Mask of Humanity

251: Slayers Guild


As one of the top-ten finalists in the Tournament, Nicolai had also received the other item he was after.

Entrant's Token (Tournament)

This Token was given to one who finished in the top 10 of the Low Level Tournament. As such they have earned the right to join the Slayer's Guild, Bounty Hunter's Guild, or Scoundrel's Guild. It may only be used a single time. It can be traded freely.

He headed directly to the Slayer's Guild. Once more he gazed upon the great construction made from the rib bones of some great monster, dotted with the heads of slain creatures. At the front a series of bone steps led up to the main entrance where there stood the same giant man as before, wearing a fur jacket, fur pants, and little else. His arms were crossed over his muscular chest and an excessively large hammer formed from bone hung from his back.

Nicolai strode up the steps and stopped in front of the giant, who peered down at him, brows drawing together.

They considered one another. In the hulking man above he saw the kind of iron-dense muscle that had been gained not at some gym, but through decades of combat. He saw the scars of battle and felt the regard of those cool eyes, eyes that he knew were measuring and judging him in turn. The giant's stance spoke of readiness, even in this place where combat was forbidden. Beyond that, he felt a spiritual weight, one that was being held back.

All this told him what he'd already known from a glance: the giant was dangerous. He showed none of what he thought.

Peering down at him, the giant spoke. 'Interesting. You come here to join the Slayer's Guild. You came first in your Tournament. But you stand…' His eyes narrowed. 'Not like a warrior. Like a nobody. You hide your face beneath a helmet. Despite your many weapons, you give off little apparent sense of danger. And yet, there is something...' After a moment, the giant took a slow step back. Gaining a little more space, so as to better react to a sudden attack if necessary. 'You would be better suited to the Scoundrel's Guild,' he rumbled. 'They're more your sort.'

Nicolai held out his Entrant's Token. 'Regardless, I am here to join the Slayers.'

'So be it.' The giant snapped his fingers and the Token Nicolai held disappeared.

His Mark flickered.

Membership gained: Slayer's Guild

Rank: Scout

'Head on in. Shark is already showing the other freshies the ropes.' The giant threw a thumb over his shoulder, stepping out of the way. His manner now seemed a little more relaxed.

Inside Nicolai found the Guild's main room to be large and circular. It was an open area with great doorways all around, leading to additional rooms. In the very middle was a gigantic, towering statue, depicting a towering man holding a long spear. Not human, though similar. Perhaps an Imperial?

He saw a group strolling around the outskirts, and headed over to them. They turned to look as he approached.

Shark was a tall, gaunt woman who did, indeed, resemble a shark. Her eyes were round and oddly hollowed. Her skin was pale like a corpse. There were slits on the side of her neck. She wore a tight-fitting outfit of some tough-looking rubbery material lined by chitin or bone, and a long, harpoon-like spear rested in a sheath on her back. She grinned at him, revealing two rows of razor sharp teeth.

'Ah, another one. I thought all had arrived. Guess I started early.' Shark looked him over, curious.

The three other sets of eyes that turned upon him did not hold that same curiosity, but instead narrowed with hostility or wariness, in the case of two, and creased with a smile, for the other. Two Cultivators—one of whom he had fought in the finals—and an Earthborn.

'The cheater, the false winner,' muttered the hostile Cultivator, a tall, severe looking man.

Nicolai glanced at the man, who bristled. By his reaction, he truly did look down on Nicolai, and seemed to be referring also to his victory in the Tournament, in which he seemed to feel Nicolai had only won due to the cheating. This made Nicolai smile, wry. It was always surprising to him how willing people were to underestimate others, in spite of all evidence.

Beside that one was a woman, who gazed at Nicolai not with the disdain of her companion but wary respect. It was the Cultivator he'd fought in his penultimate round, before Jian. She'd given him a pretty decent fight; in the end he'd taken her out with a shot through a wall, as she hadn't understood the penetrating capabilities of 50 BMG. He gave her a nod, and to his surprise she nodded back.

The last of them, the Earthborn, was already starting toward him. A heavy-set man with Level 1 bionic arms and legs, alongside two bionic eyes. It was an odd look, a big belly between four slender bionic limbs. He had dark hair and his bionic eyes both flared with red light.

'There he is!' cried the man, grinning. 'The Champion! Ha! You really showed the primitives. I'm glad that you've joined the same Guild as me. I guess I picked pretty well!' He extended a hand. 'Glad I'm not alone with these two arseholes!'

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Nicolai clasped that hand, shaking firmly. The Mask was working on his body language, ensuring he came across as properly affable. He was glad for it and its sociable ways, because he truly couldn't care less for any of these people. Regardless, a friendly exterior at times like this was typically wise. There was no benefit in making enemies without reason.

Alas, the man's words seemed designed to ensure just that, as the two Cultivators bristled.

'Showed us, did he?' snarled the man. 'He cheated! He would never have defeated Jian fairly!'

The fat Cyborg whirled, immediately coming to Nicolai's defence. 'Eh? Cheated how? Jian got to read the rules of the stake, didn't he? So—'

'Calm yourself, my friend,' said Nicolai, extending a hand. His gaze scanned over them and caught on Shark, to the side. While this pointless drama unfolded, she had moved to the side and was watching with interest. 'Actually, I did cheat. There's no point pretending otherwise.'

The fat Cyborg gaped at him. 'You only did what—!'

'No, no,' Nicolai waved dismissively. 'In the first fight with the Lasrgun, I won that fair and square. But in the second I cheated.'

