Everything concidered, Rory had already been thinking about starting up a guild to gain access to all these perks, but he had been left a little unsure… That was, up until reading about the Guild Shop. Knowledge of that upgrade was exactly what he needed to push him over the edge towards actually investing the money into one.

This meant there was suddenly so much for him to think about. Where would he even make one?! Maybe LA could host a hall… but with it being a [Safe Zone], maybe that wasn’t the greatest idea after all; it would turn many of the upgrades into a waste. [High Risk] zones could be an option too… but that had the opposite problem- he wouldn’t even be able to set up before getting attacked in one, that much was almost guaranteed!

With those out of the question, his choices were narrowed down quite a bit. Maybe Ender Island could be an option? It was dangerous, but it’d mean he’d be close to all the action going on but not close enough to be under constant threat. There were a lottt of people there, however, so maybe somewhere like [Draco Islands] was worth considering instead. Similar biome, but more tropical, and MUCH less populated.

But what was he thinking, Rory was getting way ahead of himself here! Flipping back to the chapter about basic guild stages, Rory read through the section about actually starting a guild. Unless he had a place already under control, it didn’t look like they started with buildings. That was going to be kind of annoying, but workable. The REALLY annoying part, however, was the cost to buy a guild.

One thousand points?! That was insane! If that was the cost, he might just have to suck it up and save for quite a while… But wait a minute, that wasn’t the only way? Apparently, there was some kind of super rare drop for a Mysterious Medallion Half item. Rory hadn’t come across any himself, but it seemed as though some players had discovered that by combining the halves, a guild could be formed with two people! There were even shops where you could buy half of a medallion outright, literally halving the price.

That seemed like a much better option, which led Rory to his next point… Did he even know anyone that would start a guild with him?! He couldn’t just go out and trust some random stranger, what if they tried to screw him over?! Even of the people he knew, there weren’t many people he trusted THAT well… A lightbulb suddenly went off as the perfect person popped into his mind.

”Nyke!”

Rory hopped up, ignoring the shushing this time as he rushed out of the library. Nyke was just the kind of person he could trust with something like this. Dependable, adventurous, trustworthy- they even made a good team in combat! Running all the way back to the waypoint, Rory now had a new goal in mind, a friend to locate with the most important sales pitch of them all.

They needed to start a guild together!

The two previous information hubs had covered information Rory already knew, just from a more detailed perspective. This room, however, was completely new to him. It covered information about Guilds, something he had heard of but never encountered or really needed to know more about before now.

Where Parties were temporary groups of a small amount of players, Guilds were permanent groups that could be much much larger in number. Due to their permanent nature, Guilds had much more and varied bonuses than what a party could provide. Unique synergies and buffs, missions, shops, almost anything imaginable could be done with a Guild… with enough investment, they were almost like their own miniature town!

The part that stuck out the most to Rory, of course, was that Guilds could also generate their own income. He felt a wicked smile cross his face as an idea began to form in his mind, a money scheme to beat all money schemes (and suddenly, he also realized where the MELODY part of his class had come from.) Eager to learn more about this entire Guild system, Rory left this main-introductory hall and went up to a higher level of the building.

Books and computers that filled the area made this look like a much more traditional library. Where the area below went into some details about a subject, this Record Hall had everything. It took him a moment to find the area dedicated to Guilds, but once he did, Rory felt like he had discovered a gold mine.

The Guild Records looked like they had been very meticulously organized, chopped up into even further subsections of information. Crouching down to be sure he read EVERY SINGLE book title to find one he wanted, Rory had a little bit of difficulty at first. Due to the nature of this place having information on everything, much of the info here was about specific player-made guilds and the public information on them. That was nice and all, sure, but not what he needed right now. Running his finger along the spines of the wall, finally he found what he was looking for.

[The Guild Shop: An All-Encompassing Guide to The Guild Shop for a Total Beginner]

Huh. Very specific. As he pulled the book from its shelf. Dust flew up into the air. Yuck… it didn’t seem like anyone had touched this thing since- well, ever! As brushed it off and finally opened the book, Rory groaned when he saw the table of contents. When the title said All-Encompassing, it really meant it. With a heavy sigh, he propped his back against the wall and began reading.

