The uncomfortable silence continued when the merchant left.
"Guild Master… although we appreciate your willingness to support us, it's unfair to keep things to yourself like that." said Galadriel.
"Bastard probably has many more secrets that we're unworthy of knowing." Said Cameria with a click of the tongue.
"Shouldn't you all be lucky to have a resourceful guild master?" said Tenma with a huff, side eyeing the magic bag and wondering what was inside.
"I always knew Sir Nova would come through!" as always, Elora responded positively. Though he couldn't help but notice that "pissed at being left in the dark once again" sentence in her [Condition] window.
"…" Secta didn't say anything.
"…I'm sorry about keeping quiet about this. I shouldn't be keeping such things from you all so I'll be more transparent going forward." He stood up, "This guild is our family so I should give you that much."
"Tell me something…" Alice spoke next, "Was that… merchant the person who gave you the information…?"
"Yes." It wouldn't be strange for someone as resourceful as him to know about these trials so Arnold took the chance given to him by the merchant, "Now… about these gifts…"
He opened the magic bag. Almost immediately he was blinded by the sheer brilliance of all those artifacts that didn't lose out in terms of ranking and ability compared to the negotiation items.
'Bastard, are you trying to make Misteltein a target for other guilds!?'
**
While waiting for a response from the Mage Guild after sending a letter, Arnold came back to the office to do some of the work he missed.
In the end there was an artifact for each of the core members of the team. Strangely enough, the items matched their respective classes, which was probably not coincidental if it's that guy giving the equipment.
Arnold didn't intend to use the "gift" he received which was some broken Star-class sword so he put it away in his magic bag. He already has Luxtivin.
Speaking of the sword, it's been going to some strange places during the time he was allowed to roam on his own. First, it was a bar where he got acquainted with a bunch of drunkards who told him stories of the outside world. Then he went on a mercenary quest with these drunkards—who turned out to be professional mercenaries. Afterwards they went to a whorehouse where they had so many orgies, Arnold could almost taste what Luxtivin licked.
He even got himself a sweetheart during his time as a human.
'You can't live that kind of life as a sword.' He thought as he stroked the hilt of the dark purple sword on his waist.
He felt mild sadness but nothing after that.
It would seem Luxtivin has developed the emotions of a human, somewhat.
Hopefully that doesn't turn out to be a problem.
A knock came from the door as he was finishing up with the last page of work he had left.
"—Sorry to disturb, Guild Master, but the Mages Guild's leader has come personally for negotiations."
'I knew she'd be too excited to schedule a meeting.' He thought with chuckle. He sent her a letter earlier to tell her about some "interesting items" he found so he wants to discuss some business with them.
"Send her to the meeting room and gather everyone there."
"As you command." Josephine quickly left to carry out her order.
**
"Is it true that… you have acquired artifacts?" Admeera, Guild Master of the Mages Guild, asked with a glint of pure greed in her eyes.
Arnold was worried she might pounce on him if he shows the items.
"Straight to the point, huh. Yes, we had an appraiser verify the items so each of their effects will be on the paper next to them." He said that as behind Admeera was her own appraiser to compare the information. He then signaled for the employee to bring the cart inside.
The cart was brought inside with all the artifacts placed on top.
Admeera audibly gulped, "T-This fierce mana radiating from those items… There's no doubt in my mind that they aren't ordinary… You, check them."
After looking at the items with his skill, the appraiser cleared his throat.
"…These are unlike any items I've seen on the market today. Even though I've been working as n appraiser for 20 years, I've scanned dozens of artifacts from relic tomb raiders and these artifacts are beyond the level of everything I've ever appraised."
He picked up [Thirteenth Hour]: "A watch that can give you invulnerability to one attack and escort you safely to the return point—this could help rangers with exploring dangerous areas without risking their lives."
He then picked up the prism, "This prism can make a magician's spells much more efficient, just as the description on the paper implies. Madam, it's safe to say the appraiser who appraised these before me was not mistaken. And whoever supplied these items must be someone who can raid relic tombs off-world."
"A world jumper relic raider. Oh, how I wished to meet someone like that…" Admeera held one of the artifacts gently, "…Lord Nova, what would it take for you to give these items to us?"
"I hope you know these items won't just lead to a once-off deal."
