Chapter 12: Bit Off More
Lesha and I turned from finally finishing our talk with Healia, and were walking out of the Guild together after talking about the different things that I could use my Guild Points for when I got some. For now, the Guild would stay the same, but many tasks and positions would need to be filled to have the guild working in proper order.
First and foremost was getting points to create a Revival Tree. According to Healia, the tree had a set of ribbons for each member, and all they had to do is keep one of the ribbons on them and the other at the tree. There was only one small problem, without having both revivals and summoning sickness skills at max, there was almost guaranteed to have temporary side effects and stat and skill limiters.
Still, people wouldn't have to worry as much about dying, and it would be a great way to get new members, but it wasn't a way to become invincible. If a person dies outside of the dungeon, they die for real, no ribbons will save you. Next, the person has to wait a week without going into the dungeon, their guild seal, a whole other story, would even prevent them from entering if they tried.
This meant that the Guild would have to support the member and find an extra to fill in so the group could keep bringing in things. Another thing, money doesn't just appear in the guild bank account or whatever she called it, The Vault, another thing that needed a point to hold more money. In order for the guild to make money, we needed to sell to the vendors and craftspeople, and there would be magical items we would have to sell at the shop I had to build.
"Awerrrr" I growled out loud as we were about to walk through the doors.
"Hm? What is it?" Lesha asked, stopping me before the door, and putting her hands on my shoulders.
"There is just a lot that needs to be done, and just the two of us. I am just going over it all in my head right now, and it feels like I bit off more than I can handle."
"You don't have to handle it alone, we will talk more about it later, but you have people in your life that will help you. I am one of those people, Kiada, you're not alone in this."
That did make me feel better, not about all the things I had to do, but knowing she was with me, and not just because she had to be. I took a deep breath in and let it out, forcing a smile onto my face. I could do this with her help, and she was right, more people in my life could fill the roles.
"Thank you, you're right, we are a team," I said as I pushed open the door, or tried to.
When I pushed the was something blocking it, but then the door opened to four grinning faces. What was their problem? Did they not know what privacy was? I glared at the four smiling faces, and Lesha laughed softly beside me, making my glare falter. This was like oil on the fire and the boys faces almost split in two before they burst out laughing and started to back up, using the only shred of intelligence they possessed.
I started to move forward to go fix these fools so they couldn't make more idiots, but I was almost knocked backward in my shock as a red semi-transparent sign appeared in front of my face. I tried to back away from it, but no matter where I turned, it was still there. Even closing my eyes did nothing other than put the red sign on a black background.
"That is your first mission, stop acting like a sheep with its head stuck in a pail. Stop, take a deep breath, and then read what it says. Also, boys, come in here, since you and your sister's new girlfriend will be the first official guild members I will explain a couple things for you while she is distracted. That means you too, girlfriend," Healia said, waving them over.
Lesha didn't want to go, but my brothers were already past so I put her between me and them and gave her a quick kiss as best as I could with the sign in my face. The whole thing was like target practice with a transparent cloth over my eyes. We finally kissed, and I heard snickers from the boys, but I didn't care anymore. Little did those boys know, but they had just become servants of another sort to me.
I let Lesha go and pushed her away towards the group and I went and gingerly felt my way around, looking like one of the zombie monsters from the dungeon. I found a window ledge to sit on, but I had to dust the fingers width of dust off the sill before sitting and leaning against the warm single-pane window, finally focusing on the red sign.
[Guild Leader Title] Acquired!
[Guild mission] Acquired!
[Guild Member Stockpile] -Collect new members 0/5
[Guild Member Stockpile] Completed! -Collected new members 5/5
[Guild Points] 5 Acquired!
{Close Window}
The moment I thought of Close Window, the sign disappeared, but I had gotten to the main points. Next, I opened another window, like how Healia had instructed, calling my Guild Upgrades up. I used three of the points to buy the Revival Tree, and a flash of light appeared beside me, and a tree with no leaves appeared an arm's length away from me. It was small, but it had six branches and each had a pair of ribbons tied loosely to the branch. All the ribbons were black except for one set and it white and red.
I closed the window, and reached for the tree, taking the red ribbon. It came alive and tied itself around my wrist, but then I got a burning feeling on my chest. I pulled my shirt back in panic but stopped when I saw the red circle with a line through in red had appeared on the top of my left breast. The ink looked like it leaked towards the center of my cleavage, like blood.