Factories throughout the world have long been non-existent in the way most people would think of. Specifically, in the Kingdom of Scorcia, mass manufacturing is simply a collective effort of many skilled craftsmen to create whatever is needed. Despite being the same product, every item is individually unique. Ardai Industries aims to introduce interchangeable parts.

From the eyes of the business world, Ardai Industries have seemingly created a new form of manufacturing. Due to Edgar’s cooperation with Ardai, Ken heavily invested in him and his workshop subsequently expanded. His once humble workshop grew into a large assembly plant. Carpenters are perpetually hired to make individual wood parts, while Ardai’s Development Facility near the docks and several blacksmiths produce steel parts. Edgar’s workshop became an assembly plant where the Kingdom’s first production line operates.

Ardai’s luxury A1 Coach, C1 Work Wagon, and the new mid-range B1 Carriage start life as a skeleton frame on one side. Unskilled workers repetitively attach parts onto the frames as they ever so slowly roll across the building to the finish line, where they would exit as a finished product.

Ken looks around the building as he watches the workers who are mostly hired from Egwater. He is there to inspect for quality and ensure that his instructions and manufacturing techniques are being followed correctly. He sighs in satisfaction as his efforts are beginning to show results.

The robust and reliable C1 Wagons have gained great respect from merchants for being able to haul heavier cargo than every other wagon. The A1 Coach gained traction as an item of luxury and prestige among the wealthy. And the affordable B1 Carriage became a hot product for commoners, mercenaries, and adventurers who traveled often.

“Hey, kid! Come out here!”

Ken turns around to see Edgar peeking his bushy face through the door before pulling back and closing it.

Ken curiously follows after Edgar and exits the building to stand outside in the street. A small commotion surrounds the area as a well-dressed group stands beside a nervous Edgar. Whispers of admiration are heard from the people staring from a distance. Ken immediately straightens himself and tries to look professional.

“Ah, a pleasure to finally meet you, Mister Kai.”

Surrounded by a few fancy armored knights wearing capes and Tudor hats, the middle-aged man steps forward to extend his hand at Ken. It is the lord of the city: Duke Dente.

“The pleasure is mine, my lord.” Ken shakes his hand.

“I must say, Mister Kai, you are quite the challenge to find.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean that few people know of you despite your business’ rapid growth. I’ve noticed the rise of Ardai Industries, but I never even knew the name of the mind behind it all until today. I was just at your headquarters, but your lovely receptionist directed me to come here to find you. And so here I am.”

The Duke is a well-respected noble within the Kingdom whom even the King has respect for. A skilled knight at a young age, Duke Dente gained notoriety for his exceptional courage and prowess on the battlefield. His voluntary work to fight both monsters and bandits that threatened the Kingdom’s stability drew the Royal Family’s attention. Ultimately, he was assigned with the Royal Guards, and his efforts led to his rise as a nobleman, eventually attaining the title of Duke.

Despite the Duke’s favorable reputation, Ken is still concerned about why the Duke sought him out. The first thing to cross his mind is the STC, whose attempt to bribe local gangs to harass him failed. Maybe this can be another attempt to scare Ken.

“My apologies, my lord. My absence is because I came here to make sure quality is maintained for my carriages.”

“So I’ve heard. Recently I had the privilege to ride in an ‘A1 Coach’ through a friend of mine. Needless to say, I am impressed by how comfortable it is. I examined it to try and make sense of how it produced such a smooth and pleasant experience, but your engineering eludes me.”

“It’s an honor to receive your praise,” Ken tries to make a good impression.

“A praise well deserved. Now, I’m dying to know. How did you come up with all that you did?”

“I uh… well… I suppose I have a good imagination.”

The Duke laughs as if Ken made a joke, but Ken only nervously smiles. Ken doesn’t yet know what the Duke is trying to do and is on guard.

“Surely there must be more to it than that, no? For Ardai Industries to spark a fire in the industrial sector of my city, luck must have been but a small factor. It can not have been a fluke. No doubt you are an educated man. So I simply ask, how have you gained so much knowledge and wisdom?”

“Well, you see, that’s kinda complicated.”

