Blood Shaper

Book 3: Chapter 9

"Uh…" Kay glanced around the room at his people. "What?"

"To be clear, I don't mean attack anyone or be in a battle," Gemglass explained, "We'd like you to have a fight, not to the death, with someone. You personally."

"You want me to spar with someone?"

She looked over at Forn, who shrugged and made a "washing my hands of this gesture". She sighed in response, "Not sparring, it has to be a real fight, so it'd be a duel."

Everyone else looked back at Kay, seemingly just as confused as he felt when he tried to get their takes. "Why is that worth a better deal for Avalon?"

Gemglass sighed and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling. "I can't…" She sighed again. She twisted her lips as she visibly thought about something, glancing from Forn, to Kay, to Eleniah, and back. She eventually firmed her expression as she made her decision and leaned forward emphatically while looking at Kay. "The Adventurer's Guild is aware that you're a Class Line Progenitor."

Kay shot her an annoyed look as Ahthia and Amanda sprang upright in their seats and spun to look at Kay. Eleniah scowled while Meten just quietly snorted.

"I hadn't actually gotten around to talking about that with all of my people yet."

Gemglass had the courtesy to be embarrassed. "Sorry, I assumed you'd at least told your main advisers."

"We've been keeping it as close to the chest as possible. I was actually going to have a discussion today with the two who do know," He gestured at the Elf and the Oni in the room, "About how to tell my inner circle, and then everyone else. But then you all showed up without notice and threw my plans out the window."

"Sorry about that."

Kay shrugged. "Whatever, it was always going to come out at some point. If I was still planning on keeping it secret, I'd probably be annoyed, but at this point…" He trailed off, then shrugged again. Turning to look at Amanda, then Ahthia, he held up one finger as he motioned them to keep quiet for now. "We'll go into detail after this, but yes, I'm a Class Line Progenitor. Like I said, I was planning on telling you today."

Amanda managed to school her expression into something resembling a professional face, but Ahthia took a moment longer to stop staring at him in shock. Eventually, she managed to shake off the surprise, and she looked away while murmuring something quietly enough Kay didn't catch it. Eleniah did, though, and glanced over to give her a quick nod.

"What does my title have to do with dueling one of your people?" Kay got back on topic with the question. "And how did the Guild figure it out? Even if you got a hold of and read the Agreement I have with the Guild, it only mentions being a Class Creator."

"One of our founders, the same one who started the Adventurer's Guild, is also a Class Line Progenitor," Gemglass replied.

Every one of the Avalon people stiffened in surprise. Kay glanced quickly at Eleniah and saw she was just as surprised.

"Like the Three Stars Alliance, it's not exactly a secret, but please don't tell anyone if you could." Gemglass answered the silent question in the room, "With some personal on-hand stories of what it's like to have that specific title, plus an archive filled with hundreds of years of information, it isn't that hard to figure it out. You're a Class Creator, confirmed by your Agreement, and there's no record of any other Blood Manipulators in the entire Adventurer's Guild archives. One plus one equals a very interesting two."

"That's the second of my questions answered," Kay carefully chided her for skipping what was probably the more important answer.

She scowled, "The person in question is a… an important resource to the Guild, and a future asset. Fighting a diverse number of combatants helps them get stronger. That's all I can really say."

"Wait…" Eleniah screwed up her brows as she puzzled through the information they'd been given. "Oh, fuck! You want him to fight the Lady Eternal!"

Both of the Adventurer's Guild Representatives made faces. "She really hates that nickname," Forn informed them.

Eleniah waved his objection away, "I only know the nickname." She turned around in her seat, "Kay, the person they want you to fight is rumored to be one of the children of the three founders of the Adventurer's Guild."

"She is," Gemglass interjected.

"Right, good to know. She's a defensive powerhouse that somehow gets stronger against enemies the longer she fights them. Not that rare in general. The thing about her that was unheard of before she came along is that she can fight someone, and then she becomes permanently stronger against anyone with the same Class or Classes."

Kay took a moment to sort through that. "Stronger in what way?"