Rory’s own anchor was finally explained once he reached the MELODY section. MELODY enemies were associated with a darker blue color, and the enemies tended to be casters or mages. The actual classes with MELODY anchors seemed to be similar, either mages or some kind of support role. Comparing it to Rory’s own Chaos Roller class, that definitely checked out.

An interesting thing about the MELODY anchor was that, where GIFTS and SHELTERS had items and places, MELODY was more about incorporeal things like memories or emotions. Rory wasn’t really sure how that applied to the Chaos Roller class; he had been something of a gambler, sure, but in his mind it made more sense for that to be some kind of SHELTER. He could see something more coin-based being a GIFT class… maybe that’s what the elusive [Gold Dollar] class was all about. He wiped a tear from his eye as he moved onto the next section. Maybe one day that class would show up once again…

CONNECTION anchors were the next in the hall. Conceptually, they seemed pretty simple: CONNECTION was based on the connections a person had with another. The information on the subject went on to describe how some connections weren’t with someone a person literally knew, but could be with other things such as their favorite animal, a history figure, or even a fictional character. Evey kind of gave that vibe with her class, but that was neither here nor there.

The way that CONNECTIONS appeared in their abilities seemed to be primary based on summoning or formshifting/empowerment. Yup, that also checked out. DeeDee was the one who immediately came to mind for Rory, an almost text-book example of a CONNECTION based class. In monsters, they tended to have yellow color schemes and be summoners theirselves, such as a hornet that could summon more of its swarm. Pack monsters like wolves that roved together could also be a CONNECTION anchor, interestingly enough, though Rory hadn’t yet ran into anything like that.

Polar opposite to that was the DISSECTION anchor. Where CONNECTION seemed to be about friendship and caring, DISSECTION was about loss and pain. Nyke was a dissection, and he had his fair share of debuffs to inflict. Reading this was a little unsettling though… it really made him hope everything was okay behind the scenes. Debuffers and assassins were the most common monsters of this anchor, and usually had some shade of purple as their color. Just like they were opposite in themes, DISSECTION and CONNECTION were opposed elementally- each were extra effective against their opposite.

Finally finishing his circle around the room, Rory faced the FRAGMENT section. This was by far the smallest section and the one with the least information, and for good reason. Rory couldn’t think of a time when he’d even HEARD of a FRAGMENT anchor, they were so rare! Even the information listed was only about monsters, with almost no actual Classes to compare it to. For monsters, the FRAGMENTS were usually presented as cyan in color, or occasionally even rainbow. They were in a category all of their own, with no anchor that was effective or weak against it.

Rory kept thinking about the FRAGMENTS as he left the Anchor hall. He honestly wouldn’t even think they were real if it wasn’t for the monsters others had fought with that Anchor. With the subject still fresh on his mind, he turned the corner to inter the next section of this Tutorial Hall.

Changing his route, it wasn’t long before Rory came across his destination. This so-called “Player Central”seemed to be much more geared towards those adventurers who traveled throughout the world. At a glance, he could see it was separated into three main sections. There was an area that looked kind of like a big outdoor gymnasium, with field after field of various combat dummies, test courses, and practice simulations to fight against.

As Rory walked past it, he realized this was another place he would need to visit in the future. Though his class didn’t have much direct offense yet, that didn’t mean he shouldn’t be working on his skills. Actually, it kinda meant the opposite… he didn’t have as many options as other people when it came to dealing damage, so he needed to put in even more effort to help out a team and keep himself alive. With the targets that were set up here, this was definitely a good spot to practice throws with his [Draw Four] ability, but overall this was an area he’d return to once he had an actual weapon to train with.

