Warm, honey-hued sunlight streamed in through the enormous windows lining the corridor, and while Sláine was anxious to meet this so-called mentor of hers, it did take some willpower not to stop and admire the way the light played across the colored crystals set into the walls.

Despite the general architectural character of Arpege being far different than her homeland’s, she had to admit that humanity had, in this instance, done some things right. She’d seen a few different color palettes and types of material utilized in the buildings she’d been in, but Aria of the Fallen’s headquarters tended towards elegant neutral tones and high ceilings supported by heavy beams. The floors were fashioned from sturdy, polished wood, and the walls were constructed of rich mahogany slats that shifted into a mild cream paint around the middle. Plant-life grew abundantly in the premises, filling up planters and sprouting from window-boxes, and some of the shelving units were topped with small glass terrariums. It was comforting, in a way. Foreign, but still familiar.

The building itself was impressively sized considering how close it was to the shopping district of the city, which she’d been told was possible because of the subsidies and grants given to guilds in exchange for taking responsibility of the development of Protocols. Considering their role in society, this made sense. As a method of gaining power, their ability to allow people to [ Level Up] was undoubtedly effective, and it was certainly the reason for the relative peace the country had maintained since its implementation.

It was understandable how the government had come to organize itself around them - no, that humanity itself had organized itself around them, treating them with the status of gods.

Due to the housing prices in the city, much of [ ARIA ]’s membership occupied rooms in a dormitory attached to the main hall, and it was there Yora lead Sláine to with quick, efficient steps. Pleasantly enough, a courtyard existed in the middle of the complex, a fairly large garden with a central paved seating area, small ornamental trees that provided more in the way of beauty than shade, and a covered walkway that extended around the rectangular structure. As she walked through the columns supporting the wooden overhang, Sláine noticed an assortment of people out among the greenery, and to her surprise, she recognized one of them.

When she’d first applied to Aria of the Fallen, Sláine had been subjected to a few tests so the officer core could get a sense of her skill-set and how she carried herself in battle. She’d faced a few of their higher ranked members, one of each ‘archetype’ (Warrior, Magician, and Specialist as she’d heard them called) in some sort of special room that… to be honest, she’d sort of glossed over the details, but it seemed to record her combat performance to supply the data needed to create the statistical mock-up Yora had mentioned earlier. The slender woman sitting in one of the garden chairs, her expression serious as she contemplated the book on her lap, was the magician she’d fought.

Her name was Amelia, a woman who had a full head of grey hair despite being - at most - only a decade older than the sprightly Yora. She was serious, strict, and stern, with sharp cheekbones, well-manicured nails, and a defined collarbone revealed by her off-the-shoulder blouse. Her specialty was ice magic, though Sláine had come to understand that she was quite proficient at water manipulation in general, and she proved to be a challenging opponent during their match.

This had been a surprise. Not many used magic in her homeland, but Sláine had certainly fought things that did. She’d served during a campaign against the woodland elves, and their entire way of life subsisted around magic. Their army used it, their politicians used it, their civilians used it perform simple daily chores. Subduing a magic user before they could unleash devastating spell-craft on her country's forces had been one of the duties of Sláine’s scouting regiment, but Amelia had somehow managed to defend herself against Sláine's axe. She wondered if it was due to the [ Level ] system.

Or maybe she was just good. Regardless, Sláine had a high opinion of people who were strong - at least, in that she wanted to surround herself with strong people so she could fight them, beat them, and get stronger herself.

Even though she recognized her, Sláine had been content to pass her by. Yora, however, had different plans, and she stopped in place once she saw her, a grin overtaking her features. “Amelia! Hey!”

Sláine thought it notable that, even though Amelia was not the only person out-and-about, Yora had seen fit to call her out specifically. She also noticed the expression of sheer dread that crossed Amelia's features once she heard the other woman’s voice, along with the exhausted way she pinched the bridge of her nose.

Yora seemed to pick up on neither of those things, or at the very least didn’t care, and she bounded over to Amelia with an irreverent, puppy-like glee.

Sláine followed, of course. The only other option was awkwardly standing around, waiting for Yora to be finished with her distraction, and honestly she welcomed the chance to watch Amelia. She was an intriguing presence, and Sláine hadn’t observed anything of her actual personality while she was freezing jer legs to the floor.

“What do you require?” Amelia addressed Yora, her tone frostbitten and her hand still poised over her book as if she was hoping to finish this quickly and get back to reading.

“Oh, don’t be like that. Sláine just got registered today! I thought it’d be good if you met each other properly.”

The shorter woman stepped aside, gesturing to her charge with a jangle and a bright, shiny grin. Suddenly being put in the spotlight, Sláine offered her a bow. “Hello. It’s a pleasure to be working with you.”

“Hmm.” Amelia took a thin copper bookmark from near the beginning of her novel and slipped it in between the pages. “Likewise, though it’s unlikely we’ll be paired together anytime soon. Have you met your mentor yet?”