The Duke steps closer and moves his head closer to Ken while wearing a serious face. “I’m sure it is. The way you speak, your mannerisms, it makes it clear that you are not from around here.”

Ken tenses up and frantically tries to find a way out of the situation. He can’t do much in this situation other than try to talk his way out. Usually, he enjoys talking back to provoke people who got in his face, but he has to restrain himself here. He just can’t go around provoking the man who rules the city he lives in.

The Duke notices that Ken tensed up and backs up to give him some space to calm down.

“Pardon my aggressive behavior, Mister Kai. It’s a necessary habit when dealing in politics,” the Duke says as he relaxes his face to be more friendly. “But I would still like to know a little more about you. You must have a story behind your brilliance, yes?”

Ken tries to remain calm and is thankful the Duke let him breathe a bit.

“Yeah, you’re correct that I’m not from around here. Actually, my family and I aren’t from anywhere in particular. You see, my parents were treasure hunters, and so we moved around frequently. And so I was lucky enough to learn quite a lot from our travels.”

Ken decides to use the same story he gave Marc as he can’t think of another story on the spot. Hopefully, it would be enough for people to leave his background alone.

“Treasure hunters? Marvelous! I presume you have spent plenty of time around the ancient ruins of the past. Such advanced and hidden knowledge yet to be uncovered. No wonder you have become quite the inventor and innovator. This begs me to ask, in the knowledge and wisdom you’ve accumulated, what do you think the people of this city lack? What makes you successful and different from everyone else? How can someone create what no one before has created?”

Ken ponders on the Duke’s questions. They are indeed strange questions that are way out of what he expected.

Is this a test?

“I suppose, in comparison to the average commoner, I don’t restrict myself to only thinking about what’s in front of me. I keep my mind and thoughts open and try to make sense why something is the way it is and think of other methods to do something.”

“Is that how you created Ardai’s industrial machines and techniques?”

“Yeah. In those circumstances, I ignored the ways that people generally used and exhausted new ideas no matter how ridiculous they initially seem. Among the countless ways someone can create something, there’s always going to be a better way of doing it. All I did is search for it, and it paid off.”

“Very interesting… Well, you certainly are wise for your age. I won’t dwell on you any longer. I’ve come for a different purpose.”

“Really? What may that be, my lord?”

“I came because I wanted to submit an order for a number of your Coaches for myself.”

Ken is relieved that the Duke just wants to buy his carriages. Had the STC pressured the Duke to shut him down, it would have created severe problems.

“Of course, my lord. You may choose any you desire. Consider it a gift.”

“Oh no, I mustn’t. It would not be fair. I’ll pay the full price.”

“You’re too kind.”

“I simply request that my crest be clearly displayed. You may send them to my manor when they are ready.”

“Of course, my lord.”

Ken stands and watches the Duke turn around to leave and is glad that nothing serious happened. At the very least, he might be on the Duke’s good side.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” The Duke stops to turn around unexpectedly. “I heard about your troubles with the Senvian Trading Company. You’re in a very dire spot from what they’ve told me. However, after meeting you myself, you seem like a good kid. I suspect that their claims may be exaggerated. As you probably know, I am expected to cooperate with the Venesians. Of course, this is a big city, and I have many responsibilities, so plenty of things that need to get done get lost in the pile if you catch my meaning.”

The Duke leaves soon after, leaving Ken surprised at the Duke’s behavior. His questions seem to have been a test after all, but Ken still feels suspicious. No way is fooling him that easy. But he shows some distrust for the STC by helping him, or rather by remaining neutral. At the least, it is an interesting conversation in which some sort of relationship was established with a powerful noble such as a Duke.

.

.

Not much later, Ken meets up with Cayde and gathers some prototype weapons for field testing. Both edged and ranged weapons are brought along, either in scabbards or in a large sack. They also swap out their outfits for something less flashy and more akin to explorers. Lightweight and ease of movement are a priority, so they opt against any heavily armored metal pieces. They also bring along thick blankets, which they wear as capes for the time being. They are expecting to be out of town for a few days and so prepare for sleeping outside.

