System Change

Jacks leaned back and sighed. “I knew you were quite a bit stronger than me, but I didn’t think you were that much stronger than me.”

Derek waved him off. “You would probably be at least Onyx if it weren’t for your circumstances these last years.”

Jacks gave a self-depreciating smile. “Maybe…” He said. “But we’ll never know at this point.”

Derek shrugged. “You’re plenty young enough to keep going. I’m certainly not going to do anything to hinder your advancement. You may choose to guard the shop once it’s up, but if you feel like adventuring, you only have to let me know so I can make other arrangements. Besides, Savannah is supposedly a peaceful city.”

Jacks nodded. “Thanks.”

Finally, Derek looked back towards Malorie. “Was I right to assume you wanted to help out around the shop?”

Malorie nodded. “I’m not letting Brandi out of my sight for a good long while.”

Derek nodded. “I would suggest you spend whatever skill points you have remaining on some general skill to level. I noticed you seem to have much more fun cooking and looking after Brandi than you do hunting and fighting.”

“Is it that obvious?” She asked.

“Not necessarily.” Derek replied. “Back at the village, hunting was something you had to know how to do in order to survive and provide for your family. Now, you don’t have to worry about that. You haven’t hit level 50 yet, so there is plenty of time to change your class to something you enjoy. But, like I was saying, you should level some other skills that you are fond of, so you have a chance to receive a decent class.”

Malorie agreed with Derek. “That’s sounds fun. Silvi and I make a good team when it comes to cooking. We can learn and level the skill up together.” She smiled when Silvi hopped over into her lap.

“That’s great.” Derek said. Before he came to Savannah, he had promised Silvi to look into getting her a place at the kitchen in the Crown Restaurant. However, Silvi seemed to be looking forward to having her own kitchen more than anything else.

“I’ll see if I can find some more recipes for the two of you to share. Also, don’t feel bad about experimenting with your own recipes. Who knows, you may end up creating something delicious.” Derek said.

Derek clapped his hands. “Alright, we all have plans now. All that’s left is to actually get them done.”

“What about Thomas?” Brandi asked.

Derek looked over at Thomas, who was slightly blushing now that he was the center of attention. “Well, Thomas is going to be training his ass off for the foreseeable future. He happened to catch the eye of the Guild Master.”

“That’s so awesome!” Brandi squealed.

Thomas smiled shyly as he looked at her. “Thanks.” He said.

“He’s also planning on enrolling in the Academy here in a few months.” Derek informed.

“So cool.” Brandi chimed in. “Do your best!”

“I’ll try my hardest.” Thomas said. “I’ll also come back to visit whenever I can.”

“We still have a long time before any of that happens.” Derek said. “We just have to focus on the day-to-day right now and try to build something for ourselves. Got to have a place Thomas can always come back to.” Derek smiled.

Everyone in the room nodded seriously. All of them had a gleam in their eyes when he mentioned that it was for everyone.

Derek stood. “Alright. We all have our plans. I’m going to go get some rest. I know it’s not too late, but I have a big day tomorrow.” He looked at Thomas. “Could you give me the room card?”

Thomas gave Derek the card and Derek left. He walked over to his own room and opened the door before walking back and tossing the card back to Thomas. “Have a good night.”

Once he was inside his room, he headed straight for the bathroom. The bath he took the previous night was fresh in his memory, and he needed another. It wasn’t long after that he was sitting on his bed, meditating. He did so for a while, before finally going to sleep.

The next morning, Derek awoke to the sight of Thomas already out of bed. All the regenerating from the previous day must have tired Derek out if the boy was waking up before him. Derek laughed and sat up.

“You going to the guild today?” He asked.

Thomas nodded. “Right after breakfast.”

“Don’t let this opportunity slip.” Derek said, seriously.

“I won’t.” Thomas said as he finished dressing.

Derek completed his morning routine, and the two left the room together. Surprisingly, the whole group was already waiting for them in the hallway.

“How long have you been up?” He asked.

“Not long.” Rayna said. “We just came out.” She motioned to Mal, Brandi, and Silvi.

