“Here’s your food honey,” said Sarah.

Startled, Lucas turned. It was the same barmaid he had talked to earlier; whose name was apparently Sarah. “Thank you, Sarah, I appreciate the help and the quick service. Jerry told me to pay you for the room. My name is Lucas by the way, Jerry never asked.” Lucas opened a trade window and put five silver in. “Jerry said the room and the meal would be one silver and 3 copper, but I’d like breakfast in the morning, so here is a little bit extra. That should cover breakfast and a nice tip.”

“Thank you, Lucas, it will more than cover breakfast. I will make sure you get breakfast myself,” replied Sarah.

“I appreciate it,” replied Lucas. Sitting quietly at the Bar, Lucas was able to finish his Roast Wolf with Garlic sauce without any further conversation. Stepping back from the Bar, Lucas called out to Sarah, “I’ve got further business in the Trader’s hall. How late can I get into my room?”

“There is a set of stairs around back. The key for your room will let you in at any hour of the day or night,” replied Sarah.

“What business do you have in the Trader’s Hall at this hour. The only place still open is the Hero’s Guild,” questioned Jerry from his card game in the corner.

“It just so happens I have business with the Hero’s Guild. Joe told me to pay them a visit.”

“You’d best be sure of what you are doing,” growled Jerry, standing abruptly as he stared daggers at Lucas.

Just as Jerry was about to go into a tirade, one of the bridge guards from earlier interrupted him. “Leave him alone Jerry. He killed eleven wolves at the river bridge today. The other two guards and I only killed three of them before he got there. The fight was over as soon as he started it. I think he qualifies to go talk to the Heroes guild.”

The room turned and looked at Lucas. “Well, I couldn’t very well let the wolves overrun the bridge and attack the village, could I? I came looking to trade and trade I shall.”

Jerry spoke up first “Well, that room rate I gave you is good for as long as you want to stay here. Provided you will step up and defend my inn if monsters get across the bridge.”

Before Lucas could say anything else, the room broke out in a dozen people trying to speak to Lucas at once. The only thing Lucas could hear over the din was someone yelling out “Gnomes Rule!”

Ignoring the people asking for things, Lucas walked out the door. He could hear Jerry yelling in the background “Oye, which one of you scoundrels took a gnome race change. Don’t you be doing any pickpocketing near my bar! If I’ve told you once I’ve told you a thousand times, pickpockets aren’t welcome here!”

Laughing as he walked, Lucas quickly made his way back to the Traders’ Hall. Thinking to himself, Lucas wondered, “I wonder why they call it the Traders’ Hall. There is a lot more going on in there than just trading. There’s a market, food stall, the Hero’s guild, and traders all under the same roof.”

Walking through the front door, Lucas continued on that train of thought “I wonder if one of the Traders owns the Hall. Maybe every place that is inside sells something? I should ask Joe tomorrow when I pick up the slaves.”

Reaching the Hero’s guild, Lucas opened the door and looked around. The guild area looked lived in, but not dirty. It was obvious someone cared very deeply about the guild but doesn’t have the money to keep it in pristine shape. There was no one in the lobby. But there was a decent display of items sitting behind a thick pane of glass.

Waiting a few moments, Lucas noticed a bell sitting on a counter. There were a number of filing cabinets behind the counter and a chair on both sides of the counter. “Paperwork apparently survived the end of the world,” said Lucas. Walking over to the bell, Lucas lightly rung the bell.

A woman, whom Lucas assumed was the owner of the desk with the bell, burst out of the backroom. “I’m awake, I’m awake!” exclaimed the women.

“I didn’t assume you were asleep,” replied Lucas. “I’ve come to see about joining the Hero’s guild of Esfield.” Inspecting the women, Lucas discovered that her name was Io.

“Oh. Well, we can look at that for you. You will need some sort of evidence of heroic deeds, and then we can get you registered. You will need to sign a contract that says that Esfield can call upon you to assist in defense from monsters if you are in town when we are attacked. Besides that, the contract is pretty straightforward,” replied Io. “The only bit that people ever complain about is the fact that the Hero’s guild has a 5% tax on all dropped gold and silver. The system takes care of it automagically, so there is nothing you need to do. The guild doesn't tax copper that drops or really any other drops you may get.

