."