Steven waited in the room for several long minutes, alone and ruminating. Not sure if he had done something wrong. He had never been arrested before, nor had he been detained. Never any problems with any kind of authority or enforcement.

They can’t kill him. He would just respawn, but it doesn’t change the fact Steven didn’t want to go through that pain. Respawning would put him at the Red Eye, and he could escape to Floor 1 without any issues. Other than maybe being branded a fugitive for this particular organization.

A few more moments passed while Steven nervously tapped on the table. He jumped when heard a sharp knock on the door, which opened and a large man stood in the doorway flanked by two other men. Armed men, with halberds. All three men were dressed in the same blue uniform as Daniel and the blonde woman from earlier. The large man in the center stepped into the room while the other two stayed posted outside the doorway.

“I apologize for this particular situation,” said the large man, donning a surprisingly big toothy grin. “Nora, the attendant from earlier, filled me in on the details. She’s a little overzealous with work.” He leaned forward and whispered, “It’s most likely because she stopped progressing her floors.”

The large man made his way over to the armchair that Nora had previously occupied and sat down with a grunt.

“You’re the one that brought armed guards,” said Steven, gesturing toward the doorway. The guards bristled at the gesture, looking more like thugs.

“Relax,” said the large man, pointing with a surprisingly sausage-like finger at the guards. He looked over at Steven. “Sorry. You’re an unknown. Gestures like that could be spells or abilities. Besides, assume everyone is armed at all times. Dangerous place, this dungeon.”

Steven could understand that. They don’t know he could transform his hands into a claw or tail. For all they knew, he was a super high level mage that could blast them to pieces with a finger. He shrugged.

“Look, I’m having the worst day of my life. Or death, whatever. I’m no threat to you, or anyone here. I didn’t even know this place existed until a few minutes ago.” Steven said, formulating his case. He just wanted to leave and get to Floor 1. With the reception he’d received from this Guild at Serenity Springs, he didn’t think very highly of the place. First impressions are important.

“You can go on your way,” the man started, and Steven stood up. “After we do this orientation. It’s just a fancy way the Guild likes to keep track of people. Think of it as a registration.”

“What do I need to do?”

The man smiled again, and Steven had a weird sensation of mirth build in his chest. That smile was infectious.

“My name is Tim. Guard captain for the guild. Third company,” he said, and pulled out a small handbook from the inside of his gambeson. He winked at Steven as he opened the book. Continuing in an official authoritative voice, “As a representative for the Guild, I am hereby required to register any and all newly dead, to make note of their name, mana level, class, and floor level. Furthermore, my responsibilities include providing information based on the services the Guild can provide. Any prospective guild member can decline Guild membership and services, thus forfeiting any and all assistance from the Guild. However!…”

Tim took a pause to make sure Steven was paying close attention.

“Upon discovering a prospective Guild member has attained a special class, I am authorized to forcefully obtain registration and immediately provide, to said conscript, special grade benefits.” Said Tim. “You see, not so bad, huh? You’re forced to join, but you get higher pay and benefits than I do, and I’ve been here for a few hundred years.”

Steven’s mouth fell open. A few hundred years? And special benefits. He assumed he’d be locked away as a threat or outcast, from the way Nora had treated him.

“Ok, so that doesn’t seem too bad. I thought I was in trouble. Do I have to do anything? And, like, what’s the big deal with special classes too?”

“That’s easy,” said Tim, who shed his official persona and leaned back into the chair. “Instead of simply writing down your information for the registry, we just make a magical imprint.” He gestured to the papers on the table.

Steven guessed there was a device somewhere that’ll make a record of his information.

“And nothing else but go through your floors. The thing about special classes, is they get strong. Really strong. And early. Currently, the heads of each noble family is a special class. There are a few others. The guild needs them to help keep the organization looking strong.” Tim’s face turned blank and his eyes unfocused, lost in thought.

Steven let the silence build a while. Obviously Tim was thinking about something that bothered him and didn’t want to interrupt, especially now that he’s found out that he wasn’t going to be imprisoned and is actually needed for something.

“OK! Let’s get on with it.” Said Tim, snapping back to reality. “Put your hand on the table, implant up.”

