The following morning, Botan woke up and was immediately greeted by the soreness of the day before. He went through his first day in this world easily enough. It was midday before he even fought something then. Yesterday was a different story. He put himself through the ringer for nearly 12 hours. He also took a few hits, each of which had bruised. That said, he was stronger.
He switched his weapon form as soon as he woke up, having set a weapon form to be mastered while he slept. He'd have the ones he thought would take longer to master while he slept, then master the fast ones throughout the day. It wasn't just about efficiency. It was also because Botan had never even been in a fight before coming here and had no skill. He was hoping that as he tried the different weapon forms, he'd pick some things up. Or at least find a form he preferred. At the start of the third day, he really wanted to draw Weldroe, as many as five times. He liked the look of the place that much.
Unfortunately, he had somewhere specific to go. The Ivory Company.
Botan ate breakfast first, that being the still amazing leftovers made by Tia. After which, he made his way to the guild. He first went to the flower shop, prompting the flower girl to wave him over, but he then used the old man's directions to reach the building. The flower girl deflated in defeat at his ignoring her.
Botan hadn't walked the streets much, mostly using the boat he was provided. That meant this was the first time he'd walked the main road. It had to have been because the building in front of him stood out too much. It wasn't made of polished stone like the rest of the city, nor did it have a garden adorning its roof. It was a large, imposing building made from darkened logs and cast iron. It made the building seem tough, but not that old.
Botan pushed open one of the two doors to enter, they were about 9' tall, adding to the intimidating feel. However, the door had no weight behind it. It was nearly weightless. Botan almost opened the door too roughly. As he walked in he saw the interior of the building was way more sophisticated than even the castle. It almost seemed modern in some ways, but lacked the natural look the rest of the city had, one that Botan liked quite a bit. In contrast to the nice interior, the people inside looked… rough around the edges, to put it nicely.
The place was populated by many strong looking adventurers. Large men with big muscles and big attitudes, some wearing either tight fit clothing or baggy robes, both carrying polearms. Some more in leather with way too many weapons strapped to their person.
"Wow. Even in another world, the class trinity exists… I bet I look as green as I am." Botan's internal musings turned to self awareness.
Those around him quickly stole a glance at him at least, some held their gaze even now. Botan shuffled towards what appeared to be the front desk.
"What do you want?" Came a woman's voice. It was not welcoming in the least, almost accusatory in tone. The woman herself seemed to stick out. She wore a light green dress but had armor in a few places. She also had long green hair made into a single thick long braid. It didn't look fancy or practical. More-so like she was trying and failing to be an adventurer and high class at the same time.
"Um, yes, I'm level 5 and was hoping that maybe you had something for someone of my level…" Botan inquired.
The woman looked at Botan with an even more annoyed of a look on her face. "We do not issue quests to non-members."
Botan wasn't deterred. "How do you know I'm not a member?" He asked.
"I know." She said definitively and deadpan in expression.
Botan buckled a bit, but kept going. "Well… what if I wanted to join?" He asked.
The woman rolled her eyes and opened the book in front of her to the third page. "Someone wanting to join the ranks of the illustrious Ivory Company must complete an assignment to prove competency. To even be considered, one must be at least level 20, receive a recommendation from a current or former member, and can not have been a criminal in the Arden Republic." She listed off matter of factly.
"Oh…" Botan deflated more.
"You're level 5, meaning you either never qualified before, or your level was reset at the hourglass as part of a legal punishment. Further, I don't know you, so I can say with some confidence you are a stranger. You meet none of the qualifications and you wasted my time speaking to you. I honestly deserve an apology." She seemed to genuinely demand that at the end.
"..." Botan began to walk away. "Wow, these people are rude."
"Cut the kid some slack." A large man said, walking over to greet Botan.
She crossed her arms and went to respond. "I've only done my job in describing-"
"Yeah, yeah. Level isn't everything. A true mark of a man is the titles he's been able to earn! A young man coming to join the guild at level 5 sounds just as bold as it is stupid. I bet you'd catch more flies with honey lass… Say we task the kid with earning a title that at least grants a level cap of 40. That would do, right?" The man was very loud, but also very jolly.
