11.1

Victor Franze made several fruitless attempts to enter combat which were all completely defeated by Eve’s own defenses. Eventually, the angry S-Ranker made a vertical chop slashed at Eve from almost ten meters away. Only her affinity with Space allowed her to understand the true lethality of a seemingly innocent flailing attack. Eve’s eyes narrowed in anger as the thin line of shattered space impacted upon her Witch’s Dust in a flash. Eve used Space Folding to turn the attack into a compressed piece of space before crushing it out of existence.

What the hell?! Eve thought. That certainly was no Test!

Her anger was boxed and pushed aside as Eve was already reaching out with Runic Skeleton Key I. She didn’t take attempted murder lying down, and her reply was tailored to hit where it hurt most. Runes melted and smoked on the opponent’s armor before she popped the enchanted items like a child popping bubble wrap. Victor gaped before split-second reflexes moved him to the edge of the ten-meter circle.

Eve didn’t focus on attacking anymore as Witch’s Dust was now automatically on offense. She stood motionless as her sand-colored dust began to stream over and coat the opponent eating everything like high-powered acid. Victor gave a shout and stomped the ground. The move acted like a telekinetic bubble burst to throw all her Witch’s Dust off the man. As the particles recollected around her, Eve glanced at the bloodied figure of the previously proud S-Ranker. His face was twisted into a mask of rage and hate that didn’t make any sense to Eve. Zun was a well-known humanoid ally of the Ten Thousand Tribes, it was one of the reasons she had chosen this disguise.

Eve watched as her opponent, ignoring the damaged armor and defunct enchanted jewelry, leaped upward bringing the ax down in a massive overhead strike. Eve gazed calmly at the S-Rank and thrust a single finger up to stop the blade. Her physical Stats were monstrous, and they fought the spatial edge on the ax’s blade with ease, before victory was achieved.

It was no contest, in Eve’s opinion.

The single finger block didn’t even allow her to receive damage as the rebounding force threw Victor away like a casually tossed bag of grain. Vigilant brown eyes watched and therefore were not surprised when the enemy shifted his equipment in a flash. From a heavy fighter to desert mage in flowing robes, the transition only seemed to multiply the enraging anger that fueled his actions. Eve inspected the new gemmed rings, a bejeweled necklace, and his thin gem-infused crown with scarlet embossed runic robes which now replaced the previous attire. Eve’s eyes narrowed as she saw the new armor pulsing with barely contained power. Runic Skeleton Key I wouldn’t be able to work unhindered since the runes were a more ancient form on these items.

Witch’s Dust would end Victor though, Eve knew.

Victor’s face was a study in scarlet purple anger. Before she could continue the attack, Eve heard a voice from the side say, “Aaaand that’s a good stopping point, in my opinion.” Looking to the side revealed a dwarf geared to the nines in the fanciest monster murder gear Eve had ever seen. She spotted no less than eight separate heavily enchanted weapons embedded in the full plate armor, topped with a closed plate helm. Even with all the metal, the thick beard, and short size provided all the information on race required although the thick alcoholic fumes wafting off didn’t hurt identification either. A quick estimate based on mana levels alone placed the dwarf as a possible Tier Six which caused her to raise her eyebrows internally.

“Guildmaster Bookworm, sir!” Victor spat, visibly displeased at being interrupted. Sandy tendrils that had been reaching for him were paused in motion as the words sunk in. Eve wasn’t certain her plan to take revenge would work with the literal Guildmaster on hand.

“What, you ignorant brat? The girl has been nice enough not to shred you all over the ceiling from what I’ve seen so far, but her patience appears to be over.” Bookworm said while a plated gauntlet stroked his beard braids hung with multiple charms in each braid.

Eve pulled all her Witch’s Dust back to float nonchalantly around her body as she watched the interplay attempting to look as innocent as possible.

“She’s probably working for one of the other Branches as a spy, sir! There’s no reason not to take this chance to remove her!” Victor shouted, his voice impassioned as his robes moved, flapping in an unseen wind. Eve didn’t miss how the man no longer disguised his absolute disgust towards her, neither did she miss the subtle irritation the Guildmaster displayed towards his subordinate. The dwarf gave her a look that she could read even though the plate helm covering the stocky short powerhouse.

“Aaaand I’m sure it has nothing to do with your burning desire to remain the only S-Rank for this Branch, right?” Bookworm said derisively before continuing, “I’ll be honest. For the sake of the guild, I’m saving your idiot life Victor Franze, but since you don’t appreciate it, I don’t mind letting the young lass pulp you in self-defense. Zun is nothing if honor-bound murder machines.” The words sank into her mind making twisted sense. The comment about self-defense made the mental bulbs turn into high-powered searchlights in Eve’s mind. She grinned internally before testing her theory with a few well-placed sentences. “I don’t normally like killing weaklings, Guildmaster.” Eve said in provoking tone while staring devilishly at Victor before continuing, “Especially stupid ones.” Her current purpose to maximize the level of her Guild Plate during the Test seemed to have the potential now to take a massive leap forward. If she was reading the situation right, she could also remove a thorn in the dwarf’s side, so there was no reason not to kill two birds with one Spell.

