Monroe

Chapter Three Hundred and Eighty-Nine. Building new Adventurers.

Bob looked at his group of freshers and held back a sigh.

The Urlinad weren't exactly master smiths, and the armor and weapons the six priests had borrowed from the guard told that tale. Still, it was better than nothing, which was what they'd shown up with earlier.

"Alright, this first delve is going to be an opportunity for you to acclimatize to the brutal violence that will be your life," Bob began.

He pointed at the entrance to the Dungeon. "The monsters in there were not born. They are not natural creatures. They came into existence fully formed and with a single purpose - to kill as many people as they possibly can. They have no understanding of mercy or fear. They will crawl over their own entrails and spend their last breath to take one final bite at you."

Bob noticed their tails were twitching. Possibly a sign of nervousness?

"This will be the hardest thing you've ever done in your lives," he continued. "It is not in your nature to kill, but as Adventurers, you will have to act against that nature. You will become killers because if you do not, you will be killed. Your deaths would be meaningless, were it not for the fact that in choosing to step up, you have placed yourself in a position where the lives of others depend on you!"

More tail twitching, combined with widening eyes. He was getting through to them, hopefully.

"Adventurers stand tall, spilling oceans of blood so that others can sleep safely! Adventurers delve into the Dungeons when they're tired, and dirty, and covered in blood! Adventurers pick up their own entrails and stuff them back inside because healing magic can fix them after the fight is won! Adventurers know that there are no breaks, no time outs, no quitting when they are in the Dungeon," Bob shouted.

"You want to be big damn heroes, but you don't have any idea what it really takes to be an Adventurer," Bob shook his head and glared at them. "But you will," he chuckled, doing his best Thidwell impression. "When you walk into that Dungeon, you belong to me. I will not let you rest. I will let you get hurt because you have to know how to fight with your guts hanging out. But I will not let you die, because Adventurers are not allowed to die without permission!" He bellowed the last.

"This is your last chance!" Bob yelled, pointing at the Dungeon. "If you can't keep up, don't step up. If you really do care about your people like you claim, then get your ass in that Dungeon and prove it!"

He walked over and touched the edge of the portal.

Dungeon 4578G8249N98ISS2PM85D.

Capacity 100%

User tier eight, evolved, level forty-two. User grouped with six other sapient beings, tier six, level zero.

Dungeon level has been set to tier six, level one.

Rewards have been reduced due to tier and level disparity.

He entered the Dungeon.

New Quest!

Kulaod is under assault! You must prevent the monsters from breaching the temple!

Eliminate the first wave 0/300

Eliminate the second wave 0/300

Eliminate the third wave 0/300

Eliminate the fourth wave 0/300

"Perfect," he mused as he looked around.

He was in a suspiciously familiar tunnel, that led to an equally familiar square. The entrance to the Dungeon and the safe area around it was a hundred feet down the tunnel, giving plenty of room to maneuver.

He smiled as the Urlinad filed in behind him.

"Alright, let's get to the front of the tunnel, I'm sure there will be some monsters there who would love to take a bite out of you," Bob ordered.

It turned out they didn't need to walk that far after all. As soon as they exited the safe area, another System message appeared.

The first wave has arrived.

A pack of what looked very much like dire wolves rushed down the tunnel snapping and snarling.

"Time to kill!" Bob shouted.

"Strike, move, strike!" Bob screamed. "I've seen children put up more of a fight!"

"Keep fighting!" He bellowed, pointing at an Urlinad who had staggered back, having lost her left hand. "You don't need two hands to fight! The only pain that matters is the pain you inflict!"

The Priestess paled but stepped back into the line, thrusting her spear awkwardly. The hand she'd lost was likely her primary.

He stepped forward and stuck a hypodermic needle filled with a healing potion into her shoulder, then stepped back as the wound began to heal.

"Remember, Always Be Killing! Every time you move, it should be with the intent to deliver your next strike! The only way forward is through the monsters!"

"You are weak, but I will make you strong! You will learn to kill, I will teach you!"

"So, on a scale of one to ten, how badly do you think Bob is traumatizing those Urlinad?" Amanda mused.