"Don't go deciding things yourself, you lughead. The rules say level 20. I don't care how great a title he earns and neither do the rules." The man seemed to have gotten under her skin, causing her to switch from passive aggressive to very actively aggressive.
"Bah, such an inflexible woman. You'll never catch a man with that venom." The man said, turning to Botan.
"What did you just say to me!?" She lost her cool completely. She slammed the book shut on her table and came out from behind the counter.
The jolly man turned to Botan. "Say lad, have you managed any titles yet?"
"Titles?" Botan opened his menu and searched. "Ah, it seems I can't earn them. I'm locked to 'Flower Hero'."
"..." There was an audible pause.
"Why the fuck did I just read that out loud? I was supposed to hide that! Fuuuuuuu-" Botan groaned internally.
The woman froze in place, as did the large whole room's chatter quieted as they now listened in. They stared at Botan's weapon a moment before their brains caught up to the news.
"O-Oh!? Sir Hero, I had no idea! I'll fetch a contract to let you join right away." The woman said, her tone being very different.
Botan stopped her immediately. "I can't read any language here. So, I'm not signing any contract. If you hand me one to take, I'll have it read over and sign it if I find the terms agreeable."
Botan knew there was tension between the kingdom and the guild. Between the two, Botan currently liked the kingdom more.
"Oh.. Um… Understood." The woman was now the one deflating.
"Huh, the Evergreen, level 5… How long have you been here?" The large man asked, some of that natural jolliness restrained now.
"This is my third day." Botan saw no harm in telling the man.
"Level 5 by yourself with no prior experience or help in two days? That's a good work ethic. You'll hit level 20 in no time kid. See you then." The man waved goodbye as he began walking back to his seat.
"He's the Flower Hero, you lughead. He doesn't need to follow that rule!" The woman yelled, handing Botan the paper.
"Oi, so now titles can let you skirt the rules!? Make up your mind, woman!" The man yelled back.
As the two went to argue further, Botan slipped out the door. After closing the door, he eyed the papers. It was on higher quality paper stock than what he had bought from Hector. The writing was also very professional.
"I wonder what you are staring at if you cannot read it." A man's voice came from his side.
Botan turned to see a man dressed immaculately. Polished silver armor that looked almost white trimmed in gold. The man's deep blue clothes and other finery gave off an air of someone in charge. Lastly, the size of the white fur collar of his coat was too much. It was very large and had to have come from a very large animal. It all came together too well with his long white hair and blue eyes.
"Eh!?" Botan nearly fell over from fright. This guy nearly gave him a heart attack.
The man swiftly reached out an arm and steadied Botan. "Easy there. Apologies for the intrusive behavior."
"Ah, yeah, sorry. Just took me by surprise is all. You'd think I'd be used to it by now." Botan said, rubbing the back of his head.
"That's a high standard to place upon yourself. You are not of this world, so expecting you to adapt to anything at all is a tall order." The man granted leeway.
"Ah… and you are?" Botan was hoping to leave, but this guy was dragging a conversation out of him.
"I am Valtor Meisser, the current field leader of the Ivory Company. I heard you in there; level 5 in 2 days with no help, you also seem to place high standards on yourself. Even if you were not the Evergreen himself, you clearly belong in such an establishment." The man answered and seamlessly gave a sales pitch.
"Well, I'll need to have a read before I put pen to paper." Botan tried dismissing.
"Of course, of course… And whom would you trust to read you its terms? After all, whomever did could manipulate you in this regard." Valtor asked, but there was some slight hostility in his words.
"I know the crown and the guild don't get along. I'll have Professor Hemlock read it for me." Botan told him, shifting a bit uncomfortably under Valtor's eye.
"Ah, dear Hector? Two days here and you'd met the only man of value outside our walls… And you know of our ongoing issues with the crown?" The man seemed to be gauging or measuring something with these questions, but Botan couldn't know what.