Guildmaster Bookworm’s eyes took on a cold calculating look as he glanced at Eve before he said to Victor, “Are you certain you wish to continue Franze? Just because a young woman has stepped on your pride you will commit suicide? The Zun are not weak, anyone who has fought in the Sands knows this.”

“A Zun bug can’t harm me, I will crush her like an ant.” Victor said his tone scathing.

Eve’s mild brown eyes turned into mirrored liquid pools of ice. The Zun had many things said about them, few complimentary by the so-called civilized races. There were entire books dedicated to their savage codes of honor, after all, and many inhuman acts could be attributed to them. Yet even the most rabid enemies of the Ten Thousand Tribes would admit the singular fact, the Zun were not weak. Eve stiffened her body into a calmness that screamed murder to the trained warriors in the room. If she failed to act appropriately now, Eve knew it would call her disguise into question. Running through her options with Nota, she settled on an easy path that would tick several quality of life boxes if the gambit was successful.

“I offer a Life Debt, Guildmaster Bookworm, by the ancient rules of the Ten Thousand Tribes. I ask the Guild for reparations since I am not currently a full member within it, and thus not bound by the Accords.” Eve said pronouncing the words slowly with completely deadly seriousness. It was amazing the things Nota could dig up given enough information. One of the more useful ones was the Zun Accords with the Guild. These documented Accords were one of the main reasons to join while disguised as one of Ten Thousand Tribes. One of the more important details of the Accords bound her never to harm a Guild member except in clear-cut self-defense upon pain of death. It made Zun incredibly valued within a Guild for as long as they wanted to remain. It also meant that acceding to her request was reasonable if the Guildmaster truly wanted to be rid of this enraged S-Ranker.

“Aaaand that’s a dead S-Ranker right there.” Guildmaster Bookworm said throwing his hands up in the air as his eyes rolled in derision. The dwarf shrugged before striding back to take a seat on the lower bleachers with a completely lacking clank of metal on wood. Where there had been only a few people before the fight started, now Eve observed the bleachers were packed with various adventuring teams watching. They had clearly arrived in the interval between Number Fifty and the Guildmaster’s attempt to prevent Victor’s suicidal swan dive.

Eve watched as the Adventurer’s Guildmaster, Bookworm, made a gesture that caused a cube of transparent glass to surround the arena. Even with the magic glass in place, she could clearly hear the dwarf say, “I’ll take a Life Debt as payment any day, especially from a Zun. So, for ceremony’s sake in accordance with the ancient rules, I as Guildmaster declare that Victor Franze has given offense against the Ten Thousand Tribes. Do ye all agree?” There was a murmur of agreement from the sitting adventurer groups so the dwarf continued, “As the Zun Eve is not bound by the Accords she has demanded to remove the stain of dishonor by mortal combat. I rule in favor of this action, you may both proceed.” Eve was surprised at the speed of decision-making, but she was nothing if not adaptable.

Zun Eve decided to be known for solving Guild problems, permanently.

Witch’s Dust flexed filling the entire cube in a flash, causing visibility to drop for those without a Skill or Spell to penetrate the haze. Seconds later there was a pained high-decibel scream that fading into the silence within a few moments. When the noise ended sand-colored dust receded showing that no one remained alive inside the glass cube except for Eve.

”Aaaand I saw that coming a mile away.” Guildmaster Bookworm said before removing the glass cube. “Alright lassy, now that you’ve removed my S-Rank asshat, I’m going to need that Life Debt redeemed until I can tide over the shale shit slide of his demise.” Eve nodded in understanding. By allowing her to kill the offensive man, she had traded a period of servitude to Guildmaster Bookworm, a so-called Life Debt. Unlike what many assumed, this debt was only two years, not forever, so she wasn’t the least bit worried. Within that time frame, the Guildmaster was bound to assist her with training in acclimating to the world outside the Wilds in accordance with the Accords. The entire exchange had been implicit without a single overt communication, but that simply showed how well the Zun was known.

This wasn’t my first plan, but it works all the same. Eve thought. The guildmaster could have prevented the death I have no doubt, but a life debt was too tempting combined with removing what appeared to be a permanent annoyance.

With her current showing, it was the equivalent of having a professional Orihalcum Plate, or SS-Ranker, on call for emergencies instead of a Mithril Plate  S-Rank adventurer. Eve didn’t doubt that with two years the Guildmaster would easily be able to raise another S-Ranker, probably two or three given her estimate of the dwarf’s power. Being part of a quick and efficient power grab didn’t bother Eve in the least. She was pulled from her thoughts when the dwarf spoke again.

