A motion caught the corner of Alan’s eye, as a recruit suddenly tried to make a dash for the exit. The golden sphere of energy above him pulsed, turning black as it sent out a bolt of lightning that struck the recruit. They collapsed onto the floor, unconscious, as the guild member who had been watching the recruit calmly strode over, picked up the body and walked into the darkness.
All the players around Alan began to slowly open up menus, showing them to the players that appeared by their side. Alan began to do the same, but Eve messaged him.
I have transferred the requested information to the guild AI tasked with compiling the data.
Oh?
Yes, it is rather crude but each of the Black Rose guild members seem to be inputting the data into this database. I simply uploaded it straight there.
All right.
The knight to Alan’s right coughed, holding up a tablet, motioning for Alan to open up his character screen.
Alan turned to look at him, and said quietly, “Check your database. It should all be there.”
The knight looked down, back up at Alan, then put the tablet away, shrugging.
Alan watched the sea of recruits. More tried to make their escape, for whatever reason. A few adamantly resisted showing their information, while others tried to grab a weapon at their side or make a break for it. They were quickly silenced by a single bolt of lightning from the golden ball that floated above their head, then dragged off to who knows where. One girl managed to deflect the bolt headed her way with an energy shield of some sort, but another two bolts quickly struck at her from either side, silencing her. The moment felt sort of surreal. By the time everyone had finished showing their information, perhaps 5% of the recruits were gone.
Elissandra, who had been calmly observing the proceedings, waved her hands, and the balls of energy all shot back to their respective places on the wall, illuminating the Great Hall once more. All around the room, the guild members began to take off their helmets and masks. The knight to Alan’s right was revealed to be a stone-faced cyborg, with the name and title, Specialist 3. To his left stood the cyborg’s mirror image, with the name Specialist 4.
Elissandra smiled briefly, then said, “Now that that business is out of the way, I would officially like to welcome everyone to the 307th guild assessment. The rules are rather simple. By the end of tomorrow, earn 1000 guild points. Those with 1000 points or more are allowed to join the guild. Those with less will be asked to leave.
"Guild points are the main currency within the guild, and can be exchanged with a 1:10 ratio for credits, or for items or other services within the guild. Monthly wages, as well as bonuses will be awarded in guild points. Ranks within the guild all require a certain number of points in addition to other requirements. The way we do things here is a bit unique, with a more fluid chain-of-command, but more about that will be told to you after you pass the trial. These guild points may also be traded, sold or gambled freely, like any other currency, but for the purpose of the assessment the points must be earned. Now, I’m sure you are all wondering how you might earn said points.
"Well, at another point in time you were given a task by a member of the guild. Each of these tasks were actually carefully proctored events, and you will now be granted points according to how you did. The number of points you possess will appear on your guild mark, which must remain in clear sight at all times.”
A golden energy flowed out of Elissandra’s hands, spreading and striking every recruit, engulfing them in a sudden flash of light. Alan watched as a bright burst of energy snaked towards him, then struck him, engulfing him in a warm embrace. A message popped up.
Faction Change! Title Established.
You are now a (temporary) member of the Black Rose Guild, granted the title Black Rose Recruit. Guild standings reset. Guild points awarded.
Increased renown for being affiliated with a well known guild. As a faction member, your Faction Standings will be influenced, and your actions will influence your faction’s reputation as well as your own.
Suddenly, a slew of additional messages popped up, hundreds in total. Alan was barely able to close them quickly enough as additional messages continually popped up. They were along the lines of the following:
Faction Bonus! 10% Discount at all stores on Khersath.
Faction Bonus! Increased experience gain while in Black Rose Guild territory.
Faction Bonus! Increased attack damage while in Black Rose Guild territory.
Faction Bonus! Allowed to travel freely within the Empire.
Faction Bonus! Allowed to purchase a Republic Universal Travel Permit at a discounted rate.
Faction Bonus! Increased performance from Black Rose Guild equipment.
Gaping at the huge number of bonuses, feeling a bit stronger, Alan grinned. Trying to join this guild was definitely the right choice. A new faction window appeared too, showing the Black Rose Guild’s reputation with hundreds of different groups.
Alan glanced at his guild mark as a new icon appeared beneath the rose, for guild points. He looked at how many points he was awarded, then looked again. He’d been given 5000 points, 4000 more than he needed to join the guild. Grinning, he looked back up at Elissandra. He was already in, it seemed.
Looking in Alan’s direction, Elissandra suddenly gave a devilish grin, then spoke aloud to the crowd, “But like all other forms of wealth, these guild points may quickly change hands. After this presentation everyone will proceed to the Simulation Dome, and the first trial will begin. A series of free for all duels, standard coliseum rules, with each recruit’s own guild points on the line.
"Each recruit is allowed to issue 10 challenges to any other recruit they desire, and each recruit must accept any challenge they receive. All recruits must go through at least five duels before retiring for the night. Any undefeated recruit will be given 100 guild points, any undefeated recruit with more than 10 wins will be given 500 points, and the recruit with the most wins will be given 1000 points.
"To be fair, there are a few additional rules, like you can only challenge the same person multiple times if they agree, purposely losing a duel will lose you points, and you can’t wager more points than a recruit has. Once all of the duels are finished, you may proceed to the lodgings provided and prepare for tomorrow's assessments. There will be a general assessment of your abilities, followed by more specific testing by the major divisions within the guild. Points will be adjusted, depending on how these assessments go.
"Now, I would like to introduce the heads of the guild’s main divisions, and what they are looking for in recruits. As the guild leader and one of the strongest psionics in the Game, I occasionally take apprentices from the guild’s Psionics Corps, more on which will be explained later. Other than that, you will generally report to your direct superior, thus my interaction with the guild at large is fairly limited. Good luck in the assessments.” She then turned, and strode over to stand at the side of the altar.
Mason, who had apparently been near to the front, stepped up.
“I am Mason, the head Arms Master. Each and every member of the Black Rose Guild is expected to be proficient in at least basic combat, and I’m in charge of getting you lot into shape. If you impress me or one of my fellow brothers at arms in tomorrow’s assessments, we will consider taking you as a trainee, or squire, as they are called in this guild. All members are expected to achieve at least an F ranking in tomorrow’s combat assessments. If you have decent combat skills, and no one else wants you, you’ll join our general forces. If you wish to join you must have at least rank D combat abilities right now and achieve an expected combat rank of at least B. More on this later.”