"In part." Botan decided to give as short of an answer as possible.
"Then I guess I should tell you that we of Arden have long since butted heads with Mosden. They refuse to outlaw slavery and that lack of action keeps our nations from living in peace." The man's smile turned to a serious expression as he explained.
"Wait, Mosden has slavery?" Botan attention was captured.
"In part." He said, parroting Botan from a moment ago. "Both Ventus and Eld have slavery. Mosden catches runaway slaves from either and returns them. While they don't put themselves in irons, they fail to act morally when faced with a true evil… What do you think of slavery?" The man had a passion in his words. Botan could not tell if he was faking it, but it sounded genuine.
"Well in my world, we outlawed slavery internationally quite some time ago, though some small forms appear far away from the country I lived in… We determined that owning one another was fundamentally wrong." Botan was still struggling under the man's gaze but found stronger words as he went.
The man smiled and laughed unnaturally. "Haha! Well said! If we can agree on something like that, I needn't worry. You'll soon see things yourself. You'll see that Arden is the most moral country. One that outlaws slavery. One where you earn your class, not one where your worth is decided at birth, one so noble that we protect the citizens of an enemy nation." The man went on and on.
Botan let him talk, he wasn't falling for it. Many nations and groups from his old world would claim moral superiority for many reasons. However, at the end of the day there was always one thing they had in common. That being that they had other major issues that they failed to address or used moral justifications to dismiss. He had allowed this man to tell his view of things. Tonight, after having Hector read him the terms of the contract, he'd get Tia's side and make a decision.
Botan eventually got the man to leave him alone, but the last thing he said as they parted ways gave him pause.
"And do let Alder know if you join. Our offer with him still stands." Valtor added.
"Alder? Why? They hate Mosden's government, but want one of their officials to join them?" Botan was more confused than ever.
Botan had a head full of questions the whole day after that. He went south as he planned and found more forest, though less tropical. Botan was noticing just how varied the region around here was and could only guess what the western direct held. Botan traveled further than he did yesterday. He was not finding too many creatures higher level than himself and that meant that he could defeat them easily. He fought several new monsters, including a large bird that couldn't fly, but nothing too interesting.
That was until he came across a purple flower. He copied it of course, but one of its skills stood out to him.
[Weapon copy system activated]
[Violet Bellflower Trumpet]
Abilities Locked Equip Effect: Bonus: Skill: Spring: Seed Strike
Special Equip Effect: Bonus: Skill: Voice Amplification
.
Botan equipped the weapon form, but the special skill just made his weapon a megaphone. "Kinda lame." He thought.
He then tried using the other skill. [Spring: Seed Strike]! A small, contained blast shot from the tip of the weapon and struck a tree. "Yes! A ranged attack… And the SP cost is so low! I can use this like 15 times!"
Botan eagerly tried using the skill again, trying to work on aim, but it would not.
[Unable to use skill due to cooldown]
The skill had a short cooldown period keeping it from being a purely ranged weapon. "Still though, if I got a handful more skills like this one… I could be a ranged all the-no. SP still stops me from doing that too." Botan thought more on what he could and couldn't do. "SP limits me a lot. Maybe I can find potions that recover SP the same way as MP? Even then, that'll be a money sink and unless I take jobs from the Ivory Company, my funds are going to continue going down…"
After leveling again, Botan returned to town nearly level 7 for his efforts as night was about to hit. He stopped by Hector's shop as planned.
He opened the door with a wide smile. "Heya, Professor. I got more top spikes to sell, and I also want you to help me with reading something."
Hector was deep into reading something, but placed his book down when Botan entered. "Ah, good. What do you need specifically?" He asked, meeting Botan at the counter.
"This. I can't read anything here, so I need to know the terms." Botan pulled the paper from his bag.
"Ah, an Ivory Company contract. Joining them has its advantages, especially for you. Let me see-" Hector took the paper and read it aloud.