Derek looked at Jacks.

“A couple hours.” The man said. “I’ve never slept much.”

Derek smiled. “I see.” He said. “Shall we go for breakfast? I think I saw a table or two that were big enough for all of us.”

Towards the end of breakfast, Rayna spoke. “I’m going to join the Adventurer’s Guild today. The sooner I get it done, the better.”

Derek nodded. “I agree.”

“I’ll come with you.” Jacks said. “I’ll see if I can find that map of locations. It’s best not to bother the Guild Master.” He said.

Derek chuckled. “Well, if you can’t, just let me know.” He held his hand over the table and dumped out a bunch of gold. He didn’t have a lot of free gold, most of it was on his card, but there was enough to give each member some walking around money. “Take some gold each. I don’t want you to be broke again today.”

“I have all I need already.” Jacks refused to pick any up.

Thomas and Brandi didn’t stand on ceremony. They both grabbed a few handfuls and moved them to their storage rings. However, nobody else did.

Derek looked at them. “What?”

“We’ll be with you today, so we don’t need any.” Mal said, looking sharply at Brandi.

Derek rolled his eyes. “Just take it. Either that, or I’m leaving it on the table as a tip. Either way, I’m not picking it back up.”

Finally, everyone but Jacks took some of the gold. It made Derek feel a little better.

Derek stood. “Alright. I’m off to the Employment Center. If you plan on coming with me, let’s go. Everyone else, I’ll see you later.”

Malorie, Brandi, Silvi, who was being held by Brandi, and Rudy, all followed after Derek.

Noticing Rudy behind him, Derek spoke. “Oh, you’re coming with us today?”

Rudy nodded. “You’ll be hiring people, right?”

Derek nodded. “Most likely.”

“That’s great.” Rudy said. “It will be an opportunity to make some contracts… unless there is an official way to do it.”

“Good point.” He said as they made their way to the Employment Center.

Soon, they walked inside a room oddly similar to the Adventurer’s Guild lobby. I guess it’s the same thing with missions and stuff. Why fix what ain’t broken? It was still early in the morning, so the center was quite empty.

Instead of going straight to one of the counters, Derek headed to look at one of the job boards. After reading the first few job descriptions, he realized the exact purpose of the board.

Most of the requests offered a rather low payment. Derek figured that the only workers who would take on the requests on the board would be those new to their professions, or those in dire need of some quick money. He could nearly guarantee that no high-level workers were going to takes such basic requests for such small payments.

As he was thinking this, the door opened and a young dwarf walked in. He, too, went straight to the job board. When Derek glanced at him, he noticed that the dwarf was going through the requests much more seriously than Derek did.

Derek kept his eyes on the dwarf. Soon, the dwarf’s eyes widened and he ripped one of the requests off the board. Derek snuck a quick peak at the request and noticed it was for ten sets of basic daggers. The poster provided the material, and any extra daggers would be bought at a small price.

Before the dwarf went to the counter with the request, Derek spoke up. “You a beginner Blacksmith?”

The young dwarf looked up at Derek. “Yes, sir.”

Derek smiled. The dwarf couldn’t be too much older than Thomas or Brandi. “Requests that provide the materials are a good way to level up, huh?”

The dwarf nodded fiercely. “That’s why I come so early every morning. If I don’t, they will all be gone.”

Derek nodded. “Good luck. You better get to it.”

“Thanks, sir.” The dwarf bobbed his head and ran over to one of the counters.

Derek watched the interaction between him and the man behind the counter. The young dwarf was all joy when he walked out of the building. I wonder what happens if he fails to craft the weapons and uses the materials.

Derek put those thoughts out of his head and walked over to a different counter than the one the dwarf used. Before he even made it to the counter, three more people came inside and rushed over to the job board.

When he arrived at the counter, a halfling woman with a pair of black-rimmed glasses and black hair in a ponytail looked up at him. “How can I help you today?”

Derek flashed the woman a smile. “I’m looking for some Builders and Runesmiths. Hopefully ones who are available and who work quickly.”

The woman nodded and began flipping through a thick book. “Let me see who is available.”

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