The Guild

Haldin was as idyllic as I imagined. Cobblestone streets paved the main road towards a large city square. An enormous fountain was it's main icon, catching the flower pedals in it's waters that were strewn about by the gentle breeze. This square was the main area for commerce and social gatherings. While not crowded, there was a definite flow of people going about their business.

Surrounding the square were a multitude of boutique shops and larger buildings. While the main avenue leading towards here was filled to the brim with merchant stalls and businesses, this seemed like the main area for people looking to spend their hard earn gold real fast. Quality goods were on full display at their merchant's windows and outside their shops and stalls. Past the market the avenue seemed to continue north towards a rather large mansion. Tessa explained that it was the Region Lord's mansion and the district where all the nobles lived. From what I gather, this country's government is feudal, with the Region Lord's family in charge and the nobles supporting them. One noble family holding absolute power? Well, I shouldn't pay any mind to it. Everyone here seems to be generally happy with their life at least. It's not my business anyway.

Our group stepped towards the biggest building of the plaza. A giant, elegantly crafted sign nailed on the front of the building, The Adventurer's Guild. From what Tessa told me, they sound more like utility workers than anything. But all I can use is my fighting skills. I don't really have any other training for other employment. Right now, it's my only avenue for income until I can figure out something else.

"Arlan, I'll leave your registration to Lady Hina and Tessa. Me and Jude will drop off our materials to the guild counter while we wait for you to finish everything."

With a wave and a prayer for good luck, Kleid went in ahead of us with Jude in tow. The thief seemed more interested in hitting the bar from what I could tell from all his groaning.

Tessa slapped my shoulders in anticipation.

"Alright, Arlan! Don't be nervous! We'll be behind you one hundred percent of the way~!"

"I'm not nervous. I've done job interviews before."

"Really? Your eyes keep blinking off and on..."

Wait, they do!? Does it respond to my thoughts? I mean, I am a bit nervous. I can sell myself pretty well in an interview but they still make me uneasy. To think it's translating to my eyes. Is this frame doing this as an alternative for facial expression?

"Tessa, Arlan. Stop idling. I'd like to make this quick if you don't mind. We still have plenty more to do after this."

Hina snapped at us like an instructor, bidding us to enter. We both straightened up and walk in together.

The interior was quite spacious. On one side you had a bar with various adventurer's drinking and laughing with the other end looking like a gathering area with various couches and tables strewn about. I could hear their raunchous discussions even from here. And on the far back end were a multitude of kiosks with uniformed clerks manning each station. Lines of Adventurers were formed for each of them. I could even see Kleid and Jude, staring longingly at the bar, standing in one. Jude's laissez-faire attitude was in sharp contrast to Kleid more serious demeanor.

Hina ushered us towards a disconnected kiosk at the corner of the room next to a set of stairs leading towards the administration offices. The young woman standing behind it acknowledged us as we approached and smiled sincerely.

"Good afternoon, Lady Hina. And you as well, Tessa! How was your dungeon delve? Did you need to speak with the Guildmaster?"

"In a moment. But first, I'd like to register Arlan here as an adventurer."

Miss Receptionist had the same confused expression as the gate guard.

"B-But, Lady Hina... isn't that a craftsman golem?"

"Not quite. We found him in the ruin after an [Event] happened. He's an intelligent combat golem."

I stepped forward introducing myself.

"Hello, Miss Receptionist. My name is Arlan and I'd like to provide the guild my services by joining your ranks."

I'd give a smile but I'm just hoping my eyes flashing in patterns will do instead. I don't know how craftsman golems act, so I'm just speaking articulately at this point. Maybe that will help them accept me a bit better. I don't want to sound too human and give myself away.

"W-Well, it's nice to meet you Arlan. You know, doing guild work can put you in dangerous situations. Are you sure you're combat capable?"

They've never seen an intelligent golem fight. It feels like I keep hearing a broken record but when fighting, it does have it's advantages. Dmitri's gang proved that.

"I assure you he's combat proficient. You have my guarantee on that account. He was the one who took down Dmitri's gang after all."

Hina let out an exasperated sigh. Looks like she's tired of hearing it too.

"So you're the ones!? We just received word from the guards that the bounty had been claimed. No one's been wanting to take that assignment because we've lost a handful of groups to them already. The merchants kept increasing the reward because of that."

"Hoh, that's quite the tale Hina. I'd imagine even you couldn't resist that amount of coins either."

We turned our attention the presence that spoke above us. An old man leaned on the railing nonchalantly at the floor above us. He was staring at me consideringly.

"Hmph... Guildmaster Kurtz. You're as uncouth as always."

"I'd bet not as much as you do when that bag of coins appeared in your hands. For someone with such a high status, you have a strange obsession with money."