Where that area was focused on the Combat and Survival Classes, the next one seemed to be more about various types of Crafters and Merchants. Obviously there were some sus looking people in the area trying to make a quick buck for their Class, but most of the area seemed to be full of various crafting stations and workshops. Rory already knew that most people didn’t have access to things like that, and the population here was almost a tenth of how many people filled the combat section–but that just made their work even more valuable. There was more to fighting than just natural abilities, after all. Getting some more items and gear under his belt was another thing Rory added to his to-do list.

The final area of this Player Central was what Rory had been looking for the whole time. It was set up like a big library, an area just full of information and little “Tutorials” to help people get their bearings in this world. He was glad to see that most of the higher level people here seemed friendly; there were plenty of people around trying to give pointers and advice to the newbies and lower-leveled players, especially when people shared similar classes.

Rory wasn’t too worried about chatting it up with someone today, so instead of stopping to chat with anyone he simply made his way inside the building. Even on the inside, the long halls of books, computers, and teachers seemed to go on infinitely, with a different section for what seemed to be every category someone could think of. Hmmm… He didn’t want to overload the information he was learning here, so it would probably be smart to try and tackle things in some kind of order. Rory started in the left-most side of the building, stepping into a hall with a large “ANCHORS” sign hung over it.

As everyone fought, Tali gave a warning about an incoming debuff. Rory was confused at first, but once the man blew his horn he knew EXACTLY what was going on thanks to his [Scoping The Odds] passive. All the remaining monsters received a debuff to their [DEF] and [PWR], something that would only further cement their odds of winning here. The only downside, however, was that this also affected the other party members.

Rory smirked as he threw both hands in the air, a spectral coin flipping above each. ”No Tali, that was a GREAT IDEA!” Activating his [Coin Flipper] ability, the Chaos Roller was able to flip the debuff on both Noelle and Vanilla to even FURTHER enhance their [DEF] and [PWR]. Rory also had the debuff affect him, but only barely- little enough that he decided it’d be best just to save his remaining coin flip in case a new need arises for it.

With Tali and Rory standing back-to-back, Noelle providing extra support and defense, and Vanilla buffing up Tali even further, the battle finally clicked in Rory’s head. No, not just this battle, but combat in general. Fighting against waves of mobs with trustworthy teammates on your side, this was how it was meant to be! His grin changed to a smile, but not one of monetary wealth and sly behavior; this one was a smile of teamwork and camaraderie!

”Alright everyone, we’re almost there! Just a little longer!” Glancing out to the sea of sand ahead of them, Rory could tell they were getting really close to Ender Island now. Victory was really within their clutches!

One of the remaining forsaken, the dark assassin monster that kept appearing and reappearing and being a general pain in the butt, finally popped up again. This time, it leapt out of the sand right next to Tali (No doubt a puddle if Rory’s mind wasn’t muddled), keeping its lower-half submerged while Slashing at the Apocalypse Knight’s ankles to try and cripple him. As it did so, however, the Roulette Wheel above them once again spun.

”Tsk tsk tsk! You should know better by now!” As the wheel stopped, the monster’s attack was reflected back to it--a gaping slash across its own chest that knocked it fully out of its hiding spot and out into the open, finally vulnerable.



dantalion Noelle vanilla

As Rory made his way along a path in the English Countryside, he suddenly felt a tingle along his neck. "Hm? Hmmm. My money senses are tingling..." Stopping to turn and glance around the area, nothing really seemed to signify money being nearby. There wasn't really even anything around, just forests and hills. "No, that can't be right!"

Activating his passive ability to scan the area for any active buffs, Rory finally spotted something when glancing at a large tree that sat alone at the top of a hill. A group of three large hornets were hiding in its leaves, all with a [Protector] Buff active. Looking at at the base of the tree, Rory noticed something glimmering in the light. A smirk crept up along his face as he changed his path, marching up towards the hill.

He crouched down once he got closer. Sure enough, at the base of the tree sat a big ol' chest. Rory's heart went aflutter at the sight. His mind went wild with ideas and theory's about all the money and wealth and valuable things that could be hidden inside! The hornets had come out of the leaves now, seemingly alerted that someone was in the area. Hm... annoying. Glancing at the buff they had again, Rory found out some very useful information.

