Chapter 238 - 238
This time it was Marcus' turn to be surprised by Dahlia.
He had certainly not expected this kind of offer since as far as he knew someone had to be at least level fifty to be promoted to mithril rank.
If it had been an offer to reach platinum Marcus would have certainly understood that, but the leap from gold to mithril was unheard of.
With some confusion on his face Marcus asked, "Is that even possible, I was under the impression I had to be level fifty to get a mithril rank, and would it not look bad on you to suddenly raise my rank from gold to mithril. I am sure that plenty of adventures would think you are showing me favoritism just because I know Jarek."
"Yes, there will be those that may be upset and certainly you would normally need to be at least level fifty, but Jarek told me about what you did in the dungeon against Freedom's Wings." Dahlia said with a sullen smirk.
Hearing this Marcus got a bit abrasive since he was afraid that it might lead trouble to him but Dahlia quickly reassured him saying, "No need to worry, Jarek told me this as his wife not the guild master, so I do not plan on taking any action other than what is required of me as soon as their disappearance becomes and issue. The reason I bring it up is because of the power Jarek said that you can use. From what he told me you have four unique skills which is an unprecedented amount so of course I want to bring you deeper into the fold of the adventurers guild. Of course, you will probably have to undergo some type of examination from a higher up from the guild's headquarters but I am certain with your power they will accept you."
Becoming more confused Marcus wondered how exactly being given a mithril rank adventurer would make him any more connected to the guild than he already was.
"What do you mean bring me deeper into the fold, I am already gold rank so I am considered an established adventure right."
Nodding her head Dahlia replied saying, "Yes gold rank is considered pretty high but when you reach mithril rank things become a bit different. Jarek already told me that he gave you a bit of detail about the guild and how wide spread it is. So those that are mithril rank become more like citizens of the guild than their own nation. It also gives you a high status in any nation that supports the adventures guild and can allow you access to other guild resources like purchasing and trading rare items and spells. However, it also means that the guild can call on you at pretty much anytime for emergency requests or even expeditions into unknow areas."
Thinking about it Marcus did not want to be at anyone's beck and call but the possibility to trade and purchase resources like spells was pretty appealing. Also, it would give him the ability to move around with the guild's system of teleportation circles so the benefits were pretty high.
Though before Marcus made his decision, he wanted to know a little bit more about what the requests he could be called on entailed and the whole process behind it.
"Could you give me a bit more detail about what and when I might be called for if I became a mithril rank adventurer."
Nodding her head Dahlia replied saying, "There are a number of things that you can be called for, and I believe Jarek told you about the monster outbreak we were at. During that time just about every mithril rank or higher adventurer on the continent was called to help. And while this has not happed in a while if a nonmember nation declares war on a member nation the guild will send in reinforcements, meaning that any nation allied to the guild is basically under their protection. Ah but being called on emergency missions like this is not all that common since most threats are solved before escalating to that level. Since me and Jarek reached mithril we have only been called the one time."
'Hm it is not a bad deal but there is one thing I need to know before giving my answer.'
"What happens if you refuse the guild's request and do not show up for an emergency mission."
"In that case if you have an accepted reason to deny it then that is normally fine, but if you are just refusing because you do not want to, the guild will revoke your status and you will be blacklisted, and in some cases the nations that are heavily involved with the guild may even bar you entry."
'Pretty harsh but I guess they do not want members that shirk the one duty they have.'
Taking a bit of time to think about it, Marcus ultimately decided against it right now. As much as it did not seem like a bad deal, he really did not want to be tied down in any way right now or garnering too much attention.
Becoming a mithril rank would put him on more people's radars and if someone powerful got serious about snooping around about him, they could discover some of the secrets that were damning to him.
"Sorry but as much as I enjoy being part of the adventures guild, for me it is just a means and not an end, so I do not want to become beholden to it right now. Maybe sometime in the future after I have gotten around a bit more I may come back, but for now I just want to do whatever I want."
Letting out a disappointed sigh Dahlia nodded her head in understanding.
It happened every now and then that people would refuse mithril rank since they did not want to be under anyone even if it would come with good benefits.
Of course, Marcus' main reason was to avoid someone finding out about him being a ghost or Roxene being a mythic grade magic beast, and he really did not have a problem with the guilds requirements.
"Well, I cannot force you but the door is always open. The adventures guild is always looking for exceptional talents like you to add to our ranks."
The two of them with their meeting now over went back inside with Marcus going first, but as he opened the door he heard Dahlia mumble under her breath, "Damn I really could have used that requirement bonus."
Hearing this Marcus stopped for a moment realizing had he agreed he basically would have been used as a political stepping stone for Dahlia.
However, he quickly shook it off and went back inside to join the party but what he found left him in shock.
Lilia seemed to have gotten dragged into a drinking competition with Jarek and the members of the Depth's Delvers, and she seemed to be winning.
Lilia was putting drinks down left and right like she had been a heavy drinker for years and she had twenty-five mugs already finished next to her and she seemed to barely even have a flush face.
On the other hand, only Jarek and Neal were still in the competition with her but they looked close to passing out or vomiting.
Marcus then watched as Lilia finished her twenty-sixth mug of ale, and both Jarek and Neal dropped out and looked at Lilia like she was some kind of freak.
Of course, this was actually Lilia's first time really drinking alcohol but with her peerless physique unique skill it would take her many times what a normal person needed to get drunk or even tipsy to affect her.
The one member of the Depth's Delvers who had not been participating and was acting as a ref then raised Lilia's arm and declared her the winner, also giving her a bag full of gold that was the prize.
"Does anyone want to explain what is going on here." Marcus said with his voice laced with anger.
While there was technically no drinking age in this kingdom, giving minors who were not your family copious amounts of alcohol was certainly frowned upon.
Lilia seeing the anger on Marcus' face ducked behind a table, since she though he was mad at her.
He had always told Lilia to be careful with alcohol and had only let her have just a little bit every now and then.
"Sorry Irene I guess we should have gotten "hick" your permission first, but she said she wanted to join in and we thought "hick" she would give up after one mug." Jarek said, while holding his stomach and looking in pain.
Sighing Marcus looked at everyone who was looking sick after Lilia drank them under the table, and figured that they had already received their punishment.
Turning his sight towards Lilia Marcus went over to her and she tensed up a bit afraid that she was about to receive some type of punishment.
Yet instead of being angry Marcus just patted Lilia on the shoulder and said, "I understand you wanted to get in on the fun and I certainly did worse things when I was a kid, so just try to wait until you are an adult to do something like this again. Now how much did you make."
Seeing that Marcus was not mad at her, Lilia's demeanor went back to her normal cheerful self and with a proud expression she opened the bag, reveling a number of gold and platinum coins totaling five hundred gold.