"Of course. Their worth is beyond such a simple deal."
"Okay, good. What we want is for your guild to work with us in a joint quest."
"What is the rank of the quest for you to seek our entire guild's help?"
"SS-class. Perhaps even higher."
Admeera's eyes widened, "…SS-rank is the highest tier quest we've ever issued. But only one or two SS-rank parties were needed to complete them. And you're saying a joint party is required to finish it…?"
"Yes, we might need every SS-rank party as well. For now, we need magicians to help us. Have you been approached by the quest giver yet?"
"I have so you can stop being vague."
"I shall excuse myself, Madam." The appraiser bowed before leaving the room.
The servants left, until only the core members of Misteltein and Admeera, was left.
"Good… The reason we need mages—"
"Is due to magical phenomena." He nodded when she finished his sentence, "It's surprising how humble you are despite your strength. Not many S-rankers would admit their inability to complete a quest with their own strength."
"I can take on any quest so long as my opponent is not a magic user." He said simply, "Magical and mental attacks are my weakness so I'm relying on you all to protect me."
He won't be cocky and think there isn't something that can harm him. The roots of the World Tree is an unexplored region. With the corruption eating the World Tree from below, there's no telling how everything was affected.
"I understand. Then how many artifacts are you willing to give us for our cooperation?" she got right to the point, the greed in her eyes replaced by resolution.
"Two right now and three once this is all over."
"I see. For you to have acquired such powerful artifacts, I was expecting you to only give us two at the most."
"Think of it as a gift for our future friendship."
"Already thinking of the future, I see, fufu. This did not feel like negotiation. In fact, I feel like I robbed you, Lord Nova. These artifacts are beyond anything humanity has ever seen before. If we can study them and learn their abilities to apply it to our existing technology, the profit and contribution to arcane we can make is endless."
"Reverse engineering artifacts, huh? I'm looking forward to the results." He stood up, "Let's discuss all the details tomorrow and finalize everything as well."
"You're in quite the hurry, aren't you?" she followed soon after and extended a hand, "I'll draft up plans the moment I get back to the guild so everything should be ready for you tonight."
"You're a very diligent Guild Master."
"Such flattery, haha~"
The two shook hands. Before they could end the meeting, Josephine knocked and opened the door.
"Apologies for interrupting your meeting."
"We just finished our business on good terms so whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Admeera."
"—Actually, I should be the one to apologize." A second voice came from the door.
The person who came inside was an elf wearing a dark robe, two knights following her from behind.
Queen Setariah Thalivielle, the ruler of Thalivielle Kingdom and the quest giver.
**
"Before I begin, I must ask: are your preparations finished…?"
'She must be in a hurry to be asking this now.'
"Not yet. We should be done in a few days, three at most."
The Ascension Trials won't take too long. His plan is to take all the core members to the region of the trial dungeon (which is on another world) so that they can rotate taking the trials.
'I should remember to tell them not to wander.'
While he could probably use the trials in this world, they won't be sufficient in ascending everyone to their max potential. Time moves slower in the trial dungeon so he has enough time to get all of them ready.
If what's corrupting the World Tree is as dangerous as the Star Beast or Valtraak, it's best to have his core party members be strong enough at the very least.
Elora isn't included because she can cast any level of magic but he wants Lucia to ascend to Fifth-Rank at the very least.
"That's a relief… Not many parties gave a definite answer, unfortunately… I leave the empire in a day so I need to finish negotiations by then. There are a few auctions I must also attend so I don't even have enough time to speak to you, Lord Nova."
"They intend to bleed you dry for everything you have, Your Majesty. They know the fate of the world is at stake but are more concerned with how much they can profit." Admeera said.
'You're one to talk. It took actual artifacts for you to move your ass.'
Then again, she was probably trying to find her own ways of helping without getting involved directly.
"But how will I bring them on board…? If they ask for what's in our nation's treasury, I may be forced to hand it over, even the treasures our ancestors from thousands of years ago left for us to protect." Her head hung low, "I'm sorry for showing you such an inelegant side of myself. I haven't slept in four days and every ounce of mental energy has been sucked dry from this situation."
"Have there been any news?" asked Admeera, as if she's now officially part of the team.