"Eleven," Dave replied promptly. "You heard him, he's going full drill sergeant."

"Always Be Killing!" Amanda said.

"I'm sure he's already making that point," Dave agreed.

"Do you think his way is better?" She asked.

"I think that the Urlinad are a vastly different species," Dave replied. "I'm not sure how well that approach is going to work with herbivores with a herd-based mentality."

"Ours are going to be a bit less battered, I hope," Amanda mused.

Dave nodded, watching his group of six Urlinad, all priests, cast their Lighting Blast spells at the stone targets Harv had provided.

"I don't think we're going to need to teach them caution," Dave agreed.

"I can't believe how many Affinity Crystals Bob has been hoarding," Amanda smiled.

"I'm just glad they don't dissipate like Mana Crystals do," Dave replied.

They'd both started clearing out their inventories in preparation for loading the Urlinad into them, only to realize that they'd been treating the space much like their garage back on Earth. Old armor, staves, and clothing that no longer fit them comprised the majority of the junk, but they'd also found a significant stash of Affinity Crystals that they had forgotten about. Mostly Conjuration and Summoning, but with quite a few Dimension, as well as just over a dozen Elemental sets that they'd gathered from the Harbordeep Dungeon and never needed.

The practical upshot was that they had more than enough crystals for the four hundred and sixty Urlinad, even though the clergy were insistent on using either Elemental Air or Elemental Water.

Dave was pulled from his thoughts as Tyolad approached, his eyes flickering over to the group throwing lightning blasts.

"It may never cease to amaze me," he said, shaking his head. "While I don't look forward to the violence, the ability to call directly upon the power of the gods is a gift beyond measure," he finished with a half bow.

"Adventurers Guild, we're here to help," Amanda replied, rather adorably, Dave thought.

"The Lord of Blight has mentioned this Adventurers Guild before, but I'm not sure I fully understand it," Tyolad confessed. "Would you two be willing to explain it to me?"

Dave exchanged an uneasy look with Amanda. "You'd probably be better off with either Harv or Eli," Amanda said. "Just a few years ago, we were exactly where you are, just two people being introduced to the System for the first time. Harv and Eli were born into the System, and were part of the Adventurers Guild for decades."

"Also, we have to get that lot," he gestured toward the clergy, happily blasting away, "into the Dungeon. They've had enough practice, it's time to get them started on the real thing."

"The Keeper and the Warrior," Tyolad muttered thoughtfully. "I will seek them out," he offered another bow. "May the Queen of Storms provide clear skies and gentle winds."

Dave watched the Urlinad walk away with a frown. "I don't know about that guy," he shook his head.

"I do, and I don't like it," Amanda replied. "He seems to be determined to sort of wrap their pantheon around us, despite Bob explaining that we aren't gods."

"I feel like a hypocrite," Dave complained. "I know the rules. When someone asks if you're a god, you say yes."

"I think that rule should be refined to only apply to existential eldritch horrors from beyond reality," Amanda said firmly. "I mean, I don't mind being the Lady of Night, with my Prince of the Moon at my side," she smiled up at him. "But when the Urlinad say it, they mean it. And that kind of makes me feel a little bit dirty, and not in a good way."

"Exactly," he agreed as he brushed a strand of lustrous black hair away from her cheek and behind her ear. "You already have a devoted servant," he whispered as he leaned down and kissed her neck.

"Now that's something we should explore a little further," Amanda whispered in return, her eyes nearly closed. She leaned into his chest for a moment, her head tilted up, before sighing. "It'll have to wait until after the Dungeon, though."

"As you wish," Dave replied with a smile.

Harv blinked, then shook his head. "Ok," he began. "The Adventurers Guild is an organization with a number of responsibilities. The first and most commonly seen are delving the Dungeons to keep them from overflowing. The second is standing against the monster waves and tides. The third is investigating and eliminating any reports of monster activity," he ticked off each point on his fingers.