Seems even Hina's been taken aback by this old man's gruff manners.

"I-If you must know, I gave it all to Arlan. We'd be dead right now if it wasn't for him. Which is why I'm introducing him to you and the guild. His skills would definitely be a worthwhile asset to have. However, we do have some conditions if you agree."

"Hmm.. what kind?"

"I'll have to talk to you in private for that. For now, I'd like to complete Arlan's registration."

He stood there in thought until a strange grin flashed across his face.

"Alright, I'll agree... but first I'd like to have a practice match with him."

He jumped the railing and landed in front of us quite gracefully. He's pretty spry for an old man.

"Don't worry, Arlan. I don't doubt your skills but you're the first of a kind. And having a spar against the guilds first golem, a combat golem at that, would a great measure on what you can do."

Wait, shouldn't I repair my arms a bit first? They did get some damage when I was fighting Dmitri. But taking a look, I noticed my forearms were completely healed. The deep cuts from his axe were now gone and looked like they were never there.

[Notice: This Unit can [Repair] all damage sustained with time. This affect is caused by the composition of the Unit's frame and properties of the Core. Note that reattaching amputated limbs is possible. If limb is unrecoverable, regeneration of new limb would take considerable time.]

Huh, well, let's avoid getting my extremities hacked off then. I don't really want to go through that again. The feeling was still fresh in my head.

The old man beckoned us through a door in the back leading out to a backyard that acted as a small training field for the guild. We both moved opposite to each other in the center.

"So, Arlan. What's your weapon of choice?"

Now that I think about, I wonder if I could train with a weapon. Having some more reach to my attacks would be beneficial to me. I'll have to think about that later.

"I just use my fists for now. I do know a bit of magic. At least, I think I can use magic..."

"You think?"

I looked over at Hina, who nodded at me. Seems she's OK for me to show my pseudo [Chantless] casting. If I'm going to be a part of this guild or join parties, I wouldn't be able to hide all my abilities. I might even hold the group back if I did. As long as my core isn't exposed, which is the real prize, I'll be fine doing anything else.

"Hoh, I see. One of your "conditions"?"

A guild assistant handed the Guildmaster a practice sword before hurrying off the field. It was then I noticed we gathered an unusually large gathering of people around us hoping to catch a glimpse of the match. The field was in a roar of excitement.

"Is it true? That's a intelligent combat golem?"

"It can't be. I've never heard of one before!"

"The Guildmaster is going to fight that!?"

"Isn't he a former S-Rank? I've never seen him test a new recruit personally before."

"Doesn't it look a bit different than most of the golems we've seen?"

"Yeah, it looks even more advanced than a Guardian Golem!"

I feel a bit odd hearing them talk about me like that. Like I'm some exotic creature. The Guildmaster brought my attention back to him.

"Arlan, seems we've gathered some on-lookers. If you have something to hide, it's fine if you do. We all have some secrets we don't want others knowing."

"No, it's fine. I'm ready when you are."

[Warning: Target's relative combat strength vastly exceeds Unit. Direct confrontation not advised. Recommend immediate disengagement.]

I know Oracle. You don't need to be a genius to know that you got to be a pretty strong guy if you want to be in charge in an organization like this. Oracle could give me a rough estimate on where I stand with an opponent if need be. I tried it when I was sitting on the carriage with everyone a while back after receiving Hina's mild warning. Tessa's group I handle but Hina... Oracle gave me the same alert back then with her. I wonder how strong Hina's magical capabilities are?

Focusing again on the match, I put myself in a combat stance. This is an interview right? I have to make a good impression.

[Initiating Combat processes. Directing all system resources to hostile engagement.]

"I won't hold back."

"I might have to."

With that, the guild master suddenly appeared in front of me, his sword swinging across towards my body. I barely block in time with my right arm before I swing with my left towards his face. He gracefully dodges away from my attack only to follow through with a downward swing.

His movement is unreal. I didn't think a human body could move like this! I feel like as slow as molasses compared to this old man. He's raining blow after blow at me while all I could do was stay on the defensive. I need to make some distance.

The moment I parry his next attack, I point my palm towards his body. A blue magic circle appeared in front of me.

"[Water Gun]!"

A high volume pressure blast of water pushes the Guildmaster, knocking him away a good distance. Despite it, he's still on his feet, albeit soaked to the bone. Thank god Oracle copied that chant for me to use when Tessa hosed me down back then.

"Geh... [Chantless] casting!?"

I won't give him time to finish his thoughts. I close in on him quickly and swing my fist down. He narrowly dodges away from my fist before I sent it crashing to the ground, creating a small impact crater in the grass. Rolling along with my advantage, I point my fist at him again.