“That 5% buys you access to the guild shop, access to the guild discount and exemption from the King’s taxes on transport through the gate,” continued Io.

“That tax discount is probably a huge deal. Why don’t you have more members, it’s clearly empty in here, and you clearly didn’t expect any visitors?” asked Lucas.

“It comes down to location and size. We are protected on the west flank by the river, except for a few bridges. We are protected on the east by our ravines. Since there isn’t a lot of call for Heroes, it isn’t gratifying to sit around in the city waiting for work. We have many heroes who registered in Esfield. But they all took the Gate network somewhere else. Esfield sees a trickle of income from these heroes, but not as much as if you were active in this area hunting monsters,” sighed Io.

“Do I need to register as a specific type of hero to make teaming up with others easier?”

“You can, but it’s not required.”

“It’s ok, I don’t mind sharing.” Checking his status screen, Lucas continued. “I am a Level 2 Magus. I had filled all 8 of my spell slots, but it looks like I unlocked another one since this morning. I specialize in fire and ice, but I have a few buffs and debuffs to match my affinities. 22% total affinity before the magus buffs.”

“I’m afraid there isn’t much call for fire mages. People are scared of getting burned.”

“Well good news then, my fire doesn’t burn anyone I designate as an ally.”

“If that’s some sort of secret spell you do not want to share, I’d advise not joining the guild," said Io with a sigh, "You will be required to teach others that spell as soon as this paperwork gets the Capital.”

“I created the spell myself, so I don’t mind sharing.” Thinking a moment, Lucas decided he would only share the addition of the little bit that prevented allies from taking damage, just in case his spell was special in another way. “It’s really quite obvious once someone explains it. I wouldn’t be surprised if other folks discovered it and just kept it a secret.”

“How are you able to create spells out here in the boonies? Anyone who can create working spells can get paid by the king for any unique spells they create.”

Flustered, Lucas replied, “Ah. Well. Um, I just experimented based on what I knew, and I managed to get the spell working.”

“Well make sure the folks from the Capital don’t screw you out of your reward from the King.”

“I will keep that in mind, Io. I appreciate the concern. So... Do I qualify to join the guild?”

“You more than qualify. I’d be honored to sign you up as a Hero’s Guild member based out of the Esfield branch. Here’s the contract. Please review it and sign.”

“Can I return it tomorrow morning?”

“I will be here then too, so yes. Feel free to review it and then submit it in the morning. I will go ahead and get your welcome items ready. As a low-rank Magus, the Hero’s Guild will provide you with a printed Tome that includes a list of all the known basic spells. As you rank up, you can request access to more specialized spells. We also usually provide an enchanted bag, but I do see that you seem to have one already. Would you still like it?”

“Is it better than mine?”

“It has a higher capacity for the same size, it’s bigger on the inside, but a lower weight reduction percentage. Give it an inspect and decide for yourself.”

Equipment

Hero's Backpack

Excellent

Durability

58/60

Holds 1 m3 of materials.

Reduces weight to 35% of actual

“I’d think I’d like it. It holds a lot more, but I don’t lose that much on the weight reduction side. Is there an interface or anything to help me find my items easier?”

“No. Have you ever read the book Mary Poppins? It’s like her carpet bag, you just dig around until you find what you are looking for.”

“Oh yeah, I remember that classic now. She pulled a lamp out of her carpet bag, and the kid tried to see where she was pulling it from…” Lucas trailed off as Io was staring at him. “Never mind.”

“Anywho, I’ll have everything ready assuming you will be signing in the morning. After you sign, I will cast the guild spell on you give you a guild marker in your Status Screen. After that, you should be good.”

“Alright. I will review the contract, and I will see you in the morning.”

As Lucas headed back to the Tavern, he went ahead and cleared all the notifications that had built up. Looking at his sheet, he was pretty satisfied.

As he was walking, Lucas said, “Can you scan this contract and let me know in the morning if there is anything I need to worry about, sending scans now.”

I can do that Lucas.

Reaching his room, Lucas activated his Comlink again and said “Alright Rose. We’ve got to talk about these crazy systems.”

