Chapter 144 - 144

When they get back to the house, Misaki asks them to watch out for her for a bit, even relegating her old friend Lysander to the downstairs lounge. She reached level 100 during the second raid and wants to take a good look at her advancement options without being distracted. 

"So, you met Misaki while you were still in the Beginner's Valley, what was she like then? We met her just a little while ago. The Alliance forces wanted someone to investigate the Exit City while they worked on getting the Ogres back within their old borders."

"She was a sweetheart. I met her when she first arrived, just a confused tiny transfer in a small village in the Elven Forest. I thought she'd been Reincarnated as a child at first, until I realized her species." The Ranger replies, his eyes showing that he's lost in his memory. 

"I made that mistake too. I thought I'd gained a little sister when she first joined us." Kone laughs. 

"That had to be hard on her pride. She hates getting mistaken for a child. We dated for a while, then I reached level 100. I had intended to return right away, but you know how that goes. It transferred me right into the middle of the city, and the Guild was waiting. She probably thought I leveled out of the valley and abandoned her, right up until you guys got here and wiped out the Montauk Guardians." He says sadly. 

"Are you going to win her back?" Cain asks with a smile and Lysander grins back. 

"You'd better believe it. I just hope I can keep her around until I can win her heart. We're not in a Guild together, and she's just accompanying you on a mission, so I don't know how long she's staying." The Elf adds. 

"She reached level 100, so she's not going back anytime soon. She would have to do the quest first, and I hear it takes time. But I'd be willing to take you both into our guild if you'd like. You're both good people, and we go for more of an extended family vibe in the Guild." Cain suggests. 

"Let us talk it over, now that she's leveled out of the valley, she might need a moment to think over where she's headed in life. If it's not here, I'll just follow her."

They sit and chat about everything and nothing while they wait for the Mage to finish with whatever she's doing. It's well over an hour before the Mage comes down the stairs with a big smile on her face. Examining her information, as expected her class setting no longer says Mage, but instead reads Pyromancer.

"I only had a few points saved to put into abilities, but I got a huge bump to my Fire Damage and a sweet transformation." She announces, changing forms. Her Robes turn to a flickering red and orange combination, while her hair turns to actual fire, swaying around her shoulders. Flames wreath her hands and she seems to be floating slightly off the ground. 

"Pretty cool isn't it? I can only do it for five minutes every thirty right now, but as I level up I'll be able to do it all the time. It gives me mana cost free fireballs and extra armor as well as a movement speed increase."

"I must say, that is pretty awesome. Infinite mana while chain casting fireballs is pretty powerful." Cain agrees. 

"It's got nothing on you though, the Puppet Master Class is just crazy. But once I get some more points I'll start getting powerful really quickly too. In the description the Pyromancer gets an Elemental that really buffs them and increases mana regeneration, but I didn't have enough points left to get it for two more levels."

"That's a shame, but stick with us and you'll get there soon enough." Cain's not joking, they're doing two dungeons a day, and with his bonus, he almost reached level 101 today. Keeping up like that she could probably get the skill she wants by the end of the week. 

"Have you thought about what's next?" Lysander asks. 

"Well, I was going to ask to join the Darklight Host, since I can't go back to the Sunnybrook Army. With the level restrictions around the valley and all I kind of ended that career. But what are you going to do?" She counters. 

"Where you go, I go."

With them both agreed, Cain sends out a pair of Guild invitations and Misaki squeals with joy, making Nemu cover her ears and retreat to the kitchen. 

[Misaki has joined the Guild] 

[Lysander has joined the Guild]

Since it's getting late already, and two Raids in a day is a lot of work, the decision is made to call it a day right after dinner. Su and Nemu are cooking again, they seem to be enjoying all the praise they get for the meals, and they make a pretty good kitchen team. Tonight is a vegetarian curry, Elven Forest style, because Lysander mentioned this afternoon that he missed the Elven Forests cooking. Cain, on the other hand was getting quite used to Dwarven cooking. Meat, potatoes and alcohol. He exercises enough to keep his figure anyhow. 

The two new recruits sign the standard Guild contracts Cain gives to every member, highly amused by the fact they're getting paid 20 silver a month, when at level 100 they can earn that in the dungeon in minutes. The prices of everything in this city are also extortionate, being jacked up by the former Guild and the available cash flow. There's not much Cain can do about that though, so the 20 silvers will continue to mean very little to high level members.

The three new recruits in Graska seem to be pretty excited about it though, the two boys want to live off their efforts in the dungeon, and haven't had a full time job yet, just the piece work the Orphanage Matron finds for them, while the Earth Mage is a few years older and was working in the mines. She's very happy to get out of there, and with an income and a home guaranteed by the Guild, she intends to focus on crafting. She wants to make luxury furniture, a Dwarven specialty that Cain is certain will sell well here in Montauk, the exit city. 

With the price difference, quality Earth Mage created Dwarven furniture would make her a very rich Dwarf by local standards. 

Cain looks over the Guild Bank balance, seeing that they made a few hundred gold today from the two Raids. Both him and most of the other members deposit most of their earnings in the Guild Bank, knowing Cain won't give them trouble if they need to pull money out again later. It's easier for everyone that way, as more often than not, they send someone else to go get them supplies, and the hired staff can use the Guild Funds on authorized spending. 

They're likely going to need to hire someone to take care of this house too, unless Cain gets creative with the summons. The cooking is taken care of, and the grocery shopping, but the cleaning will need assistance. 

Cain brings it up with the group and Nemu suggests the Felian Assassins clean and maintain the house. They're agile, obey her orders, plus she can use their disguise skill to dress them in cute maid outfits. She summons them and has them change to demonstrate, giving everyone the amusing sight of eight very disgruntled Assassins in adorable black dresses. 

Since they're Assassins, they can also work as house security while they're here. This helps them accept the outfits a little better, since it's a proper disguise again and not just Nemu playing dress up with them. They get to cleaning everything while the Guild members finish eating and get ready for bed. Nemu is overseeing her Bonded Forces tonight, making sure they know what needs doing, so Cain is alone in bed for a change. 

It's a strange feeling, the bed is normally very warm, either from Misha or Nemu, and it's totally flat. He needs another pillow to get comfortable. He's so distracted by this fact that he entirely forgets to set his alarm clock, only waking up when Vala comes in to warn him that the first of the next day's raid members have arrived. 

The sign up sheet filled even more quickly this time, even with those who went yesterday banned from coming again today. Lysander bowed out of coming along today, needing to take care of things in the city and get himself properly moved over to the Guild House. The excitement is the same as yesterday though, perhaps even higher after word spread that it was secret random loot and that they weren't taking a fee for the runs.

That's good, the more people who can get in on the action the better. Cain has even started to notice 5 person groups running the dungeon, a sign that things are starting to get back to normal already. A poor and hungry city is a lousy market for a Guild with as many crafters as Darklight Host. The more money they can help people make the better it is for everyone.

Including them. Cain's inventory is almost half full of gear again, and he cleared it before yesterday's Raids.. At this rate he'll bury the crafters in work trying to remake the items with strange attributes.