The contract required its signer to adhere to certain bylaws that were not defined then and there. Botan thought that was a trap, but Hector had a copy of the bylaws of the guild. There weren't many and they were all very reasonable. Most of the contract was… then the last bit changed that.
"Lastly, those who sign this document do hereby agree to a non-compete clause. Not working for any other guild besides the Ivory Company, and not any other country but the Arden Republic for the length of the contract plus an additional five years." Hector stopped there, knowing Botan would see it for what it was.
"So that's how they keep great adventurers from making a career change to working for the government. They get to hog all the talent with early earnings then no one can afford to be without a job for 5 years just to do the same thing for Mosden directly…" Botan said aloud.
"Indeed. Young people with talent have the best chance as a fighter joining the guild to make something of themselves, thereafter, they are working for Arden by proxy. They still defend the people and are paid well, so no one really kicks up that much of a fuss." Hector expounded.
"So why does Mosden honor those contracts? …I think I already know the answer…" Botan felt he answered his own question.
"If one of the three great nations has a law that pertains to their property or people, it is in Mosden's interest to comply. Lest they suffer." Hector said seriously.
"I was told Mosden returns slaves to Eld and Ventus, so…?" Botan asked without saying it.
"You catch on fast. Yes, Mosden does so begrudgingly. I've seen Mosden knights let caught slaves go and even help them, but most are forcibly returned or else either country could make accusations of Mosden undermining their laws and use it as a means of declaring war." Hector said, handing the contract back to Botan.
Things were so much more complicated than Botan would like. The Ivory Company was both extremely useful to himself and the people of Mosden, but simultaneously took away Mosden's means of being self-sufficient. Then this pressure is constantly brought by the surrounding nations…
"Does my voice matter, as the Flower Hero?" Botan thought to ask.
"It does. The Eld Empire is more religious than other nations and the people would heed your words more heavily…, but the problem would be reaching them. It's not like the emperor would help you undermine him. Your opinion would carry weight in most places, but again-" Hector explained, driving the point home.
"My voice only matters on a small scale or if it aligns with larger groups that can spread my word…" Botan understood. This world was not the cool power gaining adventure story he was hoping for. It was still about those things, but so much more was at play.
Botan wrapped up his business with Hector and went to Tia's for dinner and magic training again. He decided he got enough of an explanation from Hector and wouldn't bother Tia with any of this. Alder still hadn't been home and that meant she was still stressed.
"And do let Alder know if you join. Our offer with him still stands." Botan wanted to ask about that as well, but didn't.
During his time spinning, he felt he nailed the perfect position, but he could barely last a minute. Tia simply told him to keep trying, which was encouraging, but also frustrating. Near the end of his practice, he thought he found an even better position, but each time he switched to it, he felt the other was better and switched back. Despite never settling on which one of the two positions were best, Botan broke his old record at 1 minute and 23 seconds.
During the meal, Botan explained what he did, but again Tia said he's closer, but still wrong. She said it with a smile though, so Botan assumed it was good progress.
"Oh, that reminded me. [Spin]! Tell me if I'm wrong, but… this is magic, right?" Botan pointed to the particles coming off the weapon as his weapon spun. "I have a theory about this skill." Botan told her.
After hearing the theory, Tia looked and nodded. "Hmm, after dinner, I want to try something then."
They ate the rest of dinner without further interruption. After dinner, Tia brought out a piece of wood. A somewhat large squared piece, dark in color. "I want you to hit this normally." Was all she said.
"How hard?" Botan felt reluctant.
"As hard as you can." She said with a smile.
"Are you sure?" Botan was worried he might hurt her.
"Young Nakaya, I am level 73 and have fought in a war. It's too early to think of yourself that highly." She wasn't going to be looked down on.
Botan flinched at that. "Level 73? I assume that's crazy high by normal standards."
"Okay then… Hyaa!" Botan swung down a club-like form into the wood and it… did nothing.
"Alright, now use that skill from before and use… let's say half strength." Tia told him.