"Defensively. She takes less damage, is more resistant, blah blah blah. Combined with Classes that make her stronger offensively, the longer a fight goes…"

Kay nodded thoughtfully, then turned his gaze on Gemglass. "What kind of deal is worth training up my own assassin?"

"She's not an assassin." Gemglass refuted instantly, "But yes, it'd be setting up a counter for you." She shrugged, "It's not a complete counter to you, she's not invulnerable or unbeatable, and the direct threat against you would lessen as you taught people." She held her hands out to the sides, "Can you blame us? Not only are people with your title complete powerhouses, but you're eventually going to begin spreading your class around, and we'd like to be in front of the wave when it comes to countering potential threats."

"And the hidden caveat is that as long as I don't piss of the Adventurer's Guild enough to warrant killing me, I don't have to worry about her."

"It's not exactly hidden, especially if you bring it up. That is a factor, though."

Kay tapped at the table, then gently smacked his hand flat. "For now, I'll say maybe. We can agree that you'll help with gathering personnel, and we'll agree to a normal contract. If I decide to fight her later, we can negotiate for something else then. Also," He interrupted Gemglass before she could respond, "I'd like for you to make up for spilling a secret that wasn't yours."

She watched him for a second, taking his measure again. "What do you want?"

"I'd like to know her name. And the Class Line that your founder is the Progenitor of."

Gemglass chuckled and rolled her eyes, "I'd tell you both for free. Her name is Honor Hernandez. Her father, founder Enrique Hernandez, is Class Line Progenitor of the Adventurer Class Line."

"Fuck." Kay spat out the curse in total surprise. That's… That's scary. Really scary. He's probably got a number of the video game cheats that make Isekai main characters so broken. An Inventory Skill and long-distance communication, maybe even party formation skills! "I'll fight Honor Hernandez in exchange for being taught how to get the Adventurer Class."

The two Representatives, Hell, Guildmaster, and Vice Guildmaster, we already decided before they even showed up that we'd let them open a branch, shared startled glances. Kay also noticed the guard that had come with the move for the first time since entering the room. The armored figure's head slowly turned, and the visor pointed directly at Kay.

"That's…" Gemglass answered slowly. "I-I can ask?"

"Please do. That's not the only thing I'll do it in exchange for," He added, "It's just a potential price. If he says no, I'll find something else to trade for both exchanges."

Gemglass looked consternated as she shifted in her chair. "I…" She huffed. "Founder Hernandez once said that any Outworlder who wants the Class immediately after hearing about it is an Outworlder potentially worth watching. I still don;;t know why that is, though."

Kay chuckled. "I guess it's an Outworlder thing. I don't really know how to explain it without taking up way too much of your time and potentially confusing you." Because he was curious, and Gemgalss seemed open to answering questions, he asked: "Where's he from, by the way?"

"A country called The Republic of Texas, from a world called Earth."

Kay remembered the name of their country and laughed, "Are all three of the founders Texans?"

"Two are. Founder Hernandez and founder Schnell are both Outworlders, although founder Schnell is from some other version of the same world where Texas is a part of a larger nation. Founder Etun originally hails from a city that fell that was called Starport, and the city of the Alliance was named the same in memoriam."

"Thus 'the Three Stars Alliance'." Lay chuckled some more. Then he paused, "Wait, her name is Schnell?"

"Yes? Why?"

"I… Never mind." He wasn't in the mood to talk about the tiny bit of German he remembered from a middle school class decades ago, especially if it risked annoying people. "Amanda, do you have a copy of that list of positions we need to fill?"

She silently handed him a piece of paper, and he passed it on to Forn. "Those are the major positions we need to fill quickly. Any help the Guild can supply in finding candidates would be very appreciated."

"The Guild will be happy to assist." Forn held the paper at an angle so Gemglass could read it too.

Partway through reading, Gemglass focused on a particular item. "You need a judge? Are you having crime problems?"

"A slave trader came through from the north." Kay answered and watched as the pair stiffened in place, "We have them locked up along with their hired help, but it brought my attention to the fact that we need a legal system earlier rather than later."

Forn's expression turned from stunned into a raging thunderstorm. "Fucking pox-ridden children of a blighted-"

“Denna.” Gemglass snapped at him.