"[Rocket Punch]!"

My fist shoots out and again he dodges nimbly. He closes the distance again to swing right at my head. Only for it to hit nothing but air. His weapon wasn't there.

His sword had slipped out of his hand, being grabbed by my retracting fist on it's way back. His face was in shock at what happened before bursting out laughing.

"Ha ha ha! I must be getting senile if I let something like that happen! I think I've seen enough for today. Arlan, I think you've proven yourself enough to join the Guild."

The crowd roared in excitement over the announcement. Even Tessa seemed giddy at watching me fight, running over and embracing me in a big hug.

"That was amazing, Arlan! I didn't think you could hold your own like that against the Guildmaster! Did you learn [Water Gun] from when I washed you off?"

"Yeah, it's a good thing you showed me. I'll need to learn some new spells from now on."

Even I could that the Guildmaster was holding back. He looked so disinterested when we were sparring at first. If he was serious, he would have destroyed me easily. The crowd seemed not to care though.

"Hear that!? We finally got a golem for this guild branch and it's a combat golem! The other branches are going to be soooo jealous!"

"Idiot! He's not an employee! He's going to be an adventurer just like us!"

"Did you see that!? [Chantless] magic! Is he blessed by the Gods?"

"Other golems can do it too, you know?"

"Yeah but this guy is intelligent right? That means he can learn other spells too."

"I wonder if he'd join my party?"

The Guildmaster leads us back to the registration kiosk. I was itching to get away from everyone as well. These guy seem way to excitable. I thought this place would be a bit more serious but I guess people like Jude are way more common here.

I fill out the paperwork handed to me. Huh, it really is just like an application. I almost accidentally wrote my original name before I corrected myself, however. Arlan was the name I used when I played games with my platoon buddies. It was as good as a name to start this new life with at least.

Taking the paperwork, the receptionist points towards a crystal ball on the desk.

"Place your hand here. It'll make a guild card for you with all of your information."

Not thinking much about it, I place my hand on top of the crystal. It glowed a soft blue light before card suddenly appeared in front me on the desk.

"That's your Guild Card. You can use it for identification for the guild as well as other places all over the Nation Alliance. We have multiple guild branches in all the major cities and in some small towns, of course. If you want, you can even display your [Status] for you or others to see. For a lot of people, it's the only way to do it unless you've been blessed with the [Appraisal] skill. Just focus your will onto your card and make it show your [Status]"

Doing just that, the card lights up, showing a small holographic image of the [Status] screen similar to the one Oracle displayed.

================

Name: Arlan

Race: Golem (Spirit)

Class: None (Species Based)

Status: Normal

HP: 250/250 MP: 95/100 (500/1000)

Level: 3(10)

STR: 100

DEX: 70

AGI: 100

MAG: 90

VIT: 120

LUK : 50

[Active Skills]

<Golem Arts - Lvl 1> <Spell Casting - Lvl 1> <Fire Magic - Lvl 1> <Water Magic - Lvl 1>

[Passive Effects]

<Earthly Spirit> <Physical Resistance (Superior)> <Magical Resistance (Low)> <Poison Immunity> <Corrosion Resistance (Superior)> <Repair>

[Titles]

<Magnum Opus>

================

Hmm, seems like some of my stats rose? Everything related to my physical abilities has gone up a bit but things like my HP, MP, Vitality and Luck didn't rise up.

[Unit Level and strength is directly correlated to [Spiritual Attunement]. Defensive capabilities and mana supply cannot be increased this way. Current max level for this Unit is 10. Upgrades are required to increase any of these parameters.]

I still don't know how to upgrade my body, however. Even Oracle doesn't know how. Do I even need to? I don't see why I should. It's not like I have some lofty goal of being the strongest person ever. I'm more interested in settling down and making a life for myself here.

"So that's your [Status], Arlan? You're really stronger than I thought!'

Tessa was staring at my screen in interest. Now that I think about it, it doesn't show anything about Oracle or any of the programs I can use. There's no [Appraisal] or [Chantless] casting listed as a skill on me. Hina too seemed interested in what was on display.

"...Arlan, I wonder... No, that's a discussion for another time. For now I'm going to talk with the Guildmaster in his office. Tessa, take Arlan around town. Get him some supplies and equipment with his money. We'll meet back at the Inn afterwards."

Now that I think about it, I'm pretty much walking around naked. Do the other golems here wear clothes too?

"Yes, Master. C'mon Arlan, let's go shopping! You'll get to see what the other golems are like too."

Pulling me by the hand, I wave goodbye to others as we headed out the door. The receptionist bowed towards me and smiled.

"Welcome to the Adventurer's Guild, Arlan! I hope you'll have fun working with us here!"