[Spin]! He used the skill, making the head of the club-like form to spin, then swung as instructed.
An audible crack was heard. Botan had split the wood. "There it is then, your theory was correct, that skill does indeed use magic attack against magic defense. It isn't a normal attack at all." Tia concluded.
"How does that conclude it?" Botan asked.
Tia lifted the piece of wood, pointing at it. "This wood is special because it possesses high defense, but lacks magic defense. Therefore you'd have needed to deal magic damage to break it with less effort than your full swing." Tia explained.
"Ah, that makes sense… I've had this thought for a few days, but I seem to get more magic attack on level up than attack. My weapon form bonuses also give more magic attack on average. So I guess that means I'm supposed to be a mage." Botan said.
Tia went to put the wood back when Botan had a terrifying revelation. "Hey… wait a moment… We aren't using that wood in the next test… are we?" Botan asked while sweating.
Tia's reply was only an evil grin and slight chuckle.
"So, once I master spinning around in a fucking circle, I then have to punch trees like I'm fucking Steve from minecraft… How is magic training this dumb!?" Botan lamented.
Despite dreading that day, Botan was hoping to get past the spinning portion sooner. He thought about it even while he wasn't doing it and felt if he could set a day aside just to learn it, he'd pass the first test already. At the same time, he knew that his level was also very important.
He ended up burying his face into his pillow when he got back to the inn. It was starting to get to him. All the confusion, being alone so much throughout the day, the physical pain compounded by the building physical exhaustion. While no big event happened to sour his opinion, Botan had to admit that this wasn't as fun as he was thinking it would be.
.
[Otherworld Index]
Today we'll be talking about the Ivory Company. The Ivory Company was founded by adventurers from the Arden Republic in cooperation with Arden nobles nearly 150 years ago. The initial staff of the adventuring group were entirely Arden citizens, but as they progressed, they allowed Mosden natives and even the occasional foreigner to join their ranks to bolster their numbers.
The Ivory Company has a charter that it operates under, with leadership being assigned by previous leadership. In this way, the lion's share of their ranks have no say so in who is placed into key positions of power. However, it's a safe bet to assume that any position of power is granted to someone from Arden, as there are very few exceptions to that trend, and none in living memory.
The Ivory Company does jobs for nearly anywhere in Mosden, with the exception of the Nine Peaks. This is because every adventurer sent there from the Ivory Company dies. However other adventurers and the like have been able to make trips to the Nine Peaks without dying, which makes many suspicious as to why only Ivory Company members die so frequently.
As for why it's called the "Ivory Company", that has to do with their business model. When a request to remove one or more monsters is placed at the Ivory Company, they do not just kill the target, but retrieve 100% of the body as well. This is in addition to the payment given by the one that requested the job. With a favorable split of 90% of the earnings going to the members who did the job and 10% going to the guild itself.
Many view the rate of both payment received and the cost to be fair, but fail to account for the monster materials. One of the Ivory Company's main forms of income comes from exporting the strong and exotic materials of monsters only seen in Mosden to the very Arden noble families that backed their initial establishment.
The Ivory Company has also been reported as helping runaway slaves make it to Arden. Mosden never stops this from occurring, as Arden freeing and rescuing slaves cannot be blamed on Mosden. For this reason, some say Mosden purposefully leads slaves to members of the Ivory Company, allowing them to save slaves while not being accused of actively going against their neighboring country's property laws.
[Author's Notes]
Hello everyone. I thought chapter 5 might be a good place to do some slightly larger scale world building. I hope it's to your liking. Moving forward, The Ivory Company is a powerful force that can be both friend or foe.
Botan realizes that he's more of a mage than a melee combatant. Him being a mage-like hero might have something to do with his natural magical talent. Now that he knows [Spin] is magical and he has [Spring: Seed Strike] for range, things should go a little smoother.
I wonder how many picked up that information about titles? It's the system that replaces class upgrades in this world. We'll learn more about it in a future chapter, or at least a future Otherworld Index.