They all stared at him, mouths open.

Recovering first, the male Cultivator grinned. 'You admit it! You couldn't have defeated Jian honestly!'

'I do. He would have beaten me for sure.'

'Well, well… good!' The man was nodding. 'I knew it. You're nothing special.'

'That's right,' said Nicolai, nodding and smiling. 'And in the rest of the Tournament, I merely got lucky.'

'Lucky?' The woman eyed him. 'No. You're a skilled fighter. You beat me fairly.'

Nicolai shrugged. 'I'm okay.'

'Well for me, I think you won fair and square—both times!' spoke the fat Cyborg.

'Regardless, there's no need for any of us to be on bad terms,' added Nicolai. 'We are all peers in the Slayer's Guild. I look forwards to working alongside all of you.'

'Eh? Even these primitives?' asked the confused Cyborg.

'We are peers in the Guild,' Nicolai reiterated, nodding to the Cultivators. His actions and words contained a strategy. There was no need to put much effort into making friends with the Cyborg, he was already happy to take Nicolai's side and would have tried to be on good terms with him no matter what—they were the only two Earthborn in this Guild, after all. But the other two would be guaranteed enemies if he acted arrogantly. By behaving as he did, he might disarm them and ensure his future road would be a little less bumpy.

There a possibility they might have to work together in the future. He wouldn't want to end up in a situation where he had to rely on individuals who hated him to perform well.

He glanced at Shark. 'Do Slayers ever form team?

Shark grinned, showing off her tightly interlocking triangular teeth. 'Depends on the time of day.' She gave a jerky shrug. 'In general, we operate alone. Sometimes you might collaborate for an especially powerful monster. Other times, such as during rank ups, you might be competing with one another, or sometimes working together. Neither is all that usual, though. By and large… I expect you won't interact often, after today. Anyway, if you're finished sniffing one another, I'd like to get this done with.'

Shark tapped at the back of her hand, drawing their gazes. Nicolai's eye narrowed upon seeing a Mark of Heaven shimmer and form on the back of her hand. It hadn't been visible before.

Looking closely at her Mark he saw how it differed from those he and the other humans bore. There were a pair of golden wings either side of it. He understood what it signified, from some of the general information he'd learned from the Information Guild.

Shark was not a player. Her Mark symbolised that she was a Denizen, which was a catch-all term for servants of Heaven. The Angel he had freed from the rooftop in the Castle was also a Denizen, though likely a higher ranking one.

These Guilds were all a part of Heaven, enfolded into its operations. However, despite being members of a Guild, he and the other Players weren't Denizens. They were more like contractors.

He also noted that Shark's Mark had a large sword crossing over it. The Slayer's Guild symbol. He supposed that if he checked his own, he would see the same. Some of the others were peering at theirs, removing gloves or turning their hands. He kept his gloves on. The symbols on a Mark told one all kinds of things about that Mark's bearer. Since the others were showing theirs, he took advantage of it to snap a few pictures.

'If you check your Marks, you'll find that there are a couple of new functions added,' spoke Shark. 'I'll show you with mine.' The floating hologram of her Mark's interface became visible to all of them, and they peered at what was shown.

Check mission

Send to Storage

Send to Butcher

Check Guild Status

'It's all pretty simple stuff,' said Shark. 'Check mission shows your progress on whatever jobs you've taken. It'll tell you if a job has been completed, and also if a job has been updated with fresh information or any changes in your goal.'

'Send to Storage will send anything relevant to hunting and gathering into your Guild storage, and send to Butcher will transport monster corpses to the butcher. Both the Storage and the Butcher are located here, in the Guild. Our guys will chop it up for you, taking and packaging everything of value.'

'Check Guild status, that ones a bit different. It lets you see your standing in the Guild, and also allows you to interrogate the system regarding other Guilds. All Guilds share information with one another, to a degree. I'd recommend you all do it now. Mainly because it will tell you if the Scoundrel or Bounty Hunter Guilds have a hit out on you. Unless you've been offending people in a big way, they won't, but it's worth checking for peace of mind.'

The three other new Slayers all immediately looked at Nicolai, expectation in their eyes. 'What?' he asked.

'You ought to check,' said the fat Cyborg, sounding concerned. The man tapped on his own Mark. From above, a tiny flicker of golden lightning jolted down from the ceiling and cracked into his Mark.

'Just the standard,' muttered Shark, having observed the lightshow. 'Gold lightning means you're all good,' she added in explanation. The others tapped their Marks and received much the same.

Nicolai tapped on Check Guild Status and a rapid succession of tiny lightning bolts rained down onto his Mark. The first few were gold… but then came a drumming of tiny black and red bolts.

You are a member in good standing with the Slayers Guild.

You have been reported as a dishonest individual to the Refiners Guild, but as a member of the Slayers Guild remain a favoured trading partner.

The Merchants Guild neither knows nor cares about you.

The Bounty Hunters Guild is watching you, but has no reason to pursue.

You have been targeted by the Scoundrels Guild! The price on your head is 150,000 points.

You have been targeted by the Scoundrels Guild! The price on your head is 70,000 points.

You have been targeted by the Scoundrels Guild! The price on your head is 120,000 points.

You have been targeted by the Scoundrels Guild! The price on your head is 200,000 points.

You have been targeted by the Scoundrels Guild! The price on your head is 32,832 points.

A total of five Simple Hits have been taken out on you via the Scoundrels Guild, for a combined payout of 572,832 points.

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