[Protector: While within range of your nest, [DEF] is +3 Ranks]

As someone with very few means of attack for himself, fighting against a group of monsters with such a high stat boost was going to be nearly impossible. Despite this, the mans wicked grin grew even wider as he saw the buff, because for him... this meant the fight was going to be a cake walk. Standing up, Rory walked toward the nest unafraid.

"HEY YOU LITTLE SHITS! THAT TREASURE BELONGS TO ME!" He felt like a Yakuza boss just rolling up to the scene like that, but it certainly caught the hornets by surprise. They all suddenly turned to face him, BUZZING in a rhythm that almost made it sound like they were laughing. "NOTHING GETS IN BETWEEN ME AND TREASURE!" With that announcement, the bugs charged, all three of them flying out in a B-line straight for the man.

"HAHAHA! You fell for it!" Throwing his hands in the air, three coins flew out from Rory's hand. His [Coin Flipper] activated back to back to back, flipping the +3 [DEF] each of the hornets had to to a -3 [DEF] debuff in an instant. With the stage set, Rory flipped his wrists, sending out a barrage of cards at the bugs. A Hearts card hit one bug as he twirled, defeating it. He did a pirouette as a Clubs card sliced through the second hornet. Finally, with a bow, the king of Diamonds split the last hornet in half, RIGHT AT THE SAME moment that it stuck its stinger into his forehead.

"Thank you, thank you! Now..." Rushing over to the chest, Rory's face was swollen from the sting, but he didn't even care. Pain was fleeting, Wealth was forever! until he spent it With a look of success painted all over his face, the man eagerly flipped the top of the chest open. "Come to Papa!"

"What the hell is this?" Rory found himself a quaint little shop in Unison Central that seemed pretty diverse for what all it held inside of it. The outside of Kitty's reminded him almost of like something you'd find in a fairy tale, and just like in a story, it definitely seemed bigger on the inside.

At first the shop seemed to primarily be a library, but as he wandered through it Rory quickly realized there was more to it than just books. Like the big chain-bookstore from most of the cities he had lived in before the world changed, it even had its own little cafe inside too! More than that, however, there was a tiny shop within it that had its own little thing going on. A mini-market!

It gave the vibes of a shop that would rotate its stock out as time went on, but for now it mostly seemed to have various crafting supplies. Hmm... none of that would really help Rory for the time being while he was still focusing on getting himself set-up in the world, but one of the items really just perplexed him. "...is it just trash?"

Powder and burnt left-overs in a pile was something that really made him scratch his head. Reading the sign near it, Rory saw that it was MEANT to be some scrap left behind from an experiment. "Why would anyone wanna buy this..?" It HAD to be trash, and with how cheap it was?! Surely it had just been left behind, placed on the counter instead of being thrown away!

"..."

Although... this new world was weird. Rory tossed his coin, flipping a whole 7 times in the air before landing. Checking the coin it... Was heads! Luck seemed to be kn his side today... and opportunities seemed to lie in places you'd least expect them. Was this something worth taking a gamble with? As cheap as it was, maybe he could even pawn it off again if nothing could be done with the item... A creepy grin spread across Rory's face as he slammed his hand down on the counter to scoop up the scrap.

"YEAH, I'M GONNA BUY THIS FAILED REACTION!"

...As it turned out, the item actually WAS just scrap, not for sale. "O-oh. Um. I'll take the metal bits then..." Buyer's remorse kicked in instantly for the man. He was embarrassed by his mistake, and mostly just bought the bits so as to not upset the little girl that seemed to be running the shop. Defeated by the woes of capitalism, Rory made his way to Kitty's cafe for a quick snack before heading out again. The cafe seemed like it automatically dispensed its food, but he didn't mind that- really it didn't matter what he got, he just wanted something to bring him back up!

---

Purchasing [BOX OF METAL BITS] for 10 Points from Jeane-Marie!

Purchasing something from the Café for 35 Points from Kitty!

+1 Luck from Coin of Fickle Fate