While waiting for Yuna-san, I will sort out what I have not been able to figure out.
First, the guild.
Celia has also mentioned it before.
I somehow sense wariness in her voice when talking about the guild. Her nuances made it sound like it would be better to not be involved in it, but what the heck is it all about?
Is that all?
Oh, and by the way, before I knew it, I had received a quest and learned a new skill.
Also... Ah, I want to do something about my clothes.
Yesterday I didn't mind because Irika and I were both in our initial gear, but Yuna-san is dressed beautifully today.
It is gorgeous.
Of course, I mean both the clothes and Yuna-san herself.
I also consider myself a woman in a way, so I am interested in fashion to a certain extent.
That's right. Let's continue to watch people going around the square.
There are a lot of people around, meeting up or moving around.
Looking closely, I can somehow notice the difference in clothing from person to person.
There are two main types of clothing.
One that is practical for hunting monsters and one that is not.
Because I can distinguish between players and NPCs, I can notice some kind of trend here.
The player's clothes and equipment seem to be well made, while NPCs seem to be wearing lighter clothing.
I wonder why this is so.
This is also a question I'm curious about.
When I was leisurely observing the hustle and bustle in the square, Yuna-san had already finished closing up her stall and was coming over toward me.
"Sorry for waiting."
Upon arrival, she immediately claims the seat beside me as if it's natural and offers me a yakitori.
"This is…?"
"I didn't want to waste my remaining ingredients, so I made this. Of course, there's no need to pay for it."
"Thank you for the treat."
Yuna-san's yakitori is as delicious as ever.
Is this also a work of a skill, I wonder?
"So, what do you want to know?"
"I want to know more about the guild. The NPC who took care of me last night warned me that it'd be better not to join the guild, so I'm a little concerned about it."
Hearing my question, Yuna-san ponders for a while before asking a question.
"Eve-chan's job is a thief, right? Why did you choose this job?"
"Mm… there's no particular reason. In fact, I left all the decisions to the AI in the first tutorial—"
"All of it?!" Yuna-san suddenly interrupts before I finish my words. She looks at me dumbfounded. "Perhaps, you let the AI not only decide the Job for you, but also skills, race, and stats distribution?"
Am I doing something wrong here?
Why did she stare at me like a rare animal?
"Y-yes… after all, I don't know what to expect as I've never played a game similar to this before. Also, I don't have any particular preference so…"
I trail off a bit. But you know. You get what I mean.
"Umu, I see. So, Eve-chan is really a total newbie. What a rare species these day…"
Yuna-san nods sagely as if understanding something profound.
But, hey Yuna-san, it's so rude to call me a rare species.
"Haha, just kidding, just kidding." Sensing my slight displeasure, Yuna-san quickly changes the topic. "Okay, okay. Well then, let's start with the guild..."
After that, I keep asking questions, and Yuna-san answers them.
First, let's talk about the guild.
Let's call it a group with a certain objective.
For example, if you belong to a commerce guild, a portion of your business sales will be taken into the guild as a margin. Instead, you can get assistance, such as preparing to open a store and developing product routes.
Another example, if you're in the Pharmacist guild, you will be given the knowledge of pharmacists in exchange for helping them.
In other words, it's somehow similar to working for a company.
Next, let's talk about clans.
It's similar to the guild but slightly different.
If guilds aim to improve their skills as a group, clans focus on an individual's improvement.
The purpose is somehow similar, but the scale is different altogether.
A guild can be found anywhere in big cities, while a clan has one fixed permanent base and all their activities are focused on that.
A guild is based on a hierarchal structure, while relationships between clan members are mostly on equal terms.
A clan is built with a purpose in mind, and the members of a clan work together to achieve that purpose. However, there's no specific obligation as a shackle for the member. The situation is closer to a circle than to a rigid organization.
The next is Party.
This one is a specific grouping for combat purposes only.
Fighting monsters is usually done one-on-one, but there will be an occasion where you can't win when you're alone. So, there is a necessity to build a group to hunt the monster.
In the event that someone tries to kill steal your prey, a penalty will occur. The penalty is a reduction in experience gained and a reduction in drop rate. Forming a party reduces that penalty. The experience value is slightly reduced, but the drop rate remains the same.
This allows you to hunt stronger monsters.
Also, depending on the conditions, you can form a party with an NPC.
You can have a party of up to five people.
And the last thing is Raid.
It's a system for fighting even stronger monsters. In a Raid, up to five parties can be included in one group. Usually, players use this system when they are going to fight against the so-called Boss Monster.
Well, that's what Yuka-san told me in a nutshell.
As for the Thief Guild, I can guess why Celia tried to confirm whether I'm from the guild or not.
That's guild is basically a group of bloodsuckers!
Compared to the Thief Guild, other guilds look like charity organizations.
After all, when the other guild sets the sharing profit at 0% with a maximum of 20%, that damn guild forces its members to pay the guild 80% of their profit.
There are also restrictions on so-called job requests. You are not allowed to do any work other than what is offered by the Thief Guild. Moreover, the only jobs available are dirty jobs like stealing, robbery, and so on and so forth.
That's why it's a difficult decision to join the guild.
But what's more crazy is the punishment for breaking up with the guild.
One of your arms, most likely your dominant arm, will be "confiscated" by the guild as "compensation."
In a normal game, permanent amputation of a limb is not possible.
You can get your limbs cut off by a monster with a blade, but you will still get your limbs back along with your HP recovery.
It is only when you leave the Thieves' Guild that it occurs as a permanent penalty.
Of course, you will never get it back once you have lost it.
So why, even with such a disadvantageous situation, are there still many people who join the guild?
It's because unless you join the Thief Guild, you won't be able to learn your job-specific skills as a thief.
But even so, the penalty is too heavy for me, and I don't feel like joining in.
In other words, being a thief is an overwhelmingly high-risk occupation to make a living, which makes it the most unpopular profession by far, except for a few people with special interests.
Now I understand why Celia doesn't have a good feeling about the Thieves Guild and the reason why Celia doesn't have the right arm.
Celia was a former thief, and perhaps she left the guild because she didn't like her job. Although she had to lose her dominant arm as a punishment, she was still determined to get out of the guild.
And then there was Celia's comment saying that even if she has money, it'll be difficult for her to buy daily necessities and go shopping. This means that the Thief Guild sanctions are still in place.
How cruel!
It doesn't look like a game at all.
At the same time, my feelings for Celia are becoming clearer.
It might be presumptuous of me, but I want to be with Celia.
I want to protect her.
That's what I genuinely feel.