“We’re just doing that now,” Yora answered for her, which Sláine supposed she didn’t actually mind. “You haven’t seen Red in the lab, right? She’s probably in her room?”

“…I haven’t actually been to Crystallotekhnics today, but - why exactly are you looking for her?”

There was something very, very particular in Amelia’s flat look that made Sláine vaguely concerned about her future.

“Red needs points, Sláine needs someone to show her the ropes. Sounds like a good deal to me, and they’re compatible classes, so - “

Amelia stood, storming over and grabbing onto Sláine arm. She didn’t flinch, but she did raise a brow in Amelia's general direction. This went unnoticed.

“A [ Berserker ]. You’re pairing that lunatic with a [ Berserker ]? You’re calling that compatible class synergy? Who authorized this?!”

Yora’s smile did not abate. In fact, Sláine thought she only looked more pleased with herself. “I did, and I’m the Matchmaker, so that’s all the authorization I need. Have I ever been wrong, Amelia?”

“Yes!” she stressed, and then gestured at Yora with the corner of her book. “Frequently, and about everything from literature to your damnable kitchen disasters!”

“Salad dressing is great on bread, and none of that says nothing about my ability to organize adventuring parties. Trust me. I know what I’m doing here.”

“Even the most astute of minds can make a mistake, and I would not qualify yours as being particularly sensible.”

With each impassioned gesture, Amelia had gotten closer to Yora, the inches between them leaving little room for her incredulous annoyance. Yora’s delighted expression made it abundantly clear what was going on here, and having no patience for it, Sláine interrupted.

“What did you mean when you mentioned points?”

The both of them paused in their… display, and Amelia settled back on her heels, shooting a glare at Yora before clearing her throat to explain in a tone very similar to that of a professor.

“Aria of the Fallen is structured to encourage a cooperative, community-oriented mindset among its membership. This is reflected in its mentorship program, which is intended to help new initiates form connections within the guild and to aid new adventurers in integrating themselves into the complex and often esoteric Protocol system. It has also lead to a rewards system, where members can gain [ DKP ], colloquially known as points, by contributing to various aspects of the guild’s function. Aiding in events, participating in raids, going on supply-run quests, training new members… these are all things that confer a points bonus, and these points can be used to bid on items of rare value gained from dungeons - or a selection of other benefits.”

That made… some vague sort of sense, Sláine supposed, given what she knew about Arpege’s dungeons and the bizarre rewards they contained. Still though, she had to wonder - “Uh - what do those letters mean?”

Amelia paused, thinking for a moment. “[ DKP ]? Ah, I’m not actually certain what the acronym stands for, if it actually stands for anything at all. That’s all the purview of the Technicians, who as a general rule are all very… strange.”

“Technicians?”

Immediately Sláine regretted that she asked.

“That’s what we call people who work closely with the Protocols, figuring out new ways for us to successfully cooperate and interface with them. Even when a Protocol hatches and can talk to us properly outside of [ System Messages ] and [ Inspection ], they’re not always good at articulating how to define new values for us to… “Amelia paused, seeming to notice that Sláine's expression going glassy. “You know what? Don’t worry about it. These aren’t the sorts of things you’ll be encountering on a day-to-day basis.”

“…Okay,” Sláine offered, once more exhausted by humanity’s ability to over-complicate literally everything. “So… Red needs these ‘points’ then, and by mentoring me she’ll get some?”

“Yup!” Yora finally spoke up. Huh. For once it hadn’t been her going on and on. Sláine kind of felt like she could forgive Amelia for it though; she was less relentlessly enthusiastic.

“Well, thank you for your explanation, Miss Amelia.” Sláine folded her hands behind her back, bowing to her in a way that was customary among her kind. “I can’t say I fully understand, but I appreciate the effort.”

Amelia accepted her polite display with a similarly cool nod of her own, which Sláine found very appropriate and highly charming. Perhaps some of these people had standards after all. “It’ll come to you with time. All of these concepts build off of each other, so once you truly understand one piece of it, everything else will click into place.”

“We shall see.”

Yora seemed to have gotten her fill of harassing Amelia, because she patted Sláine’s shoulder and gave her a final smile. “Well, we should probably be off. I’ve got to get this one all set up. See you at dinner?”

“If I must.”

Yora waved and began walking off towards the other end of the courtyard. Sláine lingered for a moment however. “It was a pleasure meeting you properly, and I’d be open to the opportunity of sparring with you again.”

“Likewise.” The way Amelia eyed her up and down, her sharp blue eyes assessing her character, made Sláine think she wasn’t just giving her platitudes. After a pause, she closed the distance between them, lowering her voice and gesturing at Sláine with her fingertip. “Be careful around Red. If she gives you trouble, come consult me. I don’t particularly care for mentoring, but you seem capable enough that I don’t want you getting dragged down by her nonsense.”

“I’ll take it under advisement,” Sláine replied mildly, her eyebrow quirking. A lunatic, huh?

Hm.

Sláine wished her a good day and left her to her peace and quiet.

>> Meet Red