Though weapons testing can be completed on dummies in the factory, Ken wants to confirm that his weapons hold up in actual combat. It also serves to explore a little bit outside of the city. Only Ken and Reed haven’t left the city and don’t have any sense of what’s out there. Cayde, in particular, has the most experience as he has even traveled to the capital city a week after arriving in Efielge.

The plan is simple. To truly experience the outside world and run the weapons through a realistic scenario, the two of them would take monster extermination contracts from the Mercenary Guild. Cayde is already registered with the Guild. Specifically, he is of the Adventurer sub-class. Only Ken needs to get himself registered before they can take a contract.

Realistically, they don’t need a contract and can simply walk into the wilderness, but Cayde insisted on it for the sake of being official adventurers.

“You’re a child,” Ken says to Cayde while they go towards the city square where the Guild should be.

“Think of it as a game, man. If you wanna catch a princess, you start the journey as a humble adventurer.”

“We’re just field testing weapons. There’s no need to go through the Guild.”

“But, the recognition! It’s another title to add to your resumé. You don’t know how it can help down the line. Imagine you meet some supermodel noblewoman. They’ll be like, ‘oh wow, you’re an adventure? That’s so admirable and honorable. Please, come to my bedroom anytime’.”

“You’re a fucking clown, I swear.” Ken laughs out loud at Cayde foolishness.

Amid the bustling crowd, they find the Mercenary Guild. A large and imposing building where many people walk in and out of. Lots of men and women are standing around outside wearing a variety of armor and weapons. Naturally, it is assumed they are mercenaries or adventurers. Despite every person seemingly being distinctly different in the gear they carry, they all strangely look to follow a stereotype.

The most striking feature of them is their hair.

“Why do some of them have colorful hair? This some sort of cosplay convention?” Ken asks.

“Nah, it just means they can naturally use magic.”

“So they dyed their hair to differentiate themselves?”

“What? No, I think it’s natural hair. You know, because of the gene or whatever that they get from the elves. We’ve seen some in Entesia too. You don’t remember?”

“I guess not.”

Outside of the entrance, Cayde decides to stay behind with most of the cargo they carry to not attract attention inside. He carries a large canvas backpack that holds various weapons that are supposed to be the most practical in combat, while the craziest and least practical weapons are left behind. Bows and crossbows of different materials and designs and arrows with different arrowheads are disassembled to make them easier to carry and would have to be assembled in the field.

On the other hand, Ken carries the larger and longer-edged weapons and a few smaller ones. Three scabbards strapped on his back hold a Miao Dao, longsword, and a katana. Combat knives, karambit, and machete are attached to his belt. He also has a double-headed battle axe and even a tomahawk hanging off from a strap attached to his belt.

Ken enters the building to find the inside of the Mercenary Guild looks just about as expected. He looks around to find some people sitting around various tables on one side of the building and people standing around on the other side. On the side where the people are standing around, there are people behind desks built into a wall. It reminds Ken of bank tellers.

Among the people inside, some notice Ken standing around like a statue glancing around as if confused. Do doubt the number of weapons he carries is going to attract attention. Some think he is some sort of veteran warrior, or they think he is an idiot with too much money, most likely the latter. No one has ever seen him in the Guild before.

“Hey guys look, a new guy,” says a guy pointing at Ken.

One of his friends turns around to see where he is pointing at. “Oh yeah, never seen him before. Just look at how much he’s carrying, probably some rich kid who wants to play mercenary. How about you welcome him to the guild?”

The man laughs. “Now, why would I help a newbie like him? Kids like him never last long.”

Ken walks up to one of the tellers, who isn’t busy.

“Uh.. hello, miss?”

“Hello, how may I be of service?” says the teller with a smile.

“I’m looking to take a contract from the Guild,” Ken says.

“Are you a member of the Guild?”

“No, I’m not.”

The teller searches under her desk and takes out a paper with writing. “To take contracts from the Guild, you must first register as a member. I’ll need your name, age, any special abilities, and you must choose if you’ll classify yourself as a mercenary or adventurer.”

“What’s the difference?” Ken raises an eyebrow.