"Yes, many fairies have fallen from the World Tree, afflicted with an illness we can't explain, some even dead already…" clutching her dress, she spoke in a small voice, "…It's believed that the corruption has begun to travel up the bark of the tree."
"Even if we don't know how long the World Tree has left, isn't that a bit too fast?"
"Yes, we think that whatever or whoever is harming the tree is growing stronger by the day."
"When did you begin to notice something was wrong?" asked Arnold.
Setariah said "hold on a moment" then took something out of her bag—a leaf. It didn't look like an ordinary leaf you'd find on some random tree.
"When infused with mana, the leaves at the very top of the World Tree where mana is the most abundant, reveal their true colors." She infused mana into the leaf, changing from its green color to a bright gold, "Our researchers estimated that 200 years ago, the World Tree's glow was sixty percent brighter than the sun at the height of noon. Then 70 years ago, it fell to a staggering twenty percent. Now it's ten percent less bright than the sun. In hindsight, it isn't a big drop in brightness but if we look at the bigger picture, the time periods for such a staggering drop is too high so we believe the cause of what's happening has been growing stronger each passing decade, or even year. We don't know how much it will fall for the foreseeable future but the drastic decline is an omen for us to hurry."
"If we could somehow motivate its growth, it could resist the corruption."
"Huh? What do you mean?" asked Elora.
"The World Tree is still in its growing stage. Unlike ordinary trees, its growth can be hastened through the use of various methods. Unfortunately, these methods have been lost to time. We know the corruption is even affecting our Goddess of Nature. We can hear her pain when we send our mana into the tree."
Arnold glanced at Secta.
'Maybe she knows about the Divine Fertilizer?'
She didn't speak up or anything so she probably doesn't. There was no change in her expression or Condition to give any signs. Secta is someone with a duty to protect humanity so her best interests align with Setariah.
But she can't help right now.
By coincidence, he noticed Alice's expression when he looked away from Secta.
'Why does she look so sad, as if there's something she can do but can't…?' he took a glance at her Condition status, which can not only measure emotions and a target's health, but also their thoughts.
· Condition: Possesses the means to help but fears the consequences
'…Is this referring to the quest itself or the adventurers…? If it was the latter, she would've at least offered to talk to the adventurers—Alice does seem like that kind of person. But if it's the former…'
She fears the consequences of helping in the quest? Why would that be the case?
Does she know of a way?
Of course, Arnold also knows a way but until he confirms what the hell is causing the corruption and if it's possible to put a stop to it, he won't move.
He wants to… save Rafaela as well but he's not keeping the method a secret on purpose.
While he does want to make the gods and elves indebted to him, he'll need to confirm the aforementioned things first.
"We should devise a plan to get the adventurers on board," said Admeera, "Does anyone have an idea on how to do that? Simply using money won't work on these people.
"We should inform the emperor at the very least…" said Elora. That was the obvious thing to do, however, Admeera shut her down.
"No time. He's in the Republic leading the Imperial Army."
"At least the Guild Master knows so I'm hoping she can come up with something. I visited her not too long ago, after all."
BANG!
"Guild Master! A letter came from the HQ!" Josephine burst inside in a hurry, her glasses half hanging off her face.
'She's been doing this all morning with how busy it is, huh.'
"What is it this time?" he doesn't recall doing business with the HQ of all places. In fact, they should treat him like a startup rival.
"The HQ says they agree with the terms you offered and every party, ranked A to SS from across the country, is now on board to take on the joint quest."
"…Pardon?" Setariah, at a loss for words, looked at Josephine with raised eyebrows.
Arnold put his head in his hands.
It was that guy again, wasn't it…?
Josephine began to read the short letter:
"All major quests have been put on hold to prioritize a joint quest by the Elf Queen of Thalivielle. With the permission of said quest giver, the quest will now be made public to draw as much support as possible. The Guild Master of the Adventurer's Guild Headquarters hereby appoints Lord Nova as the vice-captain of the joint party and will be joining the quest to the Thalivielle Kingdom. Final preparations are to be completed in four days at most before marching to the Thalivielle Kingdom. Furthermore, future discussions will be held to determine the benefits the empire and guild shall offer Misteltein in exchange for his support."
Everyone looked at the person in question.
He could only smile wryly at the unexpected situation.