Exactly one month had passed since the opening ceremony, marking a significant date for all first-year students. Today, those who had settled in and proven themselves in various fields were being invited to join different guilds.
The idea of guilds was conceived by the rector over a thousand years ago, seemingly an attempt to bridge the gap between students who were vastly different from one another. Initially, these simple organizations resembled interest-based clubs, where newcomers and more experienced students from different courses gathered. Guilds brought together strong warriors and mages who trained, studied, and developed their abilities together. They didn't have their own gathering places, often meeting by courses to exchange experiences.
Eventually, they started receiving various tasks and contracts that were previously entrusted to mercenaries. Since the Academy initially admitted only the most talented students, they excelled in handling these assignments. With time, guilds' popularity grew, and the scope of their contracts expanded significantly. They engaged in escort missions, security tasks, hunting down monsters, pursuing bandits, and even conducting criminal investigations. All of these experiences helped students gain valuable skills, leading to the expansion of guilds' authority. The Academy stopped providing subsidies to guilds in exchange for completed tasks and shifted them to become fully self-sufficient. They were also allocated buildings on the academy grounds and even separate houses in neighboring towns to serve as their headquarters, available at fairly low prices.
The pursuit of completing a maximum number of contracts and earning money finally broke down the barriers between different courses. For greater efficiency, mages hired warriors to protect them in challenging battles, and warriors hired mages when they needed to confront formidable foes. Eventually, mixed guilds were formed, where warriors took care of routine tasks, mages assisted with complex ones, and traders helped both parties share the profits. Of course, different guild leaders managed their affairs differently, and many mages demanded a share of the earnings, even if they hadn't participated in any assignments that month. However, the rector's decision was clear: the guild's guildmaster had the final say on whether privileged classes existed within the guild, and soon, all classes were equalized within the guilds.
For so many years, the Academy had tried to equalize the students, yet it turned out all they needed was to unite them under commercial organizations.
Since the foundation of the first guilds, nearly one and a half millennia had passed, and while many of their names had survived in history, several guilds had persevered through the ages.
The prominent merchant guilds in three countries had also started as small guilds in the Academy, and even after graduation, they remained intact, organizing their campaigns and continuing to recruit promising novices from the Academy.
The popular guilds of mages had established several laboratories and magical schools in the capital city of Verania and the cities of Leran, renowned for producing magical items.
The battle-proven warrior guilds were now known as the finest groups of mercenaries, distinguished by their impeccable reputation.
Under the pressure from the nobles of Leran, the Academy even allowed the formation of secretive guilds of assassins and thieves, who didn't enjoy publicity but were willing to participate in various events. Members of these guilds often joined well-known guilds after graduation. Unofficially, even many mercenary guilds had a couple of these dark figures among their ranks, for performing tasks requiring cunning was often difficult without them.
Less frequently, hero guilds were formed, as named by the first guildmaster of such a guild. These guilds offered no privileges to any classes and selected members based on their abilities, regardless of their background. Such guilds proved surprisingly effective. While specialized clans allowed mages to train with mages and warriors with warriors, these guilds taught warriors to counter mages and mages to defend themselves in close combat. Students prepared to face any enemy successfully battled monsters, bands of bandits, and deranged mages. Such groups usually formed among good friends during their time at the Academy, dispersing after graduation, but they often left behind many tales of their deeds.
"Hmm, this huge assembly hall again," I entered the spacious room where the freshmen were already gathering.
Tables were lined along the walls with representatives from various guilds, some newly established only a couple of years ago, and others founded by graduates several decades ago. But first, we had to listen to the speeches of those who decided to create new guilds. Such occurrences were rare since the number of guilds was limited by the shortage of personnel and headquarters space. Nevertheless, one or two guilds were formed each year. And as I heard, this year they planned to organize a total of three guilds, with all leaders being freshmen, which was rather doubtful considering the lack of experience and connections with other students.
"And who is this daring person?" I stood near the stage and glanced at the list of speakers.
Yukitori Asura - Shiroyuki no Hana Guild.
Alfred Van Grave - Holy Flame Guild.
Katrina Del'Serano - Storm Glaive Guild.
"Quite scanty names, and one is even written in the common language, not the formal one, though the words are somewhat unfamiliar. Ah yes, the Asura clan has its own language, which hasn't spread to other countries."
I even know all these personalities. Clearly, Asura wants to gather her own combat group, and she might succeed. Alfred seems to have decided to legalize his fan club, and oh my, the name is completely void of any hint of an inquisition. For some reason, I'm more and more tempted to give him a good punch. Katrina... it must be the one I thought of, even though she didn't mention her last name, only a person with such a clear conscience as hers could come up with such a banality. I wonder if she'll be able to attract anyone with the rumors circulating about her throughout the Academy.
When everyone had gathered, it was time for the introduction of the new guilds.
The new guildmasters kept a certain distance from each other, maybe due to some animosity or other reasons.
First in line was a young warrior who several well-known guilds had tried to recruit.
She held herself confidently, although the pressure on her was the greatest. Apparently, she possessed leadership qualities, but how would she handle the speech?
"Yukitori Asura, I want to create the Shiroyuki no Hana Guild of warriors," Asura evaluated the students with a cold gaze, looking for those who were interested. "In my clan, we value honesty and the skills of individuals regardless of their background, so I'll welcome any participants confident in their abilities. The main goal of the guild will be to develop the combat skills of its members and undertake tasks typical of mercenaries. I want the warriors to prove that there's no need to rely on magic when they can handle things with their own strength."
As her speech concluded, a timid murmur filled the hall. One could ask a few questions to the speaker to clarify the details of the future guild's work.
"Does this mean you won't accept mages into your ranks?"
"Don't take it personally, but I don't trust mages very much. If you prefer combat skills over magical ones, I have no objections. But I don't need those who can't defend themselves against a simple robber without spells."
The murmurs intensified. Warrior guilds rarely refused the help of mages, and to reject magic so abruptly was unheard of. But it seemed the young warrior had her own issues with mages, which was even stranger since I heard that their clan once wielded magic until it lost its power a couple of centuries ago.
"Could you enlighten us about the sources of your funding and the types of contracts you intend to pursue?" A clear voice rang out from the merchants' section.
"I receive a fourth-class scholarship, and I plan to allocate a significant portion of it to the guild's needs. I've already found a suitable building in the city to rent as the guild's headquarters. Preferably, we'll focus on contracts related to protection, escorting, and hunting down groups of criminals. In the initial stages, we might consider establishing an alternative production facility within the guild's premises to meet our needs, and with an increase in our members, we could take on more complex missions."
Surprisingly, she had thought through the potential development quite well. Although, of course, one scholarship might not be enough, considering that warriors needed to spend money on equipment repairs, which could be costly. Yet, if the alternative production proved successful, who knows what might happen.
"And will the beauties from your clan be planning to enroll in the Academy?" Apparently, the serious questions had come to an end, and someone decided to make a joke. However, the girl's gaze turned so serious that it could burn through the one who had asked.
"No, my clan members do not like leaving their homeland," the room's temperature seemed to drop a couple of degrees, or perhaps it was just the thirst for killing emanating from the girl that frightened everyone to the core, "If that's all the questions, then I won't detain the proceedings any further."
The atmosphere in the hall soured after the girl's cold response, and her rejection of mages made many wary. However, I wouldn't say that warriors who despised mages were so rare; perhaps she could find followers among them.