“The Mercenary Guild has two types of members, mercenaries and a subclass of mercenaries called adventurers. Adventurers specialize in monster subjugation, exploration, investigations, escort, item hunting, and retrieval. They generally take contracts based on honor. Mercenaries specialize as guards, soldiers, bounty hunters, bandit subjugation, escort, and anything else where morals aren’t a priority.”

“Does it matter?”

“Sometimes. Anyone can take any open contract. It only matters when a special client specifically requests a certain skill set for whatever they need. In such a case, it makes it easier for the client to find the people they want.”

With the feather pen given to him, Ken fills out the form. He chooses to be an adventurer, like Cayde, because it would not only put him in a better and more respectable light, but he also would rather not fight humans if he can avoid it.

The teller takes the form, and after some furious fiddling, she hands Ken what looks like a business card.

“This is identification. Always carry this when on a job. If you go over there to that wall, you will see various contracts pinned on it. They are ordered by estimated difficulty. Take any you like. Just make sure you can complete it.”

“Thank you very much.”

Ken walks over to the wall of contracts to look at what he and Cayde can do.

Unknowingly to Ken, someone also stands up from their table and slowly makes their way to him.

Ken stares at the wall. He notices that some sort of ranking system separates the contracts. They are designated as Fifth, Fourth, Third, Second, and First Class contracts.

As he reads, one catches his eye—exterminating a small goblin camp in a forest somewhere. Five shillings. Third Class.

The reward, of course, doesn’t matter, and the task looks simple and easy enough to complete. It also meets the criteria for effective weapons testing.

As Ken reaches to grab the contract, he feels a firm slap on his back.

“What do we have here? A Third Class contract as your first job? Don’t make me laugh.”

Ken turns around to see a muscular man who wears an iron chest piece with a giant sword on his back, laughing. The man is taller than Ken which itself is already intimidating.

Two others behind the man are smirking and giggling amongst themselves.

“I don’t see how that’s a joke,” replies Ken with raised brows.

“Kid, you are the joke! Let me tell you something. This is a tough world. All the weapons in the world won’t help if you ain’t know how to use them. If you want to survive, it’s best you leave these jobs to those who are capable. Better you take a Fifth Class contract instead. Or better yet, go home.”

Their confrontation has a few people turn their heads towards them. But they quickly ignore it as if it is common.

Ken listens and is surprised how this guy looks down on him for no apparent reason. It is precisely the type of person he likes to mess with.

“Or, right? Hear me out,” Ken waves his hands with sarcasm and a manipulative smile, “you turn around and fuck off? Eh? Great idea, don’t ya think?”

The man’s face contorts, and some people who are watching look shocked at Ken’s comeback.

“Kid, you best apologize before you get yourself killed.” The man squeezes his hands into fists with suppressed anger. He didn’t expect a newbie to disrespect him as he did.

Ken is beginning to think that harassing random people is expected since this is just one of many times someone tried to size him up. Sometimes he has fun embarrassing them, but other times they go too far, and the encounters become deadly.

Ken sighs before he taunts further. “I’m sorry I hurt your little feelings,” he says with blatant sarcasm, “you want me to bow down or kneel? Kiss your feet? Maybe tie your shoes as well? Do you need your mom to come and hold your hand?”

Now more people are watching the spectacle unfolding at the contract wall. Not many people chose to insult the large man threatening Ken.

Enraged, the muscular man throws a punch. Ken, expecting violence, moves his body sideways to dodge it. He then immediately counters and throws a punch of his own. His fist smashes into the man’s cheek, which makes him stumble backward.

This event makes the whole place freeze as everyone now watches the fight.

“Kid, you just made a big mistake,” angrily growls the man as he takes out the large sword on his back.

“Hey! The both of you! I suggest you both calm down before someone gets seriously hurt. You would not want me getting involved.”

A group of people approaches from behind them. The one who talked to them is a handsome blonde man in flashy silver armor, followed by a large and muscular man in heavy armor with a shield and sword on his back and a scar on his cheek. Next to the large man is a beautiful woman with long orange hair, wearing a dark red robe of some kind and holding a staff with a red crystal at the tip.