"There is more to it, of course," he continued. "When you delve every day, you tend to accumulate mana crystals," he grinned and shook his head. "Now, Bob's sixth rule of delving says that you can never have enough mana crystals, that you'll always need more, and he's not entirely wrong," Harv admitted. "But the thing of it is, as Adventurers, we tend to think of mana crystals in larger quantities. With the right spells, you can grow enough food for hundreds of people with a single ritual that costs a hundred crystals. But we don't even think about that when we sit down for a meal. We'll happily pay a crystal each because we've adapted to how many crystals we earn." He shook his head again.

"The Adventurers Guild keeps a lot of that in-house," he explained. "It takes a lot of mana crystals to keep the rituals running that detect monsters, keep the spatial expansions in place, provide the heating and cooling as well as all of the other environmental controls. Thidwell, the head of the Adventurers Guild back home, told me that draining our pockets was a necessary evil, otherwise, active adventurers could crash the whole economy."

"The Lord of Blight explained to us that mana crystals would replace our currency and that any attempt to keep our currency in circulation was doomed to fail," Tyolad said.

"That would be Bob, and he's exactly right," Harv agreed. "We saw it happen when his planet, Earth, was integrated into the System. It's hard to place value on coins when mana crystals can be used to create anything you want."

"What is the Adventurers Guild's relationship with the Church?" Tyolad asked.

"Complimentary?" Harv mused. "You already know that to use Divine Magic requires a Divine Blessing, which are normally the remit of the church. That puts magical healing rather firmly in their hands. The church normally assigns someone with Animancy to wait outside the Dungeon, offering healing to anyone who needs it."

He scratched his jaw for a moment. "The thing is, not everyone is going to be able to find a healer for their group," Harv explained. "There are a lot of circumstances that can work to prevent that, starting with the fact that most people would rather kill the monsters than patch up the wounded." He paused for a moment. "Of course, I'm talking about my species," he continued. "The Urlinad might be a different delve entirely. Regardless, the church is the main source of healing. We had a tradition of providing a tithe from the crystals we earned each delve, to show our appreciation for the Watchers."

"Does the Adventurers Guild collect a tax from the Dungeon?" Tyolad asked.

"That depends," Harv replied thoughtfully. "In most places, they do, but in the small town I came from, they didn't, although I think that was a political decision."

"It sounds like something that could easily be rolled up into the Church," Tyolad mused.

"Maybe," Harv shook his head. "You'll have to keep in mind that the System offers a lot of skills, and you're going to have people who aren't devout, but are not only dedicated to delving the Dungeon but extremely good at doing so. They're going to create associations outside of the church, where they can work together to train and improve themselves."

He frowned. "Maybe I missed explaining the most important part," he smiled. "A big part of being in the Adventurers Guild is that you're surrounded by like-minded people who have shared the experiences you have. It can be hard to relate to people who don't delve the Dungeon every day. Mike said it was like being part of a massive family. You might not always like your Aunt Caroline, but you know that she'll be there for you if you need her. The Adventurers Guild is like that, an extended family, bound together by blood shed in the defense of others."

Tyolad nodded. "I can see that," he said slowly. "I've seen something similar amongst the Guards who have had to hunt down predators outside the walls."

"Better to organize it from the outset," Harv said. "I imagine you'll end up with a considerable overlap in the membership between your church and the guild." He paused for a moment. "What sort of government do you have? I don't think I ever heard anyone ask."

"The Church collects the taxes and uses them to employ the Guard and to pay for artisans to maintain our walls, roads, water, and sewers," Tyolad explained.

"It seems like you try to keep everything behind the walls," Harv noted, "but I'm pretty sure there are fields outside of it, right?"

"There are," Tyolad agreed. "We till and plant grain, then harvest it. The Guard makes frequent patrols which work to discourage the largest nuisances, while the children of Kessen enjoy taking care of the smaller ones. Harvest time is a mixture of excitement and dread. While the grain is welcome, and celebrated, it's accepted that so many of us outside of the walls will attract predators, and the Guard will be forced to engage them."

"Well, that's all going to change," Harv smiled. "You'll have Adventurers, and above all else, an Adventurer's job is to protect those who can't protect themselves."