He froze. After a moment of stillness, he took a deep breath. "My apologies for my outburst. Slavery is an evil, shortsighted practice with no economic benefits fueled by hatred and the need of greedy and vain people to lord themselves over others and control their lives."

"Forn's family are former slaves," Gemglass said quietly.

"Some of my family were slaves who managed to escape from some petty kingdom with a village or two under its banner, yes." He took another deep breath, then stared into Kay's eyes. "May I ask what you plan to do with them?"

"Right now, I don't know. They're going to be punished in some manner, but how? We don't have a prison or the means to keep people prisoner without spending too much damn effort, especially if they're higher than tier one. I can't banish them because it won't rid the world of their problem. They'd just go do the same bullshit somewhere else. We could dumb them somewhere hazardous with no supplies, but at that point, why not just execute them?" He sighed and rubbed at his face with one hand. "It's something to think about."

Forn nodded slowly. "My personal opinion on what you should do to them is biased, so I won't voice it. I am glad that you recognize that just kicking them out won't solve anything, though."

"How about, at this point, we talk about the contract for establishing an Adventurer's Guild branch in Avalon?" Meten quietly suggested.

"Yes, let's." Gemglass received another copy from Denna Forn and set it on the table. "The first topic part of the contract is contingent on the Dungeon itself. Depending on what kind of Dungeon it is, based on the Guild's standard classification system, there are different topics to discuss."

Kay suppressed a sigh and settled in for what would probably be the most boring part of this meeting: The important details.

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Hours later, Gemglass, Forn, and their guard filed into the main bedroom of the suite that had been set aside for them.

Forn pulled a few pieces of shaped metal out of his pockets and set them around the room, tapping a spot on each of them and causing a small glow to emanate from each. "We shouldn't be overheard now."

"That was an interesting discussion," Gemglass commented.

"Yes, and again, I'm sorry, Guildmaster, for losing my temper."

Gemglass shrugged, "Eh. They didn't seem to take it badly. It's good they don't support slavery, though. It'd be a massive pain to go to all this work and then have to pull out because they wouldn't act like a civilized nation."

"It is indeed a relief."

Gemglass looked over her shoulder at the armored figure of the guard. "And, what did you think?"

The guard, who once again hadn't moved since entering the room, reached up and pulled off their helmet. The revealed woman stretched her neck to the side until it popped, then shook out her medium-length black hair. "He was interesting. I'd give him a seven out of ten overall. He's smart, but not dangerously so, but he also knows that he isn't at that level. At least from what I could see."

"What about when he asked after your father's class?" Forn wondered.

Honor Hernandez smirked. "He's probably what dad calls 'a gamer', at least to some level. From what he's explained, there are people with different levels of dedication to that task, but he's said that those are the Outworlders most likely to do insane things on Torotia."

"Just like your father."

"Exactly." Honor turned and looked in the direction they'd come from, where Kay, Mayor of Avalon, and his people were probably still discussing things in the man's office. "I wonder what kind of interesting things he's already done. And what he'll get up to in the future." Her small smile turned into an excited grin.

Gemglass and Forn both sighed. "You're just like your parents." The gnome complained.

"Thank you!"

"Speaking of," Forn added, "Do you know why he asked about your Mother's name?"

"Mom's last name means 'Fast' in a language from Earth. It might not be as common a last name in the version of Earth he came from." Honor glanced around the room then headed for the door. "I'm going to go look around. If we're going to be here a while, I want to know the layout."

"Do not get yourself into trouble on our first day here!" Gemglass snapped from behind her as Honor headed out the door.

"Okay, Big Sis! I promise not to start anything!"

"That's not what I said!" Gemglass sighed when the younger human didn't respond. "That brat."

"I've been with the two of you for years, and it's still a little surprising how you two are like actual siblings."

"You know one of my fathers is in the founders' party. She's been my little sister since she tried to snatch a dagger I was cleaning to go gut a street dog that was, and I quote 'Looking at me funny'." She sighed, "I hope Mayor Kay is really as reasonable as he acted when she ends up in some kind of incident."

"Again."

Gemglass nodded wearily, "Again."

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