Chapter 45: A Rank Above the Guild

The Guild spent most of the afternoon trying to decide what had actually happened inside the gate.

After returning, Rovan had offered up explanations as to what went on inside the gate, and it was shocking to everyone who heard him. The object Keane had found was also confiscated for identification.

For the most time, everyone except Rovan was kept outside to wait.

By the time Keane was called back into the building, the strange object had already been taken somewhere deeper inside the Guild offices. He hadn’t been told where, and nobody seemed particularly interested in letting him know.

The gate itself was another problem.

The original classification had been middle-section, but the records no longer matched what the party had found. Nobody could give the gate a new classification, and because it was still open despite having defeated the boss monster, it was deemed risky for the time being to reenter, since even that was outside the ordinary.

Rovan’s report was the only thing everyone seemed to agree on, at least mildly. It was hard to believe the things he had written, but that was what he had reported, and in the end, after listening to agreeing testimonies from the rest of the party members, there was no other choice but to believe.

Rovan had written the report without exaggerating anything. If anything, he had been careful with his wording.

Keane was brought in, and sat across from a Guild officer while the man read through the final page.

"You understand that the report is being sealed?" the officer said.

"Yes." Keane asnwered, as he had been informed of that already by Rovan.

"For now, only the Guildmaster, senior officers, and a few authorized personnel will have access to it."

Keane nodded.

The officer hesitated before continuing.

"The gate is still active, but the Guild has restricted access until we understand what happened. We can’t determine whether the changes were temporary, permanent, or caused by some external factor."

"And the object?" Keane asked.

"We don’t know."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing useful." The officer said. "We know that it isn’t normal monster material. We also haven’t been able to identify its purpose or origin. It’s being kept under Guild protection while our people investigate it."

Keane leaned back a bit. That sounded reasonable.

The officer placed a small metal badge on the table. "Your rank has been decided." He said.

Keane looked down, observing the badge which carried the Guild’s mark, but this one was different from the Iron badge he’d received previously.

"What rank?"

"Gold." The officer asked. "You’ve demonstrated enough to justify it."

The officer folded his hands as he continued. "Normally, your lack of a combat record would prevent such a promotion. But your trial was directly witnessed by Captain Rovan, and the Guildmaster personally authorized the evaluation. Given the circumstances, keeping you at Iron would be difficult to justify." he said.

Nodding as he listened, Keane picked up the badge. He remembered the Guild’s ranking system which went from Iron, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Orichalcum.

The rank wasn’t supposed to measure raw power directly. It represented reliability, contract history, survival, and the Guild’s confidence in an adventurer.

To be honest, before the guild, he had almost none of those things, but thanks to the acting Guildmaster, it was made possible.

Keane too the badge quietly, earning himself a strange look from the officer. Most people probably would have been more excited about receiving such a rapid promotion, but it seemed like Keane wasn’t.

"What about the report?" Keane asked.

"It remains sealed." The officer said as he leaned back. "You should also understand that the Guild is doing this partly to protect you."

"From what?" Keane asked.

"Who know? A wild cat waiting to eat a hear? Could be anything."

"I. See... Then I’ll keep that in mind." Keane said, not wanting to take more time.

The meeting ended shortly afterward and Keane left the office with the Gold badge attached to his clothes.

He expected the acting Guildmaster, Ersla, to have something to say, but she didn’t. He had the impression that she had been interested in his case, but it seemed it wasn’t to the extent he suspected.

...

While the Guild had sealed the report, it seemed like that did not mean the information stayed inside the Guild.

By the following evening, several people in the city had already heard different versions of the story.

Some said an unranked adventurer had entered a middle gate and killed a boss monster alone, others said the Guild had discovered a new type of monster, a few claimed the entire gate had mutated.

While most of those rumors were wrong, the important parts remained true.

In a quiet room several districts away, a fat burly man placed a thin report on a table.

He didn’t look particularly impressed by the story, instead, he focused on one particular section.

Gate structure altered without corresponding instability.