Steven did so, as Tim rifled through the stack of papers to find something in particular, and pulled it out. It was sized like a normal piece of paper, but it's surface was colored like an oil slick in a parking lot after a rain. Tim placed the oily looking paper on top of Steven’s hand, and pressed down with a finger into the implant.

Steven didn’t feel like anything was happening, other than having his hand pushed like it was a button. He then saw the rainbow like colors on the sheet swirl around and form into what suspiciously looked like his status screen. It took only a few seconds until the recording was made.

Tim picked up the paper and browsed through the information it presented.

“This is less than most. It says your name is Steven. Welcome Steven. And you’ve completed Floor 0, which is strange to come here this early. That corroborates with what Nora said.” Tim smiled his toothy grin, “but I’m not seeing attributes, a class, or your level. Care to share?”

“I’d rather not, at the moment.” Steven decided to keep his class to himself, after discovering that it didn’t appear on the recording. He still didn’t trust these people and the less they knew the better.

“Huh.” Tim’s smile faltered slightly. “Ok, I’ve made the recording anyway.” He stood and took a few steps to the doorway. After whispering something to the two guards standing there, their halberds disappeared, and they left.

Tim clapped his hands together, which made Steven jump a little in his seat.

“Alright. Ok. Let’s go get you some stuff. Follow me and I’ll show you where to get your benefits.”

Steven followed Tim out of the guard shack, which seemingly shrank back down to a shack sized building when he exited the doorway. They made their way through the gazebos and meeting areas, being careful not to dread on any flowers or grass, to a larger building nearby.

Still made of stone, this building had the proper look of an office space. It was much larger than the shack by several times, about the size of a gas station or convenience store back home. Above the door was painted the same crest found on the chests of the guards he’d seen.

As he walked through the door Steven was bombarded by sights and sounds. Much like the shack, the size on the inside was incredible. He stood just inside the doorway and stared at the stadium sized space in front of him. It was filled with people of all shapes and sizes. And colors.

He had expected to see everyone wearing the same blue outfit as the guards, assuming it was some kind of uniform the guild had. There were a few blue guards, but most people instead had on an assortment of armor or rugged type clothing. There were still no weapons that he could see.

Most of the traffic inside was moving between a wall length bulletin board covered with leaflets and long counters attended by officials. There were even a few lofted areas accessible by stairways that he assumed functioned as more private meeting areas.

“You’ll get used to the buildings. It actually comes in quite handy as more and more people show up here,” said Tim, noticing Steven lagging behind. “It definitely beats the boring drab grey and relative quiet of the dungeon floors too. Welcome to the lesser guildhall.”

“Just how many people are here? In this town, I mean.” Steven asked, moving away from the doorway so he didn’t block traffic. He frowned when he saw a few children playing in a nearby corner, feeling a slight twisting of his stomach.

“Close to four hundred million,” said Tim, noticing Steven’s frown and gaze. “Don’t worry about the kids. Most of them are dungeon born. Anyway, come on. Free stuff, remember?”

Steven followed him over to a nearby counter which had been divided into two sections. There was a long line on the far end, which was attended by multiple officials taking items from those waiting in line and handing back out something. The side of the counter he was at only had a handful of people, and he soon found out that he and Tim weren’t going to wait in line.

Tim walked straight up to the closest attendant and leaned over the counter to whisper. The attendant blanched, but nodded and reached below the counter. They brought up a shoebox and placed it on the countertop.

Steven noticed the other patrons looking between the box and himself quizzically. He kept a neutral face as Tim brought him the package.

“I love that reaction. Only ever seen it once before.” Tim said, with the big smile Steven was beginning to associate with him. “Kind of anti-climatic, I know. Free stuff, what I told you earlier, all the cloak and dagger. It’ll make sense eventually.”

Tim held out the box and Steven took it. He looked around for a seat where he could open it and find out what benefits his class would afford him. Before he could move though, Tim put his hand on the box.

“Go straight to your next floor. Open it there.” Tim flashed him a smile and turned away. Steven saw him walk further into the guild hall and seemingly disappear.

“Strange guy,” he said to himself. He felt tired and had this nagging sensation that he had forgotten something. At least he was free to go to the next floor. He tucked the box under his arm and backtracked to where the guard shack was. From there he made his way back to the transportation platform where the Red Eye was waiting.