Author's Note: Right, so….. I'm about to do something that's incredibly jarring, but given the length of hiatus of this project it might be helpful. I'll be doing a recap and then a short time skip. So apologies to whoever is new to this story.
Recap: Our story began with the creation a guild called Numa Orbis on the continent of Alakitasia. The would be master had obtained land outside the town of Lira and had managed to gain support from local bandits, nobility and wandering strangers. With Mun and Marix of the bandits and nobility, respectively, initially clashing they found themselves looking after the weaker members of the guild when they found themselves the target of various bounty hunters. At the same time, Master Garave had come across an interesting noble mage from one of the Northern Guild Countries controlled by a powerful knight, Arkaitz.
Timeskip: In the week that followed their meeting, Garave and Vi had made their way to the middle of the continent with hopes of meeting an old friend and ally of Garave, Toral Kelmise. Garave had described her as a powerful informant in the country of Fasire, but their journey was cut short by an immense blockade stretching around the Southern border of the country. With no choice, but to return to Lira, Garave heard out Vi's reasons for heading South and despite the risk of taking in an enemy's relative he agreed to keep her secret. Back in Numa Orbis, Rayna and Mason made a great deal of progress on the guild, putting the headquarters much closer to completion. However, Marix and Lamily found themselves fighting against a bounty hunter named Dagonet after an old bounty put him on the bandits' path. After temporarily besting him, they regrouped with the bandits and their other guildmates. When Dagonet tracked them down later he found himself facing down an entire guild's worth of enemies. Despite the odds, Dagonet seemed driven to fight and take as many people with him as possible. However, a loud explosion and blaring alarm preceded Dagonet having an abrupt change in disposition. With him quickly apologizing before running off, the guild realized Claude had used his magic to force Dagonet away without confrontation. The use of magic had left him in tatters though due to Garave's alarming countermeasure. Much to everyone's surprise, when he awoke a few days later, he boldly exclaimed his desire to see how a guild like this plays out.
January 8th, X576, Numa Orbis
Confusion best described Garave as he burst through the guild doors only to find the bulk of his members eating a quiet breakfast with Claude in bandages.
"What's going on here?" asked Garave.
"You've returned Master," began Rayna. "Was your trip well? Who is this?"
Beside Garave, stood the mage known as Vi.
"This is Viatrix."
"But you can call me Vi," said the pale young woman. "To be completely honest, this isn't at all like what you described Master Garave."
Garave himself face was a mix of pride and shock. He had spent the majority of the trip talking about how rambunctious the group was and to give them a chance at first. He'd mentioned that he was almost certain the guild would be in pieces due to a few hot headed tempers.
"Oi! What's she talking about Pops?" shouted Mun.
"I don't like what she insinuated just now? shouted Marix.
They gave each other a quick glare before returning to their meal, their eyes never leaving each other.
Garave shook off his shock and said, "I thought I was coming back to a large pile of lumber, but I'm actually impressed."
The had put on many of the finishing touches to the large lounge-like room that currently held all the members of the guild, save for the rest of the Deo Clan. However, several circular doorways now led into long hallways which housed the dormitories of the clan members. Almost all of the current members had completed rooms and many others were in the process of finishing.
In the lounge area was currently a makeshift board that Rayna said Marix had sent to formally post missions.
"Here Master," she said as she handed him a stack of papers. "These are formal jobs that Felix Deo said you would have to look over and decide the appropriate difficulty distinctions and who you thought was most suited for what?
All the progress, all the silence, all the peace had Garave stunned. "How?" managed the old master.
The tiniest of grins snuck across Rayna's normally stoic face. "You told us to tone down how hard we worked them, so we did."
He master cocked his head in confusion, thinking back to when he found the mages sprawled out and exhausted from Rayna and Mason's efficiency then he took a hard look at his mages. Taking in the winces and grimaces everytime someone simply lifted food off of their plate.
"They're too tired to fight?" Garave deadpanned.
"Yes!" shouted the guild.
Author's Note: Okay! So first and foremost, thank you to everyone who miraculously continues to support me. Truly grateful. Thanks for all the words of encouragement.
There were no character introductions and this chapter was especially short. While I am sorry about that, I feel like it creates the space I needed to get into the next arc. Hopefully, you all enjoyed this and yes, next time there will be a proper update.
That said! I am curious. I am trying to get an idea of what people are enjoying most so I can create a schedule of some sort or pick out a day or two to do updates. So if you happen to read more than one of my stories, feel free tell what you liked the most.
Thanks for reading.