I don’t understand what you mean, Lucas.

“Haven’t you noticed that the way the System is put together it seems like my uncle grabbed random systems from a bunch of different computer games without trying to even make everything work together smoothly? He didn’t even finish some of the systems. Hell. Some of the systems have changed since we went to sleep. There is NO way we wouldn’t have figured out looting or the coin purse functionality before the Domains conquered everybody. And who’s ever heard of a place to store money in a game where you don’t have an inventory. Why do I have to sit and contemplate a volcano to gain more fire affinity? It makes no sense.

I have an inventory as a Dungeon Master Lucas.

“That just proves my point even more. What game did he rip Dungeon Masters out of? Why do you have an inventory and me not have one? It’s illogical. My uncle was anything but illogical; he was a scientist for Pete's sake!

Did you ever think he may have never finished any of the items he ripped the systems from? It’s possible he cobbled something together on short notice and then has been trying to slowly make it work properly ever since.

I’m pretty sure that the spatial warping bags weren’t possible when we got locked in here. I also agree that the coin purse and the looting probably wasn’t a thing either. I can see why he add those things though. They will have made people’s lives easier.

“I know, and I agree, I just wish I could figure out where he was ultimately going with this. Am I going to wake up tomorrow with this bag turning into an honest to goodness inventory which I can summon things out of at the drop of a hat? Is that even physically possible? You’ve got an inventory, so I have to assume it is.”

I haven’t tried it yet, for all I know, the Inventory is the Dungeon Nanobots carting whatever I put in Inventory off to some space within the dungeon set aside for it. In fact, since I don’t have hands of any sort, and am relatively small, I’d bet that is exactly what it is.

“I guess I could see that.”

As far as the contemplation of a volcano, maybe it isn’t so much the thinking about the volcano as the proximity. I’d bet that you could just sit in the volcano and have the same effect on your affinity. I’d also guess that if you spent a lot of time in the water, your water affinity would increase. I’ll explain my reasoning in a moment, but first a question, where do the new nanobots that increase your affinity come from?

“The world. They start as System Nanobots and then are locked down,” replied Lucas.

I don’t think so. Remember there are nine flavors of nanobots. You need to collect the appropriate Nanobots to increase your affinity. You are the only person I know able to collect system affinity, but everybody else needs to find the correct flavor of nanobots. Fire nanobots hang out in volcanoes. Water nanobots, in the water. Death Nanobots probably hang around cemeteries. Heck, I wonder if you cultivate Light Nanobots by getting a tan! So, you need to go to where the Nanobots are at to increase your affinity.

Begrudgingly Lucas says, “I guess that makes sense. But it still doesn’t explain why Looting and the Coin Purse are even a thing.”

Right after Hades won, who was likely printing currency?

“Nobody”

What form of currency was legal tender?

“If it’s anything like Fallout 9, bottlecaps.”

Really? Bottlecaps. You know very well that there was no legal tender here after the United States fell.

Nodding his head, even though Rose couldn’t see him, “Yeah, you’re right.”

So how were folks supposed to buy food? Or trade?

“They needed a System controlled currency and a way to get it. And I guess that means the loot bags were put in so the Nanobots could compress everything down so one hunter could carry more meat.”

That’s where I was going next. Any other questions about your uncle’s ‘crazy systems’?

“Not really. The leveling mostly makes sense. But I feel like an idiot. You had all those responses all lined up.”

I have a LOT more time to think. I’m both an AI and Rose. I can think really fast when I want to. You may be an idiot sometimes, but you are my idiot.

“Thanks, Rose. Hey, if the systems are actually improving over time to make things easier, I wonder if I could request a system upgrade to allow partial withdrawals of funds. It’s gotta be easier on the system to just spit out a few gold pieces when people need them instead of everything.

My guess is no. The whole trading aspect seems like a workaround. All of the coins in a 100% weightless, invisible bag that a nanobot is carrying around probably is exerting a lot of pressure on any openings in the bag as it is probably much bigger on the inside. Opening it up to dump a coin out probably pushes all the coins out.

“Thanks for talking me down.”

You’re welcome, Lucas.

“I’m going to go to sleep. Wake me in the morning?”

Sweet dreams, Lucas.