His finger stopped there, then he read the description of the object, and for the first time, his expression changed.

"That isn’t natural." He said,

The person standing across from him remained silent, while the man himself leaned back into his chair with a heavy sigh.

"Someone seeded the gate." He tapped the report. "And whoever did it wanted something inside."

"What do you think it was?" The man standing across from him asked.

"I don’t know." he responded and closed the report.

"But I know one thing." His eyes moved toward the window. "The boy wasn’t supposed to find it."

Keane had no idea any of this was happening.

As far as he was concerned, the strange gate was becoming someone else’s problem.

He was walking through one of the Guild’s quieter corridors the following morning when a voice called out behind him.

"Keane."

He turned to see a man was approaching.

Looking closely at the man, Keane recognized him immediately.

He had seen the name on several Guild records through all this, and because of his looks, he was hard to miss even in a crowd.

The man was one of the highest-ranked adventurers currently operating in the kingdom, and from the little he understood, was once part of the guild.

He wore simple equipment without excessive decoration, and his posture was relaxed enough that he didn’t appear particularly dangerous. He looked more like a man wearing a few armour pieces on top his own clothes rather than the other way around.

That alone made Keane more cautious. People who were genuinely strong rarely needed to advertise it.

"Can I help you?" he said, his tone even but not open.

The man smiled. "I wanted to speak with you."

"About what?"

"Your gate trial." He said directly.

Keane said nothing, while the man stopped a few steps away.

"I heard you performed well."

"Apparently, I did."

"A little more than well, from what I’ve heard." The man said, his voice still light like having a casual conversation.

"Rumors get exaggerated."

"True." The man smiled again. "That’s why I prefer speaking directly to people." He said.

Keane studied him. There was something polished about the way he spoke. Not formal exactly, but more like every sentence had been chosen before it left his mouth.

"I’ll keep that in mind." Keane said.

"I’ll be direct, then. You’re attracting attention." His tone shifted, but it still maintained a similar warmth, just a bit more serious.

Keane’s expression didn’t change. "I’m aware."

"Are you?" The man tilted his head slightly. "The Guild is watching you. Other adventurers are watching you. Noble families are likely to hear about you soon enough. There are organizations that pay very close attention to unusual people too..."

Keane shrugged. "That’s their problem."

The man’s smile widened slightly. "That’s one way to look at it."

"What other way is there?"

"Power attracts attention." the man said, as if ignoring his question.

"I know."

"Then you understand the danger."

Keane looked at him closely. "Are you threatening me?"

"What? Of course not." He said, immediately. "I’m giving you advice."

"Those can sound similar." Keane said. "Besides, why would a distinguished man like yourself bother advising an unknown person like myself?

The man laughed quietly. "Fair enough." He said, then stepped closer. "Let me put it differently. You don’t have to join anyone. You don’t have to swear loyalty to anyone. You don’t even have to care about the people who are interested in you—"

"—but you should understand that being powerful makes neutrality more difficult."

Keane’s eyes narrowed slightly. "I’m not interested in politics or whatever its called."

"I figured."

"Then suppose we’re done."

The man smiled. "You really don’t understand. The times are different now."

His voice lost some of its casual amusement as he continued. "Power is changing. Old balances are becoming unstable, and new people are appearing where they shouldn’t. When that happens, almost everything eventually ties back to politics."

"You can ignore nobles, guilds, factions, armies, and whatever else you want; but if one of those groups decides you’re useful, dangerous, or simply inconvenient, politics will find you anyway."

Keane considered that. It wasn’t a particularly comforting thought, still, he didn’t like the idea of being pushed into someone else’s game.

"You haven’t really said anything yet, you know?" Keane said.

The man smiled. "I’m sure I have. Think about it."

Keane looked at him.

"And when you’ve decided, you get back to us."

’Us.’ Keane noted.

He didn’t ask who ’us’ was. If the man wanted him to know, he would have said it.

"Thanks for the advice." He said.

"I hope you take it seriously." The man said.