“Gord, you need to stop being so aggressive with the new guys. Why do you mercenaries always have to be so arrogantly aggressive?”

The muscular man, Gord, grunts and walks away with a hostile face along with his two other friends.

Ken eyes the trio of people who ‘saved’ him. Indeed, they are respected enough to chase off the other guy.

“Uh, thanks for scaring that guy away. I was afraid I was gonna have to kick his ass.”

Ken’s remark has a few in the group giggle.

“On the contrary, I thought he was going to kick yours, but then you punched him square in the face. Not too many stand up to him the way you did. He always likes to bully people.”

“I wonder why. I was only trying to take a contract. Minding my own business, y’know?”

The blonde man takes a peek at the contract Ken is holding.

“That’s a Third Class contract. Didn’t you just join the guild?” he asks as he points at the contract.

“Well, yeah. But it doesn’t seem too bad, right? Aren’t goblins supposed to be weak?”

“Individually, yes, but their numbers can easily overwhelm many people. Especially when by yourself.”

“Oh, I won’t be by myself. I got a friend who’s coming with me. He’s outside waiting.”

“Just one friend?” says the large, heavily armored guy behind him. “Yer carrying enough weapons to arm an entire party. I hope they ain’t just to look tough. You should know how to use them.”

“I’m confident I’ll be fine. So are you guys also mercenaries?”

“Heavens no,” says the woman with joy. “Perhaps a proper introduction is needed. We’re an adventurer party. I’m Gwen, the party’s mage.”

“I’m Barns,” says the large armored man, “the team’s shield and sword. This blondie is Warren, our trusty team leader.”

“Yeah, yeah, we also have two others in our party, but they ain’t here at the moment. What about you?”

“Name’s Ken. I’m new to the Guild, but then again, I don’t plan on this being my career.”

Though Ken gets the gist of how the Guild works, it’s still weird how mercenaries and adventures are differentiated. Other than the reason the teller gave, it makes little reason for the two classes existing if anyone can take any contract. Maybe it is tradition or something.

“I noticed you seem happy to clarify that you’re an adventurer. Why is that?” Ken asks Gwen.

“You don’t know? Mercenaries are the closest to scum that you can get. All they are here for is money and glory—self-absorbed pricks. We adventurers have more honor. Not to mention that the strongest people are often adventurers.”

“If they hate each other so much, why don’t adventurers create a guild of their own?” Ken asks.

“There used to be one long ago, but it was eventually absorbed by the Mercenary Guild given how similar they are and because it was more efficient when monster attacks started to intensify six years ago.”

There it is again. Six years ago. Ken has noticed that people kept referring to ‘six years ago’ as some sort of historical marker or turning point. No one thoroughly explained what happened, but Ken can easily guess it has something to do with the Kingdom’s fall as an independent and sovereign nation.

“Well, we must be on our way. It was great meeting you, Ken,” Warren says after a few moments. “We wish you good luck and safe travels in your quests.”

And with that, they leave. Alone, holding the contract in his hand, Ken’s mind drifts to the ‘adventure’ he would embark on.

He and Cayde are about to spend the next several days out in the wilderness fighting off mythical creatures he never previously thought possible. He has, relatively quickly, accepted how different the world is in comparison to his own, but he hasn’t really recognized the reality of it. Fighting goblins like some hero in an RPG game isn’t what he thought he would ever be doing. But he feels neither fear nor excitement; it is just another job to do.

He walks out of the building and meets back up with Cayde. They gather their stuff, examine the job details, take a look at a crude map they have, and make their way out of the city.

They carry a radio just in case they needed it. The rest of the team would stay behind to keep operations going while they are gone. Because of the nature of their goal, the likelihood that some of the weapons may fail or fall below expectations during combat is high. As such, they carry their Glock 19, as they always would, as a backup.

The two former Green Berets leave the city limits and go into the dense forests that make up the Kingdom’s landscape. A familiar environment they have rigorously trained to survive in—the Green Beret’s natural habitat. Hours of travel allow their minds to lose themselves in thought. Among many things, they wonder how the war in Weslec, the so-called new world, is going.