“Follow me, lassie, I will rubber-stamp the paperwork for an Orichalcum Plate,” said Guildmaster Bookworm as he moved away toward an exit that led deeper into the building. Eve followed letting the Witch’s Dust around her change visibility until it appeared as if only a small amount moved in erratic sand-colored patterns around her body.

For being short, the dwarven guild master moved at a rapid pace easily making Eve think a Skill was involved. After several corridors and a few flights of stairs, she found herself in a well-appointed office with a hefty rock collection on the left wall behind clear plate glass. The right wall was taken by what appeared to be jade books, tablets, and slips. From the mana emanations, Eve knew that they were all storage methods for information, probably passed through mental connections like her own.

Ignoring the jade library, Eve moved over to take a look at the rock collection. Quite a few of them glowed with colors as the mana within filtered ambient light into a certain spectrum. Laying inconspicuously among the various rocks was a common-appearing red brick. The mana structure within the brick was extremely complicated but before she could look further, Eve’s attention was pulled away.

“Such a mess, lass. Probably my fault for taking too long in the Deeps. I’ve always said we should take more effective measures to weed out the racist types, but no one listens until a bomb goes off underneath their shaft.” Guildmaster Bookworm complained about with a pinched face.

Eve shrugged it wasn’t her problem to deal with, she wasn’t the Guildmaster and had no desire to be one.

“Here take this, now consider yourself on mandatory suspension for a month.” Guildmaster Bookworm said throwing her a sparkling Adventurer’s Orichalcum Plate. “That’ll give me time to put together the newbie crew I want you handling. Nothing big, just a few of the more arrogant pieces of garbage with bigshot parents. A few months with you should crush the brat's egos down to the appropriate size. Just make sure none of them die, missing limbs can be replaced, but corpses will get me too much paperwork. Ye understand, lass?” Guildmaster Bookworm said. Eve had only paid half her attention to the dwarf as she took a glance at the metallic plate which revealed a small portion of information after she bound it with mana.

Peak Tier Five

Zun Eve

Element: Sand

Specialty: A 5, D 5, S 5

“I’d also like you to do some power leveling, babysit a few of the Guild’s rising stars, make sure they don’t suffer accidental misfortune.” Guildmaster Bookworm said, taking out a long-hooked pipe before filling it to the brim with scented herbs. Eve ignored the smoke that wafted over to her when the dwarf lit the pipe, as it vanished before even reaching within a half-meter of her body.

“You picked up on my intentions pretty fast, but I’ll explain a bit just in case.” Guildmaster Bookworm said taking a long puff before continuing, “Racial tensions are on the rise what with the Dragons banging their sabers and shields at the Color Covens lately. No one knows why, and no one really cares unless it turns into a bloodbath. Victor has been quietly preaching his pathetic human supremacy talk, and you were just an easy target, or so he likely thought. I needed him gone, so I borrowed a Zun knife to kill the idiot bastard making a mess while I was gone.”

“Tier Six?” Eve said her mind piecing together the theory why the Guildmaster hadn’t intervened already. She was reasonably certain but it didn’t hurt to ask.

“Indeed. System stupidity, but I can’t do anything about it. He would never be stupid enough to attack me with a fatal strike like he did to you so I can’t pull the good old self-defense card.” Guildmaster Bookworm said with a deep smoke-laden sigh.

“Food, shelter, monetary compensation?” Eve said with a raised eyebrow.

“Show the plate at the canteen for food. Then pump mana in and the plate will lead you to the apartment reserved during your tenure. I can’t pay you until you are no longer suspended, but I won’t stop you from taking care of anything on the mission boards over three years old. No one can argue favoritism if you help clean up problems of such a nature, we’ll just hold the pay till your suspension is over.” Guildmaster Bookworm said, his ruddy black eyes gleaming.

Eve nodded, free food, free shelter, easy missions, and all she had to do was take care of some brats for a few years while she got the lay of the land. Sending her mana into the Adventuring Plate connected Nota to the item to prevent any attempts at theft. After reading the lengthy alphanumeric number on the back Eve wrote two letters using Ink and Paper affinity with the account number to send to both merchants later.

“Well, then let me be the first to welcome you to Cog.” Guildmaster Bookworm said with a smirk while he puffed on the long pipe. Eve could practically hear the grin underneath his plated armor helm.

“Cog?” Eve said confused. She was certain this was the City of Gold, or did she get turned around in the desert?

“City of Gold’s nickname, came from one of those Hero types when they called us a Cog in the great machine of industry or some-such.” Guildmaster Bookworm said.

“That’s not puny, Guildmaster,” Eve said with a straight face which her new employer into a fit of choking laughter.